OnlyBucs

Can the Pirates overcome Hurdle? No he will cost us games and has cost us games already this year. Sometimes his crazy stuff works but mostly it's dumb luck if it does. He'll pull his typical I'm going to do this no matter how stupid it is and it will cost us 3 or 4 games but then there's that make or break game like we had last year with the Cardinals toward the end of August where the Cardinals weren't playing good and we weren't either and he just gave them the game after competing the entire game and he just quit trying to win the game. It turned the Cards year around and we went south from that point on. It has happened the last couple of years maybe not exactly like that but he'll just think a game isn't worth fighting for and give a game or two away and the team just quits. It will happen again this year most likely and we can't overcome the great Clint Hurdle.

544C4E49495E4F48555442270 wrote: Can the Pirates overcome Hurdle?  No he will cost us games and has cost us games already this year.  Sometimes his crazy stuff works but mostly it's dumb luck if it does.  He'll pull his typical I'm going to do this no matter how stupid it is and it will cost us 3 or 4 games but then there's that make or break game like we had last year with the Cardinals toward the end of August where the Cardinals weren't playing good and we weren't either and he just gave them the game after competing the entire game and he just quit trying to win the game.  It turned the Cards year around and we went south from that point on.  It has happened the last couple of years maybe not exactly like that but he'll just think a game isn't worth fighting for and give a game or two away and the team just quits.  It will happen again this year most likely and we can't overcome the great Clint Hurdle.
Come on Skinny; the Hurdle rant is getting tiresome. We get it. You don’t like Hurdle. Like any Manager he is going to make some bad decisions. However; ultimately it’s up to the player to perform when he is put in a position to contribute.

Would you prefer a fiery manager like McClendon who flamed out. How about a walking zombie like Russell.

I think overall; Hurdle is fine; plus he has been a pillar in the community. That attribute should not be taken lightly.

BTW. The Bucs happen to be 10-6. Cut him some slack

183D3E3E2B003D353720520 wrote: Can the Pirates overcome Hurdle?  No he will cost us games and has cost us games already this year.  Sometimes his crazy stuff works but mostly it's dumb luck if it does.  He'll pull his typical I'm going to do this no matter how stupid it is and it will cost us 3 or 4 games but then there's that make or break game like we had last year with the Cardinals toward the end of August where the Cardinals weren't playing good and we weren't either and he just gave them the game after competing the entire game and he just quit trying to win the game.  It turned the Cards year around and we went south from that point on.  It has happened the last couple of years maybe not exactly like that but he'll just think a game isn't worth fighting for and give a game or two away and the team just quits.  It will happen again this year most likely and we can't overcome the great Clint Hurdle.
Come on Skinny; the Hurdle rant is getting tiresome. We get it. You don’t like Hurdle. Like any Manager he is going to make some bad decisions. However; ultimately it’s up to the player to perform when he is put in a position to contribute.

Would you prefer a fiery manager like McClendon who flamed out. How about a walking zombie like Russell.

I think overall; Hurdle is fine; plus he has been a pillar in the community. That attribute should not be taken lightly.

BTW. The Bucs happen to be 10-6. Cut him some slack
Managers/Coaches can and do make a big difference. Most teams take on the personality of the manager/coach. I like most fans get excited when the Pirates are winning. Last year I was very encouraged to see our great start only to see our tired old manager just quit in August. Similar things are happening again this year but come August or earlier winning just isn't top priority.

4F6A69697C576A626077050 wrote: Can the Pirates overcome Hurdle?  No he will cost us games and has cost us games already this year.  Sometimes his crazy stuff works but mostly it's dumb luck if it does.  He'll pull his typical I'm going to do this no matter how stupid it is and it will cost us 3 or 4 games but then there's that make or break game like we had last year with the Cardinals toward the end of August where the Cardinals weren't playing good and we weren't either and he just gave them the game after competing the entire game and he just quit trying to win the game.  It turned the Cards year around and we went south from that point on.  It has happened the last couple of years maybe not exactly like that but he'll just think a game isn't worth fighting for and give a game or two away and the team just quits.  It will happen again this year most likely and we can't overcome the great Clint Hurdle.
Come on Skinny; the Hurdle rant is getting tiresome. We get it. You don’t like Hurdle. Like any Manager he is going to make some bad decisions. However; ultimately it’s up to the player to perform when he is put in a position to contribute.

Would you prefer a fiery manager like McClendon who flamed out. How about a walking zombie like Russell.

I think overall; Hurdle is fine; plus he has been a pillar in the community. That attribute should not be taken lightly.

BTW. The Bucs happen to be 10-6. Cut him some slack
This is the very reason the Pirates have not won anything in years. O well it's the best we can do; It's the players fault; Hurdle the pillar of the community; Everything is fine; we're satisfied.



Well I'm not satisfied with just showing up, don't think Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, were satisfied playing pretty good some of the time. The city of Pittsburg should not be satisfied with doing ok. Bob Nutting shouldn't be satisfied with pretty good every now and then. It could and should be much more. It was once a great baseball city, we have some players that just need to be pushed to be the best they can be.

6E697F77796E29255C7B717D7570327F73711C0 wrote: Can anyone believe this stat: Bucs 1/2 game out of 1st.


I think they will win this series against the giants, but the dbacks always give them fits. But mostly if they just don’t flop on this homestsnd, the reinforcements will start trickling back, likely starting before they head to LA.

I think they will at least go 4-3 on this homestand which would put them at 14-9 after 23 games going into LA and Texas to start the month of May so with guys like Polanco, Dickerson, Diaz, and  Chisenhall due back soon the Pirates could be in about as good of a position as they could have hoped for after playing 20-25 games. 

The Pirates after this homestand will start a stretch where they play 16 of their of next 21 games on the road in LA, Texas, St Louis, Arizona, and San Diego. So needless to say the Pirates better win as many games as possible on this next homestand before having to run the gauntlet here to start the month of May.

467B6568676D66446C7B6A6C6D090 wrote: Can anyone believe this stat: Bucs 1/2 game out of 1st.


I think they will win this series against the giants, but the dbacks always give them fits. But mostly if they just don’t flop on this homestsnd, the reinforcements will start trickling back, likely starting before they head to LA.


We'll see. Of course there's a ridiculous first basman that doesn't play for the Diamondbacks any more

Last year, the Pirates had a similar bullpen problem coming out of spring training. I think that was fueled mostly by Vazquez having a bad start, and also guys like Kontos, Neveraskus, Smoker and Feliz pitching their way off the team quickly. I think Kela is clearly the guy pitching himself out of a role in the bullpen, while Rodriguez is moving into a lower leverage role. With Burdi and Crick, they still have that 7-8-9 tandem to role out and keep the starting pitching ask to 6 innings on a nightly basis.



The BP has drawn the ire of the fans, but the issue is the offense. If you are asking your BP to hold 2-1 and 3-2 leads every night, they are going to blow it a percentage of the times. That said, the blown save percentage is going to go down as the year goes on as the BP roles solidify. And as the weather warms up, the starting pitching is going to surrender more runs per game. I think we should expect a boost as Polanco, Dickerson and Diaz move into the lineup, but should that boost lack the impact needed to get this team rolling, I'm hoping they dip into the AAA bucket.

I think you have to stick with Kela just maybe not with as much on the line for now.



He has historically been not that good early in the season.

I think there are a lot of opportunities to pitch outside of 1 to 2 run leads in the 8th or 9th inning. I think Kela should just be used outside of those situations where they need to hold a tight lead late in the game.