The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost six games in a row in the midst of an intense race for a National League Wild Card Spot. With the recent slump, it brings up questions regarding the future of Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle.
There are many factors that go into whether or not a manager is actually on a “Hot Seat” of sorts. Trouble in the clubhouse, a bad relationship with the front office and overall performance of players on the field can contribute to whether or not a manager’s job is in jeopardy.
With that being said, it’s easy to question the job security of Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle given the recent overall performance of his ball club. This topic has been talked about before, but I’m sure it’s even more of a relevant topic at this moment in time. It is because of this that I decided to take a deeper look into just how hot of a seat Hurdle is currently sitting in.
Rough 2016 Continues For Bucs
After two consecutive early postseason exits, Pittsburgh Pirates fans were looking for more in 2016.
Maybe it was the high standards that were set when the Pirates won 98 games last season, but this year has been a disappointment.
Instead, the Pirates sit at 67-67 with a month left in the season and the pressure continues to grow.
With rising stars such as Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco on the roster, the expectations would be that the Pirates would play in October every year. However, there is a chance that might not be the case this year.
It has been a very up and down year for the Bucs as they have battled injury issues, embraced a major youth movement and struggles among many of their stars including Josh Harrison, McCutchen and Cole.
Though the seemingly endless struggles fall on the productivity of the players on the field, it also gets put on the shoulders of the manager.
Seat Getting Warmer?
In his six seasons as Pittsburgh Pirates skipper, Hurdle has compiled a 498-446 record and has led the Bucs to two 90 plus win seasons. He is also just two wins shy of becoming just the sixth manager in Pirates history to win 500 games with the team. That’s pretty good for an experienced major league manager, especially one that had a 534-625 record in eight seasons as manager of the Colorado Rockies from 2002 to 2009.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=””]The Pirates sit at 67-67 with a month left in the season and the pressure continues to grow[/perfectpullquote]Aside from leading the Pirates to regular season success, Hurdle also helped bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh.
Though fans are appreciative for the success that Hurdle has helped the Pirates achieve, the postseason disappointments overshadow that appreciation.
Hurdle did take the Rockies to a World Series in 2007, but that was his only postseason experience prior to joining the Pirates.
As Pirates Manager, the 59-year old Hurdle has compiled a 3-5 record in the postseason including the back-to-back wild card game losses to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants and Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates have been consistent under Hurdle’s command, but when it comes to the postseason, that isn’t exactly a good thing.
The continuous trend of finishing second in the division and losing in wild card games have become far too common. I don’t think that Hurdle’s job is in serious jeopardy at this point, especially since the Pirates are still in the wild card race.
However, now that the Pirates are simply a struggling .500 ball club and could miss out on the postseason for the first time since 2012, the seat may be getting a little bit warmer for the beloved Pittsburgh Pirates skipper.
[irp posts=”9542″ name=”Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – Labor Pains”]Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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