Pittsburgh Pirates

Podcast: Smorgasports on 105.9 the X w/ Madden

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Here’s the podcast of my weekly appearance at the 105.9 the X studio with Mark Madden. We covered pretty much everything, from the Pirates’ semi-big game tonight to the Steelers’ draft to the Penguins’ plan for the power play. And more.

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Tuesday 10 Qs: Shero, Cutch, Colbert, Geno, Tyler

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The Penguins await the handshake line with the victorious Rangers Friday at the Garden. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Welcome to Tuesday 10 Qs, 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.

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UPDATE 9 a.m.: And off we go …

rajankaliral: The Penguins now lack young forwards due to aggressive trade deadline deals over the years. However, is Ray Shero to blame or was he simply following orders from management?

DK: Whoa there, Rajan! Your question there implies that your first sentence is indisputable.

If you go over Shero’s more ‘aggressive’ deals, to borrow your term but presuming you mean the headline-grabbers, those have next to nothing to do with the current lack of young forwards. What was sent out for the likes of Marian Hossa, James Neal and Jarome Iginla — the three biggies that come to mind — was, in order, a bunch of failed prospects, defenseman Alex Goligoski, and two zero-level prospects because Calgary’s hand was forced. None of those had any discernible impact on the current quality of forwards.

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Podcast: Pucks, Bucs on 970 ESPN w/ Todd

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

NEW YORK — Here’s the podcast of my weekly rapid-fire segment on 970 ESPN Pittsburgh with David Todd, live from Madison Square Garden. Lots of pucks, some Bucs.

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Friday Insider: Setting Penguins’ record straight

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2014 NHL Draft - Round 2-7

Jim Rutherford was hired by the Penguins as general manager last summer. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

HARRISBURG — Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …

• Sometimes in this business, you hear whispers, rumor, second-hand or third-hand word, and it’s difficult to discern what’s worth putting out to the public and what isn’t.

Turner's

Not so with the following information I received yesterday afternoon: The Penguins absolutely, positively, unequivocally have no plan to remove Jim Rutherford and/or Mike Johnston, regardless of how the season ends.

This comes straight from the top. No middleman. No room for misinterpretation.

What’s more, the team has no expectation that Rutherford, 66, will resign or retire.

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On the scene: Thursday matinee in April? No, more

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Clint Hurdle’s Pirates wore their new alternate camouflage uniforms for the first time Thursday. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Sights, sounds and the scene at PNC Park …

• The temps flattened out in the low 40s, the clouds were charcoal gray, next to no one was watching at PNC Park, and it was a Thursday matinee in April.

Now size up that context with the following from Clint Hurdle, a man hardly known for hyperbole: “That was one of the best team wins we’ve had since I’ve been here, given what we were facing.”

Yowza. So Pirates 5, Cubs 4 ranks right up there with the Blackout?

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On the scene with Perrotto: Hardly elementary

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Chicago Cubs v Pittsburgh Pirates

Tony Watson pitches to the Cubs in the ninth inning Wednesday at PNC Park. — GETTY

BY JOHN PERROTTO

Sights, sounds and the scene at PNC Park …

• Tony Watson went into some uncomfortable, if not quite uncharted, territory.

The left-hander got the last six outs for the save last night as the Pirates held off the Cubs, 4-3, and closer Mark Melancon was given a break after throwing 25 pitches in a blown-save loss Tuesday.

Yes, Melancon still has the word ‘closer’ in front of his name. Clint Hurdle hasn’t taken him out of that role despite his difficult start to the season. More on that in a bit.

What Watson did was out of the ordinary for a couple of reasons. First, saves of more than one inning in a close game almost never happen in the modern game. Second, Watson pitched two full innings just three times in a National League-high 78 appearances last season when he was selected to the All-Star Game and finished with a 1.63 ERA.

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