Pirates' Alvarez arrival only drama

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pirates/


Jake Stevens/For the Post-Gazette

Indianapolis third baseman Pedro Alvarez flys out while playing against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.


For everyone who feels as if all the Pirates need to escape most of two decades of substandard baseball is a fiery manager and a $100 million payroll, I give you the Chicago White Sox.

Fiery Manager Ozzie Guillen (it's all but the charismatic former shortstop's official job title) is here this week pushing buttons on a $105 million roster that includes four players making between $10 and $15 million, and still the club needed a recent burst of relative competence just to make it to Pittsburgh 28-34, on pace to finish well up the track in the American League Central.

"The Club," by the way, is also a new reality show on MLB.com, debuting July 4, ostensibly to turn Chicago's combustible front office chemistry into compelling TV drama, which only makes you wonder if the Pirates will ever have a show.

Or is that what "Six Feet Under" was about?

Don't be mistaken, the gap between these clubs is still every bit that wide. The White Sox, on June 15, had been outscored this season by 29 runs. The Pirates had been outscored by 35 runs in the third inning.

In the absence of No. 1 Pirates prospect Pedro Alvarez, still as of last evening awaiting the green light out of Class AAA for reasons known only to upper management, The Club and the general clubees began a wildy unanticipated interleague series here Tuesday night, the kind of interleague matchup that calls the very concept into question.

For every Yankees-Phillies episode, there's a Bucs-Pale Hose hairpull. This one's a best-of-three between the teams with the fewest hits in their respective leagues.

Nonetheless, the Pirates chose the opener for an offensive explosion -- four runs! -- but still dropped their ninth consecutive game, 6-4, to 33-year-old righty Freddy Garcia.

Garcia managed to get through 5 2/3 innings with a sprawling assortment of off-speed pitches, which included a fastball that rarely exceeded 86 mph. A typical sequence went slider, changeup, splitter, changeup, fastball, changeup, changeup, changeup, small container of egg salad, changeup, slider, car keys.

The result was that the Pirates snapped a four-game string in which they scored three runs or fewer, meaning that they've now scored three runs or fewer in only 14 of their past 19 games. Better yet, it can no longer be said that the Pirates score three runs or fewer two thirds of the time. That's simply not true. It's a mere 65.6 percent of the time.

A fourth run generally signals a victory in the big leagues, even for the Pirates, who were 15-6 at game time in such circumstances, and Tuesday night's fourth run was, in fact, awfully pretty.

Neil Walker doubled and Andrew McCutchen singled him in with the third run, and then McCutchen stole second. And then McCutchen stole third. And then White Sox catcher Ramon Castro nearly whipped an attempted pickoff throw into Section 32 trying to get McCutchen out of Garcia's hair.

Ryan Doumit stroked a one-out single to left for run No. 4, but celebrations were muted inasmuch as Chicago's already scored four times against Brad Lincoln, whose PNC Park debut was almost identical to his major league debut a week ago tonight in Washington -- three good innings, three not so good innings, and five earned runs.

You wonder now whether the Pirates will win a game sometime before Pedro Alvarez arrives (as early as tonight) or if he'll play his first major league game for a team with a 10 or 11-game losing streak.

When you write Alvarez's name after Jose Tabata's, Neil Walker's, McCutchen's, and Garrett Jones' on a lineup card autographed by John Russell, you have something that looks suspiciously like a big league lineup. But at the same time, the whole story has a vague "Waiting For Guffman" feel.

When Pedro comes, will Zach Duke suddenly have major league stuff?

When Pedro comes, will Ryan Doumit suddenly have defensive skills?

When Pedro comes, will Pirates baserunners suddenly refrain from running into outs?

When Pedro comes, will Pirates hitters go to the plate in critical situations with some semblance of confidence rather than tangible anxiety?

When Pedro comes, will McCutchen, for as well as he's playing, suddenly remember to throw to the correct base?

When Pedro comes, will a Pirates starting pitcher actually win for the first time since May 18?

Maybe none of it that will change right away, but it'll have the chance to change, and that's a better situation than even a fiery manager.

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.



Alvarez embraces 'the call' to join Pirates

Top prospect jubilant about making debut at PNC Park tonight

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
By Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pirates/


Jake Stevens

The Pirates promoted third baseman Pedro Alvarez from Class AAA Indianapolis.

MOOSIC, Pa. --The Pirates' top power-hitting prospect in decades is on his way to PNC Park.

Pedro Alvarez, the 23-year-old third baseman and No. 2 overall pick in Major League Baseball's 2008 draft, received the word late Tuesday night following a game he played here for Class AAA Indianapolis against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

As he walked from the clubhouse to the Indians' team bus -- which was bound for Buffalo, N.Y., with his luggage and equipment bag already on it -- his cell phone rang.

It was a call from Neal Huntington, the Pirates' general manager, telling Alvarez to come to Pittsburgh.

He jumped in the air.

His fiancee shrieked, and his sister embraced him. His mother began to cry, and his father shook his head in apparent disbelief.

Pedro Alvarez then looked at them all and said, "That was the call."

Indianapolis manager Frank Kremblas emerged from the clubhouse and pulled Alvarez aside to tell him the Pirates would be in touch to sew up travel arrangements.

Alvarez, showing his youth, cut Kremblas off and replied, "I'll drive there right now. I'll just get in the car and go. Right now."

Truth is, it was Alvarez's swing that propelled him to Pittsburgh: He batted .277 in Indianapolis this season with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Alvarez seemed to understand the scope of the move.

"This is the first step in a long journey, hopefully," he said. "It is a big one. All those practices and all those long drives, it pays dividends in situations like this. ... I am at a shortage for words just trying to explain what this feels like right now."

Alvarez's story traces from a Little League phenom in New York City's predominately-Dominican Washington Heights neighborhood, through his time as a big-time NCAA slugger at Vanderbilt University, then his two-year sprint through the Pirates' system after the team paid him a franchise-record $6.355 million signing bonus.

Through it all, Alvarez has cited his tight-knit family as his stabilizing force. Pedro's father, Pedro Sr., woke early in the morning to work as a livery cab driver, his goal being to earn enough to attend Pedro's games and to make extra money to send him to a private school.

"I always told him, 'Pedro, this is a game, but it is a hard job, too,' " the elder Alvarez said Tuesday night through a translator, Pedro's sister, Yolayna. "He knew that he could get as far as he wanted, but he had to work hard."

Asked what will happen when he sees his son make his major-league debut, which will come tonight against the Chicago White Sox and left-hander John Danks, the elder Alvarez said, "I don't know how I will feel to see him on a big league field. I might cry, I don't know. There will be a lot of emotions. It will be an overwhelming moment."

"It is a big step, but it isn't the last one for me to take," Pedro Alvarez said. "It starts right now. I have a huge responsibility."

Late Tuesday afternoon, speaking before the Pirates' ninth consecutive loss, Huntington spoke at length in explaining why Alvarez was not with the team already.

"The reality is that we've got to make sure we make the decision for the right reasons, that we feel like he's ready to come up here and not just survive but do well," Huntington said. "Is he ready to come up and face the best situational lefties? You could probably argue he's not going to be ready to do that for a year-plus. Defensively, is he where he needs to be? We're certainly getting closer to that every day."

Early in the evening, two sources said that the Pirates were planning on sending Alvarez with Indianapolis to Buffalo for two, maybe three games, after which he could make his Pittsburgh debut Saturday or Sunday before the team embarks on a nine-game road trip.

After the game, Huntington would only confirm that Alvarez was "on his way," adding that the move will not be made official until this afternoon. Thus, it was not immediately known what changed in the Pirates' plan over the course of the day.

The Pirates also will announce a corresponding move to clear space on the 25-man roster for Alvarez. That could be the release of $4.85 million second baseman Aki Iwamura, batting .182 and benched recently in favor of rookie Neil Walker.

Colin Dunlap: cdunlap@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1459

Huntington should act fast on Alvarez

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
There still was no sign last night as to when Pedro Alvarez would be promoted.


If I'm Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, I'm promoting hotshot prospect Pedro Alvarez from the minors today, putting him in the lineup at third base tonight against the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park and praying like crazy he does something to help me save my job. Next month might be too late. Heck, next week could be too late.

Huntington has to be running out of time. He's in the final season of a three-year contract and management has given no indication it plans on extending him. There's a good reason for that. Overall, he hasn't done a very good job.

Huntington can pat himself on the back for rebuilding the Pirates' minor league system, through the draft if nothing else. It's not so much that he and his scouts picked Alvarez No. 2 in the 2008 draft. That was a no-brainer. What's more impressive is that baseball people have praised the Pirates' overall drafts under Huntington. Good for him and his people.

But what about the big league club?

While Huntington has been off overseeing the minor leaguers, it has become a joke, even worse than when he took over from previous general manager Dave Littlefield.

The proof is the eight-game losing streak and 23-40 record the Pirates will take into the game tonight. Only the woeful Baltimore Orioles are worse. It's hard to remember a worse Pirates lineup, the pitching is the second worst in baseball and the defense significantly has worsened.

Other than that, everything is just great.

Huntington has to take the blame for this mess. His trades have been mostly failures, although it's still too soon to pronounce final judgment on some. The Xavier Nady-Damaso Marte deal, which brought Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen, was a really good one. But the rest? At least to this point, they range from bad to awful.

Robinson Diaz for Jose Bautista, who had 18 home runs through Sunday for the Toronto Blue Jays? Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss, Bryan Morris and Craig Hansen for Jason Bay? Bad as those deals were, sending Jack Wilson and $3.3 million to Seattle to get Jeff Clement as the key acquisition was worse. Clement was given the first-base job in the spring and hit .189 before being sent, finally, to the minors Wednesday. Then, there was the Aki Iwamura fiasco. Huntington traded to get him in the offseason when the Tampa Bay Rays were ready to release him and took on his $4.85 million salary, which is highest on the Pirates. Iwamura is hitting .177 and has no range in the field because of a bad knee. If you count Iwamura's salary with the money the Pirates sent to Seattle for Clement and the $2 million the team ate to release Ramon Vazquez in the spring, that's more than $10 million wasted dollars for a franchise that can't afford it.

Shame on Huntington.

Think what you will of robotic-like manager John Russell, but he didn't build this lousy team. He was stuck with it by Huntington. In the cases of Iwamura, who -- against all odds -- remains with the club, Clement and pitcher Charlie Morton, who was previously seen in the minors working with a sports psychologist trying to get his head right again after two months of beatings, he was stuck with them way too long by Huntington, who couldn't seem to admit he was so wrong with their evaluations.

One final blunder by Huntington:

Not signing highly touted Dominican Republic shortstop Miguel Sano was a huge one. People loved this kid. He badly wanted to play for the Pirates. Huntington couldn't get it done, losing him to the Minnesota Twins over a few hundred-thousand dollars.

It's no wonder Huntington is running out of time.

Under the circumstances, it's almost shocking Alvarez hasn't been called up. He has handled himself well at Class AAA Indianapolis, hitting .285 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs through Sunday. Huntington challenged him to hit better against left-handed pitchers and he has responded by batting .323 against them. He deserves to be playing against the White Sox tonight, not the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

In many ways, the Pirates' season is over again, long before the Fourth of July. But wouldn't it be fun to see what Alvarez could do with future star Andrew McCutchen and the other young guys that Huntington has finally, seemingly reluctantly, brought up? Tabata. Neil Walker. Brad Lincoln. Steve Pearce once he is healthy again. Who knows? Maybe they could put a little something good together. Maybe they could save Huntington's job.

If I'm Huntington, I'm willing to take that chance. Apparently, he isn't to that point yet. What? Is he afraid Alvarez will fail? If that happens, he almost surely will be fired.

That's a terrible way to generally manage, isn't it?

If I'm Huntington, I'm going down firing all the bullets in my gun. I'm not leaving any in the chamber in Indianapolis.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

From rags to history: Finding Maz's jersey

The last time this jersey was seen in public was when Bill Mazeroski swatted a pitch over left field and jubilantly rounded the bases at Forbes Field

Sunday, June 13, 2010
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

One afternoon some 30 years ago, Richard Probola was about to wash his car in his South Side driveway. But just before scrubbing away the grime with an outdated flannel baseball jersey, a dear friend drove up.

Recognizing the colors, lettering and number on the sleeveless garment, the visitor told him to stop.

"No, no, no, no, no! Are you crazy? That's part of Pittsburgh history. Give me that," Mitch Antin interrupted.

"What?" the late Mr. Probola shrugged. "It's just a rag I had lying around the house."

After the brief exchange, Dr. Antin -- now an orthopedic surgeon who lives in Squirrel Hill -- took possession. Folding it carefully into a plastic garment bag, he tucked it away for posterity in a safety deposit box kept in a bank.

"I just squirreled it away," he said.


James G. Klingensmith/Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Pirate Bill Mazeroski's game-ending home run at Forbes Field during the seventh game of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees.

For good reason. Not only was this a game-worn Pirates jersey belonging to a Hall of Fame player, it was the jersey on Bill Mazeroski's back from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series when he smote the home run that doomed the Yankees.

One person's rag is another person's priceless civic treasure, it seems. And now the garment is the central thread of a little-known back story being told to mark the 50th anniversary of arguably the single most electrifying moment in the city's sports history.

'Worn By Me'

Is it the real deal? That's a fair question, and Dr. Antin has taken great pains to document the jersey's authenticity.

It was no big deal for Mr. Probola, a former baseball scout, to collect a bat, a baseball, cleats, hats or uniforms from players after a season concluded. He was well known in the Pirates' clubhouse and accumulated stuff from Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Dick Groat and Bill Madlock, among others. He never sold a single item but was apt to give the memorabilia away to friends.

The labels on the Mazeroski jersey show that it is an official big league Rawlings model. And sewn into an inner lining -- next to the laundering instructions to wash in lukewarm water with mild soap and to dry slowly at room temperature -- is an identification tag that says "Set 1, 1960." That tag was on every player's primary home jersey worn by the Pirates that year.

Before he passed away in 2002, Mr. Probola wrote and signed a statement that said: "I gave Dr. Mitch Antin the Mazeroski 1960 World Series uniform."

In addition, the wearer himself authenticated it 20 years ago at an autograph show. In blue ink on the lower left side of the jersey is written: "Uniform Worn By Me in 7th Game of 1960 World Series -- Bill Mazeroski."

Mr. Mazeroski could not be reached for comment on the jersey. But Lisa Antin took pictures of her husband with Mr. Mazeroski at that signing, held at Robert Morris University.

"It's the real deal. Totally authentic," Dr. Antin said.

Sports memorabilia is a multimillion-dollr business these days, but back in 1960, there was no such market. Game-worn jerseys by superstar players are valued at tens of thousands of dollars on some websites, but the Antin family never had the Mazeroski jersey appraised. It doesn't intend to, either.

"It's nothing I would ever part with," Dr. Antin said. "It's very important to me and my family. It's also my link to a dear departed friend. Priceless, huh? And to think, it might have been destroyed."

Pro's baseball links

If not for a special relationship, the jersey may have been lost to history.

A graduate of Allderdice High School, Dr. Antin once had a summer job with the city parks department. He worked with Mr. Probola, who ran a traveling baseball clinic.

"Pro," as he was known, once played in Cleveland's minor league system. He later was a scout for the Indians and was responsible for the signing of "Sudden" Sam McDowell, who pitched for Central Catholic High School.


Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

Mitch Antin, right, with sons Ben, left, and Jason and the historic baseball jersey that's been in the family's possession for about three decades. The jersey was worn by Bill Mazeroski the day he hit the home run that lifted the Pirates over the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series.

Pro later scouted for the Pirates and Angels. Among his other baseball connections, he coached the Little Pirates amateur baseball team and coached baseball at the former St. Elizabeth High School in Pleasant Hills.

Through the years, after he graduated from medical school, Dr. Antin stayed in touch with Pro and would often drop by his apartment to visit like he did the day of the aborted car wash.

"After I stopped him from washing his car with it, he told me to take it and do whatever I wanted with it," Dr. Antin said. "He was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back."

Or off the car wash bucket.

Dirty laundry

Even though he was 8 years old during the 1960 World Series, Dr. Antin has an impressive album of newspaper clippings from those days. He also has a highlight reel of the Series on videotape that his two sons still watch.

He understood that the Maz home run at 3:36 p.m. on Oct. 13, 1960, transcended baseball.

"It changed the image of the city," Dr. Antin said. "It was part of the renaissance that brought Pittsburgh out of the Dark Ages. It shattered the stereotype of Pittsburgh being a dirty steel town."

According to the pieces of the story then, the last time this jersey was seen in public was when Mr. Mazeroski swatted a Ralph Terry pitch over the 406-foot mark in left field at Forbes Field and jubilantly rounded the bases.

Imagine the hands that touched the flannel when teammates and well wishers slapped Maz on the back at home plate on his way to the clubhouse. Imagine the champagne sprayed and swigged because of it.

Nobody gave any thought to dirty laundry in the celebratory haze. And nobody gave much thought to saving uniforms as souvenirs.

Back in the day, major league teams would patch up uniforms and equipment to use the next season in their minor league systems, unless somebody like Pro took a jersey or two as a souvenir.

After escaping the car wash, the jersey has been tucked away in safe storage for 30 years except for the time its original owner autographed it.

"That was the only time I ever saw it," said Dr. Antin's elder son, Ben, 28. "I was never allowed to tell anybody about it, to brag about it. Honestly, I was afraid to touch it. I would have a hard time letting it go, knowing how much it means to my dad. Just because it's part of our family, part of our lives."

For the past several years, Dr. Antin has talked with Ben and a younger son, Jason, about what to do with the jersey. Then they began reading articles about the 1960 season and decided to share their story.

"I always felt it belonged in Pittsburgh rather than the Hall of Fame," Dr. Antin said, "because it's such a one-of-a-kind piece of the city's history. It's always been a problem because I didn't know what to do with it. But I brought it out because I wanted it to be part of this year's celebration."

Whether or not it gets displayed somewhere has yet to be determined.

When the jersey saw the light of day for the first time in decades, those who beheld it reacted as if it were an ancient shroud or relic from antiquity.

"The Yiddish word for rag is schmatta, and for all these years, my wife thought this jersey was a schmatta," Dr. Antin said with a laugh. "Look how excited she is now. It's like seeing the Holy Grail."

One person's rag ...


Robert Dvorchak: bdvorchak@post-gazette.com

Steelers' Roethlisberger takes step in reformation

Friday, June 11, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

One day, a disheveled young woman, in a cold police interrogation room with her face blurred to protect her identity, is on tape accusing Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of unspeakable acts and taking what didn't belong to him. The next day, a boyish-looking Roethlisberger, in a bucolic setting at his family's farmhouse, is telling KDKA-TV sports anchor Bob Pompeani that he never intended "to gain the whole world and lose my soul." Has there ever been more jarring, contradictory video? I don't know about you, I'm on sensory overload.


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shares a laugh with Byron Leftwich during practice at the team's facility on the South Side Wednesday.

It's easy to imagine Roethlisberger as a monster after watching the tape of a 20-year-old college student telling investigators that he raped her in the bathroom of a Milledgeville, Ga., nightclub March 5. Yes, her statement, which was released Wednesday along with dozens of recordings by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, had inconsistencies. Yes, she admitted to being intoxicated at the time of the alleged incident. And yes, Roethlisberger was not charged with a crime.

But there's no doubt Roethlisberger's actions that night were deplorable. Can you say creep?

But it was a much different Roethlisberger who showed up on our living room televisions Thursday, not just on KDKA at 6 p.m. but with WTAE-TV news anchor Sally Wiggin at 5. These were his first, much-anticipated, sit-down interviews since the unpleasantness in Milledgeville. He was contrite and apologetic. He appeared sincere, although the depth of that sincerity won't be fully determined for days, months, even years and then only by his actions. He was especially compelling when he described himself to Wiggin as "immature, young and dumb," and said, "I've made a lot of mistakes and I'm sorry for them. I've done dumb things. I know that. But those chapters in my life, I've closed that book ... It only matters what I do from here on out, That's what I'm excited about, showing people, proving to people, the fans, my teammates, my family, the [NFL] commissioner, everybody, who Ben Roethlisberger is and that Ben is here to stay."

I'll admit it, I looked at Roethlisberger in a slightly different light.

It made for must-see TV.

It also was just a small part of what will be an ever-developing story that's going on hiatus for seven weeks and resuming when the Steelers report to training camp July 30.

Roethlisberger still faces an incredible challenge in getting back his good name. Let me put it in football terms: His situation seems much more daunting than the one he faced when he and his offense were looking at a first-and-20 at their 12 with little more than two minutes left in Super Bowl XLIII and the Steelers down to the Arizona Cardinals, 23-20.

Daunting, indeed.

Still, there's no question Roethlisberger helped himself with these interviews. Even the small details were just right. The golf shirts he wore were more appropriate for the moment than a suit and tie would have been. His hair was cropped, but he had a day or two growth of beard, which is the way he always looks. It was as if Pompeani and Wiggin showed up separately at his door and were invited in for a nice little visit instead of formal interviews that had been arranged by his legal and public-relations teams. He came across as relaxed as he could be, considering the humiliating nature of the questions he had to answer. There were none of the forced tears you often see in these sit-downs.

Roethlisberger was smart to do one of the interviews with a woman. He faces an especially tough task winning back many of his female fans. He also was smart not to duck any questions, the one exception being the big one -- what happened in that bathroom? -- on the advice of counsel.

Yes, Roethlisberger said he got caught up in the Big Ben persona and forgot about his Christian upbringing and the right way to treat people. "This has brought me back to being Ben Roethlisberger," he told Wiggin.

No, Roethlisberger said he doesn't have a drinking problem. (I'm not sure I'm buying that one.)

Yes, Roethlisberger realizes he let down his teammates, theSteelers' organization and Steelers fans by getting suspended for at least the first four games of the NFL season. He also realizes he let down the many kids who wear his No. 7 jersey and look up to him.

No, Roethlisberger isn't worried about his game suffering because of his off-field difficulties. "I love who I am on the field and I think most fans would agree they like that," he told Pompeani. "That's not the person who needs to change. It's the person off the field ...

"I know people may say, 'Let the actions speak.' Just give me the chance to show that you'll see a new Ben."

This was just a start for Roethlisberger, a small first step in the right direction. Actually, it was a little more than that. After the sad, troubling events of March 5, it was about as good as he could have hoped for on June 10.

Can Roethlisberger make it all the back, not just as a star quarterback, but as a decent, respected person in the community? I have my doubts, but I learned a long time ago not to write the man off.

You remember how Super Bowl XLIII turned out, right?


rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

Pirates swing for the fences

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Thursday, June 10, 2010

More and more, you see respected baseball observers — in public, without shame — talking about the Pirates finally having hope, a commodity in short supply during this soon-to-be 18-year losing streak.

I asked ESPN draft analyst Keith Law if he liked the Pirates' first two picks this week, electric but expensive high-school pitchers Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie.

"Very much," Law said. "The Pirates swung for the fences."

I asked longtime MLB guru Peter Gammons, in a radio interview, if he believes the Pirates' latest rebuilding plan is sensible.

"Absolutely," Gammons said.


Stetson Allie

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote a piece Monday suggesting the Pirates are "evolving," however slowly, thanks to potential impact players. He mentioned center fielder Andrew McCutchen, the team's past two first-round picks — Pedro Alvarez and Tony Sanchez — and Taillon.

That anyone is noticing the Pirates, let alone praising them, is news. I'll never forget a preseason conference call five years ago with ESPN's broadcast crew, when I asked Jon Miller if he could articulate the national perception of Pittsburgh's sickly baseball franchise.

Then, like now, the Pirates were on national television about as often as a Lastings Milledge home run. The legendary losing streak hadn't yet reached puberty; it was only 12.

"The national view of the Pirates, as a whole," Miller said, "is that people have no idea about them. The Pirates are anonymous nationwide."

That remains true, even if a good part of the country got a glimpse of your Buccos doing their best to make sure Strasburg-a-palooza went off without a hitch Tuesday night.

But maybe, must maybe, a shift is occurring. Maybe the Pirates finally will do this right. Many of those who shape baseball perception in this country believe as much, anyhow, and I tend to agree — tepidly, with an emphasis on maybe.

Give general manager Neal Huntington this much: He takes his cuts. He consistently tries to reel in high-end talent. He has acquired a virtual Who's Who of first-round flameouts, hoping one or two will spark up. The list includes Milledge, Craig Hansen, Tim Alderson, Jeff Clement and Bobby Crosby (no real sparks yet among that crew).

Huntington also collects power arms. Toss 'em into a strainer and see who sticks. That's how he came up with Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan.

Come draft time, the Pirates spit in the face of history — which says high-round, high-school pitchers are ticketed to fail — and took Taillon and Allie. They might have to spend upwards of $10 million to keep those two from going to college.

I like that kind of risk. I imagine I'm not alone. Fans frustrated at the puny major-league payroll often wonder, where does all the money go?

In this case, it'd be going to a couple of living, breathing baseball players (as opposed to, you know, Matt Morris) who throw close to 100 mph.

Law believes Taillon is about three years away from the majors. He believes Allie has better stuff but is probably four or five years away.

Gammons says it "takes five years to rebuild" and another one or two for the youngsters to learn how to win. The Pirates are in year three of their plan, so if he's right, 2013 or '14 might be golden.

Hey, you've waited 18 years, what's another three?

Next year, Law tells me, the top of the draft will be fertile with college pitchers, a handful of whom project as No. 1 starters.

So, like it or not, this still is going to take some patience. Obviously, it could all blow up like a Charlie Morton start, but for the first time in a long time, I smell something other than rotting promises at PNC Park.

I detect a whiff of hope.

Lincoln lives up to billing in debut

Thursday, June 10, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=11

WASHINGTON -- If the Stephen Strasburg debut was the atmospheric equivalent of a circus, the Brad Lincoln debut was more like a lounge act, perhaps something between earnest rockabilly at a half empty roadhouse and raw open mic night at Chuckles.

But remember, the Pirates aren't really in the entertainment business; if they were, they'd have lined up their best pitching prospect's major league baptism to coincide with Strasburg's at the national baseball media's ground zero Tuesday night, but that would have been, you know, compelling.

They hate that word.


Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

Pirates pitcher Brad Lincoln, making his major league debut, delievers during the first inning of Wednesday's game at Nationals Park in Washington.

So it was no fault of Lincoln's that his inaugural performance played to a relatively intimate gathering of Nationals fans, just as it wasn't his fault that he didn't exactly rocket through the minors in two months, as Strasburg had. It's real hard to rocket with a reconstructed pitching elbow, even when your pedigree reeks of promise.

Nothing that happened Wednesday night should dissuade anyone from the notion that Brad Lincoln has the aptitude to stabilize a starting rotation that had produced exactly one win the club's past 19 games at game time Wednesday night.

So make it one in 20.

Yeah, Lincoln pitched some uphill innings and yeah, his command wasn't always there, and his official no-decision was probably the best of the empirical evidence gathered on his first night. But for the most part, Lincoln pitched like a guy who fully deserved to be the fourth player taken in the 2006 draft, three spots before Clayton Kershaw, three more before Tim Lincecum. He threw strike one habitually, kept the Nationals pretty much to the infield, and, until his defense led him down a dark alley in a fitful fourth inning, made just one mistake that Adam Dunn hit 400-plus feet for a two-run homer.

"It felt all right," Lincoln said of his first night center stage. "I tried to slow things down, take it all in. It was sure something I'll never forget. Hopefully, it'll get better from here."

That fourth started to get tricky when Josh Willingham singled off the shoulder of third baseman Andy LaRoche and scored when Roger Bernadina drove a double to the wall, and that's when the chuckles started.

Ian Desmond sliced a 1-0 pitch to right field into the vicinity of Lastings Milledge, who had shifted over there to make room for new left fielder Jose Tabata, the talented Venezuelan who'd played his way out of Class AAA just in time to arrive for the Lincoln debut. Milledge took a bending route to the baseball, punctuating the play by still another leave-your-feet-and-hope-to-make-the-top-10-plays dive, all of which resulted in another double.

One out later, Washington pitcher John Lannan chopped a funny-hop single past the glove of charging shortstop Ronny Cedeno and Lincoln was looking at a three-run inning he plainly didn't deserve.

"If we make those plays, and granted they were difficult plays, but if we make them there's no three-run inning, which is what really hurt him," said Pirates manager John Russell. "I thought he threw the ball fine. He tried to come in on some guys and the ball kind of leaked back over the middle of the plate, but overall I thought he threw the ball real well. He had some pretty efficient innings. He threw his breaking ball. And he showed he could bounce back."

On a night when the Pirates' offense was stranding more people than a transit strike, Lincoln stayed in the battle well into the night. He singled in his first big league at-bat and, in the top of the fifth, lashed another hit off Lannan's leg that scored Milledge with the run that tied the score, 5-5.

The only pressing question about Lincoln at that point, really, was "Can he hit third?"

A former high school quarterback in Clute, Texas, Lincoln hit 14 homers while pitching for the University of Houston, where he was college baseball's player of the year in '06.

His arrival didn't come an inning too soon for a club with a rotation that remains pretty much a shambles. Lincoln became the 10th starter for John Russell this season (he used nine all of last year), and this on the night Russell wrote his 50th lineup in 58 games, featuring Tabata as his eighth leadoff hitter.

So Lincoln got through his first six big league innings on 86 pitches, 51 of them strikes. His line read seven hits (but three were fairly shaggy), five earned runs (earned by somewhat loose definition), two walks and three strikeouts. His arrival and Tabata's has pushed the Pirates' future in the direction of actual focus. Top prospect Pedro Alvarez remains in Indianapolis, but with Lincoln, Tabata, and Neil Walker all finally in the lineup, you can almost see a plan.

All this club needs now is a third baseman, a shortstop, a catcher, a right fielder, and two or three effective starting pitchers and hey, who knows?


Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

Polamalu: Steelers must stick to old formula

Thursday, June 10, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

The Steelers long have followed a winning formula that is unique and proven, but they veered off course last season and must embrace it again in 2010, according to Troy Polamalu.

"We have a pretty good formula here how to win," said Polamalu, finishing up the week of spring practices and meetings with his teammates after returning from more than a month of training in California. "That doesn't change from year to year or from decade to decade. We've had our formula here and it's been good to us."


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu works out during at the team's facility on the South Side Wednesday.

The formula is neither secret nor difficult to understand, Polamalu said. If not followed, however, you get 9-7 and look at the playoffs from the outside. It involves an electric, smothering defense that needs its offense to turn the clock so it can rest, and for special teams to do their job and not give up large chunks of yardage or touchdowns.

It is not something usually seen in the NFL, Polamalu said.

"I think it's unique no question. Especially in today's game. People don't think that you can, for the most part, have a really smothering defense. But, with the smothering defense, you can't have a pass-happy offense. For example, you would think you could take a great defense and mesh them together, but our defense would not work well with a New England Patriots offense or Indianapolis Colts offense. They may put up a lot of points, but it takes a lot more energy to play our defense than a Tampa 2-type defense."

The Steelers' passing offense ranked seventh in the NFL in yards last season while their ground game, often in the top 10, ranked 19th. New England's passing offense ranked third and the Colts trailed the Steelers at No. 9.

Also, the Steelers' time of possession on offense last season was 4 1/2 minutes more than its opponent on average, at 32:13, fourth best in the NFL. There seems a dichotomy somewhere in the formula for those trying to interpret it because the Steelers' pass-happy offense allowed the defense to rest.

Polamalu, though, noted that the special teams did not hold up their end; they allowed four kick returns for touchdowns, and the offense also had two interceptions returned for touchdowns. And also part of that formula is for the defense to mitigate the number of big plays. That did not hold true last season when the Steelers allowed nine pass completions longer than 40 yards compared to two in their 2008 Super Bowl season.

"Whether it's offense, defense, there's a third phase there, too, and they all have to mix together," Polamalu said. "You can't give up big plays on defense, you can make people drive, you have to control the clock on offense and you just can't give up big plays. If one part of that breaks down, our whole team breaks down."

Polamalu broke down twice last season, in the opener when his MCL was sprained and later when the PCL in the same knee was sprained. He missed 11 games as did defensive end Aaron Smith.

The key, then, for the Steelers to become the type of dominant defense they were in 2008?

"Health, for one," Polamalu said.

He does not blame his two knee injuries on anything other than being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

"Anytime I've sustained any injury, the only thing that could have stopped it is wearing a straight-leg brace."

He plans to wear no such brace in 2010 and wore none in practice Wednesday because it is too confining and does not allow him the freedom to move the way he must. He also does not agree with most everyone else that the Steelers' defense suffered without him.

"We did pretty well last year," said Polamalu, overlooking the many admitted communications mistakes and the fact that he tied for the team lead with three interceptions in just five games.

The cornerbacks combined for none until the finale.

"We were a top-five defense. We were a play here and a play there from making the playoffs and maybe getting a higher seed in the playoffs. We didn't get blownout at any time that I remember."

And they finished 9-7.

Quick hits

Rain prompted coach Mike Tomlin to move practice from Heinz Field to the team's indoor facility. He hopes to hold his final spring practice today at Heinz Field. ... Ben Roethlisberger continued to run the first-team offense at quarterback while Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon shared the other snaps.

Draft 2010: Pirates stock up on righties

Second-rounder Allie has 98-mph fastball but will be tough sign

Wednesday, June 09, 2010
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Lonnie Timmons III/The Plain Dealer

The Pirates drafted Steston Allie, a pitcher with St. Edward of suburban Cleveland, in the second round.

Yes, the Pirates' draft board did contain a category other than right-handed pitcher.

It just took them most of 10 rounds to locate it.

A day after taking 6-foot-6 1/2, south Texas schoolboy Jameson Taillon with the No. 2 overall pick, the Pirates chose right-handed pitchers with nine of their first 10 picks and 18 of their first 30 in the draft that will conclude today.

They stayed in high school with six of their first eight picks and 12 of 18 pitchers so far.

They stayed with the same pitching instructor for their opening two picks: Taillon and second-rounder Stetson Allie of suburban Cleveland are both students of onetime Pirates farmhand David Evans of Houston, Texas.

In fact, they perfectly fit the Pirates' profile: 6-3 or more, fastball in the low 90s, major-college scholarship in the back pocket.

"Definitely, the strength of the draft," general manager Neal Huntington said. "It was a pitching-oriented draft, high school and college. It looks a little odd. It's aggressive. But pitching is a game of attrition."

If fans wonder what to make of this draft, know this: The Pirates, who used $3.275 million to land a quartet of college-bound pitchers last summer, spent the second day of this draft collecting more such candidates.

And that is one reason why Baseball America, from which the Pirates selected a half-dozen of the magazine's Top 200 prospects in the opening nine rounds Tuesday, was among the media experts who raved.

"Can't have enough pitching," said MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo in an e-mail later in the draft.

Outfielder Mel Rojas Jr., the junior-college stolen-base leader and son of longtime major league right-hander Mel Rojas, was the lone position player among the Pirates' selections through 10 rounds.

Allie, though, is the star of the Pirates' draft behind only Taillon. He is a North Carolina recruit who possesses a fastball regularly up to 98 mph, similar to Taillon, and a burly 6-4, 225-pound frame expected to serve him well in professional baseball.

Somewhere between his desire to hit as well -- he is a third baseman with power -- and his contract notions while being Baseball America's 15th-ranked prospect as of Monday, Allie slipped to the 52nd overall selection. This from a pitcher who popped 100 mph on radar guns a half-dozen times in leading St. Edward's to Ohio's Division I state title Sunday, striking out 13. He struck out 134 in 60 innings this season while going 9-1 with a 1.29 ERA.

"It seemed that he was going to go earlier, if not early in the first round, certainly in the middle of the first round," Huntington said of Allie's slippage.

"It happens every year. We were fortunate enough, in this situation, Stetson fell to [No.] 52, and we were able to grab him with that pick."

Huntington lumped Allie with Evans-instruction stablemate Taillon: "They're going to be tough signs, we knew that. But the upside is very intriguing and something that allows you to look forward to the future with bright eyes. Our hope [is that] there are a good number of players in this draft that impact the Pittsburgh Pirates in the years to come."

In the event they do not reach an agreement with Allie, the Pirates would get a compensation pick following the first round next year, same as they did after failing to sign second-rounder Tanner Scheppers two years ago.

The Pirates followed Allie with, among others: suburban Las Vegas right-hander Nate Kingham (committed to the University of Oregon), the magazine's 186th-ranked prospect, in the fourth round; north Texas schoolboy Jason Hursh (Oklahoma State), its 173rd-ranked prospect, in the sixth; north Texas schoolboy Austin Kubitza (Rice, same as Taillon), its 153rd-ranked prospect, in the seventh; and suburban Los Angeles prep school right-hander Zack Weiss (UCLA), its 132nd-ranked prospect.

The Pirates already had four pitchers from the second day of the draft last June who have not thrown at Class A State College yet: Zach Dodson, Zack Von Rosenberg, Colton Cain and Trent Stevenson.

Huntington said the Pirates have not opened talks with Taillon's representatives, Randy and Alan Hendricks.

"Much like Pedro [Alvarez] and much like some of the other drafts in the past, there's probably not going to be any news on it anytime soon."


Chuck Finder: cfinder@post-gazette.com.

Strasburg fans 14 Pirates in sensational debut

Young homers off Washington phenom, but that's all in 5-2 loss

Wednesday, June 09, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

WASHINGTON -- It was all just a blur.

As fast as Washington's super-prospect Stephen Strasburg threw all his pitches, as fast as he reloaded upon getting the ball back from the catcher and, hey, as fast as he stormed onto the Major League Baseball scene as a 21-year-old making his nationally, breathlessly anticipated debut ... well, that was how fast he set down the Pirates, 5-2, Tuesday night at Nationals Park.


Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg pitches in the third inning at Nationals Park in Washington Tuesday.

Try 14 strikeouts.

In 24 batters.

Including the final seven.

Everyone in the order, at least once.

With a fastball averaging 99 mph, once touching 101.

With a knee-buckling curve.

With a changeup registering 91 mph, or about 3 mph faster than the fastball of the Pirates' Jeff Karstens.

"It was nasty, all of it, everything he did," shortstop Ronny Cedeno said after striking out on a changeup and a 99-mph fastball. "That kid is going to be the best pitcher in the National League."

Sure, Delwyn Young tagged Strasburg for a two-run home run that briefly brought a 2-1 lead and somewhat silenced the otherwise electric setting, and the Pirates did manage four hits over his seven innings, including Andy LaRoche somehow lining a 100-mph pitch for a single to right.

But still ... it had the feel of living, breathing baseball history.

"The results speak for themselves," manager John Russell said. "He was dominating at times."

That was hard to tell from Strasburg's perpetually cool reaction, even after the obligatory shaving-cream pie to the face from Washington teammates Nyjer Morgan and John Lannan.

"They just kept telling me to soak it all in, good or bad, you only get one debut," Strasburg said of his teammates. "It was a tremendous experience, especially in front of a packed crowd like this."

It did not appear Strasburg was terribly comfortable in throwing a bit wildly to Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, his first two batters, but he was adamant that was not the case.

"I definitely wasn't nervous. I just remember the adrenaline flowing at 2 o'clock. I was just really trying to calm down and really take things easy and just soak it all in. I was able to make adjustments and keep the team in the game."

The game drew an overflow crowd of 40,315 overflowing with enthusiasm for Strasburg's every move, from the first warmup toss to his first strikeout, of Lastings Milledge over a biting curve in the first inning. It also drew hundreds of media members, national television and many other elements that the Pirates' franchise had not seen first-hand since, really, Sid Bream's slide.

The players mostly seemed to enjoy the setting beforehand, with Young playfully shouting to no one in particular in the clubhouse, "Never seen people so excited to see the Pirates in town!" As he spoke, Bob Costas, doing play-by-play for MLB Network, walked by.

The previous day, Young had summed up the team's general ho-hum sentiment toward the matchup by calling Strasburg "just another pitcher," but it was immensely clear Tuesday that was not the case.

"If you tried to sit on the heat, he'd throw that curve," Walker said after getting one of those hits. "He's hittable, but you've got to stay within yourself. And it's not easy."

"The thing that was the most impressive was the curve, the way he commanded that for early strikes," Milledge said. "He's a much different pitcher than anybody I've faced."

Karstens gave up a solo home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the first, but the Pirates took that 2-1 lead in the fourth: Walker and Milledge opened with singles and, after Garrett Jones bounced into a double play, Young reached out to pull a 90-mph changeup over the outer half, sending it above the tall wall in right.

It was Young's third home run, second in three games.

How did he do it?

"To tell you the truth, I think it was a changeup," Young said, as unsure as many others when trying to identify Strasburg's repertoire. "Just hit the sweet part of the bat."

And what did Young think of the pitcher?

"He's got a chance to be good," Young replied, still shrugging a day later. "You can see his pitches coming, which is good, and you eventually learn some of the action. This is the first time anyone's seen him. Other teams will see what we saw and make adjustments from there."

Milledge saved a run in the fourth when he caught a liner, then nailed a runner trying to tag from third with a strike to catcher Jason Jaramillo to end the inning.

But there was no sparing Karstens in the sixth, when Zimmerman singled, and Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham followed with back-to-back home runs to put the Nationals ahead for good, 4-2.

Karstens had breezed through five -- just 59 pitches -- but he elevated a fastball to Dunn, hung a slider to Willingham.

"Just one of those days," Karstens said. "DY did a good job keeping his hands back on Strasburg's changeup, but it was going to be tough to score."

"I thought Jeff did a good job," Russell said.

Washington closer Matt Capps, facing his former team for the first time, recorded his 19th save, most in the majors.


Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.

Strasburg's debut a masterpiece

Wednesday, June 09, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 batters in Tuesday's game at Nationals Park in Washington.

WASHINGTON -- Boiling excitement all along the Potomac could scarcely be contained even before rush hour had its legs. Something pretty urgent is going on when you're bumping into celebrities three hours before a June baseball game.

Ken Burns, Scott Boras, celebrated saxophonist Jaared, Sandra Bullock.

All right, not Sandra Bullock, but who would have been surprised?

Actually, Jaared was behind the plate at beautiful No Naming Rights Stadium in the 4 o'clock hour practicing the national anthem, which is an occasional gig here in his hometown. Jaared's toured in South Africa, Austria, Germany, Poland, Dubai and elsewhere, but this was the date he was hoping to line up.

"I thought, 'Wow, if I could be there the night Stephen Strasburg makes his debut, that would be something," he said in the umpires tunnel. "That rehearsal was kind of rushed. There's so much going on. I've really been looking forward to it."

He and all of baseball.

Few will remember that Jaared blasted a soaring and elegant Star-Spangled Banner to warm up for Strasburg on June 8, 2010, a performance that ran to technical perfection in octaves an alto sax doesn't really have, but none among its witnesses will ever forget Strasburg's Washington inaugural, a seven-inning, 14-strikeout monument to pitching virtuosity.

The most heralded rookie pitcher since perhaps David Clyde, whose straight-from-high-school debut performance 37 years ago this month with the Texas Rangers would stand as the highlight of an injury ravaged career, Strasburg dazzled an SRO crowd with 100-mph heat and the assured speed-changing guile of a 10-year major league veteran.

He struck out every Pirate in the lineup.

He struck out seven in a row as the Nationals closed the curtain after 94 pitches, costing him a chance to tie the big league record of 20, even as his manager later admitted he could have thrown 194.

He struck 'em out hard and soft, up and down, in and out. On top of all that, he struck 'em out with a delivery so fluid and calculating that it wouldn't have been thought possible for someone a month short of his 22nd birthday.

"The one thing I don't think you'll see from his is what you'd call nerves," said Nationals president Stan Kasten. "He's never shown that. He just wants to fit in and be one of the guys."

Good luck with that.

From the moment Strasburg walked out of the bullpen with pitching coach Steve McCatty at 6:59 p.m., the only emotion perceptible on his young face came just as the crowd fully realized his presence along the right-field foul line. There was an instantaneous standing ovation, and Strasburg seemed to gulp a little, but McCatty broke the tension by doffing his cap.

"It's kind of like when you get married," Strasburg said. "You go into it wanting to remember everything and when it's done, you don't remember a single thing."

Wait, all this (and) insightful quotes?

Give him the Cy Young right now.

"The last inning, he was just extremely overpowering," said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. "It was just one of those really memorable things, one of those things you'll always remember. I'm just happy for him, for his family, for Tony Gwynn and his staff at San Diego State [Strasburg's alma mater], for Spin Williams [the Nationals' pitching coordinator and former Pirates pitching coach), for our Double-A and Triple-A staffs -- geez I'm talkin' like it's the Academy Awards up here!"

Strasburg delivered ball three only three times all night. His first punchout came against Lastings Milledge, who saw a 99-mph first pitch, took an 82-mph change, then waved at another one, this 83 mph.

The first pick in last June's draft, the 6-4, 225-pound Californian struck out six of the first nine hitters, and after Pirates catcher Jason Jaramillo chopped a 1-2 pitch to first base with one out in the seventh, no Pirate put the ball in play until Strasburg exited seven outs later.

That Delwyn Young stroked a 1-0 changeup to the seats in right for a 2-1 Pirates lead in the fourth inning stands this morning as the only evidence that Strasburg made any mistakes at all.

"That was a change I shouldn't have called," said Nationals catcher Pudge Rodriguez, who has caught his share of exquisite pitching over 20 big league seasons. "The kid is unbelievable. With most young pitchers, they're getting behind in the count. He didn't do that hardly at all. He attacked the strike zone and he threw his breaking ball for strikes. I should have called for a fastball on the pitch Young hit."

The only blemish on a summer masterpiece, it only meant Strasburg would settled for a pitching line the read 7-4-2-2-0-14. His final pitch flew at Andy LaRoche at 99 mph, whiffing the man to whom he surrendered his first major league hit five innings previous. Even that seemed momentous, much as Strasburg tried to fight it.

"Things went a lot better as the game went on," Strasburg said. "In the seventh, that definitely brought back memories of the 23-strikeout game at San Diego State, the no-hitter, so the adrenalin was really flowing for me then. I was just trying to throw it where they weren't swinging. I was just trying to soak it all in and enjoy it. It's still just a game."

Well, not that one.

That was like Jaared said.

That was something.


Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

Draft 2010: Pirates take 'risk' with pitcher

Team takes right-hander Taillon over shortstop with No. 2 pick

Tuesday, June 08, 2010
By Chuck Finder and Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

In the end, the Pirates went for pitching promise.

They went against history.

They went against convention.

Jameson Taillon, heralded as the second- or third-best prospect and the best pitcher in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, Monday was selected second overall by the Pirates -- a team that hasn't struck it rich with a first-round prep pitcher in the June draft's 45-year history.


Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Jameson Taillon is a 6-foot-6 right-hander out of The Woodlands high school in Texas.

Only three of 11 such players chosen first or second overall in the draft ever sustained any starting success in the majors. Remove No. 2 picks Josh Beckett, in 1999, plus Bill Gullickson in '77 and J.R. Richard in '69, and the sum total big league record of these high school pitchers: 94-170. Their average career: five seasons. Two never reached the majors.

"We have to acknowledge the risk," said Pirates general manager Neal Huntington. "You study the draft and see the large percentage of high school starting pitchers that don't make it. ... As we make an evaluation projecting into the future, we look at everything, and this pick gives us what we want, both on an off the field. We saw all the necessary traits in him that will make him successful for us.

"He has the stuff that allows you to envision, down the road, a top-of-the-rotation starter." He added, "A lot has to go right between now and then."

Taillon (pronounced TIE-own) is a 6-foot-6 1/2, 220-pound right-hander who is compared favorably with Beckett at this age. He believes, like Beckett of Boston, he possesses the intangibles to defy draft history. "My work ethic, my personality," he said of what differentiates him from so many draft failures. "Extremely goal-oriented.

"I'm not going to look at the track record of high school pitchers taken in the first round."

Next comes the negotiation dance: trying to sign this 18-year-old right-hander from a tony Houston suburb and represented by agents to the Texas pitching stars, brothers Randy and Alan Hendricks. Taillon has a major-college baseball scholarship in hand and an education-first family with a sister in law school, one brother working toward a doctorate and another beginning his medical residency.

"I'm very big on Rice University," Taillon said on a conference call soon after his selection. "I've wanted to go there ever since I was 9 years old. Now I'm faced with a very tough decision. I know I'll make the right choice. My parents [Michael and Christie, an adjunct professor at nearby Lone Star College] are both extremely educated. That definitely rubs off on me. I'm going to have to weigh the pros and cons. It is my decision, and I am looking forward to getting down to business and seeing what I do. I think it will take a few days to settle in and within a week or so, I can tell you which direction I am leaning, whether it is college or pro ball."

Huntington and scouting director Greg Smith flew to Houston a week ago to meet with Taillon for a wide-ranging sit-down that lasted nearly four hours. Signability, he said, wasn't part of the conversation.

Less than two weeks ago, Taillon's father offered: "He's a very good student, but it looks like his pursuits won't be academic at this point."

The previous time the Pirates held the second-overall choice, slugger Pedro Alvarez's signing required more than three months, hearings and disagreements, and a franchise-record $6,355,000 million contract. Last year's No. 2, slugger Dustin Ackley, signed with Seattle for $7.1 million.

The Pirates had whittled their candidates to Taillon and Miami Brito Private School shortstop Manny Machado.

"We settled on the decision over the weekend ... evaluating the total package," said Huntington. He added that the fact Scott Boras -- agent for Alvarez, Harper and more -- represents Machado mattered "none."

"They're one of those teams that can't go out on the huge market and compete with those [large-market] teams," Taillon said. "Any time you get picked by one of those teams, it's a huge honor. I guess they see me as a future piece of that organization. [They're] eager to turn it around. Extremely motivated to turn it around here. I can tell what kind of player they like: motivated. I can see the Pirates turning it around shortly."

One former Hendricks brothers client and major league star from Texas came to one of The Woodlands' spring games to watch Taillon, who went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA, a .177 opposing batting average, 21 walks and 114 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. Apparently, Roger Clemens wanted to see the kid with the fastball that struck 98 mph on a radar gun, the breaking-ball that Huntington termed "quality-now," the changeup that distanced Taillon from even the more-mature college pitchers in the first round.

"Took some pictures afterward, talked about pitching and whatnot," Taillon recalled. "It was pretty neat. Extremely neat."

Chuck Finder: cfinder@post-gazette.com. Colin Dunlap: cdunlap@post-gazette.com.

Taillon part of Pirates' plan

Tuesday, June 08, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

Marc-Andre Fleury + Evgeni Malkin + Sidney Crosby + Jordan Staal = Stanley Cup.

Andrew McCutchen + Brad Lincoln + Pedro Alvarez + Jameson Taillon = ?????

A winning season?

Maybe more?

We can dream, right?

The Penguins proved the plan can work. Be bad for a long time. Accumulate high draft choices. Make smart selections. Have a little luck. (It's hard to imagine any team in any sport at any time being luckier than the Penguins when the Crosby ping-pong ball bounced their way). Coach 'em up. Reap the rewards.

If the Penguins can do it, so can the Pirates.

Honest to goodness, I want to believe that.

It's hard, but I'm trying.

The Pirates made another strong pick Monday night when they chose Texas schoolboy power pitcher Taillon (pictured at right) with the No. 2 selection in baseball's amateur draft. Every team had the kid no lower than third on its draft board behind consensus No. 1 pick outfielder/catcher Bryce Harper, who went to the Washington Nationals, and perhaps Florida high school shortstop Manny Machado, who went No. 3 to the Baltimore Orioles.

Clearly, Machado would have been the safer pick. "Gut-wrenching," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington called the decision not to take him. There always are fewer hurdles on the way to the big leagues for a high school position player than a high school pitcher. Check the history books and see how few high school pitchers make it big as top draft choices. But that's OK. If you're a team such as the Pirates on a limited budget, you have to take a risk once in a while. I'd rather have a dominant No. 1 starter than a power-hitting shortstop any day. Pitching wins championships.

Tell the truth, though.

When you heard the Pirates took the pitcher instead of the shortstop, didn't this thought run through your mind?

Why don't they just send him to Dr. James Andrews now and get the surgery out of the way?

Not to be cynical.

"I've never had any arm problems," Taillon said after the draft. "Let's cross our fingers."

The kid didn't sound a day older than 18 when he said that. We forget how young these guys really are. We were reminded in Taillon's case when he spoke of posing for pictures and talking baseball with Texas pitching legend Roger Clemens. "Pretty neat!" he gushed. "Extremely neat!"

It's nice to think Taillon will be posing with some awestruck young pitcher one day. Huntington talked of his "rhythmic delivery," which should reduce the risk of an arm injury. Taillon has a fastball that ranges from 94-99 mph with an above-average slider and curve and a changeup that, according to Huntington, is close to being a fourth quality pitch for him. He has been compared to Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett.

Who wouldn't sign in blood for that?

"There is a lot to like about this young man," Huntington said.

Now, the Pirates must get Taillon's signature in ink on a contract. That won't be easy or cheap. He has options; he's from a highly educated family and has accepted a scholarship to prestigious Rice University. That should add a few dollars to his Pirates contract.

But that's just the cost of doing business these days in the big leagues. That's why it was so absurd that Huntington, right after drafting Taillon, took the time to thank Pirates owner Bob Nutting for "providing us with the resources" to draft such a player. As if Nutting has a choice if he has even the slightest desire to win. In that moment, Huntington sounded very much like a man in the final year of his contract, sucking up to keep his job.

Still, this was a good day for the franchise. Remember the forgettable six-year period from 1997-2002 when the Pirates all but wasted first-round picks on J.J. Davis (No. 6), Clint Johnston (15), Bobby Bradley (8), Sean Burnett (19), John Van Benschoten (8) and -- the real killer -- Bryan Bullington (1)? They've come a long way.

Go back to the 2008 draft when the Pirates took Alvarez No. 2 and gave him a $6,355,000 contract. He's expected to bring his power bat and third baseman's glove to Pittsburgh any day. In '06, they took Lincoln, who could make his major league pitching debut Wednesday night against the Nationals. There was McCutchen at No. 11 in '05; he has the look of a star in center field. There was Neil Walker at No. 11 in '04; he has played lights out at second base since re-joining the big club two weeks ago.

Even the Pirates' recent first-round reaches don't seem quite so bad. Catcher Tony Sanchez, who was taken No. 4 a year ago, is off to a nice start in the minors. Pitcher Daniel Moskos -- whose selection at No. 4 in '07 ahead of highly regarded catching prospect Matt Wieters, who is in the majors with the Orioles but struggling -- has settled in nicely as a closer at Class AA Altoona.

Now if the Pirates can just find that bit of luck ...

If Walker can keep it up. If Alvarez turns out to be the real deal. If Lincoln and Taillon can stay healthy and be front-of-the-rotation pitchers.

Hey, the plan worked for the Penguins. We can dream, right?

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

Sanchez pitches in here one more time

Monday, June 07, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

The Giants' Freddy Sanchez signs autographs for fans at PNC Park before Friday's game in which he would produce three hits. It was Sanchez's first game back in Pittsburgh since the trade.


His three-game weekend against the Pirates included 2 wins, 7 hits in 13 at-bats, 2 doubles, 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs, including the winner in the San Francisco Giants' 6-5, 10-inning victory Sunday. Yet the thing Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez will remember most about his trip back to Pittsburgh -- or, as he put it, his trip "back home" -- is his two innings of pitching Saturday.

No, Sanchez didn't pitch against the Pirates, although I'm thinking he could have struck out Jeff Clement just as easily as two-time Cy Young Award-winning teammate Tim Lincecum did Sunday. Sanchez pitched in a game involving special-needs kids at the Miracle League Field in Graham Park in Cranberry Township. He loved it every bit as much as the players, who had the time of their young lives.

It's no wonder Sanchez showed up to be the honorary pitcher Saturday morning even after the Giants-Pirates' rain-delayed game the night before ended well after midnight. He and his wife, Alissa, cried when they dedicated Miracle Field in May of last year, their $50,000 donation going a long way in the funding. The Pirates traded him to the Giants a couple of months later for minor league pitcher Tim Alderson. He signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Giants after the season.

"Golly, what a feeling seeing the smiles on those kids' faces," Sanchez said. "That means everything to me. That's real life. That's changing people's lives. Before that field came along, a lot of those kids couldn't say, 'I played in a baseball game today.' Now, they can. That's what it's all about."

Many of the Pirates fans at PNC Park over the weekend knew of Sanchez's good work in the community. They also knew he was one of the Pirates' most productive players -- a three-time All-Star and the National League batting champion with a .344 average in 2006 -- during a six-year period that stretched the franchise's record consecutive losing streak to 17 seasons.

Is it any wonder the ovations in each of the three games were loud and loving for Sanchez?

"You don't know what you're going to get," he said. "Obviously, you're hoping for something good, but these are Pirates fans and I'm not a Pirate anymore. But it turned out to be a great welcome for me. I definitely heard them and I appreciate it."

In the end, Sanchez played a huge part in sending the fans home unhappy after two of the three games. Not that anyone could have been surprised. "A lot of the people I met here this weekend told me, 'I love watching you play. I love the way you play the game,' " Sanchez said. "That's the greatest compliment you can give to any ballplayer."


Peter Diana / Post-Gazette

The Giants' Freddy Sanchez slides past Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit in the fifth inning Sunday at PNC Park.


Sanchez went 3 for 4 in the Giants' 6-4 win Friday night-into-Saturday morning. He nearly tied the score in the ninth inning Saturday night when he smoked a ball to left field with the bases loaded that Pirates left fielder Lastings Milledge made a diving catch after taking a rather odd, circuitous route to the ball to save a 6-3 win. Then, he scored two runs after singles Sunday and, after taking a called third strike from Pirates relief pitcher Brenden Donnelly with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, got just enough of a 1-2 pitch from reliever Octavio Dotel in the 10th to score teammate Andres Torres on a sacrifice fly for the winning run.

"That son of a gun can hit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Sanchez.

Hey, tell us something we don't know, Skip!

"He's just a tough out," Bochy said, doing his best to oblige.

"He uses the whole field and makes contact as consistently as any hitter in the game. Good hitters find ways to get the good part of the bat on the ball. [Hall of Famer] Tony Gwynn is the best I ever saw at that. Freddy is close."

Sanchez's numbers are staggering since joining the Giants May 19 after offseason surgery on his left shoulder. Would you believe a .371 average? Sure, you would. How about a 10-game hitting streak during which he is batting an even .500 (18 for 36)? Of course, you'd believe that, too.

"It's not just his talent on the field," Bochy said. "It's the energy he brings us and the confidence he brings to our team in the No. 2 hole."

It's no surprise that Sanchez is excited to be back playing after missing so much time. But that's only one part of it. The one thing the Giants are giving him that the Pirates never could is a pennant race. He has never been in one, and he's having a blast.

"That's the only regret I have," Sanchez said. "I couldn't get it done here. We couldn't get it done as a team. These fans deserve it. I take that personally that we failed them."

By now, the Giants' clubhouse was empty. Sanchez wasn't taking the team flight to Cincinnati Sunday night. He, Alissa and their boys, Evan, 5, and Ryan, 2, were driving.

To be a fly in that car ...

Can you imagine the stories? Dad's big weekend. The trip to Miracle Field. The visit to the boys in the stands by the Pirate Parrot.

"That's what they'll remember most," Sanchez said, grinning.

Not us.

We'll remember how much fun it was watching Sanchez play again and what we're missing now that he's gone.


Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan

Sanchez 'always thinking about Pittsburgh'

One of Pirates' top players of past decade returns to PNC tonight

Friday, June 04, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Freddy Sanchez is batting .327 for the Giants after missing seven weeks to shoulder surgery.

Freddy Sanchez, one of the Pirates' most accomplished players of the past decade, will return to PNC Park tonight as a member of the San Francisco Giants, first time since being traded last summer.

He will do so with memories of being a three-time All-Star, the National League's 2006 batting champion, the second baseman with the seventh-highest fielding percentage in Major League Baseball in that span, and a vibrant member of Pittsburgh's charitable community.

But one memory of an event, one that took no more than a minute, stands out for him.

"The introduction before the All-Star Game," Sanchez recalled Wednesday in a phone interview from San Francisco. "In all honesty, it's something I think about all the time, the highlight of my career."

That was the All-Star classic in Pittsburgh, of course, when the overflow crowd fairly shook the place with a chant of "Fred-dy! Fred-dy!" as Sanchez joined his All-Star teammates along the third base line. It might have been the loudest ovation for any member of the Pirates since the move out of Three Rivers Stadium.

"And it wasn't just that," Sanchez continued. "They cheered me on all year to get that batting title, even though the team wasn't doing that well. I'm always thinking about Pittsburgh, with so many memories from there. The way the fans treated me was just awesome, and I can't wait to be back there and play in that stadium again."

Such sentiments are commonly expressed by athletes, but those close to Sanchez know that his cut to the core: When traded, he told friends that he was devastated, in part because of his loyalty to the franchise and city. When he returned to Western Pennsylvania to accept a humanitarian honor over the winter, he recalled being deeply emotional as the taxi took him through the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

And, for this trip, he is bringing his full family, wife Alissa and two young sons, Evan and Ryan, in part because he wants the children to experience the city.

"It's going to be different, though, and I know that," Sanchez said. "It's going to be weird taking a cab to the ballpark instead of driving into the players' lot. It's going to be weird going to the other clubhouse, too, and seeing the guys I know over there in Pirates uniforms."

At the same time, Sanchez expressed appreciation for his current situation, playing for a contender for the first time: The Giants are 28-24 and 3 1/2 games back in the West Division, and they are blessed with perhaps the best pitching in the league.

Moreover, Sanchez is simply glad to be back on the field, having had his season debut delayed to May 19 after offseason shoulder surgery. Through his first four games, he is batting a familiar .327, including multiple-hit outputs in four of his past seven games.

"Just to be back on the field is nice," Sanchez said. "When you're hurt, things just don't feel right, and you have a whole lot of bad thoughts going through your head. It feels good to be out there, and it feels good to be part of the team. We have a tough division, a tight race."

And of being in contention?

"It's fun, having a chance to try to win this division and make it to the playoffs."

Sanchez continues to monitor the Pirates from afar, that being evident by his unsolicited mention of Pittsburgh's new second baseman.

"Seeing Neil Walker hit that home run the other night, what a great moment that must have been for the whole city," Sanchez said. "And I can tell you that it couldn't have happened to a better kid than Neil."

Sanchez was traded for Class AA pitching prospect Tim Alderson, who is 4-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 11 starts for Altoona. He started slowly after a near-total overhaul of his delivery in the offseason, with his fastball down to 85 mph. But two strong starts last week -- one earned run over 13 innings -- earned him Eastern League pitcher of the week, and he made another Thursday night in New Britain, Conn., by allowing one run over six innings.

Walker's blast hits home

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Thursday, June 3, 2010

About two hours removed from his first major-league home run, the one that beat the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, Neil Walker took a call from his father.

"Neil, mom and I have a bottle of champagne ready," Tom Walker said.

"I'll be right home," Neil said.

PITTSBURGH - JUNE 01: Neil Walker #18 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is congratulated by teammate Garrett Jones #46 after hitting a two-run homerun, the first of his major league career, against the Chicago Cubs on June 1, 2010 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

With that, the Pirates' new second baseman said good night to his girlfriend and drove home, to the same Pine Township house in which he'd grown up rooting for the Pirates.

Neil carried with him the scoresheet from the game — presented to him by broadcaster and ex-Pirates pitcher Steve Blass — and the ball he'd smacked over the left-field fence for a two-run home run with one out in the eighth inning. (Pirates pitchers in the bullpen gave the Cubs fan who caught the ball three autographed balls in exchange for it.)

The rousing post-game celebration had included teammate Joel Hanrahan rubbing shaving cream in Neil's face.

Back home, the scene was much quieter around midnight, as Tom and Carolyn Walker popped a bottle of champagne with their baby boy.

Tom Walker, who pitched in the big leagues for six years, spoke up.

"I said: 'There's some things you just don't forget, and I'm sure you'll never forget this,' " Tom said Wednesday. "Neil said: 'Do you remember your first win, dad?' "

How could he not? It happened in 1972, when Tom was pitching for the Montreal Expos in San Diego. Most notable was the plane ride afterward, when manager Gene Mauch broke tradition and actually got up from his bridge game to wade back into the players' section. He tapped 23-year-old Tom Walker on the shoulder and said: "Son, there's going to be a lot more of those."

"I thought: 'I hope you're right, boss,' " Tom recalled.

As it turned out, there were only 17 more of those. Tom, 61, finished his career with a record of 18-23. So he knows that one good week, like the one his son has enjoyed since being recalled from Triple-A, guarantees nothing.

But he also knows that the events of June 1, 2010, will live forever in the Walker family.

Tom and Carolyn were sitting in their seats with friends behind home plate when Neil turned on Ted Lilly's 87-mph fastball. The instant it cleared the fence, Tom thought of all the sweat his son had poured into the moment.

That hit was six-plus years in the making, from the moment the Pirates drafted Neil to all the position changes - from catcher to third base to second - to his offensive struggles at Triple-A to a brief and unproductive call-up last September to a recent scolding from Pirates management for a minor on-field indiscretion.

Nobody thought Neil would break into the big leagues as a second baseman, but here he is, a novice at the position.

A specific scene came to Tom's mind. It was the day, several years ago, when Neil came home from junior nationals. Tom was working in the yard.

"I said: 'Neil, how hard do you really want to work to play in the big leagues?' " Tom recalled. "He said: 'Dad, more than anything.' Well, he put on his working shoes, and he got it done."

Neil had barely finished rounding the bases Tuesday night when Tom was answering text messages from his two other sons, Matt and Sean, and his daughter, Carrie.

Matt, 32, played five years in the minors before injuries forced an early retirement in 2004. He was watching Tuesday night on the MLB's Extra-Innings package from his home in Richmond, Va., when he fired off the following message to his dad:

"Boy, is that awesome!"

Sean, 30, was watching the FSN Pittsburgh broadcast at home in Cranberry, and Carrie, 28, was sitting at Comerica Park in Detroit. She was watching her husband, Tigers outfielder and Butler native Don Kelly, play against the Cleveland Indians.

A few hours later, after the champagne was gone, Neil Walker, the Pirates' new second baseman, retired to the same bedroom he'd slept in as a child. It doesn't look like a child's room anymore, but there is an interesting photograph on the wall, one that was taken a few years ago at spring training.

It is a shot of Neil and Bill Mazeroski hanging out at second base.