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Hanrahan giving away game used cleats
Pirates reliever Joel Hanrahan will be giving away his cleats from the game he notched his career-high 100th strikeout from the 2010 season once he reaches 5,000 followers on twitter. As of 9:45 PM on 1/26 he is currently at 4,893. Be sure to follow him, not only for the prize, but because he is one of the many baseball players that enjoys chatting with the fans. He also gives you an inside look of his life both on, and off, the field.
You can follow him at: @hanrahan4457
And while your at it, follow me as well: @kristpie
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!
Hanrahan’s number retired, wants to bring a winning season to Pittsburgh
Bucco closer Joel Hanrahan’s high school jersey was retired on Friday at his former school–Norwalk High, in Iowa.
Hanrahan chatting with kids in first and second grade.
Kids lining up to ask Hanrahan questions.
Hanrahan talking to the Norwalk high school baseball team.
Pictures curiosity of Mark Harahan.
Hanrahan also chatted with 1460 KXNO in Des Moines where he discussed Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies, on the Nationals future, his arbitration process and why he enjoys chatting with fans on twitter. You can listen to the entire interview here.
On if 2010 was his best year: “For a full year, yeah. I feel like my half year in Pittsburgh was really good, after I left Washington. Obviously, I would have loved to have my ERA a little bit lower. I had one game where I gave up six runs in one inning. But the accomplishments I’ve had likegetting the 100 strike outs, was awesome for me. I don’t know if that’s a big deal for anybody else. I felt like that was pretty neat. I felt that pitching in 72 games was also good. Especially after missing the first week and really missing all of spring training. “
On his mentality as a reliever compared to when he was a starter: “Everyday is different. You never know. And that’s the beauty of being a reliever. You go to the park and you know you have a chance to play. Where as a starter, you pitch once every fifth day. As a bullpen guy, you never know what your job is going to be that day. You may have to come in and pitch six outs, finish up a one-hitter. That’s kind of the beauty, you never know what is going to happen. It brings some excitement and you got to be ready everyday.”
On National League pitching, and how he studies the players he faces: “We do a scouting report the first game of every series. They can tell you what Ryan Howard is hitting on a 0-1 breaking ball, when it’s 72 degrees and partly cloudy (laughs). They have stats for everything. Being around for a couple years, facing a lot of the same guys, you start to know what the hitters want to do and are looking for.
On how he gets Albert Pujols out: “You just really got to mix it up with him. He’s one of the best hitters in the game –if not the best. You gotta be aggressive and challenge him. Show that you’re not scared.”
On Pittsburgh: “Pittsburgh has been through a lot. I feel bad for what the fans have gone through. That’s part of the motivation though. You want to be a part of that team that brings a winning season back to them. I went to a Steelers game and a Penguins game this year, and it was ridiculous. People were fighting before the game even started, that’s how passionate they are. I feel like once we starting winning in Pittsburgh, it’s gonna be like that for baseball games.”
Hanrahan on how the Pirates will decide who will close next year: “I really have no idea what they are going to make that evaluation on. I know they want to make a decision before spring training. The main thing they are going to look for; who’s the most consistent. I think it’s going to have a lot to do with the past. And who they feel more comfortable with. I talk to Evan [Meek] once every two weeks and we don’t really look at it as a competition. We wanna win. We want to do what’s best for the team. We feel like we can be the top 8-9 combo, whichever way it goes.”
On the rumors that Ryan Doumit will be traded: “I hope it’s not [true}. I'm a fan of Ryan Doumit. We get along pretty well, on and off the field. I hope Doumit's still around. He's looking for a bounce back year, that's for sure."
On Pirates new skipper: "Clint Hurde is going to be great. I met him at the Steelers game. He did a great job [with the Rockies], same with Texas. Led those guys to the World Series as the hitting coach. He’s very motivational, very passionate about what he’s doing and he really wants to win, wants to turn this thing around. He’s been sending me a motivational text message everyday with a different quote. He’s in this for the long haul. I think he’s going to be great with our young guys and getting them motivated and keeping them going for 162 games.”
On offseason conditioning: “I took off October. I was in DC for a little bit. Then, moved back down to Texas and starting working out November 1st. I’m up at 7:30 every morning, I workout at eight for about two hours. I started throwing December 1st. Once I get back from the holidays, I’ll get back in the throwing program a little bit. After New Years, I’ll starting throwing off the mound every once in a while. I have a Pirates mini-camp going on in January. Then going to Pittsburgh for the Pirates caravan, going to my teammate Pedro Alvarez’s wedding. Then, time to go to spring training.”
On what he wants to improve on for 2011: “I need to get left-handed hitters out better. I felt like I was pretty good against righties. I gotta find a way to start pitching inside a little better and getting lefties out.”
Kristy Robinson
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