Pittsburgh Sports Teams

Mario Lemieux may be retired from hockey, but he's still racking up assists.

Lemieux, the Penguins' Chairman of the Board, helped welcome new Penguins General Manager Ray Shero and his family with a phone call Wednesday.

However, a message from Mario Lemieux isn't just any old message - especially if you're a young hockey fan like Shero's two sons: Christopher (10) and Kyle (8).

"When I accepted the position with [Penguins President and CEO] Ken Sawyer [Wednesday], my two boys were coming off the bus from their last day of school in Nashville didn't really know what was going on," Shero said. "I was fortunate to have a message from Mario Lemieux on my phone welcoming me to Pittsburgh. So, our two boys really found out we were coming to Pittsburgh when we played the message back for them.

"If you could see the look in their eyes and the joy in their eyes that Mario Lemieux actually left their dad a message, it was just tremendous and really makes me feel that this is the right place for us and we're going to be happy here as a family."

Shero was joined by his wife, Karen, at a press conference at Mellon Arena on Thursday. He spoke glowingly of the opportunity to help lead the Penguins back to NHL dominance.

"This is a very, very exciting day for me and my family. After talking to Ken, I really feel this is the best place for me and my family," Shero said. "I also want to thank Mario Lemieux for the opportunity here and the confidence and commitment he's made with me."

Shero, who served as assistant general manager in Ottawa and Nashville, is no stranger to building powers. He hopes to take the knowledge he learned and apply it to improving the Penguins.

"I have been very, very fortunate to work with some great people in the past," he said. "I really appreciate the effort and support they've given me."

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Breathing easier Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, involved in a motorcycle accident that left the Super Bowl-winning quarterback with several injuries, was discharged from the hospital two days after the accident and seems to be making a full recovery. Doctors spent several hours repairing the quarterback's face, which sustained several injuries, and Roethlisberger was kept under close observation before being released. The young quarterback knows just how lucky he was not to suffer worse injuries. "In the past few days, I've gained a new perspective on life," he said in a statement released by the team. "By the grace of God, I'm fortunate to be alive ... "

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KANSAS CITY -- There was no shortage of Pirates players willing to shoulder the responsibility for their seventh straight loss.

In reality, it was a team effort.

In dropping a 6-4 decision to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night, the Pirates blew a four-run lead for the second straight night against a Royals team that owns the worst record in the big leagues. Mark Teahen's two-run homer off reliever Salomon Torres put the Royals ahead in the eighth.

Pirates starter Ian Snell breezed through five scoreless innings on 63 pitches before the Royals batted around and scored four runs in the sixth inning to chase him from the game. It was a similar performance to Snell's previous outing against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night, when Snell tossed six shoutout innings only to give up a three runs in the seventh.

"I don't know what to say," said Snell. "I just didn't have it again in the later innings. I had it in the first five and everything just went [south]."

Snell, who had held the opposition to three earned runs or fewer in nine of his previous 11 starts, was charged with four runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.

"I just didn't make my pitches when I was supposed to and they hit them," said Snell. "I take responsibility for them scoring those runs. It's my fault."

Despite granting Snell a four-run cushion by scoring one run in the first inning, two runs in the second and another in the sixth to take a 4-0 lead, the Pirates were unable to capitalize on their opportunities to blow the game open. In each of those three innings the Pirates stranded runners at third base, including Jason Bay's inning-ending groundout with the bases loaded in the second.

"We got off to a good start again tonight," said Pirates manager Jim Tracy. "We had some opportunities to really open the game up and they got away from us.

"When you leave a club hanging around, which we did, you know at some point in time ... they are going to make an attempt to get back in the game."

The Pirates' last-gasp effort to get back in the game in the ninth inning was again squandered. After a leadoff walk to Jose Bautista and a single by Jack Wilson, Sean Casey struck out and Bay grounded into a double play to end the game.

The Bucs finished the night 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They have gone 4-for-30 in such situations over their last three games.

"We've really cooled off," said Tracy.

Teahen's homer came when he drilled a hanging splitter from Torres (2-4) over the fence in right-center field.

"It was as split and it wasn't a good split," Tracy said. "It was a split that was hanging and sitting in the middle of the plate about belt high."

Torres blamed himself for the loss, saying that he was not concentrating fully on his pitches. Torres, who leads the Major Leagues with 44 appearances, has been scored upon in each of his last three games. Although his ERA has jumped from 3.12 to 4.60 since May 1, Torres brushed aside any notion that he is beginning to wear down.

"Physically, I feel fine," said Torres. "When you don't make the pitches at this level, they are going to get hit. That's why you see that my ERA is high. I am not getting the ball down. That is something I am going to have to work on and figure out soon."

The loss dropped the Pirates' record to 8-27 in road games and 1-7 against American League opponents. They will need to win Thursday afternoon against Kansas City to avoid being swept in their second consecutive Interleague series.

"The only thing we can do is keep coming back and try to figure out what it is that we are doing wrong," said Torres. "We need to continue to be aggressive and not give up."

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