Clint Hurdle on 93.7 Offers No Clues on Moves; Comments About Jose Tabatas Play Surprises

Most teams in Major League Baseball have some injuries at this time of the season. The Pirates Andrew McCutchen rolled his ankle and then gingerly kept playing. Neil Walker was sent to his house with some pills and was told to rest his aching back. Erik Bedard, one player who typically always has an injury, stayed relatively healthy all season. Bedard was released today. And finally, the Bucs Jose Tabata must have been watching all of this, because Clint Hurdle said Tabata is afraid of getting injured.

Just another day in August for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Clint Hurdle did an interview on 93.7 The Fan and it certainly was interesting.   He spoke about the inconsistency of Erik Bedrad not getting the Bucs to where they want to go.  But the thing that struck me the hardest was that he feels Jose Tabata is still worried about getting injured.

You will hear it in the link below when host Gregg Giannotti asked Hurdle what he has seen from Tabata since he was recalled.

Hurdle sounding not like his normal chipper self, flipped the question, Hurdle asked, “what have you seen?”

Giannotti used the word spacey which Hurdle wasn’t fond of, and also questioned the routes he takes in the outfield.  Hurdle mostly agreed and made some compliments about how his outfielder is hitting, but one thing stuck out and hasn’t really gone away.

Hurdle mentioned that Tabata is worried about getting injured.  So the question we have to ask is why?  Is this a mental thing?  Physical thing where he might be nursing a bit of an injury?  How can a manager fix the mind of a player like Tabata?

It’s hard, now it’s impossible for Tabata to return to the player he was in 2010 playing with that mindset.  It surprised me.

The focus of the interview was on Erik Bedard who was released today from the Pirates organization, but Hurdle mentioned Neil Walker‘s injury and  the fact that someone is on their way from Triple-A Indianapolis today.

Hurdle wasn’t sure how the stiffness in Walker’s back could impact the decision on who is recalled.  Yamaico Navarro–the Amish God of Walks?  Could be…could be.

Hurdle also mentioned that Andrew McCutchen got checked out by the training staff during the game.  He was ruled ok to continue to play.

The interview is now up at the 93.7 The Fan website.  Here is the link.