Pirates/MLB category, Page 226
Penguins, Pirates announcers on challenges of remote play-by-play
Pirates play-by-play man Greg Brown has been calling baseball games since 1989. But never in the way he’s about to try once Major League Baseball returns to play. The covid-19 pandemic is restricting travel for baseball franchises to the point that local broadcasters will only be calling games — in...
Play ball: MLB’s 60-game season to start July 23-24Video
MLB issued a 60-game schedule Tuesday night that will start July 23 or 24 in empty ballparks as the sport tries to push ahead amid the coronavirus after months of acrimony. Each team will play 10 games against each of its four division rivals and four games vs. each of...
Pirates agree to terms with 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales, who expects to sign Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with first-round pick Nick Gonzales and will sign the New Mexico State shortstop Wednesday, pending his passing a physical exam. Gonzales was en route to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, his father, Mike Gonzales, confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The Pirates selected Gonzales with the No. 7...
Tim Benz: The intangibles behind great Pittsburgh sports memories
Full marks to my radio colleague Adam Crowley at ESPN Pittsburgh. On Monday, Crowley put up a web poll — clearly designed to tweak the masses. A tactic I fully embrace, by the way. More overrated Pittsburgh sports moment— Adam Crowley (@_adamcrowley) June 22, 2020 Psst! Adam, there’s a Mr....
Other intriguing ‘Burgh athletes who wore 69: Pirates’ Bronson Arroyo, Steelers’ Gabe Rivera
Pitt’s Randy Dixon was an All-American offensive lineman, and in the estimation of the Tribune-Review sports staff, the best Pittsburgh athlete to wear the No. 69 jersey, but two others should not be forgotten: • Pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who spent three years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. • Defensive tackle Gabe...
‘Burgh’s best to wear it, No. 69: Pitt’s Randy Dixon, AC/DC fan, an electric choice
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best 100 players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 69: Randy Dixon Running into defensive linemen all day takes a toll on a man. But when it was time to relax, Pitt’s...
MLB players reject proposal; Rob Manfred implements 60-game seasonVideo
After the MLB Players Association executive board rejected an MLB proposal Monday afternoon by a 33-5 vote, commissioner Rob Manfred was forced to implement a 60-game season. The vote ended weeks of negotiations between baseball’s owners and the union. The standoff stalled the start of the season after the sport...
Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin feels ‘pretty confident’ staff is ready for season to start
Oscar Marin knows being a new pitching coach amid a pandemic is less than ideal, but feels “pretty confident” about the progress the Pittsburgh Pirates staff has made preparing for baseball’s return. “Everything is new to us, new to myself,” Marin said Saturday on 93.7 FM. “I’m working through a...
Pirates pitcher Derek Holland: I feel like fans are on our side in MLB negotiationsVideo
As an 11-year major league veteran, Derek Holland is one of the established players for the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a nonroster invitee to spring training, the left-handed pitcher still is trying to make the team. That didn’t stop Holland from speaking candidly Friday night in an interview with Dan Zangrilli...
Pirates: No positive cases of covid-19 with players or staff at Pirate City in Bradenton
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that they have not had any positive cases of covid-19 involving any employees, including players, at their spring training and minor league facility in Florida. The Pirates released the statement in response to the Philadelphia Phillies confirming eight positive cases of the coronavirus, including five...
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...
