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Pirates owner Bob Nutting talks with general manager Neal Huntington during spring training.
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Jason Mackey: The impediments the Pirates face in hiring a new manager

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Jason Mackey: The impediments the Pirates face in hiring a new manager

In a perfect world, the Pirates could cast a wide net and sort through plenty of quality candidates, both internal and external, to replace Clint Hurdle, then ultimately decide which one will be most effective in that role. They could examine resumes, call references, listen to philosophies and see if personalities meshed.

However, this is not a perfect world. Hiring a new manager could also turn out to be a tremendously difficult proposition given the Pirates’ current state.

One where the arrow’s pointed down, there isn’t much help on the way, and there’s an unusual pressure to win now for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years, going 304-342 (.471) since that time.

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“We have an idea of where we want to go, but we need to go out and find who we believe to be the best manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates,” general manager Neal Huntington said on Sunday. “All of those questions [involving what this new voice will say] will be answered, but we’re not going out looking for one specific thing or one specific person.

Jason Kendall, right, seen here in a photo from 1998, thinks he could manage the Pirates.
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Jason Kendall would like to be the Pirates' next manager

“We’re going out to find the next, best manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.”

As the Pirates set out in their search, here are the biggest obstacles they might encounter:

The owner

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Think about it: You’re probably not the only one who has an unfavorable opinion of Bob Nutting. Furthermore, it’s hardly a secret the Pirates are unwilling to spend as much as their peers.

It’s one of several reasons why they’ll never get Joe Maddon and why they could have problems attracting other interested candidates: The new guy who comes into this situation will know he’s on a fixed income, and that fixed income … well, isn’t great.

That alone should not be a prohibiting factor; the Rays’ Kevin Cash would be a perfect example of winning on the cheap. But as Hurdle explained on Sunday morning, only an hour or so before he was fired, the Pirates have zero margin for error given their payroll constraints.

“We have a track record of doing some good things, but we haven’t batted 1.000,” Hurdle said. “Unfortunately, in our market, we need to bat 1.000.”

Pirates pitcher Keone Kela pitches against the Cardinals in the sixth inning Wednesday, July 24, 2019, at PNC Park.
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The GM

Hurdle and Huntington signed matching extensions on Sept. 4, 2017, meaning Huntington has two more years left on his current contract.

Given his recent track record of bad free agent signings and worse trades, there’s little reason to believe Nutting would keep Huntington beyond Sept. 4, 2021 — if he doesn’t decide to make a move before.

A new on-field manager would be working for a general manager who’s running out of time, a guy who needs this to work or he’s likely on his way out the door.

If they bring in a new general manager, generally that means the old manager is a dead man walking. If you need further proof, just Google “Penguins Dan Bylsma Ray Shero fired 2014.”

What if a new guy came here, things get ugly fast, and he winds up getting fired? That’s not exactly a great pivot point to another good opportunity. It might be best to wait it out.

The clubhouse

Give the Pirates players some credit: They’ve had more than their fair share of internal issues this season, and they’ve seemingly grown up some because of them.

Keone Kela has actually become a leader. Chris Archer, Joe Musgrove and Josh Bell, too. Starling Marte and Francisco Liriano are leaders among some of the Latin players. They definitely have some young, maintenance-free guys in Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman, Mitch Keller and Cole Tucker.

But how comfortable will a new manager be that things are fine? What if he’s actually walking into a hornet’s nest — or at least thinking that’s what’s going to happen — and winds up getting stung around April or May? That won’t be good for anyone.

Again, it’s not a reason for someone to ignore the Pirates’ call, but it’s also not a ringing endorsement of the gig, given the year the Pirates had.

The talent

Huntington has painted the picture of a Pirates team that will look largely the same in 2020, most notably in the infield and with the starting rotation.

Perhaps they could add a No. 1 catcher or a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, but nobody reasonably expects them to make a splash. It’s just the unfortunate reality of how they’ve done business for years.

Convincing the new guy they’re actually better than 69 wins could be tough, especially if he has a logical bone in his body. It’s tough to change something without actually changing it.

Which means the Pirates must hope the new guy believes in himself and his ability to resuscitate a talented bunch that’s simply down on its luck.

The pipeline

The new guy can’t exactly take a peek at the farm system and get excited.

You almost wouldn’t blame the guy if he puked.

Despite (supposedly) emphasizing drafting and development, making a bunch of picks and trading away major leaguers to acquire even more, the Pirates fallen woefully short here, especially when it comes to pitchers.

The Pirates finished the season with their farm system ranked 15th by MLB Pipeline. They have a couple of interesting pieces in Ke’Bryan Hayes, Quinn Priester, Mason Martin and Oneil Cruz, but it’s hardly enough to offset the struggles of the big-league club.

A new manager could see opportunity if the Pirates overhaul the way they draft and develop, and perhaps from that comes an opportunity for a couple of people to collaborate on something big. But for now, on the surface, it remains a concern.

The philosophy

The Pirates are an outlier with a lot of things happening around baseball right now.

Other teams love strikeouts and home runs. Hurdle has talked about wanting to see balls put in play. Nobody else seems to disagree.

Regardless of whether you think the Pirates are pitching to contact — they are, just not on purpose — they are definitely trying to win games a different way.

Whether it’s cause or causation can be debated, but seven of the top eight home run-hitting teams in 2019 made the playoffs. Seven of the bottom eight did not.

The lone outlier is St. Louis, which had the fifth-best ERA in baseball (3.80), the second-best (3.39) since the All-Star break. The Cardinals are also light years ahead of the Pirates when it comes to drafting and development.

Pirates pitchers struck out a franchise-record 1,443 batters in 2019, although that still only ranked 14th in baseball. Some guys throw hard. Others have spin. But the polished, swing-and-miss stuff that other teams possess simply isn’t here.

Bottom line, even if it can be boring, other teams are playing a certain way right now, clobbering home runs at a record pace and putting up gaudy strikeout numbers.

The Pirates aren’t, and it’ll be tough to change given how much those things tend to cost.

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Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published: September 30, 2019, 4:21 p.m.

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