Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told reporters this weekend that manager Clint Hurdle's job is not in jeopardy despite the team's recent slide. Huntington was as straightforward as could be when posed the question on Hurdle's job security, replying with a blunt "No", per the Tribune-Review:

"We’re all part of it," Huntington said. "We’re all part of the really good, and we’re all part of the not-as-good. There’s no doubt that how we’ve gotten to this point makes it very easy to put a negative (spin) on it and think the sky is falling."

Knotted at the top of the NL Central as recently as July 18 and a season-best 16 games over .500 on Aug. 8, the Pirates have gone into a free-fall over the last month and a half. The Bucs have lost 25 of their last 35 games and now sit at just a single game over .500, fighting to hold on to what could be their first winning season in two decades.

Huntington held a private meeting with Hurdle in the manager's office before Saturday's game at Wrigley Field to discuss "internal" matters, but said the meeting was just part of the regular process. Despite late-season slides in consecutive seasons, Hurdle still believes the club is "heading in the right direction."

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