Pittsburgh

Jeff Locke was one of the four pitchers known as The Altoona Four. In 2010 the Altoona Curve had a group of pitchers that went on to be called “The Altoona Four” out of convenience. I say convenience because the group led Altoona to an Eastern League title in 2010, but they also led the Lynchburg Hillcats to a Carolina League title in 2009. So they could have easily been “The Lynchburg Four”, which isn’t really as catchy. Then, in 2011, only two of them moved up to Indianapolis at the start of the season. Eventually the other two pitchers made that jump. After that it would have made sense to call them “The Indianapolis Four”. But you say “The Altoona Four” and most people know you’re talking about Jeff Locke, Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, and Justin Wilson. For most of the 2010 season the Pirates didn’t have an ace of the future. They had the pitchers in Altoona, and the hope that one of the prep pitchers from the 2009 draft would break out and become a top prospect. It wasn’t until a one week span in the middle of August that the team signed Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Luis Heredia. The following year they would draft and sign Gerrit Cole. It’s hard to think back before the Pirates had pitching depth. Now you hear people say “I don’t want the Pirates taking a pitcher” if people talk about top pitching prospect Sean Manaea possibly falling to the Pirates. Early 2010 Pirates fans would kick us all in the balls if they knew. That was a time when The Altoona Four represented hope for the short-term and the long-term of the pitching staff. Now that hope lies with Cole, Taillon, Heredia, and other potential breakout guys like Nick Kingham and Tyler Glasnow. So what about The Altoona Four? Where did they end up? What kind of help are they going to provide the Pirates with in the short and long term? Let’s take a look at each pitcher. Jeff Locke - After another outstanding start today, Locke has a 2.73 ERA in 52.2 innings on the season for the Pirates. That won’t last, as his xFIP is 4.45, due to a low .224 BABIP and a high 82.5% strand rate. Neither will be sustained as the season goes on. One advantage Locke could have is that his 11.4% HR/FB rate could come down, even below the 10% league average. As a left-hander in PNC Park, Locke should see a lower amount of fly balls going for home runs, much in the same way that Paul Maholm always had a low HR/FB rate with the Pirates (7.3-7.7 range in 2009-2011, 12.8 in 2012 and 9.5 in 2013 away from Pittsburgh). Then again, it took Maholm a few years to get to those levels, so that might not happen yet for Locke. I see him ending up as a strong number four starter, and possibly an average number three guy. Bryan Morris - It looks like Morris is finally in the majors for good. He’s not posting dominant numbers yet, but he also only has 14.2 innings this year. I’ve felt that Morris could be a closer option, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with more experience. Right now he has a 3.68 ERA in those 14.2 innings, with a 5.5 K/9 and a 4.9 BB/9 ratio. Rudy Owens - He hasn’t reached the majors yet, but Owens has already helped the Pirates. He was one of three players the Pirates traded to the Astros last year to get Wandy Rodriguez, who has been a huge anchor for the rotation. Owens is out for most of the year with a foot injury after pitching 17 innings in Triple-A for Houston this year. Justin Wilson - He’s been outstanding in the bullpen this year, with a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings, along with an 8.8 K/9 and a 4.9 BB/9 ratio. There will be some regression, since he has a 2.95 FIP and a 3.97 xFIP. One of his strengths throughout the minors was that he rarely gave up any hits. That, combined with the high strikeout numbers, countered the walks. So far Wilson is doing the same in the majors with a .110 BAA. He’s also putting up great velocitie

Larry Foote’s ire is up. He said as much himself, and he told Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan back in March he doesn’t buy into the locker room turmoil stating, ”That was never an issue. I think that was overblown by the media” then concluding, ”We’ve always been a tight-knit family, and we’re going to remain that way.” I wouldn... Source: Yardbarker: Pittsburgh Steelers The post Will Larry Foote’s anger add fuel or fizzle to the Pittsburgh Steelers? appeared first on Pittsburgh Steelers Blog - NFL - PlanetSteelers.com.

Most disappointing series win ever? Probably. But the Pirates were able to sneak out of the weekend with two wins in three games against the Astros despite scoring a mere eight runs in three games. Sunday’s game featured just one run, of course, and that came off the bat of Pedro Alvarez. He bombed a low, opposite field line drive homer that barely made it over the short wall in left – but it counted just as much as his gigantic blast on Friday night. It was a good thing that ball found its way into the corner of the stands that juts inward, because the Bucs had just three other hits on the day. Their offensive output against a very poor pitching team for the entire weekend was very disappointing. (Granted, they were without Andrew McCutchen for this game. He sat out with a sore knee but said he’ll be good to go for the next game on Tuesday.) On the other hand, Jeff Locke led a stellar effort on the mound for the Bucs.  Locke matched his best start of the year by going seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and two walks. It’s the Astros, but that’s still a wonderful outing. Jeff continues to be surprisingly awesome, which has been huge for the Bucs. Mark Melancon bounced back from his Saturday hiccup with a perfect eighth, and Jason Grilli followed with a perfect ninth. Ho hum. The Bucs didn’t play great ball this weekend, but they pitched well and managed to win two out of three. Good enough, but they’ll need to get the bats going soon. Pirates 1, Astros 0 / Box / 2013 Record: 26-18 / Next: Tuesday, vs. Cubs, 7:05 Source: FanGraphs

Can anger push the Steelers back into the postseason in 2013? That’s a great question, and one that will have to be explored by a team that is coming off a year in which 8-8 was a setback. Linebacker Larry Foote is one player that isn’t taking not making the NFL’s second season lightly, and says it will help the Steelers re-find and re-focus for this next year. “We’re pissed off we didn’t make the playoffs,” Foote told GoBlueWolverine.com. “On top of that, our rival won the Super Bowl. I know guys are taking it personally. It’s just a whole different mindset to the offseason. I know guys are ready to get back where we need to be.” While the mindset may be different, the talent this team has is in question, and if they don’t find some answers in camp and the preseason, making the postseason may be tough again indeed.

In a corner of the Steelers weight room Maurkice Pouncey’s voice could be heard above the throbbing beat of the music blaring through the speakers. “C’mon man, c’mon man,” Pouncey encouraged his fe...

26 seconds away from being up 3-0. Whoops. Tough game to have to think about until Wednesday. But such is life. The Pens played a masterful 59 minutes. But with 26 seconds left they had a breakdown while on a powerplay, and Alfie tied it up. In the first OT Craig Anderson stole the show. ( Basically the whole game) In the second OT, the Senators stole the win on a Colin Greening goal. Sens win 2-1. Ugh.

The common (and mostly correct) assessment of what Clint Barmes brings to the Pirates is that he’s a player who provides a capable defensive option at shortstop but brings little to the table with his bat. One just needs to look to his 0 for 3 performance on Sunday against Houston to see that. Clint Barmes’ recent adjustments to his swing have paid off in hits and helped the Pirates get some production from the bottom of the batting order. Barmes was never intended to be a player Pittsburgh looked to as a vital piece of its lineup, as made evident by his usual appearance in the No. 8 spot. His main contribution has been with his glove but recently has shown some improvement at the plate. Through April Barmes’ batting average was just .181 and he had an OPS of .422. Through 37 at-bats in May he’s seen his batting average rise 48 points to .229. So far this month he’s hitting .324 with an .873 OPS. “He made an adjustment, suggested to him probably a week ago, and he was able to put it right into the game,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said during the Milwaukee series last week. “He’s worked on a number of different things throughout his career. It’s something we tried, talked about and said, ‘We’ve got to do this.’ Since then he’s just had much better at-bats. He’s held his position and his posture in the batter’s box much better. Kinda the same thing we talked with Jones about — staying tall and hitting the ball against your front foot and not lowering your angle and not crouching to hit it. He’s had some success.” Barmes’ big moment came on a Saturday afternoon early in the month at PNC Park when he crushed a Stephen Strasburg pitch for a two-run home run to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead (that they would later lose to Washington). Since then he’s had timely hits and provided a capable bat in the lower half of a Pittsburgh batting order that has sorely needed some production with the well documented struggles of Pedro Alvarez (thought Alvarez did have a decent weekend). “The adjustment we made is just trying to get some weight on the back side,” Barmes said. “Just start it there and leave it there so when I want to start my swing I get to center and I don’t have to go further past that. Really that’s the biggest adjustment that I’ve made. It’s a minor one but it’s obviously kept me on the ball a little better and definitely behind the ball so I’m driving the ball better than what I have up to this point this season.” Barmes acknowledged that he has not always been the most consistent hitter during his 10-year career and said that he has been able to get away with not getting behind the ball for a stretch it has not helped him much long-term. “It’s nothing that we haven’t really tried to find or tired to be more consistent with in the past,” he said. “The biggest thing is just my weight shift back and trying to get some weight back so that I can go from being behind the ball and get to center as opposed to in the past I’ve always wanted to try to somewhat stay centered in my body and go from there. I’ll have spurts where I get by with it but as far as consistency, which is what I’ve battled my whole career. it’s not very good for that.” I’m on record as saying I think Jordy Mercer should get more playing time at shortstop, but the Pirates — at least for now — have an option at the position that can add something to the offense in Barmes. I think we can all agree is more than (currently injured and a black hole at the plate before that) John McDonald brings to the team and it will not hurt to have someone around who can play there and split time as needed.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers rookie wide receiver Markus Wheaton is expected to fall behind in learning Pittsburgh’s offense since he’ll have to miss this week’s OTA’s. Adjust to life without Mike Wallace. Wallace is gone and while Emmanuel Sanders is projected to take over his spot at split end at least for one year,... Source: Yardbarker: Pittsburgh Steelers The post Markus Wheaton is expected to be behind the learning curve with the Steelers appeared first on Pittsburgh Steelers Blog - NFL - PlanetSteelers.com.

Light day on the schedule for prospects as three veteran pitchers take the mound, but down for West Virginia, 21-year-old lefty Joely Rodriguez has been pitching well of late. He has an ERA of 1.00 in May, with a 2/16 BB/K ratio in 18 innings. Despite the one-sided loss yesterday, Indianapolis still has the best record in the International League. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here. Rodriguez already has more strikeouts this year than he amassed last year AAA: Indianapolis (31-14) @ Pawtucket (26-18) 7:05pm Probable starter: Brooks Brown (2-0, 3.66) Yesterday’s Result: Pawtucket 11, Indianapolis 3 Brooks Brown will get his fifth start of the season tonight. He has also pitched six times in relief. Brown has a 4.76 ERA in 17 innings as a starter, 2.40 in 15 innings of relief. He has a 1.79 GO/AO ratio and a .224 BAA. He has been particularly tough on righties, holding them to a .193 BAA. A majority of his innings have come at home this year, though he has pitched nine scoreless innings on the road. AA: Altoona (19-23) @ Reading (15-26) 6:35pm Probable starter: Luis Sanz (2-1, 3.63) Yesterday’s Result: Richmond 3, Altoona 0 Luis Sanz will get his third start of the year tonight. He has also pitched ten times in relief. In his last start, Sanz went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk. He gave up three runs over three innings in his first start. In 22.1 innings, he has 23 strikeouts,  a 1.65 GO/AO ratio and a .244 BAA. Sanz has a 3.38 road ERA in 10.2 innings. High-A: Bradenton (17-26) vs Tampa (17-24) 6:30pm Probable starter: Eliecer Navarro (0-7, 3.89) Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 8, St Lucie 1 Eliecer Navarro will make his eighth start of the season. He also has one relief appearance. He leads the organization in losses. On the year, Navarro has pitched 41.2 innings, giving up 46 hits, four homers and eight walks, while striking out 38 batters. In his last outing, he allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk in 6.1 innings. Despite the winless record, Navarro hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a game until his last start. At home this year, he has a 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings. Low-A: West Virginia (21-22) @ Kannapolis (15-24) 7:05pm Probable starter: Joely Rodriguez (2-3, 3.14) Yesterday’s Result:  Lexington 12, West Virginia 5 Joely Rodriguez will make his ninth start of the season tonight. He has pitched great recently, giving up just two earned runs in his last four starts combined. On the year, he has pitched a total of 43 innings, allowing 44 hits, three homers, 12 walks and he has struck out 36 batters. Rodriguez has a 2.19 GO/AO ratio and a .268 BAA, which includes a .211 mark from left-handed batters. On the road this year, he is 1-1, 3.12 in three starts. Recent Transactions 5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster. 5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster. 5/16 Clay Holmes activated from DL. Josh Smith assigned to Jamestown roster. 5/16 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Bradenton on rehab. 5/16 Cesar Lopez sent to Extended Spring Training. Kurt Yacko assigned to Bradenton roster 5/13 Jake Burnette added to West Virginia roster. Clay Holmes placed on DL.

Before the 2013 NFL draft, I heard several analysts talking about this kid named Miguel Maysonet. A running back from Stony Brook College out of The Big South, who probably wouldn’t be drafted but had the talent and potential to not only make a roster but contribute. The Eagles signed Maysonet immediately after the draft by offering him a 6 figure signing bonus to keep him from signing with another team. Now it is being reported that the Eagles are planning on releasing Maysonet. Would Maysonet be a player the Steeler’s should take a shot at? At first look, the Steeler’s roster appears to be full at the running back position, but let’s take a closer look. Jonathan Dwyer ended last season as the Steeler’s starting running back and it appeared that he would enter the 2013 season as the team’s starter. After struggling to grasp the offense for the first two years of his career, Dwyer was thrust into the starting position last year due to injuries to Rashad Mendenhall and Isaac Redman. After starting 6 games, Dwyer rushed for 623 yards and 2 touchdowns, but fumbled twice late in the season. Then after the 2013 draft, it seemed that the back fell out of favor in Pittsburgh, with it being reported that the team was trying to trade him. What caused the team to start trying to trade their starting running back? The team used their second round draft pick on Michigan State running back Le’veon Bell. Bell fits the mold of a Steeler’s typical running back as he was a workhorse in college and shows a great deal of upside. Also, the Steeler’s signed free-agent running back LaRod Stephen-Howling to a 1 year contract. Although Howling’s started a few games for Arizona last year, he has been injury prone and primarily a back-up during his career there. Howling’s had 356 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on 110 carries last year. Isaac Redman filled in as the team’s starter in 2011 after Rashad Mendenhall suffered his knee injury and was expected to be the team’s number 1 back in 2012. After suffering an injury, Redman just didn’t seem like the same running back as he was in 2011. With Redman playing behind Bell in 2013 could he return to his 2011 form? The teams 5th running back, Barron Batch was drafted with a late round pick in 2011, but suffered a knee injury in the pre-season and he did not play until 2012. Batch made the team in 2012 but made a minimal impact with 49 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts. Batch was also cut from the team during 2012 but was then signed to a future contract once the season was over. This could be the end for Batch in Pittsburgh. The Steeler’s also has Curtis McNeal on the roster, an un-drafted free-agent from USC who shows promise as he averaged at least 6 yards a carry during his 2011 and 2012 seasons. The case for Miguel Maysonet: Maysonet rushed for 5,110 yards on 773 attempts during his college career. That’s an average of 6.6 yards a carry. The back also showed durability by playing in every game for the Seawolves during his junior and senior years. In the past, the Steeler’s have signed un-drafted collegiate players and placed them on their practice squad and developed them until they could rely on them. Willie Parker is a great example of this. Parker was signed as an un-drafted rookie out of North Carolina, placed on the practice squad and then became the Steeler’s starting running back. More recently, the Steeler’s signed Isaac Redman, an undrafted rookie out of Bowie State and placed him on their practice squad until he was a solid back-up running back for the team. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal";