Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

Four hours to the deadline, and the rumors continue to swirl. The Pirates/Sox/Marlins deal is still in the works, but it is not a sure thing. It is a very complex trade, with three teams invloved, large sums of money exchanging hands and several top prospects being moved. This will likely go [...]

As sludgeworm noted in the comments of last night’s game, Teddy Bloch of USA Today contacted me with some questions on the deal that sent Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yankees. The slightly shortened, online version of my replies can be found here. My answers also appear on page 9 of the USA [...]

With less than 20 hours remaining before the deadline, trade talks are heating up. Dejan has been all over the details, spending the last several hours updating us on his blog. It looks like the strongest talks regarding Jason Bay have occurred with the Rays. The names being tossed around the most [...]

PNC Park | 7:05 | Duke vs. Aaron Cook | Box
Zach Duke continued his rash of poor pitching with another lackluster effort tonight. The Rockies scored six times off him – three came on a tater from Chris Iannetta in the fifth – in five innings.
The Bucs staged another comeback. This time it wasn’t enough. [...]

Some good news came out of the Pirates’ farm system today. Jason Delaney was promoted from Altoona to Indianapolis, and was replaced on the Curve roster by Jim Negrych and Jamie Romak. None of these players is a great prospect, but each is having an excellent season. It is time to see [...]

PNC Park | 7:05 | Herrera vs. Glendon Rusch | Box
Luis Rivas had three hits – just a homer shy of the cycle – and drove in three to help the Pirates come back after trailing four to zero.
Yoslan Herrera struggled in the first. He gave up three runs, three hits and two walks. After [...]

Please note that many of these responses were submitted before the trade of Xavier Nady.
Question:
Should the Pirates bring up Andrew McCutchen as soon as there is an opening for him in the everyday lineup? Or should he remain in Triple-A for further development, regardless of the situation in Pittsburgh?
Dave from Bucs Trade Winds
The determining factor [...]

PNC Park | 7:05 | Snell vs. Valerio de los Santos | Box
It looked bad in the early going. Ian Snell allowed a two run jack to Matt Holliday in the first and an RBI single from Willy Taveras in the second. But the Pirates rallied. And it could’ve been worse as Troy Tulowitzki was [...]

PNC Park | 1:35 | Maholm vs. Jake Peavy | Box
Jake Peavy and Paul Maholm locked horns. They both pitched seven innings and gave up just one run. Peavy struck out ten. Maholm whiffed nine.
The game was decided in the 8th with John Grabow on the mound. Scott Hairston delivered a tie breaking solo homer. [...]