BallHype - Latest Pittsburgh Pirates News Articles

Pittsburgh Pirates designate Jeff Karstens for assignment, claim Chris Jakubauskas off waivers

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:59:07 +0000

The Pittsburgh Pirates designated right-hander Jeff Karstens for assignment and claimed right-hander Chris Jakubauskas off waivers from Seattle.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeff Karstens, Chris Jakubauskas, Seattle Mariners

Pirates designate Jeff Karstens, add pitcher

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:37:30 +0000

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates designated right-hander Jeff Karstens for assignment and claimed right-hander Chris Jakubauskas off waivers from Seattle. Karstens,...

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chris Jakubauskas

Mariners lose Chris Jakubauskas to Pirates

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:03 +0000

Chris Jakubauskas, whose story of moving from independent ball to the majors was one of the captivating tales of 2009, has been claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a Pirates' press release.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Chris Jakubauskas, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners

Cubs reach 2-year, $7.5M deal with lefty Grabow

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:11:36 +0000

The Chicago Cubs and left-handed reliever John Grabow have agreed to a two-year contract. The 31-year-old Grabow combined to go 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA last season in a career-high 75 relief appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cubs. He pitched 30 games for the Cubs after he was traded from the Pirates along with lefty Tom Gorzellany for pitchers Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart, and minor league infielder Josh Harrison on July 30.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Chicago Cubs, John Grabow, Pittsburgh Pirates, Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart

Cubs reach 2-year deal with lefty reliever Grabow

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:57:43 +0000

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Chicago Cubs, John Grabow, Pittsburgh Pirates, Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart

Cubs, LHP Grabow agree on 2-year deal (AP)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:52 +0000

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Chicago Cubs, John Grabow, Pittsburgh Pirates, Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart

Mets Watch Their Spending, Despite Minor League Concerns

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:54:12 +0000

According to figures compiled by Baseball America, the Mets spent less money on the 2009 draft than any other team in baseball.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, New York Mets, Matt Holliday, Bengie Molina, Pittsburgh Pirates, Johan Santana, New York Yankees

Bucky Williams, Negro Leagues Player, Dies at 102

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:31:39 +0000

Williams played for the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1928-39.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates

Bondy: Yeah, Yanks! Boo, parade!

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:33:38 +0000

The Creatures don't want to complain. We really don't. But that parade Friday was so badly paced, so bogus, it looked like it was produced by Fox Sports. It could have been a parade for the Kansas City Royals, or the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Fox Sports, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees

Organizational report: Pirates building from the ground up

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:12:10 +0000

The Pittsburgh Pirates should have a quiet winter. That is a hopeful sign for the long-suffering franchise.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates: GM Huntington building from the ground up

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:47:23 +0000

The Pittsburgh Pirates should have a quiet winter. That is a hopeful sign for the long-suffering franchise.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates

Journeyman Jones gets shot to shine

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Garrett Jones, the 28-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/first baseman who was an overnight sensation 10 years worth of overnights in the making, may change the image of the Minors "six-year free agent" just a bit.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Garrett Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates

Reshaping of Nationals' front office continues

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:02:56 +0000

The wholesale revamping of the Nationals' front office continued Monday when the team announced it had hired Jay Sartori as director of baseball operations. Sartori previously served as the contract administration manager in MLB's labor relations department, and will bring expertise in interpretations of contract language, the Basic Agreement and salary arbitration rules to his new job. The team also made official the hiring of Bryan Minnitti as assistant general manager, after he spent the previous nine seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, most recently as director of baseball operations. The Nationals now have made seven high-level hires to their front office since the end of the season: Roy Clark (vice president of player personnel), Doug Harris (director of player development), Kasey McKeon (director of player procurement), Minnitti, Jay Robertson (special assistant to the general manager), Sartori and Ron Schueler (special advisor to the GM). In addition, the team is

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates

Minniti, Sartori join Nats' front office (AP)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:14:45 +0000

The Washington Nationals have hired Bryan Minniti as assistant general manager and Jay Sartori as director of baseball operations, filling out GM Mike Rizzo's front office. Minniti spent the past nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the last two as director of baseball operations. Sartori has been working for Major League Baseball's labor relations department.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates

Mariners keep Wilson in Seattle through 2011

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15:08 +0000

The Mariners will keep shortstop Jack Wilson in Seattle through 2011. The team announced a new two-year contract Friday with the 30-year-old shortstop. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Wilson was acquired from Pittsburgh on July 29, along with pitcher Ian Snell, for infielder Ronny Cedeno, catcher Jeff Clement and three minor league pitchers. In 31 games Wilson hit .224 with one home run. He missed extended time due to a sore hamstring and bruised right heel.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Seattle Mariners, Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ian Snell, Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement

Mariners sign SS Wilson to 2-year deal (AP)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:05:41 +0000

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Seattle Mariners, Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ian Snell, Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement

Pirates to be more agressive in world market

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:55:00 +0000

The Pirates have shown an increased emphasis in scouring the globe for talent. There was no better evidence of that than last year's signing of a South African infielder (Gift Ngoepe) and two Indian pitchers (Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel).

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates

Bucs' FSL purchase, move approved

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Florida State League owners have approved the Pirates' bid to purchase Cincinnati's high-A club, the final step in Pittsburgh's pursuit to move a Minor League affiliate to Bradenton, Fla.

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds

Why Jason Bay Might Be Worth $20 Million a Year, to the Right Team

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 15:36:16 +0000

You (probably) can hold out for more than the $15 million a year Boston is reportedly offering you, Jason Bay. Based on his hitting, Jason Bay would be a "five win" (above replacement, or WAR) player. At $4 million a WAR, (the going free agent rate), Bay should be worth something like $20 million a year, at least for the first two years. (Maybe with third and fourth year cuts to $18 and $15 million to reflect his aging.) But the conventional wisdom is that Bay may be worth as little as $12-$14 million. That's not misguided, because Bay is now MINUS at least one and a half wins on defense. Even since he hurt his knee in 2007, he has very limited range. This leads to a low ultimate zone range (UZR) score. On the other hand, he is a fine defender in the "traditional" sense, making few errors on the balls he can reach. Bay would be a valuable addition to the team that is light on hitting, but has strong defense in center field, hopefully from a player that is under club control for all, or most ...

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates

Trade Analysis: Pirates pick up Iwamura

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 04:55:08 +0000

Akinori Iwamura will try to help the Pirates get back in the swing of things. When the Pirates traded for Akinori Iwamura on Tuesday night, sending righthanded reliever Jesse Chavez to Tampa Bay, then exercised the second baseman’s 2010 option, Iwamura became the highest-paid Pirate at $4.85 million for 2010. It’s an instant upgrade for Pittsburgh, as after Freddy Sanchez was dealt to the Giants this past summer, the quartet of Ramon Vazquez, Delwyn Young, Brian Bixler and Luis Cruz combined to hit .218 with four homers and 26 RBI in 285 at-bats, 222 of them by Young, who hit .311 with a .385 on-base percentage in 132 at-bats in a part-time role before the All-Star break, but struggled when pressed into everyday service. Young going back to the bench, with his ability to play the corner outfield spots as well as second base, also provides a much-needed boost for the Pirates. Iwamura was batting .310 when he hurt his knee in a collision in Miami on May 24, and returned to hit ...

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Akinori Iwamura, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates