When the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Clint Hurdle to be their new
manager last November, I felt sorry for him. At the time I wrote,
“Hurdle
has just accepted the worst job in America. It’s a job even Mike
Rowe wouldn’t want.”
Perhaps I exaggerated slightly. But in the world of
professional sports, being hired to manage the Pirates isn’t
exactly cause for celebration when you consider the team has not
enjoyed a winning season since 1992. And after the first two months
of the 2011 season it appeared that Hurdle wasn’t going to be any
more successful than the other six managers who have preceded him
over the past two decades. On May 31, the Pirates were in
fourth place in the National League Central with a 25-28
record, 6½ games back of the St. Louis Cardinals.
But then a funny thing happened. The Pirates started
winning. Over a seven-week period the Bucs played their best
baseball in nearly a generation and gave long-suffering Pirates
fans a reason to attend games at PNC Park. Between June 1 and
July 19, the Pirates went 26-16. On July 15, they found themselves
in a first-place tie with the Cardinals. Three days later, they
were in sole possession of
first place of the NL Central for the first time ever.
(When the Pirates last made a post-season appearance in ‘92 they
were in the NL East.) On July 19, the Pirates
stood atop the NL Central at 51-44 with a ½ game lead over the
Milwaukee Brewers and a 1½ game lead over the Cardinals. Pirates
fans were
ready to elect Clint Hurdle mayor.
But in baseball, as in politics, a week is a lifetime and
two weeks is an eternity. In scarcely a fortnight, the Pirates have
lost 11 of their last 14 games and have dropped six in a row. They
have now fallen under .500 (54-55) for the
first time since June 7th and are six and a half games
back of the Brewers in the NL Central.
So what happened? Have the Pirates tanked? Or should I say
planked? Maybe the blinding light of scrutiny got to them? (On July
25,
ESPN televised a Pirates game for the first time since September
2004). I would make the case though that what happened the
following night provides a better explanation of the Bucs’ recent
struggles.
On July 26, the Pirates and the Atlanta Braves played 19
long innings. In the bottom of the 19th, Braves relief pitcher
Scott Proctor hit a groundball to Pirates third baseman Pedro
Alvarez who threw the ball home to catcher Mike McKenry who tagged
out Braves infielder Julio Lugo before he even got to the batter’s
box. Inexplicably, home plate umpire Jerry Meals called Lugo safe
and the
Braves won the game 4-3. Needless to say Hurdle, McKenry,
Pirates reliever Daniel McCutchen and all of Allegheny County were
livid. The Pirates
filed a formal protest with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s office
and Meals
subsequently admitted he made the wrong call. Nevertheless, the
call stood and the Pirates came out on the short end.
Of course, if Meals had called Lugo out at the plate
there’s no guarantee the Pirates would have won the game. McCutchen
could have easily surrendered a walk-off base hit to the on-deck
hitter Martin Prado. While no loss is easy for any team it is far
more difficult to lose due to circumstances beyond the team’s
control. At the time, I
wondered how this event would affect the Pirates in the long
run: “But as the old saying goes what doesn’t kill you will make
you stronger. The question here is whether this incident sinks the
Pirates 2011 ship or if they will rally and find the means to
swashbuckle their way to the NL Central title.”
Well, since the 19-inning debacle, the Pirates have gone
1-7. The acquisitions of first baseman Derrek Lee from the
Baltimore Orioles and outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego
Padres at the July 31 MLB trade deadline have thus far not
stopped the bleeding (though Lee did
hit two home runs in his Bucs debut on August 1). It remains to
be seen if Lee and Ludwick will be improvements over Lyle Overbay
and Matt Diaz.
Hurdle has also
come under criticism for not utilizing Pirates All-Star closer
Joel Hanrahan during this skid. For his part, Hurdle
has acknowledged the criticism, stating that he relies on
pitching coach Ray Searage for advice on Hanrahan’s workload. Yet
closers need regular work and Hanrahan has only pitched thrice
since the Pirates were last in first place on July 19.
During an appearance on the MLB Network, former Chicago
White Sox and New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel made the
observation that the Pirates were going through “some growing
pains.” I would agree. The Pirates are a team of talented players
who are starting to experience winning for the first time. Now all
of a sudden they have lost whatever formula it was that made them
successful and have reverted to their old ways, unsure of how to
make their way back.
With the dog days of August and a third of the season to
go it remains to be seen if the Pirates can right their ship. If
they don’t start now, they will not only lose the NL Central but
they could end up with their 19th consecutive losing
season.
