Oftentimes in baseball, fans rely on the big name hitters to come through for them. The pitchers sometimes go unnoticed in big game situations. This week, the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off with their division rival for one of the biggest series in the history of PNC Park. They took four of five from the St. Louis Cardinals, with possibly the biggest win coming on the shoulders of Brandon Cumpton. Cumpton pitched 7.0 near perfect innings on Tuesday night, picking up the first win of his career. ... Read More
Archives for August 2013
Cole Solid, But Offense Stalls In 4-2 Loss
(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar) PNC Park – Gerrit Cole pitched a solid five innings of work, but he and reliever Justin Wilson couldn’t get out of the sixth as the Rockies scored three times en-route to a 4 – 2 victory on Friday night. Cole retired ten of the first eleven batters he faced with the only hit coming from a Troy Tulowitzki solo shot in the second inning. He would then allow two batters to reach with one out in the fourth before getting the next two batters to strike out. He ... Read More
PSAC West has nine players in D2 Top 100
The D2football.com list of Top 100 players was leaked in late July and the PSAC West was well represented. Of the 100 players, nine of them were from the PSAC West, including four in the top half of the list. Here's the list, with commentary from writer Josh Buchannon, from 100 on down. 93. QB Cody Harris, Edinboro, Sr., 6-1, 194 Harris isn’t very big but the mobile signal caller is a returning two-time All-PSAC West selection who threw for 2,823 yards and 20 touchdowns with just 8 picks ... Read More
Pirates Gameday: Hughes Activated, Hurdle Talks Morton
PNC Park – The Pirates (65 – 43), fresh off of taking 4-of-5 from the Cardinals, take the field tonight to start a 3-game set against the Rockies (51 – 59). Gerrit Cole (5 – 4, 3.56 ERA) will go against Jhoulys Chacin (9 – 5, 3.54 ERA). Leading Off Jared Hughes has been activated from the 15-day DL and will be in the Shark Tank tonight. Vic Black has been optioned back to AAA Indianapolis to make room for Hughes on the 25-man roster. Manager, Clint Hurdle says it’s more based on availability ... Read More
Cortez Allen Undergoes Knee Surgery
Cornerback expected to miss a "couple of weeks" (Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post Gazette) Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin announced today cornerback Cortez Allen had undergone "minor" knee surgery that is expected to keep him off the field for a few weeks. Here is Tomlin's full statement per Steelers.com. "Earlier today, Cortez had minor surgery on his right knee. We wanted him to get the surgery done now so he can begin rehabilitating immediately. This surgery was a minor procedure and will ... Read More
Making the Cut: Draft Picks
Defensive end Nick Williams is on the roster bubble if Mike Tomlin's draft classes are any indication (Photo Credit: behindthesteelcurtain.com) It comes to no surprise that with a finite number of roster spots, just 53, difficult decisions get made on cut days. Sure, the vast majority of UDFAs will be handing in their playbooks and occasionally, teams will move on from a veteran. The draft class are good bets to make it but there are no guarantees. A study from the Mike Tomlin era of what ... Read More
Pirates Pitching Gets Rocked, Offense Stalls In 13 – 0 Defeat
(Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sport) PNC Park – The Cardinals took out their recent frustrations on Charlie Morton and Co. as they put across 13 runs on 17 hits in a 13 - 0 victory over the Bucs on Thursday night to salvage a game in the 5-game set. Charlie Morton only allowed a run through three innings before falling apart in the fourth. He would load the bases with no out by way of a walk to Allen Craig and singles to Matt Holliday and David Freese. Jon Jay would then be hit ... Read More
Currently, the Steelers are the worst pro team in Pittsburgh
Okay, stop me if you've heard this one before. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the worst professional team in Pittsburgh. Wait, what? Trust me, as weird as it is for you to read that, it felt just as weird typing it. I know it won't sit well and it's a cardinal rule in the Steel City to write anything bad about the Steelers, but there's no denying the truth. In the past year, the Steelers have been the worst professional team. Now, let me save you the trouble. When I say professional team, I'm not ... Read More
Pirates Lineup: Why Change a Good Thing?
Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin have been Neil Huntington's best pickups of the season (Flickr.com/Paul Hadsall) Earlier this month, I wrote an article looking into what type of players the Pittsburgh Pirates should have been targeting at the Trade Deadline. The most pressing need I was focused on was adding a consistent bat off the bench in a player such as Raul Ibanez or a consistent everyday player in Hunter Pence. While I still think each of these players would have brought a new ... Read More
Training Camp Roundup: Day Six
LaMarr Woodley reportedly has played around 300 pounds in recent seasons (Photo credit: vader29) - Some tough injury news late in practice today regarding San Diego State UDFA guard Nik Embernate. Embernate down w what looks to be a knee injury. During one-on-one with Haggans. — James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 1, 2013 Tomlin categorized it as a "significant" but cautioned to say it is still being evaulated. Embernate had recently graduated to working with the second team. Other injuries ... Read More