Joel Hanrahan will never be forgotten in Pittsburgh.  The hard throwing right hander gave Pittsburgh Pirates fans a reason to believe again.

When Hanrahan arrived in the Steel City, he was perceived to be a ’throw in’ in the Lastings Milledge/Nyjer Morgan/Sean Burnett trade.   The Pittsburgh Pirates were a team without an identity.   Late inning drama was a thing of the 90′s for Pirates fans.  But, thanks in large part to the high leverage success of Hanrahan,  the Pittsburgh Pirates flirted with success.

Joel Hanrahan always had the talent.  In Pittsburgh, he showed it on a consistent basis and still had time to shop for backpacks for the rookies.

Now as we fast forward to Hanrahan’s exit from a fanbase drooling for a winner, it’s very hard to describe the void that remains.  Not only was Hanrahan a leader in the clubhouse and on the field, but off the field he made a difference in the community.  Sure, you’ve heard that before, but Hanrahan is the real deal.

What sucks is the Pirates are unable, or unwilling, depending on your perspective, to pay a player that has developed into one of the most successful relievers in MLB.

We hate you Boston.  Damn.  We. Hate.  You.

Repeatedly, Joel Hanrahan was the lasting memory in a town that lusted for a winner.  While Hanrahan wasn’t the only reason for the Pirates unsustainable success the past two seasons, he was the final memory of something so sweet, something that for so long had been out of our reach.  We never wanted the memory to end.

So where did it all come from?  How did a pitcher that underperformed as a member of the the Washington Nationals become such a success in Pittsburgh?

We have no earthly idea.  But at times he was Mr. Perfect, racking up save after save without failure.

Perhaps the succes came from Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit raving over his slider, and telling him to trust it more.  Perhaps it was the coaching.  Maybe it was Pitttsburgh.  Nah, probably not, we think it had to be the man himself.  It was Hanrahan.

After all, the guy is a machine.

Pittsburgh has long been a city flooded with sports stars, but Pittsburgh was dying for a baseball star.  Hanrahan gave that to us.  Hanrahan and his filthy stuff made everyone get to their feet and scream for another strikeout.  The closer instilled in Pittsburghers the dream that winning baseball could be a reality.

The hardest part of the Hanrahan trade is the fact that 76 times in the past two seasons, he’s been our final image.  The man with the smokeless tobacco can in his back left pocket would shake hands with the Pirates catcher of the moment and all was right with the world.

For the majority of the past two years, Joel Hanrahan gave us the fantasy that Pittsburgh could indeed be winners on the baseball diamond again.   We believed.

Looking forward, we trust he does that for you Boston. Without question, Pittsburgh will certainly will be cheering for him.

Hanrantor deserves nothing but the best this world has to offer.  Go Sox.  You arrogant bastards.

Some of our best memories of the past few seasons are listed below, we couldn’t list them all, so please add yours to the comments:

1.  Joel Hanrahan reminded us of Chuck Norris.  You know those funny Chuck Norris sayings.  So just how Chuck Norris-esque is Joel Hanrahan?    When he arrived in Pittsburgh he won a game for the Washington Nationals while he was 1,500 miles away

…..while he was wearing Pirates black and yellow.  Amazing?  Impossible?   Spare us the details.  Hanrahan is a machine.

2.  Hanrahan is a machine that isn’t afraid to tweet his daily routine.  You lucky Patriots loving bastards are about to get some of the best tweets of your lives.

Hairy toes make the girls go crazy

3.  An All-Star with a down-to-earth/gorgeous wife and family.

Yeh, the hair is perfect, the beard is perfect, the wife is perfect. Dilip Vishwanat Getty Images North America

4.  In March of 2011, we called him Pittsburgh’s best kept secret.   Unfortunately, we knew this day was coming….

Pittsburgh Pirates Fab Five Week: Joel Hanrahan

Since Joel Hanrahan has arrived in Pittsburgh his performance on the field has been impressive. But long before he arrived in Pittsburgh, Hanrahan has been a person that has done more than just impress people with his skills as a baseball player. Joel Hanrahan is a winner. He helps others. He leaves a lasting impression on those he meets and Pittsburgh is damn fortunate to have him be a part of our great city.

Joel Hanrahan shakes hands with Luis Clemente after winning the Roberto Clemente Award. Photos: Flickr-MissChater.

Hanrahan stands with Luis Clemente as a check is presented to the Walter Reed Society to support the soldiers and staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In 2009 Hanrahan arrived in Pittsburgh and was lights out. Whatever struggles he faced on the mound in our nation’s capital had vanished. He pitched 31.1 innings for the Pirates, struckout 37, and allowed just six runs. A year later, Hanrahan’s power numbers only improved. Big time. The strikeouts kept climbing. The walks diminished and Hanrahan was one of the top relievers in MLB.

Joel Hanrahan was a big time arm on a small time team, but you would never know it.

It’s hard to describe, but Hanrahan is different, he’s friendly, outgoing, smart and likeable. Most successful closers in the Major Leagues are a different breed, but Hanrahan is not only a rock star on the mound, but off it as well. He’s a Pittsburgh kind-of-guy. An under-the-rader player that fans have flocked to on his Twitter account as fast as opposing hitters head back to the dugout after whiffing at his 94+ smoke.

5.   God it sucks we saw this day coming, two years ago we wrote:

But we have to say this Pirates fans, Joel Hanrahan might be our little secret for now, but we don’t believe it will be that way much longer. Successful relief pitchers salaries are rising faster than the national debt, and as Hanrahan continues to strike out batters at an elite level, it’s only a matter of time until he receives his monster payday.

It couldn’t happen to a cooler guy.

6.  Some Pirates fans were surprised by the big time success of the 6’4,” 245 pound right hander from Des Moines,Iowa. But two guys that know him quite well don’t seem surprised in the least. One of them is his brother Mark Hanrahan, the other a high school teammate, Justin Jacobe.

If you’re a Pirates fan, you have no doubt read about Joel’s big brother Mark in Dejan Kovacevic’s excellent story. The article touches on Hanrahan’s time with the Washington Nationals and his big brother described Joels’ struggles in Nationals red, white, and blue the best:

Justin, who played with Hanrahan for the Norwalk Community High School Warriors back in Iowa, focused only on the positive. In a recent tweet, he described Hanrahan as his ‘role model always.’

Maybe that explains Hanrahan winning the Roberto Clemente Award with the Nationals organization in 2008. An award Hanrahan told us was, “definently my favorite award.”

7.  Only Chuck Norris could top this shit.  In his first Major League Baseball at-bat, Joel Hanrahan tripled.   ( It could have been an inside-the-park homer, but he didn’t want to show up the opposition.)

(In 2009, Hanrahan lined out in his only plate appearance with the Bucs.)

BOOM! Joel Hanrahan rips a triple in his first Major League at-bat.

8.  Even though it’s been a long time since the reliever swung a bat in Iowa, his high school teammate has a hard time forgetting just how special the Pirates closer was with lumber in his hands at Norwalk.

So how many homeruns did he hit his senior year?

9.  Read that again, that’s awesome.

10.  It’s hard to underestimate the opinion of your brother. Especially if your brother is Mark Hanrahan, who was an accomplished pitcher in his own right and used to fire heaters at his kid brother Joel, because the young freshman was the only one who could catch Mark’s fastball.

From what we’ve read, Mark sprinkles in plenty of tough love for his accomplished younger brother after each appearance he makes on the mound. We asked Mark to take 140 characters to describe why his brother would continue to dominate back in 2011 and of course, he nailed it with his prediction:

11. Awesome.

12.  In what was called a down year, the Buccos closer never allowed more than nine hits in a month.  Hanrahan takes that deep breath, he typically walks behind the mound, puts his right hand in his mouth, wipes it off on his hat and steps back up on the pitching rubber. What happens next sent Pirates fans through the roof and to their twitter account to hurriedly type #RAISEIT!

Hanrahan closes out games with impressive strikeouts.  For one last time, let’s take a look back at a few of those whiffs, we will start with Ryan Hanigan:

Whiff! Prince Fielder, said “nice,” in the direction of the Hanranator before walking to the clubhouse a loser.

Whiff! No chance.

Whiff! Castro. Over.

Whiff! One for his Grandmother.

Whiff! Bow to the Dictator.

Put your head down when you bow.

HAMMER SAID…..HEAD. DOWN!

Thanks Hammer.  We owe you.

Joel Hanrahan has been a dominant closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012. There have been a lot of close moments, nothing seems to be perfectly clean which was evident last night, but Hanrahan has got it done.  The Bucs hard throwing righty has struckout 47 badguys  in just over 41 innings.

Cy Younng considerations are in order for the Hammer as well as A.J. Burnett who checks in at number ten according to this slick chart.

Yeh, we were surprised too.

Link

A quick look at how the key players for the 2012 Pirates came together:

SP James McDonald – On July 31, 2010 the Pirates traded their closer, Octavio Dotel, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for McDonald and minor league OF Andrew Lambo.  Dotel pitched exactly 18.2 innings for the Dodgers, who finished 80-82.  Lambo is still just 23-years old, but has struggled with injuries and inconsistency.  McDonald has become an ace starter, and is under team control until 2016.  This is a trade that the Dodgers wish they could un-do, a candidate for the best move made by Neil Huntington.

SP A.J. Burnett – Burnett had never lived up to the expectations of a massive contract he signed with the New York Yankees in 2008.  In February of this year, the Yankees were trying to unload their veteran hurler to any team that would take him.  The Pirates swooped in and acquired Burnett for a pair of minor leaguers, neither a legit prospect.  To facilitate the deal, New York agreed to pick up $20 million of the $33 million owed to Burnett over the next two seasons.  Ultimately, Burnett has proven that getting out of New York was the best thing that could have happened to him.  He has become the veteran leader of the Bucs, and has been integral to the success of 2012.

SP Kevin Correia – Correia was coming off a down year in San Diego when the Pirates signed him to a two-year, $7 million contract in December of 2010.  His workhorse mentality and veteran presence has been a great value at that price.  Correia will never be a Cy Young winner, but he is the type of pitcher that every contending team needs to have – a reliable, inning-eating starter who rarely has a dud outing.  By comparison, St. Louis is paying SP Jake Westbrook $8.5 million this year for essentially the same type of production.

SP Jeff Karstens – The Pirates trade OF Xavier Nady and RP Damaso Marte to the Yankees for Karstens, OF Jose Tabata, SP Ross Ohlendorf, and RP Daniel McCutchen at the 2008 trade deadline.  While Ohlendorf fizzled out after showing promise, Karstens has continued to develop into a solid starting pitcher.  Tabata is a work in progress, but has started 265 ballgames for the Pirates since being promoted in 2010.  McCutchen represents depth for the Pirates in the bullpen, unable to find a job in the 2012 relief corps despite showing reliability last season.  He will be one of the first calls if the Bucs need reinforcements for the stretch run.  Nady played in 66 games for the Yankees, batting .270 before injuries derailed his career.  Marte stayed in New York for a few more years, but never regained form as a dominant left-handed reliever.

SP Eric Bedard – Bedard has had a very up and down career, but it was his 2011 season that convinced the Pirates that he could fit into their 2012 plans.  The Bucs were able to agree with Bedard on a suitable contract, $4.5 million for one year.  While it was unknown how much could be expected of Bedard, given his past injuries, it was a chance worth taking.  Thus far he has been inconsistent, a few good starts, a few bad, and most recently a decent one against Colorado.  How much further Bedard goes as part of this rotation will depend on what the Pirates do at the trade deadline, and on his production over his next two starts.  Either way, it was a bargain deal for the Bucs.

CL Joel Hanrahan – “The Hammer” was acquired on June 30, 2009 from Washington in the deal that sent RP Sean Burnett and OF Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals.  The Pirates also received OF Lastings Milledge, who is no longer with the organization.  Hanrahan has only developed into one of the top closers in baseball, saving 71 saves as a Pirate.  Burnett has been a reliable lefty reliever for Washington, and Morgan is in Milwaukee after Washington gave up on him.  Advantage – Pirates.

RP Jason Grilli – Grilli had floundered around the major leagues for 10 years before the Pirates bought his contract off of the AAA-Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on July 20 last summer.  Grilli was on a minor league deal that had an opt-out clause if any major league team offered him a contract, and after he dominated at AAA for a few months, the Pirates came calling.  Since then, he has morphed into the best 8th inning set-up man in the National League, posting amazing numbers and building a bridge to Hanrahan in the 9th.  Grilli has the stuff to be a closer, and in time he will probably get the chance.  For 2012, the Pirates will continue to revile in their undefeated streak when winning after the 7th inning, made possible by the “Grilli Cheese Hammer” combo.

RP Chris Resop – Resop was another scrapheap acquisition by the Pirates, who found him on the waiver wire from Atlanta in August 2010.  Resop has turned into a reliable relief pitcher who has the flexibility to pitch long relief or short, and has the stuff to shut down teams one inning at a time.  He has been a great pickup that cost the Pirates a total of $1.25 million and is signed through 2015.

RP Jared Hughes – Hughes is a product of the Pirates minor league system, and has become a suitable reliever in just his second major league season.  His 2.06 ERA and 1.145 WHIP are great numbers for a middle reliever making a cool $481,000 this year.  He is also under team control through 2018.

RP Tony Watson – Watson was drafted three times (2003 by Florida, 2006 by Baltimore, and 2007 by the Pirates) and found a home in Pittsburgh this year.  He is a homegrown product that makes $484,000 and is under team control through 2018.

As for the position players, a quick rundown on the “homegrown” products that are playing a huge part in this incredible 2012 campaign:

CF Andrew McCutchen – former 1st round pick by the Pirates in the 2005 Amateur Draft.  Has become one of the top overall players in baseball in 2012 and signed a 6-year extension that keeps him in Black and Gold through 2018.

2B Neil Walker – former 1st round pick by the Pirates in the 2004 Amateur Draft.  Has become a fantastic second baseman who can hit .300 and drive in 60-75 RBI per season.  Walker is a Pine-Richland native who is signed through 2017.

3B Pedro Alvarez – El Toro has found his stroke in 2012.  The former 1st round pick (2008) is here to stay, another in a line of great 1st round picks that have helped form this team.  He is on his way to being a .250/40/100 player and is signed through 2017, with an extension probably coming this winter.

OF Alex Presley – Presley has been inconsistent but has the makings of a future starting outfielder who can hit at the top of the lineup.  He was drafted by the Pirates in the 8th round of the 2006 Draft.  Presley is under team control through 2018.

These players were all acquired through trades or free agent signings and have become major contributors to the 2012 Pirates:

1B/OF Garrett Jones – The Pirates signed Jones as a minor-league free agent in December 2008.  He exploded onto the Pirates scene in 2009 with a 21 HR campaign in just 314 at-bats.  Since then, he has become part of Clint Hurdle’s mix-and-match bench, providing solid production when called upon.  Jones is making $2.25 million and can not be a free agent until 2016.

UTIL Josh Harrison – Harrison was the forgotten man in the July 2009 deal that sent SP Tom Gorzelanny  and RP John Grabow to Chicago.  He has emerged as a dynamic little player whose value lies in his ability to play just about any position on the field.  He is an energetic player who seems to live for dramatic moments.  Harrison is making $484,000 and is under team control until 2018.

C Michael McKenry – Talk about a steal!  “The Fort” came to Pittsburgh last summer in a deal with Boston and immediately become the backup catcher due to his defensive skills.  He has learned to use the bat in 2012, developing power and becoming a very clutch hitter.  He has also been praised for how he handles the pitching staff.  A player like McKenry is hard to find for so cheap, and the Pirates have him locked down through 2018 at the earliest.  McKenry could very well be the heir apparent to Rod Barajas as the starting catcher in 2013.

1B/3B Casey McGehee – Acquired in a trade with Milwaukee over the winter, McGehee is a versatile player with major pop in his bat.  He has helped the Pirates develop Pedro Alvarez by playing early in the season against the tough lefties and has recently began to find the stroke that made him a feared hitter with the Brewers.  The cost for McGehee?  The Pirates sent RP Jose Veras to Milwaukee.  McGehee is signed to a very cost-efficient contract through 2015.

OF Gorkys Hernandez – Hernandez is a defensive whiz who should be inserted into a corner outfield slot late in each game to improve team defense.  His bat is a work in progress, but his speed and defense are as real as it gets.  He was part of the original Nate McLouth deal with Atlanta in 2009 and has spent years honing his craft in Altoona and Indianapolis.  He is ready to contribute for the Bucs this summer, and is under team control until 2017.

As the trade deadline approaches, remember how this team was built.  It doesn’t always take a headline-stealing deal to help a contending team down the stretch.  These Pirates love each other and fight for one another, so management must be careful to not mess around with the chemistry if the team.  A small deal or two, yes.  But a gut-busting deal for Justin Upton or Cole Hamels……maybe that isn’t what these Pirates need.

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