TAMPA, Fla. -- In nine years as the Pirates' manager, Clint Hurdle helped end a 20-year losing season streak, led the Pirates' to three playoff berths and produced a winning record. It was a tenure that should put him among the top managers in the organization's history, at least among those without a World Series ring.
However, that tenure ended very unceremoniously, being fired on the last day of the 2019 season despite being under contract for two more seasons. The Pirates went into that season with playoff aspirations. They ended it in last place with more late-season drama than wins.
“The last three months of my managerial career was maybe more difficult than the 16-and-a-half years before that,” Hurdle told me. “It seemed like every other day we were putting out a different fire.”
Hurdle was barely exaggerating with the "every other day" point. Between multiple clubhouse fights, a brawl on the field with the Reds, the Felipe Vazquez arrest and just a ton of general displeasure in the clubhouse, a lot happened in those final months. That set the stage for Hurdle to be fired, starting a year-long house cleaning throughout the organization.
But with the reflection of time, Hurdle holds no ill will for how things ended.
“You can choose a walk-up song. You can’t choose a walk-out song,” Hurdle said. “There was so much good here that happened and so many good people that I met. Nothing lasts forever. It was time to go.”
MORE PIRATES
2. I’ll add that Hurdle looks good and sounds good, and he's working part-time in the Rockies' front office as a special assistant to the general manager. In his return to Altoona Sunday, he was met with a lot of smiles, hugs and handshakes. A couple players in Altoona were either drafted when he was still around or were in the instructional league, which he would attend during the offseason, so those are some genuine reactions. -- Stumpf in Tampa
3. I had a quick chat with Henry Davis this week, where he said he is feeling better after being sidelined with a wrist injury. The mini-slump he is in can be attributed to him working to get his timing down. The injury, though, occurred when he was hit by a pitch in Greensboro two days before he was promoted. He knew it wasn’t 100%, but he wanted to prove to himself he can play through pain. Plus, the promotion to Class AA was too tempting to pass up. And hey, he only swung the bat a couple times with the Curve before hitting the injured list, but he did uncork one massive homer during that time. -- Stumpf
4. As we near the 2022 amateur draft, almost all of the prep players the Pirates took last year are still in the Florida Coast League and at Pirate City. The only exception is lefty Anthony Solometo, who is internally considered a bit more advanced. Those prep picks weren't able to engage in much competition last year because of the long layoff between the end of the high school season and when they signed with the Pirates, and Class Low- A Marauders manager Jonathan Johnston said they have been having conversations to get players such as Bubba Chandler and Braylon Bishop ready for the jump to full-season ball. Solometo thinks that jump is happening soon, telling me, "I know it will be any time now. They all deserve it.” -- Stumpf in Tampa
5. Ok, some major-league bullets. Bligh Madris is a really good story, as he was a very popular person in his minor-league clubhouses and he is finally getting his chance in the majors. He seemed to have his big breakout during spring training this year, but an analyst I talked to pointed out that his real breakthrough seemed to come in the Australian Summer League in 2020, where he became more upright in his stance and moved his hand position. It was around then they noticed Madris started to generate some extra bat speed. -- Stumpf in Tampa
6. Speaking of another rookie promoted to the majors this week, one has to think back to the 2017 trade deadline and how then general manager Neal Huntington opted to trade Tony Watson for a young Oneil Cruz rather than reload the team and try to win one last time with Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. Of course two months of Watson for Cruz is an absolute steal of a trade, and it may go down as Huntington's best. It did come with that second hidden cost, though, even if team finances that season would have made it difficult for him to add too much. -- Stumpf in Tampa
7. I'll also add for Cruz that in just a few days in the majors, I've already heard some buzz about him being a rookie-of-the-year contender. The Pirates say he was in the minors so long for his development, but it has to be pointed out that he wouldn't be able to reach super-two status we have seen in recent years. There isn't a runaway winner for the award in the senior circuit this year. If Cruz does finish in the top two for the award, he'll be awarded a full year of service time, meaning the Pirates don't get that extra year of team control. -- Stumpf in Tampa
8. I had a nice chat this week with Ke'Bryan Hayes about a few different topics. We talked at length about playing next to Cruz, who at 6-foot-7, is not your typical shortstop. As the fan base is excited about Cruz finally joining the big-league team, Hayes shares the same enthusiasm. "I mean, y'all saw his first throw across the infield. So yeah, just having that in my mind, knowing he can get to some of those balls and then not a fear of them being safe because of how strong his arm is definitely helps over there on the left. It makes my job a little easier." -- Chris Halicke at PNC Park
9. I don't need to do any deep dive into stats to tell you that Hayes is one of the best defensive third baseman in baseball. And there's actually a way he can be even better thanks to PitchCom. Pitchers and catchers obviously use it in place of the traditional exchange of signs. While middle infielders and the center fielder typically use it to aid in defensive alignment, Hayes started using a device a couple weeks ago. "I feel like that's definitely been another thing that's helping me get even more ready. Like, knowing like a two seam is come in on a guy that pulls the ball. A lot of little stuff like that." -- Halicke
STEELERS
10. The Steelers still very much believe in punter Pressley Harvin III despite an uneven rookie season that saw him finish 26th in gross punting average at 42.6 yards per kick and 25th in net punting at 38.0 yards. The team understandably feels many of his struggles were because his father and grandmother both were dealing with illnesses that eventually took their lives late in the season. But that doesn't mean the Steelers won't at least challenge Harvin in training camp. The team signed Cameron Nizialek to the practice squad late in the season, then brought him back on a futures deal in January. Nizialek has kicked around the league for a few years now and kicked in four games for the Falcons in 2021. He averaged 45.4 yards per punt on 18 kicks last season, placing six inside the opposing 20. Harvin is still the favorite to win the punting job, but Nizialek isn't just another camp leg. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
11. With the signing of Larry Ogunjobi earlier this week, the Steelers now have a surplus of defensive linemen on the roster. It should create much more competition up front. The team typically keeps six defensive linemen, but with Ogunjobi, Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal and Montravius Adams on the roster, that is seven who have significant NFL experience or were drafted in the past two years. One thing to remember, however, is that Ogunjobi was simply taking the spot the Steelers had saved for Stephon Tuitt. They planned on taking those seven -- substituting Ogunjobi for Tuitt -- to camp. -- Lolley
12. That begs the question, who might be the odd man out? Wormley would certainly have some value in a trade market coming off a seven-sack season. He also missed the entire offseason program after having his knee scoped. But the real answer is probably Adams. Remember, practice squads are now expanded to 16, with six of those players able to be veterans of any experience. The other 10 spots must have two years of service or lower. The Steelers play their base 3-4 defense only about 25 percent of the time, so in most weeks, there's no reason to carry four defensive ends and two nose tackles. The Steelers signed Adams off the practice squad of the Saints last year and could likely sneak him onto their practice squad this year, elevating him for games against run-heavy teams such as the Browns when they'll be playing more 3-4 as opposed to nickel and dime. -- Lolley
13. Leal also could be used as an edge rusher in the nickel and dime defenses, at times, as well. Yes, he's a bigger-bodied guy, but let's remember that the Steelers are asking their outside linebackers -- the defensive ends when they go to the nickel or dime -- to drop into coverage less than ever. How much less? T.J. Watt was targeted by opposing quarterbacks 27 times as a rookie in 2017. Last season, he saw just four pass targets in coverage. Alex Highsmith saw 11 pass targets on the other side. The Steelers want to get home with four pass rushers. They blitzed just 24.9 percent of the time in 2021, down from 40.3 percent in 2020. Don't be surprised if Leal sees some time in the nickel and dime spelling Watt and Highsmith. -- Lolley
14. One thing fans need to know about Ogunjobi is that he, like Alualu, is very versatile. In fact, In college at Charlotte -- where he was a teammate of Highsmith -- Ogunjobi often played nose tackle in the 49ers' three-man defensive line. Neither Alualu or Ogunjobi are Casey Hampton, but the Steelers also don't want a nose tackle taking on double teams play after play. They want penetrators in the Chris Hoke mold. -- Lolley
15. The Steelers fully expect Ogunjobi to be ready at the start of training camp as he comes off a foot injury. Now, that doesn't mean he'll be out there every day, but they're not expecting the surgically-repaired injury to hold him back. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
16. The Penguins are obviously in a cap crunch and would benefit from a trade that allows them to shed salary. I was told that there was talk earlier in the offseason that the front office was looking at Marcus Pettersson as a potential moving piece in a trade, given the current depth at left defense with P.O Joseph waiting in the wings, and Mark Friedman an option to play on the left side. -- Taylor Haase in Cranberry, Pa.
17. Casey DeSmith has started facing shots in his skates in Cranberry, as I saw this week. He underwent surgery on his groin in the postseason to repair an issue that had been nagging him for the last month-plus of the season. It's the same surgery he had last summer, just on the opposite side, so DeSmith knows what the road to recovery looks like and is confident that it will be smooth once again. -- Haase
18. Ron Hextall and other members of the front office are meeting in-person in Cranberry nearly every day now. Some of the meetings are of course draft preparations, with director of player development Scott Young. Other members of the front office, like former video coach and current hockey operations analyst/pro personnel Andy Saucier, are around for meetings more pertinent to the big club. -- Haase
19. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but restricted free agent goaltending prospect Alex D'Orio won't be back in the system next season. It was surprising to see D'Orio supplanted in the depth chart by AHL-contracted Tommy Nappier this season after D'Orio's strong 2020-21 campaign. Now with Filip Lindberg, Taylor Gauthier, and Nappier all expected to be in the minors next season, expect D'Orio to move somewhere where he can get playing time. -- Haase
20. Had a nice chat yesterday with former Penguin Bobby Farnham, who is now playing the three-on-three 3Ice summer league that comes to Pittsburgh on July 23 (more on that in a feature next week!). Farnham has been working for the agency Global Hockey Consultants (agency of both John Marino and Evan Rodrigues) for the last year and a half, and will also be attending Harvard Business School in August. "I'm trying to end the stigma of my agitating, fighting AHL and NHL days to hit the books," he said with a laugh. -- Haase
21. One forward set to become an unrestricted free agent who may be of interest to the Penguins is Frank Vatrano. I’ve been told Jim Rutherford had a trade nearly completed with the Panthers several years ago to bring him to Pittsburgh, but the Panthers backed out at the last second and the deal fell apart. Those talks happened under a different front office regime, but Vatrano figures to be a relatively cheap and enticing depth option if the Penguins don’t re-sign players like Rodrigues, Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen. Vatrano scored 18 goals and had 32 points across 71 games with the Panthers and Rangers in 2021-22. -- Danny Shirey at PPG Paints Arena
