Tabata, Cole lead Pirates over Diamondbacks 6-2

The Associated Press

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/pit

August 17, 2013

Gerrit Cole improved to 6-5 as the Bucs stretched their NL Central lead to three games over the Cardinals with last night's win. (AP)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jose Tabata heard all the rumors in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline and understood the significance of slugging prospect Andrew Lambo being called up this week.

''I know people are saying the Pittsburgh Pirates need a right fielder,'' Tabata said. ''It makes me feel like I've got to do something. Whatever the front office wants to do, that's their thing. I just want to help my team win.''

Tabata did that Friday night with a two-run homer and rookie Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings to lead the Pirates over the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2.

Tabata's drive was his fourth of the season and came off J.J. Putz in the eighth inning, putting the NL Central-leading Pirates ahead by four. Tabata connected a day after he came off the bench and had three hits in a 12-inning loss at St. Louis.

Lambo had started the previous three games in right field after having his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. However, Tabata got a chance to get back into the lineup Friday night after getting three hits off the bench Thursday against the Cardinals.

Tabata, who is hitting .269, sent an opposite-field shot to right after Gaby Sanchez doubled.

''It's always a good sign for Jose to drive a ball the other way like that,'' Clint Hurdle said. ''That's the gift he's brought to the game since he's been a young player. That's one of the first things I saw in 2010 when I was (the hitting coach) with the Texas Rangers and they played the Pirates. That's one of the first thing people here talking to me about when I became the manager.

''He squared some balls up in St. Louis and hit a ball hard tonight. That puts him in a good spot where he's aggressive in the batter's box right now.''

Cole (6-5) was pitching on eight days of rest. He had his previous turn in the rotation skipped in part to allow veteran A.J. Burnett to pitch Thursday against the Cardinals and also to get extra rest. The 22-year-old Cole has pitched 140 innings between the major leagues and minor leagues in his second major league season.

The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

The first overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft won for just the second time in his last seven decisions after winning the first four starts of his career.

''It was tough to get a feel for the breaking ball, Cole said when asked about the effect of extra rest. ''I threw some good one but there were others where I wasn't totally committed to trusting it would break.''

Having more days off is something I've got to attack, though. It's going to happen again. It's something I'm going to have to get used to.''

Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen had two hits each for Pittsburgh.

Brandon McCarthy (2-7) lost his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts.

''The whole thing felt like I was in a fight,'' McCarthy said. ''I was able to command my sinker, but that was about it. My cutter was as bad as I can remember it in a long time.''

Martin Prado had two of Arizona's five hits.

Pittsburgh broke a 2-all tie and moved in front for good with a two-run fifth.

Marte doubled with one out and scored on Neil Walker's double. McCutchen then singled in Walker to make it 4-2.

Pedro Alvarez's two-run single put the Pirates ahead 2-0 in the third. The hit scored Walker, who had walked, and McCutchen, who had doubled.

Arizona answered with two runs in the fourth. Cole walked Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Hill with one out, and they scored on singles by Prado and A.J. Pollock.

After winning three straight games against Baltimore in their final at-bat, the Diamondbacks didn't have the same magic as Jeanmar Gomez and Mark Melancon combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

''Cole threw the ball good, moved the ball in and out very good, had good velocity, the ball was moving,'' Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson.

NOTES: RHP Trevor Cahill (3-10, 4.66 ERA) is expected to be activated from the disabled list and start Saturday's game against Pittsburgh LHP Jeff Locke (9-3, 2.43). Cahill has been out since July 1 with a bruised right hip. ... Diamondbacks SS Didi Gregorius did not start after going 8 for 47 (.170) in his previous 14 games. Cliff Pennington took his place. ... Pittsburgh signed RHP Kyle Farnsworth to a minor league contract as a free agent and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 15-year veteran was released Aug. 9 by Tampa Bay.

Cards can't keep the ball rolling

BY BERNIE MIKLASZ bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com

http://www.stltoday.com/sports

August 15, 2013

Pittsburgh Pirates' Pedro Alvarez celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the second inning during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Photo by Chris Lee, clee@post-dispatch.com

After staging a rare ninth-inning comeback victory Tuesday to stun the marauding Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals drifted back into the fog.

The Cardinals viewed Tuesday’s stirring win as a potential pivot point that would liberate them from a stretch of failure and frustration.

“Games like that definitely help you,” manager Mike Matheny said hours before Wednesday’s first pitch at Busch Stadium. “As a team that’s working from behind I think you need a couple of those wins to where you fight back and you see a lot of character, you see a lot of heart. And that typically does translate into a heightened level of expectations that it can happen (again.)”

Yeah, well ...

In easily dismissing the Cardinals 5-1 on Wednesday, the Pirates avoided a letdown after gifting the Cardinals a Tuesday victory.

Instead of curling into a ball to submit to another beatdown, the first-place Pirates reminded everyone that this is 2013. They are not overloaded with the psychological baggage of 20 consecutive losing seasons.

Given an early lead, Pirates starter Francisco Liriano put the Cardinals under his thumb and cruised to a four-hitter.

It was another silent night at Busch, and the Cardinals drooped to three games behind the Pirates in the NL Central. And third-place Cincinnati — suddenly afire — lurks only a half-game behind the Cardinals.

The Cards and Pirates will settle their three-game series this afternoon at Busch. The home team could use a jolt of energy, and a bolt of power.

With their best-team-in-baseball status long evaporated, the Cardinals have lost 14 of their last 20 games and are desperately searching for their missing offense. A sign of the tough times: They’ve batted .200 and averaged 1.9 runs in those 14 defeats.

Not counting several random assaults that generated double-digit run totals in games, the Cardinals’ offense has pretty much remained in shutdown mode in recent weeks.

The Cardinals have been trying to overcome their home-run recession with an unusual offensive profile.

Let’s see: The Cardinals don’t steal bases. They don’t walk that much. They rank 27th in the majors in homers. They have only 19 home runs since June 1, hitting one every 68 at-bats.

The Cardinals do like doubles. Compared to most teams, they limit their strikeouts. They’re a high contact team, leading the NL with 43 percent of their swings putting the ball in play.

What the Cardinals do best is find open spaces with their assault of singles. They came into Wednesday tied for the NL lead for most singles, and are on pace to finish with more singles than all but two Cardinals teams since 1979.

More than anything the Cardinals cut teams to ribbons through timely, run-producing singles with runners in scoring position. St. Louis is batting .333 with RISP, the best by an MLB offense since the statistic became officially recognized in 1974.

And yes, this requires skill — but also a good amount of luck. The Cardinals are offended when we say that, but it’s true. What the Cardinals are doing with RISP is an outlier, and a thick file of historical data confirms it.

We often hear Matheny lament his team’s bad luck this season, citing the line drives that are gloved for outs. But in the inherent luck that goes with the batted baseball, the Cardinals are one of the more fortunate teams in modern history.

Through Tuesday the Cardinals’ .320 batting average on balls in play was the highest for the franchise since 1954. And only 17 MLB teams have had a better single-season average on balls in play since the 1961 expansion year.

The Cardinals have no reason to gripe about lousy luck; their real problem is that too many batted balls stay inside the yard. The Cards’ current home-run rate of 0.79 per game is the lowest for the franchise since 1995.

Yes, it’s possible to score plenty of runs without the aid of homers. All you have to do is set a major-league record for batting average with runners in position. Piece of cake, right? Not really; this may happen once every 40 years or so.

The Cardinals could do themselves a favor by depositing more baseballs over the outfield walls, and into the bleachers. But they require the services of additional home-run hitters to do that.

I’m not saying that the Cardinals have to stand in the box, lose all discipline, go one-dimensional and rip away like some berserk modern version of Dave Kingman. That would lead to an absurdly high number of strikeouts.

That said, if the Cardinals’ collection of hitters is incapable of going deep more frequently, it’s something GM John Mozeliak must address over the offseason. A team that has a so-so walk rate, little speed and weak HR power can’t count on hitting .333 with runners in scoring position every year. It’s implausible.

The Pirates certainly use the home run to their advantage. In going 8-4 against the Cardinals this season, the Pirates have a 13-3 edge in homers.

The Pirates have 22 homers this season in high-leverage situations; the Cards have 13. The Pirates have 17 game-tying homers; the Cardinals have three. The Pirates have 38 go-ahead homers; STL has 26.

Can you see the problem here?

The Cardinals’ binge offense has scored more runs than the Pirates overall this year. But that doesn’t tell the entire story.

Home runs are among the primary reasons the Pirates have slugged their way to more comeback wins than St. Louis this year, 28 to 19. Home runs are a factor in the Pirates having a 42-30 record in games decided by two runs or fewer — compared to the Cards’ 24-28 mark in such games.

The Cardinals won’t deliver many comebacks until they can bring the home run back.

* * *

Watch “Breakfast with Bernie,” each weekday, sponsored by Papa John’s, where you get 40 percent off regular price menu items the day after a Cardinals victory. Use promo code “CARDSWIN” at checkout. 10% of purchase price benefits Siteman Cancer Center.

Watch "Breakfast with Bernie," each weekday, sponsored by Papa John's, where you get 40 percent off regular price menu items the day after a Cardinals victory. Use promo code "CARDSWIN" at checkout. 10% of purchase price benefits Siteman Cancer Center.

Liriano dominates, Pirates beat Cardinals 5-1

By R.B. FALLSTROM (AP Sports Writer)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/pit

August 15, 2013

 Francisco Liriano (13-5, 2.68 ERA) throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, in St. Louis. Photo: Jeff Roberson/AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- For the second time since the All-Star break,Francisco Liriano had dazzling stuff against St. Louis. The lefty shook off the worst outing of his career and saved the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen, too.

''It was important because every game counts, especially after last night,'' Liriano said after throwing a four-hitter in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday night. ''It was a tough game last night and we had to put that one behind us and come ready to play.''

Pedro Alvarez and Garrett Jones homered for the Pirates, who snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak and took a three-game lead in the NL Central.

The Pirates had a five-run cushion after four innings against rookieShelby Miller, who didn't miss a turn five days after getting drilled on the elbow and lasting just two pitches against the Dodgers. They're 8-4 against the Cardinals heading into the series finale matching starters A.J. Burnett and Lance Lynn.

''You give up five runs, you just get outpitched,'' Miller said. ''I mean, it's simple. I didn't do very good.''

Pittsburgh totaled just 10 runs during the losing streak and won in 2 hours, 30 minutes one night after losing 4-3 in 14 innings in a game that lasted 4:55. Pirates relievers worked eight innings Wednesday.

Starling Marte was the goat in that loss after dropping a routine fly ball that would have been the second out in the ninth. He contributed a two-run double.

''Everybody tried to help me,'' Marte said. ''What happened last night, I was feeling bad and somebody told me to keep my head up and play.''

Liriano (13-5) struck out six and needed just 94 pitches and is 3-0 in his career against St. Louis. His last time out, the lefty was punished for 10 runs in 2 1-3 innings at Colorado.

Against the Rockies, Liriano said he had no control. He carved up the Cardinals.

''That was the mulligan,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ''What we've seen all year, he's just given us chances to win. He's pitched deep into games, he's mixed pitches, he's really been in command when runners get on base.''

Matt Carpenter doubled and eventually scored on a groundout by Carlos Beltran in the ninth to snap Liriano's shutout bid. He settled for his second complete game of the year and third of his career.

''You couldn't really tell what was coming out of his hand,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ''You could tell he had late life by the way the guys were reacting.''

Alvarez hit his 29th homer an estimated 440 feet to straightaway center leading off the second against Miller (11-8), and with one out Jones lined his 11th over the right field wall estimated at 392 feet. Marte's hit capped a three-run fourth, with two of the runs unearned due to a fielding error by third baseman David Freese.

Miller gave up two homers for the fourth time and has lost all of those starts, twice against Pittsburgh. In six innings, he gave up five runs, three earned, on eight hits.

Liriano retired the side in order six times, twice with the help of double plays. A third double play helped him escape without damage in the second when the Cardinals got two of their hits.

In the three starts prior to his clunker at Colorado, Liriano allowed one earned run over 21 2-3 innings in winning three straight starts.

The Cardinals are 3-6 with one game to go on a 10-game homestand that began with series losses to the Cubs and Dodgers.

Michael Wacha, one of St. Louis' top pitching prospects, made his first career relief appearance and struck out four in two scoreless innings.

Notes: The Pirates have outscored the Cardinals 14-2 in Liriano's two starts this year. ... Tabata missed his second straight start but entered as a defensive replacement in right field in the eighth. He was scratched with flu-like symptoms Tuesday. ... The Cardinals left a season-high 17 runners on base Tuesday night. ... Matt Holliday has 17 hits during an 11-game hitting streak but also grounded into his major league-leading 27th double play. He also lined into a twin killing in the fourth. ... Nine of the homers off Miller have come with the bases empty. ... Alvarez has homered two of the last three games. He has 11 homers against the Cardinals in 46 career games.

Cardinals beat Pirates 4-3 in 14 innings

By R.B. FALLSTROM (AP Sports Writer)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/pit

August 14, 2013

Starling Marte reacts after dropping the fly ball that helped the Cardinals back into Tuesday’s game. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Both teams all but cleared their benches trying to end it. One of the St. Louis Cardinals' substitutes finally came through.

Adron Chambers singled home the winning run in the 14th inning for his first RBI of the season, and the Cardinals outlasted thePittsburgh Pirates and cut into their NL Central lead with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.

''Oh man, that was amazing,'' Chambers said. ''If any one of these guys got that, they'd be jumping for joy just like I am inside.''

Sam Freeman (1-0) allowed a walk in a scoreless 14th for the Cardinals, who saddled the Pirates with their fourth straight loss and pulled within two games of them with a win in the 4-hour, 55-minute game.

''We had a lot of guys step up,'' St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. ''That was a big, big win. It was one of those ones you just felt you had to win somehow.''

Pittsburgh had four hits the first time through the order againstAdam Wainwright and led 3-0 after two innings on homers by Andrew McCutchen and Jordy Mercer. They had six hits the rest of the way and couldn't quite recover from left fielder Starling Marte's dropped fly ball in the ninth.

''He's probably not in a good place right now,'' Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ''There's some hard lessons learned up here from time to time.''

Hurdle didn't want to put it all on Marte.

''We got nicked for a run. We had to play five more after that,'' Hurdle said. ''We threw everything out there, they threw everything out there.

''We let one probably get away from us.''

Both teams had chances in extra innings before the Cardinals, who had dropped four of five, cashed in.

Jon Jay singled off Jared Hughes (2-3) with one out in the 14th with his fourth hit. Jay stole second and then raced home and barely eluded the tag on Marte's relay to the plate.

Hughes was the Pirates' seventh pitcher. The Cardinals used six.

''If you were to know the outcome of the game, you'd prefer to save your arms in the bullpen,'' Pirates starter Charlie Morton said. ''They've been so good. You just hope to not put too much of a load on them.''

The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the 13th before Seth Maness got Josh Harrison to ground into a double play.

Pittsburgh got two key outs in extra innings by forcing Maness to bat. Right fielder Josh Wilson was moved into a five-man infield before participating in a rare 6-9-3 double play to end the 11th.

Jeanmar Gomez finished his third scoreless inning by striking out Maness with the bases loaded in the 13th.

Maness was inserted into the cleanup spot following a double switch, replacing Matt Holliday, who slipped returning from a secondary lead and injured an ankle. X-rays were negative.

''I obviously need a little help up there,'' Maness said. ''I'll be a little more prepared next time.''

The Cardinals forced extra innings and gave Mark Melancon a blown save, aided by Marte, who dropped Daniel Descalso's routine fly ball for a two-base error with one out in the ninth. Descalso scored the tying run on Allen Craig's single.

Wainwright was the first National League pitcher to 13 wins but is 0-2 in four starts since then. He has worked seven innings in all of them although he needed 122 pitches against the Pirates.

He allowed three runs and five hits with six strikeouts and a season-high three walks.

Jay had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who have been offensively challenged while going 2-5 on a 10-game homestand entering the Pirates series.

David Freese is 2 for 13 with the bases loaded after shattering his bat grounding into a double play that got the Cardinals on the board in the sixth. Morton threw one pitch behind Freese not long after getting a visit from pitching coach Ray Searage.

The Pirates' defense was perfectly placed behind reliever Bryan Morris for pinch-hitter Matt Adams' lineout to second baseman Neil Walker in shallow right field with two on to end the eighth.

Wainwright got three extra days' rest after lacking a put-away pitch in recent efforts. He still had to fight for outs, needing 33 pitches to get out of the first, although the Pirates had just two hits off him after Mercer's homer in the second.

Andrew Lambo was 0-3 with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout in his major league debut for the Pirates. He got the start after Jose Tabata was scratched with flu-like symptoms. Lambo has hit 31 homers at Double-A and Triple-A this year, tied for the most in the minors.

Morton allowed two runs in six innings against a team that has punished him. He entered 2-6 with a 6.30 ERA against St. Louis and has lost five consecutive decisions.

Notes: Cardinals C Yadier Molina took part in most field activities for the second day and plans on playing Thursday, the first day he is eligible to come off the DL from a right knee injury. St. Louis was 5-7 the first 12 games without Molina, who told reporters it has been tough watching. ... Wednesday's starters Francisco Liriano (12-5, 2.83) and St. Louis rookie Shelby Miller (11-7, 2.89) are both among the NL ERA leaders. Miller lasted just two pitches in his last outing when he was drilled on his pitching elbow on a liner by the Dodgers' Carl Crawford, but escaped with a bruise. ... Marte was hit by a pitch for the 20th time this season, when he led off the fifth. Before the game, Hurdle referred to Marte as a ''Pinata.''

Burnett, Liriano come up big for Pirates

By BRENDAN MEYER bmeyer@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8513

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/

August 14, 2013

Nelson Liriano (12-5, 2.83 ERA)

The Pittsburgh Pirates certainly have a type.

Find a veteran pitcher with a successful past who is having an inconsistent present, get him on the cheap, and bring him back to his old form. That formula is one of the reasons the Pirates currently have two of the best bargains in baseball headlining their pitching staff atop the National League Central Division.

A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano are the success stories. But not even manager Clint Hurdle could have predicted the amount of success that the latter would have this season.

“To this degree, numerically, I don’t know about that,” Hurdle said. “But he was the guy. When we went out looking (this past offseason), Liriano was the top of our list.”

In 17 starts this year, Liriano is 12-5 with a 2.83 ERA. He signed with Pittsburgh in February, coming off a 2012 season split between the Twins and the White Sox, accumulating a very mediocre 6-12 record and a 5.34 ERA.

After an injury during the offseason to his non-pitching arm, he signed a two-year, incentive-laden contract with the Pirates. This season, he’s being paid $1 million. Next season, $8 million.

During his career, Liriano has been infamously inconsistent. He broke out in 2006 with the Twins, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA. Tommy John surgery kept him out of the 2007 season, and it took until 2010 for Liriano to regain his ace-like form. He was 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA, earning the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. After 2010, it was back downhill for Liriano’s numbers, until he broke out once again this season.

“I think it’s being healthy,” Liriano said. “The last two years, having trouble with my (pitching) shoulder. This year, being 100 percent fine physically. That gives you more comfort to go out there and pitch, not worrying about getting hurt.”

Liriano has been dominant this season, but so has Burnett, who was the first success story in the Pirates’ offseason formula.

A.J. Burnett (5-8, 2.95 ERA)

Burnett was traded from the Yankees months before the start of the 2012 season following two lackluster years with an ERA north of five. The Yankees agreed to pay $20 million of the $33 million remaining on the two years of his contract because it looked as if the 35-year-old’s best years were far behind him.

What was New York’s trash turned into Pittsburgh’s treasure. Burnett went 16-10 with a 3.51 ERA last season,and in 21 starts this season, at 36 years old, is 5-8 with a 2.95 ERA — the lowest of his 15-year career.

“You don’t hit on every one of them,” Hurdle said when asked about the Pirates’ luck with their bargain veterans. “We thought Bedard was (going to work) too.”

Erik Bedard, a 15-game winner in 2006 for the Orioles, is one experiment that did not pan out.

He had tailed off from his success ever since his 2007 season with Baltimore, and after a trade to the Seattle Mariners and a stint with the Boston Red Sox in 2011, he could not regain his dominant form following surgery in 2009 on a torn labrum.

He was a veteran, he had past success, and he was struggling, which was the perfect combination for the Pirates. Bedard signed with Pittsburgh in December 2011 on a one-year, $4.5 million deal.

He was 7-14 with a 5.01 ERA and was released in August 2012.

Two out of three isn’t bad for the Pirates, especially considering the two pitchers they lucked out on. Liriano and Burnett have mixed in perfectly with the young Pirates pitching staff.

“We’ve hit on at least two (pitchers) big time in the last two years,” Hurdle said. “We think that a combination of things (here) can help them be better than they have been in the past.

“(Liriano) is an important part of everything we’re doing here. He’s an established major league pitcher with street cred and a résumé.”

Liriano starts tonight against the Cardinals. In his last outing against St. Louis on July 29, he went seven innings, giving up one run on four hits, striking out eight and walking two.

If he continues the season he’s having, Liriano could very well be the first pitcher in MLB history to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award twice.

That’s not a bad bargain for the first-place Pirates.

Steelers NT Ta'amu on road to redemption

By WILL GRAVES (AP Sports Writer) 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/pit

August 12, 2013

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Alameda Ta'amu's second chance began with a daily knock on the door.

Nearly every morning during the offseason, Pittsburgh Steelersdefensive end Cameron Heyward would stop by the nose tackle's house. Together they would drive to the team's facility and go through a series of draining, mettle-testing cardiovascular exercises.

Hard enough when you're in shape. Even harder when you're a 22-year-old, 372-pound manchild trying to exercise the kind of discipline you lacked in abundance during a disastrous rookie season that nearly ended your professional career before it even began.

Ta'amu is mature enough to talk about it now, eager to put the night he sent police on a dangerous chase through the city's Southside bar district behind him. The chaotic pursuit ended with Ta'amu in handcuffs.

The Steelers cut him a couple weeks later and re-signed him to the practice squad. He eventually received probation and a vote of confidence from coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert, who told him he hadn't lost the trust of the franchise that selected Ta'amu in the fourth round of the 2012 draft.

What Ta'amu really needed, though, was a friend. He found one in Heyward, who wouldn't give Ta'amu a chance to say no.

''I was just trying to help,'' Heyward said. ''I always tried to talk to him and be straightforward with him.''

Perhaps more importantly, Ta'amu was ready to listen. Embarrassed by his behavior and well aware he was down to his last chance, Ta'amu responded by taking his job seriously. He cut more than 20 pounds off his 6-foot-3 frame and realized it takes more than just being bigger than the guy across the line of scrimmage to become an effective player in the middle of Pittsburgh's 3-4 defense.

Heyward helped show Ta'amu how to get in shape, how to use his hands for leverage and how to play to the whistle instead of stopping the second the play is past you.

The evidence of Ta'amu's transformation became evident in Pittsburgh's 18-13 loss to the New York Giants in the preseason opener on Saturday night. He played 20 snaps, picked up two tackles and showed the kind of technical proficiency that was foreign to him a year ago.

''I definitely thought he was physical,'' Heyward said. ''He ran to the ball a lot better. He's just got to keep working on technique and hand placement. Overall I thought his effort was really good and he was ready for it.''

He wasn't ready a year ago, on the field or off.

Ta'amu was out of shape during his first training camp and then nearly sabotaged his entire career in the early morning hours of Oct. 14. Ta'amu was driving the wrong way down a one-way street when police attempted to stop him. Instead he ran, crashing into four cars, injuring a woman in a parked SUV and attempting to flee on foot before being taken into custody.

He eventually pleaded guilty to charges of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and driving under the influence and will be on probation until Oct. 2014.

If he wanted to stick around, he needed to change. The Steelers are searching for someone to replace departed five-time Pro Bowler Casey Hampton. Steve McLendon appears to have worked his way into a starter's role while Ta'amu and Al Woods are battling for the right to be the first guy off the bench.

It will be weeks before a winner is declared. Ta'amu's play against the Giants served notice that he has no plans to cede the spot to Woods. Heady territory for a player who began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hamstring injury that occurred when he tried to push himself during a sprinting drill shortly before the Steelers arrived at Saint Vincent College.

''I was trying to set a personal best,'' Ta'amu said. ''My hamstring said 'You're too heavy to run like this.'''

While allowing he felt better on Saturday night than he did any time as a rookie, Ta'amu isn't exactly ready to say he's got everything figured out. Watching tape on Monday morning, there were as many cringe-worthy moments as there were slaps on the back.

''A lot of mistakes,'' Ta'amu said. ''There were times I had good push. But even if a play is 50-50, it's an F. I'm working on my way to make it a better grade for next time.''

Even the fact Ta'amu is talking about a next time is a victory of sorts. He understands it may be a while before people are ready to forgive him for his missteps. Hampton advised Ta'amu there is a surefire way to move forward.

''Casey always told me ... you start doing good things and everybody will forget what happened in the past,'' Ta'amu said. ''I'm just trying to stay under the radar.''

At least off the field. On the field he no longer gasps for air when forced to move more than a couple yards. Getting in nearly two dozen plays speaks to his improved conditioning. Sure, not having an additional 25 pounds helps. So does the improved confidence that comes with believing you belong.

Ta'amu isn't quite there yet. One more lapse in judgment and he's done in Pittsburgh and perhaps the NFL. He knows many teams already would have bailed on him. He also knows most teams are not the Steelers when it comes to providing an avenue for a troubled player to work his way back into the fold.

''Everybody makes mistakes,'' Ta'amu said. ''They gave me a second chance to go out there and show what I can do. I'm going to try and make the most of it.''

NOTES: WR Plaxico Burress underwent surgery on Monday morning to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Tomlin said it's too soon to determine a timetable for any possible return but it appears doubtful that Burress, who turned 36 on Monday, will be back this season. ... TE Matt Spaeth had surgery to repair a foot injury. He is expected to be back at some point this season. ... CB Terry Hawthorne, the team's fifth-round pick in the draft, practiced in pads for the first time after spending the first two weeks of camp dealing with a hamstring issue. ... G Justin Cheadle was carted off the field with a right leg injury. ... The Steelers are off on Tuesday. ... McLendon was excused from practice for ''personal reasons,'' according to Tomlin.

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Online: AP NFL website www.pro32.ap.org

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Follow Will Graves at www.twitter.com/WillGravesAP

Why the Pirates thrive vs. Cards

By Bernie Miklasz bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com

http://www.stltoday.com/sports

August 12, 2013

Pittsburgh Pirates' Pedro Alvarez drives in a run with a single off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Since the beginning of last season only three National League teams have a winning record against the Cardinals: Atlanta (8-1), Pittsburgh (15-10) and Los Angeles (10-8.)

Since May 3 of last season the Pirates have won 14 of 20 games played against St. Louis, and that includes a 7-3 mark this season. 

The Pirates even have the edge as the road team, having won their last three series played at Busch Stadium going back to late June, 2012.

The Pirates are back in town for a three-game series that begins Tuesday night at Busch. Pittsburgh leads STL by three games in the NL Central.

Even though the teams will play six more times after this set, the Cardinals are feeling a bit restless. This happens when you go to Pittsburgh and lose four out of five games, as the Cardinals did recently. That big series flipped the race in the NL Central, with the Pirates taking over the top spot and elbowing the Cardinals into second place. 

As Cardinals reliever Randy Choate told MLB.com Sunday: "Well yeah, after they put a whooping on us at their place, it's nice for them to have to come here. But we're not necessarily playing our best, (so) you don't want to make too much of a series that's still in August, but it's kind of time to get going. But definitely getting on your home turf is better than having to go there." 

With both teams off today for some down time, I thought I'd take a look at why the Pirates have successfully tormented the Cardinals over the past two seasons.

Let's count it down, and I put the emphasis on the last 20 games between the teams: 

1. Pedro Alvarez: How devastatingly good has the Pirates third basemen been against St. Louis over the last two years? Well, here's an answer ... he's Stan Musial. Well, no he isn't really Musial. But he's put up Musial-like numbers against the Cardinals. Alvarez has a combined onbase + slugging percentage of .989 versus St. Louis over the last two years. Musial's career OPS was .976. By the way, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio each had a career OPS of .977. So when he swings against the Cardinals, Alvarez turns into (take your pick) Musial, Mantle or DiMaggio ... only a little better. Sick. 

In 25 games and 107 plate appearances vs. the Cardinals since the beginning of 2012 Alvarez has pounded your favorite team for 8 homers, 32 RBIs, 5 doubles, a .313 batting average, .374 onbase percentage and a .615 slugging percentage. Over that time no other Cardinal opponent has more than 5 homers or 14 RBIs.

And with runners in scoring position over the last two seasons Alvarez has clobbered St. Louis pitchers for a .483 batting average (14 for 29) with 4 homers and 26 RBIs.

Alvarez has an overall career batting average of .237. 

But if Alvarez can go from being Musial to Babe Ruthagainst the Cardinals over the next three nights, the Pirates will probably be pretty happy when they fly out of town.

For now, it seems that the Cardinals have no clue about how to pitch this guy. 

2. Starting pitching: In winning 14 of the last 20 from the Cardinals, Pirates starting pitchers are 11-6 with a 3.42 ERA and have held STL hitters to a .234 batting average and 6 homers in 419 at-bats. They also have healthy strikeout rate of 8.5 per 9 IP.

And what about the Cardinals' starters over the last 20 against Pittsburgh? This: a 4.69 ERA and eight quality starts. Jake Westbrook, Lance Lynn and Adam Wainwright haven't pitched well _ at all _ against the Pirates during this stretch. And Wainwright and Lynn will pitch in this series. 

3. Bullpens: In this 14-6 roll against St. Louis, the Pirates' relievers have a 2.30 ERA and are 4 for 4 in save opps. They've been better than that, actually. The last time the teams played the Cardinals did a lot of damage, scoring 13 runs (and beating up the bullpen) to win the final game of the otherwise hideous five-game set at PNC Park. Going into that game, Pirates relievers had a 1.79 ERA vs. St. Louis over the previous 19 games, and were nicked for only one homer in 269 at-bats. 

And the Cardinals bullpen against Pittsburgh? Ugh: 5.14 ERA, 4 losses, and 109 base runners allowed in 68.1 IP. 

4. A bizarre role reversal on offense: Since the start of last season the Cardinals lead the NL in runs (4.8 per game), batting average (.273), onbase percentage (.337) and are third in slugging (.416.) 

Over that same time, the Pirates rank 13th in the NL in runs (3.95 per game), 13th in batting average (.240), 13th in onbase pct. (308) and ninth in slugging (.393.)  

But when these two teams throw down, a strange thing happens.

The Pirates' hitters become the Cardinals' hitters.

And the Cardinals' hitters become the Pirates' hitters ... only worse. 

The Pirates have scored an average of 5.4 runs over the 20-game sample, batting .285 with a .352 OBP and .444 SLG. They have out-homered STL, 20-7. 

Over the 20 games the Cardinals have averaged 3.6 runs and batted .222 with a weak .292 OBP and .311 SLG. And even that's misleading; the Cardinals scored 23 runs in two of the 20 games _ meaning that they averaged only 2.6 runs against the Pirates in the other 18. The Cardinals have batted .174 with no homers in the 14 losses to Pittsburgh. 

In the 20 games the Pirates have seven lineup regulars (and one semi-regular) hitting at least .297 against St. Louis. That includes the recognizable names _ Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Garrett Jones, Starling Marte, Jose Tabata, etc. It also includes light-hitting shortstop Clint Barmes, who has smacked the Cardinals around for a .308 average, six doubles and 11 RBIs. The onslaught doesn't end there; the Pirates even have had three bench players hitting over .300 against St. Louis (Alex Presley, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer.) Is there no decency? 

On the other hand, the Cardinals didn't have a single regular or semi-regular batting .300 against Pittsburgh in the 20 games. When Jon Jay is leading the way at .290, it tells you all you need to know. Cardinals hitters have rang up massive strikeout totals against Pirates pitchers in these 20 games -- 172 Ks in 704 at-bats. Good grief. 

5. Manager Clint Hurdle: Since taking over the Pirates at the outset of the 2011 campaign, Hurdle is 22-19 against the Cardinals. Pittsburgh hasn't had a winning season since 1992, but that's about to change. And Hurdle deserves credit for cultivating a more positive mindset; he has his players believing they can win. The Cardinals have been a special target.

A young, ascending team can't get to where it wants to be unless it can knock off the bully. And the Pirates have been brash and bold when facing St. Louis. The days of the Pirates being intimidated by the Cardinals _ and deferring to the Cardinals _ appear to be over. 

Confidence is not an issue on the Pirates' side. 

Hurdle made that clear Sunday when asked about the upcoming Cardinals' series. 

"We know we can play with them," he said. "We know we can beat them." 

And they have. 

I wonder if the Cardinals have finally had enough of losing to the Pirates. It should be an interesting three games. 

Thanks for reading ... 

— Bernie 

What we learned: Mixed bag for Steelers in loss

By Chris Bradford cbradford@timesonline.com 

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

August 11, 2013

LaRod Stephens-Howling gained 40 yards on seven carries in last night's preseason opener.  (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Super Bowl isn’t going to be won in the first regular-season game. And it’s certainly not going to be won in one as utterly meaningless as the first preseason game. That’s not such a bad thing as far as the Steelers are concerned.

Leading up to Saturday’s game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin did say he wanted to see how his team responds to adversity in a stadium environment. Well, the Steelers faced no shortage of that.

“We’ve got a long way to go, but I thought it was a good start,” said right guard David DeCastro. “We did some good things and moved the ball well. We’ll look at the tape and clean some things up. It’s early.”

Never mind the result – an 18-13 loss to the Giants -- it was a mixed bad for the Steelers. Today, Times Steelers writer Chris Bradford takes a closer look.

1. THE ROOKIES

Even without Le’Veon Bell, it still marked the highly-anticipated debut for three Steelers rookies, who all gave a good accounting of themselves. “A nice start for those guys, but they need to continue to grow,” said Tomlin. First-rounder Jarvis Jones recovered a fumble (OK, it was a gift from New York’s Andre Brown) and had a nice diving tackle in the third quarter. Shamarko Thomas saw time at the nickel corner and had a tackle. The most impressive rookie, however, was fourth-rounder Markus Wheaton. He might not have Mike Wallace’s speed, but Wheaton is quick and runs excellent routes (though he did have a catch overturned for bobbling the ball going out of bounds). The 5-11, 182-pound receiver showed a willingness to make tough catches over the middle in traffic. Don’t recall Wallace doing too much of that. “I played OK,” said Wheaton. “I made some mental mistakes, which I shouldn’t have, obviously. Outside of that I thought I played well.”

2. PER-PLAX-ED

One man’s misfortune, as Mike Tomlin is fond of saying, is another’s opportunity. With Plaxico Burress likely lost for the season with a torn rotator cuff, there could be an opening for Rochester’s Derek Moye to make the 53-man roster. That is, if Kevin Colbert decides to stay in-house for a replacement. If he does, Moye will likely find himself in a tough battle with former Penn State teammate Justin Brown for the fifth receiver spot. Brown has the advantage of being a draft pick (sixth-round), but Moye has a two-inch height advantage. You don’t teach 6-5, as they say. “I still have to go out and perform every day and can’t worry about who’s there and who’s not,” said Moye, who had two catches for 22 yards. “Just go out there and do what I am capable of doing.” Brown, who was called for an illegal block to the back, had four catches -- including an outstanding leaping catch in the third quarter -- for 32 yards.

3. TIGHT SPOT

In hindsight, the Steelers would have counted themselves fortunate if only Heath Miller was injured. Now with Matt Spaeth also out (likely 8-10 weeks with a “significant” ankle injury), the Steelers are in a bind at tight end. They have brought in Nathan Overbay and Michael Palmer to add depth but David Paulson and Jamie McCoy (who didn’t play Saturday) will have to carry the load possibly into October. Obviously, the Steelers wouldn’t rely on Paulson -- or Spaeth for that matter -- as much as they would Miller, but it’s a concern. Paulson had one catch for 13 yards.

4. THE COMPETITIONS

-- After Eli Manning, New York has veterans David Carr (79 starts) and Curtis Painter (eight starts) as backup quarterbacks. The Steelers have Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones and John Parker Wilson, who have a combined 20 starts (all of them Gradkowski’s). Jones’ first play from scrimmage? A fumble in the end zone that resulted in a safety. John Parker Wilson was sacked four times. Enough said.

-- The Drew Butler vs. Brian Moorman battle will have to wait another week. Butler had three punts (the first of which was blocked, though little fault of his own) for an average of 48 yards. Moorman actually averaged just 43.8, but that included a 59-yard bomb that was returned 17 yards.

-- With seemingly every corner not named Ike Taylor injured, cornerback is a growing concern. Cruz exploited William Gay on a perfectly thrown 57-yard strike from Manning.

5. IN THE ZONE

The Steelers’ offensive line debuted their new zone blocking scheme and were able to establish the run. At least with the first-team offense, anyway. LaRod Stephens-Howling was the biggest beneficiary. The former Pitt star rushed for 40 yards on seven carries (5.7 average). “We had a lot of productive plays, it’s an awesome start for us,” said center Maurkice Pouncey. “We just need to keep building throughout camp.” But the Steelers are extremely thin outside of the starting five up front.