Blogs

NASHVILLE — Maybe the Cleveland Indians expected too much of a “hometown discount” from former employee Neal Huntington. Maybe Huntington expected too much in return for his All-Star left fielder. Either way, talks between the two teams that could have resulted in Jason Bay being traded to the Tribe are over. The talks were going [...]

NASHVILLE — Jason Bay is staying put. Again. The on-again, off-again trade talks with Cleveland appeared to be snuffed by lunchtime today. The Indians issued a denial to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, while Pirates brass offered nothing but the sound of crickets chirping. I’ve felt all along, this probably isn’t the best time to consummate [...]

NASHVILLE — An early start to what promises to be a busy day. Unless you’ve been busy shoveling the driveway all morning, you already know the Jason Bay-to-Cleveland rumors caught fire again in the pre-dawn hours. This latest version would send Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino to the Indians for outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, catcher Kelly [...]

NASHVILLE — Chris Gomez looks to be a decent pickup for the Pirates. The one-year, $1 million deal is not yet official, as Gomez, 36, must first pass a physical. That could be out of the way in the next day or so. The Pirates then must clear a spot on the 40-man roster for [...]

NASHVILLE — Kip Wells is a free agent. Whoopie. Wells essentially stole $4 million from St. Louis last season, when he went 7-17 with a 5.70 ERA. He hasn’t reached double digits in wins since 2003, when he went 10-9 with a 3.28 ERA in 31 starts for the Pirates. According to an ESPN.com report, [...]

NASHVILLE — A slow start to Day 2 of the meetings, at least for the Pirates. The Jason Bay-to-Cleveland rumor that flared up yesterday afternoon had fizzled by evening. It’s not that Bay is off the block; the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers have some interest. Rather, the timing probably isn’t right for a [...]

NASHVILLE — The Pirates are interested in free-agent pitcher Brett Tomko, but have not yet engaged in formal talks with his agent. Tomko, a right-hander, went a combined 4-12 with a 5.55 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The Padres reportedly have offered Tomko a one-year, $1.5 million contract for 2008. [...]

NASHVILLE — GM Neal Huntington has said he’s generally happy with the Pirates’ core of players heading into 2008. One area he wants to upgrade as soon as possible, though, is the bench. Hmmm … One one point last season, the Pirates had one of the ‘ most productive benches in the majors — a [...]

NASHVILLE — At last year’s Winter Meetings, there was a sense the Pirates were going to do something — most likely a deal for Adam LaRoche — sooner or later. The trade did not go down during the confab in Orlando, Fla., but it did happen a few weeks later. This year, with a completely [...]