Clint Hurdle Not Ruling Out Francisco Liriano For Opening Day
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Francisco Liriano has been named the Opening Day starter since the middle of February, but that may be in jeopardy as General Manager Neal Huntington revealed some issues with Liriano's groin that may hold him out.
Hearing Manager Clint Hurdle's interview with the KDKA-AM Morning News with Larry Richert and John Shumway though, you'd think everything was just fine with Liriano as Hurdle contradicted the statements made by Huntington.
When asked by Shumway about the reports that Liriano wouldn't be ready for Opening Day, Hurdle said, "That's the first I've heard it. In our society today, there's a lot of stuff out there, and actually some if it's true."
When pressed further on the reports about Liriano, Hurdle responded by adding that, "As far as I know, all this has been news to me, so somebody has grabbed something, twisted something, there you have it. Make sure you keep pushing it forward getting it out there. Not a lot of people are concerned about being right, they're concerned about being first with information. I think you guys are aware of that."
Hurdle also talked about the difficulties of cutting down the roster to its final 25-man status now that the team is winning, as opposed to how easy it was in the past when they didn't have as much talent to work with.
"As we continue to work and play and get better, those decisions should become tougher. That's another tangible sign of evidence that you are getting better," Hurdle said. "Neal has set me down many a times and said here's the names of what we had six years ago, five years ago, four years ago. There weren't really tough decisions."
Hurdle also discussed the team's mentality of focusing on today and not thinking about what they accomplished last year.
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