Hurdle Takes the Fall, Bye-bye to Blass, and Who Ya Got in the Series?

The blood-letting began at PNC Park yesterday when the Pirates, in the smarmy personage of General Manager Neal Huntington, fired manager Clint Hurdle, right before the team's final game of the season.  The Pirates can manage to screw up just about anything, even a firing.

Clint Hurdle rides off

into the sunset

Let's face it, a case can certainly be made for Hurdle's dismissal.  He's been on the job for nine seasons, and his message had probably gotten stale with the players and was no doubt falling upon deaf ears.  His fate was probably sealed with that unbelievably horrid twenty-eight game stretch after the All-Star Break when the team went 4-24, and if THAT didn't do it, the tales of a clubhouse completely out of control during the second half of the season surely did.

All of that aside, though, the site of GMNH smugly saying how Clint needs to be "honored" for all he did for the Pirates, and short time after he fired him, is enough to make to make you want to retch.  And how about Bob "Mr. Dithers" Nutting going on and on about how great Clint was, and then telling us that GM Neal and his "excellent leadership team" will remain in place and will no doubt lead the Pirates to greater heights into the future?

As the PG's Paul Zeise said in his online column today, Hurdle's firing can be justified, but it can also be said that he did HIS job with the Pirates one helluva lot better than Neal Huntington and his scouting and development team did theirs.  And if you don't believe that, just take a look at the collection of sub-standard, non-major league quality pitchers that Clint had available to him in the bullpen whenever the underachieving starting staff faltered, which they did almost all of the time.

Clint gets the last laugh.  He is owed $6 million from the Pirates over the next two years, and I hope that he collects every dime of it from this sad sorry-assed organization that the Pirates have become.

********

Until the front office screwed it up with the timing of the Hurdle firing, there was a "feel good" story this weekend, and that was the final series of games being broadcast by retiring announcer Steve Blass, after sixty years serving the Pirates organization.  (Has anyone served the Pirates so well for so long?  I think not.) The fact that Blass' final season turned into a complete shit show was a shame, and the hijacking of his final game by yet another inept front office gaffe was icing on the cake.

As my own tribute to Blass, I will tell my own Steve Blass story.  I've told it before in this space, but, what the hell, here it goes for one more time.  Back in the '00s  when I was chairing the local SABR Chapter, I invited Steve to be a speaker at one of our meetings, and he accepted.   How cool was that to have a genuine, honest-to-God World Series hero come to speak to us free of charge.

Well, he showed up, spoke for an hour, and did a great job of being Steve Blass.  The following week, as was my custom, I sent a thank you note to him for his time and for the job he did at our event.  A few days later, my phone rang at the office - I was still working then - and it was Steve Blass.  He want to thank me for sending him a thank you note.

Who does that?

Here's to a long, happy, and healthy retirement for Steve Blass.

********

The Major League Post-Season begins tomorrow with the first of the Wild Card games, and culminates with the World Series, which might end right around Thanksgiving.  Ten teams are alive for a chance to obtain that World Series gonfalon.  Here is my Grandstander Confidence Ranking (GCR) for the teams still standing, with (1) being "most confident" and (10) being "least confident".

1. Astros
2. Yankees
3. Dodgers
4. Braves
5. Cardinals
6. Twins
7. Brewers
8. Rays
9. Athletics
10. Nationals

Feel free to factor the GCR into your calculations as you make your own World Series predictions, and, as always, watch, but don't bet.

The Bucs Just After The Break

Eighteen days ago, July 8, I made a post on this blog entitled "Bucs At The Break", wherein I waxed enthusiastically over a thirteen game stretch prior to the All-Star Break when the Pirates went 8-5 against teams that were higher than they were in the standings.  You can look it up easily enough.

In order to save myself retyping the same words, allow me to cut-and-paste another passage from that post:

After the Break, they face another thirteen games against teams above them in the standings, Cubs, Phillies, and Cardinals.   If they can fashion another 8-5 record, or better, in those games, then you have to think that the Front Office will simply HAVE to make an effort to add a piece or two to put the team into a position to make a run for a playoff spot.

That thirteen game stretch ended today, and I don't think that I have to spell it out for fans of the team what happened, but, what the hell, here it is, anyway.  They went 2-11 in those games.  They are now 46-56, in last place in the NL Central, 9 games out of first place, and 9 games out of the Wild Card with eight teams between them and that second WC spot.

For all practical purposes, the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates is over.

The question of what does Neal Huntington do at the July 31 trade deadline (My $.02: listen to any and every offer that might be made for any and every player on the team except Josh Bell, Kevin Newman, and Brian Reynolds) is of far less importance than this one:

Who will be held accountable for this mess of a season?

You could say that it's the fault of Clint Hurdle and his coaching staff, especially Ray Searage, so fire them all, BUT they can only work with the players that they are given, SO....

You could then say that it is GMNH's fault because he has produced a pretty bad ball club, which has included a parade of pitchers who absolutely, positively do not belong in a major league uniform (I don't have to list them for you, do I?), and whose big splash deal of last year, the acquisition of Chris Archer, has blown up in his face like a cheap exploding cigar, so fire him, BUT Neal is hamstrung by a budget that is requiring him to try and compete with a payroll that ranks 27th among MLB's thirty teams, SO.....

You can then say that the accountability buck stops at the desk of owner Bob Nutting, and one thing we know is that Bob Nutting likes nothing more than making money, and the Pirates are making money, so he's not likely to change his skinflint ways (never mind the fact that maybe he could make even more money if he actually had a winning and competitive team).  He likes it just the way it is right now.

So, when the season comes to its merciful end for the Pirates in September, a couple of coaches, or Clint Hurdle, or maybe even GM Neal may get sacrificed to placate the angry masses, but as long as Bob Nutting is still signing the checks, I fear that things are never going to change.

Maybe the team might catch lightning in bottle some year like the KC Royals did a few years back, but we as Pirates fans are doomed to serve the rest of our days as fans residing in baseball's version of Purgatory.  That's the way Bob Nutting wants it, that's the way the MLBPA wants it, and that's the way MLB itself wants it.

Us fans?  We're screwed.

The Skipper Comes to SABR

The highlight of the Fall Meeting of the Pittsburgh SABR Chapter Meeting held yesterday at the Heinz History Center was the appearance of 2013 National League Manager of the Year Clint Hurdle.   In his one hour talk and Q&A session, Hurdle was frank, honest, open and entertaining.  

He was impressive in many ways, but perhaps most of all in the way he has become a part of the Pittsburgh community.  He constantly made reference to the fact that he lives here and hears about the Pirates at parent-teacher conferences, when he gets his hair cut, and when he's at the Giant Eagle!  He got a big laugh with the line, and I am paraphrasing, "when someone at the Giant Eagle says 'what's with Marte swinging at a pitch two feet out side and in the dirt for strike three?'...you think I didn't see that, too????"

He was also frank in discussing the team's collapses in 2011 ("we just weren't good enough") and 2012 ("we ran out of gas"), but he felt that he just KNEW that they were ready to bust loose in 2013, hence his call for 95 wins back in Spring Training.  He also said that the team's biggest concern is an inconsistent offense going into 2014, and that "we'll find out" if A.J. Burnett either want to retire or pitch in Pittsburgh, but that he, Burnett, needs to make his decision soon so that the Pirates can make their plans accordingly.  He also has high confidence in both Jeff Locke and Wandy Rodriguez to be key contributors next season.  He also told a great story about a visit from one of his old managers and mentors, Whitey Herzog, in St. Louis prior to Game Two of the NLDS.

On a personal note, I can take some satisfaction when Clint told me that I was "crazy" for not being able to sleep on the night of the extra inning loss to the Reds in September, the "Jordy Mercer Game".  The funny part of that discussion was how Hurdle said that it was interesting to him after that game how everyone was saying that the guy who no one liked all season, who everyone wanted too get rid of, Clint Barmes, should have been in there playing instead of Mercer!!!!  Which proves, I guess, that Hurdle really does hear what Pirates fans are saying when he's in the Giant Eagle!

I was fortunate in that this was the second time in four days that I heard Hurdle speak at the Heinz History Center.  On Wednesday, he was the featured co-speaker (Charlie Batch being the other) at the WPIAL Sportsmanship Summit.  At that time, he addressed over 600 high school athletes on topics such as sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership, and trust.

They were two very different types of presentations delivered to two very different audiences, but I would say that Clint Hurdle hit it out of the park on both occasions.

Getting back to the SABR meeting, new Chapter Chair George Skornickel put together an interesting program.  In addition to Hurdle, Dan Fox, the Pirates "Sabrmetrics Guy" (not his official title) gave a great presentation on how the team uses all of the advanced metrics and data available to them as they plot the course of the team, both day-by-day in season and into the future.  Could have listened to him all day.  There were also several other fascinating presentations on topics such as a new Willie Stargell biography, a history of Pirates exhibition games played in Reading, PA, and baseball stats keeping going back to the earliest days of the game, like pre-Civil War baseball.

Good stuff!!!

Justin Morneau Is a Pirate

Here is what yesterday's Pirate trade for Justin Morneau - and the trade earlier in the week for Marlon Byrd and John Buck - means.  

It means....

• ...that the Front Office has lived up on it's promise to do what needs to be done once all of the building blocks were put in place in the franchise infrastructure
• ...that Bob Nutting opened up his wallet and spent money, significant money in the case of Morneau, to put the pieces in place for a serious post-season run
• ...that maybe, just maybe, Neal Huntington has been right all along in his "plan" to make the Pirates a contender (and regular readers know that The Grandstander has been a huge NHR critic in the past)
• ... that in terms of the 2013 season, Nutting, Coonelly, and Huntington have done their jobs
• ...that the Front Office has given Clint Hurdle, to the largest extent possible, the tools he needs to succeed
• ...that it is now up to the players on the field to finish the job

So, I would suggest that everyone quit bitching about the timing of these trades ("should have done it on July 31") and just enjoy these last 28 games of the season.  Wait until the World Series is over to fire up the Hot Stove and put Nutting, Coonelly, Huntington, and Hurdle on the griddle.

Right now, there is a pennant race to enjoy. 

Thoughts on Gaby Sanchez

It has been my thought that first base for the Pirates should be a strict lefty/righty platoon of Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez.  While the Pirates seem to agree with me about Jones (only 12 of his 220 AB's have been against LHP this season), Sanchez seems to be playing a lot against righties, so I decided to do some checking, and here is what Gaby has done thus far in 2013:

Vs. LHP:  51 AB, .314 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.044 OPS
Vs. RHP: 97 AB, .216 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .696 OPS

I still think that Sanchez should be a platoon player, but it is not as cut-and-dried as I thought.  That's why Clint Hurdle, and not me, gets paid the big bucks!

A Critical Series Begins Tonight

Tonight marks the beginning of what could truly be called the first "critical" series of the 2012 season for the Pirates when the Cardinals arrive at PNC Park for a three game set.  Sweep the Cards, and the Bucs regain hold on a Wild Card spot and remain in the post-season mix. Get swept by the Cards, and the season pretty much becomes: Can they Pirates break the 19 year losing seasons streak?

The Pirates excellent play throughout June and July gave everyone what is starting to look like a misplaced sense of a pennant contender, and how fun was that?  In fact, if someone told you on Opening day that the team would finish 82-80, every one of us would have signed on for that and not asked any questions.  What is a shame is that if the team does finish at exactly 82-80, that means that they played their final forty games at 14-26, and such a poor finish will be viewed, not without justification, as a big disappointment.

However, in trying to put a positive spin on things, we all need to remember that in 2010, a mere two seasons ago, this team went 57-105 and they were a truly awful team.  And for those who want to pin everything bad on Clint Hurdle (and he is not above criticism, to be sure), I have two words for you: John Russell.

First Half Thoughts and a "Name to Remember"

The Pirates are now one game short of the actual half-way mark of the season, and with their 41st win last night, they are assured of finishing the first 81 games of the season with a +.500 mark. Raise your hand if you predicted that back on Opening Day. I sure didn't.

Some thoughts, questions, and comments on the first half of the '11 campaign.

• Obvioulsy, the pitching on this team has been beyond anyone's expectations. Kevin Correia has already given the team something it lacked all of last season - a pitcher with double digit wins.


• The bullpen has also been lights out, and there are not enough superlatives to describe Joel Hanarahan.


• Looking at the performances of the eight man, everyday line-up and you ask yourself "how is this team over .500 at this point?" The performance and output at catcher, first base, third base, and right field has can be described as anywhere from "underachieving" to "downright lousy."


• Notice I left short stop off of the list above? Ronny Cedeno is no all-star, to be sure, but as of this morning he is hitting .252 and has been playing solid, if unspectacular, defense. Who saw that coming?


• When you consider the offensive holes in this line-up, plus the injuries (seven catchers used so far!), let's give Clint Hurdle huge props for the smoke and mirrors act that has this team where it is today.


• You hear talk that the Pirates should approach the trade deadline as "buyers" to get "a bat" to help them out "down the stretch." Paul Maholm's name has often been mentioned as the guy to trade. I have some problems with that:


• First off, do you REALLY think the Pirates can be a championship contender to the point that you trade a guy who has, won-loss record aside, pitched so well for you?


• Second, unless you would get a player or players, quality players, who can help the Pirates, now, in 2011, trading Maholm will be viewed as another penny-pinching salary dump and would be yet another PR disaster for the team.


• Third, the "bat" that so many are clamoring to obtain could very well be Pedro Alvarez, currently rehabbing in Bradenton. Yes, we know that Alvarez was lousy in the first month and a half of the season, but he is still the guy that the Pirates MUST have be the power hitter that he showed he could be last season.


• Fourth, Ryan Doumit is another "bat" that will return before the month of July is done. True, Doumit is no Johnny Bench, but he is damn sight better than Mike McKenry.

The Pirates Coonelly/Huntington Brain Trust has said for years that ".500 is not the goal; winning championships is the goal" and now that the team has played half a season of .500 ball, I have to agree with them. Yes, getting the losing seasons streak monkey off their back is important, certainly to the fans, but I sit this morning a lot more excited that they are only two games out of first place in the NL Central. Do I really think that they can make the playoffs? For some of the reasons listed above, no I do not, but I have to say that I see progress for the first time since I can remember. I expect that they will flirt with the .500 mark for the balance of the season, and maybe, given the injuries to the Cardinals, they might be in the hunt for the Division, stranger things have happened. First, though, they have to start beating the Hated Brewers in Miller Park. When THAT happens, then I will say that anything is possible.

Let me veer into different Bucco area to close out. I am going to go "Joe L. Brown Show" on you and give you a "Name to Remember." Two summers ago, I attended a State College Spikes game, and saw pitcher name Phillip Irwin pitch for the Spikes. Irwin had just been drafted in the 21st round by the Pirates a few weeks before, and this could well have been his first ever professional game. I remember that the Spikes won that game, and while I don't have his numbers from that game, I can recall that Irwin looked very good in that game. Since that time, this has been Irwin's career path.

• He finished that '09 Spikes season with a 1-2 record, a 2.12 ERA with 32K and 6BB in 29.2 IP. He made the New York-Penn League All-Star team.


• In 2010, he pitched a full season in West Virginia and went 6-3, 3.35, 111K, 20BB in 113 IP.


• He started 2011 in Bradenton and went 5-0, 2.03, 40K, 12BB in 53.1 IP.


• He was promoted to Altoona where after two starts he is 1-1, 2.45, 8K, 1BB in 11 IP

Pretty impressive numbers, yet in all the talk about all of the "young arms" in the Pirates system, you never hear Irwin's name mentioned. Well, if and when this guy comes to the Bucs and becomes a star, remember that you heard it here first.

.500!!!!....and other thoughts

Today the Pirates achieved what has seemed to be the Holy Grail for lo these past 18-going-on-19 seasons: a .500 record. Today's win over the Astros was a most dramatic one, a come from behind effort thanks to a three run, eighth inning home run by Ryan Doumit. Doumit's blast rescued the team from what would have been a most frustrating defeat.

Of course, a .500 record 34 games into the season means very little, and over the course of a full season, a .500 record means only that you are a mediocre team. The Pirates from the Bob Nutting on down to the clubhouse guy who rinses out the jock straps have proclaimed as nauseum that ".500 is not the goal; championships are." An admirable sentiment, to be sure, but we all know what these last 19 seasons have been like, so the possibility of the team actually winning more games than they lose should not be dismissed as being not worth talking about. I was at PNC on Friday night when the team could have hit the .500 mark, and didn't, and this afternoon, when they did, and I can tell you that seeing the team play to this level, and, yes, I know that it is only May 8, meant an awful lot to the paying customers. The team should not dismiss this sentiment so lightly.

*****

It came to my attention over the weekend that one of The Grandstander's Loyal Readers, Mike J. of Robinson Township, has accused me of going a bit too heavy with what he terms "Neal Huntington bashing." OK, so let's give Neal a little dap this evening for the following:

Kevin Correia - See my post of May 2. If you tell me that you saw a 5-2, sub-3.00 ERA on Mother's Day for this guy, I won't believe you.

James McDonald - After a shaky start to the season, J-Mac turns in a solid start for the third straight time today. Sending Octavio Dotel to McCort-land for this guy is starting to look like a steal.

Charlie Morton - 4-1 so far after that train wreck of a 2010 season? Again, who saw that coming? If Morton keeps this up, we'll soon be asking "Nate Who?"

Ryan Doumit - Huntington made no secret of wanting to trade Doumit this off-season, and such a trade could still happen, but Neal didn't just make a fire sale deal and dump him, and Doumit has been hitting well as a spot starter, even before today's heroics. Sometimes, the best traders are the ones you don't make.

The Bullpen - Even though Chris Resop has fallen to earth a bit in this Astros series, it appears that GM Neal has cobbled together a pretty good bullpen thus far in 2011.

Clint Hurdle - The GM is the guy who hires the manager, theoretically, anyway, so give Neal the credit for bringing in Hurdle, who certainly appears to be a good manager so far. (Using this same logic, Neal also gets the credit for hiring John Russell three years ago, but we come here today to praise Neal, not to bury him.)

OK, Mike, how does THAT sit with you?

*****

I suppose I can't let another day pass without commenting on Rashard Mendenhall and his tweets. In the highest tradition of Sports Talk Radio Culture, this topic has been thoroughly beaten into the ground, not only in Pittsburgh, but all across the USA. The best observation that I heard came from PTI's Michael Wilbon, who said, essentially, that Mendenhall is a 23 year old kid, who has shown a moderate ability to run with a football in the NFL, and how does this give him a platform that deserves all the attention that his insipid tweeting has given him? In other words, who cares what Rashard Mendenhall thinks? I don't. Nor do I really care, one way or another, if the Steelers choose to keep him or cut him. I suspect that he will not be released, but I also think he won't get many second chances if his performance starts to fall off.

A Scene from Opening Day

Need to share this item from John Perrotto's Beaver County Times story today about this scene from Opening Day. I'd have loved to have seen this.

Clint Hurdle is still learning the lay of the land in his first season as Pirates' manager. That provided an awkward moment before the home opener Thursday at PNC Park.

Hurdle was walking in the hallway that leads from the clubhouse to the dugout about three hours before game time when he saw Pirates owner Bob Nutting. Hurdle put a bear hug on Nutting. Nutting is not what you would call a huggable guy. The look on his face was priceless as he received what was assuredly his first-ever man hug.

Opening Day and Other Thoughts

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box on Opening Day while listening to the great Bob Dylan on the iPod:

• Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club. Today, all things are possible. Not probable, but most certainly possible.


• Perhaps the most memorable quote from Spring Training came from Bob Nutting when he told that team that starting in 2011 "incremental progress will not be acceptable." Personally, and maybe I've just been totally beaten down by this bunch, I would be thrilled to see even "incremental progress" by the Pirates in 2011. Lord knows we haven't seen any such progress during the PNC Park era.


• I am guessing that that "incremental progress" quote will be thrown back at Nutting more than once as the season progresses.


• Setting a moderate goal, I said back in December that if Clint Hurdle could coax 70 wins out of this team, he should be Manager of the Year. That would be a 13 game improvement over 2010, so what the hell.... 70 Wins or Bust in 2011!!!


• When I am looking for a specific game score or result, the crawl at the bottom of the screen on ESPN is terrific. When I am not looking for a specific score or result, the crawl is extremely annoying.


• Just finished reading "True Grit" by Charles Portis. Had I read this novel when it first came out in 1968, I'm not sure that I would have thought "Wow, this would book make a great movie."


• Next on my reading list: "Branch Rickey" by Jimmy Breslin, and "Rawhide Down" (about the assassination attempt on President Reagan) by Del Quentin Wilber.


• Speaking Bob Dylan, my issue of the AARP Magazine (insert appropriate smartass comment here) arrived yesterday, and it includes a feature story commemorating Dylan's 70th birthday on May 24. Yes, Bob Dylan will be 70 years old next month!!


• Tonight is Fantasy Baseball Draft Night. I have the first pick in the North Park League draft, which I earned by finishing last in 2010. Just like in real baseball, all things are possible on Draft Night. I can tell you that Albert Pujols will be my first round selection tonight. After that, who knows?


• Readers of this blog know my abysmal track record making sports predictions, but last October 26, I predicted that the NBA Finals would be contested by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls (you can look it up). As of this morning, the Lakers are #2 in the West and the #1 team in the East is none other than the Chicago Bulls. Still a lot of grass to mow until the Finals, but How 'Bout Them Bulls?


• Purchased the DVD set of Mad Men Season 4 yesterday. Looking forward to settling in with that.


• Bad news is that Mad Men Season 5 won't start until 2012. Will jumping an entire season mean jumping the shark for this great series?


• Welcome news for North Hills residents in the PG today. Cinemark will be building and opening a new, modern 12 screen movie theater complex in McCandless. Finally, modern comforts and amenities for movie goers in the North Hills, and good-bye to the dumpy Rave (formerly Showcase) Cinemas on McKnight Road. The bad news is that this complex won't be open until Fall, 2012.


• I am looking out my window as I type this and watching it snow. Wish I could say "April Fool's" to that one, but it is all too true.


• Enjoy the Bucco Opener today. Eighteen - and counting - seasons of ineptitude can't stop you from being a fan. Let's Go Bucs!!!