Hurdle needs to show more flexibility in 2017
For the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates to rebound after a down year, they will need even more flexibility from their manager.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle knows a bit about flexibility when it comes to baseball蘑菇视频 ever-changing dynamics.
As expertly recounted in Travis Sawchik蘑菇视频 鈥滲ig Data Baseball,鈥� after being let go by the Colorado Rockies, Hurdle蘑菇视频 time as an analyst at MLB Network enlightened the notoriously old-school skipper. When hired by the Pirates, he brought with him a newfound respect for deeply analytical concepts such as defensive shifts.
Once the talent level matched the club蘑菇视频 analytical ambition, the results started to show. From 2013 through the 2015 season, the team had the second-most wins in baseball.
Then, 2016 happened. And now, Clint Hurdle will need to show a different kind of flexibility.
Hurdle has cultivated a reputation as a 鈥減layer蘑菇视频 manager.鈥� This has benefited the Pittsburgh Pirates in numerous ways throughout his tenure. Heading into 2017, Hurdle may have to take a different tact.
He has already started to do so in moving Andrew McCutchen to right field. It did not hurt that Hurdle had a veritable mountain of data showing that Starling Marte belonged in center field. More to the point, it certainly did not hurt that Hurdle had cultivated a strong enough relationship with McCutchen over the years to deliver that message. In this way, Hurdle maintained his reputation as a player蘑菇视频 manager, giving McCutchen every opportunity to show that he could still handle center field before ultimately making the move.
Going forward, Hurdle might have to get to that point more quickly if he should find himself in a similar situation. Hurdle is loyal to his established players, but that should not come at the expense of the club蘑菇视频 performance. Hurdle蘑菇视频 message still has not gotten stale 鈥� it is clear that his players by and large still love to play for him 鈥� but a firmer hand could yield equally firm results.
The flexibility needed can be shown in a variety of ways.
Some big, some small.
This means not sticking with first baseman John Jaso during his lengthy 2016 slump when nothing in his history to that point showed that he was capable of easily breaking out of it. This could mean exhibiting a quicker trigger finger in making batting order changes if something isn鈥檛 working.
It could mean recognizing sooner that under-performing stars such as McCutchen need to 鈥渦nplug鈥� 鈥� that蘑菇视频 a Hurdle term 鈥� and take a knee.
It will likely mean trusting a defensively shaky rookie in Josh Bell 鈥� yes, still a 鈥渞ookie鈥� by definition 鈥� at first base to keep his prodigious bat in the lineup.
It very well could also mean that Hurdle needs to manage this club with more urgency out of the gate. In recent seasons, a trend has developed where Hurdle prioritizes rest and a steady hand during the season蘑菇视频 early goings. The team has been saddled with middling starts throughout most of his tenure, and a deeper sense of competitiveness early on could propel his charges through the 162-game grind.
If we turn our attention to the bullpen specifically, we see an area most in need of newfound thinking. Pirates GM Neal Huntington has already intimated that incumbent closer Tony Watson will maintain those duties in 2017, while one of his marquee free agent signings 鈥� Daniel Hudson 鈥� will work the eighth inning. Though Huntington has also stated that the bullpen arms before those two were 鈥渢ransitional,鈥� his words still stung those hoping to see Hurdle approach the closer蘑菇视频 role 鈥渇rom scratch.鈥�
With the understanding that no decision like this is truly made in a vacuum, Hurdle will have a huge opportunity to show his flexibility should Watson falter in the season蘑菇视频 early goings. From Huntington蘑菇视频 words, it also appears that Hurdle will be able to show a new approach to bullpen usage before the eighth inning by pitching his best arms against the other team蘑菇视频 best hitters.
That half-measure may not be enough for a club that must maximize the contributions of every single arm in that relief corps to be effective and return to the weapon it once was.
Looking at the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates as a whole, it may take most 鈥� if not all 鈥� of its personnel to perform at high capacity to rebound from a 78-win season. Some will need to trust in their ability.
Some still will need to adapt, and adapt quickly. For a game that has a hotly debated pace of play that some consider slow, it can evolve surprisingly fast.
Hurdle has the speed to keep up. Now more than ever, he鈥檒l have to show it.