The Pitt men's ultimate frisbee team beat Wisconsin 15-10 over the weekend in Boulder, Colorado to clinch the Division I national championship.

Pitt beat California-Davis, Luther and Texas before losing to Michigan in the opening round-robin stage. Their 3-1 record was enough to send them to the quarterfinals, where they defeated Minnesota. In the semifinals, Pitt came back to beat defending national champion Carleton. Against Wisconsin in the finals, Pitt jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back.

Senior Colin Conner attributed the victory to Pitt's conditioning.

"We just knew that we were in better condition than them," Conner said. "When we started out the game on a 4-0 run, there was just no doubt."

Congrats to Pitt -- a national championship is certainly an accomplishment.

After the jump, check out some video highlights of the tournament. Pitt is featured in the last 45 seconds or so.

Continue reading this post »

The Cincinnati Reds have only spent two or three nights in Pittsburgh for their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they're certainly having a wild series away from the diamond. First, infielder Todd Frazier saved a man who was choking in a Pittsburgh restaurant Tuesday. Now, flamethrowing reliever Aroldis Chapman's room has become a crime scene in a robbery in the Reds' hotel.

Officers who were dispatched to the hotel found a 26-year-old woman tied up and crying.

Security guards told officers that they were alerted by two guests who heard a woman screaming for help.

The guests, who were staying in a room on the same floor, went into the hallway to see what was going on found the woman with her hands bound by cloth napkins, police spokeswoman Diane Richard wrote in a news release.

She did not identify the woman, but said she was from Silver Springs, Md. and was "the hotel guest of a male who attended the Pirates baseball game and who was not present at the time of the incident. During this incident the male guest had various items taken and was later interviewed by detectives," the news release said.

I'm not yet sure why this woman was found in Chapman's room and not her own room, but I suppose that detail will trickle out eventually. In any case, Chapman wasn't present.

For more on the Reds, check out Red Reporter. For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Pitt Blather comments on how, despite some rumors, there's very little chance of the departure of head basketball coach Jamie Dixon.

... Dixon had a boost from previous earnings to be getting over $1.8 million for the season. That isn’t too surprising given the overall success, and offers he’s had. There’s no question that the money is a reason why he hasn’t been hired away by other programs in the past couple years. To make it worth his while to leave where he is established, a program would now have to start the offer at $2.5 million just to get him to seriously listen. Not even to leave. Just to take the offer seriously.

The post notes that only nine schools pay their head coaches as much as $2.5 million. It's unusual. Then there's the fact that Dixon would be taking over a new program, and dealing with all the headaches that come from starting essentially from scratch. Dixon is in charge of a great program in a great basketball conference (either the Big East or the ACC, pick one). The rumors of his departure, in addition to having very little to them in the way of substance, just don't make much sense.

For more on Pitt basketball, check out Cardiac Hill.

Well, that was miserable. Not only was the Pirates' 8-1 loss to the Reds Tuesday night brutally one-sided, it also featured the single worst play I can remember the Bucs making in quite some time, and that's saying something.

It came in the top of the fourth. With a 1-2 count, Charlie Morton threw a waist-high fastball right down broadway, and Todd Frazier smashed it to the north side notch. Jose Tabata, playing left field, trotted toward it so slowly that I'm sure that, somewhere, Ronny Paulino was shaking his head. Andrew McCutchen, who was actually hustling (leave it to Andrew McCutchen to be the one Pirate who actually did something right on this play), fielded it and threw to Josh Harrison at shortstop. Unfortunately, Harrison then made just about the most baffling, Rick-Ankiel-as-a-pitcher throw I can recall seeing in years -- Harrison had to throw it about 40 feet to third, and somehow it wound up going over the dugout. Tabata remained in the game, which was baffling. Whether he jogged like that because he's hurt or because he just didn't feel like running, you've got to take him out of there.

That about sums it up. The Reds rocked Morton, who allowed four extra-base hits in four innings. Chris Resop (whose struggles, like Morton's, are starting to become more glaring) allowed another run in the sixth, and Jared Hughes gave up three in the third. Meanwhile, the very mediocre Homer Bailey pitched a complete-game four-hitter, striking out five and walking one.

Bright sides? Well, not many people were there to see it. McCutchen (there he is again) tripled. And Brad Lincoln pitched a strong inning.

Mark Sheldon reports that Reds hitters Todd Frazier and (former Pirate) Ryan Ludwick had an interesting experience at lunch in Pittsburgh before Tuesday night's game against the Pirates at PNC Park. Frazier did the Heimlich maneuver on a man who choked on a bite of steak:

"I was talking to him and I see it out of the corner of my eye," Frazier explained. "I said ‘I think that dude is choking over there.’ He was a little obese and there were two women side-by-side trying to give him the Heimlich. [Ludwick] said get over there because I was the closest one. So I went over there and was yelling at them to get out of the way. They did and I gave two pumps and it came out."

Whatever happens in the actual baseball game, it looks like Frazier did the city of Pittsburgh a huge favor. As a thank you, the man paid for Frazier and Ludwick's lunch.

Via Bill Brink.

For more on the Reds, check out Red Reporter. For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Here are tonight's lineups.

Reds:

Zack Cozart SS
Drew Stubbs CF
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Ryan Ludwick LF
Todd Frazier 3B
Devin Mesoraco C
Homer Bailey P

Pirates:

Jose Tabata LF
Josh Harrison SS
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones RF
Matt Hague 1B
Rod Barajas C
Charlie Morton P

Jordy Mercer isn't in the lineup, perhaps because he just arrived.

Fangraphs' recent MLB power rankings at Sports Illustrated have the Pirates at No. 27. Wait, No. 27? Out of 30? Yes, No. 27, ahead of only the Padres, A's and Twins.

Speaking of bad offenses, if the Pirates continue their futility at the plate over the entire season, it would represent the worst offensive season by wRC+ since the turn of the 20th century. Andrew McCutchen has been brilliant, but nearly every other position player is struggling at the plate, and opposing pitchers are simply dominating the Pirates offense on a nightly basis. Even with a breakout season by starting pitcher James McDonald, this season has been nothing short of a disaster for the Pirates.

I'm sure there are a bunch of fans out there breaking their fingers trying to be the first to make the argument that Fangraphs is deliberately using fake stats to slam their favorite team, but that's not what's happening. (The rankings are based on WAR winning percentage, which takes a lot of the luck out of won-loss records.) I find the No. 27 ranking to be a little surprising, but I do think the calls from a lot of fans to treat the 24-24 Pirates like a contender are a little bit ridiculous at this stage. 24-24 record or no, the idea that this year's Pirates are a contender, the sort that should make a big trade for big-league help, doesn't pass the common-sense test. Advanced statistics don't bear it out, either.

Pirates Prospects reports that new addition Jordy Mercer, a shortstop promoted Tuesday from Class AAA Indianapolis, won't be replacing Clint Barmes as the Pirates' starter.

"Nothing's changed," [Clint] Hurdle said. "Barmes is our shortstop. We’ll find opportunities to get Josh involved. We’ll find opportunities to get Jordy involved as well. As a matter of fact, I talked to Clint today. Mercer was not brought up to replace Barmes. I just think it makes us a better ball club now. Our strengths, I think are in a better place."

This is about what one would expect from Hurdle in this situation. Barmes has had a terrible season, but it's still a little early for the Pirates to dump him completely, given the $10.5 million contract to which they signed him before the season. Until they're willing to part ways with him completely, it doesn't make much sense for the Pirates to declare that he'll be a bench player. Regardless, I do expect Mercer to get a fair amount of playing time at shortstop.

Josh Harrison is starting at shortstop Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Keith Law’s latest MLB mock draft (subscription-only) has the Pirates going with Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero at No. 8, probably much to Bucs fans’ chagrin.

Although there is a strong industry consensus that Marrero is the Bucs’ pick, I think they’re still seriously exploring other options. I’ve also heard them on Chris Stratton, and I imagine they’d be open to any top-end player (such as [Albert] Almora) who falls out of the top seven picks. [Lucas] Giolito is also a possibility here.

At least it sounds like the situation is pretty fluid. This mock has Almora, a toolsy high school outfielder with good makeup, falling to the Marlins at No. 9; I’d like to think that if Almora fell to the Bucs, they’d take him rather than Marrero, but Law is closer to this stuff than I am. Pirates fans don’t want the Bucs to choose Marrero, who hasn’t been an outstanding hitter in college.

For more on the MLB Draft, head over to Minor League Ball. For more on the Pirates, there’s Bucs Dugout.

Here’s the Reds’ lineup in the Pirates’ matchup against Cincinnati Tuesday.

Zack Cozart SS
Drew Stubbs CF
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Ryan Ludwick LF
Todd Frazier 3B
Devin Mesoraco C
Homer Bailey P

And here’s the Pirates’ lineup:

Jose Tabata LF
Josh Harrison SS
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones RF
Matt Hague 1B
Rod Barajas C
Charlie Morton P

New addition Jordy Mercer, a shortstop, evidently is with the team, but Harrison starts at short on Wednesday. Clint Barmes sits, which is a pattern that appears likely to continue with Mercer in the fold. The rest of the lineup looks fairly normal, with Matt Hague starting at first, as has been the case in the last few games. Garrett Jones starts in right field against the righty Homer Bailey.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Reds, there’s Red Reporter.

The Pirates have switched infielders in time for Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, promoting shortstop Jordy Mercer and optioning utilityman Yamaico Navarro to Class AAA Indianapolis. This move comes as no surprise, since general manager Neal Huntington recently suggested the Bucs might swap Mercer and Navarro.

Mercer is unlikely to provide a huge amount of help to the Pirates’ woeful offense, but he was hitting .303/.379/.417 in Indianapolis, and his defense at shortstop, based on everything I’ve seen, is solid. Clint Barmes, who received a two-year deal from the Pirates last offseason, has hit a miserable .170/.196/.270 so far; Mercer isn’t likely to hit brilliantly, but he’s certainly likely to be better than that. We’ll see how the Pirates distribute playing time at shortstop — they won’t want to completely give up on Barmes, in whom they made a $10.5 million investment, but Mercer is much younger, and he isn’t slumping.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin might upset some people with some comments at a recent speech at his alma mater, William & Mary:

"One of the reasons I work in the National Football League -- I'm tired of the NCAA rules,'' he told a crowd in Williamsburg, Va. "I am a win-at-all-costs kind of guy. The NFL is just right for me, although I am not a bounty guy in any form or fashion. Any form or fashion.'' Much applause. "What you've got to understand about the Pittsburgh Steelers is .. I ain't got to offer them anything. Guys like James Harrison -- they'll do it for nothing. The men I work with, I'm a blessed person."

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk took Tomlin's comments and ran with them.

The easy message is that Tomlin has renounced paying defensive players to wreak havoc. The more subtle message is that Tomlin wants guys who’ll wreak havoc without an extra cash incentive.

"I’m tired of the NCAA rules." It’s also clear that he’s tired of the NFL rules. Every gripe and complaint and piss and moan from Steelers players regarding the league’s rules for hitting offensive players naturally traces to the coaching staff — and ultimately to Tomlin. Last year, for example, safety Ryan Clark was celebrated in the film room for a hit that got him fined $40,000 by the league office.

As Behind The Steel Curtain points out, though, there's nothing illegal about "wreaking havoc." In fact, that's what NFL defensive players are supposed to do. The issue is players getting concussions, and, more specifically -- and this is the part the NFL needs to work on -- establishing a consistent set of rules that helps prevent concussions. The NFL hasn't done this, instead instituting an arbitrary fine system that, strangely, seems to target Steelers much more than it targets other teams. Not that Tomlin was complaining about that. In fact, he specifically said, "The NFL is just right for me."

MLB Draft Insider has video of high school pitcher Lucas Giolito, who's rehabbing from an elbow sprain, throwing at 60 and 220 feet.

Giolito, who has dazzling stuff, is a potential early-first-round pick in the upcoming 2012 MLB Draft if he can prove he's healthy. These videos don't exactly do that (and, in fact, the videos haven't been authenticated), but they do raise hopes that Giolito can convince teams he's worthy of a top-10 overall pick.

If he can do that, that's great news for Pirates fans, many of whom are hoping the Bucs will avoid picking Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero at No. 8. If Giolito is selected before the Pirates pick, then the Bucs will have an extra player to choose from, perhaps someone like Florida high school outfielder Albert Almora, who most draft experts regard as a better talent than Marrero.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

If you knew in March that would be the headline of the recap of a May 28 game, you'd be pretty happy, wouldn't you? James McDonald pitched eight excellent innings and the Pirates scored four runs in the first three frames to top the Reds, 4-1, putting them at .500 for the season.

McDonald struck out five and walked one, allowing five hits. This was the first start in his last seven that he's failed to strike out at least seven batters, but I think we'll take this start too. Arbitrary endpoints and all, but McDonald now has 57 strikeouts and 13 walks in his last seven starts.

Pedro Alvarez got the Pirates on the board in the first inning with an opposite-field RBI double that barely missed clearing the wall in left. Garrett Jones then brought Alvarez home with a single to right.

In the second, Neil Walker made it 3-0 with an RBI double down the right field line. Then in the third, Alvarez doubled again to lead off the inning, and Rod Barajas brought him home with a single. (Alvarez's two doubles come on the heels of his homer yesterday; hopefully he's starting another hot streak.)

Walker, Alvarez and Barajas all had two hits. Barajas now appears to be all the way back after his dreadful start to the season, and he has a .692 OPS. As frustrating as he's been this season, he's provided exactly what should have been expected -- a poor average, but plus power for a catcher, and an OPS in the high .600s.

The Reds scored a run off Tony Watson in the ninth, but Joel Hanrahan entered in the middle of the inning and closed the door.

After three innings, the Pirates are off to a 4-0 lead against the Cincinnati Reds Monday afternoon, and it appears that Pedro Alvarez might be in the midst of another hot streak.

Neil Walker singled with one out in the bottom of the first inning and moved to second on an Andrew McCutchen groundout. Alvarez, who homered in Sunday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, brought Walker home with an opposite-field double that barely missed going over the wall in left. Alvarez then came home when Garrett Jones singled through the hole between first and second.

Rod Barajas kicked off the bottom of the next inning with a single. James McDonald replaced him at first after his bunt failed to advance Barajas to second. Jose Tabata walked, and then McDonald came home when Walker doubled down the first-base line, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

In the third inning, Alvarez doubled yet again, and Barajas singled him home to put the Pirates up 4-0.

On the pitching side, McDonald has struck out three batters and walked one so far in three shutout innings.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Here are the lineups for Monday afternoon’s matchup between the first-place Cincinnati Reds and the Pirates.

Drew Stubbs CF
Wilson Valdez SS
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Chris Heisey LF
Miguel Cairo 3B
Ryan Hanigan C
Bronson Arroyo P

Jose Tabata LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Garrett Jones RF
Matt Hague 1B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P

Tabata exited Sunday’s game with leg cramping, but he’s back in Monday’s lineup. Josh Harrison, who had recently been a lineup fixture, is out. Shortstop Zack Cozart gets a day off for the Reds.

McDonald has struck out at least seven batters in all of his last six starts. Arroyo, however, has pitched well this season, striking out 44 batters and walking just eight in 58.2 innings.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Reds, there’s Red Reporter.

Early start today -- 1:35 p.m.

Reds:

Drew Stubbs CF
Wilson Valdez SS
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Chris Heisey LF
Miguel Cairo 3B
Ryan Hanigan C
Bronson Arroyo P

Notably, Jose Tabata is in the Pirates' lineup after leaving the game yesterday. Josh Harrison sits.

Jose Tabata LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Garrett Jones RF
Matt Hague 1B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P

In advance of the beginning of their series against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates have placed reliever Juan Cruz on the restricted list (he’s apparently traveling to the Dominican Republic to take care of some personal issues) and replaced him with lefty Doug Slaten.

Slaten will take Nate McLouth’s place on the roster; McLouth was designated for assignment late last week. Slaten had an out clause in his contract that would have allowed him to leave June 1, so this move keeps him in the organization for now. Slaten had allowed just one run in 25.1 innings for Class AAA Indianapolis, although his strikeout rate (with just 15 strikeouts in the same period) suggested he wasn’t nearly as impressive as his 0.36 ERA indicated.

From the same article, Neal Huntington says he may consider promoting infielder Jordy Mercer from Indianapolis. That would be interesting, since Mercer is the organization’s most realistic long-term replacement for Clint Barmes at shortstop.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Continue reading this post »

SB Nation's minor league and draft blog, Minor League Ball, recently had a community mock draft in which the Pirates chose high school outfielder Albert Almora with the No. 8 overall pick. Here are the Bucs' results, along with John Sickels' comments:

1-8) Albert Almora, OF, Florida HS
1S-45) Barrett Barnes, OF, Texas Tech
2-69) Tom Murphy, C, University of Buffalo
3-103) Lex Rutledge, LHP, Samford

John's Take: I like this. Barnes and Murphy are two of my favorite college players. Both have power; Barnes adds speed to the mix, while Murphy is a sound defender. Almora is about as safe as a high school player can be: all of his tools are better-than-average-to-excellent, he's polished for his age, and his makeup is sound. He could go higher than this under some scenarios. Rutledge is erratic but throws very hard and could be a steal.

Getting Almora, a young hitter with good tools and great makeup, would be a terrific result for the Pirates. The question is whether he'll be available when they pick. This particular mock (you can see the results here) worked out a bit differently than most mocks I've seen, with Stanford pitcher Mark Appel, who usually goes at No. 1 to the Astros, dropping to the Royals at No. 5, and the Cubs and Padres, who pick at No. 6 and No. 7, going for high school lefty Max Fried and Alabama high school outfielder David Dahl, respectively. Dahl, in particular, is a bit of a reach at No. 7.

Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero, who many Pirates fans fear the team will pick, falls all the way to the Rays at No. 25 in this mock.

Neal Huntington comments on the likelihood of making a trade to improve the Pirates' offense:

"We are open to an impact trade if it is the right deal," general manager Neal Huntington says, "not because we need offense."

Ken Rosenthal suggests a deal similar to the one the Mariners made last offseason, where they traded Michael Pineda for Jesus Montero. That certainly makes sense in the abstract, but Huntington is right that the Pirates need to make the right high-profile trade, not a trade just to trade. (The Bucs should be able to make a deal or some other kind of lower-profile move to get a Class AAAA slugger, someone like Clint Robinson or Mauro Gomez, to fill one of their holes at first base or right field. I'm not sure why that hasn't happened yet, but I expect that it will eventually, unless something changes dramatically. They should be able to make a move like that without any serious long-term cost to the franchise.)

Dejan Kovacevic, meanwhile, addresses Rosenthal's column:

Wow. Perish the thought of prioritizing an actual need at the major league level. You have it right there in plain language: The GM who built this terrific pitching staff will NOT make a move aimed at addressing this team's hideously glaring need. But if it helps in 2018 or whenever, he'll listen. Amazing. Really is. There go the goal posts again.

Leaving aside the problem of it generally being difficult to make trades this time of year, there are a couple of points here.

The moving-goalposts thing is a problem. In fact, it's the problem. Dejan seems to be of the opinion that this year's team is a contender, or at least would be a contender if the Pirates could trade for a bat. Obviously, though, you have to give up talent to get talent, and without a lot of really attractive prospects in the high minors, Huntington is going to have a hard time getting an impact bat without either making a deal that would weaken the big-league starting rotation, or trading a top prospect like Jameson Taillon (which, no no no no no). The one really good option that avoids those traps would be to deal Joel Hanrahan, but I don't know why any team would pay through the nose for a closer right now.

And beyond all that, I frankly don't believe this year's team is a contender. The Pirates have scored 140 runs and allowed 166 so far this season. They look more like a 70-win team than a contender. It's late May. They shouldn't be running around desperately trying to piece together a team for a playoff run. That's a short-term strategy for a team that, unfortunately, still needs to be thinking for the long term.

The real reason to be angry with Huntington isn't that he's unwilling to run around like a chicken with his head cut off and trade James McDonald for the first team willing to give up a hitter, or whatever is supposed to happen here. (And it certainly doesn't make sense for Huntington to say he's desperate to make a trade -- whatever his actual outlook, the quote in the Rosenthal article strikes exactly the tone Huntington should take into negotiations with fellow GMs.)

No, the real reason to be angry is that it's 2012, and we still don't know where the goalposts are. Whatever rosy scenarios we might have dreamed up when Huntington was hired four and a half years ago, it might not have been realistic to expect the team to be a legitimate contender in 2012, except perhaps with a ton of luck. Fine. But at this point, we should see a contending season on the horizon, and right now, I just don't see one, or at least I don't see one that doesn't involve a ton of wishcasting about Pedro Alvarez and a bunch of West Virginia hitting prospects. The goalposts are moving. But whether or not Huntington is willing to make a big trade to improve the offense really has nothing to do with that. They're separate issues.

The Pirates completed a sweep of the Cubs with a rare burst of offense Sunday afternoon, winning 10-4.

The fun started in the first inning, when the Pirates got some help on a Cubs error to get two men on for Pedro Alvarez, who golfed a Matt Garza pitched to deep right-center for a three-run homer, his first blast since May 3. Andrew McCutchen made it 4-0 with a solo shot in the fifth

The floodgates really opened in the sixth, as Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer, and then the Cubs brought in our friend Rafael Dolis, the reliever who gave up the walk-off HBP to Matt Hague on Saturday. Dolis promptly walked Hague and Michael McKenry. Michael Bowden entered after that, and gave up a two-run single to Gorkys Hernandez (who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter when Jose Tabata went down with leg cramps) for Hernandez' first big-league hit.The Pirates got two more runs later that inning, on an Alvarez sacrifice fly and a Neil Walker RBI single.

Erik Bedard walked four batters but pitched six scoreless innings. Chris Resop then came on to pitch garbage time and allowed three runs, two on a homer by Starlin Castro. I'm not sure why Juan Cruz came on to pitch the ninth with a seven-run lead, given that the Pirates are supposed to be concerned about his appearance totals and that he just pitched on Friday, but anyway, he gave up a run as well. Obviously, none of that mattered a whole lot.

The Pirates are now 23-24 heading into a series against a much better team in the Reds. The Cubs are in a serious funk right now, but the Bucs deserve credit for being able to kick a bad team while it's down -- these weren't automatic wins, but the Pirates managed to get all three of them. They now enter a stretch of nine more games against divisional opponents, with six games coming against the first-place Reds and three against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Hopefully, this will be the year that the Pirates stop completely falling apart every time they enter Miller Park. Interleague play starts against the Royals after that.