Pirates/MLB category, Page 228
Mark Madden: Top 5 victories in Pittsburgh sports history
I did a tried-and-true (read: clichéd) sports talk bit on Thursday’s radio program, namely the use of a list: Top 5, Top 10, Mt. Rushmore, 1,004 holds, etc. You get the idea. (We’ve now had 100 days without sports. You come up with better.) In this case, it was Top...
MLBPA chief Tony Clark: ‘Unequivocally false’ that MLB, players had reached agreement
A day after their face-to-face meeting, negotiations Thursday for the return of baseball between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark grew more contentious, as Clark said it was “unequivocally false” that any prior agreement had been reached. Clark announced a counterproposal to the owners’...
U mad, bro? Fans fume about Pirates, MLB labor. Some Steelers angst sprinkled in, too.
I feel like we are experiencing a reverse Michel Therrien when it comes to apathetic baseball fans in Pittsburgh. “Dey prenten’ dey don’t care. But I know dey care.” Baseball fan anger wrapped in disillusionment in the wake of the ongoing labor dispute. That’s the theme for this week’s “U...
Baseball on brink of playing shortened season after impromptu meeting, new MLB offerVideo
Baseball is on the brink of playing a shortened season, following a face-to-face meeting between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark. According to multiple reports, the players are contemplating a proposed 60-game schedule with games starting July 19 and ending Sept. 27, full prorated...
Pirates manager Derek Shelton says owner Bob Nutting ‘wants to play’ a baseball season
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes that team chairman Bob Nutting “wants to play” baseball this summer, despite reports that some MLB owners are stalling negotiations to avoid a season. Shelton said during his weekly appearance on The Cook and Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan that he spoke with...
Mark Madden: Messy negotiations prove Major League Baseball needs independent commissionerVideo
A week ago, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “100 percent” certain there would be a 2020 baseball season. As of Monday, though, Manfred was “not confident.” Tuesday’s face-to-face meeting with union boss Tony Clark restored optimism games will be played. What happened inside of a week? Nothing resembling...
Tim Benz: Congrats, MLB! You’ve somehow made me enraged at my own apathy.
I’m angry about my lack of anger at Major League Baseball. Does that make any sense? On Monday night, I watched MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on ESPN. He was attempting to tap dance through an explanation over the game’s flailing attempt to reboot from the covid-19 shutdown. He did so...
Pirates GM Ben Cherington encourages frustrated baseball fans to ‘hold us accountable’
Ben Cherington said he remains optimistic MLB and the Players Association will find a way to play this summer, but the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager doesn’t blame baseball fans for feeling frustrated over how their negotiations have dragged on. Cherington encouraged fans to “express that frustration and continue to hold...
First Call: Lamar Jackson vs. a jet ski, NHL hub city sleeper, Pirates’ Jameson Taillon lashes out
Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at Lamar Jackson’s sand football/jet ski mishap. Belief in the Browns. And an update on the NHL hub city discussion. This must’ve gone over big in Baltimore How quickly do you think John Harbaugh passed out after watching this? First of all, it’s star quarterback Lamar...
Pirates convince 2nd-round pick Jared Jones to skip scholarship to Texas and sign to go pro
Nine years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates took a University of Texas recruit in the second round of the MLB Draft and gave him a record $5 million signing bonus to convince him to play pro baseball. That risk paid off when Josh Bell became an All-Star first baseman. The Pirates...
Madden Monday: Which sport will return as close to normal as possible?; John Harbaugh’s complaints
The NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball are all in various states of uncertainty regarding potential returns to play. In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden and I discuss which league is most likely to return in a form familiar to its viewers. I say it’s the NBA. That...
John Steigerwald: Pirates erred in not drafting West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick
Austin Hendrick may come back to haunt the Pirates. He’s the outfielder from West Allegheny who they didn’t take with the seventh pick in the MLB Draft on Wednesday. By all accounts, the Pirates had a good draft, but everybody knows it’s a crapshoot, especially when you take a high...
MLB economic standoff with union is giving baseball a black eye, shortchanging the fans
An economic battle that has given baseball a black eye saw negotiations between the owners and players reach an impasse Saturday night, leaving in limbo what the season will look like this summer. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declared Wednesday night there will be baseball amid a global pandemic, but what...
With Nick Gonzales, Pirates have stockpiled surplus of shortstop talentVideo
It was no surprise when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Nick Gonzales at No. 7 overall in the first round of the MLB Draft on Wednesday, given multiple mock drafts had them picking the New Mexico State star. When Gonzales was announced as a shortstop, however, it raised eyebrows. It’s a...
‘Aptitude and athleticism’ as position players factors for Pirates in draft run on righty pitchers
The Pittsburgh Pirates remained steadfast late Thursday night that they had no intention of drafting a handful of right-handed pitchers who were converted position players or pulled double duty. It just happened to work out that way. “Not a particular demographic we were pursuing, the position-player-to-pitcher demographic, but it just...
New Pirate Carmen Mlodzinski: Old school. Old soul. No to Twitter. Yes to Rock N’ Roll.
New Pittsburgh Pirates draft choice Carmen Mlodzinski is just your typical 21-year-old. No Twitter. No Instagram. Listens to Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. Doesn’t play video games. Prefers baseball, golf and playing guitar. Like I said, a typical 21-year-old. If he was 21 back...
Pirates pick another right-handed pitcher in 5th round in Northwestern State’s Logan Hofmann
With their final pick of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t pull any surprises. Once again, they went with a right-handed pitcher. The Pirates chose Logan Hofmann of Northwestern State on Thursday night in the fifth found (No. 138), giving them five righties in six picks. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound...
Pirates make a run on right-handed pitching on second day of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates turned the second day of the MLB Draft into a run on right-handed pitching. After taking New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales in the first round and South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski in the competitive balance round Wednesday night, the Pirates on Thursday picked three consecutive righty...
Pirates pick Appalachian State reliever Jack Hartman in 4th round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates are making a run on right-handed pitching in the MLB Draft, taking their fourth consecutive by selecting Appalachian State senior reliever Jack Hartman in the fourth round (No. 108) on Thursday. “I’m speechless,” Hartman said in a statement released by Appalachian State. “I know that might sound...
Pirates pick Division III pitcher with ‘huge upside’ in Nick Garcia in 3rd round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected another right-handed pitcher when they took Nick Garcia of Chapman University (Calif.) with their third-round pick (No. 79) of the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Garcia went 9-0 with a 0.64 ERA and recorded 12 saves as the closer on Chapman’s 2019 Division III national champion...
Pirates’ Nick Gonzales went from college walk-on to 1st-round pick
Loud, stern and impactful, three words flew from Mike Gonzales’ lips to his son’s ears. “Swing the bat,” Gonzales shouted. Which is strange because there is nothing Nick Gonzales, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2020 first-round draft choice, likes more than swinging a baseball bat. That was especially true during that 2017...
Pirates select Southern California H.S. pitcher Jared Jones in 2nd round of MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Southern California high school pitcher Jared Jones with their second-round pick (No. 44 overall) on Thursday in the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from La Mirada High School, a University of Texas recruit, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a plus-slider but...
Movement on pitches makes Carmen Mlodzinski a high-ceiling prospect for Pirates
When Carmen Mlodzinski committed to South Carolina before his sophomore year of high school, he was a shortstop with a strong arm who was warned that he might end up on the mound. How Mlodzinski (pronounced Ma-gin-skee) became a pitcher who was a first-day draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates...
Pirates place premium on Cape Cod summer league success with first-day draft picks
The first round of their first MLB Draft together was lining up in a way that had Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and his baseball operations staff feeling “really good.” The order of the picks wasn’t what they expected, as Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad went higher than expected at...
Pirates select South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski with 31st pick in MLB Draft
With their second pick on the first day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected college pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski of South Carolina 31st overall in the Competitive Balance Round A. With the 31st pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected Carmen Mlodzinski from the University of South Carolina.Welcome to...
