Pittsburgh Pirates Should Pursue Joe Maddon

By Justin Broyles @Tweets_ByJ on October 27, 2014

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off of their second playoff appearance in two seasons. With two campaigns like that, it doesn’t seem like one should even consider changing anyone in management. But in the Pirates’ case, they should fire current manager Clint Hurdle and hire free agent Joe Maddon.

When looking at the Pirates’ team, there is always something missing. They get into the playoffs, but can’t make any noise. They have a similar team to the Kansas City Royals, who are in the World Series, but they can’t replicate that success. And if it isn’t any of the players on the field, maybe it has to do with the leadership of the team.

Hurdle has been seen as a savior for the Pirates since he led them to their first winning season in more than 20 years. But if one looks closer at Hurdle’s job as Pirates manager, there are some very visible flaws. The Pirates had a bad bullpen last season and most of the reason for that was the players, but some of the fault falls with Hurdle as well. He has made some terrible decisions with the bullpen over his tenure in Pittsburgh. For example, Hurdle pitched Ernesto Frieri in tie games this season and all of those games resulted in losses.  Hurdle also makes questionable lineup decisions. Starling Marte was the hottest player on the team at the end of the year, but Hurdle continuously batted him seventh in the lineup, taking him away from high RBI opportunities.

These are only a few reasons why Hurdle needs to go, but there hasn’t been a realistic replacement until now. Maddon is now available to manage any team of his choice after opting out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Maddon is considered one of the best managers in all of baseball and does everything Hurdle does and more. Hurdle is liked in Pittsburgh because of his personality and reputation of being a player’s coach. Maddon has just as good of a personality in the media and also comes with the same reputation in the locker room. On top of that, Maddon led a Rays team, worse than the Pirates, to the World Series only a few seasons ago by making smart decisions on the field.

Although the Pirates are having great success under Hurdle, they could be doing better. And part of that has to do with Hurdle’s bad decisions in games. They need a replacement who can replicate Hurdle’s mantra in the locker room and provide the decision-making needed to win more games. That replacement is Maddon and the Pirates should pursue him if they want to win more games in the future, especially in October.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.