What have you done for me lately?

When it comes to Clint Hurdle, the Pittsburgh Pirates' answer was clear: Not enough.

The team announced shortly before Pittsburgh's season finale Sunday against Cincinnati that it was cutting ties with its manager.

Pittsburgh finished in last place in the National League's Central Division with a 69-93 record, the team's worst mark under Hurdle and the third time in four years that the Pirates had a sub-.500 record.

Pittsburgh was 44-45 at this year's all-star break before a dreadful stretch booted the Bucs out of the playoff race.

The Pirates' brass obviously believes that it is time for a change and I can't argue with that. I also remember a time not too long ago when the franchise's search for a manager led them to Hurdle and he proved to be a pretty good answer.

He came to Pittsburgh in 2011 in the wake of John Russell's miserable three-year tenure that produced a 186-299 record. Hurdle took over a team that was 57-105 the year before he arrived, but had the Pirates in the conversation for the postseason the very next year with a 54-49 record in late July, but the team struggled to a 72-90 finish.

The next year, the collapse was even worse as Pittsburgh was 16 games over .500 in early August and did not even finish with a winning record.

If Hurdle's time with the Pirates had ended there, he would have been lumped in with a host of former Pittsburgh managers who were unable to get the team over the hump in the post-Jim Leyland era including Gene Lamont, Lloyd McClendon, Jim Tracy and Russell.

But from 2013-15, Hurdle managed Pittsburgh to three straight postseason appearances. The run included the NL Wildcard game against the Reds in 2013 and Pirates fans exorcised two decades-worth of frustration by jamming PNC Park to capacity and cheered the team to a 6-2 victory.

In the subsequent NL Divisional playoff series against St. Louis, Pittsburgh held a two-games-to-one lead, but dropped the final two games. Hurdle was named NL Manager of the Year after the season.

That could be considered the high-water mark for the Pirates under Hurdle as Pittsburgh failed to advance from the wildcard game the next two years. Even so, the Pirates won 186 games between 2014-15.

The three playoff years coincided with the most talent Pittsburgh has had since the Doug Drabek and Barry Bonds teams of the early 1990s. Players like Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Gerrit Cole spurred many of the victories. But as is the case in every sport, talent alone does not win games. Do the Pirates achieve what they did those three seasons with a different manager? Maybe, maybe not. The wins are on Hurdle's record and he should be considered part of the team's success.

Hurdle was often criticized by fans and media for curious moves involving pitching changes, the lineup and batting order. No manager is immune to this. Just look at Tony LaRussa, who won three World Series titles.

I will remember Hurdle as the manager who helped bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh, something I honestly believed I'd never see again. Before him, the Pirates were mired in the quagmire that often inflicts small-market teams and the seemingly endless stretch of five-year plans that were supposed to get the franchise back into contention.

The Pirates find themselves there again. Hopefully, it does not take 20 years for the right mix of talent and leadership to arrive.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle