AJ Burnett

AJ Burnett is another reason this team is doing so well so far.  He leads the National League in strike out with 57 and has an ERA of 2.57.  His contract runs out with the Pirates after this year and if I were the Pirates I would definitely try to keep him around for another year or two.

Starling Marte

Starling Marte has been great so far this season as a leadoff hitter.  He leads the National League in hits with 40.  He is batting well over .300 and is one stolen base behind Juan Pierre with 10.  He is the the spark this team has been missing for years at the top of the order.

Cutch

Cutch get a day off today.  He has been struggling at the plate going 2 for his last 26.  So hopefully he can clear his mind and start hitting.  I am not worried.  He struggled a little last year but put up MVP caliber numbers.

1st Place

1st place after 25 games.  After a poor start this team has won 14 of their last 19 games.  The last time the Pirates had 15 wins in the month of April was 1992.  That was the last year we had a winning season.

Jason Grilli

This guy has been great in the closer role.  He is 6 of 6 and throwing gas.  Joel Hanrahan WHO??

A Great Homestand

The Pirates had 9 straight home games and won 7 of them.  They are starting to get on a roll.  They swept the Reds, split with the Cardinals, and took 3 out of 4 from the hot Braves.  They are now half game out of 1st.  There record is 10-8.  Not bad after starting 1-5.

Starling Marte

Starling Marte is off to a great start this year.  He is tearing the cover off the baseball.  There have been questions about his plate discipline in the minor leagues and not taking enough walks.  Usually lead off hitters work the count and walk more but if Marte can keep doing what he is doing I don't think anyone will complain.

After a Slow Start...

After a slow start going 1 and 6 the Pirates have won 5 of their last 6.  They have reached the .500 mark and are 1 game out of 1st place.  The first 6 games reminded me of last year where the pitching was great and the hitting was horrible.  The last 6 games though the team is getting good pitching and some timely hitting.  Keep it up Bucs.

Opening Day vs Cubs

 

It was a cold day at the start of the game and the bats for the Bucs were also cold.  They could only muster up 3 hits all game.   Jeff Samardzija, the Cubs Pitcher, had an awesome day striking out 9 and only giving up 2 hits through 8 innings.  A.J. Burnett also pitched a good game for the Pirates but made a few mistakes in the 1st inning.  He gave up a 2 run home run to Anothony Rizzo.  That would be all that the Cubs would need.  Bucs lose 3-1.

Back in the Burgh

I was back in the Burgh this past weekend to visit the family for Easter and got to hear some of the local medias opinion of the Bucs.  The consensus is that the Pirates will win around 75-80 games this year.  This would give them another losing season that would reach 21 years.  I sure hope not.  There are just to many question marks with the pitching staff.

Jeff Locke

Jeff Locke has made the team as the Pirates 5th starting pitcher.  He was battling it out with Klye McPherson and Jeff Karstans.  Karstans is on the DL and McPherson has not pitched great this spring so Locke was the choice.

Roster set

The Pittsburgh Pirates roster is set for the season.  The only surprises of who made the team are Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Inge.  Sanchez is penceled in as the 4th starting pitcher and Inge will be a bench player.

Pirates Acquire 38 Year Old Shortstop

The Pirates have acquired a 38 year old shortstop from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  His name is John McDonald.  He is known to be a great defender but lacks hitting skills.  He will backup Clint Barmes.

Gerrit Cole

I pretty much thought that Gerrit Cole would not start the season with the Pirates and I was right.  He will begin the season in Triple-A.  We will probably se him in the big leagues in June.  Hopefully the Pirates will have a winning record and he can contribute to end the 20 year losing streak.

MLB Package

Renewed the MLB package on Verizon Fios.  Got the early bird special price of $189.99.   What a special or should I say more of a rip off.  When I first moved to NJ 9 years ago it was $119.99.

Ad at Dicks Sporting Goods

I went to Dicks Sporting Goods in Depford yesterday and saw a display for Nike cleats and Andrew McCutchen was featured in the ad.  I have never seen a Pirates featured on an ad outside of Pittsburgh.  I thought it was pretty cool.  He has really got national recognition this past year.

Jose Tabata

One of the big surprises this Spring Training is the reemergence of Jose Tabata. Last year he lost his starting job in the outfield.  He came in to camp out of shape and lacked hustle.  He was sent to Triple-A and looked like he was out of the Pirates plans.  This year he has come to camp in shape and ready to win his starting job back.  There is a lot of competition for the right field job but we will see what happens.

Follow Up On My New 2014 Pirates Logo

I actually came in contact with the head of marketing for the Pirates through LinkedIn to try and submit my logo but he told me that they were not accepting fans submissions.  He actually got back to me within a few minutes which I was surprised.  I wasn't expecting a response.  Hopefully next years logo is as cool as mine.

Cutch on MLB 13 Cover

Andrew McCutchen will grace the cover of the video game MLB 13.  Great for Cutch!  He is the leader of this team and we need another strong season from him.

Baseball America Top 100 List

Baseball America has released there Top 100 Prospect List and there are 5 Pirates players on list.  They are Gerrit Cole at #7,  Jameson Taillon at #19, Gregory Polanco at #51, Alan Hanson at #61, and Luis Heredia at #78.  We will probably see Cole sometime this year in the big leagues and Taillon sometime next year.  Polanco, Hanson, and Heredia still have some years left before we see them in the majors.

Pittsburgh Pirates 2014 Logo

The Pirates will have a new logo for the 2014 season.  They are keeping the traditional P that is worn on there hats but updating the buccaneer symbol.  I came up with a concept that modernizes the 1968-1986 logo.  Here it is.  What do you think?

Hurdle Gets an Extension

Clint Hurdle gets a 1 years extension through the 2014 season.  I am ok with this.  He has made some great strides as the manager of the Bucs but somehow needs to get this team over the hump in the 2nd half.  The last 2 years this team has collapsed in the second half of the season after being in 1st place.  It needs to change.

New Acquisitions

There are some new faces this year on the team.  The biggest acquisition is catcher Russell Martin.  He signed a 2 year deal worth 17 million dollars which for the Pirates is a lot.  He is an upgrade over last years starter Rod Barajas.  Also they have signed pitcher Francisco Liriano to add depth to the rotation.  He has tons of upside but has struggled with control the past couple years.

Spring Training

Spring Training has arrived and every year I have hope that the Pirates are going to end the 20 years of losing.  The pitchers and catchers have arrived to Bradenton, Florida and the rest of the team will arrive later this week.  Can't wait.

My Hometown Team The Pittsburgh Pirates

Hi Everyone.  I probably will not have a lot of followers but I am doing a Pittsburgh Pirates 2013 Blog.  I was born and raised 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh,Pa and grew up loving the Pirates.   I will give updates on how the team is doing and my own opinion on the Pirates.