congrats to the Pirates and Royals.

[LA RAM FAN]

Great to see two of the smallest small market teams that have had so much misery befallen to them the past 20 years FINALLY have winning seasons.


The Pirates for the first time in 20 years finally have their first winning season going from people saying will they have a winning season this year changing it to will they win the division.
The Royals have been almost as bad only having one winning season since 1995 thanks to their owner David Ass.

If the royals are your favorite team like they are mine it is ESPECIALLY rewarding that both of them are winning especially the pirates because Clint Hurdle a former royal,is the manager for the pirates.

People here will call me bonkers but I maintain that Hurdle is not only the best current manager in baseball,but the greatest since Casey Stengal.

consider this for instance.Before he arrived to the colorado rockies,they were horrible for years.He comes in and takes them to their first world series ever.The idiot owner fires him and they have been horrible ever since then.

What does he do in his first year as Pirates manager for The Pirates three years ago,another small market team thats had the smallest payroll in the leagues for years?

they go and have and have a winning record at mid season and are in contention for their first winning season that year but collapse at the end and dont get it.same thing the next year only NOW Pirates fans finally have hope unlike the other years because they were usually long done even before the all star break all those years.

This year,they finally turn the corner like I knew they would and finally have their first winning season avoiding the collapse.

Its all the more remarkable that Hurdle did this with two small market teams in a day and age where players dont stick to their same team their whole careers anymore.

I would like to see some of the other great managers over the years try and do what Hurdle had to work with trying to stay competive every year knowing your not sure if your best players will be back next year leaving to sign some big contract for another team the next year.

The great managers like Tomy Lasorda and Earl Weaver and Sparky Anderson for instance,they all managed in an era where they did not have to worry about free agency with players leaving all the time.

it would be interesting to see how well they would do in this day and age managing with key players like Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker leaving the tigers or soemthing like that.Issues Hurdle has to deal with in this day and age of baseball.

Just makes you wonder,if they would have done as great as they did if faced with the same obstacles Hurdle has had to face as a big league manager in this day and age.

 

[DGS49]

If you ask the players who have been around a while, Jim Leyland is the best current ML manager, and he has the record to back it up.

Clint Hurdle deserves some credit for the Pirate resurgence, but the GM should get the most credit. The cornerstones of this success were acquisitions - AJBurnett, Martin, Loriano, Buck, etc. He was also willing to pay market price to sign top draft picks, which the team was previously unwilling to do.

The best thing about the Pirates right now is that there is so much room for improvement. Even with 94 wins, they lost a LOT of games this year through horrible hitting and not even being able to advance runners with less than 2 outs. Give them a decent batting coach and they could be a dynasty (well, 2 or 3 years anyway).

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Good point.I forgot about Leyland the success he has had with other ballclubs as well that were unsuccessful before he got there.That being said,I correct myself,Hurdle would be the SECOND greatest manager currently.

 

[Papageorgio]

Hats off to the Royals and the Pirates. I hope they do well.

 

[DGS49]

Well, the season is over for the 2013 Pirates. Lost in the Division series in 5 games to the Cards.

In the end, although the Cards got a few lucky breaks in the final game, the Pirates simply were not able to score when they had to.

This was a pattern that lasted throughout the season; when faced with a good pitcher, the Pirates never seemed to rise above "whipping boy" status. This is why A.J.'s record was so poor - he always seemed to be facing the other team's Ace.

The big questions in this off-season are:

Will AJ come back?

What will they do about First Base?

Will they stay with Jordy or try to upgrade at SS?

All in all, they have a decent nucleus for 2014.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Me? I was just happy to see BOTH of these organizations have a winning season.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

If you ask the players who have been around a while, Jim Leyland is the best current ML manager, and he has the record to back it up.

Clint Hurdle deserves some credit for the Pirate resurgence, but the GM should get the most credit. The cornerstones of this success were acquisitions - AJBurnett, Martin, Loriano, Buck, etc. He was also willing to pay market price to sign top draft picks, which the team was previously unwilling to do.

The best thing about the Pirates right now is that there is so much room for improvement. Even with 94 wins, they lost a LOT of games this year through horrible hitting and not even being able to advance runners with less than 2 outs. Give them a decent batting coach and they could be a dynasty (well, 2 or 3 years anyway).

well with retirement of Leyland now,NOW it would be an accurate statement that Hurdle is the best manager in the major leagues.Next year they got to take the next step of hopefully making it to the championship game and the royals need to make the next step which is getting into the playoffs which will be difficult for them since they are in the same divison with the tigers.getting past them and winning the divsions is going to be their new challenge for them now that they had a winning season.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

If you ask the players who have been around a while, Jim Leyland is the best current ML manager, and he has the record to back it up.

Clint Hurdle deserves some credit for the Pirate resurgence, but the GM should get the most credit. The cornerstones of this success were acquisitions - AJBurnett, Martin, Loriano, Buck, etc. He was also willing to pay market price to sign top draft picks, which the team was previously unwilling to do.

The best thing about the Pirates right now is that there is so much room for improvement. Even with 94 wins, they lost a LOT of games this year through horrible hitting and not even being able to advance runners with less than 2 outs. Give them a decent batting coach and they could be a dynasty (well, 2 or 3 years anyway).

disagree.i would say the gm deserves some credit where Hurdle deserves MOST of itbecause again,this isnt thre first time he has turned around a losing organization.Cant argue the facts.

Like i said,when he was with the colorado rockies,another small market team,he took a team that had been HORRIBLE for years into a contender who made it to the first and only world series.Look whats happened to the rockies ever since he left.They are back to their pitiful horrible ways again.I guarantee you,the rockies owner is now kicking himself in the butt for making the most stupiest mistake in his life firing Hurdle.

Looks like Hurdle is working his magic again for the pirates pushing all the right buttons.Matter of fact did you watch the all star game? during the broadcast they were showing shots of the clubhouses and one of them showed coach Hurdler and the commentater talked about him saying-I would say Clint hurdle has got that job as manager for the pirates for life.He has done an amazing job down there turning that organization around.

They were talking about him saying that when Hurdle got there,he had to instill a mindset in the players a belief that they could win.he instilled a mindset on all the players there preaching to themon arrival to forget about the past history of this team,what the organization hasnt accomplished in the past.this is the present.

He was able to get their mindset away from how they have always been a losing organization for the past 20 years.that thats all ancient history,to forget about everything thats happened in the past,to concentrate on the present,to tell them they were not part of those losing teams from the past,that they were all talented players whom he believed in and believed they could win and be in the playoffs.

His mindset he used,did the trick,His first two years there,by mid season,they had a winning record. something they hadnt had in the past.by the all star break,they were always like the cubs,out of it and the season might as well be over for them.They were learning how to win under Hurdles leadership and guidanace and belief in them.

They just hadnt learned how to maintain the winning yet for an entire season which is why they collapsed at the end both times having two non winning seasons. Last year,they changed all that and learned how to keep winning the rest of the season.Unlike the royals,they are looking good this year and i would be extremely surprised if they did not finish with another winning season again.they look like they still have their mojo. wish I could say the same thing for the royals.I see no signs of a collapase reemerging again.

you can have all the talent in the world but if you are an organization that has been a failure for so long like the pirates have,you need a SPECIAL kind of leader to come in who can get all the players to buy into your system and have a mindset and belief that they are going to succeed and play well.without that kind of special leader guiding you.one who doesnt push the right buttons calling in the right releiver at the right time to finish the game for his starting pitcher ect,ect without a special leader like that.all that talent in the wolrd wont turn a losing struggling franchise around like Hurdle has done an excellent job of.

The situation with Hurdle reminds me of the NFL arizona cardinals.i HATE THEM SO WHEN kEN Whenisinhunt becamse the new coach there,i got worried,i said to myself-oh damn,he's a great coach,he'll probably turn that organization around and he did. Like Hurdle,he did the same thing with that team that Hurdle has done,convinced all the players of a mindset to forget about the past histoy of the cardinals,to focus on now and the present,

He also got them to believe in themselves that they could win which is why they made it to their first suprbowl ever and nearly won it all as well. it takes a special kind of coach to do that. whienhunt is one of those guys and so is hurdle.

I defenitely give the GM there credit for finding the talented players that he did to help the team turn their losing ways around, but I give most the credit to Hurdle for them becoming a winning organization for the reasons just mentioned.You bring in a manager in the beginning who doesnt have a special way of working with players like Hurdle does and getting them to believe in themselves like he did,then that organization doesnt turn the corner at all.

I would love to see them make it to the playoffs again this year but I just dont see that happening this time.The competition in that division is as tough as it gets.The Pirates are battling 3 other teams that are right in the middle of it as well with records about the same so it looks like it will be tougher for them to make the playoffs this year than last year.

Shit,I wish the royals had Hurdle as their manager.while its pretty safe to say the pirates will at least have another winning season again,-which to me is thrilling enough,its a major thrill for me to see Hurdle turn the fortunes of that organization around like he has from 20 straight losing seasons to back to back winning seasons,him being a major factor of it all.

while The Pirates look poised to have another winning season,I dont expect my Royals to do the same thing.Last year they were like 33-10 in one run games,this year it was mentioned they are like 5 and 20 which is why they are at just 500 now.that wont cut the mustard. See the royals have been losing a lot of those close games this year because they DONT have a good manager.Last year appears to have been a fluke for them.

Ned Yost has cost them so many gamesthis year with bumbling bone heade decisions.Like a few days ago against the red sox he brought in a right hander reliver to face a left handed hitter.All good managers know you dont do that in a close one run game in late innings.

thats why the pirates unlike the royals,are winning those close one run games and have a winning record cause Hurdle doesnt make stupid boneheaded decisions like that in a close game.thats why the pirates are set for life with Hurdle where the royals may not have another winning season again with this idiot yost as manager. I would take Hurdle in a heartbeat anyday of the year over Yost.

Damn,if the royals had Hurdle as their manager,man they would be in ac lose race with the tigers for the best record in the division but instead because they have Yost blowing games for them,cleveland has now snuck up on the royals and the royals may not even finish in second place this year after the tigers now.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

with the pirates making it to the playoffs for the second year in a row and the royals making it in as well this year its time to bring this thread back.congrats to you both.

 

[shart_attack]

I really doubt that any of them on either team is reading this thread, but okay, yeah. Cool.

Congrats, Pirates and Royals!!!

Way to keep the little man's hopes alive and well in an age when the middle class is a more archaic term than the "Music" in the acronym MTV!!!