Pirates: Three thoughts, including Cole’s injury
BRADENTON, Fla. — A bad omen?
It is way too early in spring training to be concerned about anything.
However, it is also way too early in spring training to have anything of consequence to write about.
Thus, we can wonder if it was a bad omen that ace right-hander Gerrit Cole was unable to throw off the mound Friday with the rest of the pitchers when the Pirates held their first workout in Bradenton, Fla.
Cole has inflammation in his ribcage after being injured while working out last month.
It seems like a minor injury and the Pirates don’t see too concerned. Nevertheless, the fragile state of the starting rotation makes the thought of Cole being anything less than 100 percent scary.
Cole won 19 games last season and surpassed 200 innings and 200 strikeouts. He is the unquestioned No. 1 starter in a rotation that includes left-hander Francisco Liriano and three question marks in lefties Jon Niese and Jeff Locke and righty Ryan Vogelsong.
The Pirates are determined that top prospect Tyler Glasnow will begin the season at Class AAA Indianapolis. In this instance, it’s not a case of the team being cheap because the righty really needs to continue honing the control and command of his pitches.
That means an injury to Cole or any of the other the projected five starters would leave the Pirates scrambling to fill out the rotation by relying on unappealing options such as lefty Kyle Lobstein or righty Juan Nicasio.
And, that would cause a lot of breath holding on the part of general manager Neal Huntington, manager Clint Hurdle and pitching coach Ray Searage.
Retro time?
Those garish gold, black and pinstriped uniforms of the late 1970s bring back good memories for Pirates’ fans. After all, that is what the Pirates wore the last time they were in the World Series, all the way back in 1979 when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles.
For those under age of 37, that actually happened. I saw it.
The Pirates will wear a variation of those uniforms during Sunday home games this season with gold jerseys and black pants.
It will bring a smile to the face of older fans. Now, all the Pirates need to do is hang a disco ball and serve IC Light at PNC Park.
RIP, Tom Singer
A bit late here but it was shocking and saddening to learn of the sudden death of Tom Singer earlier this month.
Singer covered the Pirates for MLB.com the past four seasons and few people ever had more fun on the beat. A baseball writer since 1974, Singer had the chance to realize his childhood dream after growing a Pirates fan when his family settled in Pittsburgh in the late 1950s after escaping Communist-ruled Hungary.
The 67-year-old Singer was funny, having never met a pun he couldn’t resist, and bit quirky — like most ball writers. And, he was full of an endless supply of great baseball stories, facts and figures, from his four decades of covering the game.
I didn’t get to know Tom until his later years, but I’m glad I did.