No future date has been more spoken of than today, December 21, 2012. People have made careers off it. The supposed end of the long-range Mayan Calendar. Famed American philosopher Terence McKenna had developed a numerological formula he dubbed “Timewave Zero,” in which he charted the ebb and flow of major events over world history. His graph goes off the charts in December of 2012, which he proposed would be the point of singularity; in which everything in the world would occur ... Read More
Pirates reportedly agree to two-year deal with Francisco Liriano
According to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Pirates have agreed to a two-year deal with Francisco Liriano worth $14 million. The south-paw spent last year in Minnesota and Chicago where he posted a combined 6-12 record with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Liriano has had an up-and-down career with his best statistical season coming in 2006 where he posted a 12-3 record. Liriano posted a 9.6 SO/9 last season, his highest ratio since 2006. Liriano had a 0.2 WAR with ... Read More
‘Tis the season of giving for Andrew McCutchen
It's a common misconception that athletes assume the responsibility of being a role model for young kids once they make it to the pro's. With the amount of times they appear in the news for negative off-field antics, it could be easy to lose hope that good guys still exist in the professional sports realm. For Andrew McCutchen, however, he embraces his role of a role model and with the holiday season upcoming, he's ready to give the community more than just their first winning season ... Read More
Pirates re-sign Jason Grilli to two-year deal
Jason Grilli (64 G, 2.94 ERA, 90 K’s) will be a Pirate for two more years. Well, at least in contract he will be. Last night, Grilli agreed to a two year, $6.75 million dollar contract with the Bucs (pending a physical). This, according to sources, was actually a hometown discount compared to other teams offering. When was the last time Pirates fans heard that with a big name free agent? This signing is huge because what it does is allow the front office to pursue talks with teams ... Read More
Expanding Jason Grilli’s role in 2013
Jason Grilli should be the Pirates closer in 2013. Yeah, I said it and this is why. Grilli, who in 2012 pitched one less inning than Joel Hanrahan, gave up 1 less homer, 14 less walks, and had 23 more strikeouts. He did give up 5 more hits and 1 more earned run. Grilli is a free agent as of now and is getting looked at by other teams for their closer role while the Pirates are trying to re-sign him as a set-up guy. I say no. The Pirates should go into the upcoming winter meetings wanting to ... Read More
Pirates sign Russell Martin to two-year deal
Over the past few days, the Twitterverse has been buzzing about the top free agent catcher Russell Martin possibly becoming a Pittsburgh Pirate. While it seemed hard to believe that Martin would choose the small-market Pirates over the New York Yankees, his team for the past two years, Martin did just that. Wait what? The Pirates actually beat the Yankees for a top free agent? As first reported by Ken Rosenthal, the Pirates have agreed to terms with Martin pending a physical. Although ... Read More
NL Central Hot Stove
NL Central Hot Stove: 11/5 – 11/13 Not much in terms of major moves or trades over the last week in the NL Central with the exception of Kyle McClellan and Scott Baker, both who missed most or all of last season with injuries. Things should pick up in the coming weeks leading up to the winter meetings. Cincinnati Reds No moves St. Louis Cardinals Signed free agent C Rob Johnson (.207 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI in 45 G for AAA Buffalo - NYM) Released RHP Kyle McClellan (Was on DL most of year with ... Read More
Why is Frank Coonelly Still Here?
The Pittsburgh Pirates made an interesting announcement last Tuesday, to put it mildly. Principal owner, Bob Nutting, announced that they would retain everyone from their staff for at least one more season. Everyone; President Frank Coonelly, GM Neal Huntington, Asst. GM Greg Smith and Kyle Stark a.k.a. "hoka hey." The Pirates website has an article titled "Pirates chairman intends to stay course." And that's exactly the problem. Once again, the front office sees a problem and does ... Read More
Pirates Hire Jay Bell, Whoopty Doo
The Pittsburgh Pirates finished the 2012 season with the third lowest batting average in the National League. They also had the fourth lowest OBP in the majors and the third most strikeouts. So what did the Pirates do to remedy this problem? They went for nostalgia and hired Jay Bell. Surprise, surprise. Yes, nothing says "improve our hitting" like a former shortstop with a career .265 average. Never mind the fact that his last coaching gig was for the Arizona AA affiliate Mobile ... Read More
Pirates announce coaching changes
Coming off of the collapse part two, the Pirates front office made some changes. Before we go to far, no they aren't Frank Coonelly, Neal Huntington or Clint Hurdle, but they did make some changes at hitting coach, first base coach and Major League coach. The Pirates have brought on former player Jay Bell to take over as hitting coach as Gregg Ritchie left to take a coaching position at his alma mater. Bell, who played eight of his 18 seasons with the Pirates, has a career batting average of ... Read More