Pittsburgh Pirates
April 14, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (3-4) vs. Detroit Tigers (6-1), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park
Pitchers: RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 3.38) vs. RHP Shane Greene (1-0, 0.00)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
As a small bonus, here’s a quick answer from Burnett yesterday about what he needs to do tonight to succeed against the Tigers’ formidable lineup …
April 14, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 10 Qs. And yes, that’s a 10 now.
For newcomers, this is our cyber-chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers readers a chance to carry the conversation. The format is simple: Use the comments below to submit an entry. I’ll pick from those, as well as the ones that arrive once the session goes live.
For those who have been around, I’m going from 12 Qs to 10 because, in all honesty, the feature had become really time-consuming. Sure, I could give shorter answers, and there are occasions where I still might. But I’ve always preferred to support a position as best I can.
I genuinely feel this will work better, and I’ll still get a healthy ratio of three or four questions on the team or teams currently in season, as well as a couple on those that aren’t. And all of the questions picked will be about sports and not the site itself. Let’s please save the latter for Saturday Site Stuff.
Thank you so much, as always.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: And here we go …
April 13, 2015
Corey Hart crushes a two-run home run to the bleachers in the seventh inning Monday. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
A good baseball team is built on bricks.
A great one’s got the mortar, too.
For all else that can be culled from the Pittsburgh Baseball Club’s 129th home opener, from Josh Harrison homering on the very first pitch to Gerrit Cole’s six-plus shutdown innings, to Jared Hughes’ game-changing double-play grounder, to insurance blasts by Pedro Alvarez and Corey Hart, to Mark Melancon finally righting himself for the final out, this 5-4 tipping of the previously unbeaten Tigers was precisely what Clint Hurdle called it afterward: “A great day for baseball on the North Shore, for the Pirates and for our fans.”
You wouldn’t find a soul among the PNC Park regular-season record crowd of 39,933 to dispute it.
Sure, it’s one of 162, as was the real opener in Cincinnati. But this little slice still felt like it was sprinkled with something special, a sensation not felt in these parts for far too long.
And it didn’t take much canvassing of the clubhouse to find it.
“It’s confidence,” Tony Watson was telling me. “It’s belief in ourselves. It’s belief from our fans. You could feel that right from the first pitch.”
Literally, in Harrison’s case.
“It’s a good team, but it’s got a chance to be a great team,” Harrison said. “And that’s because we know we go 25 deep, and we’ve got each other’s backs. That’s huge.”
April 13, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (2-4) vs. Detroit Tigers (6-0), 1:35 p.m., 129th home opener, PNC Park
Pitchers: RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 5.40) vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 0.00)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
April 12, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (1-4) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (1-4), 2:10 p.m., Miller Park, Milwaukee
Pitchers: RHP Casey Sadler vs. RHP Kyle Lohse (0-1, 21.60)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
April 11, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (1-3) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (0-4), 7:10 p.m., Miller Park, Milwaukee
Pitchers: RHP Vance Worley vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson
TV, radio: MLB Network, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
April 10, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (3-0) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (0-3), 8:10 p.m., Miller Park, Milwaukee
Pitchers: LHP Jeff Locke vs. RHP Mike Fiers
Radio: 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
April 10, 2015
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, teammates since 2006, have combined for 1,554 NHL points. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …
• Should the Penguins miss the Stanley Cup playoffs, or even if they qualify and make little more than a cameo appearance, there could be significant change.
Significant, but not stupid.
In my extensive face-to-face interview with Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle last May at Consol, an extraordinary session not only for the access to two private men but also for their candor, the franchise’s co-owners stressed one point above all: They believe in the team’s two superstars.
As Burkle told me that day, “We wake up every day with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. So we wake up in a pretty good place.”
April 9, 2015
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates (0-2) vs. Cincinnati Reds (2-0), 12:35 p.m., Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
Pitchers: RHP A.J. Burnett vs. RHP Anthony DeSclafani
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
