Pirates/MLB category, Page 226

After a week off, the “Madden Monday” podcast is back. Mark Madden and Tim Benz take a long look at attempts to reboot the NHL and MLB seasons. Why are both leagues constantly getting in their own way? From a hockey perspective, the issue seems to be how long things...

Since trading Gerrit Cole, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been searching for an ace for their pitching staff. After losing Jameson Taillon to Tommy John surgery and Chris Archer to neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, they are faced with a more daunting challenge. Forget finding an ace. The Pirates will have...

As the NBA and NHL prepare for the playoffs, baseball’s return remains on hold as MLB owners and the players’ association continue to haggle over economic issues. On Thursday, officials from the MLBPA held a digital meeting with more than 100 players, including the union’s executive board, then released a...

Two weeks into spring training, Chris Archer was counting down the days until Opening Day and the possibility of pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Tampa Bay Rays. For Archer, it would have marked a return to Tropicana Field and a shot at redemption for the ill-fated and lopsided...

Between owner Bob Nutting so obviously prioritizing profit over winning and attendance not permitted at PNC Park for what figures to be well over a year, the Pirates might be in a load of trouble once tickets can be sold again. It’s hard to imagine anyone being interested. The Pirates...

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington confirmed Wednesday that an abridged spring training to prepare for an MLB season this summer would be held at PNC Park. “If it happens, and assuming it happens, it would take place in Pittsburgh,” Cherington said on a conference call, adding that the club...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer will miss the 2020 MLB season after undergoing surgery to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. The Pirates said the surgery was performed in St. Louis by Dr. Robert Thompson, a vascular surgeon at Washington University Center for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome at Barnes-Jewish Hospital....

The Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday spoke out against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, calling it “yet another in a long, sad line of senseless acts of racial injustice in our country” and vowing to invest “the time, energy and resources necessary to help effect positive change.” In...

As MLB teams are releasing hundreds of minor-league players in cost-cutting measures, the Pittsburgh Pirates have committed to paying their 300-plus players in the minors $400 weekly stipends plus health care benefits through June, a source told the Tribune-Review on Saturday. With additional teams in short-season Class A and Dominican...

Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Don Kelly and Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert didn’t just distribute lunches to children at Paulson Recreation Center. They also handed out baseball cards. Pirates Charities and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officers teamed with the Topps Company to launch a program earlier this month that...

St. Louis authorities on Thursday confirmed that suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez is charged with sending pornographic pictures of himself to a minor last summer. Documents provided by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office said Vazquez was charged in February with one count of furnishing pornographic materials to a...

Gov. Tom Wolf issued an order Wednesday afternoon that allows Pittsburgh’s pro sports franchises to return to using their team facilities, albeit without spectators. The order, which provides guidelines for pro teams in counties in the yellow or green phase of the governor’s plan for reopening, paves the way for...

With MLB’s lowest payroll at a reported $54 million for 2020, the Pittsburgh Pirates have only 10 players scheduled to make more than $1 million this season. An economic proposal from baseball’s owners, as reported by USA Today, would require the team’s highest-paid players like pitcher Chris Archer, right fielder...

Former Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang received a one-year suspension from the Korean Baseball Organization on Monday for his three drunken driving arrests. The 33-year-old Kang also was ordered to complete 300 hours of community service during a hearing on Monday, which he did not attend because he...

As the 30 MLB team owners and the players union bicker over how to divvy up the revenue in a potential 2020 season, at least they are projecting to have some cash hitting the books. Ticket revenue and concessions accounted for 30-40% of the $10.7 billion MLB made last season,...

I feel like Dante in the movie “Clerks.” “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” Yeah, this was supposed to be an off day. Extend the holiday weekend a bit. But I got a call from one of our editors last night, asking if I’d be willing to do...

New releases available on-demand from your couch rather than on the big screen. Takeout-only dining. No-contact deliveries. Curbside pickup for wine. They’re all signs of the times — a way for businesses pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic to keep open their doors and continue paying employees. Count sports among the...

With the baseball season in limbo because of the covid-19 pandemic, Pittsburgh Pirates president Travis Williams announced Thursday afternoon that the ballclub will be instituting furloughs to business operations employees, beginning June 1. “The impact of the coronavirus has been felt by everyone within our community and our industry. The...

While exploring the prospect of major sports events returning to Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf put his foot in his mouth. Even while wearing a facemask. Yup, for this guy, that’s possible. Apparently, Wolf isn’t satisfied telling Pittsburgh’s quarterback whether he can get his haircut. He’s also telling Pittsburgh fans whether...

Derek Shelton joked that proposed MLB safety guidelines will force him to buy bench coach Don Kelly a pair of Air Pods to communicate and they will have to eliminate pickoff plays. But in a guest appearance 93.7 FM on Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager called MLB’s 67-page proposal...

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kevin Kramer underwent surgery on his right hip last week and is expected to miss four to six months. The procedure, performed by Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo., was “a labral repair to address recent and chronic symptoms that prohibited Kramer from continuing his training in...

This week’s “U mad, bro?” hits on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins and Pirates alike. So all the Pittsburgh pro sports fan bases can be satisfied with those who are unsatisfied! We look for balance here at “Breakfast With Benz,” and we aim to please. Or agitate. Whatever comes first. It...