Hurdle was fired by the Pirates following the final game of the season as the team finished last in the NL Centralgetty images
The Pirates are "officially dead" in light of the news that manager Clint Hurdle, who was fired yesterday, is "taking the fall for more than a decade of total incompetence" by Exec VP & GM Neal Huntington and the rest of the management team, according to Paul Zeise of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. It is a "total embarrassment" that Pirates Owner Bob Nutting "continues to treat his fans and those of us who follow the team like we are all clueless and can't see what went on here." There is "no reason for anyone to believe next year will be better than this year." This "once-proud franchise is now dead because the owner hasn't had the guts to make the changes necessary to bring it back to life" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/30). THE ATHLETIC's Sean Gentille wrote if a book was written on what has "gone wrong" for the Pirates since '15 -- the last time they made the playoffs -- ownership's "inability or unwillingness to spend even an average amount of money for its station would be Chapter 1." That is "not Huntington's fault." Gentille: "It's Nutting's, and it's wholly impossible to imagine that ever changing." That money "ain't coming" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/29).
PLAN OF ACTION: In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic writes under the header, "We As Pittsburghers, Together, Can Take Our Pirates Back." Fans "think it's hopeless that the Pirates can succeed under Nutting," and they are "dead-on." There was a "chance here for Nutting to hit reset." The TV contract and ballpark naming-rights deals are "almost expired, and a new front office could have revived at least some confidence and, in turn, maybe pumped a little more money into payroll." But Nutting's response was to "agree to scapegoat Hurdle and stand behind the two men most responsible for assisting him in making untold millions off this venture every year." Perhaps fans can "force him to sell" by "coming together as Pittsburghers to reclaim a Pittsburgh institution." Kovacevic: "Let's wake up. Let's work together. Let's finally all stop being so stupid" (DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.com, 9/30).
TOUGH TO RECONCILE: In Pittsburgh, Kevin Gorman wrote Hurdle's "parting shot" after he was let go was a "sign of disconnect between the manager and the front office." Hurdle can "only coach the players Huntington provides, and this roster left a lot to be desired." The Pirates "could have justified firing Huntington for two lopsided trades alone" in deals for Ps Gerrit Cole and Chris Archer. Asked why he was still in charge, Huntington said, "It's a fair question. Why am I sitting in front of you, and we're getting a new manager? It's a very fair question, and one that I wish I had a better answer for. We're working to get this right again" (TRIBLIVE.com, 9/29). In Pittsburgh, Tim Benz writes under the header, "Botched Firing Of Clint Hurdle Typical Of 2019 Pirates." A day that was "supposed to be a celebratory farewell" for longtime TV analyst Steve Blass and a "melancholy au revoir to baseball for a few months was a dour goodbye to the only manager to get the Pirates above .500 since Jim Leyland" in '92. Within the "span of a week, Hurdle went from a guy most fans were looking to drive to the airport to a sympathetic patsy who appeared hard-done-by and mistreated on the way out the door" (TRIBLIVE.com, 9/30).
PLAYING FROM BEHIND: In Pittsburgh, John Steigerwald wrote the Pirates are "playing against a stacked deck because MLB's economics are a joke." Some smaller-market teams "succeed sometimes, but generally teams that spend the most win the most." The Pirates' "best years are behind them." Fans can "only hope for another appearance of the lightning in the bottle that got them the three winning seasons" from '13-15 (TRIBLIVE.com, 9/29).
