Matt Capps News

Pittsburgh not only had a bad major league team, but it also had little talent in the farm system.

For my Baseball Insider, I spoke with Pirates GM Neal Huntington about two players with New York roots, Lastings Milledge and Jose Tabata .

When we ran a poll asking what you thought about the J.J. Hardy-for-Carlos Gomez trade, most of you said that you didn't like the deal because Hardy should have brought more in return, or at least a starting pitcher for next season.

One of the Pirates' priorities this offseason is finding left-handed help in the bullpen.

First things first: treat this with a grain of salt for now. The fact that the Post-Gazette reported that the Bucs offered Matt Capps for J.J. Hardy but didn't mention that the Pirates and Brewers also discussed a Ryan Doumit -for-Hardy swap makes this report from FOXSports.com seem a bit strange to me.

Pirates closer Matt Capps recorded 27 saves last season. Six games with the Philadelphia Phillies -- including two in Citizens Bank Park April 2-3 -- and four with the Tampa Bay Rays dot the 33-game Pirates' spring schedule, the club announced yesterday.

The Post-Gazette reports . This probably wouldn't have been a very appealing offer to the Brewers --they have Trevor Hoffman signed through 2010, with an option for 2011, and Capps was a complete mess all year.

Akinori Iwamura isn't going to make the Pirates a winning baseball team. He's a nice player and a viable starting second baseman, provided he is healthy.

Glendon Rusch calmed some nerves Sunday with a strong performance against Pittsburgh, keeping him in the Cubs' rotation at least for the time being.

Posted By buccofans 22 hours, 24 minutes ago in Sports BUCCO Fans.com looks at the relief pitching situation for the Pittsburgh Pirates, including two important issues: the struggles of Matt Capps, and the lack of left handed relief in the system.

A new Shaler Area High School club wants to call their peers and the community to action.

Shortly after he was hired as the club's general manager in September 2007, general manager Neal Huntington completed a thorough organizational assessment, after which he came to one concerning conclusion -- the team didn't have nearly enough depth.

Andy LaRoche drove in two runs and Daniel McCutchen won for the first time in the majors Friday in Pittsburgh's 3-1 victory over Cincinnati.

Can we be encouraged that Perry Hill and the Pirates are still talking? If his major issue was that the center of the infield was traded, there is not really anything to discuss since that can't be changed.

They said the losing had to stop, and it didn't. They said the familiar pattern of a player getting good and then getting gone would stop, and it didn't. Instead, the losing didn't slow down for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it increased.

McCutchen, the Pirates ' top draft pick in 2005, played well enough this summer to rank among the top Rookie of the Year candidates.

The current Pirates ownership will likely never have pockets deep enough to sign a superstar free agent.

Pirates closer Matt Capps pitches against the Reds in the ninth inning of last night's game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Expect to see the old Matt Capps next spring. No, the Pirates' closer cannot guarantee his previous level of performance, but he does plan to revert to his previous repertoire.

The Pirates' Charlie Morton finished his 2009 memorably, mowing down the Chicago Cubs for a four-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory this afternoon at Wrigley Field, easily the finest outing of his young career.