Pirates = team effort

[Angel Oracle]

Everyone is contributing to their success so far.

Only two players have an .800+ OPS (McCutcheon and the rookie SS Mercer).

But 10 of their 13 players with 80+ at bats have a .700+ OPS.

The pitching staff has done it from innings 1-9, strong rotation with emerging depth and a deep bullpen with two guys (Wilson and Grilli) having ridiculous seasons.

The defense is solid aside from Alvarez and his 13 errors at 3B.

No doubt that Hurdle would edge out Matheny, Gonzalez, and Black currently for NL MOTY

[shellback]

hurdle appears to get alot out of his guys. thier pitcher that pitched the first game looked ultra stout. pirates dugout looked lively and happy  as opposed to the players in our dugout who look like  thier going through the motions.

[fan_since79]

I read somewhere (the Times?) that Hamilton met with Hurdle before Friday's game for some hitting advice.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On paper they shouldn't even be in the race, but Clint Hurdle is a good manager who motivates well and gets a lot out of his guys. They have one legitimate star, and they are two games off the division lead.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

I read somewhere (the Times?) that Hamilton met with Hurdle before Friday's game for some hitting advice.

He was the Rangers hitting coach in 2010.

[jshep]

Hurdle has always seemed like a pretty bad tactical manager from what I've seen of him.

Definitely has a solid team there though.

[sneaky_flute]

seriously? i'd like the organization to succeed, but the pirates will probably end the season under .500.

[Angel Oracle]

One would think though that after 2 great starts deteriorated the past 2 seasons, that the players would have grown a lot from it.

[Mudville]

Their team effort seems to be falling short today. I wonder if this is the manager's fault?

[robblin17]

Their team effort seems to be falling short today. I wonder if this is the manager's fault?

Oooooops.