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  December 15, 2006

Pirates offseason report
(By: RJ Warner)

Never has a team's nickname so perfectly described their actions.

For those who don't know, the Pittsburgh Pirates (originally known as the Alleghenies) got their name from stealing a player from a rival ballclub. Their "piratical" actions earned them that name and it stuck for over 100 years now.

The boot fit then and it sure fits now. The Pirates, instead of stealing a player, have stolen money. From the owners and worse, from the city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the few remaining loyal fans.

When examining the Pirates offseason, my mind drifts to that scene in "Spaceballs" when Dark Helmet and his men are combing the desert. As the Pirates comb the free agent/trade market, it can be summed up by...

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Last comment by: Pirateguy @ 1/6/07, 4:17pm

  August 1, 2006

Winners in my book
(By: RJ Warner)

It seems that the national media has tagged the Pirates with the "losers" label in the annual "Screw Up Your Team for Years to Come" sweepstakes, a.k.a. the non-waiver trade deadline.

Losers? What team they been watchin' this year?

Norm Petersen of "Cheers" fame said it best when discussing how a company (or a small-market baseball franchise in this case) restructures: "First thing they do is get rid of the dead weight." When asked what happened next, he said, "Oh, I'm usually long gone after that."

So what's my point? I don't know. But Kip Wells is GONE. Now, my whiteness prohibits me from dancing in any public forum, but believe me, this is the biggest case of addition by subtraction since...

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  July 9, 2006

Baby Steps
(By: RJ Warner)

I think it was Meatloaf (?) who sang "Two out of three ain't bad." Well, what about one out of three? That's been the Pirates during the first half of the season. Their series against the Phillies summed up the first half as they won - you guessed it - one out of three. The Pirates come home to play good hosts to Major League Baseball's annual summer hodgepodge: (snubbing really good players from the All Star game) with a very tidy 30-60 record. That's one out of three for the mathaphobics like myself out there.

In fact, this weekends series was a perfect example of how it's gone for Pittsburgh's professional baseball franchise.

Ian Snell continued to look pretty good. He's...

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Last comment by: RJ Warner @ 7/20/06, 7:42am

  June 27, 2006

Could the Pirates chase the '88 Orioles?
(By: RJ Warner)

The Pirates have now lost 11 in a row. The ML record for consecutive losses is 21 by the Baltimore Orioles in 1988. The Pirates would need to lose 10 more to reach that. They play three against the White Sox (who are ridiculously on fire), three against the Tigers (who are even more ridiculously on fire) and four against the Mets (who are the most ridiculosly on fire). If the Bucs tank those games like they did against the Twins, Royals(!) and Dodgers, they will tie for the record.

Bucco Blogger says: go for it! If you're gonna go down, go down in flames. Like the great philosopher Jake Taylor said to Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn in "Major League," after he...

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Last comment by: RJ Warner @ 7/3/06, 7:20pm

  June 24, 2006

'We Stunk'
(By: RJ Warner)

"We stunk."

Pirates pitcher Roberto Hernandez, after losing 15-7 to the last place KC Royals on June 22, 2006.

Can a franchise sink lower than low? After 14 years of losing ball, it's hard to go that far, but it's pretty close.

"We Stunk."

We stunk. Pretty much sums it up, huh? That phrase could be peppered throughout the organization for the last decade and a half. So, Cam (Bonifay, former Pirates GM), what's your excuse for giving a slap hitting catcher (Jason Kendall) a $60 million dollar contract that put the franchise in such financial ruin that you had to give up your stud third baseman and leadoff hitter for Jose "Absolutely Nothing" Hernandez?

And why is Hernandez back on the team...

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  June 2, 2006

Rain Delay Filler
(By: RJ Warner)

On a rainy Friday here in Pittsburgh, not much is going on. My plans on going to the ball game with my friend who's in from California have been spoiled by the wet stuff. That's the third time this year. Tonight's was especially disappointing, not only because of my friend, but it was 1971 World Champions night. I love baseball more than anybody, but not sitting in the rain (going under the roof is for sissies). So as I wait to see if they get the game in, I decided to post some random thoughts on what is going on here, there and everywhere. Kind of like the stuff you watch on the Jumbotron while waiting out the delay.

Steve...

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  May 31, 2006

It's been a Bay kind of May
(By: RJ Warner)

Jason Bay, once so awful this season that there was talk of him not making the All-Star team as the Pirates' perennial lone represenative, has righted his ship (I love pirate cliches) and has been so hot the second half of May that he has won two consecutive Player of the Week Awards and is a pretty sure bet to be the first Pirate Player of the Month since Barry Bonds in 1992. He shared the award this week with Pedro Feliz of the SF Giants (AP).

Bay took a run at the consecutive games with a home run streak with six. The record is eight, shared by Dale Long, Don Mattingly & Ken Griffey Jr. (off the top of my...

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  May 25, 2006

This day in Pirates history
(By: RJ Warner)

On this day in 1935, Babe Ruth, playing for the Boston Braves, hit the final three home runs of his legendary career against the Pittsburgh Pirates inside Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. He crushed the three homers in consecutive at-bats, each flying farther than the last. The third was one of the few home runs to ever clear the right field roof at Forbes. The ball - estimated later to have traveled over 500 feet - was rumored to have landed on a front porch in a residential neighborhood outside the park.

The crowd of about 10,000 cheered the Babe as he circled the bases, and he tipped his cap as he went to the dugout. Ruth pulled himself from the game, having hit...

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  May 15, 2006

Pirates outspend, outsuck Marlins
(By: RJ Warner)

40-15 was the big number going in this past weekend's series between the Pirates and Marlins. That wasn't the combined score of the three-game set, it was the disparity between the two team's payrolls. The Pirates spent 40 million, while the Marlins pay their players a total of 15 million. No bang for the Bucs, I guess. I apologize for the bad pun. The Marlins look bad, at least pitching-wise, but they have an up and coming, young lineup. Also, they did this tear-it-down, build it back up thing before, so stay tuned. It just might be another city they're doing it in.

The Pirates have a welcome off day today, with no travelling between home games. Wrong, they go to Cooperstown,...

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  May 13, 2006

A funny thing happened on the way to a loss
(By: RJ Warner)

For the 21st time this season, the Pirates came out of the first inning facing a deficit. Victor Santos did the honors this time, spotting the Florida Marlins a five run lead in the opening stanza. This time, the Pirates realized they were playing the Marlins, the only team below them in the National League staandings.

The Pirates rallied for a 12-9 win before a Zach Duke bobblehead induced crowd of almost 24,990. Jason Bay, dropped to sixth in the order, knocked in four runs. Nate Mclouth scored four runs and Matt Capps came out of the bullpen for his first major league win.

Hopefully for Bay -and his fantasy owners- this could finally signal the breaking of a prolonged and...

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