SB Nation User Blog: Vlad

Twenty Managers, Umpires and Executives To be Considered for Hall of Fame Class of 2010 by Veterans Committees

Vlad — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:29:46 -0000

Twenty Managers, Umpires and Executives To be Considered for Hall of Fame Class of 2010 by Veterans Committees

"The 10 managers and umpires eligible for election consideration to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010: managers Charlie Grimm, Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Tom Kelly, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Danny Murtaugh and Steve O’Neill; umpires Doug Harvey and Hank O’Day."

Murtaugh was, of course, our manager during the '60 and '71 championship years. Keep your fingers crossed for him.

O'Day also has an interesting Pittsburgh connection, in that he was the umpire during the 1903 World Series, the first of its kind, in which we were defeated by Boston.

Apprenticed to a Pilot

Vlad — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:57:24 -0000

Apprenticed to a Pilot

With Veterans Day coming up, this is a nice piece by ex-Buc Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner about his time as a Naval Aviator during WWII.

Nats Swipe Bryan Minniti

Vlad — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:49:05 -0000

"The Nationals have hired former Mets and Orioles manager Davey Johnson as a senior advisor and Bryan Minnitti [sic], the Pirates' director of baseball operations, as Rizzo's assistant GM." -Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports

Minniti had been with the Pirates for nine years, joining them initially as an intern while still in college at Pitt, and then working his way up through the ranks. Notably, he was one of the few Littlefield staffers deemed competent enough to be worth keeping around after Huntington was hired. Assistant GM is a promotion from his current position, so there probably isn't too much mystery about why he's leaving - he just got a better offer.

Best of luck, Bryan.

Kevin Polcovich honored

Vlad — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:29:46 -0000

Kevin Polcovich honored

The former Pirates shortstop is being inducted into his high school's Hall of Fame.

Ex-Pirate Enrique Wilson is apparently a real sleazeball

Vlad — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:46:54 -0000

A statement from his ex-wife, Ms. Marina Valdez:

I guess is a tradition for these players to do that..I have a daughter with Enrique Wilson (former Yankee player) and he also stopped paying child support and has never call his daughter again, his place to escape and be child support free…Dominican Republic…I have been searching for him for the past 3 years and no one can tell me exactly were he is at, until 2 weeks ago that my cousin was watching a game and saw him playing for a baseball team in the Dominican Republic...Can you put a search party out please...I'm willing to cooparte.. I can even send you a copy of how much he owes in child support

Via Deadspin . The Pirates acquired Wilson as part of a package in exchange for noted wife-beater Wil Cordero at the trade deadline in 2000, and shipped him to the Yankees for Damaso Marte in June of 2001.

Running out on responsibilities to your children is one of the lowest things a man can do, and it's particularly egregious when you've earned more than $3.3M over your major league career. If anyone here has any connection to Wilson from his Pittsburgh days and knows where he is, please e-mail A.J. Daulerio at ajd@deadspin.com to help his family get what they deserve.

UPDATE: He's been found . You may now resume your prior offseason-related activities.

Shortstop – Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh and Seattle Wilson won’t win a Gold Glove this year. Just like ...

Vlad — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:53:04 -0000

Shortstop – Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh and Seattle
Wilson won’t win a Gold Glove this year. Just like Mark Teixeira didn’t win one last year. He split time between leagues, and the Gold Glove voters don’t know which league to put him in. Not so with The Fielding Bible Awards. Jack Wilson was the best shortstop in baseball last year. Period. We don’t care which league he played in. He led all shortstops in Run Saved by a wide margin (27 runs saved to Brendan Ryan’s 19) and has taken over the MLB lead for most Runs Saved over the last three years (51). Mr. Wilson is the Fielding Bible Award winner at shortstop for 2009.

The Fielding Bible - 2009 Awards

Pirates reliever Yates requests free agency

Vlad — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:39:31 -0000

Pirates reliever Yates requests free agency

Per Rob Biertempfel at the Trib, Tyler Yates has been released. The team put him on waivers, and after clearing he elected to become a free agent. The move leaves us with 38 filled spots on the 40-man roster, plus two players (Meek and Ascanio) on the 60-day DL.

The player for whom Yates was acquired two years ago, soft-tossing righty SP Todd Redmond, spent 2009 with the Braves' AAA affiliate in Gwinnett, posting a 4.41 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 6.6 K/9.

New monument for 'Suitcase' to be unveiled Saturday at West Hill Cemetery

Vlad — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:26:25 -0000

New monument for 'Suitcase' to be unveiled Saturday at West Hill Cemetery

Any readers from Georgia may be interested in attending an event 11 a.m. this Saturday in Dalton, where the city will be dedicating a new monument in honor of ex-Pirate Harry "Suitcase" Simpson in West Hill Cemetery. Simpson, a former Negro League player and an All-Star with the Royals in 1956, lived in Dalton and began his professional career there. Appropriately enough, the monument will be located on Suitcase Simpson Drive.

Q: Last year, you guys finished with the worst record and it was almost a given you'd draft Stephen...

Vlad — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:47:26 -0000

Q: Last year, you guys finished with the worst record and it was almost a given you'd draft Stephen Strasburg. Next year's draft, is it a given that Bryce Harper is your guy?

No. I'm just saying it's not a given. I haven't seen him yet, and he certainly hasn't separated himself like Strasburg did last year.

Q&A With Mike Rizzo, The Washington Post, Chico Harlan, October 5, 2009.

Feds issue security bulletins on stadiums, hotels

Vlad — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:42:51 -0000

Feds issue security bulletins on stadiums, hotels

Per the AP: "Counterterrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorist interest in attacking stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels, the latest in a flurry of such internal warnings as investigators chase a possible bomb plot in Denver and New York.

In the two bulletins, sent to police departments Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, officials said they know of no specific plots against such sites, but urged law enforcement and private companies to be vigilant. These two bulletins followed on the heels of a similar warning about the vulnerabilities of mass transit systems.

The bulletin on stadiums notes that an al-Qaida training manual specifically lists 'blasting and destroying the places of amusement, immorality, and sin... and attacking vital economic centers' as desired targets of the organization."

Just what we need with the G20 circus in town. Stay safe, everybody.