Some executives think Pirates will draft Danny Hultzen with No. 1 pick

Last Monday (5/2/11), John Perrotto reported on here that Virginia’s Danny Hultzen has emerged as the third collegian under consideration from the Pirates brass for the No. 1 overall pick in next months draft. In fact, some momentum is moving in Hultzen’s direction, according to Peter Gammons who says…

Big Weekend set for the Pirates

Pirates begin seven game home stand Coming off a 4-2 road trip, the Pirates have a big weekend set starting tonight against the last place Houston Astros at home. The Pirates who are 15-16 on the season, can move to .500 at the 32 game mark with a win tonight. Tonight begins a seven game home stand. The Pirates have posted an 11-8 record on the road but are just 4-8 at home in 12 games. Starter Paul Maholm (1-4, 4.14 ERA) takes the mound for the Pirates and is coming off a couple spotty starts of late. Malholm though is 6-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his last 7 home starts against the Houston Astros. He is 1-2 at

Pirates @ Cardinals Game Day: Bucs look to solve Carpenter

Pirates (3-2) @ Cardinals (2-3) Kevin Correia (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs Chris Carpenter (0-0, 2.57 ERA) Game Buzz Looking earn their first set of back-to-back road series wins since 2007, the Pirates will have to solve Chris Carpenter this afternoon for the time in nearly 6 years. Since the 2005 season, Carpenter is 10-0 against the Pirates with a 1.85 ERA. He is seeking his 11th straight win against the Pirates. In his only outing this season, Carpenter received a no decision, allowing 2 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings pitched against the San Diego Padres. Carpenter faced the Pirates twice last season, receiving a no decision in both Cardinal wins. In his last outing against Pittsburgh on July

Pirates @ Cardinals Pre-Game: A Look at tonight’s pitching matchup

Pirates (3-1) @ Cardinals (1-3) James McDonald (0-0) vs Kyle McClellan (0-0) Game Buzz The Pirates are off to a 3-1 start and with a win in one of the next two games, the Pirates can claim back-to-back road series wins for the first time since 2007. A surprise for the Pirates through four games has been the team getting strong starting pitching. Considered a major weakness, the Pirates starting rotation enters tonight’s game with a 2.55 ERA. James McDonald takes the mound tonight against right hander Kyle McClellan. McDonald, 26, went 4-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 11 starts with the Pirates last season, after being acquired at the July trade deadline. After coming to the Pirates, McDonald showed

Pirates @ Cardinals Pregame News and Notes

Pittsburgh Pirates (2-1) @ St. Louis Cardinals (1-2) Charlie Morton (0-0) vs Kyle Lohse (0-0) Game Buzz The Pittsburgh Pirates took two of three from the Chicago Cubs and enter a three game road stand against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight. Charlie Morton takes the mound for the Pirates and is coming off of an excellent spring and all eyes will be on Morton tonight. Morton went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA in 17 starts last season but this spring showed several encouraging signs from mechanical issues to even his attitude. He’s a wildcard in the Pirates rotation and there’s a lot of intrigue surrounding his outing tonight. Morton was 1-0 against the Cardinals last season in 2 starts. In

4/2/11 – Pirates GameDay: Doumit to bat 6th

Pirates lineup for 4/2/11 1. Jose Tabata, LF, .250 2. Neil Walker, 2B, .500 3. Andrew McCutchen, CF, .500 4. Lyle Overbay, 1B, .250 5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, .000 6. Ryan Doumit, C, .333 7. Garrett Jones, RF, .000 8. Ronny Cedeno, SS, .000 9. Paul Maholm, P

Report: Pirates had operating profit of $25 million last year

Forbes has released it’s annual report on the worth of Major League Baseball teams and according to Forbes, the Pirates franchise is worth $304 million, up 5 percent from last season. With more than $400 million in revenue sharing sent from high-revenue to low-revenue teams, several teams with low attendance were able to post operating profits of at least $10 million, according to the report. Among them: the Pittsburgh Pirates ($25 million), Kansas City Royals ($10 million), Oakland Athletics ($23 million) and Florida Marlins ($20 million). The most profitable team was the San Diego Padres, which had an operating income of $37 million in 2010. According to the report, the Padres received over $30 million in revenue sharing. The Pirates

Pirates-Astros Pre-game: Lineup shaping up for Pirates

Alvarez likely to begin season in No. 6 spot Opening day is fast approaching and 7 starters will be in the lineup for the Pirates this afternoon as the Bucs take on the Houston Astros at 1:05 p.m. Clint Hurdles 1-6 batters appear to be shaping up for opening day with Andrew McCutchen (.357) in the 3-hole and Lyle Overbay (.398) in the cleanup spot. One surprise in camp has been Pedro Alvarez not solidifying a 3-5 spot in the lineup. Alvarez who is batting .240 this spring, remains in the No. 6 spot this afternoon and that’s where he’s likely to begin the season. In 50 at-bats, Alvarez has 0 home runs and 7 RBI’s. He’s still a work