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  • Reflecting On One Year Of Fifth Avenue

    It’s impossible to believe that I’ve already been doing this for a year. One year ago today, I sat at the dining room table and clicked the glowing Launch button on a very hastily and poorly constructed website. With Mac Miller’s “Party On Fifth Ave” playing in the background, a place for me to continue…

  • Don’t Ever Tell Me That Pittsburgh Isn’t A Baseball Town

    In front of a sellout crowd for just the second time this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates put together their greatest showing in years in front of their home fans, putting up a 14-2 win over the visiting New York Mets. And that offense came from everybody, including players that have been much maligned by fans…

  • Too Much History: The Four Other Times The Pirates Hit Seven Home Runs

    Pirates fans picked the perfect time to record just the second sellout game of the season last night. Pittsburgh put together the very definition of an offensive clinic, routing the visiting New York Mets 14-2. Things got so bad for the Mets that they turned to backup catcher Luis Torrens to play pitcher and get…

  • Too Much History: Looking At The Last Time Two Pirates Had 5+ RBI In A Game

    The vibes were through the roof at and all around PNC Park after the Pirates destroyed the New York Mets 14-2. Pittsburgh tied a franchise high with seven home runs, which they have only ever accomplished on four other occasions in this team’s nearly century and a half history. It was a historical night in…

  • Martín Pérez A Huge Bright Spot In July 4th Loss

    What’s more American than a baseball game? On Independence Day in the United States, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park for a rubber match. After Oneil Cruz was the hero last night, winning it in walk-off fashion for the Pirates, Pittsburgh was desperately seeking a series win against not only…

  • Breaking Down The Penguins’ Development Camp Roster

    Yesterday, the Penguins released the rosters for their development camp, which kicks off Saturday and runs through Wednesday. The five day event will feature skating and practice sessions on days one through four, concluding with the tournament on the final day. All days are free and open for the public to attend. A detailed schedule…

  • Ondřej Kaše Is Hoping For An NHL Return. Here’s Why The Penguins Should Take A Flyer On Him

    After years of living in the flat cap world of the NHL, all of that pent up money and angst was finally released on July 1st of this year, as the salary cap resumed increasing and general managers across the league suddenly had more breathing room to work with. That resulted in over $1.1 billion…

  • A Recap Of An Underwhelming July 1st For The Penguins

    It was a boring morning in Pittsburgh, as teams around the National Hockey League made headlines and handed out hundreds of millions of dollars and the Penguins sat on their hands. But as the afternoon picked up, so did the news coming out of the press release department. However, none of these signings brought much…

  • Penguins Do What They Can In Reilly Smith Trade

    Last year, just a few short weeks after taking the open general manager job in Pittsburgh, Kyle Dubas made a deal with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who were in cap hell amidst a summer of partying hard. Reilly Smith, who was accounting for $5 million against the salary cap, was a…

  • Have The Optics Of The Jake Guentzel Trade Changed?

    The Jake Guentzel trade from Pittsburgh to Carolina happened in three parts. First was the initial deal, that saw the Penguins acquire NHL forward Michael Bunting, as well as prospect forwards Ville Koivunen, Vasili Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, and two conditional picks. Then, the second part, which tracked how well the Hurricanes did in their ensuing…

  • After A Historic June, Can Bryan Reynolds Survive An Impending July Collapse?

    Left fielder Bryan Reynolds just capped off another terrific June. In what is typically his best month of the major league season, the 29-year old slashed .330/.388/.604 in June of 2024, notching 6 home runs and 16 RBI as the second man up in the order. He also had the longest hitting streak in the…

  • Alleghenys Spiral Rapidly In 1884

    Despite what they might have hoped, the third season for the Allegheny City baseball club did not serve as a bounce back year. After going .500 in their first season, the Alleghenys fell apart in 1883, when they went through three managers, two ballparks, and a whole lot of losing streaks en route to a…

  • Initial Thoughts On The Kevin Hayes Trade

    The Penguins had an extremely busy early afternoon during the second round of the NHL Draft. Not only did Pittsburgh make two selections (defenseman Harrison Brunicke at 44th overall and forward Tanner Howe at 46th overall), the team made a trade which saw them add two assets and give up nothing to do so. On…

  • Former Pirate Drew Maggi Is Back With An MLB Organization

    There’s some news out of Detroit that involves an old Bucco and one of the best stories in baseball last season. The Tigers are expected to bring in veteran Drew Maggi to their farm system. Maggi’s Atlantic League team, the Staten Island FerryHawks, announced earlier today that his contract is set to be purchased by…

  • Pushing The Viktor Arvidsson Agenda

    I have been a fan of Viktor Arvidsson for a long time. I think he’s an underrated player and I love the way he plays the game. He’s a regular pickup for me in franchise mode in the NHL video games (which, for me, is an incredible sign of loyalty), and now the Pittsburgh Penguins…

  • The Revisionist History Surrounding Roansy Contreras

    Roansy Contereas is trying his best to rehab his baseball career on a new coast. After going through some hard times while wearing black and yellow, the Dominican native will now try to carve out a career for himself in the third major league franchise he has been a part of before his 25th birthday.…

  • Penguins Draft Pick Primer: Where Did Every Pick Go/Come From?

    It’s officially draft day in the National Hockey League. It snuck up on us rather quick after the Stanley Cup Playoffs was extended as long as it was, thanks to the lengthy travel and seven game series thriller. However, now here in Pittsburgh we can really see the team dig into their offseason. That will…

  • Instability Plagues The Alleghenys In 1883

    Year two of the ball club in Allegheny City saw a lot of changes. A majority of the team from the inaugural season did not return for 1883, meaning a revamped roster was forced to shoulder the hopes that this season could go better than the 39-39-1 record the inaugural team posted. In addition to…

  • Rowdy Tellez’s Few And Far Between Stolen Bases

    Last night, as the Pirates set up a rout of their NL Central rival Reds in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh’s Rowdy Tellez pulled off a very rare personal feat. During a 6-run first inning for the Bucs, Tellez stole a base for just the fourth time in his career. That stolen base, which Tellez snagged uncontested (which…

  • The Real Problem With Jack Suwinski

    Jack Suwinski has been a hot button topic around the Pittsburgh Pirates for a long, long time. Through his ups and downs and a multi year journey to try and find consistency at the plate, he has always been one of the most discussed players on the team. In recent weeks, however, the frustration that…

  • Talking Connor McDavid And The Conn Smythe Decision

    Florida Panthers fans rejoiced as the clock hits all zeros and the team in red threw off their gloves. After blowing a 3-0 series lead to the opposing Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers were able to claim Game 7 by a final score of 2-1 to win their first ever Stanley Cup. Fans eagerly awaited the…

  • Did The Pirates Make A Mistake Letting Miguel Andujar Go?

    Miguel Andujar’s time in baseball has been one wild ride. From the heights of being a Rookie of the Year finalist to being buried in the minor leagues just a few years later, Andujar’s career arc has been one of the most interesting stories in recent time. Andujar slashed .297/.328/.527 in his first full season…

  • A Frustrating Sunday Lineup Costs The Bucs A Series

    In rather frustrating fashion, the Pirates dropped their series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays by a final score of 3-1. After being blown out 10-3 in the series opener, the Pirates eked out a 4-3 win to set up a series clinching game to wrap up their City Connect weekend. However, with the series…

  • The Mlodzinski/Ortiz Concoction Is Ending At Just The Right Time

    The Pirates have had a unique way of handling some of their recent bullpen games. With injuries plaguing their starting rotation and a front office that would like to play it safe (as much as they can, anyways) with their two young aces in Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, the team has been forced into…

  • Jake Woodford Is Off To An Incredible Start In Indianapolis

    The pitching staff down in Indianapolis has seen a lot of changes in recent weeks. Call-ups and roster swaps with the big league club in Pittsburgh, veteran players being released and/or opting for free agency, and injuries have kicked off a massive shuffle of the Indians’ pitching, and in an effort to shore up the…

  • What Does Alex Nedeljkovic Returning Mean For Tristan Jarry?

    The Pittsburgh Penguins have just announced that they have re-signed goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract extension, worth an average annual value of $2.5 million. Nedeljkovic played 38 games for the Penguins last season, recording a 2.97 goals against average and a .902 save percentage and 1 shutout. Nedeljkovic started the season planted as…

  • Making The Case For A Joshua Palacios Recall

    The Pirate outfield is struggling. Aside from Bryan Reynolds, who cannot stop hitting in what is historically his best time of the year, Pittsburgh is struggling to get any real offense from anyone who plays the outfield. While in some cases (like Michael A. Taylor) offense has been sacrificed in exchange for elevated defensive play,…

  • How Good Would A Team Of All Traded-For Penguins Be?

    Over the past week, I’ve listed out an entire team of Pittsburgh Penguins players that the organization has recently traded for. The 12 most recent forwards, six most recent defenseman, and two most recent goalies (who at any point in their career played in the NHL) came together to form a rag tag team. And…

  • Bryan Reynolds Breaks Pitcher Duel As Pirates Claim Series From Reds

    On a 90+ degree day in a rubber match at PNC Park, the Pirates hosted the Reds in a series-deciding game between the NL Central rivals. The Pirates had won the opening game on Monday 4-1 before dropping last night’s affair in a much tighter 2-1 score. Pittsburgh called upon Mitch Keller to face off…

  • Baseball In Allegheny: The Very First Year

    Baseball has had a presence in Western Pennsylvania since shortly after the American Civil War. Several amateur teams, including the Enterprise, Xanthas, and Olympics regularly played in Union Park, on the North Side of Pittsburgh. Only back then, the North Side was actually its own separate city. It was known as Allegheny City up until…

  • Discussing The Daulton Jeffries Call Up

    Daulton Jeffries is a name we’ve heard a few times in the last few weeks. He has been tabbed as a call-up candidate on a few occasions, being a guy with former major league experience. He also served as the team’s 27th man during their double header a few weeks ago in Detroit. But now…

  • Looking At The Force That Is June Bryan Reynolds

    If only it could be June all the time, because if it was, the Pirates would have an All Star left fielder every single year. Bryan Reynolds is on an absolute tear in the month of June so far this year. The 29-year old has racked up a 14-game hitting streak that poetically started with…

  • Josh Fleming Terrific In Return With Pirates

    The last time we saw Josh Fleming wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, things did not go according to plan. And actually, that might actually be the understatement of the year. Fleming last appeared for the Pirates in a May 13th game in Milwaukee against the Brewers. Fleming came on for the seventh inning of a…

  • Luis Ortiz, Bullpen Game Works Again As Pirates Win 5-1

    After dropping two of three in St. Louis, including a frustrating loss in the rubber match, the Pirates continued their midwest roadtrip with a visit to Coors Field in Colorado. With a similar approach to last Saturday, the team once again patched together a bullpen game in their series opener vs the Rockies. On Saturday…

  • Discussing Dennis Santana And Justin Bruihl

    Justin Bruihl Good In Limited Action So Far It’s very early on, but the immediate impact that free agent signee Justin Bruihl has had on the Pirates bullpen has been a good one. The Pirates signed Bruihl a week ago today, after the left handed reliever had triggered an opt out in his minor league…

  • A Nightmare On The Allegheny: The Story Of The 1890 Baseball Club

    What’s the worst season of Pirates baseball you’ve ever watched? There have been some really bad seasons in recent history for the Bucs. The 2010 Pirates went 57-105. The 2020 team was on pace for over 100 losses on the year, going 19-41 in the Covid year. The Pirates successfully played back to back 100-loss…

  • Meet The Plethora Of New Pirates Pitchers

    There were a LOT of transactions that took within the Pirates organization yesterday, particularly in the pitching department. But amidst all those moves, the team added a lot of new arms to the organization. A day after designating Ben Heller (who racked up a 49.50 ERA in 2.0 innings) for assignment, the team DFA’d another…

  • Realistically, How Much Time Has Rowdy Tellez Earned?

    The journey of Rowdy Tellez has been well chronicled by basically every sports media outlet in this city, as well as here on Fifth Avenue (if you could call this site a sports media outlet). But now this long and winding road has reached an interesting new twist. Rowdy Tellez has actually been good. Like,…

  • The Rapid Collapse Of Ben Heller

    Ben Heller hasn’t been a Pittsburgh Pirate for very long. Just 2.0 innings, to be exact. And yet, it’s hard to think of a Pirates tenure that has been so brief and so disastrous at the same time. Heller originally arrived in the Pirates organization when he signed a minor league deal with the team…

  • Did The Pirates Call Up Henry Davis Too Early?

    There was some excitement brewing when it was announced that the Pirates were recalling Henry Davis. The 24-year old was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis in early May after starting the season on an abysmal cold streak. The season-opening injury and subsequent rehab assignment of free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal had perhaps bought Davis some extra…

  • Three Pirates Who Are Off To A Great June

    As Major League Baseball’s season enters the third full month, the Pirates find themselves in the thick of a very crowded NL wild card race. While the team’s recent (and quick) stint in last place of the NL Central, their presence as a real wild card possibility as been overshadowed. The “last place” conversation has…

  • Rowdy’s Finest Hour

    If there was ever a man who needed a day like today, it was Rowdy Tellez. The embattled first baseman was routinely being booed in his home stadium as Pirates fans grew more and more restless with the underperforming Tellez. Mercilessly, vigorously, and angrily an ever growing section of PNC Park booed nearly as soon…

  • Looking At Carmen Mlodzinski, The Starter Version

    With Martin Perez still on the Injured List from his groin issue in May, and his replacement Quinn Preister recently joining him with a right lat issue, the mound will belong to Carmen Mlodzinski tomorrow as the Pirates put together their first bullpen game of the season. Mlodzinski has pitched 10.2 innings for the Pirates…

  • Falter, Heller Surrender Double Digits As Pirates Drop Series Finale

    After taking the first two games of the series vs Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pirates went for the sweep with Bailey Falter on the mound opposite Walker Buehler. Falter was riding an almost season long hot streak, pitching to a 2.54 ERA ever since allowing 5 runs and a grand slam…

  • The All Traded-For Penguins Team (Part 2)

    We are rapidly approaching the crazy time of the year in the NHL. We are already seeing some wacky trade proposals for an offseason that is shaping up to be a very entertaining one. In that spirit, I decided to create a whole Penguins team consisting of players the Penguins have traded for in recent…

  • A Glance At The Newest Pirate Reliever, Justin Bruihl

    Just about an hour ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates added reliever Justin Bruihl as a major league free agent. He has been added to the team’s 26-man roster, and a corresponding move will take place soon. Update: per Alex Stumpf, the Pirates have placed starter Quinn Priester on the 15-Day IL (retro to June 3) with…

  • Pirates Use High Heat To Claim Series From Dodgers

    The Pirates clinched a series win against Los Angeles Wednesday night as they took down the Dodgers 10-6. They improve to 29-32 on the season and now have their first series win in the month of June secured. Though the pitching performance is not something you would typically focus on in a 10-6 game, the…

  • No, The Pirates Should Not Go After Jorge Lopez

    If you’re a baseball fan, the name Jorge Lopez probably rings a bell. Last week, he was the story in Major League Baseball after he was ejected in a lopsided loss for the New York Mets. After arguing a pitch that was called a ball, Lopez eventually walked off the field, tossing his glove in…

  • Jared Jones Has A Statement Game Against The Dodgers

    Jared Jones was given no easy task when he took the mound Tuesday night at PNC Park. He was set to start in Pittsburgh’s series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, who featured a Murder’s Row of talent at the plate. Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, and Freedie Freeman represented just some of…

  • Henry Davis Is Back. Can This Time Be Different?

    Henry Davis is back in the big leagues. First reported by Jason Mackey and then followed up Alex Stumpf, the Pirates are recalling Henry Davis from the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. The first overall pick by the Pirates in 2021, Davis made his Pirates debut last season when he was called up in June. His arrival…

  • The All Traded-For Penguins Team (Part 1)

    We are rapidly approaching the crazy time of the year in the NHL. We are already seeing some wacky trade proposals for an offseason that is shaping up to be a very entertaining one. In that spirit, I decided to create a whole Penguins team consisting of players the Penguins have traded for in recent…

  • The Curious Case Of Ben Heller

    In keeping tabs on Pittsburgh’s top farm team, the Indianapolis Indians, there has never been a better time to pay some extra attention to the pitching staff down there. The bullpen, in particular. The Pirates have already made several moves involving Indianapolis and the bullpens, including the recall of Carmen Mlodzinski, the constant shuffle of…

  • Rowdy Tellez Just Bought Himself Another Month

    It’s the kind of day that, given the way things have been going for the Pirates and Rowdy Tellez, is bittersweet. Tellez, with Pittsburgh facing his old team in the Toronto Blue Jays, had his best game in months (although that might not be saying a whole lot) with 2 singles and a double, 4…

  • Weighing In On The Ji Man Choi Reunion Discussion

    Yesterday, an article written by Noah Wright over at Rum Bunter created a lot of buzz around Pirates Twitter. Wright had suggested that the Pirates look into bringing back Ji Man Choi in an effort to shore up the team’s first base woes. Wright opened with this: The Pittsburgh Pirates could desperately use some first base…

  • Penguins Lose Rights To Two Prospects

    June 1st marks the unofficial beginning of the NHL offseason. This date marks the “sign by” date for unsigned players. Teams must sign these players by 5PM ET on June 1st, or lose their exclusive signing rights to said player. CapFriendly was able to provide a full list of players who fall under these circumstances.…

  • Pirates Have Only Themselves To Blame In 14-Inning Loss

    In Pittsburgh’s series opener up north in Toronto, the Pirates and Blue Jays combined for an extra innings showdown that combined solid bullpen action with abysmal offense from both sides, until Toronto finally broke through off a two-run homer to win it. We saw the ghost runner rule work in exactly the opposite of the…

  • Should Justin Fields Be Used In A “Slash” Role?

    Russell Wilson’s comments on the way the Steelers could use Justin Fields have been making the rounds in Pittsburgh. Wilson, who is currently in a battle with Fields for the starting quarterback job, is apparently very open to the idea of the Steelers using Fields in certain play packages and utilizing his athleticism. “Justin is…

  • Revisiting The Time The Penguins Traded Two Head Coaches In A Week

    With the news coming out of Seattle yesterday that Dan Byslma was set to become the team’s new head coach, it brought me back to when he was the head coach of the Penguins. Byslma’s redemption arc has been quite interesting to watch. The former Penguins bench boss eventually went on to coach the Buffalo…

  • Pirates Organization Loses Pitcher To Korea

    A pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization is embarking on a new adventure in South Korea. Cam Alldred, who was pitching for the Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, is signing with the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization. Indianapolis officially announced his send-off a few hours ago. Alldred, 27, was a 24th round…

  • Get To Know Grant Koch

    After injuries sustained to both starting pitcher Martin Perez and catcher Joey Bart in the team’s series finale against Atlanta, the Pirates today released updates on both players. Perez is set to go on the 15-day Injured List with a groin injury, while Bart is being placed on the 10-day Injured List with his thumb…