Trietley: Hurdle not the answer to end Pirates string of futility

The Pitt News continues to examine the Pirates’ hiring of new manager Clint Hurdle.

Clint… The Pitt News continues to examine the Pirates’ hiring of new manager Clint Hurdle.

Clint Hurdle has a championship in his future.

The Pirates named Hurdle as their new manager on Monday. He’ll try to do what Gene Lamont, Lloyd McClendon, Pete Mackanin, Jim Tracy and John Russell couldn’t do: guide the Pirates to a winning record.

It’s been a long time. If you measure the losing seasons in terms of years, we’re entering year 19. If you measure them by the number of regime changes, we’re now six managers removed from the 1992 Pirates that were 96-66 under Jim Leyland.

But there are other ways to measure the futility.

After the Pirates’ last winning season, Leyland managed four more middling years in the Steel City before leaving for the Florida Marlins. He took his talents to South Beach and guided the Marlins to their first World Series championship. He later left the managing game, only to return six years later and win another championship with the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

The Pirates lost 824 games in between Leyland’s two titles.

Leyland’s successor, Lamont, headed the Pirates for four seasons before the franchise axed him in 2000. His 1997 record of 79-83 remains the team’s best since Leyland’s departure. Lamont works for the Tigers, too, now, as does McClendon. They both won the World Series alongside Leyland in 2006.

If the pattern holds true, Mackanin, Tracy and Russell will all have World Series rings before too long. Tracy won NL Manager of the Year with the Rockies in 2009.

We can call the last 18 seasons a rebuilding process, albeit a slow one. Some franchises just move faster than others. Take Leyland’s Marlins: Since Pittsburgh’s last winning season, they entered the league as an expansion franchise, won a championship, tore the team apart, rebuilt, won another championship, tore the team apart and built a new stadium.

In that time, almost 28 million people passed through Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park turnstiles. The average Pittsburgher went to 11 Pirates games — seven of them losses.

The last time the Pirates had a winning season, “Home Alone 2,” “Sister Act” and “Aladdin” neared release on VHS.

The Buffalo Bills were in the third year of their four-year Super Bowl losing streak.

Brett Favre debuted with the Packers.

It’s been that long.

For 18 years, the Pirates have been on the verge of breaking through. Just two years ago, Jose Bautista and Freddy Sanchez made up half of Pittsburgh’s infield. After all, Bautista hit 54 home runs last year. The problem: He did it for the Blue Jays.

Toronto acquired him two years ago for a player to be named later, named later to be catcher Robinzon Diaz. Diaz played all of 43 games for Pittsburgh before the team released him. Not satisfied with three former Pirates managers, the Tigers signed him.

Other players that Pittsburgh let go since 1992? I think it’s best that I don’t mention them.

At least the Pirates still have some good players. Soon enough, Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Jose Tabata will become great — for the Yankees, Red Sox or whoever has a player to be named later.

A few players from Pittsburgh’s 1992 team are still kicking around the majors. Tim Wakefield, who has never bested the 2.15 ERA he put up in his rookie season in  1992, picked up a couple of World Series championships with the Red Sox. His former Pirates teammate, Miguel Batista, won one with the Diamondbacks in 2001 before continuing his quest to pitch for every team in the league (he’s up to 10).

Hurdle is a good manager. He spurred the Rockies to the World Series in 2007. Like many Pirates players and managers, there’s a championship in his future — just not with Pittsburgh.