http://www.sportsnipe.com Pittsburgh Pirates, Team News, Updates, and Stats from all sports sources, updated continually. http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2906056/mlb-notebook-arod-hits-100-rbis-for-record-14th-time.html Alex Rodriguez reached 100 RBIs for a record 14th season with plenty of time to spare. Rodriguez had a solo home run in the fourth inning off Brian Matusz and a sacrifice fly in the sixth of the New York Yankees' 4-3 loss Monday to Baltimore. Rodriguez surpassed Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx, who each reached the mark 13 times. "It's an amazing number. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2906054/pirates-notebook-moss-presley-among-8-recalls.html The Pirates' initial targeted number for September recalls was "moderate," as general manager Neal Huntington had put it, but that morphed into much more with eight players added Monday from Class AAA Indianapolis. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2905425/walkers-blast-backs-burres-beats-braves-31.html To fully understand what makes Neil Walker's future so promising toward the Pirates' fortunes, it might have been helpful to watch him last week in Milwaukee and Chicago, where he was routinely launching balls over fences while the team lost and lost. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903509/pirates-collar-braves-behind-burres.html Pirates collar Braves behind Burres Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903508/walkers-blast-burres-pitching-push-pirates-by-atlanta-31.html Neil Walker's two-run home run, a strong emergency start from Brian Burres, and some tightrope bullpen work lifted the Pirates past the first-place Atlanta Braves, 3-1, this afternoon before 15,330 at PNC Park. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903158/walker-homers-pirates-beat-firstplace-braves-31-ap.html Neil Walker hit a two-run homer, Brian Burres limited Atlanta to one run over six innings in his first start in more than three months and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the slumping Braves 3-1 on Monday. Despite losing its fourth in five games, Atlanta was assured of remaining in first place in the National League East for at least another day when Florida beat Philadelphia 7-1 in the first game of... Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903157/resop-making-big-impression.html Resop making big impression Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903156/young-gets-rightfield-call-monday.html Young gets right-field call Monday Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2903155/awards-handed-out-in-minors.html Awards handed out in Minors Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2902222/braves-vs-pirates-6-september-2010.html John Bazemore - AP 3 months ago: Pittsburgh Pirates starter Brian Burres works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta Saturday, May 29, 2010. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) View full size photo » Lineup Atlanta Braves @ Pittsburgh Pirates 09/06/10 1:35 PM EDT Atlanta Braves Pittsburgh Pirates Omar Infante - 2B Andrew McCutchen - CF Jason Heyward - RF Jose Tabata - LF Martin Prado - 3B Neil Walker - 2B Derrek Lee - 1B Garrett Jones - 1B Matt Diaz - LF Pedro Alvarez - 3B Alex Gonzalez - SS Ryan Doumit - C David Ross - C Delwyn Young - RF Nate McLouth - CF Ronny Cedeno - SS Tommy Hanson - P Brian Burres - P Posting will probably be rather light over the next few days, since I'm moving from San Diego to Columbus, with a stop in Wisconsin on the way to pick up some things my girlfriend has stored there. I finished my degree and am excited to move closer to home - I'll be driving east to Morgantown a lot, which will give me plenty of excuses to take the detour to PNC, and I'll also be within driving distance of road games for three of the Bucs' minor-league teams. Oh, and my family lives near there too. Speaking of the minor league teams, State College ended its season yesterday. It wasn't a terribly impressive season statistically, and it would have been nice to see more from Mel Rojas in particular. But it's always unwise to read too much into short-season stats, and probably the most important thing about the season was the fact that the Spikes had a bunch of teenage pitchers (Zack Von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Zack Dodson, Zachary Fuesser, and Brooks Pounders, plus Trent Stevenson, who's technically 20 in baseball years but was drafted as a high schooler last year).  Von Rosenberg, in particular, bears watching next year - he struggled in his first few starts in June, then was lights out the rest of the way, with a 2.11 ERA and 3.5 strikeouts per walk in his last ten starts.  West Virginia ends its season today. This article says the team's attendance has been declining steadily, but I don't think that necessarily has anything to do with the Pirates, who gave the Power a competitive team this year. When I went to go see them this summer, there were a ton of people there, but it obviously wasn't much of a baseball crowd - it was dollar beer night, and most of the attendees seemed to be twentysomethings who turned the stadium's large concourse into a meat market. When the economy is particularly rough (and when beer isn't being sold for a dollar), those people just won't come out. The Pirates will probably send a bunch of bigger-name prospects, like Jameson Taillon and most of the teenage pitchers mentioned above, to West Virginia next year; it'll be interesting to see what effect they have. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2899103/around-majors-for-9610.html Giants 3, Dodgers 0: Juan Uribe hit a two-run homer for the second consecutive game to give San Francisco the win at Los Angeles to put the Giants within one game of first place in the West. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2899101/mortons-misery-gives-way-to-misfortune-in-loss.html For once, Charlie Morton had a lousy line, exited early, and it genuinely was not his fault that the Pirates were pounded by the Washington Nationals, 8-1, Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. Not when the defense committed three errors and other miscues that led to six total unearned runs. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2898576/joe-martinez-recalled.html Joe Martinez Recalled I'll set the over/under on his rest-of-season ERA at 5.50. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2897789/mazeroski-statue-unveiling.html Photos from the unvailing of the Bill Mazeroski statue. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2897788/maz-reluctant-hero.html Bill Mazeroski called it a "perfect day." "I'm overwhelmed," he said following the ceremonies and festivities surrounding the dedication of his statue outside PNC Park yesterday. "I can't believe this could happen to me, a little guy from a coal town on the Ohio River. Geez, who could have ever dreamed of something like this?" Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2897787/nationals-8-pirates-1.html ^Washington @ ^ Pittsburgh @ ^ Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2897504/morton-gets-little-support-in-pirates-81-loss.html For once, Charlie Morton had a lousy line, made an early exit and it genuinely was not primarily his fault that the Pirates were pounded by the Washington Nationals, 8-1, this afternoon at PNC Park. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2895660/pirates-karstens-wont-start-tomorrow-due-to-balky-shoulder.html The Pirates will skip Jeff Karstens' next turn in the starting rotation tomorrow and, given the lateness of the season, might not have him pitch again. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2886150/middle-order-propels-pirates-85.html The middle of the Pirates order combined for its most RBIs since opening day, and former failed Nationals closer Joel Hanrahan shut the door on his former Washington employers in an 8-5 Pirates triumph before 19,734 at PNC Park tonight. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2886149/bucs-defeat-nationals-85.html More photos » Keith Srakocic - AP about 2 hours ago: Pittsburgh Pirates' Garrett Jones (46) hits a pitch in front of Washington Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez for a double to drive in two runs in the third inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, Sept. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Browse more photos » The Pirates managed to pile up runs today thanks to big days from Garrett Jones (who had two doubles, one of them nearly a homer) and Ryan Doumit. Pedro Alvarez added two RBIs on a double of his own, which also was nearly a homer. Once the Bucs had a lead to protect, John Russell's decisions with the bullpen made me nervous - Zach Duke only pitched five innings, but Russell was still ridiculously careful with some of his middle relief guys (which makes some sense, given how badly they pitch) and basically played LaRussa-style through the sixth and seventh innings, only allowing Wilfredo Ledezma and Brian Burres to pitch to one batter each and Heave Ho Park to pitch to two. After that, he only had Chris Resop and Joel Hanrahan left available and a score of 8-5. Luckily, those two guys are good, and Russell's gamble paid off. Burres was brought in to face lefty Adam Dunn and he walked him, and Russell pulled Burres immediately so that Resop could face righty Mike Morse. Resop then showed very convincingly that Morse didn't have any idea how to hit his fastball.  Some people in the comments section criticized Russell for putting Burres in at all instead of just bringing Resop to face Dunn, since the idea with a three-run lead is to keep guys off the bases, and Burres likes giving out walks almost as much as Dunn likes taking them. But I'm not sure I can fault Russell for that - in his career, Resop has been even more of a walk machine against lefties than Burres has.  We criticize Russell a lot here, and mostly he deserves it, but today I have to give him some credit. He might have pulled Duke a bit earlier, and it was pretty questionable to put Sean Gallagher out there with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth. But after that, Russell managed like he cared and pursued a risky strategy that would have made him look very dumb if Resop and Hanrahan had struggled, but that nonetheless was a pretty good strategy given that he only had six pitchers in his 'pen and only two of them are any good (although I still hold out a bit of hope for Ledezma). Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2884806/nationals-vs-pirates-3-september-2010.html Next Game Washington Nationals @ Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, Sep 3, 2010, 7:05 PM EDT PNC Park Livan Hernandez vs Zach Duke Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80.   Complete Coverage > Nyjer Morgan leads off. This should be fun. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2878823/meaningless-month-entirely-for-pirates.html CHICAGO -- Exactly a month from today, the Pirates will be packing their bags in Miami and mercifully concluding this 2010 season already destined to finish as one of the franchise's worst. That destiny alone would appear to set up the coming month as possibly the least relevant, least urgent in recent memory. But is it? Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2878004/kendall-got-to-point-where-he-couldnt-even-raise-his-arm-had-t.html [Kendall] got to the point where he couldn?t even raise his arm. He got to the point where he had to take his glove and push his arm back into a throwing position ? and he was still throwing runners out. It just shows you the mentality and the mental makeup of Jason Kendall. He would have played the rest of this year if the training staff hadn?t hog-tied him and made him have an MRI. Ned Yost on Jason Kendall, who's going in for surgery on a torn rotator cuff. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2874832/qampa-nothing-personal.html Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2870791/bucs-denied-satisfying-exclamation-point.html Bucs denied satisfying exclamation point Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2868826/walker-homers-again-but-pirates-fall-short-cubs-53.html CHICAGO -- Neil Walker homered for the fourth time in five games in going 3 for 5, but the Pirates' pitching made for a poor match in falling to the Chicago Cubs, 5-3, this afternoon at Wrigley Field. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2866755/pirates-call-up-outfielder-bowker.html CHICAGO -- The Pirates have recalled outfielder John Bowker from Class AAA Indianapolis, and first baseman Jeff Clement has left for Indianapolis to begin a rehabilitation assignment Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2864963/altoona-curve-wins-division.html Tim Williams reports back from Altoona's division-clinching win last night, which certainly is nice to see. I wouldn't say this year's Curve have been loaded with talent, exactly, but this group includes a lot of the same players who won a championship with Lynchburg last year, and the Curve came by their division win honestly, with only a couple of over-aged ringers (Hector Gimenez and Derek Hankins) among their key contributors. Everyone else who came up big was 24 or younger, and 24 is a reasonable age for a Class AA player.  Nearly everyone who got a significant amount of playing time was at least competent - even the much-maligned Gorkys Hernandez wound up with a .333 OBP. The only key players who flopped completely were Tim Alderson (who wound up back at Bradenton), Jose de los Santos (who's really just a fielding specialist anyway), and a couple of relievers. That speaks well of the Pirates' coaches, I think, and also of the player development people - when the Bucs' prospects managed to stay healthy this year (which meant, you know, not getting hit in the face or the hand with a pitch), they played pretty well. Altoona's biggest-name prospects, at this stage, are probably Bryan Morris, Andrew Lambo and Rudy Owens, but Jeff Locke might have had a better season than any of them. He struck out a batter an inning in 17 starts at Bradenton, then got promoted and arguably put up even better numbers at Altoona. Look out for him next year; he'll probably start at Altoona again, but could make it to Indianapolis by June if he gets off to a good start. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2864077/doublea-altoona-clinches-division-crown.html Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2863911/wild-things-report-lake-erie-2-washington-1.html Starter Billy Muldowney pitched a complete game but the Wild Things still fell to the Crushers (45-46). Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2863910/pirates-notebook-nobody-immune-to-slump.html CHICAGO -- What's wrong with Andrew McCutchen? Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2861422/qampa-legends-lull.html Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2861421/pirates-vs-cubs-31-august-2010.html Next Game Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Aug 31, 2010, 8:05 PM EDT Wrigley Field Jeff Karstens vs Ryan Dempster Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 10-20 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90. Complete Coverage > Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860949/opportunity-to-look-at-baseballs-books-yes-please-yahoo-sports.html Everyone in the baseball blogosphere has turned into a CPA this morning as the usually top secret financial... Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860948/leaked-financial-documents-show-lowly-pirates-made-millions-sportingnewscom.html Financial documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the Pittsburgh Pirates made nearly $29.4 million in 2007 and 2008, a number that likely won?t sit well with fans of a team that hasn?t seen the sunny side of .500 since the 1992 season. The AP report also indicated that the Pirates received about $70 million from MLB sources, including revenue sharing, TV contracts, merchandise sales and MLB?s website. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates, a limited partnership with a number of private investors, weren?t pleased with what they... Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860947/mlb-trying-to-find-out-who-leaked-financial-documents-sportingnewscom.html Major League Baseball is "narrowing down" its search for whoever leaked team financial reports of the Pittsburgh Pirates and other clubs, The New York Times reports. The investigation is focusing on insurance companies that work with teams, two unnamed baseball executives told The Times . MLB officials declined to comment to the paper. The Associated Press first reported on the Pirates? financial statements and Deadspin.com later posted the financial statements of the Marlins, Rays, Mariners and Angels. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860946/expirate-jose-bautista-team-didnt-spend-enough-pa-sportsticker.html By ALAN ROBINSON AP Sports Writer Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860945/pirates-call-up-burres-to-replace-ohlendorf-pa-sportsticker.html The Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled left-hander Brian Burres from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who went on the 15-day disabled with a damaged muscle in the back of his right shoulder. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860944/during-tantrum-minor-league-manager-pulls-up-1st-base-signs-yahoo-sports.html This is the best minor-league managerial ejection since Phil Wellman went off three years ago . Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860943/pirates-meek-hit-in-hand-by-liner-leaves-game-ap.html Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek was hit in his pitching hand by a line drive from Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and left Sunday's game, but X-rays were negative. Pittsburgh manager John Russell said the ball hit Meek on the top part of his hand near his fingers. "No fracture, which is good," Russell said. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2860942/pirates-morton-on-pace-for-historically-bad-era-ap.html With slightly more than a month of the season remaining, Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton is threatening to have one of the worst years by any starting pitcher in major league history. Despite spending nearly three months in Triple-A, Morton is 1-10 with a 10.03 ERA in 11 starts for the last-place Pirates. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2855494/pirates-epic-plunge-continues-142-loss.html CHICAGO -- These Pirates are on a course to prove conclusively that they, and not some predecessors, are the worst team in the franchise's 124 years. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2853230/rinku-singh-promoted-to-state-college.html Rinku Singh Promoted To State College Awesome. Go Rinku. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2852826/fire-john-russell.html   I wrote the follwing on June 13 in this FanPost. People talk about talent evaluation as the defining measure of Neal Huntington and his organization.  I don't know what to think about this.  The organization has seemingly had three very good drafts.  I'm fine with Huntington's record in player transactions.  Mostly good in my view, some bad, but he wasn't trading much talent and he has gotten some assets through Rule V and the waiver wire for free.  But, I am very troubled by the performance at the major league level.  Not the skill level, which leaves a lot to be desired, but the decision making by the players and the lineup construction and in-game managing by the manager.   I am more optimistic about the talent in the Pirates organization than I have been in many years.  But, I am also now more concerned than ever with how they are currently and will in the future develop that talent.  The teaching that Neal Huntington continually cites as taking place is just not evident at the major league level and the long and short-term planning that is the core of any successful organization seems haphazard at best and non-existant at worst.   These are important days.  Put me down as concerned. I have seen nothing in the two plus months since to make me feel any better about what is going on at the major league level. It is time to fire John Russell and his staff. I don't write that lightly. I fully recognize that we are talking about men and their careers. I recognize that John Russell and his staff are working hard. I recognize that the Pirates lack talent at the major league level. I recognize that the Pirates have continued to trade players during the entire three years of his tenure and there has been a revolving door in the clubhouse. I also know John Russell is a good person. For all these reasons I have not once called for him to be fired. In fact I have never publicly written that a coach or manager should be fired. These are hard decisions and being a fan and on the outside, I don't feel that I am equipped with all the information needed to make a sound decision. But in this case, I feel I have seen enough. I just finished listening to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin's press conference. Last night the Steelers lost a preseason game to the Denver Broncos. The noteworthy aspect of the game was that many of the young Steelers trying to earn a roster spot played poorly. There were physical errors, mental errors and, at times, a lack of composure and discipline. Before the game, in a sideline interview in front of the television cameras, Mike Tomlin uttered his favorite phrase. He spoke of individuals playing up to The Standard. Every player who has the privilege of putting on the Steelers uniform understands what The Standard is. The coaching staff has expectations. If you are going to play, then you play up to The Standard. If you don't perform to that level, someone else will play. In his post-game press conference Tomlin spoke about the performance of various players. He didn't mince words. He did not parry shots with reporters or dance around issues. Those who played well and those who didn't were mentioned by name. He talked about taking advantage of teaching opportunities to raise the level of play of the young men that he coaches. Football is different than baseball. The culture is different, the locker room environment is different, the nature of the season is different. But in both football and baseball you teach. There is much more teaching in football because of the myriad positions and the intricate game planning that goes on week-to-week, but both sports have fundamentals that are keys to success. In football it is blocking and tackling, securing the football, running good pass routes among other things. In baseball it is hitting and pitching, running the bases, fielding your position and the like. Both games have a big mental component. The shocking thing about the Steelers' performance was seeing multiple players not perform up to The Standard. Coach Tomlin said that others will get opportunities as a result. As a fan, I know things will be better Thursday night when the team takes on Carolina in the final exhibition game. I know the problems will have been solved when the Steelers play their first meaningful game against Atlanta on Sept. 12.  Mike Tomlin will teach and he will evaluate and he will correct the mistakes. He has a track record. Last year, when starting running back Rashard Mendenhall had a lackadaisical week of practice, Tomlin benched him. There is a level of preparation and performance that is expected and if players don't meet that they don't play. Every man on the Pittsburgh Steelers understands this. The Pittsburgh Pirates under John Russell do not have a standard. Their play throughout the course of this season has been sub-standard in every facet. They do not hit well, they do not pitch well, they do not run the bases well and they don't play well defensively. First, and most importantly, this is on the players. They are major leaguers getting paid to play baseball. Many of the players are not very good. But, beyond the talent level, the Pirates make fundamental mistake after fundamental mistake. Yesterday Ronny Cedeno came up in the third inning with men on first and third and the Pirates down 3-2. Pitcher Charlie Morton, he of the .000 batting average, was on deck. Cedeno, on his own, bunted. I'm sure in his own mind, Cedeno thought he might bunt for a hit and if he didn't at least the runner on first would advance. Of course Cedeno failed to execute the bunt properly and was thrown out. Morton struck out and the Pirates failed to score. This was so incredibly boneheaded that it is almost laughable. Throw in the fact that Cedeno did something similar the night before and it's pathetic. Top it off with the fact that something of this nature seems to happen every game and it is time to fire the manager and his staff. Over the course of 162 games every player will make mistakes and every manager will make bad decisions. But, we have gotten to the point where the Pirates players approach to the game and John Russell's lineup construction and in-game managing decisions are unacceptable. The list of examples of fundamental, teachable mistakes the Pirates have made this year goes into the hundreds. The fact that Ronny Cedeno does not know that he has to swing the bat in that situation, that Lastings Milledge makes the third out in an inning at third before a run crosses the home plate, that Andy LaRoche doesn't know what to do when two players occupy the same base, that Ryan Doumit constantly tags players at chest level on plays at the plate, that multiple players can't execute a sacrifice bunt, that no pitcher on the staff effectively holds runners on base...the list is only just starting. These are things the coaching staff has to correct. It hasn't happened. There is no reason to believe it will happen. Russell's lineup construction seems haphazard at best. He has consistently failed to put his players in a position where they are most likely to succeed. He often ignores platoon splits and the allocation of playing time has been anything but merit-based. His unwillingness to honestly address his players' performance (see quotes about Aki Iwamura batting leadoff, Ryan Church being hot, Garrett Jones hitting well, any day's starting pitcher's performance) suggests that he isn't driving home the message that the level of performance is not acceptable. John Russell has a record of 172-281 during his tenure with the Pirates. His .380 winning percentage is historically bad. In the end, John Russell's record has little to do with why he should be fired. The teaching that should be taking place just does not seem to happen or is not being done the right way. The Pirates fundamentally are a terrible team. Russell's decision making further hampers the team. The Pirates don't have The Standard. Fire John Russell and his staff and find someone who can get this right. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2849261/plugging-leaks-pirates-defense-now-in-2011.html The Pirates' defense has dropped off quite a bit from several years ago, when we featured the primes of Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Nyjer Morgan. That was before they completely stopped hitting with other teams. Still, the current Bucs could reverse course on run prevention with a couple of additions and position changes.   All the defensive statistics are still on Fangraphs.com, but I'll take a more traditional look in this post. Metrics like UZR are still experimental, and there's not enough data for most of these young players anyway. They fit into three general categories based on my take: poor, below-average to decent, or solid.   Poor defenders:   Ryan Doumit, C: Passed balls and stolen bases have become much worse. Slow release to 2nd base without any accuracy most times. Makes a weak effort to block balls in the dirt sometimes.   Ryan Doumit, OF: Limited range, moves very tentatively on flyballs in his general direction. Average arm for an outfielder. He could improve a bit with more repetition, but he'll be 30 so I wouldn't count on it.   Pedro Alvarez, 3B: Limited range for third base. He's booted or whiffed on a lot of routine balls in play, hands have been below average. Excellent arm strength and good accuracy.   Garrett Jones, 1B: He's booted plenty of easy shots as well. Poor range, poor throwing arm. He's decent in scooping throws out of the dirt, which is nice.   Decent or probably below-average defenders:   Neil Walker, 2B: Slightly below-average range, but makes plays on at least some of the balls hit to him. Good arm for the position. Slow at turning double plays.  He has some basic fielding issues and 2B-specific problems.   Chris Snyder, C: He's decent at blocking balls, and generally calls a good game. He can't control the running game, though, and he might even be worse than Doumit at framing pitches.   Lastings Milledge, OF: His defensive tools are league-average, but the mental errors are costly. UZR is around 0 this year, but the gaffes combined with the overall career defense numbers don't give me confidence that he's good.   Ronny Cedeno, SS: The physical tools are here, but like Milledge, he's prone to lapses. He started the first month or so as a Jack Wilson clone, and the quality of fielding has gone downhill from there. Lackluster career numbers.   Garrett Jones, OF: He plays adequately here, but the range isn't enough to go higher. His arm isn't much, either. He's the third-best outfielder on the roster, though. Looking ahead, he's almost 30, so the defense could drop.   Solid defenders:   Jose Tabata, OF: Pretty good. The arm plays very well, and he gets to enough balls in play with solid range for an OF. He has annoying moments like standing and watching catchable balls hit the wall, but overall is fine.   Andrew McCutchen, OF: He's a young rising superstar in CF...but the metrics don't agree. Hmmm. He's had a couple of misplays this year. He covers a tremendous amount of ground in center. Cutch is the only player with Gold-Glove upside on the team.   ***   Overall, two positions are solid and one position is making a lot of money (catcher), so those are set. I'm not confident in Alvarez or Walker becoming good at their current slots, so I think it makes some sense, this offseason, to put them in more natural positions of first for Alvarez and third for Walker. Walker would be more comfortable at third, because of his experience there. He also wouldn't have to turn double plays and his range is a better match. Alvarez would have fewer chances at first base.   Looking to improve at 2B and SS, I'd check if Iwamura is healthy and in good shape by next year and see if he'd be a cheap option. If he still stinks (which is likely given age and weight) I'd maybe check in on a Mark Ellis or Orlando Hudson. Kelly Johnson and Chris Getz are trade options if the prices aren't outrageous.   Dumping Cedeno isn't mandatory, but it might be good if you look for a shortstop like Jerry Hairston, maybe Nick Punto or J.J. Hardy on the Twins if there's a logjam, Jason Bartlett (potential payroll dump by Rays), maybe a Cristian Guzman or Jed Lowrie.   After the infield is fixed, right field is still a mess. I don't know. Ryan Doumit is probably the best hitter for that on the roster, but his defense is bad. Signing Brad Hawpe or Mike Cuddyer would be the same as playing Doumit twice. The best fits like David DeJesus and Coco Crisp have cheap options that will be picked up by Kansas City and Oakland, and they won't let go of nice players for free.  I think the plan will be to primarily use Doumit in the outfield with sprinkles of Jones/Milledge/Bowker/whoever.   2011 example:   C: Chris Snyder 1B: Pedro Alvarez 2B: Orlando Hudson 3B: Neil Walker SS: Jason Bartlett LF: Jose Tabata CF: Andrew McCutchen RF: Ryan Doumit or someone else if we're lucky Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2849260/season-in-review-gulf-coast-league-pirates.html The Gulf Coast League Pirates finished their season on Saturday, going 29-30. One can generate onlly the vaguest impressions based on GCL statistics, and I haven't even seen video of a lot of these players, but here's what I can piece together about what happened and what it might mean for next year.  Among the hitters, the three who probably deserve the most attention are OF Exicardo Cayonez, 2B Jorge Bishop, and 3B Eric Avila, all Latin players who hit respectably in the GCL at league-appropriate ages. None hit spectacularly well, but competence in the GCL is definitely worth something, since it suggests that these three guys can safely be sent to West Virginia to start next season. Of the three, Cayonez is the youngest and has the strongest pedigree - the Pirates gave him a $400,000 bonus in 2008. Avila tied for the league lead with seven homers. Another hitter who bears watching is Junior Sosa, who I don't think I've ever seen described as a great prospect, but who has put up good numbers two years in a row now. This year, he posted a .379 OBP and struck out about as often as he walked, which are good signs, but he's listed at 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, and there are any number of players that size who can succeed at the lower levels of the minors but not at the higher ones. The hitters also included a number of picks from the last two drafts. 2010 picks Dan Grovatt and Jared Lakind made late-season cameos; Grovatt could be at West Virginia next year, while Lakind will probably be on one of the short-season teams. 2010 24th-rounder and first baseman Justin Howard hit very well, which isn't a surprise, since he's 23 and was a college senior; he surely would have played capably at State College, but Matt Curry got most of the playing time there. We'll see if Howard starts at West Virginia next year. 2009 10th-rounder Joey Schoenfeld played pretty well, but very infrequently, which was mysterious, since Schoenfeld signed for a relatively large bonus and the GCL Bucs' other main catcher, Elias Diaz, didn't hit much at all. Diaz hit well in Venezuela last summer and is supposed to be pretty good defensively, so the Bucs might simply like him better. In any case, Schoenfeld didn't even turn 19 until June, so there's plenty of time for him to come along. Several other hitters might have made themselves into prospects with a good season, but they really didn't hit at all. Pirates fans have long been fascinated with Wesley Freeman, but the Pirates have tried him at a variety of levels, and he's had no success so far. International players Dylan Child, Daan Cornelissen, Chih-Wei Hsu, and Ping-Hung Chi also hit very poorly; it's possible they need more time to get used to American baseball, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Outfielder Gregory Polanco made his stateside debut and played regularly, but likewise didn't hit - the Pirates like him a lot and he's only 18, so he'll probably be back at one of the short-season leagues next year. The only other hitters who got much playing time were Luis Solano, Michaelangel Trinidad, and Kevin Mort, who all look like organizational players. The GCL team had about a million pitchers, and it's just about impossible to draw conclusions since most of them pitched so little, so let's sort through these guys quickly. Joely Rodriguez and 2010 12th-rounder Vincent Payne soaked up a bunch of starts and have already made their way up to State College. Rodriguez walked 24 batters in 47 innings in Venezuela last year, and he took a big step forward by only walking seven in 47 frames in the GCL, so he might be worth watching, particularly since he's a lefty with good velocity. Fraylin Campos struck out a batter an inning in the GCL after pitching brilliantly in the Dominican last summer, but WTM cautions that he's a small guy. As with hitters, small pitchers who put up good numbers in the low levels might struggle later on. One pitcher who doesn't have that problem and might be worth watching, believe it or not, is Rinku Singh. The Bucs' other Indian pitcher, Dinesh Patel, probably isn't much of a prospect, but Singh is 6-foot-2 and left-handed, and he pitched very well in 20 relief innings. The Pirates will no doubt move him along very slowly, as he's still new to the game, but I'd say the chance that one of these two will make the majors increased dramatically this year (from maybe about 1-in-100 to, say, 1-in-30). 2010 27th-rounder Kevin Kleis wasn't highly regarded at the time of the draft, but he pitched fairly well in the GCL as an 18-year-old and is 6-foot-8, so he might be worth watching. Barrett Phillips is pretty much a complete mystery, as the Pirates signed him as a non-drafted free agent in 2009, but he didn't turn 20 until June and was one of the GCL Bucs' better relievers.  After that, most of the other pitching prospects played so little that it's tough to say much about them. Quinton Miller, Trent Stevenson and Colton Cain all pitched a little, but are finishing the season at higher levels. 2010 draftees Nick Kingham, Ryan Hafner, Bryce Weidman, Bryton Trepagnier and Logan Pevny all made cameos after signing. Finally, here are two more pitchers to watch out for next year: Emmanuel De Leon held his own this year in seven innings as a 19-year-old, and judging from his performance this year and in the Dominican, it looks like he'll strike out a bunch of batters but also walk a bunch. And Lithuanian Dovydas Neverauskas didn't completely fall apart as a 17-year-old this year, which is reasonably impressive. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2846195/outfielder-mccutchen-out-sundayamp39s-lineup.html Outfielder McCutchen out of Sunday's lineup Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2846194/alvarez-moving-forward-after-costly-error.html Alvarez moving forward after costly error Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2845918/pirates-vs-brewers-29-august-2010.html Gene J. Puskar - AP 11 months ago: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton throws against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) View full size photo » Next Game Pittsburgh Pirates @ Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Aug 29, 2010, 2:10 PM EDT Miller Park Charlie Morton vs Dave Bush Sunny. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90.   Complete Coverage > Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/2843462/around-majors-for-82910.html Phillies 3, Padres 1: Shane Victorino had two of Philadelphia's three hits, including a go-ahead triple off Jon Garland that helped the visiting Phillies to their second consecutive win against West-leading San Diego. Pittsburgh Pirates - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates