Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle
Clinton Merrick Hurdleis an American former professional baseball outfielder and current manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Hurdle played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals, and has also managed for the Colorado Rockies...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 July 1957
CityBig Rapids, MI
behind change direction front land layout marks starting
We're starting to make some marks in the right direction on the road. The layout of the land behind us is what it is. We can't change that. We can change what's in front of us.
added asked belt capable carrying consumed fact guys ignore missing
You can't ignore the fact that you are missing your No. 3 hitter. We just asked the guys to tighten their belt a little, but just carrying their load, not try to do anything more than they are capable of doing. It's an added pressure, but you can't be consumed with it.
guys hope pray
Guys that are able to play, we'll get out there and play, and guys that aren't able to play, we'll pray for them and hope they get better.
couple either guys last quality redeeming slow stretch
That's been a redeeming quality, that he has been able to slow things down and been able to get an inning over with before it completely got out of hand. He said he has not been comfortable out of the stretch the last couple of games. I told him I didn't think he was lying. I told him either we have to find a way to make him comfortable or for him to not let any guys get on.
groove guys last needs spring stay training year
One thing our guys do in spring training is get in shape. Jorge needs to play there, get his at-bats and reps, and show up with the groove he was in last year and that he needs to stay in.
early explosive good guys hanging house involved kept lead needed ninth obviously
This is a big pick-me-up. Some guys showed up big-time. We just kept hanging around after an early lead got away. Obviously it was a pretty explosive ninth inning, and some guys that needed to get involved got involved. It's a good confidence-builder all around the house for us.
focused guys job playing resilient victory
That's a very resilient victory. To be down twice. . . . These guys are just focused on playing the game, inning by inning, and getting the job done.
capable guys pressure shows takes
That's not the way it is. I think it takes some pressure off of him. And it shows those guys what they are capable of collectively.
cards early games guys house improvement pick season situations willing
There were games early in the season where we crumbled like a house of cards in situations like that. These guys are willing to pick one another up and that is a big improvement with this team.
admire asset attention brought energy fed focal gone guys handled help hot kept learned lessons months others paying players point seeing standpoint team time tough transition tremendous trying valuable waste younger
He's had to have two very very big months to get him where he is right now, but he can get hot like nobody's business. He's probably learned some very valuable lessons through this year. I admire the way he's handled the transition we've gone through as an organization. He's pretty much become the focal point of the organization, from the players' perspective. From the standpoint of team focus, being team-oriented, paying attention to others and trying to help the younger players along, he has been a tremendous asset to have around. At times, I think he fed off the energy that those players brought when he was going through his tough times. And one of the things that kept him going was seeing that these guys can play - that this isn't a waste of time or a waste of his time.
guys happen hitter rebuilding talking terms unless
It would be like guys talking about cars. Rebuilding a carburetor is nothing for them. For me, that's an impossibility, it's not going to happen unless I take it somewhere. But for a hitter those are terms that are pretty commonplace.
area burn critical glass guys honest location next pitch somebody time
Nobody's under a magnifying glass. You put somebody under a magnifying glass long enough, you burn them. The guys that didn't pitch well, they know who they are. Through honest self-evaluation, they'll see their location and the adjustments they need to make the next time out. That'll be the critical area to watch.
anyone guy guys pitching spot whether
It's an uncomfortable spot for the manager. Basically, you don't want anyone to get hurt, whether it be the guy doing the pitching or the guys doing the hitting.
challenge guys nice ran respond situation teams
It was a nice challenge for him to be able to respond to that. We aren't in the same situation that some other teams are in. We can challenge some guys and see how they respond. That's why we ran him back out (in the fifth).