PIRATES RUMORS & GOSSIP

Pirates' Barajas getting acquainted with new team

The Pittsburgh Pirates impressed Rod Barajas with an aggressive pitch in free agency, selling the veteran catcher on the team's promising future and the role he could play in helping them be successful. Manager Clint Hurdle envisions the 36-year-old having a positive influence on a revamped pitching staff, strengthening the defense and impacting the offense, too. Barajas signed...
Via AP on Fox  |  8 hours ago
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Lefty Prospect Locke Looking to Impress

BRADENTON — Going from Double-A Altoona, to Triple-A Indianapolis, to Pittsburgh during the 2011 season all within a month was an unforgettable experience for left-hander Jeff Locke. After spending four months with the Curve, Locke was promoted to Indy, where he made just five starts before getting the call to the big leagues. Six days later he made his Major League debut against...
Via Pirates Prospects  |  11 hours ago
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McKenry Focused on Getting Better Today

BRADENTON — Last season was a struggle at the plate for catcher Michael McKenry. Over 58 games with the Pirates in 2011, McKenry, nicknamed “The Fort”, hit .222 with 17 runs, 12 doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. But this offseason, McKenry has been working hard to improve his game at the plate. After spring training with the Colorado Rockies, McKenry was traded to...
Via Pirates Prospects  |  12 hours ago
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Can the Pittsburgh Pirates Make a Run in 2012?

The question is posed every spring. Will this be the year the Pittsburgh Pirates break the losing streak? They already hold the all-time sports record for most consecutive losing seasons, and math suggests that it can't last forever, but when will it end? The Pirates played with our hearts last year as they found themselves in first place in mid-July, but when all was said and...
Via The "Mc" Effect  |  15 hours ago
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Day Four of Spring Training

– Today’s scheduled bullpen sessions: Group 1: Jeff Karstens, A.J. Burnett, Kevin Correia, Charlie Morton Group 2: Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, Jared Hughes Group 3: Logan Kensing, Kyle McPherson, Gerrit Cole, Daniel Moskos Group 4: Jeff Locke, Duke Welker, Mike Crotta, Tim Wood –I took videos of Correia, Karstens pen, as well as the Hughes, Owens bullpen...
Via Pirates Prospects  |  16 hours ago
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Time Is Up For Pedro Alvarez

How long do you wait for a "can't miss" prospect to reach his potential? How long can a team afford to wait? Such questions will have to be answered by the Pittsburgh Pirates if Pedro Alvarez does not make progress as a player in the major leagues in 2012. Alvarez was one of the most anticipated prospects when he signed in 2008 with the Pirates as the second overall...
Via The Flagrant Fan  |  17 hours ago
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Scouting Comparison: Gerrit Cole and James Taillon

This will be the first in a series of articles that compares prospects by walking, step-by-step, through their scouting reports, culminating in my personal recommendation about which prospect is the better bet to reach their ceiling and help your team in the big leagues. In this first installment I will tackle two Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who many within the industry consider...
Via Fangraphs  |  18 hours ago
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Greg Smith: Scouting the Pirates Draft

Thanks to an infusion of high-profile prospects into the pipeline, there is a light at the end of tunnel in Pittsburgh. Scouting director Greg Smith has brought some elite talent into the system in the past two years, highlighted by last June’s first-overall pick, UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole, and 2010 second-overall selection, Jameson Taillon. And don’t forget about last...
Via Fangraphs  |  20 hours ago
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Pirates Starting Pitcher F/X (Updated)

Last month I made a post with a comparison of all the Pirates starting pitchers' 2011 pitch F/X. Now that we've added A.J. Burnett I figured I'd update the charts. Here's the data:Burnett is the only guy that's going to be throwing any thing close to a knucklecurveball this year, so you can't really compare him to the others guys too well. He throws harder...
Via The "Mc" Effect  |  1 day ago
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Burnett trade smart for both Yankees and Pirates

Few would argue that the A.J. Burnett experiment in New York has largely been a major disappointment. During his three seasons toeing the rubber in the Bronx, Burnett posted a 34-35 record, with a 4.79 ERA. Of particular concern has been his inability to throw strikes, as he totaled 258 walks and 38 hit batters in 584 innings over the past three seasons. According to various reports...
Via Sports Junkie Online  |  1 day ago
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Pirates Trying To Steal My McThunder

The Pittsburgh Pirates have finally acknowledged all the McPlayers on their team. They wrote the article below about it. Nate McLouth couldn't even name all of his fellow Mc's, and the article didn't give me a shout out in anyway. I should take some kind of legal action. Clipped from: pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com (share this clip)
Via The "Mc" Effect  |  1 day ago
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Great Day 1 for Burnett & Morton

The Pirates’ pitchers and catchers officially reported to Pirate City on Saturday but yesterday was the first pitching sessions for two key arms. Sharing the same bullpen hill were AJ Burnett and Charlie Morton, and the day couldn’t have gone much better. Burnett had been a Bucco for all of 24 hours so for him to be at Pirate City from the get go was a great sign for...
Via The Sports Jags  |  1 day ago
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Pirates 5x5 2012 Prospect Rankings

The top of the Pirates prospect rankings is dominated by starting pitchers and outfielders. A trio of each vie for collectively cracking the top five. The three starters have as much upside as any group of triplets in baseball. Top 5 fantasy prospects 1- Jameson Taillon, SP Taillon ranks behind Cole on most prospect lists, and usually, I'd go with the crowd. This...
Via Fantasy Baseball 365  |  2 days ago
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And Rod Barajas In the Role of Sugar Coating

Make sure you’re sitting down. Take a deep breath. Journeyman catcher Rod Barajas is “thrilled to reunite with (A.J.) Burnett on Bucs”. THRILLED! Funny, in the above linked article he never says he’s “thrilled” with anything, but then again, who on the Pittsburgh Pirates would be? Can we just call the A.J. Burnett trade situation what it is: EMBARRASSING...
Via MyTeamRivals.com  |  2 days ago
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Getting to know the non-roster invitees – Pitchers

With today being the first official workout by pitchers and catchers in big league camp I figured it would be a good time to highlight the players not on the 40-man roster who will be attending camp in the hopes to play their way onto the team. Gerrit Cole The Pirates have made it a tradition that their 1st round draft picks from the previous year gets invited to the big league camp...
Via North Side Notch  |  3 days ago
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