Tag: Neal Huntington

The Pirates are probably not making the playoffs this year. You could probably determine that on your own, even after a welcomed series win in Denver kept them from sinking back under the .500 mark. FanGraphs has their playoff odds at just under 12 percent after Wednesday’s win, but you could surmise that from a […]

PITTSBURGH — Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spoke with the Pittsburgh media following his trade deadline acquisitions of right-handed starter Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays and right-handed relieve Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers. Here’s the full video of Huntington’s press briefing.

PITTSBURGH — After rising as high as nine games over .500 in mid-May, the Pirates have sagged as June approaches, but you can’t accuse team management of sitting on its hands. To the contrary, the past week has seen four personnel/roster adjustment, each of which has been a nod toward the here and now. First […]

PITTSBURGH — Everywhere we turn in Major League Baseball media coverage these days, we see repeated references to two large-scale phenomena: Optimized launch angle and increased strikeout rate. As a team that constantly seeks every inefficiency available in its quest to win on a budget, the Pirates have likely considered the possible benefits of swimming […]

PITTSBURGH — It wasn’t the most modest proposal, but my story from Sunday morning about how the Pirates could deploy their multitude of starting pitching options in a more efficient way came with a dose on inherent humility. Yeah, I’ve watched and covered the sport for many years, but in the end I’m just a […]

PITTSBURGH — Nick Kingham will, in all probability, once again stand astride the pitching rubber on the PNC Park mound Saturday night with the Padres in town. For as sharp as Joe Musgrove has been on his rehab journey through the Pirates’ minor-league system — how does 5 2/3 perfect innings in Triple-A over the […]

PITTSBURGH — Felipe Vásquez bailed out the Pirates on Saturday night, even though he wasn’t literally credited with a save. In taking over for a struggling George Kontos in the eighth inning and closing out the team’s fifth straight win, Vásquez papered over a growing concern in the back end of the Pirates’ bullpen. While […]

Chad Kuhl tied an MLB career high in innings pitched (seven) and matched a career low in hits allowed (one) during his outstanding start Sunday at Milwaukee, helping the Pirates improve to 4-0 in series against National League Central teams this season. Beyond the team context, which is obviously important, it’s valid to wonder if […]

Immediately following Sunday’s series finale at Milwaukee, the Pirates will have four of the next 15 days off. That’ll be their most idle two-week stretch of the season that doesn’t include the MLB all-star break. Because of this quirk in the schedule, the Pirates can afford to get more creative than usual with their 25-man […]

Per research done by Jay Jaffe in a recent piece for FanGraphs, the Pirates are in good company with their surprisingly successful start. As it turns out, 14 of the past 15 Major League Baseball teams to win nine of their first 12 games — a level the Pirates reached with their series win in […]