Boy, Pittsburgh sports fans are a fickle bunch.

Just two weeks ago, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle could have run for mayor in Pittsburgh and won by a landslide.

Ask a Bucco backer, and he would swear he saw Hurdle walk across the Allegheny River to the ballpark before the game. He would have claimed to witness Hurdle turning ordinary water into Gatorade in the dugout.

He was a baseball messiah, leading the club out of 18 years of persecution (and lots and lots of losses) to the promised land.

Two weeks later, and that same fan thinks of Hurdle as an idiot.

A 10-game losing streak will sometimes radically change one’s perception. Dropping from first place to 10 games out with a bigger thud than a Pedro Alvarez at-bat will make one view a situation differently.

But it shouldn’t.

Hurdle is suddenly an idiot. Really? What gives?

Tell that same Pirate fan in March that the Pirates would be in first place and six games over .500 as late as July 25, he would have told you, “No way. That is awesome.”

Simply put, the Pirates spoiled their fans in July.

August is when reality hits major league clubs. It hit the Buccos harder than Albert Pujols.

And now the Pirates sit four games under .500 on Aug. 11.

Is that really so bad?

This is a team that lost 105 games last season. This is a team that had no Earthly right contending for anything late this summer.

The talent is better, but not up to the same snuff as Milwaukee and St. Louis.

To think otherwise is fooling oneself.

Hurdle has done a remarkable job with this group. Despite the recent slide, he should still be the top candidate for National League Manager of the Year.

It’s no contest, really.

He’s gotten more out of less than any other manager in

both leagues.The only managers who are close to accomplishing what Hurdle has been able to do this summer are Manny Acta in Cleveland and Bud Black in Arizona.Even through the losing streak, Hurdle had the same demeanor and approach.He didn’t launch into a Lou Piniella-type tirade. He didn’t smash up his office like former Kansas City Royals skipper Hal McRae.He took the losing in stride and that will only help his young team in the future.I understand the revolt, however. Pittsburgh fans are so desperate for a winning baseball team that they frothed at the mouth in July when the Buccos were relevant.Pittsburgh fans also have been spoiled by the Steelers’ long run of success and the Penguins’ recent stellar play. The Pirates have been the redheaded step child, the third wheel for nearly two decades.When the Bucs showed signs of life, the fans overreacted out of desperation, perhaps.Relax. They will be good and I believe soon.Hurdle will see to that ... if fans let him.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.