John Grabow News

With the Winter Meetings kicking off from Dec. 8-11 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, maybe it's appropriate that Pirates management is heading West with the anticipation of letting the cards fall where they may.

The way general manager Neal Huntington sees it, the Pirates' coming winter could be downright tumultuous.

A game with four lead changes and plenty of late-inning drama was effectively summed up by reliever T.J. Beam in a mere four words.

We have some Qs ... __________ Q : Looking forward to the next possible Pirates team that even achieves mediocrity, I started filling out my lineup card for April 4, 2011.

Prince Fielder homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied twice to beat Pittsburgh 7-5 on Tuesday night, keeping pace with the New York Mets in the NL wild-card race.

Adam LaRoche hit a grand slam among his two homers and host Pittsburgh stalled Los Angeles' late-season surge with an eight-run seventh inning rally to win, 15-8, on Wednesday night.

I am negligent, over four years on this beat, of not writing enough about John Grabow.

Apparently the 23-run, 33-hit offensive party the Pirates and Dodgers put on Wednesday night was not enough baseball for both teams.

Adam LaRoche homered twice and drove in five runs, while Ryan Doumit also homered and added four runs batted in as Pittsburgh downed Los Angeles, 15-8, in the third test of a four-game set at PNC Park.

Ozuna reaches on an infield hit with two outs. Top 7th Ross Devonport John Grabow in to pitch for the Pirates now.

"It's about letting them see the environment and experiencing it," general manager Neal Huntington said.

When Nyjer Morgan was thrown out at the plate trying to score on an errant pickoff throw Monday night, he violated one of baseball's unwriten rules.

San Francisco Giants' Scott McClain hits a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher John Grabow in the seventh inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, Sept.

One swing said it all. McClain smashed a ball halfway up the left-field bleachers for a two-run homer that proved the difference in Saturday night's 7-6 victory over the Pirates.

Before the Pirates took the field against the Giants on Saturday, manager John Russell said of a bullpen fortified by September callups, "With 11 guys down there, you should be able to use what you want when ...

If you were looking for a display of baseball fundamentals, hopefully you weren't among the 17,929 fans at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

In a game severely lacking in the execution of baseball fundamentals from both sides, the Pirates watched the tying and go-ahead runs walked in during the Cubs seven-run eighth.

In Matt Capps' seven-week absence, the Pirates bullpen has posted a 3.83 ERA in 145 2/3 innings.

Playing almost every day, San Diego's Jody Gerut has become a solid fantasy outfielder and an especially valuable pickup for teams who may have recently lost a starter to injury.

Here is a sure-fire recipe for success for the Pirates. Start Paul Maholm and score at least four runs.