12/13 From 1970: Ritchie, Bell, King, Brown & Mack Dealt; Eddie Signed; Druggie News

• 1988 - The suits and Dave Parker settled a 2-½ year battle over the Cobra’s 1979 contract. The Pirates believed his drug involvement voided $5.3M in deferred payments; Parker disagreed. A few weeks from trial, the two sides settled with Parker getting a lump sum payment of an undisclosed amount that was less than the original total due, confirmed a week later when the team said its 1988 operating profit was impacted favorably by the settlement. 

The Joker 1887 Circa Rave

• 1996 - SS Jay Bell and 3B Jeff King were traded to the Royals for 3B Joe Randa (called "The Joker" after the grinning Batman villain), LHP Jeff Wallace, LHP Jeff Granger and RHP Jeff Martin in a salary dump, or maybe in an effort by the clubs to set a record for Jeffs (or just “J” first names in general) packaged in one deal. 
• 1999 - The Pirates sent OF Brant Brown to Florida for OF Bruce Avens. Brant hit .232 in his year as a Bucco and it would get worse in 2000, his final MLB season. Aven hit .250 for the Pirates and was flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline, having a couple of solid seasons for LA. 
• 2001 - The Pirates sent P Todd Ritchie & C Lee Evans to the White Sox for pitchers Kip Wells‚ Sean Lowe‚ & Josh Fogg. Ritchie struggled for Chicago and then was injured the following year, effectively ending his career. Fogg and Wells were mainstays in the Pirate rotation for three years but never blossomed beyond journeyman status. Lowe worked for three teams in 2002-03 before ending his MLB journey. 
• 2005 - The Bucs acquired LHP Damaso Marte from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for INF/OF Rob Mackowiak. It was the lefty’s second go-around with Pittsburgh, and after an injury to Matt Capps in 2006, Marte became the closer. He was traded to the New York Yankees with Xavier Nady at the deadline for José Tábata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen. Mack was strong for the White Sox from 2006-07 (.285 BA), but after being traded back to the NL at the 2007 deadline he faded badly, and his career ended after the 2008 campaign.

• 2007 - The Mitchell Report was released, a 20 month investigation led by former US Senator George Mitchell into performance-enhancing drugs’ MLB inroads. The report covered the use of PEDs by players with recommendations on how to handle the epidemic. The report named 89 MLB players who were alleged to have used PEDS, including several ex-Pirates (every team had at least one played implicated). The findings stiffened the MLB’s spine, and they, along with the MLB Player’s Union, implemented a testing program with stiff penalties for violations. 
• 2013 - RHP Edinson Volquez was signed as a free agent to a one year/$5M contract. He was quite the bargain, going 13-7/3.04 during the season. He signed a two year/$20M guaranteed deal with the KC Royals after refurbishing his value, then skipped to Miami on a two-year/$22M deal. He underwent TJ surgery in 2017 and now is on the comeback trail with Texas after sitting out a season.