For the past week, the talk around the city was that Pedro Alvarez was snubbed for not being named to the home run derby. After Carlos Gonzalez pulled out of the competition with an injury, Captain David Wright named Alvarez as the replacement. Before the competition, Alvarez was second only to Chris Davis as a 12-2 favorite to win the competition. In his hometown New York, you could see some nerves from the slugging third baseman for the Pirates. Unfortunately, Alvarez was unable to advance ... Read More
What if?
Throughout life, we find ourselves asking the question, "what if" to numerous topics. As it pertains to sports, there are a lot of these moments. What if Roberto Clemente never hopped on the plane to Managua to provide supplies to victims of the earthquake? What if Barry Sanders and Jim Brown didn't retire in the prime of their career. Would they be No. 1 and No. 2 on the all-time rushing list instead of Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton? What if Twitter or social media sites were around ... Read More
A New York State of Mind: Pedro Alvarez Embraces His Roots
“Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis. When I was dead broke, man I couldn’t picture this. 50-inch screen, money green leather sofa. Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur.” – Notorious B.I.G. When Brooklyn, New York native Notorious B.I.G. hit the scene with his breakout hit “Juicy” in 1994, Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher Wallace talked about his rough upbringing and coming from nothing to something. While Pedro Alvarez would probably substitute PlayStation 3 and X-Box for Super Nintendo and ... Read More
Alvarez to participate in home run derby
Earlier this week, David Wright of the New York Mets announced his selections for the home run derby. Wright went on to select Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer and Bryce Harper. Pittsburgh Pirates fans were none to happy to hear that their third baseman, Pedro Alvarez (23 home runs) wasn't selected. While the city was prepared to boo Wright as his Mets come to town for a three-game set this weekend for stiffing Alvarez, but it just so happens that everything worked out. With Gonzalez ... Read More
Ballpark Jukebox: The Evolution of Walk-up Music
2013 was supposed to be Clint Barmes year. After a dreadful campaign last season to start off his Pirates career, Barmes thought he was going to have a comeback season. Unfortunately, he didn't improve and lost his starting position to Jordy Mercer. If you've noticed when Barmes comes to the plate, he now comes out to the tune of "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. For any ballplayer, it can be a Journey to find the perfect walk-up song that suits them. For years, it's been the ritual that ... Read More
Pirates fall to A’s 2-1, lose fourth consecutive
Stop if you've read this before: The Oakland Athletics beat the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 2-1. Okay, don't stop reading, but you get the point. For the second straight night, the Pirates found themselves in the midst of a pitcher's duel with the A's. Last night featured the battle of the All-Stars, Bartolo Colon and Jeff Locke. Tonight, after a one-hour, 40-minute rain delay, two rookies took the mound and followed last night's script rather closely. For the Pirates, Gerrit Cole took ... Read More
Locke outdueled by Colon in 2-1 loss
On a Monday night in Pittsburgh, with Oakland in town, two first place teams took to the field with two All-Star pitchers taking their respective place on the mound. What is this, Moneyball the sequel? As hard as it was to imagine at the beginning of the year, the Pirates and A's were the marquee game on Monday and will be the rest of the series. The pitching matchup couldn't get better Monday as Bartolo Colon (yes, that Bartolo Colon) outdueled Jeff Locke en route to a 2-1 victory. If you ... Read More
The importance of Rob Scuderi
We've all heard the classic lines before that, "You never realize what you have until it's gone" and "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, then you know it was meant to be." While these usually refer to material things or a significant other, they can be substituted for many things. After the Pittsburgh Penguins won their last cup, a crucial part of their team headed out to Los Angeles. Ask General Manager Ray Shero one of his biggest regrets in his tenure with the team, and he'll ... Read More
Pirates Blow Offensive Chances, Lose To Phillies 3-1
The Phillies invaded Pittsburgh looking for some revenge on the three-out-of-four that the Pirates took in Philadelphia and they got off to a good start as they stifled a couple prime offensive chances for the Bucs in a 3 – 1 victory on Tuesday night. The Pirates had something going in the third with two out. Marte reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. Russell Martin would then work a walk and Andrew McCutchen would hit a shot up the middle. Phillies second baseman, Chase Utley, ... Read More
Pirates Win In 14, Sweep Brewers 2 – 1
In a game that went 6+ hours and included a 2 hr 20 min rain delay in the second inning, The Pirates battled their way to a 14-inning victory thanks to a Russell Martin pinch-hit walk off single against the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a 3-game sweep by the score of 2 - 1. Charlie Morton and Kyle Lohse started the game at 1:35pm and lasted only two innings each as a storm system slowly came through causing a 2 hour, 20 minute rain delay. Before the delay, Morton and the Pirates allowed an ... Read More