DK on Pittsburgh Sports Coverage http://dkonpittsburghsports.com Award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic covers Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and more Sun, 12 Jul 2015 12:46:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2 Pitching ‘gets it done’ with Cole, bullpen http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/11/pitching-gets-it-done-behind-offense/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/11/pitching-gets-it-done-behind-offense/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2015 04:01:03 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=21016 In the third inning of the Pirates’ 5-2 victory over the Cardinals Friday night at PNC Park, Matt Carpenter drilled a two-run home run to center field. Gerrit Cole let a backdoor slider catch too much of the plate, the kind of mistake no pitcher can afford against a hitter of that caliber. And as the […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/11/pitching-gets-it-done-behind-offense/feed/ 12 Pirates buoyed by having big three up next http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/10/pirates-buoyed-by-having-big-three-up-next/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/10/pirates-buoyed-by-having-big-three-up-next/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2015 04:01:53 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20921 Jeff Locke started strong Thursday night in the Pirates’ 4-1 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park, but he was derailed by a fifth inning in which St. Louis scored four runs, three of which were unearned after Jordy Mercer booted a potential double-play ball. That was that. But the Pirates are in still in good shape […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/10/pirates-buoyed-by-having-big-three-up-next/feed/ 12 Analysis: Cardinals (role) model of consistency http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/analysis-cardinals-are-role-model-of-consistency/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/analysis-cardinals-are-role-model-of-consistency/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2015 17:19:18 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20746 Two teams in Major League Baseball woke up Thursday with at least 50 wins. They play in the same division, and they’re playing each other this weekend. The Cardinals roll into PNC Park for four games with the Pirates in each team’s final series before the All-Star Break, St. Louis holding a a 4 1/2-game […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/analysis-cardinals-are-role-model-of-consistency/feed/ 15 Column: Beating teams they should? Yeah, and? http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/column-beating-teams-they-should-yeah-and/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/column-beating-teams-they-should-yeah-and/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2015 04:01:38 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20676 The Pirates stink! Nothing they do means anything until they beat the good teams! If Neal Huntington doesn’t get a top-notch starter, two more everyday bats and a whole new bench, this team is going nowhere! Am I doing this right? No, really, I’m rehearsing lines for next week, by which point, if I’m reading […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/column-beating-teams-they-should-yeah-and/feed/ 104 Suddenly stingy Riverhounds stifle in Toronto http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/suddenly-stingy-riverhounds-stifling-in-toronto/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/suddenly-stingy-riverhounds-stifling-in-toronto/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2015 04:01:18 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20738 VAUGHAN, Ontario — Have these Riverhounds gone defensive? That’s a legitimate question after their second consecutive shutout win, this by a 2-0 count over Toronto FC II Wednesday night at the new Ontario Soccer Centre. After bleeding 20 goals in their first 10 USL matches, the Riverhounds have applied a tourniquet by limiting opponents to […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/09/suddenly-stingy-riverhounds-stifling-in-toronto/feed/ 11 Harrison has thumb surgery, out seven weeks http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/harrison-out-seven-weeks/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/harrison-out-seven-weeks/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2015 23:10:45 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20635 The Pirates will be without Josh Harrison for seven weeks after he underwent thumb surgery Wednesday. Dr. Thomas Graham, a hand specialist with the Cleveland Clinic, repaired a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb on his left hand that was injured during an awkward slide Sunday. Harrison had sounded cautiously optimistic earlier in the […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/harrison-out-seven-weeks/feed/ 31 Analysis: Kessel finer fit than one might think http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/analysis-kessel-finer-fit-than-one-might-think/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/analysis-kessel-finer-fit-than-one-might-think/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:00:13 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20557 The Penguins are on their way to being the Penguins again. This was the beauty of the Phil Kessel trade. If ever a hockey franchise was about scoring goals, offensive excitement and winning via these components, it is the Penguins. Think of 1991, 1992 and 2009. Does defense creep into your mind? Maybe a little. […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/analysis-kessel-finer-fit-than-one-might-think/feed/ 130 Polanco’s patient process finally pays off http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/polancos-patient-process-pays-for-pirates/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/polancos-patient-process-pays-for-pirates/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2015 06:29:46 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20564 On Monday night at PNC Park, Gregory Polanco saw more pitches, 17 in three plate appearances, than any of the Pirates against the Padres’ James Shields. But the dividend of his approach was a 1-for-4 night. On Tuesday, he saw four or more pitches in four of his five plate appearances, for a whopping one-man […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/08/polancos-patient-process-pays-for-pirates/feed/ 56 A.J. Burnett, All-Star: ‘I guess I’m a yinzer’ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/07/cutch-cole-burnett-melancon-are-all-stars/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/07/cutch-cole-burnett-melancon-are-all-stars/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2015 04:02:36 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20353 A.J. Burnett has said many times that he will take snapshots in his head in this, his final Major League Baseball season. This day will be one he remembers forever. The snapshots were endless. He was selected Monday, shortly before taking the mound at PNC Park, to participate in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game for […]

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]]> http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/07/cutch-cole-burnett-melancon-are-all-stars/feed/ 52 Watson validates A.J.’s ‘wasted fist-pump’ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/07/watson-validates-a-j-s-futile-fist-pump/ http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/07/07/watson-validates-a-j-s-futile-fist-pump/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2015 04:01:51 +0000 http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/?p=20412 A.J. Burnett buried a curveball behind the Padres’ Derek Norris for strike three, then ripped off a 360-degree, two-handed fist-pump to cap eight innings of one-run baseball Monday night at PNC Park. It would have been a perfect ending to a day in which Burnett, at 38, was selected to his first All-Star Game, joining three […]

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