As the All-Star break approaches, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 44-41 and 1.5 games behind first place St. Louis in the NL Central with games five games left against Houston and the Chicago Cubs before the Mid-Summer Classic. The Astros are in last place in the division and the Cubs own the fifth-place spot.
The Bucs, who have been losers for the past 18 years, are one of the best stories in baseball and many media members have attributed that to the strong pitching, but I believe manager Clint Hurdle deserves applause for the job he's done so far.
Now Hurdle, or Jake Taylor as we call him here, would say he hasn't done anything and the season is far from over because that's his style, but after 85 games he is the manager of the year in my book.
I usually don't put much stock in managers turning around a team in the majors because I believe these guys are the best in the world and they don't need a babysitter, but Hurdle definitely deserves a pat on the back for what he has done with this young team.
The biggest thing with Hurdle has been the attitude. He said it earlier that he's not looking for .500 or any kind of mark. He just wants his team to play hard and not give up until the 27th out is recorded.
Hurdle is a breath of fresh air from the departed John Russell. I'm not knocking Russell, but he's laid-back approach wasn't a good fit for the Pirates. Hurdle's not a firebreather, although he says what needs to be said.
I've seen Hurdle argue calls that he probably didn't believe were wrong, but he had to stand up for his guys. That's what good managers do.
The Pirates' offense is still one of the worst in the league, however Hurdle has them doing all the fundamentals and being more aggressive on the base paths. I've seen more runners thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double than last season, but they need to do that with the weak offense and Hurdle knows that. He also doesn't make excuses when his players mess up.
One of the best things he did this season was bench Andrew McCutchen for not giving 100 percent on a routine play. McCutchen is the Pirates' best player, but Hurdle didn't let him slide and McCutchen knew and respected his manager's decision.
Speaking of McCutchen, I was very impressed with Hurdle defending the centerfielder for being left off the NL All-Star roster. Hurdle went to bat for his guy and the whole team will remember that during tough times.
I don't know how Pittsburgh will finish the season, but whether or not they break .500, Hurdle should still be the manager of the year at the end of the season.
He is the winner in a landslide at the mid-way point.
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