Blogs

Many of my brethren are writing stories today rating their teams’ chances of signing free agent Alex Rodriguez. GMs from the Phillies, Mets, Giants, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers, Angles, Tigers, Indians and perhaps even the Nationals might soon be chatting with A-Rod’s agent. The poor beat writers in those towns will spend weeks chasing wild rumors [...]

Word comes today that the New York Yankees might be set to announce their new manager as soon as tomorrow, barely a week after Joe Torre opted not to return for 2008. The Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds already have concluded their manager searches. Almost three weeks after firing Jim Tracy, the Pirates have [...]

ESPN baseball analyst Keith Law believes Pirates outfield prospect Andrew McCutchen is going to be a star. Law, who once worked in the Toronto Blue Jays’ front office, recently returned from scouting the Arizona Fall League. He gushed about McCutchen, who batted .273 with two steals in 11 games for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. “That [...]

The latest name to surface in the Pirates’ manager search is John Farrell, who’s in his first year as pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox. Farrell, 45, was the Cleveland Indians’ director of player development from November 2001 until last winter, when he joined the Red Sox staff. During his five seasons in Cleveland’s [...]

The NL Central added another marquee manager over the weekend when the Cincinnati Reds hired Dusty Baker. Baker won 53 percent of his games in 14 seasons with the Cubs and Giants. He joins a high-profile group that includes Lou Piniella (Cubs) and Tony LaRussa (Cardinals … for now, at least). Houston’s Cecil Cooper, who [...]

A lot of attention has been focused, and deservedly so, on the personnel changes at PNC Park — the arrivals of Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington, and the departure of Jim Tracy and his coaching staff. But even after a new manager and assistant GM are in place, management still will have important changes to [...]

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America annually hands out two postseason awards to the Pirates. The Roberto Clemente Award goes to the team MVP. The Chuck Tanner Award is given to the player who best conducts himself in a professional and cooperative manner with the media. Both awards are voted upon [...]

Ryan Doumit ended this year on the disabled list, adding another frustrating chapter to his brief, injury-filled history with the Pirates. With all the struggles catcher Ronny Paulino — his batting average plummeted by nearly 50 points and his defense was shoddy — Doumit would seem to have a shot at getting more playing time [...]