Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates' board of directors, expected to vote Wednesday on a new stadium lease, instead may put the team up for sale. The Pirates notified major-league baseball's ownership committee that they are discussing a possible sale to different groups, headed by Larry Lucchino, a former president of the Baltimore Orioles, and John J. Rigas, chairman of Adelphia Communications, a cable television company. Additionally, the KBL cable sports channel and Howard Baldwin, the owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, have told the city that they are interested in buying the team.

The Pittsburgh Pirates needed only 36 minutes Saturday to sell out their April 9 home opener against the Cincinnati Reds, the first regular-season game in PNC Park. They also sold out five other regular-season games, plus two exhibitions - a total of eight sellouts, more than they had in most seasons at Three Rivers Stadium. Also selling out were a June series against the Cleveland Indians and fireworks night promotions April 11 against Cincinnati and June 23 against Montreal.

The Pirates scored three runs in the seventh inning to take a 6-4 lead that held up in last night's game with the Phillies. And while we can't be sure, it's even money that former Pittsburgh pitcher- turned-broadcaster Jim Rooker didn't make the same mistake he made last week. Last Thursday when the Pirates scored 10 runs in the first inning against the Phillies, Rooker got a little cocky. "If we lose this game, I'll walk to Pittsburgh," Rooker said. By now everyone knows what happened.

"You've got to start wondering whether we're a bunch of gaggers or not. " - Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke, after Game 3 Yeah, people were beginning to wonder. And if the Pirates had lost again last night, if they had done another pratfall in front of a national television audience and tiptoed to the brink, one game away from being upset in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year, that quiet puzzlement would have become a roar. Even Pirates manager Jim Leyland expressed some concern before Game 4 started last night with his team trailing in the best-of-seven playoffs, two games to one. "Last year, everybody made a big point about how emotional we were.

There are several thousand video pirates in this city, sitting smugly in armchairs and watching illegal TV, contend attorneys for Home Box Office affiliates. They plan a counter raid today. At a press conference this morning at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, officials of the entertainment cable franchises were to announce the second phase of a plan to crack down on those who get HBO signals for free and deprive affiliates of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Each of the video pirates identified through private surveillance will be sent a letter ordering them to take down their illicit microwave antenna receivers, said attorney Kelly Tillery, who is acting as local counsel for the region's affiliates, ACS Enterprises of Bensalem, Bucks County; Home Theatre Inc. of Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County; and Video Consultants Inc. of Wynnewood, Montgomery County.

At Citizens Bank Park. Monday at 7:05 p.m. Pittsburgh LHP Erik Bedard (4-7, 4.13 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.04) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Pittsburgh RHP James McDonald (6-3, 2.19) vs. RHP Vance Worley (3-4, 2.78) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Pittsburgh RHP A.J. Burnett (8-2, 3.24) vs. TBA Thursday at 1:05 p.m. Pitchers TBA

The La Salle Explorers nearly finished the Cherry Hill East (N.J.) tournament on a winning note Monday, but St. John Neumann's Rich Madison connected on a 6-foot jump shot with 2 seconds left in overtime and the Pirates defeated La Salle, 63-61, to capture fifth place. Leading by a score of 49-41 after three quarters, Neumann slumped in the final period and La Salle tied the score at 59-59 at the end of regulation by scoring 18 fourth-period points. However, Neumann netted 4 points in overtime, while the Explorers (4-6)

PITTSBURGH - A wild pitch by Pirates reliever Salomon Torres let the Cubs' Corey Patterson score the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as Chicago registered a 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh last night. The Cubs couldn't hold a 4-1 lead, with the Pirates tying it in the ninth on Jack Wilson's RBI single, but rallied to win their 10th in 13 games. The win kept Chicago, which got a two-run homer from Aramis Ramirez, in the thick of the wild-card race. Braves 5, Reds 4 ATLANTA - John Thomson (13-8)

First, Mark Johnson put Pittsburgh ahead with his bat. Then, his replacement preserved the lead with his glove. Johnson singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and new first baseman Kevin Young prevented a wild throw from allowing the tying run to score in the bottom half as the visiting Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, last night. With runners on first and third, Andruw Jones hit a liner to pitcher Rich Loiselle, whose throw was wide of the first-base bag. Young gloved the ball and beat Jeff Blauser to the bag, completing a game-ending doubleplay.

The video pirates went down without a fight. They didn't even try to defend themselves. Yesterday, Yosef Vaturi, his daughter Vivi and his son-in-law Shlomo Antecovich agreed to a stipulated trial - allowing documents, rather than witnesses, to be used as evidence. The three were then convicted by Municipal Judge Louis J. Presenza of illegally copying and reproducing taped movies. They were placed on six months' probation and each fined $1,000. Last November, Pennsylvania State Police, the district attorney's office and a representative of the Motion Picture Association of America raided three Fantasy Video stores and a Universal Video operated by the trio in Center City.

STARLING MARTE'S precocious talent can sometimes get him in trouble at the plate. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder can be in such a hurry to get on base, his bat tends to get ahead of itself. A well-timed piece of advice helped him break out of a slump last night against the visiting San Francisco Giants. Told by several teammates to wait a beat longer before swinging, Marte slapped a career-high four hits and scored four times as the Pirates pulled away for a 12-8 victory. "I think you know it goes back to pitch selection, seeing the ball, trying to maintain discipline throughout the at-bat," manager Clint Hurdle said.

Speed is Gerrit Cole's stock in trade. The top pick in the 2011 draft has a 99-m.ph. fastball and zipped through Pittsburgh's farm system, needing just 26 starts to move from single A to triple A last summer. The Pirates sent him back for more seasoning after spring training, but you kind of knew he wouldn't stay down. The next start for the burly righthander, 22, will be his major-league debut on Tuesday night, when the Pirates host the San Francisco Giants. As fate would have it, the defending World Series champions will have two-time Cy Young Award winner (and former phenom)

RUSSELL MARTIN hit a bases-loaded single off the left-center wall in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 1-0 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers last night. Neil Walker opened the inning with a sharp single to right off Luke Putkonen (1-1) and Andrew McCutchen walked. Gaby Sanchez loaded the bases by bouncing a single through the left side of the infield. Martin then ripped a 2-1 pitch into the gap to give the Pirates their 16th win in 20 games.

ESPN used to have a show that listed five reasons you couldn't blame someone for something even though it appeared as if that someone really deserved the blame. One episode focused on why you couldn't blame Mitch Williams for the Phillies' 1993 World Series loss. The exercise here will be similar. This will focus on why you can't blame Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. for letting Jason Grilli opt out of his contract in the middle of the 2011 season. That move looks terrible now because Grilli leads the National League with 19 saves and has a 1.25 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates entering play Saturday.

MATT GARZA waited 10 months to take the mound again, but he will have to wait a little longer to get a victory. Travis Snider hit a pinch-hit grand slam during a five-run sixth and the Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled a strong return to the mound for Garza with a 5-4 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs last night. Garza allowed one hit over five shutout innings in his first outing in 10 months, but the Pirates pounced on a Chicago bullpen that is 10th in the National League in ERA by sending 11 men to the plate in the sixth.

Washington's Bryce Harper was ejected from Sunday's game against Pittsburgh for arguing with - and showing up - third base umpire John Hirschbeck. It happened in the first inning. Harper tried to hold up on a 2-2 pitch and home plate umpire Bob Davidson pointed to Hirschbeck for help. Hirschbeck signaled strike, at which point Harper stood outside the batter's box, eyeballed the ump, dropped his bat, and got the boot. Didn't matter, as the Nationals won, 6-2. Harper was also tossed Aug. 29, when he spiked his helmet after grounding into a double play against the Mets.

IT WAS A milestone day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who took the NL Central lead for the first time since last July and reached 15 wins in April for the first time since 1992. Manager Clint Hurdle thought his 700th career victory was a footnote at best, considering he has 808 losses. Players gave him a toast all the same. "It means you're gifted and blessed with the opportunity to do this for a while," Hurdle said after the visiting Pirates beat the Cardinals, 9-0, yesterday for a series win and the division lead.

Major League Baseball has suspended Pirates lefty Jonathan Sanchez for six games and fined him an undisclosed amount for beaning the Cardinals' Allen Craig in Friday's 9-1 loss. Sanchez has appealed the suspension, but maybe the Bucs should consider keeping him off the mound. He has allowed 16 runs on 21 hits and five walks in just 111/3 innings this season. And on Friday, he didn't get a single out, and served up back-to-back homers to Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran, and a single to Matt Holliday before he threw at Craig's head.

IT ALL FLOWS together, Charlie Manuel said a few days ago. You can try to separate the offense from the defense from the pitching, but to do so is to ignore the subtle but crucial impact that each aspect of the game can have on the others. They are inextricably linked. They all flow together. And after the Phillies treated a restless home crowd to another nine-iron-through-the-television loss yesterday afternoon, the waters at Citizens Bank Park were looking awfully murky. For purposes of record keeping, the 6-4 loss to the Pirates will stand on the record of Phillippe Aumont, and anybody who wishes to let the entirety of the blame rest there can build a strong case.

Charlie Manuel didn't explode when he was ejected from the game, nor in his postgame news conference, but the Phillies manager was clearly frustrated. His team has yet to put any facets of the game together. The Phillies are 9-14 after a 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. "We are in a period now where we are not playing good at all," Manuel said. That about sums it up. How bad have they been? Let us count the ways. The Phillies were 2 for 16 Thursday with runners in scoring position.