Despite the snowfall two hours before the game, the sun came out and Opening Day went as planned. On this day, April 5, 2012, the Pirates hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. Wait, that's not right. While it is 361 days later than their opener last year, the Pirates looked the same as they did against Roy Halladay and the Phillies. The Pirates lost its last year's Opening Day contest to the Phillies by a score of 1-0. They were able to muster just two hits in the game and wasted a seven ... Read More
Pirates embrace Opening Day, give fans a reason to believe this year
Despite the snowfall, it is Opening Day for the 2013 Major League Baseball season. While the last two seasons are well documented -- they'll forever be known as the Collapse Part 1 and the Collapse Part 2 -- the Pirates are focused on this year only. After a longer than usual Spring Training in Bradenton, Fl., the Pirates are back to Pittsburgh and are set to take on the Cubs for a three-game set. While the season is a marathon, not a sprint, Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle didn't want to take ... Read More
2013 Pirates predictions
Can you smell it? No, it's not the leftover ham from Easter, it's baseball season. Despite the shady forecast for Opening Day, baseball is actually here. Fans in Pittsburgh know baseball. Don't let them fool you. Despite 20 straight losing seasons, the fans are passionate. They wouldn't rip the team, call into talk shows or say 'they are done' if they didn't care about the game or the team. They've also seen what success can look like. Now I'm not going to go into it, but you know about the ... Read More
Pirates set roster in preparation for Opening Day
The buses are packed up and the Pirates are going to be on their way back to Pittsburgh before you know it. With its scrimmage against Altoona on Saturday and Opening Day on Monday, the Pirates have all but finalized its Opening Day roster. Roster moves were made earlier today that put the roster at 26 men. Kyle McPherson, Jordy Mercer and Alex Presley were all optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Felix Pie, Vin Mazzaro, Lucas May, Ryan Reid, Carlos Paulino and Mike Zagurski were all ... Read More
Pittsburgh March Madness
Now that March Madness is at the field of 32, we've decided why not have a "Pittsburgh March Madness." Our city is filled with athletes, announcers and coaches that can't be matched by any other city in the country. When it's all said and done, who is the ultimate champion of Pittsburgh? In order to figure this out, we put our collective heads together and came up with a list of the 64 most prominent athletes, players and coaches in Pittsburgh history. Then, in NCAA tournament fashion, we ... Read More
Taillon, Sands among first cuts for Pirates
With opening day just a few weeks away, it's time for the Pirates roster to start taking shape. This morning, the Pirates made their first cuts of spring training. The most notable cuts were their No. 2 prospect Jameson Taillon and one of the players in the Joel Hanrahan deal, Jerry Sands. Taillon arrived back in Bradenton yesterday after pitching for Team Canada in the WBC. Taillon was assigned to minor league camp. Along with Taillon, Matt Hague, Darren Ford, Anderson Hernandez and Erik ... Read More
Is Clint Barmes the next Paul Martin?
As Sidney Crosby is once again putting any doubt aside that he's the best player in the world, there are a slew of Pens players that are making a name for themselves this year as well. James Neal has eight power play goals and is showing that last season was no fluke. The most shocking surprise - in hockey, not just Pittsburgh - is the play of Chris Kunitz. He currently leads the league in +/- at 22, is third in points with 37 and second in goals with18. Chris Kunitz people. On a team with ... Read More
Pirates to implement leadership group; Who belongs on it?
In his Sunday column, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writer Dejan Kovacevic had a one-on-one interview with Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle. In the column, Kovacevic goes on to say how the team still has Hurdle's back despite the back-to-back late season collapses. In order to ensure that the players know that Hurdle has their back as well, he is doing something that very few - if any - other coaches/managers do it sports. "Near the end of this spring training, Hurdle will ask his players to vote on ... Read More
With starting lineup set, Pirates look to fill bench positions
The Pittsburgh Pirates are going into this season with their starting lineup pretty much set in stone barring any injuries. They will have Russel Martin at catcher, Garret Jones at first base, Neil Walker at second base, Pedro Alvarez playing third, Clint Barmes at shortstop, Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, and Travis Snider patrolling the outfield. It has been said that Gabby Sanchez will get some time at first base. So that means he has solidified his spot on the bench so that only leaves ... Read More
Six Pirates set to compete in World Baseball Classic
As the 2013 World Baseball Classic gets ready to take off, not only will baseball fans get an early start on watching meaningful games, but Pittsburgh Pirates fans will get an early look at some of their own against the world's best competition. The Bucs will be sending six players to compete for their respective countries, a number that has shrunk by two after Russell Martin and Ivan DeJesus pulled out of playing for their respective countries. Martin recently declined the option to ... Read More