By Will Graves, Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — A rare Super Bowl stumble by the Steelers. A season- and perhaps career-changing injury to Sidney Crosby. Signs of life from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

All highlighted another eventful but championship-less year in western Pennsylvania sports.

The Steelers tied the Dallas Cowboys ‘ NFL record by making an eighth Super Bowl appearance in 2011. But they couldn’t bring home their seventh Lombardi Trophy, falling to the Green Bay Packers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins began 2011 in the NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field. The Penguins lost the game, then lost superstar Sidney Crosby for more than 10 months due to concussion-like symptoms. He returned briefly last month until his symptoms resurfaced.

And while the Pirates didn’t end their ugly 18-season losing streak, the club did post a 15-win improvement over 2010.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for the 2013 season. The 36-year-old hit .230 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs last season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates are in need of catching help after declining the options on veterans Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit.

“’’They were aggressive,” Barajas said. “They gave me the feeling they really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a good situation to be in.”

Barajas is one of the top power-hitting catchers in the game. His 50 homers over the last two years are third-most by a major league catcher over that span.

“He has the combination of attributes we’re looking for, an experienced catcher with the willingness to help improve a young pitching staff and he also adds some power to the lineup,” Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington said.

Barajas, a career .238 hitter, has 125 home runs and 449 RBIs in 1,010 career games with Arizona, Texas, Toronto, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and the Dodgers.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PITTSBURGH (AP)—The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas(notes)
have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for
the 2013 season. The 36-year-old hit .230 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs last
season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates are in need of catching help after declining the options on
veterans Chris Snyder(notes) and Ryan Doumit(notes).

“”They were aggressive,” Barajas said. “They gave me the feeling they
really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four
months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a
good situation to be in.”

Barajas is one of the top power-hitting catchers in the game. His 50 homers
over the last two years are third-most by a major league catcher over that span.

“He has the combination of attributes we’re looking for, an experienced
catcher with the willingness to help improve a young pitching staff and he also
adds some power to the lineup,” Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington
said.

Barajas, a career .238 hitter, has 125 home runs and 449 RBIs in 1,010
career games with Arizona, Texas, Toronto, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and
the Dodgers.

PITTSBURGH (AP)

The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

There is the quick update of the day.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas have agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for the 2013 season. The 36-year-old hit .230 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs last season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates are in need of catching help after declining the options on veterans Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit.

“”They were aggressive,” Barajas said. “They gave me the feeling they really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a good situation to be in.”

Barajas is one of the top power-hitting catchers in the game. His 50 homers over the last two years are third-most by a major league catcher over that span.

“He has the combination of attributes we’re looking for, an experienced catcher with the willingness to help improve a young pitching staff and he also adds some power to the lineup,” Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington said.

Barajas, a career .238 hitter, has 125 home runs and 449 RBIs in 1,010 career games with Arizona, Texas, Toronto, Philadelphia, the New York Mets and the Dodgers.

Oct. 13
	   1903 -- The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
	   1914 -- The Boston Braves completed the first sweep in World Series history with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
	   1921 -- Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.
	   1960 -- Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.
	   1971 -- The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.
	   1978 -- New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the third game of the World Series. Nettles made four spectacular stops and gave the Yankees the first victory of the series.
	   1984 -- Alan Trammell's two home runs backed Jack Morris' second complete game to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-2 victory and a 3-1 lead over the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
	   1993 -- Tommy Greene of Philadelphia outpitched Greg Maddux and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 to win the National League pennant in six games.
	   1996 -- Powered by a three-homer third inning and eight strong innings from Andy Pettitte(notes), New York won its 34th American League pennant with a 6-4 victory over Baltimore. The Yankees took the ALCS 4-1 and went to the World Series for the first time since 1981.
	   1998 -- The New York Yankees advanced to the World Series for a record 35th time after beating the Cleveland Indians 9-5 to win the AL championship series in six games.
	   2002 -- Adam Kennedy(notes) hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning and the Angels erupted for a 13-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the AL championship series in five games and advance to the World Series for the first time in their 42-year history.
	   2007 -- Manny Ramirez(notes) hit his 23rd postseason homer in Boston's 13-6 11-inning loss to Cleveland. The two-run drive broke the playoff record he had shared with former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams.
	   Today's birthdays: Taylor Buchholz(notes) 30; Trevor Hoffman(notes) 44.