Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle Sent Cool Email at 6:11 AM

Clint Hurdle. The Man or They Myth.

Many Pittsburgh Pirates fans have been driven to the brink by some of the managerial decisions of Clint Hurdle.   The Pirates are fighting for their lives and the some feel the skipper is battling to win games, not lose his team which he has been accused of in the past, and ultimately not lose his job.

Hurdle has said that if he was still a player, his walk up music would be Gregg Allman’s ‘No Angel.’    Yeh, he’s not that, but he’s also been a bit edgy lately.  Something we haven’t seen much of over his tenure.  When Hurdle was on the RumBunter podcast back in January, it was obvious he tries to take it all in stride.  Hurdle even poked back and said, “everyone is a better manager than the manager.”  When we asked about the passion for the bunt, he said that when he was with Texas, “I didn’t go into Ron Washington’s office and pound my fist on the desk, we need to bunt more!”

He is a unique guy.  I’m not sure he’s real, but that’s just my opinion, and what the hell do I know.   But anyway after the podcast, somehow we ended up on Hurdle’s email list.

Each one is incredibly positive and as for the reasons behind it, Hurdle has said, “different lightning bolts strike different people, but it’s all about encouragement, it’s all about positivity, it’s all about trust.”

Hurdle has been through some bad times in his past.  His experience is where he draws his motivation.  If I had to pick between who I would want driving the bus in these difficult times, I guess Hurdle isn’t a bad choice.

He definently hit home this morning with this email.  We have to guess he sent it about the time he was getting near his house after the rain delayed game in Chicago this morning.

After I read it, I thought I should share it with you.

The Parable of the Wise Old Mule – Author Unknown

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule.  The mule fell into the farmer’s well.  The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’ – or whatever mules do when they fall into wells.  After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer felt sorry for the old mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving.  Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and asked them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical!  But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him.  It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back: he should shake it off and step up!  This is what the old mule did, blow after blow.  “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!”  he repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!  You guessed it!  It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well!  What seemed like it would bury him, actually ended up blessing him.

Make a difference today.

Love Clint