Jack Flaherty threw a 94 mph fastball straight down the middle to Kevin Newman and the Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 season was underway. Flaherty went on to retire the first nine Buccos in a row before giving up a lead of single to Newman in the bottom of the 4th. He looked in mid-season form; paintingContinue reading “The Long Ball Sinks The Pirates On Opening Day”
Author Archives: Craig W. Toth
Opening Day Has Arrived: 2020 Pirate Projections and A Little Cardinals Preview
Anytime the Pirates have been competitive in recent memory, it seems like it has always been the St. Louis Cardinals standing in their way. For three straight seasons (2013-15) it was the team from the Gateway City that kept the Pirates from a NL Central Division Title, which could have let them avoid the WildContinue reading “Opening Day Has Arrived: 2020 Pirate Projections and A Little Cardinals Preview”
5 Thoughts At 5: Pirates Opening Day Eve
As the beginning of the Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 season is almost upon us there are a lot of emotions that have been welling up inside of me over the past few months, ready to come out. Ever since the shutdown went into effect on that sunny Thursday afternoon back in March, it has been oneContinue reading “5 Thoughts At 5: Pirates Opening Day Eve”
Progression, Regression and Stagnation: 2020 Pirates Player Projections
Each year before a season begins there are expectations; for the organization as a whole, for the team and especially for the individual players on the field. We try to predict a direction or a path for the future; sometimes based on numbers and patterns, but often it is rooted in emotion, a gut instinctContinue reading “Progression, Regression and Stagnation: 2020 Pirates Player Projections”
Taking Off The Fan Hat: Cheering For The Name On The Front Of The Jersey
I am a Pittsburgh Pirates Fan; always have been. In my 35 years of cheering on the Buccos there have been ups and downs, players have come and gone, ownership has changed hands, a new park has been built and another was torn down and through it all I have persevered. Always trying to keepContinue reading “Taking Off The Fan Hat: Cheering For The Name On The Front Of The Jersey”
Making A Call To The Pen
Last year, every time then Manager Clint Hurdle would reach for the bullpen phone in the dugout it was almost always a total crapshoot as to which pitcher, and more likely which version of each particular pitcher, would rise from his chair to begin warming up on the mound. In a season of inconsistencies, injuries,Continue reading “Making A Call To The Pen”
Relative Unknowns and Overlooked Role Players: The 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates
It has been less than nine months since the regime of General Manager Neal Huntington was ushered out the door of the Pittsburgh Pirates Front Office. Since that time a meaningful game of baseball has yet to be played, a truncated Spring Training was followed by an extended layoff and Summer Camps have just recentlyContinue reading “Relative Unknowns and Overlooked Role Players: The 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates”
All Aboard The HOPE Train: The 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates
As players begin to filter into Spring Training 2.0/Summer Camp/MLB “The Re-Mix”, bloggers and media members alike have taken to giving Pittsburgh Pirates Fans something very similar to grasp onto…HOPE. Hope that Ke’Bryan Hayes will be standing at third base when the season begins, hope that one or more free agents will be headed toContinue reading “All Aboard The HOPE Train: The 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates”
Roster Construction: Thoughtful Planning Versus Reckless Abandon
As soon as the announcement was made on Tuesday evening that players had agreed to report to Spring Training 2.0 on July 1st the brains of Major League Baseball fans and media members’ alike immediately went into overdrive. With new rules, health and safety protocols, scheduling, an end to the MLB transaction freeze and impendingContinue reading “Roster Construction: Thoughtful Planning Versus Reckless Abandon”
Five Thoughts At Five: Moments In Time
Over the last few months my feelings toward Major League Baseball have gone through what feels like a journey through the 5 Stages of Grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. With what appears to be no end in sight to the negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA, I look back on the last monthContinue reading “Five Thoughts At Five: Moments In Time”
Steel City Pirates 