Chris Adamski stories, Page 162
Early MVP candidate Josh Bell plays in 507 of Pirates’ first 510 innings
There are plenty of reasons why Josh Bell has been one of the best players in the majors over the past month. But as the saying goes, sometimes the best ability is availability. And no one has been more available than Bell. Heading into Saturday’s game, the Pittsburgh Pirates had...
Pirates rank among best in NL in most pinch-hitting stats
Seventy-seven times during his decade-long MLB career, Clint Hurdle pinch hit. His .243 average during those at-bats translates into simple advice to his players. “My expectations,” the Pittsburgh Pirates manager said, “are to let them know that they can’t do bad.” The Pirates are doing anything but bad when pinch...
Pirates shut down ailing reliever Keone Kela for 10 days
Keone Kela felt fine after his most recent rehab appearance, and the Pittsburgh Pirates medical team was ready to plot its next move for getting the reliever back on the active roster. But after a couple of days of long toss followed by a bullpen session Thursday, it became apparent...
Retiring Raven Haloti Ngata: Breaking Ben Roethlisberger’s nose was favorite play of career
Another of the principle protagonists of the heyday of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens rivalry is retiring. And this one cites one of the height of the rivalry’s most infamous plays as one that stood out most. Speaking at a news conference in Baltimore on Wednesday that both announced his retirement...
Steelers 7th-rounder Derwin Gray spends OTAs at 4 positions; left guard this week
All of Derwin Gray’s 25 starts at the University of Maryland over the past three years were at left tackle. It’s taken all of nine on-field Pittsburgh Steelers team workouts for the seventh-round pick to quadruple his positional résumé in the NFL. “I pretty much have played at all four...
Steelers 6th-rounder Sutton Smith, a college linebacker, taking reps at fullback
Much of the post-draft chatter surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers sixth-round pick Sutton Smith concerned whether the All-American pass rusher would play on the edge or at inside linebacker in the NFL. Turns out, there was another yet unexplored position for Smith. Smith confirmed Thursday that he has spent time at fullback...
Versatile Jaylen Samuels to be used in increasingly varied ways in Steelers offense
When he was a rookie last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers tried to keep Jaylen Samuels as entrenched as a traditional, fulltime running back as possible. Now that he’s been a pro and as part of the offense for a full year, Samuels is ready to spread his wings as the...
Sean Davis enters Steelers season ‘honed in’ at free safety
Sean Davis shared an inside joke with a longtime teammate. He spoke like a proud father about the strides another player has made entering his second season. And he talked about his burgeoning role as a leader on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. In short, everything Davis was saying and doing...
Sidelined at Steelers OTAs with injury, Sean Davis plans to be back soon
One of the players most experienced with the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been absent through the first five organized team activity sessions. Sean Davis has been in street clothes over the past two weeks at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex while teammates drilled “football in shorts.” One of only three...
Incumbent Matt Feiler: Steelers starting RT job ‘up for grabs’
Being the de facto incumbent hasn’t given the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Matt Feiler any advantage in the competition for the starting right tackle job. Longtime starter Marcus Gilbert was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in March. Other than using a seventh-round draft choice on Derwin Gray, the Steelers didn’t do much...
Ex-Woodland Hills, Penn State star Miles Sanders buys mom new car
Miles Sanders was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles less than five weeks ago, and the former Woodland Hills High School and Penn State star running back signed his NFL entry-level contract less than three weeks ago. Perhaps his first major purchase wasn’t for himself. Sanders bought his mother a new...
Vance McDonald insists Steelers offense OK without Brown, Bell
Vance McDonald was asked how the Steelers offense not only could withstand the offseason departures of former All-Pros Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell but also excel. “Because we have to,” the veteran tight end deadpanned, then paused. “That sounded really good if I just left it at that.” It was...
Bulked-up Mike Hilton hopes Steelers appreciate his work
Mike Hilton still is assured of being the smallest player on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. But in 2019, he is at least a little bigger. Hilton looked noticeably bulked up during the opening three days of organized team activities last week. The slot cornerback said he added 7 or 8...
Undrafted rookie P.J. Locke brings versatility to Steelers
P.J. Locke took a calculated gamble in the frenzied hours as the NFL draft wound down late last month. While he wasn’t a top draft prospect by any means, as an experienced safety from a blueblood college program Locke had options as an undrafted free agent. But instead of pouncing...
Armed with biggest free agent contract in Steelers history, Steven Nelson settles in during OTAs
Steven Nelson wasn’t the biggest catch on the NFL’s offseason free-agent market, and he’s hardly a household name among casual fans. But he does hold the distinction of earning the biggest contract the Pittsburgh Steelers have given to an outside unrestricted free agent in their history. While that certainly carries...
Pirates get to Hyun-Jin Ryu, but Dodgers pound Joe Musgrove in 7-2 L.A. win
The Pittsburgh Pirates hit Hyun-Jin Ryu better, harder and more often than anyone had hit the veteran left-hander this season. Unfortunately for them, the Los Angeles Dodgers hit Joe Musgrove more. The Dodgers pounded seven extra-base hits and 10 hits overall over five innings against Musgrove, and they extended their...
Pirates top prospect Mitch Keller reportedly will make MLB debut Monday
Top Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Mitch Keller will make his major league debut Monday, according to a report from MLB.com. Keller will start one of the Pirates’ two games that day in Cincinnati against the Reds. The Pirates have yet to announce who will start either game. Top #pirates prospect @mkeller11...
After giving Pirates ‘street cred’ 6 years ago, Russell Martin makes return to Pittsburgh
For the first time since the 2014 wild-card game, Russell Martin appeared in a game at PNC Park on Saturday night. Martin was one of the stars on the first Pittsburgh Pirates team to have a winning record or qualify for the postseason in a 21-year span when they took...
Francisco Liriano as an ‘opener?’ He doesn’t want to — and the Pirates agree
Things are so desperate for the Pittsburgh Pirates in regards to the health of their starting rotation they recently used two Triple-A pitchers as “openers” for three games over a span of a week. As luck would have it, the Pirates have a former All-Star starting pitcher in their bullpen,...
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says injury bug like ‘nothing’ he’s seen before
It was almost four weeks ago an exasperated Clint Hurdle, after looking at his team’s 15-player injured list, suggested perhaps that was just the Pittsburgh Pirates “new normal.” Twenty-eight games and six more players headed to the IL later, the veteran manager of more than 2,500 MLB games suggested he...
Pirates yet to divulge plans for starting rotation
Clint Hurdle confirmed Jordan Lyles would stay on turn in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation and start Tuesday’s game at the Cincinnati Reds. And Chris Archer is starting Sunday’s home series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Beyond that? Hurdle wasn’t saying — at least he wasn’t saying before Saturday’s game....
Pirates add Dovydas Neverauskas, Rookie Davis to bullpen, place Chris Stratton on IL
The Pittsburgh Pirates added two right-handed pitchers to their staff Saturday afternoon. In 78 combined career MLB innings, the pair has a 7.50 ERA. Dovydas Neverauskas was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the contract of Rookie Davis was selected from the Triple-A Indians. Neverauskas allowed seven earned runs in 12⁄3...
What Michael Thomas’ extension with Saints could mean for Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster
As a former second-round pick still on his rookie contract who has become a 100-catch centerpiece of an offense, the New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas has plenty in common with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster. As such, how likely contract-extension negotiations play out this summer between Thomas and the Saints...
Steelers’ latest Slash — Trevor Wood — knows tight end is how he’ll get noticed
He probably won’t ever sell as many Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys as Kordell Stewart did two decades ago. But Trevor Wood is the Steelers’ newest “Slash.” One of only two player on the team’s official 91-man offseason roster listed at two positions (center/guard B.J. Finney is the other), rookie undrafted free...
Joe Haden: Steelers should embrace rare ‘underdog’ label
If there’s one player more than anyone else on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster who understands what it’s like to enter a season as an underdog, it’s probably Joe Haden. Haden spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns – and they went 29-83 in that time. So with...
