Blogs

. Looking ahead to faceoff … Game: Penguins (43-21-5) vs. New Jersey Devils (41-25-3) Time: 1:08 p.m. Site: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 The X Here is the official live summary. Updates are on our Penguins page. Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi will send postcards from the world’s finest urban setting.

. BRADENTON, Fla. – Looking ahead to first pitch … Game: Pirates (6-7) vs. Tampa Bay Rays, Grapefruit League Time: 1:05 p.m. Site: McKechnie Field, Bradenton, Fla. Radio: MLB.com Here is the live box score. I’ll toss up occasional stuff on my Twitter account, too. And here is the Pirates’ lineup … Alex Presley, LF [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. – No matter how well Starling Marte performs, he won’t make the Pirates. That point had to be emphasized anew today after Marte homered and singled off Philadelphia All-Star Cliff Lee in a 3-2 victory over the Phillies at McKechnie Field. Marte finished 2 for 4 to leave his spring totals at a [...]

. BRADENTON, Fla. – Looking ahead to first pitch … Game: Pirates (5-7) vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Grapefruit League Time: 1:05 p.m. Site: McKechnie Field, Bradenton, Fla. Radio: MLB.com Here is the live box score. I’ll toss up occasional stuff on my Twitter account, too. And here is the Pirates’ lineup … Starling Marte, CF Clint [...]

. BRADENTON, Fla. — Brief and to the Point … >> My Friday column is based off an interview with Clint Hurdle yesterday in Fort Myers, but it’s something I’ve been planning for several months. Very interested in your feedback. Of all the adjectives I’ve ever used in relation to Hurdle, “un-Pirate-like” still fits best. [...]

. FORT MYERS, Fla. – Looking ahead to first pitch … Game: Pirates (4-7) vs. Minnesota Twins, Grapefruit League Time: 1:05 p.m. Site: Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers, Fla. Radio: MLB.com Here is the live box score. I’ll toss up occasional stuff on my Twitter account, too. And here is the Pirates’ lineup … Alex Presley, [...]

. BRADENTON, Fla. – The Pirates this morning made their first major cuts of spring training, paring the roster by 10, including the optioning of shortstop Chase d’Arnaud. The team also optioned pitchers Rudy Owens, Jeff Locke and Duke Welker. Reassigned to minor-league camp were pitchers Mike Crotta and Logan Kensing, catchers Tony Sanchez and [...]

. BRADENTON, Fla. – Brief and to the Point … >> My news story for the day is that the Pirates are discussing using Neil Walker at cleanup. The floor is yours on this topic this morning. >> My notebook focuses on the return of Joel Hanrahan’s slider, and I have this from Clint Hurdle [...]

. SARASOTA, Fla. – Looking ahead to first pitch … Game: Pirates (3-7) vs. Baltimore Orioles, Grapefruit League Time: 1:05 p.m. Site: Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota, Fla. Radio: 93.7 The Fan Here is the live box score. I’ll toss up occasional stuff on my Twitter account, too. And here is the Pirates’ lineup … Alex [...]

. BRADENTON, Fla. – Brief and to the Point … >> My Wednesday column is about the Pirates’ pitch-perfect prioritizing of elite pitching. All I’ll add here is a little extra oomph to my paragraph in there about how big all these guys are. Can’t stress this enough: Used to be you’d walk through minor-league [...]