The Pirates now have just two names on their list of managerial candidates, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Rangers hitting coach and former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle and internal candidate Jeff Banister are the finalists. Heyman suggests Hurdle is "probably" the favorite for the position.
Dale Sveum, Ken Macha, Bobby Valentine, and Carlos Tosca have all been linked to the managerial opening. The Pirates also considered John Gibbons and Bo Porter before the pair took jobs with other organizations.
Jeff Bannister? And here I thought Brian was finally going to cash in his career and start putting that love for sabermetrics to better use.
It would be funny if both of them end up on the Pirates. I’m not an analyst, but the Pirates are gonna seek SPs through trade, and Brian Banninster could benefit from a shift to the N.L. (maybe just my opinion).
Yeah he could, but I don’t see Pittsburgh and Kansas City as a match for trading partners. They’re both cellar teams, both need an influx of young pitching. I don’t see what Pittsburgh would give KC that they’d want.
If and when KC non-tenders Bannister, I can see the Bucs taking a flier on him though I suppose, but that’d hardly be an inspiring move for Pirates fans. There’s not a whole lot of upside for a guy like Bannister.
Thats kinda what is was getting at. If KC non-tenders him, which analysts say they most certainly will, the Pirates are almost automatically on the list of suitors for him. We’ll see what happens over the next month because i agree KC will try to trade hime for a prospect.
Coonelly said that Hurdle will interview with the team tomorrow. I think we should find out the manager by this weekend.
In other words, one guy is gonna be happy and the other is going to be the next manager for the Pirates…
At least the Pirates have been interviewing people, the Braves hired Fredi Gonzalez without conducting any open search. (That we know of anyway)
If the Braves hadn’t hired Gonzalez and had done an open search instead, they may be the ones stuck with Clint Hurdle. I’m sure that every team with a managerial vacancy would have interviewed Fredi and would have loved to have him. I think the Braves absolutely made the best choice there in not waiting.
As for the Pirates, I’d go with Bannister, to be honest. I really don’t like Hurdle as a manager.
God help the person who manages that team next season.
The Pirates fire Jim Tracy, who is then hired by the Rockies and a few months later takes over the Rockies who previously had Clint Hurdle as manager. This is a confusing cycle.
There not getting Brian Bannister from KC, they might hire JEFF Bannister as their manager.
I like both guys, either would be a good fit for the Pirates, but I’m hoping it’s Hurdle.
Since the last game of the season I predicted Jeff Banister would be the next manager. Believe me, I wish I didnt have this wonderful ability to predict moves by this front office, however, I do. Even when everyone predicted Eric Wedge, I held firm with Banister. Bottom line…this management decision will be based on money. Perhaps money will not blatantly influence this years decisions on players, but this organization cannot afford big money for a credible manager. That money will be invested into the on-field product. The reality is that Clint Hurdle is the obvious choice between the two candidates, however, if he commands a big dollar amount to manage, then he will still be the Rangers hitting coach.
As much as I want Hurdle, I still envision Jeff Banister as the next manager of the pirates…but theres more.
Jeff Banister has been with this organization for nearly 20 yrs…17 of them losing. Isnt it finally time to go outside the organization completely and bring in and experienced skipper to raise these young players? Why would we want to promote 17 yrs of losing?
I leave you guys with 1 question:
After 17 years of peril and losing, can you even remember the formulas for winning baseball?
Sorry for the rant, but Im so sick and tired of being right about this team.
PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG THIS ONE TIME NEAL, PLEASE!