Pittsburgh Pirates news and notes.

Hurdle Still Tinkering with Lineup

In an effort to be more productive on offense, Clint Hurdle has been mixing up the lineup on a daily basis since the start of Spring Training; specifically hitters 1-4.  Although star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen is the fastest player on the team (and maybe the entire league), Hurdle may use him in the three spot considering his projection to hit for more power as well as Jose Tabata's ability to get on base.  If I had to guess, I would project the line up to go Tabata, Walker, McCutchen and Alvarez.  At this point, it is impossible to tell.  Today, against the Red Sox, McCutchen sat out while Tabata moved to center and batted leadoff. Yesterday had a different look as players were engaged in split-squad games between the Phillies and Blue Jays.

What Wrist Injury?

After coming out early on Friday with a supposed wrist injury, Andrew McCutchen returned to the lineup Saturday to go 2-3 with a double and a homerun.  The Pirates, however, lost both games yesterday in split-squad play.  In 11 games this Spring, McCutchen is batting .321 with 2 homeruns, 6 RBI's and a .424 OBP.  He appears to be ready for April. 



Nothing oK with Offense

Against the Phillies yesterday, the Pirates struck out 11 times while against the Blue Jays, they struck out 7 times.  So far, the Pirates lead the Majors in strike outs with 138.  Their fielding percentage, however, is 7th in the league, a stat which may have to do with Manager Clint Hurdle's attention to detail and fundamentals.  Last year the Pirates were tied at the bottom of the league with the Nationals in errors with 127.


by Jon Pennline

Pens vs Sabers: Recap

by Lori Pometo

A lively game it was as the Penguins and Sabres faced off in Pittsburgh last night. It was a night of firsts. Both James Neal and Zbynek Michalek scored their first goals as Penguins. Chris Kunitz, made his first game appearance since being out with a lower body injury on February 4th. Kunitz replaced Cooke in the Cooke-Kennedy-Staal line and Cooke took Connor's spot for the night. There was a total of ten power plays throughout the game. The Pens had seven power plays, one of their all time highs but failed to score in any of the seven.

2011 MLB Division Preview: AL West

Congratulations to the Pitt Basketball team

Coach Dixon and Wanamaker set Records as Pitt Crushes South Florida

by Emily Mallon
Pitt needed to beat South Florida last night to hold onto their lead in the Big East. They also needed to show the rest of the country that they're the real deal and deserve a #1 seed. The Panthers got the memo.

They came out a little lethargic in the first half, but the second half everything was working and the Panthers won 66-50. Nasir Robinson had 18 points and Ashton Gibbs contributed 16 on Wednesday night. The Bulls didn't have an answer for Gary McGhee in the second half.
by Emily Mallon

Gilbert Brown looked great at the beginning of the game but it appears that an injury kept him away from most of the action. Here's hoping his injury is nothing major. Brown has been playing with a new fire the last few games.