DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

LATROBE, Pa. — Sign Russell Martin!

Hang on, let’s try that again with the appropriate gusto: SIGN RUSSELL MARTIN!

Much better.

Honestly, I couldn’t type that sentence with any more conviction if I pounded the keys through my Macbook with a mallet. And if there’s anyone following Pittsburgh sports, intensely or informally, who doesn’t share that sentiment with the same pulse, I’m unaware of them. The retaining of the Pirates’ catcher has become the cause celebre of the summer, from social media to talk shows to that one bigmouth the other night screaming from PNC Park’s upper deck, “Sign Russ now, Buccos! Do it!”

Again, consider that seconded.

At the same time, though, let’s consider whether that’s wishful thinking or holds any basis in reality.

MORE

All the flags beyond PNC Park’s outfield fences flap in the same direction. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A smooth, autumnal breeze drifted down the Ohio Valley, up the Allegheny and right through PNC Park on this Tuesday night. The marquee showed Pirates vs. Tigers in a duel of contenders, the place was pretty much packed again, and the evening as a whole was about as pristine as one could hope for baseball in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The pennants stayed up.

That’s what got me, if you want to know.

Not sure how many fans ever notice those nine black and gold pennants, commemorating the franchise’s World Series and/or National League championships, lining the upper riverwalk beyond center field. They’re easily missed, even though each is individually lit, each so vital in importance. But on this night, they stood tall. And they stood the whole time. The breeze kept them perked up from Edinson Volquez’s first pitch to his fantastic stab to the final out of a 4-2 deflating of Detroit that both engaged and enthralled the crowd of 34,919 and, more important, pushed the Pirates within 1 1/2 games of the Brewers.

It’s a pennant race, Pittsburgh. We’ve got ourselves a pennant race, and I’ll be damned if the pennants themselves haven’t taken notice.

MORE

Jeff Branson instructs Gaby Sanchez during batting practice Monday. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

I, for one, blame Kate Upton.

I really don’t, of course, but play along.

See, for all her otherworldly gifts, the solar system’s most celebrated supermodel didn’t even bother showing Monday night at PNC Park to watch her boyfriend, the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, get flogged for five runs in one inning as the opening salvo of the Pirates’ 11-6 smackdown. Hence, the fair maiden provided no tangible distraction, no Yoko Ono effect on the pitcher who used to give up fewer runs in a month than he did in these 16 minutes.

No, the apparent culprit was Verlander’s “sore right shoulder,” as announced by the Detroit media relations a full hour and 11 minutes after he exited the game without any visible sign of, you know, a sore right shoulder. The Tigers added after the game that he’ll have an MRI on the shoulder, so the veracity remains to be seen.

Not to be cynical, but hey, maybe it was something else.

MORE

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

In the immediate, intimidating aftermath of a weekend in Phoenix that saw Andrew McCutchen’s back plunked by a malicious fastball, Neil Walker’s back flaring up anew, Pedro Alvarez backing off fans seated near first base, and our city’s baseball fan base going back to thinking it was somewhere between 2012 and Armegeddon, what these Pirates needed was some semblance, some small taste of success Tuesday night at PNC Park.

What they didn’t need, to say the very least, was the bullpen blowing up Charlie Morton’s strong seven innings into a 6-3 setback against the Marlins.

What they didn’t need was a reminder of their greatest — and growing by the day — shortcoming.

MORE

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Neal Huntington thanked his scouts.

Not sure that’s one I’d heard before, but there it was: The Pirates’ GM, in the immediate aftermath of a Major League Baseball trading deadline that was about as productive as a waiver-wire plucking of some Double-A nobody — oh, wait, that’s actually all that went down — went out of his way to tell us reporters that his lieutenants had “worked tirelessly” in traveling “back and forth” across the country to study big-league players and write up reports, all aimed at the deadline.

And then … pfffffffffffffffffft.

MORE