© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have declined options on pitcher Paul Maholm, catchers Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder and shortstop Ronny Cedeno.

The move allows each player to become a free agent.

Maholm was due $9.75 million in salary next season. The 29-year-old lefthander is 53-73 in seven seasons with the Pirates. He went 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA in 2011 and ended the season on the disabled list with arm trouble.

Doumit and Snyder battled injuries last season. Snyder hit .271 in 34 before going out with back problems while Doumit hit .303 with 30 RBI in 77 games but missed all of June and July with a leg injury.

Cedeno hit .249 in 2011 but consistently found himself in manager Clint Hurdle’s doghouse due to mental lapses.

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have declined options on pitcher Paul Maholm, catchers Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder and shortstop Ronny Cedeno.

The move allows each player to become a free agent.

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

Read More: Dana Eveland (P – LOS), Eugenio Velez (LF – LOS), Russ Mitchell (1B – LOS), Dee Gordon (SS – LOS), Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates, Sep 1, 2011 1:05 PM PDT

September 1 is here, which in the wonderful world of baseball means minor league promotions and active rosters expanding. The Los Angeles Dodgers before their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday made three moves. Shortstop Dee Gordon was activated from the disabled list, and pitcher Dana Eveland and infielder Russ Mitchell were promoted from Triple A Albuquerque, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

Gordon was placed on the disabled list in August with a right shoulder contusion. He was eligible to return as soon as August 25, but the Dodgers stretched his rehabilitation a tad longer so they wouldn’t have to send anyone down before activating Gordon. After all, they wouldn’t want to lose Eugenio Velez and his no hits in 30 at-bats.

Eveland, 27, made 27 starts in Triple A and was 12-8 with a 4.38 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He had his contract purchased from Albuquerque, taking the last remaining spot on the 40-man roster. Eveland’s last major league appearance came on June 23, 2010, while with the Pirates.

Mitchell, 26, was with the Dodgers earlier this season, and had three hits in 26 at-bats, including a double and a home run. He hit .283/.372/.503 in 93 games with the Isotopes this season, his second year in Triple A.

Thursday’s 1:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by KCAL. For more news and information on the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.

Comment Below!.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled RHP Ross Ohlendorf from AAA Indianapolis and have designated reliever Joe Beimel for assignment.

Ohlendorf is expected to start on Tuesday night when the Pirates host first-place Milwaukee. It will be his first start with Pittsburgh since being placed on the disabled list in April with discomfort in his left (throwing) shoulder. Ohlendorf went 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA in seven minor league starts. He is 0-0 with a 7.37 ERA in two starts with Pittsburgh.

Beimel went 1-1 with a 5.33 ERA in 35 games for Pittsburgh but has struggled this month, giving up eight runs in 5 2-3 innings, including a two-run homer to Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun on Monday night.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 10, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pirates showed up in San Francisco mired in a 10-game losing streak with little going right. In two weeks, they’d fallen from first place to 10 games out.

Winning two from the reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants did a lot as Pittsburgh heads off to face NL Central-leading Milwaukee in an important matchup of division rivals.

Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer, Jeff Karstens bounced back from his worst start of the season and the Pirates won their first series in three weeks with a 9-2 victory over the struggling Giants on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh is off Thursday before opening a weekend series with the Brewers, who have won all five previous meetings.

“We’ll find out after the Friday night game, but we’re going in with some confidence,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We were able to put a foot down and win a series on the road.”

Garrett Jones added an RBI single to continue his torrid August and help back Karstens (9-6), whose career-high nine strikeouts matched a season high for the team. Karstens, who ended a four-start winless stretch, gave up a season-high nine runs and nine hits in a 15-5 loss at San Diego last Friday.

“It’s good for us, especially heading into Milwaukee,” Karstens said.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants, who began the day with a half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West. The Diamondbacks host Houston in a night game. San Francisco has led the division since June 25.

Jonathan Sanchez (4-7) walked McCutchen on four pitches and threw five straight balls to start the game. Sandoval came in from third and catcher Eli Whiteside hustled to the mound to chat with the left-hander, who was roughed up again in his second start since coming off the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Sanchez was done after 4 1-3 innings and hasn’t won since June 2 at St. Louis.

McCutchen went 1 for 1 with three walks and a hit by pitch. He stole two bases and scored four runs — most by a Pirate in a game this year. His 16th clout of the year put Pittsburgh ahead 3-1 in the third. The Pirates have homered in four of their last five games and eight of 12.

McCutchen was hit by a pitch leading off the seventh. Brandon Wood drove in a run that inning and Matt Diaz hit two run-scoring singles. Pittsburgh’s Nos. 1-5 hitters went a combined 7 for 17 with six RBI, eight runs scored, seven walks and a hit batter. Jones is batting .389 (14 for 36) with five doubles, three homers and seven RBI this month.

With a power show on offense of late, Bucs pitchers also have allowed 18 homers over the last nine games. Sandoval connected in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1.

The Giants have hit 19 straight solo home runs, matching the 1914 Phillies’ major league mark. Their last homer to score more than one run was a two-run drive by Nate Schierholtz on July 6 against San Diego.

San Francisco finished up a disappointing 3-7 homestand with its 10th loss in 13 games. The Giants have dropped three straight series at AT&T Park for the first time since losing six consecutive home series from May 12-June 18, 2008.

“We’ve got a lot of baseball left,” outfielder Cody Ross said. “We’ve got to go out and play like champions. We’re not doing it. We’re kind of all in a rut and it seems like we can’t dig ourselves out. We’ve got to do something.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the front office would discuss whether to stick with Sanchez. Lefty Barry Zito had been unimpressive in the fifth starter role and went back on the disabled list Aug. 1, but he could come off when San Francisco needs that pitcher again Aug. 16 in Atlanta.

“It has me a little concerned,” Bochy said of the No. 5 spot. “We need that guy to help us win a ballgame, too. We haven’t had a good start there in I don’t know how many now.”

Pirates first baseman Derrek Lee was a late scratch from the lineup with a recurring left hand injury. Hurdle said Lee’s hand was very sore after he played the two previous nights following a four-game absence with the bruised hand. Lee was hit with a pitch from Chicago’s Carlos Marmol last Wednesday.

Lee is batting .278 with two home runs and three RBI in four games since joining the Pirates in a trade from Baltimore.

Notes

• Giants RF Carlos Beltran missed his third straight game nursing a strained right hand and wrist. Schierholtz was held out with a right hip flexor.
• Zito will make another rehab outing Saturday for Triple-A Fresno then fly out to join the Giants on the road.
• San Francisco INF Miguel Tejada [lower abdominal strain] isn’t quite ready to begin a rehab outing in the minors, Bochy said. Tejada will travel on the road trip.
• Pirates RHP Kevin Hart had arthroscopic cleanup surgery Tuesday performed by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. The team hopes to have Hart ready by spring training.
• Pirates LHP Paul Maholm (6-12, 3.54 ERA) starts Friday trying to end a string of three straight losing decisions. He is 1-5 on the road and is coming off a 13-2 loss Saturday at San Diego.
• All-Star RHP Matt Cain goes for the Giants on Friday at Florida, trying to improve to 4-1 for his career vs. the Marlins. He lost to Florida on May 24.

What do you guys think about this.

Read More: Pittsburgh Pirates

In a deadline shocker, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded for San Diego Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick. Your definition of shocker may vary. Live a little! The Padres will receive a player to be named later, according to Jon Morosi.

In the past week, the Pirates started Xavier Paul, Alex Presley, and Matt Diaz in left field. While Presley has done well in limited action — with a .402 OBP in 81 at-bats — he was put on the disabled list last Monday with a thumb injury. The Pirates entered Sunday’s action 3-1/2 games out of first place, which is close enough to want to improve, but far enough away to feel wary about making a huge short-term move. This trade strikes a pretty fair balance.

Ludwick is hitting .238/.301/.373 for the Padres this year, which looks bad until you shine the numbers through the Petco Park prism, and then … they still don’t look that good (92 OPS+). But he’s doing okay against left-handed pitching, and the Pirates didn’t exactly mortgage the future for him. Of course, Jameson Taillon was a first rounder last year, so if he were in any deal, he’d have to be a player to be named later. Hint hint!

Comment Below!.

That’s all for today.

Read More: Ryan Doumit (C – PIT), Ronny Cedeno (SS – PIT), Joe Beimel (P – PIT), Jose Tabata (LF – PIT), Pedro Alvarez (3B – PIT), Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, manager Clint Hurdle and others were in a meeting Wednesday that dealt with how to approach the MLB trade deadline which comes at the end of the month. One point they discussed was the potential impact of players who are returning from injury. 

Part of the time was devoted to identifying when various players should be ready to come off the disabled list and determining how those moves would affect the current roster. With as many as eight injured players potentially being ready to return over the next month, the Pirates might be able to fill particular areas of need internally.

The Pirates are right to note that some of their biggest improvements could come from within, as players like Pedro Alvarez get back from the disabled list. It’s strange – it seems like all Pirates fans have talked about recently are winning, and injuries.

The fact that so many players will be returning fairly soon (Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Ronny Cedeno, perhaps Ryan Doumit and Joe Beimel) suggests that the Pirates are unlikely to make splashy moves at the deadline. They might not have done it anyway, despite the fact that they’re surprise contenders this year, because they don’t want to mortgage their future. But it seems particularly unlikely if they feel like they can improve from within.

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Gotta run!.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

PITTSBURGH (AP)—The Pittsburgh Pirates placed Chris Snyder(notes) on the disabled
list Thursday with a herniated disk, meaning the team’s top three catchers are
injured.

Snyder is scheduled for back surgery on Friday. To take his place on the
roster, Pittsburgh purchased the contract of Wyatt Toregas(notes) from Triple-A
Indianapolis—where he was hitting .034 (1 for 29).

Snyder left Wednesday’s game after sliding awkwardly into second base trying
to stretch a single during the second inning. Former starter Ryan Doumit(notes) (left
ankle sprain) has been out since May 30, and the organization’s No. 3 catcher,
Jason Jaramillo(notes), is on a minor league disabled list with an elbow injury.

For now, journeyman Dusty Brown(notes) (29 career at-bats) is the Pirates’ starter,
although manager Clint Hurdle said neither Brown nor fellow 28-year-old Toregas
(51 career at-bats) would catch too many consecutive days.

Hurdle also indicated the team was pursuing catching options outside of the
organization.

Comment Below!.

(Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Pittsburgh (KDKA)- The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently dealing with two injuries which will result in those players being placed on the disabled list.

Often-injured Steve Pearce has been placed on the 15-day DL with an injured calf.

Pearce was injured in Saturday’s 10-0 win, but it’s still unsure which played led to his injury.

To take his spot on the 25-man roster, the Pirates have recalled infielder Josh Harrison from AAA Indianapolis.

Harrison was acquired by the Pirates in the John Grabow/Tom Gorzelanny trade.

This year at Indy, Harrison was hitting .331 with eight doubles, two triples and two homers in 141 at-bats.

Harrison’s .331 average isn’t a fluke because he’s a lifetime .308 hitter.

Harrison is very much a contact hitter considering he’s only struck out 142 times in 1,564 lifetime minor league at-bats.

The team is also expected to place catcher Ryan Doumit on the disabled list. That move will officially come later this morning.

Doumit injured his left ankle trying to block the plate with Chicago’s Carlos Pena attempting to score on a sac fly.

The team will recall Dusty Brown from AAA Indianapolis.

Brown, who was hitting .264 with 6 homers, was splitting time with Jason Jaramillo.

On Saturday, the Pirates placed lefty Joe Beimel on the disabled list because of left elbow soreness.

Before the Pirates officially recall Harrison and Brown, they’ll need to open two spots on the 40-man roster.

Two possibilities are to move Ross Ohlendorf to the 60-day DL from the 15-day DL and to DFA reliever Chris Leroux.

What do you guys think about this.

Feel free to leave your comments below.