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  • What Went Wrong With Erik Karlsson In Pittsburgh?

    This summer will mark the third year of the Kyle Dubas era in Pittsburgh. After two seasons that saw him take wildly different approaches to construction, this offseason has already seen the most change. After Mike Sullivan and the team parted ways, the longtime Penguins coach was replaced by Dan Muse, a first-time NHL head…

  • Four Predictable Predictions For The Penguins This Offseason

    The offseason gets closer and closer every day, and the content Christmas known as July 1st is now only a few weeks away. For the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas, they are entering a very interesting offseason. The organization has a new head coach, the beginnings of a youth movement after top prospects…

  • The Pirates Hate Mitch Keller

    Mitch Keller is a pretty league average pitcher. He has an ERA of 4.15, just 14 points above the MLB average. He has a WHIP of 1.275, just better than the league average. And he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.25, 70 points clear of the league average. But perhaps most stunningly, Keller is tied…

  • Give David Bednar A Ton Of Credit

    David Bednar’s last 16 months have been a complete rollercoaster. In 2024, Bednar was coming off his second straight All Star appearance and a season that saw him record career-best 2.00 ERA, with 80 strikeouts in 67.1 innings. He led the National League with 39 saves on a team that finished ten games under .500.…

  • Braxton Ashcraft Picks Up First Career Win As Pirates Sweep Phillies

    Braxton Ashcraft has been a starting pitcher his whole career. He was drafted out of high school as a starting pitcher. When he made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2018, it was as a starting pitcher. When he established himself as one of the better prospects within the Pirates organization, it…

  • Isaac Mattson Shines For Pirates In Unusual Appearance

    Life comes at you fast. So does baseball. Isaac Mattson got the call earlier on Saturday that he was back in the big leagues. The right-handed reliever had been with the Pirates a few weeks ago, pitching in three innings before he was quickly shuttled back down to the farm. Now, in his second big…

  • Vasily Ponomarev’s KHL Departure Marks A Missed Opportunity For Both Sides

    What was first rumored now appears to be official. Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Vasily Ponomarev is heading back to Russia, signing a deal with the KHL for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Reports surfaced a few days ago that Ponomarev might head back to his homeland after a deal in the KHL saw Spartak trade his KHL…

  • Cap Crunch For Dallas Creates Opportunity For Penguins

    Last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a relatively boring offseason. Their work in the free agent market was minimal, and general manager Kyle Dubas made most of his work in the trade department. Much of Pittsburgh’s trades were crafty, taking on bloated or unfavorable contracts from other teams, being paid draft picks to do so,…

  • Welcome, Dan Muse!

    It’s official, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a new head coach. And it’s someone almost none of us saw coming. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas named Dan Muse the 23rd head coach in team history Wednesday afternoon. Muse, 42, was most recently an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. So, in a way, the Penguins…

  • Three Current Leafs The Penguins Could Target This Offseason

    If one thing is for certain, it’s that Kyle Dubas loves his guys. When the ex-Toronto Maple Leafs general manager left the north to take over the Pittsburgh Penguins, he brought with him several ex-Leafs both in the front office and on the ice. Jason Spezza, who served as special assistant to the general manager…

  • Does Dom Smith Make Sense For The Pirates?

    There’s a new name on the free agent market: Dom Smith. The seven-year major leaguer opted out of his minor league contract with the New York Yankees organization and is now on the market. Smith has yet to play a major league game this season. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in…

  • Carmen (Not In) San Diego

    After a heartbreaking loss Friday and a galvanizing, shutout win on Saturday, the Pirates had forced a rubber match Sunday afternoon out west in San Diego. If you turned the game off early, you likely missed the implosion that the Pirates suffered late in the game. Pittsburgh took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning,…

  • Bailey Falter And May: A Match Made In Heaven

    After a heartbreaking 3-2 loss Friday night in San Diego, Bailey Falter was up in the rotation, hoping to pick up his team after they fell just short due to a terrible umpiring call the night before. For Falter, he was looking to close out the month of May just as strongly as he started…

  • Bringing In Kirk Cousins Doesn’t Make Sense For The Steelers

    As optional team workouts have kicked off for the Pittsburgh Steelers, chatter about their quarterback situation is starting to ramp up once again. It’s still unclear whether when, or even if, Aaron Rodgers will sign with the Steelers. Mason Rudolph, the free agent who came back to the Steelers after a year in Tennessee, is…

  • Game Of His Life: Dominik Kahun

    “Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, Dominik Kahun. Dominik Kahun has one of the weirder career arcs in the NHL’s history. In his rookie season, he played all 82…

  • The Bryan Reynolds Breakout Is Here

    How do you know that Bryan Reynolds is really feeling it? When he lets loose and finally allows himself to crack a smile. We got the rare showing of any type of emotion from the usually stoic Reynolds Tuesday night in Arizona. After all, he had plenty to smile about. The Pirates rallied from down…

  • Revisiting The Last Time The Pirates Surged Like That So Late In A Game

    It’s been a rough season for the Pittsburgh Pirates. If anyone needed a thrilling, pick-me-up type of win, it’s these guys and this fan base. They got that Tuesday night, when the Pirates came back from down 6-0 to win it 9-6, enacting revenge for a 5-0 shutout loss the day before and setting up…

  • Get Henry Davis Into The Lineup More

    The catching job of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been an interesting watch this season. Joey Bart, Henry Davis, and Endy Rodriguez are all capable catchers for the Pirates, and the latter two are trying to establish themselves as a long-term player for the Bucs. Bart has taken the bulk of the starts at catcher for…

  • Checking In On Dauri Moreta’s Rehab Assignment

    The bullpen of the Pittsburgh Pirates is a bit of a mess right now. Aside from Dennis Santana, it’s hard to find any reliever who can be trusted whenever he takes the mound. The organization has shuffled through arms in recent weeks, trying to find some consistency late in games. Most recently, the team promoted…

  • Positives From The Pirates’ 4-3 Homestand

    The way that the Pittsburgh Pirates lost on Sunday is going to leave a sour taste in people’s mouths. And understandably so. The Pirates dug themselves a massive hole early on, came back from down multiple runs, and wound up blowing a lead themselves to lose the game late. After a disastrous inning that saw…

  • Can The Pirates Trust Tanner Rainey?

    Friday night featured a back-and-forth matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers that ended with a wild pitch walk-off winner. For all the craziness that happened in this game, one storyline that won’t go quietly into the night is the struggles of the bullpen. Different games have had different poster children for the shakiness…

  • Going Through The Penguins’ Free Agent List

    As the Stanley Cup Playoffs march, we are now less than a month and a half away from the start of free agency on July 1st. Here in Pittsburgh, the Penguins have a lot of cap space heading into the 2025-26 season, and while we don’t know how busy they plan to be in the…

  • Can Henry Davis Build Off Wednesday’s Dominance?

    On Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates won back-to-back games for the first time in just under a month. As Dennis Santana capped off a stellar pitching performance by the Pirate arms, the club took a series from the Cincinnati Reds, giving them an ounce of momentum heading into a four-game swing with Milwaukee over the…

  • The Falter Fellas Are Alive And Well

    Pitching has not been the issue for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. Whether it’s Paul Skenes pitching a complete game and getting tagged with the loss, Mitch Keller being 1-6 despite only having a 3.88 ERA, or Andrew Heaney’s steady hand on the mound, the Pirates are finding new and unusual ways to waste the…

  • Game Of His Life: Troy Stokes Jr

    “Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, Troy Stokes Jr. It’s been far too long since I did one of these, but I think that Troy Stokes Jr is a…

  • Point-Counterpoint: Should The Pirates Trade Mitch Keller?

    After a disastrous road trip to New York and Philadelphia that saw them go a combined 1-5, the Pittsburgh Pirates are finally back home. Mitch Keller takes the mound tonight at PNC Park as the reeling Buccos open a three-game series with their NL Central rivals from Cincinnati. Keller is 1-5 so far this season,…

  • Pirates Make Paul Skenes First Pirates Pitcher To Throw Complete Game And Lose In Eight Years

    The Pittsburgh Pirates have done (nearly) the impossible. In their quest to find new and innovative ways to screw their ace pitcher Paul Skenes and rack up his loss count, the team was shut out in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, despite Skenes pitching the entire game. The Phillies beat the Pirates 1-0, completing the sweep…

  • The Pirates Are Only A Handful Of Games Away From Being A Losing Franchise

    At the beginning of this season, after every Pirates game, I gave an update on the franchise record that the team had. After a week or two in, I stopped. I’ll be honest, half of it was out of neglect; I was simply forgetting to update it after each and every game. But the other…

  • Former Pirate Cody Ponce Sets Strikeout Record In Korea

    Cody Ponce, a former major league pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has etched himself into the history books over in South Korea. Playing for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization, Ponce struck out an astounding 18 batters in the first of a doubleheader against the SSG Landers on May 17th. Ponce’s 18 strikeouts…

  • Looking At Spencer Horwitz’s Rehab Time

    The Pittsburgh Pirates debut of Spencer Horwitz has been a long time coming, and it looks like this weekend Horwitz will finally suit up for the big league club. The Pirates are reportedly activating Horwitz from his rehab assignment tomorrow, and he is expected to get into game action this weekend as the Pirates are…

  • Alexander Canario Is Starting To Heat Up

    The Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the New York Mets at Citi Field Thursday night to avoid the sweep. While two-run homers by both Matt Gorski and Jared Triolo powered the 4-0 win for the Pirates, left fielder Alexander Canario had himself a two-hit night and a solid performance in the field. Canario, who spent spring…

  • For Bryan Reynolds, June Can’t Come Fast Enough

    A lot of things that have gone wrong for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season were rather predictable. Paying a starting pitcher and two lefty prospects for an injured Spencer Horwitz has yet to work out. After undergoing wrist surgery in the offseason, Horwitz has only recently resumed playing baseball and has yet to play in…

  • It’s Now Or Never For Matt Gorski

    One of the call ups that the Pittsburgh Pirates have made this season was to Matt Gorski, a right-handed hitter who can play all over the outfield and first base in a pinch. Gorski was promoted to the major leagues on April 24th. For Gorski, the call to a major league team had been a…

  • Ke’Bryan Hayes, The…Shortstop?

    Raise your hand if you knew that Ke’Bryan Hayes ever played a position other than third base in the major leagues. Put your hand down, no you didn’t. I didn’t know either, for what it’s worth, until I was working on a piece about Pirates infielding prospect Malcom Nuñez (shameless self plug). During writing that,…

  • The Modest Malcolm Nuñez

    In keeping tabs on things down at Triple-A Indianapolis, the top farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates, there’s a relatively unknown prospect starting to make a name for himself. Malcom Nuñez is off to a hot start in Triple-A, and if he continues this run he’s on, he could force the Pirates into seeing what…

  • Don Kelly Makes A Good First Impression As Pirates Manager

    It’s a new era of Pirates baseball in Pittsburgh. After the news yesterday that the Pirates had relieved manager Derek Shelton of his duties, the club promoted bench coach Don Kelly to that role. The ex-big leaguer had twice managed a game for the Pirates, once in 2023 and once earlier in May, but now…

  • Pirates Historically Awful Start Forced The Firing Of Derek Shelton

    The moment that many people have been wondering, speculating, maybe even begging the baseball gods to happen finally did earlier today. The Pittsburgh Pirates officially announced that they have relieved manager Derek Shelton of his duties. In his absence, bench coach Don Kelly will take over. Even with several injured players expected to return in…

  • Is There Any Cavalry Coming For The Pirates?

    The Pittsburgh Pirates are a disaster. In year two of Paul Skenes, the Pirates are off to their worst start in years and are currently on pace for one of the worst seasons in franchise history. They are 14 games under .500 at 12-26. They are in the basement of the NL Central. They are…

  • Trading George Pickens Is An Incredibly Dumb Idea

    The months long saga surrounding the future of wide receiver George Pickens is finally over. The Pittsburgh Steelers are sending him to the Dallas Cowboys in a deal that is expected to net the Steelers draft picks in return. The Steelers are getting a 2026 third round pick and a 2027 fifth round pick, while…

  • Here’s The “Thing” With Paul Skenes

    As things fall apart with the Pittsburgh Pirates, their pitching ace and one of the new faces of this franchise, Paul Skenes, has gotten dragged into some of the criticism surrounding this team. The man who the Pirates took with the first overall pick in the summer of 2023 is now in his second major…

  • What The Draft Lottery Results Mean For The Penguins

    Well that was a little confusing, wasn’t it? For the first time ever, the NHL held their Draft Lottery live on television as they unveiled how the first round would shake out for the 16 teams that did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins had good reason to watch tonight. They sat…

  • Dennis Santana Is Still A Rare Bright Spot On This Team

    It’s getting harder and harder to find anything that is going well with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are 12-23 on the year. They are coming off a disastrous homestand that saw them lose two of three to their NL Central rivals in Chicago and a clean sweep against them by the San Diego Padres. They…

  • Penguins Will Get More Flexibility With Retained Contracts Expiring

    (Featured photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) It’s never too early to think about the offseason. Well, if your team didn’t make the playoffs, that is. For the third straight season, the Pittsburgh Penguins missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, finishing 34-36-12 and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. They have since parted ways with head…

  • The 100-Loss Seasons Started Off Better Than This

    Last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost again. Like the game before, they were able to keep it close until the dying innings, eventually falling 9-4 to the San Diego Padres at home. Mitch Keller was charged with the loss and the Padres hung three earned runs on the usually reliable Caleb Ferguson in the eighth…

  • The Pleasant Surprise That Is Chase Shugart

    Amidst their quiet and underwhelming offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington made a trade that aimed to bolster their bullpen depth. Even in an offseason that had Spencer Horwitz as the Pirates’ big trade acquisition and Tommy Pham as their big fish in free agency, a trade in January with the Boston…

  • Pirates Lose Rubber Match In Don Kelly-Managed Game

    There were a few abnormalities at the ballpark today. The first was an influx of kids at PNC Park today for a Thursday afternoon during the school year. The storm that swept through much of western Pennsylvania Tuesday night has left many neighborhoods and schools still without power. What better way to celebrate the off…

  • Penguins Bring Back Filip Hallander Once Again

    Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they signed forward Filip Hallander to a two-year contract. Per the team, Hallander’s contract starts with the 2025-26 season and carries a $775K cap hit at the NHL level. For Hallander, this is now his third stint with the Penguins organization. Hallander has had an extremely on-again,…

  • Is It Time To Give Nick Solak A Try?

    (Featured photo from the Indianapolis Indians’ Twitter/X page) The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the worst offensive teams in Major League Baseball. They are slashing .224/.304/.341 as a team so far in 2025. None of those categories rank higher than 23rd in Major League Baseball, and their slugging percentage is a bottom three mark in…

  • My Thoughts On The Mike Sullivan Decision

    (Featured photo from the Penguins’ social media) On Monday morning, Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas made a shocker of an announcement. Per the team, the Penguins and head coach Mike Sullivan have agreed to part ways. “On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to…

  • The Story Of The Piratical Mark Baldwin

    In discussing how the Pittsburgh Pirates got their name, the Lou Bierbauer incident is often chalked up as the reason why. In 1890, a rebellion league known as the Players’ League formed, and consisted of nearly all members of the and nearly every star player from The Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players, a very…

  • How Much Of An Impact Can Spencer Horwitz Make?

    (Featured photo by Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) Spencer Horwitz just checked off an important box on the journey to making his Pittsburgh Pirates debut. The 27-year-old started a rehab assignment today with Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve. Batting lead off and playing his native first base, Horwitz earned a walk in his first plate…

  • Five Steelers Takeaways From The 2025 NFL Draft

    The NFL Draft is now officially over. Over the last three days, the Pittsburgh Steelers made seven total picks, leaning heavily on the defensive side of the ball as they try and bulk up their roster ahead of the 2025 season. A lot of what the Steelers were expected to do didn’t happen. They didn’t…

  • Have The Pirates Found Their New Leadoff Hitter In Oneil Cruz?

    Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a pretty good idea of who their leadoff hitter was. Nine players occupied that spot in the order at least once during the year, but Andrew McCutchen led off 81 games for the Pirates last season. That number was more than twice the second-place man, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who took…

  • Revisiting The Last Time Derek Shelton Played The Same Lineup Twice

    (Featured photo is from the Pirates’ lineup graphic on Twitter/X) Folks, we live in a world where anything is possible. Gabriel Landeskog jump back into playoff hockey after missing nearly three years on the ice. Katy Perry can go to freaking space. And yes, even Derek Shelton can occasionally play the same exact lineup twice…

  • Four Penguins Prospects To Watch As AHL Playoffs Kick Off

    The Pittsburgh Penguins might not be competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the organization is still in the running for a few trophies. Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and their East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, are both in their respective playoffs this season. The Nailers are off to…

  • Derek Shelton Needs To Play Andrew McCutchen Every Day

    The Pittsburgh Pirates are an absolute mess.  After a sweep at home at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians, the Pirates are now 8-15. Chants of “Sell The Team” rained down on them Saturday as they wasted a Paul Skenes start — on a day where his bobblehead drew a sellout crowd at PNC Park…

  • Pirates Need Derek Shelton To Show Some Fire

    On Saturday, in front of a sellout crowd, giveaway day, and a Paul Skenes start, the Pirates put up a complete dud. It was another day of inept offense and a waste of pretty good pitching. The “Sell The Team!” chants were back as Cleveland took their second straight game against the Pirates, 3-0. I…

  • Creating A Team Of Former Penguins In The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs

    Saturday will mark the start of the best time of year on the sports calendar: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sadly, for us here in Pittsburgh, the Penguins will be watching alongside us on the couch for the third straight year. But many former Penguins players will embark on the quest for Lord Stanley’s prized trophy,…

  • Opinion: Steelers Need To Have Some Pride And Forget Aaron Rodgers

    Ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been trying to fill the void left by their franchise quarterback. They thought they achieved that with relative ease in the subsequent offseason, when they signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency and drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 draft. Trubisky was supposed…

  • Pirates Have To End The Carmen Mlodzinski As Starter Experiment

    The starting rotation was penned as the great strength of this Pittsburgh Pirates team heading into 2025. With an unproven bullpen, uninspiring offense, and questionable defense, the rotation was supposed to save this team and keep them afloat. It featured the reigning NL Rookie of the Year in Paul Skenes, a promising sophomore arm in…