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Pittsburgh

Author: Wilbur Miller

Having followed the Pirates fanatically since 1965, Wilbur Miller is one of the fast-dwindling number of fans who’ve actually seen good Pirate teams. He’s even seen Hall-of-Fame Pirates who didn’t get traded mid-career, if you can imagine such a thing. His first in-person game was a 5-4, 11-inning win at Forbes Field over Milwaukee (no, not that one). He’s been writing about the Pirates at various locations online for over 20 years. It has its frustrations, but it’s certainly more cathartic than writing legal stuff. Wilbur is retired and now lives in Bradenton with his wife and three temperamental cats.

Indianapolis Report: Is Help on the Way?

When you start looking at your team's AAA affiliate, hopefully you're beyond the "developing prospects" stage and on to the "Can we expect help?"...

Prospect Watch: Travis Swaggerty Hits His First Homerun

A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time or loses...

Morning Report: Developing Relievers

Yesterday I wrote about some signs we could watch for this year -- specifically, strikeout rates and, where possible, pitch selection -- to see...

Morning Report: Fastballs and Strikeout Rates – Something to Watch Going Forward

The Pirates' obsession in recent years with having their pitchers throw mostly fastballs has been well documented.  The sharply increased success of Gerrit Cole...

Instructs Report: Robles, German and Cederlind Pitch; Mathisen Continues to Move Around

BRADENTON - Just some brief notes from instructs on Thursday. The more experienced players returned from two days on the road to play the...

Instructs Report: More New DSL Pitchers Take the Mound; Hai-Cheng Gong Debuts

BRADENTON - It was strictly rookie-level players on Tuesday as the (slightly) more experienced players went up to Tampa to play the Yankees.  The...

Instructs Report: Keller, Hearn and Waddell Pitch; First Look at DSL Players

BRADENTON - The Pirates opened Fall Instructional League last week and Monday began the exhibition part of the FIL.  (It's not really a "league"...

WTM: Are the Pirates Bad at Drafting Hitters?

It's hard to argue that the strength of the Pirates this year has been the rotation.  Despite the struggles of Tyler Glasnow and a...

WTM: How Unique is a Pirates’ Relief Pitching Prospect?

The Pirates have some unusual relief pitching prospects in their organization right now.  Edgar Santana, Dovydas Neverauskas and Yunior Montero have unique backgrounds, each...

WTM: What We Can Tell From Average Ages in the Pirates’ System Over the Years

The importance, for minor league prospects, of age relative to level isn't a new concept to avid baseball fans.  We know that a 24-year-old...

WTM: The Pirates are Hoarding Velocity in Their Minor League System

It's no secret that the Pirates consider fastball velocity a key component of pitching in the major leagues.  According to Fangraphs, the Pirates are...

Pirate City Notes: A Pair of 2016 Draft Picks Looking Healthy; Josh Bell Gets Extra At-Bats

Bradenton, Fla. -- A couple of the Pirates' early 2016 draft picks, fifth-rounder Blake Cederlind and seventh-rounder Brent Gibbs, had their first pro seasons...

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