Blogs

The 2009 Hall of Fame class was announced this afternoon, with Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice getting the call. Henderson, the all-time steals leader, was a no-brainer. Rice made it in his final year of eligibility. Four former Pirates — Bert Blyleven, Dave Parker, Dan Plesac and Jay Bell — did not received the minimum [...]

There are no Pirates on the “player interest list” for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. USA Baseball will release its complete, 45-man provisional roster Friday. The final 28-man roster will be revealed Feb. 24, and the team will begin workouts March 2 in Clearwater, Fla. The list of 24 committed players includes just [...]

This is only peripherally related to the Pirates, but it was too funny not to post: The Milwaukee Brewers will hold an open tryout Tuesday, and among those expected to attend is Randall Simon. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentions the item in his blog under the headline “Return of the Wienie Whacker?” [...]

It appears unlikely left-hander Phil will be in the starting rotation, at least at the start of the season. Dumatrait suffered a setback in his rehab from shoulder surgery and will be shut down for 10 days. Dumatrait was examined yesterday by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews administered a cortisone shot [...]

What will be Kevin McClatchy’s legacy with the Pirates? Will it be the mere fact that the team still has “Pittsburgh” in its moniker? Will it be cozy, graceful PNC Park? Or the showcase 2006 All-Star Game? Or will it be a decade-plus of losing seasons? Will it be the Aramis Ramirez trade, which was [...]

The Pirates have signed 13 players to minor league contracts. Two of the players — infielders Pedro Lopez and Anderson Machado — also were invited to spring training. Lopez spent all of last season with Triple-A Syracuse (Blue Jays), where he batted .236 with 27 RBI. He’s played a total of 16 games in the [...]