Blogs

BRADENTON, Fla. — Third baseman Andy LaRoche did not participate in today’s workout at Pirate City because of lower-back stiffness. “It locked up on me yesterday as I was taking grounders,” LaRoche said. “But it’s nothing big. I’ll be good to go tomorrow.” LaRoche did some rehab work with the athletic trainers while the rest [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — The sun was shining, literally and figuratively, this afternoon on the team offices at Pirate City. In a third-floor conference room, GM Neal Huntington said Nate McLouth’s three-year contract made it “yet another great day for the Pirates organization, not just a beautiful day in Bradenton.” Two hours earlier, the players wrapped [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — Two days after knocking off top-ranked UConn, it was back to business as usual for Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. “We’re already working on the next game,” Dixon said. Dixon’s making plans for next season, too. This morning, he stopped by Pirate City before making a recruiting stop at the nearby IMG sports [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — It feels like spring training, now that Jack Wilson has checked into Pirate City. Wilson was at his locker in the far corner of the clubhouse at 7:30 this morning, with a bat in his hand, dressed and ready to go. I asked him if the first full-squad workout is the best [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — Outfielder Nate McLouth’s new contract is a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $15.75 million. There also is a club option for 2012, which would boost the total value to at least $26.4 million. This year, McLouth will make $3.5 million, which includes a $1.5 million signing bonus. He’ll get $4.5 million in [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — Outfielder Nate McLouth’s new contract is a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $15.75 million. There also is a club option for 2012. The breakdown of the contract was not immediately available. The Pirate and McLouth had a breakthrough in contract talks late last night. The two sides came to terms just hours [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates have signed outfielder Nate McLouth to a multi-year contract, avoiding arbitration. No details were immediately available. McLouth is in Phoenix, where his arbitration hearing was scheduled for later today. He is expected to return to Pirate City this evening. McLouth was the last unsigned player in camp. Last season, he [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — The player countdown was at eight when this morning’s workout got under way at Pirate City. By mid-afternoon, Jack Wilson, Jose Tabata, Shelby Ford and Freddy Sanchez had checked into camp. As of 3:30 this afternoon, the only missing player is non-roster infielder Pedro Lopez. All 57 invited players will gather at [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — Barring some last-minute breakthrough in contract negotiations, the Pirates and outfielder Nate McLouth will go to an arbitration hearing Tuesday in Arizona. McLouth will leave spring training camp today to catch a flight to Arizona. Team president Frank Coonelly will represent the Pirates at the hearing. McLouth’s camp has requested $3.8 million. [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — This offseason, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan watched game film of every Pirates pitcher. One thing he noticed was none of the pitchers worked on the inner part of the plate often enough. That’s why Kerrigan arranged for two dummies — life-sized cutouts of batters — to be shipped to Pirate City. Using [...]