Pirates/MLB category, Page 246
5 trouble spots the Pirates must address this offseason
While picking their way through the trash spilled over six months and 162 games, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to scratch out only three more singles to do something no National League playoff team did this season. Collect 1,500 hits. Yes, it’s true. The Pirates compiled a team batting average of...
Pirates extend television deal to keep AT&T SportsNet as their television home
The Pittsburgh Pirates and AT&T Sports Networks on Friday announced a multi-year extension of their television rights deal that will continue to make AT&T SportsNet the regional television home for the Pirates. The network will televise at least 150 live Pirates game, along with pre- and post-game coverage and team-related...
First Call: Ed Reed’s ‘Steelers week’ speech to Ravens; Mark Melancon meltdown
In “First Call” Friday, the Ravens get a “Steelers Week” pep talk from a franchise legend. Mark Melancon melted down. What other teams are doing to Aaron Donald. Bring out the big guns Some have bemoaned the fact that so many of the players who laid the foundation of the...
Pitching coach Ray Searage, bench coach Tom Prince won’t return to Pirates in 2020
Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage and bench coach Tom Prince have been informed by management they are not candidates to return to the team’s major league staff next season. All other major league coaches will be candidates to keep their jobs after a manager to replace Clint Hurdle is...
U mad, bro? Fans pounce on Clint Hurdle firing, Steelers offense, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith
Are you mad about the Steelers? You’ve come to the right place. Angered over how the Pirates mangled the firing of Clint Hurdle? I’ve got you covered. Hate the NFL pass interference debate? Come on in. The water is just fine. Wanna nitpick minor flaws on supermodels wearing costumes of...
Andrew McCutchen plans massive volunteer initiative in Western Pennsylvania
Andrew McCutchen now wears a Philadelphia Phillies jersey for a living, but in the offseason, he plans to make an impact on the community he called home for the better part of nine years. Along with his wife, Maria, a DuBois native, McCutchen has founded Project Pittsburgh, a foundation designed...
First Call: David Ross as possible Cubs manager; soccer fans storm owner’s box, kick him out of stadium
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” some MLB managerial candidates are emerging. Fans storm an owner’s box. Andy Dalton’s interesting audible. What if? When it comes to a potential managerial hire, here’s a former Pirates player that is becoming a name of interest. One-time Bucco, David Ross, is rumored to be a...
Tim Benz: Clint Hurdle shouldn’t be Pirates’ only scapegoat
The word “scapegoat” has been used quite a bit in the wake of Clint Hurdle’s firing as Pirates manager. I felt like it was inappropriate. So I double-checked the definition. Merriam-Webster defines the term this way: “A goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after...
Mark Madden: Pirates’ horrible season didn’t put damper on Steve Blass’ career
It was some year for the Pirates. The black cat that crossed their path was a rabid panther on meth. The Pirates went 25-48 after the All-Star break, finishing last in the NL Central. There were three fights between Pirates personnel that we know about. Closer Felipe Vasquez got arrested...
Clint Hurdle’s firing kills the Christmas spirit in Pirates’ clubhouse
The last day of the miserable 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates season started strangely, yet peacefully. Clubhouse musician and starting pitcher Steven Brault was listening to Michael Bublé’s rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” One of the last things Clint Hurdle said to reporters before he was fired Sunday was...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden break down Clint Hurdle’s firing and Steelers-Bengals ‘MNF’ game
It’s not often a Pittsburgh Steelers “Monday Night Football” game gets dwarfed by other topics in the Pittsburgh sports world. But the team has started 0-3. Sidney Crosby got hurt. Clint Hurdle got fired. And Pat Narduzzi is getting linked to another job. So, apologies. It’s going to take us...
Tim Benz: Botched firing of Clint Hurdle typical of 2019 Pirates
Given the news cycle of the last week, this may be hard to do. But play along with me if you can. Imagine that the Pirates simply fired Clint Hurdle after the season ended Sunday evening. Hurdle manages Game 162. The franchise gives its sendoff to Steve Blass. The Pirates...
Pirates players balance fondness of Clint Hurdle, willingness for changeVideo
One by one, Clint Hurdle’s men lined up outside his office to say goodbye. Men, not players, by that time. To Hurdle, they were always more than names on a lineup card. It was difficult for the Pittsburgh Pirates to play a meaningless baseball game Sunday, and they lost it...
Kevin Gorman: If Pirates’ shortcomings were ‘collective,’ why only fire Clint Hurdle?Video
In an awkward attempt to avoid serving up a scapegoat for this colossal disaster of a season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, general manager Neal Huntington called it a “collective shortcoming.” Call it whatever you want. Pirates chairman Bob Nutting fired one man, Clint Hurdle. Perhaps it’s the first of many....
Pirates lose season finale, notching 13 more losses than 2018Video
The Pittsburgh Pirates head into the offseason searching for a new voice after firing Clint Hurdle. The Cincinnati Reds may have found theirs during a season that offered tangible proof that years of rebuilding might finally be producing forward momentum. The evidence came in a 3-1 victory over the Pirates...
Pirates’ Neal Huntington says he’s looking for ‘good baseball man’ to replace Clint Hurdle
First on Neal Huntington’s to-do list this offseason is finding a replacement for former manager Clint Hurdle, who was fired Sunday. Huntington will get the chance to hire the second field manager of his 12-year tenure as Pittsburgh Pirates general manager. Hurdle replaced John Russell after the 2010 season. “I...
John Steigerwald: Don’t blame Clint Hurdle for Pirates’ failures
Who’s the greatest manager in MLB history? I don’t know. You pick. Is it one of the three or four guys lucky enough to manage the New York Yankees when they were putting an All-Star team on the field every game? Whoever it is, if he had been brought back...
‘Collective shortcoming’ led Pirates to part ways with manager Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle announced his arrival to the Pittsburgh Pirates with charm, charisma and his intention to reconnect the city to its major-league baseball club amid a two-decade losing streak. The Pirates announced with a news release Sunday that Hurdle had been fired as manager, shortly after he said he needed...
Pirates fire manager Clint Hurdle
Neal Huntington called this season of losing streaks, clubhouse fights and on-field brawls “a collective shortcoming” by everyone in the organization. But the only man out of a job Sunday was manager Clint Hurdle, fired at PNC Park an hour before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ last game of the season. He...
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle: ‘We need to win more games … sell more tickets’Video
Clint Hurdle was deep in conversation about what a waste of time it is to try to change a person’s perception when the Pirates manager was asked about his own perception of where the Pirates are and what they need to do next season. His answer: Win more games. Sell...
Pirates’ 4-game winning streak ends with loss to Reds in 12 inningsVideo
PITTSBURGH — R.J. Alaniz didn’t hesitate when asked if he was more excited about getting his first career hit or victory. “The hit,” said the Cincinnati Reds rookie relief pitcher, who hadn’t even taken batting practice since his senior of high school 10 years ago. “Definitely the hit. Just see...
Pirates announce team hall of fame; Steve Blass to be inaugural member
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Saturday as part of their Steve Blass celebration they will create a team hall of fame, and Blass will be part of the inaugural class in 2020. Blass went 103-76 with a 3.63 ERA in his 10 seasons with the Pirates and won a championship in...
After 60 seasons of baseball, World Series hero Steve Blass steps into retirement
Steve Blass remembers sitting in the backyard of his Upper St. Clair home at 4 a.m. during the summer of 1973 with tears running down his face. He knew he wasn’t going to be pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates much longer. After winning 19 games and earning a spot on...
Kevin Newman’s home runs give Pirates win over RedsVideo
Last September was a nightmare for Kevin Newman. This one is going much better. Newman hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. Jake Elmore set up Newman’s game-ending swing with a...
Steve Blass thanks Pirates, city of Pittsburgh for ’77-year party’Video
Steve Blass considers himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. After a 60-year career with the Pirates as a pitcher and broadcaster, Blass, 77, is retiring this weekend. On Friday, Mayor Bill Peduto presented Blass with a proclamation declaring Saturday “Steve Blass Day” in the city. Peduto...
