Pittsburgh Pirates Mailbag: May 1st, 2019

It is once again Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag time here at Rum Bunter

Should Clint Hurdle be on the hot seat? When will Corey Dickerson return? Why in the bluest of blue hells do people woo at PNC Park? And more in this week’s Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag.

As always, thank you to everyone who submitted questions to this week’s mailbag and participated. Now, let’s dive in!

It has not been a good start to the season for Pirate manager Clint Hurdle. Yes, injuries have riddled this team since before the start of the season. However, they should not be under .500 right now.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost games they could have, and in some cases should have, won due to poor in game management and poor defense. Both of these issues fall squarely at the feet of Hurdle. That said, it’s tough to envision Hurdle finding himself in hot water any time soon.

Hurdle has done a lot of great things during his now 9-year tenure Pittsburgh. Also, he remains under contract through the 2021 season. General manager Neal Huntington still trusts Hurdle, which, ultimately, is what’s important for Hurdle.

Now, if the current rough patch the Pirates are stuck in becomes a one or two month rut, then things could change. But right now, right or wrong, Hurdle’s job is safe.

Well, originally, Dickerson was slated to return on Friday. However, he experienced a setback in his rehab on Saturday and met with the team in Texas before ever playing a rehab game for Triple-A Indianapolis. So, do not expect Dickerson back any time soon.

This is a big blow to the Bucs who dearly miss both Dickerson’s bat in the lineup and his glove in left field. Hopefully, after a few more weeks of rest and treatment he will be able to return before too long.

As for Marte, he returned to the lineup in Texas last night. Unfortunately, the Pirate injury bug claimed another victim as catcher Francisco Cervelli exited the game after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. There must be some new rule this year that the Pirates must sacrifice a player to the IL in order to get another player back from the IL.

This is a great question. The only answer I can muster is because people are dumb, bad, and annoying. Seriously though, stop wooing. None of you are Ric Flair. The fans hate it, players hate it, and announcers hate it. So, please, for the love of all things holy, stop!

That will do it for this week. As always, if you ever have a question for the mailbag look for our Tweet each week asking for questions. Also, do not be afraid to submit a question at any time on Twitter or Facebook.