OnlyBucs

I stopped watching when it was 6-1. Credit to the Pirates for making it 6-6 and force Extras. Vasquez is allowed a meltdown since he has been rock solid this year. The Lithuanian is not a major league pitcher. Why he is trotted out there is beyond me.

He will probably be sent down today for Escobar too. So somebody should seriously ask Clint for a guy who has been up and down from the Minors as much as Neverauskas has this season and pretty much his entire career what in the hell is he doing pitching in a game in the 8th inning against a first place team who you are 3 games behind in early July 2 days before the All Star Break. These are questions Clint can’t answer if you ask him because there is no good answer and any answer he would give would be complete garbage.

6C4B5A5E5B46794D5A5B5B463F0 wrote: He will probably be sent down today for Escobar too. So somebody should seriously ask Clint for a guy who has been up and down from the Minors as much as Neverauskas has this season and pretty much his entire career what in the hell is he doing pitching in a game in the 8th inning against a first place team who you are 3 games behind in early July 2 days before the All Star Break. These are questions Clint can’t answer if you ask him because there is no good answer and any answer he would give would be complete garbage.
But it's not surprising anymore, is it? Over the years we've seen Hurdle manage as if he's playing a video game. He moves this piece here and that piece there. It's fun to win but doesn't matter much if he doesn't. Over the years we've watched him sit hot players just to give someone else a turn or because it's a "scheduled day off" in a key series. We've seen him put the whole bench in the starting lineup in years when the bench was weak because...well, just because it's Sunday. We've seen him pull hot pitchers to put in cold ones. He likes to monkey around with his roster and he's under no pressure to win from his bosses. The bottom line in Hurdle's explanation was, "I chose Neverauskas and it didn’t work out.” It's the strategy of Hey, what the heck. I'm just gonna give this far fetched idea a try. Oops, it didn't work out. Too bad. Try again tomorrow. Yet a few days ago he wanted to win badly enough that he used Vazquez for 2 full innings trailing 2-1 to come back and win 3-2. Seems like some days he cares and other days....not so much.

75474B4B5F6D4E474A4F4047260 wrote: I understand the frustration' but personally right or wrong I just can't feel upset about this one.  Being there it just didn't feel like a game we "blew" but a game we were supposed to lose but we almost miraculously pulled out anyhow.  I guess that's because I had written it off after Lorenzo Cain robbed frazier.  It almost felt like seeing avwin.

I get what you’re saying, but what you or the fans experience versus how the game is managed has to be two very different things. A one run game with two more innings to bat in a game of this importance: Hurdle HAS to do a better job.

And the argument that Hader would be pitching a 1 run 9th does not create even the slightest justification: The Brewers played the top of the 9th against Vasguez; and Hader would be more stressed by the 9th.

The 9th was amazing. But it means nothing due to the loss. Hurdle blew this important game as bad as it can be blown.

Well, I have to admit, I was stunned last night. I quit watching when it was 4-1. Then, I heard that the Brewers hit another homer, and it was 6-1, and I figured, "Well, I'm glad I'm not wasting any more time tonight on that worthless game." Then, I checked the At Bat app about an hour and a half later, and I saw that the game was still going on. (It said "live," but the score hadn't loaded yet.) I figured, wow, we must really be getting shellacked. It's gotta be 12-1 by now. Then, I saw 10th inning, and I'm like, "Wait...what the heck?" I check the score, and I see they scored five in the ninth. I tuned in just in time to hear Musgrove strike out.

My thoughts...like I said last night, Neverauskas has no business pitching in a game close and late with Crick and Vazquez still available. We're more than half way through the year, and the Pirates still, somehow, have a shot to win this division. I could MAYBE understand it if you weren't playing the team you're trying to catch, and who you can't beat to save your life this year. But, given all of the circumstances around last night's game...no reason for Dovydas to pitch last night. Had they gone to Crick, maybe he keeps it 2-1, Hader stays in, and we wind up losing 2-1. Maybe not. But nobody in their right mind could have thought that DN gave the Pirates a better chance to win than Crick. And not only that, but since we're talking about future games, and possibilities and all that, Dovydas' implosion got Hader out of the game early, which makes him available tonight. If nothing else, Clint should have wanted to force Counsel to keep Hader in the game longer.

These two games now are pretty important. The Pirates have played great since that second game against the Tigers on June 19. They need to keep this momentum into the break. And since they can't beat the Brewers for anything this year, it's imperative to come out and at least win one of these two games, but preferably both.

1F38292D28350A3E292828354C0 wrote: You can add last night to the list of bizarre stupid things that Clint had done in key important games over the last year or so. The two last year that set me off were Clay Holmes pitching in San Francisco when the team was on a roll and he gave up 10 runs in 2 innings, and the other one was not batting David Freese who was red hot  at the time with the game on the line in a 2-1 game in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Cardinals in a key series in early August. Instead he used Sean Rodriguez and said Freese was not available for whatever bizarre reason. I am positive there are many more from last year and beyond but these two come to mind first and are rank right up there with the move using Neverauskas last night.
Come on Freddy! As soon as Hurdle makes a questionable move you jump all over him. He is given a roster by NH and has to use it the best he can. Did Clint recall the Lithuanian loser? No.
Could he have used Crick..yes. But Crick has also been very sketchy recently. The Lithuanian loser was good in his last appearance, but I guess it was too much to expect for him to turn in 2 good appearances in a row.
Rodriguez had been absolutely awful. Clint stuck by him and he has turned it around. He gave Hurdle credit for maintaining confidence in him.
The bullpen has been hit or miss all year. To me it is a total crapshoot. It’s up to NH and especially the Nut job to give Hurdle better weapons.
For crying out loud; they are recalling Hanna Montana again.
What do you wantClint to do with this assortment of garbage that the Front Office throws at him.
As I have said before; with all of the injuries this team has had and the underwhelming performance of the pitching staff he has managed his best season to be only 3 games out.