Tag: Garrett Jones

Justin Morneau is here. The first baseman arrived in Pittsburgh at approximately 7:50 last night and made it into the Pirates’ dugout sometime between the fifth and sixth inning. “I knew what the score was. I checked the score when I landed,” Morneau said. “We were listening to it on the radio on the way […]

Neal Huntington addressed the media shortly before 6:00 this evening, and offered his thoughts on the Justin Morneau trade, as well as the roster moves made today to clear space for Morneau and Stolmy Pimentel on the 25-man active roster. “We felt that this move gives us a better chance to play in October, gives […]

Garrett Jones wasn’t happy this week. While hitting .119 for the month of August entering last night’s game (courtesy of some atrocious luck on balls in play–.119 BABIP), manager Clint Hurdle gave his first baseman “a couple days down”. Jones did not start in the Milwaukee series, and received just one at-bat in a pinch-hit […]

In less than 24 hours the playoff rosters will have to be set. If you haven’t read James Santelli’s article detailing the rules for playoff rosters, you need to do that now. A big takeaway from that article is that the playoff roster deadline is a soft deadline. For the purposes of the Pirates, the […]

As he has done so many times before in stretches when the Pirates struggle, Francisco Liriano delivered a masterful start to propel Pittsburgh to a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Liriano (15-6) pitched eight dominant, shutout innings and allowed just two hits while walking two as the Pirates (78-56) pulled into a tie […]

I don’t know why, but the MTV Video Music Awards are a must watch for me every year. It’s probably fueled by nostalgic reasons, remembering back when the VMAs were amazing. This year they opened with Lady Gaga. That can’t compare to the year where they opened with The Smashing Pumpkins, which was an amazing […]

Much has been made lately of the Pirates’ issues in the area of batting with runners in scoring position. We’ve talked about it, and you’ve talked about it as if it’s really the end-all, be-all when related to anything from a “Collapsening” to if the Pirates can win the World Series. The numbers are not […]

SAN FRANCISCO — If you are in my age group or are a frequent visitor of a service called The Internet, you know about “First-World Problems.” (Hi, I’m James Santelli and this is the hackneyed start to my First Pitch column.) Starbucks is no longer serving your favorite frappuccino? First-world problem. New printer not working? First-world […]

SAN DIEGO — As long as Gerrit Cole stays in the Pirates’ rotation this season, it seems he will remain eternally frustrated in himself. “Just a few pitches here or there” became a common refrain from Cole about how close he was to a dominant start. Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher was not at his happiest walking […]

Fans who keep a close eye on the calendar may notice the Pirates’ August déjà vu. On Sunday, August 19, 2012, the Pirates won a 19-inning game over the St. Louis Cardinals, then traveled to San Diego. The Padres swept the Bucs and Petco, and Pittsburgh started into a tailspin of 23 losses in 30 […]