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MLB Free Agency: Los Angeles Dodgers Sign John… |
Read More: John Grabow (P – LOS), Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers According to reports, the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed left-handed reliever John Grabow to a minor league deal. The transaction was first tweeted by John Scanlan on Saturday and was verified by MLB Trade Rumors. The 33-year-old Grabow struggled after he was acquired by the Chicago Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2009. Grabow posted a 5.52 ERA in 88 innings while knee and shoulder injuries caused him to miss games. It was a disappointing tenure especially after Grabow signed a two-year, $7.5 million extension four months into his time with the Cubs. In 506 games over a nine-year career, Grabow is 24-19 with a 4.31 ERA in 476.1 innings pitched. He started his MLB career in 2003 with the Pirates after being selected in the 3rd round of the 1997 amateur draft. For more on the Dodgers and their minor league deals, and more, be sure to read True Blue LA. Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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2011 MLB Free Agency: Chicago Cubs Negotiating… |
Read More: C.J. Wilson (P – ANA), Paul Maholm (P – PIT), Mark Buehrle (P – FLA), Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs According to a report from ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine, the Chicago Cubs are in negotiations with free agent left-handed starting pitcher Paul Maholm, who has spent the last seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Chicago Cubs have been looking for a left-handed starter this offseason, and Maholm presents a decidedly cheaper option than either C.J. Wilson or Mark Buehrle would have, especially if they can work out a deal similar to his last one:
Playing in Pittsburgh didn’t do Maholm’s win-loss record any favors — he was 6-14 in 2011 — but he did post a respectable 3.66 ERA in his final season with the Pirates. For more updates on Chicago sports, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of the Cubs, head over to Bleed Cubbie Blue. Also, check out MLB Daily Dish for Cubs rumors and transactions. Comment Below!. Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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Santa Cruz native McGehee letting trade to Pirates… |
One day after third baseman Casey McGehee was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Santa Cruz native was still absorbing the deal. The Pirates acquired McGehee for reliever Jose Veras late Monday night, hours after the Brewers agreed to terms with Chicago Cubs free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez. In recent weeks, McGehee’s future at third base in Milwaukee became questionable. The Brewers spoke of McGehee seeing action at first base, if free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder signed elsewhere. “The last 24 hours have been pretty hectic,” said McGehee, a Soquel High alum, on Tuesday. “I saw the writing on the wall and put two and two together. But it moved a lot quicker than I thought it would. In some ways, I feel relieved to have an end to it. It’s starting to sink in a little bit, but it hasn’t hit home yet.” McGehee, 29, had a strong rookie season in 2009 and a big year in 2010, but slumped at the plate in 2011 and lost his starting job to Jerry Hairston Jr. late in the season. McGehee batted .223 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs for the NL Central champions in 2011 after hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 104 RBIs in 2010. The Dodgers signed Hairston Jr., a free agent, in December. “Casey McGehee adds a quality option for us at both corner infield positions and adds depth to our position player group,” said Neal Huntington, Pirates general manager, in a statement. McGehee will enter spring training competing for the starting job at third base with Pedro Alvarez. McGehee could also split time at first with Garrett Jones and is an option to play outfield. The Sentinel’s All-County Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000, McGehee views the competition as wide open. “I’m going to go in and do what I’ve always done,” he said. “And if that’s the case, things will work out like they’re supposed to. … I’m going to go in with a fresh mindset. I think I learned a lot about myself last year. You can’t make up for what happened in the past all at once. You’ve got do things day-by-day and be patient.” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin called McGehee on Monday evening and informed him of the trade. After that, McGehee took calls from Huntington and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. “He seems like a great guy, like my kind of guy,” McGehee said of Hurdle. “It seems like we hit it off good, but that’s just an assessment of 20 minutes of conversation.” McGehee is a .265 career hitter with 52 home runs and 242 RBIs in three-plus major league seasons. He was chosen by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 2003 draft and made his big league debut with Chicago on Sept. 2, 2008. Milwaukee claimed him off waivers on Oct. 29, 2008. Ramirez, who started his career in Pittsburgh, was the starting third baseman in Chicago while McGehee climbed through the minors. And Ramirez was the player who ultimately led to McGehee’s trade Monday. “I don’t begrudge him one bit,” McGehee said. “If your best friend was offered $36 million over three years to do your job, he’d take it. It’s ironic because he started his career in Pittsburgh. If you look at the back of our baseball cards, we’ve played for all the same teams, but in just a little different order.” McGehee is hoping he can rekindle his offensive approach and stroke from two years ago and find himself in the heart of the Pirates’ batting order daily. He is a career .219 hitter [14 for 64 in 21 games] with five extra-base hits at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. “That’s such a small sample size,” said Barry Meister, McGehee’s Illinois-based agent. “I think the Pirates value his right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup. And he has an opportunity to get at-bats at first and third. It’s a bigger park, but if he goes the other way and hits gap-to-gap, it has a chance to be a good place for him.” Meister said three other teams expressed interest in McGehee on Monday — two from the AL and one from the NL. But the Pirates it was. McGehee said he thinks they are on the cusp of doing something special. They had a 53-47 record and were in first place on July 25 last season before going 19-43 in their final 62 games. “I think they’ve gotten to the point where they’re not rebuilding anymore,” he said. “They’re adding pieces to go to the next level. They’ve got enough talent. If everything falls into place, there’s no reason to believe that this year couldn’t be the year they make the playoffs. … The park is beautiful, one of the nicer parks and kind of out of the mold of the [San Francisco] Giants’ stadium. I remember as a visitor thinking this would be an unbelievable place to play when they’re doing well.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. Comment Below!. Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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Pirates will attempt to re-sign Derrek Lee |
Along the way, they picked up first baseman Derrek Lee(notes) from the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .337 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in 28 games for the Pirates. He’ll soon be a free agent and it isn’t clear if he is aiming to stick around in Steeltown or head elsewhere. What is clear, though, is that the team will attempt to re-sign Lee, according to PittsburghPirates.com. “The club realizes it lacks in options at first base, and Lee showed (when he was healthy) how substantial an impact he can have in the middle of this Pirates lineup,” the site reports. “The organization is willing to make a competitive offer to try and convince Lee to stay, but no one seems to have much inkling as to whether Lee is interested in seriously entertaining that option.” The 36-year-old is a two-time All-Star who was the National League batting champion in 2005 when he was with the Chicago Cubs. He’s also won three Gold Gloves and helped the 2003 Florida Marlins win a World Series. Lee has also spent time with the San Diego Padres, the team that drafted him, and Atlanta Braves. “Lee did leave the door open to retirement,” the site reports. Find out before your friends. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook. Source: PittsburghPirates.com Related: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates Thanks for visiting our blog =). Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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The 2011 Pirates and history’s worst fall from… |
But then you see this oh-so-representative (and awesome) picture of manager Clint Hurdle in the dugout. You also learn that they have been historically bad since reaching the dizzying heights of first place in July. All-time bad, in fact. So, really, what other choice do you have but to pause, look at the wreck and post that picture? None, I’m afraid. According to columnist Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the 2011 Bucs are now the not-so-proud victims of baseball’s greatest plunge from first place. Citing the research of Elias, Kovacevic notes that no other team in history has put together a worse record — 16-40 — after leading their division at the 100-game marker. What’s worse, the next-closest free fallers aren’t actually close at all. From the T-R:
Of course, because it’s the Pirates, there’s a particularly cruel twist: Game No. 101 was the infamous 19-inning affair in Atlanta that ended with umpire Jerry Meals making one of the worst calls in history. Meals is a Bartmanesque anti-hero in this case — Pittsburgh would have likely plummeted without his atrocity — but that probably doesn’t make it any easier for Pirates fans to digest. So, as we enter the final six games of the season, there’s a chance they could fumble further than the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins to end up as the second-worst team in the National League. But even if they don’t, the Pirates will be heading into an offseason where they’ll have to reconcile the great successes of the first half and individual growth with the complete business-as-usual suckitude of the second. As Kovacevic notes, that’s not going to be easy. Want more baseball news all season long? Related: Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres That’s all for today. Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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Pirates’ recent call-up stymies Cubs |
Brian Burres pitched into the sixth in his first start of the season and Alex Presley had two triples, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Friday. Presley reached four times and scored twice as Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak. Josh Harrison doubled, singled and scored twice. Burres (1-0) allowed one run and five hits over 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday. Four Pirates relievers combined for 3 2-3 perfect innings, with Joel Hanrahan picking up his 33rd save in 36 chances. Jason Grilli got the last two outs of the sixth, Chris Leroux pitched the seventh and Jose Veras worked the eighth before Hanrahan struck out two in the ninth. Carlos Pena went deep for the Cubs, who have lost nine of 12. The first baseman now has at least 25 homers in five straight seasons and six times overall in his career. Ryan Dempster (10-11) worked out of a couple of early jams and held Pittsburgh to three runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out nine, two shy of his season best, and threw a season-high 121 pitches. Pena connected in the second, hitting a drive to the deepest part of center field to give the Cubs the lead. Pittsburgh responded with two in the third. Presley led off with a triple off the right-field wall and Harrison followed with a single to right. Garrett Jones added a two-out RBI double. Neither team mounted much offense after that. The Cubs stranded two runners in the third and fourth. The Pirates didn’t threaten again until Presley’s one-out triple in the seventh chased Dempster. Presley scored on Jose Tabata’s two-out single off Kerry Wood. Presley became the first Pirate to record two triples in a game since Andrew McCutchen on June 8, 2009. He has five triples on the season. That’s all for today. Posted in pirates-news | Comments Off
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The Pittsburgh Pirates started the season strong but finished in fourth place in the National League Central, 24 games behind the division-winning Milwaukee Brewers.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been so bad in the second half of this season that you almost just want to leave them alone in their misery during the final hours of their 19th straight losing campaign.
