Clint Hurdle not a fan of how September call-ups change games

Manager Clint Hurdle (Peter Diana/Post-Gazette)

It’s Aug. 30 now, which means we are creeping steadily closer to September call-ups across the big leagues. Count Pirates manager Clint Hurdle among those who aren’t too keen expanding rosters late in the season. Which isn’t to say Hurdle hasn’t taken advantage of it in the past, it’s just that he recognizes the absurdity of it after all these years as a manager. 

"Never liked the rule,“ Hurdle said Saturday. ”Have absolutely abused it at times, to good use. Won a game in Colorado — that 13 of 14 [wins] down the stretch — and used 10 or 11 pitchers in one game. Crazy. Horrible. I don't get it. It's the way it's always been. You've heard me say that tradition is a wonderful thing, but it also can be a vision killer. Five months? Here's your rules, go play. Last month? Here, do it this way. Do whatever you want. It's like free play!"

Consider the Pirates’ 4-3 win Saturday night. They emptied the bench again to get a couple reserves — Starling Marte, Michael Morse, Sean Rodriguez and Jordy Mercer — in the action. They used four pitchers. Are the Pirates really better off if they have even more options off the bench or out of the bullpen?

“You get to the point where you're never going to win a leverage,” Hurdle continued. “... There were times when we didn't have players to call up, and other teams would have players, on top of having a good team. You just keep getting pumped. You never win a leverage situation. You can't win a leverage situation. Your guys are in bad matchups throughout the end of the game. I've told you. I've seen it.

”Bring in a pitching change, OK, there's the pinch hitter, he gets on, there's the pinch-runner, he scores, another guy goes out to play defense. Uncle! That was it for me. That's when I checked out. That was like in the year 2003 or something. It happened, and we lost by one run. That was the run. I'm done! It makes no sense! You can't win!

“Neal [Huntington] and I have talked about a taxi squad, you ramp the number down. Everybody is going to kick their other four starters to the curb, but you go with 30 maybe. But you pick a number that's operable and still it's a little different of a game, but it's not the game it is right now."

There certainly are a couple names Pirates fans would like to see brought into the mix in September — say, Tyler Glasnow or Alen Hanson — but how many players does Hurdle envision adding into the equation?

"Ummm, I know how many are going to be here,” Hurdle said, cautiously. “I'll wait until those guys get told.” He smiled, and added. “I guarantee you every guy we're going to ask to show up on the first will show up."