PITTSBURGH — After the Pirates’ loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, the team held faith night in the ballpark. Several of the team’s players took the opportunity to speak and answer questions of the fans.
One of the things that manager Clint Hurdle stressed was the importance of communication. It was something of a theme that night for Hurdle, who blamed his own inability to effectively communicate with umpire Joe Holbrook for his first-inning shower that night.
In Hurdle’s tenure with the Pirates, one of the signature things that he’s been able to accomplish has been to embrace the data-driven nature of his front office, and not only that, but to be able to get the required buy-in from the team in order for it to translate to success on the field.
If the data says that center fielders should play more shallow, Andrew McCutchen plays more shallow. If it says Jameson Taillon should throw his two-seam fastball more, he throws his two-seam fastball more. For the most part, all of that has been done with very little dissent, publicly or privately, from notoriously adverse-to-change baseball players.
Implementing big-picture changes, and the ability to manage baseball players as men and not chess pieces, has been Hurdle’s calling card, and I asked him about how much of his job is that type of things, as opposed to the much more public items like in-game strategy and decision-making.
“As I’ve been given the opportunity to continue to do this at the major league level, my heavy lifting is done before the game,” he said. “The game is actually my best time to relax and watch. I get out there a half an hour before the game. That’s the best time. That half hour before the game, I get out there every day, just to watch the stands fill up, smell the grass, watch them water it, whatever it is. The heavy lifting is done early.”
That heavy lifting is part big-picture strategist, part bearer of bad news, part therapist, part father and part friend. Most of the hard work, he said, happens inside the confines of his office.
“Whether it’s a one-on-one conversation with a player or communicating when someone is going through a challenging time, when you have 25 men, there’s always something going on,” he said. “That door is always open. When it’s closed, somebody’s in here and we’re chatting something out.”
In those sessions, one of the most important things that Hurdle feels he can do is accurately convey the wishes and desires of management to the players on the field.
“I do think it’s important to understand the expectations of the management, because too many times when I played I didn’t know what [the manager was] thinking,” he said. “I think that’s helped them over the time here, especially first-year players like [we had with Starling] Marte and [Gregory] Polanco.
“I’ll get every player and I ask them, ‘What do you think my expectations for you are?’ You’d be amazed at how many time they’re goal and number related, and I listen to them I say that’s really interesting. That’s not it. Here it is. You freeze them up.”
Hurdle’s approach resonates with some of the team’s older players, in particular. Having played under a number of managers, certain parts of the way that he goes about things have stood out.
“He’s just transparent and trusting and communicates really well,” receiver Mark Melancon said. “He gives you the ability to go out there and be you.”
“I appreciate the communication of whether or not I’m playing the next day, especially amongst the older guys,” said first baseman John Jaso.
Hurdle also added that players crave consistency. Even if the Pirates are doing something differently than everyone else is doing it, if they do it the same way all the time, it creates an expectation for a player.
“I try and be very consistent with the decision-making process, so there’s some continuity with what we do and how we do it,” he said. “Without communication, I think you’re leaving those guys with opportunities to get distracted or frustrated. They may not like what I want to do, but they’re being communicated with and told why. “
MAKING A PLAN
The Pirates still have not announced a starting pitcher for Saturday, although it will almost certainly be Tyler Glasnow. Going forward, Jameson Taillon will finish the series with the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, Francisco Liriano will pitch Tuesday and Gerrit Cole will pitch Wednesday in the Pirates’ two-game series with the Seattle Mariners.
With Jeff Locke not needing to take a rotation turn until Aug 6 at the earliest, he will be available out of the bullpen Saturday and Sunday after taking a “touch and feel” bullpen session Friday.
KRATZ OPTS OUT
Catcher Erik Kratz, who the team designated for assignment on Tuesday, has cleared waivers and has chosen to become a free agent instead of accepting an assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis. Kratz played 18 games for the Pirates. He hit .107 and caught four of nine runners stealing from behind the plate.
