Beaver County Times, Sept. 1, 2013

If Starling Marte hadn't injured his hand, maybe the Pirates don't deal for rental players Marlon Byrd and John Buck.
But with Marte facing more time out of the lineup, and with one corner outfield spot already completely unsettled, the Pirates had no choice. They needed help.
When you have a chance to win the division, you can't fill both corner outfield positions by dipping into the same grab bag of mediocrity.
So they wisely paid the price, which was two decent prospects. Second baseman Dilson Herrera is only 19, so who knows how he'll develop. He's probably three years away from the major leagues.
Reliever Vic Black is ready now, and the Pirates had plans for him in their ever-changing bullpen. But one of the reasons to stockpile prospects is to have them available as trading chips to fill other needs.
Somehow Buck makes $6 million, so there's a $1 million hit on the remainder of his contract. That shouldn't be a big issue with the kind of business the Pirates have been doing for the last few months.
(Buck will be paid more for this month than previous backups Michael McKenry and Tony Sanchez will make for the entire season, combined).
Byrd is a bargain whose payroll impact is negligible. Each player represents an upgrade, so it was a deal that had to be made.
You take the chance, but never know for sure. The Penguins found that out in the spring when they landed Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Morrow in deadline deals that were widely praised.
But all three players flopped in the playoffs, and the Penguins had no interest in bringing any of them back.
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--Ben's Big Broadcast
They were dancing in the hallways at 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM) last week when Ben Roethlisberger agreed to do a weekly show.
Roethliserger will appear on the Vinnie and Cook show every Tuesday at 11 a.m. This is a coup because it shuts out WDVE, the flagship station for the Steelers' games, and because anything Steelers-related draws business.
No Steeler is bigger than Ben, and advertisers will pay premium prices to get proximity to a Roethlisberger show.
It remains to be seen how candid he'll be, but people will listen and The Fan will rake in even more money. As it stands how, you can grow a beard during a typical Fan commercial cluster in the daytime hours.
There could be one tangible benefit for listeners. Interviewing Roethlisberger may temporarily distract the mismatched hosts from their usual squabbling.
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--Musical tribute
Frank Pulli, who umpired for nearly 30 years, died last week at 78.
Pulli was once working the plate at Three Rivers Stadium, and found himself in frequent disagreement with the Pirates over his calls. The crowd picked up on the discord, and soon every pitch was an issue.
Organist Vince Lascheid noticed from his perch on the fourth level, too. When Pulli finally called a strike on an opposing hitter, Lascheid punctuated the moment with a sarcastic "Ta da" riff that the crowd loved.
Pulli wasn't so crazy about it. After the game, he summoned Lascheid to the umpires' room. He used that face-to-face meeting to strongly let him know he preferred to work without musical accompaniment.
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