Chris Adamski stories, Page 169
Pirates sign injured veteran RHP Tom Koehler
The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms on a minor league contract with former Marlins starter Tom Koehler on Wednesday. The right-hander will report to minor-league camp and spend most of the 2019 season continuing rehab from surgery on right shoulder last summer. Koehler, 32, had a 4.39 ERA in 161...
Pirates sign veteran utility infielder Nick Franklin to minor-league deal
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed veteran utility infielder Nick Franklin to a minor-league contract Wednesday, adding another bench option to their spring-training roster. A former first-round pick, the 27-year-old Franklin has appeared in 301 major-league games for four teams over the past six seasons. He’s played at least an inning at...
Steelers’ Matt Feiler looks ahead after establishing himself in 2018
Matt Feiler entered his fifth NFL training camp last year with all of five regular-season games and 75 offensive snaps to his credit. So it had to be gratifying to Feiler that in 2018 for the Pittsburgh Steelers he proved he was a viable, NFL starting-caliber player. “It’s nice to...
Pirates’ Corey Dickerson optimistic entering ‘contract year’
During this month last year, Corey Dickerson was joining his third team over a span of 37 months. As he enters his final season before hitting free agency, it’s very possible – likely, even – that Dickerson will be on a fourth team in five years by this point next...
Once again, Pirates’ Opening Day outfield will change
The Pittsburgh Pirates have used 18 Opening Day outfield alignments over the 19 seasons since the turn of the century. An injury will force them to make it 19 combinations in 20 years. With Gregory Polanco expected to miss the first one to two months of the season as he...
Steven Brault back in familiar spot: competing for fifth starter in Pirates’ rotation
Groundhog Day was Saturday. But Steven Brault can relate to Bill Murray’s iconic Phil Connors character every time he reports to Bradenton, Fla., in the spring. If the Pittsburgh Pirates are preparing for a season, it must mean Brault is competing for a spot at the back end of their...
Pirates lineup gets jolt from ex-Indians Lonnie Chisenhall, Erik Gonzalez
Twenty-two percent of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2019 projected opening day lineup was imported during the offseason down Interstate 76. Barring injury or an unexpected spring roster move, Lonnie Chisenhall and Erik Gonzalez are expected to be the names manager Clint Hurdle writes in at right field and shortstop, respectively, when...
Pirates prospect Cole Tucker could add flavor to infield
With his bushy hair, wide smile and gregarious personality, no one would describe Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Cole Tucker as vanilla. “I’m not that vanilla,” Tucker said at PiratesFest last week. “I’ve got some sprinkles in my game.” Tucker, though, considers “vanilla” a compliment. After all, two of his role...
Pirates want new hitting coaches to ‘recalibrate’ offensive philosophy
The Pittsburgh Pirates exceeded most expectations in 2018, but within 24 hours of the season’s completion they fired both of their hitting coaches. The result of an offense that ranked 20th in the majors in runs, 25th in home runs and in the bottom half of MLB in slugging percentage,...
Pirates expect better Kevin Newman for spring training
Kevin Newman’s baptism into the majors was less than inspiring for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After fans watched Newman post a .209 average and .478 OPS with 23 strikeouts, no stolen bases and underwhelming defense in 31 games over seven weeks, many wondered if he was just another overhyped...
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster says ‘everyone just needs to stop being divas’
Exactly a month after Jesse James used a celebrity family known for its reality show to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers, JuJu Smith-Schuster went on ESPN to do the same. Making the rounds during Super Bowl week in Atlanta, Smith-Schuster was on “First Take” Thursday morning when he insisted the Steelers...
10 years after iconic play, James Harrison joins fast-food promotion for Super Bowl ‘pick 6’
It’s been 10 years since James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown that some maintain is the greatest play in Super Bowl history. To celebrate, Harrison accepted an endorsement deal from a fast-food burger chain. If Sunday’s Super Bowl features an interception returned for a touchdown, Hardee’s will give...
Hines Ward on Steelers’ current situation: ‘It is embarrassing’
Another former Pittsburgh Steelers player is speaking out about the franchise’s current state of affairs during Super Bowl week. In an interview with Barstool Sports, Hines Ward was highly complimentary about “The Patriots Way” as New England prepares for its ninth Super Bowl appearance over the past 18 years –...
Former Steelers kicker Jeff Reed stars in ‘Funny or Die’ video poking fun at kickers
After a season in which the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans learned just how important placekicking is, one of the franchise’s most remembered kickers poked some fun at the skill. Two-time Super Bowl-winning Steelers kicker Jeff Reed starred in a 3-minute comedy video released on YouTube and picked up by...
Pirates add RHP Brandon Maurer, OF J.B. Shuck on minor league deals
The Pittsburgh Pirates added depth to their pool of players competing for opening-day roster spots Wednesday, signing pitcher Brandon Maurer and outfielder J.B. Shuck to minor league deals. Maurer, a 28-year-old right-hander, has a 5.36 ERA over 289 career appearances with three teams over the past six seasons. Shuck, 31,...
Penguins recall forward Teddy Blueger, AHL’s 4th-leading goal scorer
The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Teddy Blueger from their AHL affiliate on Tuesday, filling their void on their active roster after the Monday trade of defenseman Jamie Oleksiak with some forward depth. The 24-year-old Blueger is fourth in the AHL with 21 goals in 45 games. Blueger has a five-game point...
Penguins’ strategy for breaking power-play slump? Not practicing it
A day after hinting he has reached a breaking point with a leaky power play that has allowed a league-high 11 short-handed goals, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan used practice to address the problem in a unique and peculiar way. By not practicing the power play at all. It’s highly...
Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin ‘frustrated’ with his playVideo
A day after a brutal turnover of his led to a short-handed goal and he plummeted to minus-20 for the season, Evgeni Malkin acknowledged he is not happy with his play. “No, no,” the Pittsburgh Penguins star center said. “For sure not. I’m frustrated with myself.” Malkin remains a point-per-game...
Jamie Oleksiak missed by Penguins; Garrett Wilson accepts fighter role
A Monday trade left a 6-foot-7, 255-pound hole in the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex locker room. Not because the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have the personnel to replace Jamie Oleksiak but because the “Big Rig” will be missed. “He’s a good friend. I loved having him here,” said defenseman Brian Dumoulin,...
Penguins’ Jack Johnson practices fully, will be ‘fine’ vs. Lightning
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost two defensemen in a six-hour span Monday. Luckily for them, the loss of one was temporary. Jack Johnson practiced fully at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Tuesday after he left Monday night’s game during third period because of an unspecified injury. “I feel OK,” Johnson said...
Kendall Coyne Schofield to be on NBCSN’s Penguins broadcast
Five days after taking a starring role in the fastest-skater contest at the NHL All-star game, Kendall Coyne Schofield will do the same for a national broadcast involving the Pittsburgh Penguins. Coyne Schofield will be part of NBCSN’s coverage of the Penguins home game against the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay...
Steelers ‘super fan’ from Beaver a finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame honor
While finalist Alan Faneca awaits word as to whether he will gain induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, the former All Pro guard is not the only possible representative of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rick Holman of Beaver is one of three finalist “super fans,” one of...
Now the Pirates’ longest-tenured player, Starling Marte evolving as a veteran
Hard to believe it for the one-time manchild who homered on the first major-league pitch he saw, but Starling Marte is now 30. Long playing in the shadows of veterans and stars such as Andrew McCutchen, Marte suddenly is one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ oldest players. Still arguably the team’s...
Clairton’s Lamont Wade says he will remain at Penn State
One of the most highly recruited players from the WPIAL in recent years is staying put in college. Clairton’s Lamont Wade announced via his Twitter account Sunday night he is removing his name from the NCAA’s transfer portal and will remain at Penn State. A rising junior defensive back, Wade...
Pirates and Jung Ho Kang are hoping for a comebackVideo
For his first public appearance at PNC Park in almost 2½ years, Jung Ho Kang relied on a translator Saturday to communicate with fans and media. There was one question among those thrown at him during his 13 minutes with reporters that Kang did not need to wait for assistance...
