As they frequently do, the Pirates will send video of Andrew McCutchen’s strikeout looking Sunday night, and subsequent ejection, to Major League Baseball with some thoughts on the matter, manager Clint Hurdle said Monday.
“We’ve been doing it ever since I’ve been here,” he said.
Home plate umpire Chris Conroy called McCutchen out on a low third strike, after McCutchen had taken issue both with two calls earlier in the game. McCutchen slammed his bat and argued with Conroy.
Video coordinator Kevin Roach pulls the relevant clips and sends them to assistant general manager Kevan Graves, who forwards them to the league office. The Pirates do this both for calls they feel were missed and situations when they thought the umpire handled the situation appropriately.
“I think they need to be aware of the good job that they do and the respect that we have for them when certain things can work in a different fashion,” Hurdle said.
Hurdle also frequently contacts MLB’s chief baseball officer, Joe Torre, and the senior vice president of standards and on-field operations, Joe Garagiola Jr., to discuss calls on the field.
“I have had situations where, after a phone call, the next time I’ve had a couple different situations where the umpire’s come and spoken to me about what was brought to the table,” Hurdle said. “So I know the conversations are being held. Where they go from there, I’m not so sure of.”
The Pirates keep their own strike-zone plots, and according to their idea of what is and is not a strike, the numbers bear out what McCutchen, anecdotally, has seen.
“He has had more than his fair share this year of strikes that have been called that were not strikes, in our eyes,” Hurdle said.
Hughes’ sinker a problem
After allowing two inherited runners to score Monday, Jared Hughes has permitted nine of 19 inherited men on base to score this season. In his past three games, he has allowed eight hits and five runs in four innings.
“We’re not getting the finish with the sink, we’re not getting strike often enough,” Hurdle said.
Hughes entered with runners on the corners and one out Monday and allowed two more runs.
“We were looking for that ball on the ground and we weren’t able to get it there,” Hurdle said.
Buried treasure
Gregory Polanco did not start for the fourth consecutive game because of discomfort in his left hamstring, but he said the hamstring is getting better. Polanco pinch-hit Monday and struck out.
“He wasn’t advancing from where he has been,” Hurdle said.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: June 28, 2016, 4:05 a.m.