Results tagged ‘ joel hanrahan ’
Pirates ‘pen coming together
The Pirates made several announcements on Wednesday, leaving just a few spots open in the ‘pen during the final six weeks until opening day.
Manager Clint Hurdle named Joel Hanrahan the Bucs closer and Evan Meek as the eighth-inning set up man.
He also announced that Joe Beimel will become the Pirates lefty specialist for the 2011 season. Beimel signed a minor league contract with a non-roster spring training invite. The Pirates will need to remove someone from the 40-man roster in order to make room for the southpaw.
“We didn’t go get him to try him out,” Hurdle said. “We wanted to have a left-handed option that can bridge innings for us toward the back end of the game. He’s going to play a significant role as well.”
The leaves four spots open in the bullpen.
After great success with the Pirates in 2010 (in 19 innings, 22 appearances, Resop posted a 1.89 ERA with 24 strikeouts), Chris Resop will most likely land a job.
Jose Veras seems like another favorite in the ‘pen. In five seasons and 176 appearances, Veras has a career 4.24 ERA (3.75 ERA in 2010 with the Cleveland Indians).
“He was a good get for us,” Hurdle said of Veras, who signed a Minor League deal with the team in January. “[General manager] Neal [Huntington] was very aggressive to go get Veras. He’s got a big arm.”
The Pirates have many options for the remaining spots. Jeff Karstens and Brian Burres could fill in as the long reliever. Whoever doesn’t win the fifth spot in the rotation, Charlie Morton or Scott Olsen, could also fill that role.
Some other options include: Tyler Yates, Kevin Hart, Chris Leroux, Justin Thomas, Sean Gallagher, Jose Ascanio, and Fernanado Nieve.
“I want these guys to have a clean shot,” Hurdle said. “It’s not always about the results in Spring Training, but it’s about the quality of the stuff. I think we’ve got enough educated eyes around here to get a better read on that, rather than just the numbers as they play out.”
Hanrahan named Bucs closer
The Pirates and Manager Clint Hurdle announced on Wednesday afternoon that right-hander Joel Hanrahan will open the season as the Bucs closer.
Hanrahan has 20 career saves, including six last year for the Pirates. He went 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA, striking out 100 in 69.2 innings.
“We had a lot of internal discussion,” Hurdle said. “I don’t think there was a bad choice. But based on some experience that Joel has had in the past, just for the makeup of our ballclub, the continuity that was showed late last season with them piggybacking each other, that’s the way we’re going to start the season.”
“It was a decision they had to make,” Hanrahan said. “I didn’t sit there and talk to my mom, like, ‘I want to be the closer so bad.’ Everybody wants to be the closer. It’s not something you discuss with each other. We were waiting to see what was going to happen.”
“Those last three outs are the most important outs in the game,” Hanrahan said. “You’ve got to go out there with the mindset of, ‘Let’s get it done and go home.’ I’m going to try to take the same approach I had when I pitched in the seventh and eighth innings.”
Evan Meek will be the Pirates primary eighth-inning setup man. He will also be the first choice to close games on days when Hanrahan is unavailable.
“In a perfect world, obviously, I would love to [close],” Meek said. “But more power to him. He’s going to do a great job, and he’s the right guy to be there.
“We both knew that it was going to be between us. They knew that they had two guys who could take care of that. We’re going to have a real strong back end of that bullpen. Whatever role I have, it’s going to be getting him that ball.”
“In a perfect world, obviously, I would love to [close],” Meek said. “But more power to him. He’s going to do a great job, and he’s the right guy to be there.
“We both knew that it was going to be between us. They knew that they had two guys who could take care of that. We’re going to have a real strong back end of that bullpen. Whatever role I have, it’s going to be getting him that ball.”
“They both have the desire to do the best thing for the team,” Hurdle said. “Individually, they’re very complimentary of each other. It was never one against another. They’re going to do what’s best for the ballclub.”
The Pirates also announced that Joe Beimel (who was a spring training non-roster invitee) will become the Pirates lefty specialist for this season.
Hanrahan addressing the media after being named the Pirates closer (photo via @BucsInsider)
Meek is ready for the season to begin
Evan Meek is already anxious for the new season to begin. Although, Monday kicks off the first official day of spring training, Meek wishes the season would get here much faster.
“It’s exciting to get things started again, but spring training is like a month-and-half long, too long. I’d be fine if it lasted a week,” Meek said Sunday after a workout at Pirate City, where pitchers and catchers officially open with new manager Clint Hurdle today. “Let’s get it started.”
Meek and Joel Hanrahan are coming off of great 2010 seasons. Evan was named the Pirates All-Star representative and went 5-4 with a 2.14 ERA and picked up four saves. Hanrahan 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA and six saves. He also struck out 100 batters in just 69.2 innings.
The closers role has not yet been announced and General Manager Neal Huntington had said there won’t be a spring training competition for the role. So just who will claim that ninth inning role?
“Joel and I would both like that role [as closer]. We’ve talked about it,” Meek said. “But either way would be fine with me, however it comes out. It’s really not important when you look at the overall picture.”
Meek arrived at spring training much slimmer than last year.
(Picture credit: Eric Gay/Associated Press)
Evan Meek jokes with teammates after being offered a Pirates cap to replace a camouflage-print cap he had been wearing at a voluntary spring training workout Sunday. -Pittsburgh-Post Gazette
Day two and three of Pirates caravan
Pirates caravan continued as they traveled to areas such as: Wheeling, WV., Steubenville, OH., and State College, PA. Here are some pictures from day two and three.
James McDonald, Jeff Karstens and Neil Walker made a snowman in Latrobe (via @BucsInsider)
Jose Tabata and Joel Hanrahan signing autographs in Erie, Pennsylvania (via @ErinRagan)
Joel Hanrhan chatting live with The Hound, the Pirates radio affiliate in Ridgway (Via @BucsInsider)
The entire group 3 caravan leg in Altoona with the Curve (Via @BucsInsider)
The Pirate Parrot is a little hesitant to try the wings in Steubenville (Via @BucsInsider) –Perhaps, he is a vegetarian, like me! 
Here’s to you: Neil Walker checking out his introductory video here at the Fort Steuben Mall (Via @BucsInsider)
Pirates Caravan kicks off
Pirates Caravan kicked off on Monday (be sure to check out the schedule here, to see when the Pirates will be stopping near you).
There are three groups this year.
Group one: Andrew McCutchen, Evan Meek, Ross Ohlendorf, third base coach Nick Leyva and broadcasters Bob Walk and John Wehner.
Group two: pitching coach Ray Searage, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Neil Walker and broadcaster Tim Neverett.
Group three: bench coach Jeff Banister, Garrett Jones, Joel Hanrahan, Jose Tabata and broadcaster Greg Brown.
Here are several pictures from day one of the Caravan:
James McDonald and Jeff Karstens chat with a fan who has been collecting autographs since 1944 (Via @BucsInsider).
Joel Hanrahan and Garrett Jones sign autographs from fans (Via @BucsInsider).
Neil Walker talking baseball in Morgantown, West Virgina (Via @BusInsider).
Evan Meek signs autographs on day one of the winter caravan (Via @RobBiertempfel).
Hanrahan discusses his third season in Pittsburgh
Reliever Joel Hanrahan chatted with the Des Moines Resister about his third season in Pittsburgh.
On having his high school jersey retired last month: “It was awesome. It’s something I didn’t really see coming,” Hanrahan said of the honor. “I wasn’t always the best player in high school. It’s a huge honor to have Norwalk do that for me. It was a fun experience. I’m very thankful for everyone coming out and for Norwalk to do that for me.”
[Be sure to read my post from the night of his jersey retiring.]
On staying under control during the ninth inning: “You’ve got to slow the game down when you get out there,” he said. “Sometimes you want to get those last three outs as quick as possible and get on the road, get out of the clubhouse.”
“You’ve got to be mentally strong so you can block out the crowd and do your job,” he said. “If you’re at home they’re excited to see a win. And on the road they start chanting and you’ve got somebody like Albert Pujols coming up with a runner on base and you’re up by one run. You’ve got to block all that out, worry about making your pitches and getting them out.”
On the role of set-up man and closer: “It’s the same mentality,” Hanrahan said. “You just go out there to keep our team in the game. The starters take a lot of pride in what they do. You don’t want to go out there and blow a game for them or blow a game for the team.
“There’s pride in yourself, too. You don’t want to be a goat that day. Your job is to go out there and hold the game and that’s what I tried to do.”
On a career high 100 strikeout season: “I always like strikeouts and it helps me understand that I can get anybody out if I need to,” he said. “If I get into a slump it’ll give me the confidence to know that I can get out of it.
“I learned a lot last year about what having confidence will do for you. I went out there that I wasn’t going to get beat that day. I think that really helped me out. And that’s something I’m going to build on this year.”
On playing in Pittsburgh and expecting to have a winning record: “That’s our goal – to go out there and win,” he said. “If we didn’t think we could win why would we go out there? All our young guys got a lot of experience last year and we’re looking for them to continue what they did last season, if not improve.
“We feel like we have a chance to go out there and win, and that’s our goal. We’ll go out there and compete for nine innings every game.”
“The stadium there in Pittsburgh is amazing. It’s definitely in the top three places that I’ve played in – home or road,” he said. “Fans there are really good. We’re just waiting for the day when we get a winning team.
Hanrahan signs a one-year deal
The Pirates and reliever Joel Hanrahan have agreed to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The contract is for $1.4 million.
The 29-year-old went 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 72 appearances (69.2 innings) with 100 strikeouts (a career high) and picked up six saves. Hanrahan made $453,000 during the 2010 season.
“It was that close,” Pirates right-handed relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan said of an arbitration-avoiding deal he signed Tuesday afternoon with the Pirates. “We got it done at 12:58, just before the [1 p.m.] deadline. It feels good to get it done. I definitely didn’t want to have to go through the arbitration process, possibly go to court and all of that.”
General Manager Neal Huntington has not announced who will be the closer during the 2011 season; Hanrahan or Evan Meek. Huntington also said last week during the Pirates mini camp, there will not be a spring training competition.
“Just ready to get going now,” Hanrahan said. “I’m just excited that the contract stuff is behind me and I’m ready to get going this season.”
Bucco news and notes: 1/16
- General Manager Neal Huntington on whether they have approached Andrew McCutchen on a multi-year deal:
“We won’t negotiate publicly with anybody. Whether we approach somebody or not, we’re not going to acknowledge. We hope the first time it’s heard about is when it happens.”
- On whether some Pirates prospects will be called up and play a large roll this season:
“Tampa is the model organization for a lot of reasons. They’re a successful, small-market team that develops its own players. They do a tremendous job of letting their pitchers develop over time. They don’t rush a pitcher to the big leagues because they have a need. They let a guy spend a full year in A ball, then a full year in Double-A, then maybe a full year in Triple-A and bring him to the big leagues when he’s ready. That’s what we’ll try to do. We brought some guys up last year who didn’t hit the ground running and had some early struggles. We’re going to figure out why they weren’t ready and help them get better. We want to learn a lesson to help the next guy come through. As hard as that is, we can’t bring a player to the big leagues because we have a need.”
On who is the closer; Joel Hanrahan or Evan Meek:
“We explored the (free agent) market, like we did a year ago when we brought in Octavio Dotel. It’s a nice feeling to have Evan and Joel to mix and match in the seventh and eighth innings. We explored the market, but nothing came to fruition. We continue to look if there’s a veteran we can add to the bullpen. We’ve got some great arms internally. It’s not something that Clint and I have sat down and talked about just yet. But I’d expect we’ll have that decision soon, whether we’re going to go with both guys (as closers) and let them battle it out during the season or if we’re going to set a guy at the beginning of spring training.”
After watching the Steelers defeat the Ravens Saturday night, Pirates Josh Fields (@OkieFields) had this to say:
What a game! Steelers just grinded and found a way to win! We are going to transfer some of that mentality to the diamond this year!
Bucco news and notes: 1/15
- Ross Ohlendorf and Joel Hanrahan filed for salary arbitration on Friday. They are the only two Pirates to file, just 119 players in major league baseball.
- Garrett Jones arrived at mini camp on Thursday (he was late due to a family wedding in Mexico) noticeably thinner and “a little bit faster, too.” Jones weighed 255 last season and is said to have dropped 10 pounds. This offseason Jones has been diligently working with a speed enhancement and velocity trainer.
- Pirates beat reporter Jenifer Langosch addressed the possible future of five players as spring training approaches us.
Jose Ascanio missed the entire 2010 season due to an injury but has pitched well during the Venezuelan Winter League. Most likely, his role in 2011 will be as a reliever.
Kevin Hart missed the entire 2010 season as well, he underwent labrum surgery after a disastrous spring training. Hart is currently healthy and threw during Pirates mini camp. His role in 2011 would most likely be as a reliever, until he can prove himself as a starter.
Charlie Morton had a horrible first two months of the season, picking up nine losses and then was optioned to Triple-A Indy. He pitched much better toward the end of the season but the Pirates are still unsure whether he is mentally tough enough. Morton will be competing for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring training.
Chris Resop is one of the leading candidates in the Pirates ‘pen. After being claimed off waivers in August, he allowed four earned runs and struck out 24 in 19 innings.
John Bowker will be competing for a spot as an extra outfielder along with Alex Presley, Steve Pearce, Cory Wimberly and Ryan Doumit (Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz will split the majority of the playing time in right field this season). Bowker was acquired in July by the San Franscio Giants and batted hit .232 in 26 games with the Pirates.
Closer role still undecided
The Pirates still have not decided who will close out games during the 2011 season: Joel Hanrahan or Evan Meek.
“They haven’t said anything,” said Meek, here at Pirate City for a weeklong voluntary minicamp. “In terms of [management officials] making their decision, they have haven’t said anything, but it isn’t something that should keep you up at night. Whether it is the eighth or ninth inning that I end up working, you still need to go out and get three outs. You know that as a person who does what I do.”
“If they’ve got their mind up already about who the closer is going to be, I don’t know,” Hanrahan said. ”I’m just trying to get ready for spring training. I’d be happy with doing either one, working the eighth or ninth. I know I’d be fine with whatever role it is, just as long as we are getting the opportunities. If we get the opportunities, that means we are winning games and, really, that’s the main concern around here.”
General Manager Neal Huntington has said they are discussing the role, and would name a closer before spring training starts (pitchers and catchers report February 13th, first workout for all players is on the 19th). It’s also not his main priority in mid-January.
“We have talked in generalities of choosing one or the other for those specific roles. We have talked in generalities of using both. Clint and I need to spend some more time, in the future, talking about this because I know both guys, Evan and Joel, are hungry to pitch.”
“This is not something that we have to answer right now, but this is something that we want to have an answer to before spring training,” Huntington said. We won’t have a competition for the closer … during spring training. Whoever is our closer, is our closer.”
After Octavio Dotel was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July, both Hanrahan and Meek split closing duties; Joel picking up six, Evan four.
The guys in the pen, however, are used to routine and the uncertainty of who would pitch in the ninth did effect them.
“It was different,” Hanrahan said of last season. “Everyone likes to have a role and know when exactly the situations are that they Dere going to come into a game. Last year was different. We’d kind of sit there and look at each other, and then the phone rang [in the bullpen] and sometimes that is how we found out who was going to work. It was just different.”
Both have said they would they would be happy being the closer, but there is no adversarial between them.
“You just learn to control the things that you can control. That is all you can do,” Meek said. “And, after that, you let everything else just be. That is something you learn the more you play this game.”
Kristy Robinson
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