BallHype User Blog - bmac21

Pirates sign a pitcher who ate his own hat

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:24:33 +0000

Meet Wilfredo Ledezma, a journeyman left-hander who the Pirates signed out of minor league free agency. Never mind his lefthandedness, his 9.53 ERA with Washington last year, or the fact that he might not even make the team in 2010…just read this, from his Wikipedia page : Thanks to ...

bmac21 posted 8 hours ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

Free Agent Frenzy

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:15:39 +0000

Thanksgiving weekend wasn’t completely quiet as far as Pirates news goes, with a rumor here and a rumor there as the hot stove starts to heat up. Names that have been linked to the Bucs: Rick Ankiel, Hank Blalock , and Mike Gonzalez . Now that the addition of Akinori Iwamura has filled ...

bmac21 posted 48 hours ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Akinori Iwamura, Neal Huntington, Garrett Jones, Jeff Clement

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:00:16 +0000

I was thinking about putting together a list of things we should be thankful for as Pirates fans, but, well, that would be kind of difficult, and it’s already been done here , anyway. Thank YOU for reading RTJR. Enjoy your turkey. ©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger . All Rights ...

bmac21 posted 4 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

How many can you get?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:22:53 +0000

A friend showed me this quiz last night. It’s fascinating, frustrating, stunning, and surprisingly difficult. Give it a try and see how you do – we scored in the 97th percentile. ©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger . All Rights Reserved. .

bmac21 posted 5 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

How do the Pirates sell season tickets?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:56:27 +0000

If you’ve never seen it before (and I hadn’t until my foul-ball-obsessed brother showed it to me), I highly reccomend checking out this blog . It’s run by Erik, a Pirates season ticket holder who goes early to nearly every Bucs home game (along with frequent trips to other ...

bmac21 posted 7 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

Roster moves!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:58:00 +0000

With the deadline to set 40 man rosters (midnight tonight) fast approaching, the Pirates shifted things around a bit today. Some moves were expected, some weren’t: Relievers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio moved from the 60-day-DL to the 40-man. Prospects Brad Lincoln, Gorkys Hernandez, ...

bmac21 posted 10 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Evan Meek, Jose Ascanio, Bryan Morris, Jeff Karstens

Cubs re-sign John Grabow

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:17:07 +0000

It sure will be a bummer to watch our old buddy pitch in Cubbie blue for the next two years, especially when he comes in to shut down the Pirates in the 8th inning of a close game. That’ll happen, oh, about 20 times over the next two seasons in my estimation. Thing is, Chicago’s ...

bmac21 posted 11 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Chicago Cubs, John Grabow, Pittsburgh Pirates, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez

Boring News and Notes

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:35:21 +0000

Nothing interesting really going on of late… The Pirates hired Steve Williams as a scout . Hooray! You know what’s really useless? An online petition. But, since there’s nothing better to do, I have two for you to sign . One is in protest of Brewers SS Alcides Escobar ...

bmac21 posted 13 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, MLB Network, Mike Gonzalez

Fourth?!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:13:39 +0000

The “official” Rookie of the Year Award winners were announced today, and Andrew McCutchen did not take home the hardware , despite the support of Baseball America and the Baseball Bloggers Alliance . I’m not stunned he didn’t win it. Tommy Hanson and J.A. Happ were ...

bmac21 posted 14 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Garrett Jones, Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies

Jack Wilson will remain a Mariner

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:28:08 +0000

Jumpin’ Jack Flash signed a 2-year deal worth $10 million with the M’s on Friday . I guess there had been a few rumblings about Wilson potentially returning to Pittsburgh as a free agent, but that won’t happen. He accepted the offer from his new team before free agency ...

bmac21 posted 16 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

Could Ryan Doumit be the next to go?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:30:43 +0000

The latest wave of offseason speculating-because-there’s-nothing-else-to-do has Ryan Doumit on the trading block . That’s not terribly difficult to fathom. Neal Huntington sure does love making trades, the Pirates have catching depth in the minors, and there aren’t a lot of ...

bmac21 posted 17 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Doumit, Neal Huntington, Rudy Jaramillo

More news and notes

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:31 +0000

Goodness…nothing happens for what seems like weeks on end and all of a sudden we’re bombarded with news! Here goes… The Pirates are apparently interested in Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi, according to MLBTR . Neal Huntington on the subject: “In acquiring ...

bmac21 posted 19 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Neal Huntington, Ross Ohlendorf, Yoslan Herrera, Denny Bautista, Delwyn Young

2010 Pirates Spring Training Schedule

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:43:12 +0000

Just released… Feb 17 – Pitchers and catchers report 22 – Position players report 23 – First full-squad workout March 2 State College of Florida (formerly Manatee Community) March 3 at Yankees March 4 at Braves March 5 at Orioles (now based in Sarasota) ...

bmac21 posted 19 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

Really? The Brewers didn’t want Matt Capps?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:25:48 +0000

On Friday, the Brewers sent shortstop J.J. Hardy to Minnesota for OF Carlos Gomez. Turns out that the Pirates were in the Hardy sweepstakes as well–looking to upgrade from Ronny Cedeno at short. The Bucs offered Matt Capps to the Brew Crew . Gomez, Hardy, and Capps are all coming off ...

bmac21 posted 19 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Milwaukee Brewers, Matt Capps, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Doumit, Andy LaRoche, Jeff Clement

News and Notes

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 23:01:00 +0000

This is kind of weird… according to Rob Biertempfel’s Twitter , the Pirates and Phillies will wrap up Spring Training with games on April 2 and 3. In Philly. Opening up the season at home is enough of a risk to freeze, but I guess that will serve as a bit of a transition from the ...

bmac21 posted 21 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Donnie Veal, Jose Tabata, Jeff Francoeur, Chase Utley

Let’s get to know Akinori Iwamura

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:00:49 +0000

Regardless of whether or not you think bringing him in was a good idea, I have a feeling that Akinori Iwamura is going to make quite the impression on Pirates fans over the next year, half year, or next few years. “Aki” should be both productive and exciting, no matter how long he ...

bmac21 posted 23 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

News and Notes

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:37:25 +0000

Couple of quick hits, now that it’s officially the offseason: The Pirates removed three players from the 40-man roster : Virgil Vasquez, Eric Hacker, and Steve Lerud. Vasquez, of course, pitched horribly in the second half as an emergency starter/bullpen guy with the Bucs. Hacker was ...

bmac21 posted 24 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Virgil Vasquez, Eric Hacker, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals

Yankees Win World Series

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 05:09:57 +0000

bmac21 posted 25 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

Are five years of Jesse Chavez worth one year of Akinori Iwamura?

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 03:50:13 +0000

The Pirates don’t think so, as they made yet another trade Tuesday. Chavez is headed to Tampa Bay, and Iwamura is coming to Pittsburgh . The blogs/media I’ve read so far are happier about the Pirates’ end of the deal than I thought they would be. As much as I like Iwamura ...

bmac21 posted 27 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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

Akinori Iwamura traded to Pirates for Jesse Chavez

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:11:19 +0000

UPDATE, 8:02 PM: Done deal . Iwamura for Chavez, straight up. There were rumblings about another player coming to Pittsburgh, but they were false. Sorry to leave you all hanging for a bit – new post on the way soon. UPDATE: 5:33 PM: [ Ken Rosenthal reports ] that the Pirates are ...

bmac21 posted 27 days ago from raisethejollyroger.com

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