October 2010
Pirates release 2011 promotional schedule
The Pirates released their Promotional Schedule for the 2011 season. Some of the promotions include: Andrew McCutchen Action Figure, Neil Walker Bobblehead, Kids Pedro Alvarez batting practice jersey, and Blass/Sanguillen 1971 Championship canvas wrap.
To see the full schedule, click here.
1960′s game seven viewing in pgh Nov. 13
On November 13th at 6:00 p.m. at the Byham Theatre in Pittsburgh, the copy of game seven of the 1960′s world series will be unveiled.
The copy was found in the late Bing Cosby’s wine cellar and will be shown on MLB Network later this year.
Bob Costas and MLB Network will host the viewing and the guest include: Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat and Bobby Richardson.
There is a limited number of tickets available to the public and for fans interested in attending should email Game7onMLBN@mlb.com.
Ex-Bucco Sanchez makes history in game one
Freddy Sanchez made history during game one of the world series against the Rangers on Wednesday night. Sanchez hit three doubles in his first three at-bats becoming the first player in world series history to do so.
“Obviously, for no one to have done that yet, it’s something special,” Sanchez said. “For just a little guy like me to go out there and be able to do it.
Sanchez helped the Giants defeat the Rangers 11-7 and take a 1-0 series lead. He went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.
“A couple of those pitches we wanted to get a little deeper in on him,” Texas manager Ron Washington said of Sanchez. “But that guy can hit, man.”
“Freddy is a great player — I mean, this guy did win the batting title one year,” Bochy said. “He can hit, and he can hit good pitching, and he showed that tonight, and really, throughout the playoffs.
Pirates waiting to interview Clint Hurdle?
According to Tracy Ringolsby (MLB Network Insider) the reason for the Pirates slowed managerial interviews could be that they are interested in Clint Hurdle –the Rangers hitting coach.
“I think that there is a reason it’s been two weeks since they’ve interviewed anybody and they still haven’t made a decision. That means that the guy they are interested in hasn’t been available yet. Now there’s been a lot of speculation, Tony Pena, coach of the New York Yankees who played for the Pirates. He’ll be a guy they are interested in. But the guy I think is a sleeper in this whole thing is the Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle. Hurdle brings a lot of things to Pittsburgh that they are looking for a manager. He’s a guy that has a track record that shows he can go through the struggles of building with a young team. He understands that not everything is going to be perfect. But he’s able to not only build with a young team but in Colorado, he took that young team all the way to the World Series. The other thing Hurdle brings is a lot of life and personality. This guy is very charismatic. The Pirates need that type of a guy to be in a leadership role. When he was with the Rockies he wasn’t just a manager, he was the face of the Rockies in the public. He was the guy who went to the events and really got the community behind the team. He could move into Pittsburgh and be an ideal fit in that situation.”
Pirates are no longer considering Sveum
Dale Sveum is no longer in the running for the Bucs Manager position as he was informed by the Pirates’ club.
On Saturday, Sveum told Milwaukee’s 1250-AM WSSP that he will be back as the Brewers’ hitting coach for the 2011 season.
Of the seven interviewed, four are no longer being considered. Bo Porter, Carlos Tosca and Jeff Banister remain candidates for the Pirates managerial job.
General Manager Neal Huntington is reportably conducting more interviews for the position.
Macha no longer being considered as Pirates skipper
The Pirates are no longer considering Ken Macha as their potential manager according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Ken Macha said General Manager Neal Huntington told him he was no longer under consideration.
“They need to get a young guy in there,” said Macha.
“It would have been nice. I live here in Pittsburgh, I was a Pirate at one time. It would have been nice to be at home and manage my hometown team.”
Of the seven candidates interviewed, Macha is the third name to be taken off the list. Eric Wedge was hired by the Mariners as skipper and John Gibbons is remaining bench coach with the Royals. Bo Porter, Jeff Banister, Dale Sveum and Carlos Tosca are the only remaining candidates that were interviewed for the position.
Despite not being hired by the Pirates, Macha wishes the pirates well and even has an idea for what kind of manager the Bucs need.
“I hope they get it turned around,” he said.
For that to happen, Macha said, the team needs a manager whose philosophy pervades the entire organization.
“Tony La Russa is a stickler on details,” he said as an example. “You’re going to play good defense. You’re going to hustle every ball out. He likes guys that can hit home runs.”
Gibbons withdrawls, Pena added to candidate list?
The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that John Gibbons has withdrawal his name from the Pirates’ managerial Candidates. He will remain as the Royals bench coach.
There has been no reason why Gibbons has withdrawn but, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Trib, he has not been contacted by the Pirates since his interview on October 11th.
“I haven’t heard a word since my interview,” said Gibbons.
Gibbons was surprised the Pirates’ were interested in him as a potential manager of the Bucs.
“It came out of the blue,” said Gibbons. “I’d read that John Russell got let go, so I knew there was an opening. I was kind of hoping I’d get considered.”
“They have some good, young talent,” Gibbons said. “The future looks bright.”
Yankees’ bench coach, Tony Pena, is a likely candidate for the managerial job according to sources. He is ineligible to interview until after the playoff run is over (The Yankees are currently down 3-2 to the Rangers).
Since John Russell was fired on October 4th, the Pirates interviewed seven candidates in 10 days for the position.
The list includes: John Gibbons, Dale Sveum, Carlos Tosca, Jeff Banister, Bo Porter and Ken Macha. Eric Wedge was also interviewed but signed as the Mariners new skipper.
There have not been any interviews in the past week. General Manager Neal Huntington told the trib on Wednesday: “The managerial search is an ongoing process. We continue to do due diligence on candidates and are considering additional interviews.”
AFL Update (Mesa Solar Sox)
The Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall league has played five games so far this season. Since the prospects are such an important part of the Pirates future, I wanted to post on how some of the Pirates’ players have done thus far.
- Pitcher Brian Leach in two games: 2.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 2K (0.00 ERA)
- Pitcher Aaron Pribanic in one game: 2.1 IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 3K (0.00 ERA)
- Pitcher Justin Wilson in one game: 2.0 IP, 2H, 1BB, 3K (0.00 ERA) According to Keith Law, Wilson hit 95 on the gun in the first and several 93 and 94′s.
- Catcher Tony Sanchez in three games: 12 AB, 3R, 4H, 1R, 1BB, 4K (.333 AVG, .385 OBP)
- Third Baseman Josh Harrison in three games: 15 AB, 1R, 2H, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1BB, 5K (.133 AVG)
- Short Stop Jordy Mercer in three games: 14 AB, 2R, 6H, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 2K (.429 AVG, .429 OBP)
- Outfielder Andrew Lambo in five games: 24 AB, 7R, 7H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI (.292 AVG, .458 SLG)
The Mesa Solar Sox –which also has players from the Angels, Phillies, Cubs, and Mets organizations– are 4-1 and are tied in first in the AFL East with Scottsdale.
Arizona Fall league started on October 12th and runs through November 18th.
SI reporting Eric Wedge hired by M’s
Sports Illustrated reported on Friday around 4:40 pm that former Indians’ Manager, Eric Wedge was hired by the Seattle Mariners as their new skipper.
Wedge was the first to be interviewed by the Pirates’ in search for a new manager. He was believed to be the front runner for the job because of his strong ties with General Manager Neal Huntington.
Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated said this: @SI_JonHeyman: with wedge apparently going to seattle, pirates job seems wide, wide open. he was seen as the favorite there
Kristy Robinson
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