Viva Derek Bell: A Pittsburgh Sports Blog

Devastation

2009-12-07T04:00:00.008-05:00

Suddenly, a little child cried out, "But he's not wearing any clothes!" Soon, everyone was laughing and saying loudly, "The emperor isn't wearing any clothes!"

No one has posted on here in a long time, but I think if there was ever a night that deserved a rant, it is tonight.

Today, the Steelers suffered one of the team's most embarrassing losses in a long time. But, it got me wondering, should we all be surprised? This team has blown fourth-quarter leads all season. It has failed to get into the endzone once it gets inside the 20 yard line. Players get stupid personal foul penalties at clutch times. The list goes on and on. The fact is these are all traits of bad teams. So wouldn't that mean that the 2009 Steelers are a bad team?

I use the quote from The Emperor's New Clothes to start this post because I think that's what everyone following the Steelers has been doing this year. We've been talking ourselves into the fact that this team is good when all the evidence says it isn't. Plus, the image of some guy strutting down the street naked was always funny to me. Try to do that now, and you're political career is done, Mr. Emperor. You'll be labeled a pervert while you steal some of Tiger's headlines from TMZ.

I picked the picture from the Post Gazette of a Raider making a catch in front of Ike Taylor because I saw that happen a lot.

As Steelers fans we mock other teams when we see division in the locker room. Yet, two of the Steelers' biggest stars went at in the press over the course of the last week. We make fun of players who lose their heads and cost their teams wins. But I barely heard a peep when James Harrison decided to take a swing at a Bengal to give them a first and ten instead of a third and long. We make fun of meltdowns by coaches, and now we'll have to listen to, as well as dish out the "Unleash Hell" mockery that's going to follow Mike Tomlin for some time.

This Steelers team has lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and now the Oakland Raiders. Those are two of the worst teams in the league. The Raiders had five touchdown passes all season before Sunday. They had three in three drives, in the fourth quarter on Sunday. This Steelers team had trouble putting the Browns away earlier this year. Now they'll play the Browns on a short week. Do I expect the Steelers to lose this Thursday? No, I don't. But I wouldn't be shocked if they do.

This was a rough weekend for Pittsburgh sports. Pitt's heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati. The Penguins lost, and then the Steelers. The Penguins were the only team that didn't have its season hopes dashed.

I like to make fun of fans that take things too seriously. Heck, I love it. But today I found myself agreeing with them. "Fire everyone", I read from one guy commenting on the Post Gazzette. And why not? This team has failed at practically every level. It's my opinion that Bruce Arians is just Roethlisberger's yes man. That's not good. The defense is filled with older guys that have lost a step. Fire Colbert! (That's probably going too far.)

But the guy a lot of people seemed to be the most upset with is Mike Tomlin. Now people used to always shout, "Fire Cowher" after every big loss. I never bought into that, the guy had a great track record and you can't dump a coach who took the team to the playoffs almost every year. But Tomlin doesn't have the track record to lean back on, and a few more seasons like this, and I don't he'll survive the way Cowher did through the Kordell, Tomczak, Kent Graham years.

Am I over reacting? Probably. But this is not how this season should have been. It's so hard to think that the Steelers could fall back into the funk of the late 80's. But it could be on the way very soon. And while Penguins fans will have something else to look forward to, guys like me can't get excited about pitchers and catchers reporting to Bradenton anymore.

We're #1

2009-10-07T16:14:00.005-04:00

Wow, not even the Pirates perpetual sucktitiude could drag us down.

The Sporting News named Pittsburgh as the #1 sports city today.

Here's a small screencap of the magazine cover.

Here's the Sporting News article about this "prestigious" honor.

Lastly, here's our mayor still being a jocksniffing, pandering jackass:

"I don't know how we don't win this every year," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said at the announcement today

Ugh.

But kudos to us. Everyone tip back a can of Iron tonight in celebration.

I Hate to Say It

2009-09-23T15:07:00.005-04:00

Just a few days ago I was talking about the uncertainty of the NFL right now, but after doing some reading the last few days I can say this, the Baltimore Ravens scare me. Preseason I think I even said that the hype on them was wrong and the Steelers would cruise to the AFC North title. Now I'm not so sure. The Ravens seem focused, real focused. Did you see the play Ray Lewis made to end that Chargers game? Plus stop if you've heard this before, they are coming off of a year in which a stout defense and rookie quarterback took them to the AFC championship game where they lost to the eventual champs. The last time that happened the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Today, all of the sites have out their "power rankings" which let's face it are just filler to get fans fired up in the middle of the week. But they all seem to have the Ravens in the number one spot, and I know I can't argue with them right now.

What We Know...

2009-09-21T12:13:00.003-04:00

One Game is left in Week Two of the NFL season. I think it's safe to say that at this point the one thing we know, is that we and all of the "experts" don't know anything. Everyone's sexy pick to win it all this year the Chargers, barely beat the Raiders in week one, and lost to the Ravens week two. The late preseason sexy pick to win the NFC The Packers, well they went down to Cincy yesterday, who lost to the Broncos last week, who are 2-0 after drawing Cincy and the Browns in the first two weeks. Then there are the Patriots, the Vegas favorite to win it all just because Brady is back. Well, they pulled their usual Patriots magic to beat the Bills Monday night, but from what I've heard and read they were manhandled by the Jets yesterday. Oh, and I hope I don't have to hear Eagles fans brag about that great defense anymore after what the Saints did to them Sunday. And that brings us to our Steelers. As Bob Smizik points out, week one the Steelers won in part because Rob Bironas missed two field goals. Week two they lose in part because Jeff Reed missed two field goals. My personal opinion is that we're going to see the Steelers of the Mike Tomlin era always be slow starters. But then again, what do I know.

Steelers 14 - Da Bears 17

2009-09-21T09:11:00.003-04:00

That's the pics you get when they lose. Friggin Steely McBeam.

Gack, what an ugly game that turned out to be. The Steelers kinda choked harder than Superfan Farley on his chicken wing bone.

Let's start with a couple goods, before we get to the understandable bads in a loss.

Good:

- Ben, again. He airmailed a couple passes and threw into coverage, but nobody's perfect. His consistent play was the offensive saving grace.

- Sepulveda. He's been kinda overlooked, but his punting is a major improvement from Mitch Berger (wait, on second thought...) and was/is going to be instrumental in giving the opponents bad field position.

- The running game. Ok, so maybe it wasn't "good", but it was an improvement. Mendenhall looked sharp in a limited role. He should get more carries from here on out.

Bad:

- Reed. Sure he missed the two field goals, but he's been clutch for us so it's hard to get too down on him. He's not gonna make every single kick, but he still lands in the bad column just for yesterday's game.

- The defense. Yeah, we didn't give up a lot of points again and stuffed the run like they always do, but the secondary plays off the receivers too much. My biggest concern though is the pass rush. As in, where the hell is it? We have hurries, sure, but only two sacks total in the first two games isn't gonna cut it. I mean, Reed did miss kicks, but where was our defense when it mattered? We let Chicago go right down the field like they had a former Chicago superstar running back playing for them.

- Specifically with the defense is the secondary. More to the point is Tyrone Carter. Man was he terrible yesterday. He did make the big hit on Olsen, but he was slow to react to passes to the tight end up the seam and was slow to react on the Bears td that tied it up.

- Playcalling. I'm not buying into the "Holmes dropped an easy touchdown pass" in the 4th quarter. That's a tough over the should catch that he can/should make, but on 3rd and 2 with 3 minutes left just get the first down at that point. You get that first down and Chicago has to use their timeouts and it's at or just below the 2 minute warning when they get the ball back (still assuming Reed misses an even shorter kick). That was a bad play to go for the endzone there. Also, where was the no-huddle offense from the week before that worked so well? Bad, bad playcalling is an ongoing theme with Arians.

In the end though, we're 1-1. We weren't gonna go 16-0, but it does hurt to let one slip away. Let's hope that corrections are made and they take it out on the Bungles next week.

Links:

- Reed is embarassed by missing the 2 field goals. I'd say lock up all towel dispensers in the area this week so they don't get broken.

- The offense is still struggling.

- Smizik finds some silver lining.

- P-G game recap here.

- Trib recap here.

- Harris at the Trib plays some blame game.

Offensive Indeed

2009-09-16T08:55:00.002-04:00

Musselman at the P-G has an article today that pretty much echoes verbatim statements that I've been making since the Penn State game this past Saturday.

Penn State isn't going to do anything this year unless they can run the ball and that falls squarely on the shoulders of those turnstiles up front.

I didn't get to see the opening game against Akron, but I had a "what the hell" moment when I saw that they threw the ball 40 times. Yup, that's right, 40 damn times. Well, ok I thought, maybe it was just a matter of us wanting to get more reps for our new starting receivers, since our easy non-conference schedule amounts to preseason games anyway.

Well then what I saw the next game against Syracuse was my worst nightmare, we can't run the ball because our line stinks. Well, I really don't know if they truly do stink at this point. It's only been 2 games and they can still turn it around, but a shakeup may be needed.

Let's face the facts here fellow Nittany Lions' fans, if we can't run well and have our line make holes to run through against Akron and Syracuse, then they sure as hell won't be able to do it to Big Ten teams and we'll be in trouble. Our defense will keep us in games, but we're not going to win games with Clark throwing the ball 30+ times a game every game.

My second point is this; where is the spread option offense? Why is Clark merely a shotgun and dropback passer now? Where are the QB option running plays in short yardage situations? Why not at least spread the opponent's defense out with 4 wr's and run from that formation? Who's calling the plays? Why in the hell do we still have seperate coordinators calling running and passing plays? Oh, wait, I know the answer to that one.

Who knows, maybe JoePa is playing it safe in these games to not show much to future opponents. Somehow I doubt it though and our season may not be as good as it should be. Sure we'll compete for the Big Ten title, but I thought it was more a sure thing before the season started than it is now.

More on the line and running game here and here.

And lastly, I just wanted to say that so far, I'm looking like a genius here.

Pirates Have The Record...For Now

2009-09-15T15:58:00.002-04:00

Agreed, the Pirates now hold a sad record of 17 consecutive losing seasons. That is very bad. I would counter that the Phillies have a worse record of something like 32 losing seasons out of 33 way back when but let's stick with the current record. My feeling is that if the Pirates can break their losing streak in the next 2 years, they won't be holding that record for long. The Baltimore Orioles currently have 12 consecutive losing seasons and I see no .500 record for them in sight. They are as bad as the Pirates and are in a much tougher division which, I believe, won't soon get any easier. The Orioles are DOOMED !! They face the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays 18 times each every year. Thus far this year they are 18-38 against their division foes. My guess is that it will be like this every year. The Orioles will be fortunate to go 8-10 against each of those other AL eastern division teams. That means they would be 32-40 if all things go well. That leave 90 games, every year, for them to win 50. yes, the Orioles would have to go 50-40 to avoid a sub .500 record. The Yankees and the Red Sox are not going to play poorly with the amount of money they spend. The Rays are young and should win for a while. Toronto always plays pretty well, at least enough to go 10-8 versus the Orioles. Many years the Orioles will not go 8-10 against their division foes...this makes it even tougher.

Let's put it this way... I see the Orioles getting at least 40 losses in their division..every year. That leaves 122 game sfor them to win 82. Is it really possible for the Orioles to win 82 of 122 of the other games ?? ...I think not.

The Orioles couldn't play .500 baseball when the Rays were bad, how can they possibly do it while the Rays are good ?? THEY CAN'T.

Cheer up Bucco fans !! Just like in 1971 and 1979 the Orioles are here to save us. My prediction is the Orioles will break the Pirates record of consecutive seasons of sub .500 ball 5 years after thye Pirates snap their own streak.

"Get Me My Hat"

2009-09-11T14:59:00.004-04:00

Those 4 words right there, and the attitude it takes to say that, are exactly why us Steeler fans should love having Big Ben on our team.

I just read this a bit ago, but the story goes as such:

The Tennessee Titans called heads, the coin came up tails, and while 65,110 fans at Heinz Field roared their powerful roars and waved their Terrible Towels, Ben Roethlisberger sidled up to a ballboy and made a four-word request.

"Get me my hat."

A brutally physical NFL season opener between the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans was deadlocked and headed for overtime late Thursday night, and the quarterback’s statement carried an unspoken but obvious tagline: Get me my hat, because I’m about to take us down the field for the winning points, and I want to cover up my sweaty hair when I do that postgame interview with Andrea Kremer.

And what did the ballboy do?

“He got me my hat,” Roethlisberger said about half an hour later as he undressed at his locker, grinning like a schoolboy who’d just drained a game-winning jumper at the recess bell.

Awesome.

Game 1: Steelers 13 - Flaming Tacks 10

2009-09-11T08:46:00.002-04:00

So it's begun.

Last night the Steelers started another Super Bowl title defense season (that never gets old saying). I'm gonna try really hard this year to not bitch and moan about too much because honestly, we've won 2 Super Bowls in 4 years, we're still in a grace period.

The Steelers kicked off their season by whipping up the crowd in the usual Pittsburgh way, by lighting off fireworks, but enough smalltalk, let's move on to some points from the game.

1. Big Ben is indispensable. He is the one person that this team can't afford to lose. Right or wrong, he takes a lot of shit from time to time for his personality, but when it boils down to it I don't want anyone else as QB of this team. I'll explain that one later. He was rusty at first, underthrowing a wide open Wallace on the first series and forcing balls in the first half, but he got over it and led that dink and dunk no huddle offense to perfection.

2. Speaking of not affording to lose players, it appears that the Steelers will be without #2 most indispensable player, Troy Polamalu. Him being out 3-6 weeks, or whatever timeline they give, makes a great defense, perhaps the best in the league, a very good defense. Us Steeler fans have seen in the past how an injured, yet still playing, Polamalu does to our defense. The sad thing is, he got hurt on a fluke play; a blocked field goal. I mean seriously, how many field goals get blocked by a team during the course of the season? 1? 2? 3? Regardless, my question is: What is he doing on the field on a play like that anyway?

3. Jeff Reed is money, and speaking of money and in the immortal words of Teddy KGB, "Pay that man his money". Reed is playing in the last year of his contract. He's clutch. He's nearly automatic. He kicks in the tough conditions of Heniz Field better than anyone. Pay him.

4. We did have some fortunate luck last night. A couple big passes went off the hands of Tennessee receivers that would have given them killer first downs and they had 2 missed field goals as well.

5. Our defense looked very good, albeit understandably for an opening game, somewhat sloppy at times with blown coverages and too big of cushions on the outside. I mean, come on guys, Tennessee's game isn't to throw downfield, so why give those 10 yard cushions which effectively concede those out routes. I'm not saying that you have to blanket the guys, but a little tighter would be nice. Oh, and Lendale White can eat it now.

6. But I do have to give a long bitch right now, and that's about our still putrid O-line. Yes, I get it, we won the Super Bowl last year with them, but I tend to think that we won it in spite of them. They flat out stunk last night. Some credit has to go to the Flaming Tacks' defense, but still, there were no holes to run through (Parker and Mendenhall* did jack squat because of it) and Ben had to scramble more often than not. Which leads me back to Point #1, if you put Brady or Manning (the only QB's in the league who may be better than Ben) behind a line like ours, they would do very little. Give me Ben on this team all day, but just imagine if he had a good line to protect him and give him a running game to work with. The only reason Ben had time to throw in those last couple series is because they were doing 3-step drops and getting rid of the ball quickly and the Tacks were tiring from the no huddle.

* The best idiot fan moment came when the guy in front of me bitched in the 3rd quarter after a no gain by Mendenhall that he sucks and we should get Parker in there. He looked like some hippie just out of college anyway, so I loathed him to begin with.

So take the win and move on. It's a long season. There's a lot of good to take from the game, and there's plenty that needs improved on. I will say though that it won't be the cakewalk that many predicted if play continues like last night.

Links:

- Starkey has a list of points on the game, which I swear I didn't read until after I wrote my post.

- P-G's recap here.

- Collier on the poor running game here.

- Dulac's report card here. Come on man, an F for the backs but only a C- for the line?

Making Moves, Wrapping Things Up

2009-09-09T18:07:00.004-04:00

After tomorrow it will officially be unacceptable to write about the Pirates once Yinzer season is in full bloom. So let me just say the losing streak sucks, but we all saw it coming. It has provided the Sportscenter anchors with some good "comedy" material the last few days. The streak will realistically hit 20 before it's over, so I guess we better get used to it.

On to the Steelers, it should be a good year as usual. I don't think the Ravens will be as good this year, and the Bengals & Browns will be the Bengals & Browns. So it should be another playoff year by my estimation. If you want to read something annoying check out this post on Deadspin. And if you can find the part where hey actually say something bad about the Steelers as a team let me know. Looks to me like more of the usual Pittsburgh & Pittsburgher bashing.

As for me I've scouted a few Steelers bars here in my new settlement, but have decided to go watch it at a neutral site. If anything this bar seems to have some New York Giants ties as well as its Bar Area sports interests. Although I should really probably head to this town to find something.

Other than that I'm looking forward to scoring some free 49ers tickets to see Michael Robinson, and some free Raiders tickets to see people in make up and spiked shoulder pads. As well as what looks to be one hell of a good college football team over in Berkeley.

So let's go Steelers. Should be fun.

Cut Day - Updated

2009-09-04T08:50:00.004-04:00

"I don't make decisions. They make decisions with how they play."

- Mike Tomlin

Well said, even for Tomlin, who has "coachspeak" down to a science.

So today's cut day in the NFL. Rosters have to be cut from 75 to 53.

A reminder for those that do make the team in final cuts, you don't want to celebrate in front of guys that just died.

Stefan Logan cemented his name on the roster last night with his 80 yd punt return for a td being the cherry on top of a tremendous pre-season. Thank God we don't have to watch the likes of Moore and Closet Shitter return kickoffs anymore. Sure they were safe returners, but that's the problem. They'd take it out to the 25 and that's about it. This also allows Santonio Holmes to focus solely on receiving and not have to worry about an injury in the punt return game.

The only other "big choice" is whether to keep Isaac Redman or not. If Tomlin sticks to his quote, then Redman makes it (all he's done is score touchdowns when asked), but who's out of the backfield at that point? If Redman's cut, it's against what Tomlin stated, but on one hand is understandable with the depth they have at running back.

"I prefer tough cuts. Easy cuts are not fun for a guy in my position."

- Mike Tomlin

Well Coach, you've got a couple tough ones. Have fun.

More links for cut day:

Trib here.

P-G here.

Ron Cook on Logan here.

I'd love to post what Bouchette had to say about cut day, but the greediness of the P-G doesn't make that so. One question though, it's a "members only" site, does that mean you get one of these for signing up?

___________________________________________

Update:

Here's the updated cut article, hot of the press from the P-G.

I'm Embarrassed to be a Steelers Fan, Part 37

2009-08-27T18:06:00.004-04:00

Seriously?

Come on.

Somebody shoot me now.

Linked from KSK.

The Next Rickey?

2009-08-26T19:17:00.003-04:00

On August 1st I was sitting in Oakland coliseum watching the pre-game ceremonies to celebrate Rickey Henderson's induction into the Hall of Fame. I watched all of Rickey's teammates ride out on limos. I watched Rickey walk out in the middle of fireworks and then I listened to Rickey's speech. After that the game got pretty boring, the 2009 A's just couldn't hold my attention after watching clips of those teams from the 80's and early 90's.

Then the texts started coming in... "McCutchen just hit his second homer of the game". Then a little later, "He just did it again". That day I remembered thinking, could the same day that Rickey Henderson's number was retired be the same day the Andrew McCutchen made it clear he was the next great lead-off man with power?

I didn't think much about it until last night's heroics. So today I took a look at the numbers from McCutchen this season and Henderson's in his rookie year 1979. These all come from Baseball Reference.com

Henderson 1979

Games-89, AB-351, R-49, H-96, 2B-13, 3B-3, HR-1, RBI-26, SB-33, BB-34, SO-39, BA-.274, OPS-.675

McCutchen as of 8/26/09

Games-70, AB-282, R-50, H-81, 2B-18, 3B-6, HR-9, RBI-38, SB-15, BB-31, SO-50, BA-.287, OPS-.837

Those pretty much speak for themselves don't they? McCutchen betters Rickey, in runs, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI's, Average and OPS in fewer games right now.

McCutchen does strike out a lot more, and of course Rickey crushes him when it comes to stolen bases.

I know it's early in the kid's career, but maybe it's time McCutchen starts referring to himself in the third person.

Cutch

2009-08-26T08:40:00.002-04:00

Wow, nuff said about last night's Pirates' game.

Now, of course, Cutch will rightfully so steal the headlines from the game, but Dejan is correct to point out some other highlights here:

> Joel Hanrahan pitched very well in a tough situation and, truth be told, the first of several versions of my story focused just on his work in the seventh. He has given up three runs in his past 19 appearances now, and I am guilty of not stressing more how well he has done.

> Brian Bixler did not do as the Pirates' baserunners are taught in rounding third passively -- go hard until you are told to stop -- but he still had the aggressiveness after his pause to make it home with a good slide.

> Easily forgotten, but Ross Ohlendorf also pitched quite well against a very good lineup. Jimmy Rollins is going to hit home runs. He never let it get to him.

> John Russell, for all the criticism he has taken here for his handling of the bullpen, made all the right moves leading up to Matt Capps. Took out Ohlendorf at just the right time. Read correctly that Hanrahan's stuff was right to get his two batters. Boldly went with Phil Dumatrait in just his second appearance since missing a year, specifically to go after all of the Phillies' lefties. Went to Jesse Chavez at just the right time, too. In fact, if Capps does what he is supposed to, it looks like a tremendous night for the manager.

> My personal favorite: One player told me afterward that there was no sense of deflation in the dugout after the top of the ninth. Capps was understandably down, but that was about it. "We really thought we were going to go out there and win," the player said. "We didn't think it would come that fast, but we'll take it. It's a great feeling. Good things are starting to happen here."

Now Cutch did misplay that liner in the top of the ninth.

I mean, they teach you in Little League that your first step as an outfielder should be back, because it's always easier to run in than back with your head turned, but that ball was smoked (Capps' fault, again) and I don't think Cutch would've gotten it anyway even with a good jump.

So hopefully he learned from that.

But last night was the first time in a while I've jumped off the couch in excitement and clapped hard and loud (after Cutch's homer) while watching a Pirate game.

So what does it all mean? It means the Pirates may have their centerpiece to build around in McCutchen. It means these Pirates are still playing hard and having fun. It means that they may be gelling as a young team. It means that players received in trades this year and last year are showing their value and worth.

Now I'm not saying that we'll compete for a playoff spot next year, but again, the future is much brighter than it's been in a long time in these parts.

Polls Are Up

2009-08-24T08:43:00.002-04:00

Well, certainly not a poll (pole) like in 'Erotic City'. Get it? Get it?

Giggity, giggity.

But the official preseason football ranking are up.

They can be seen here.

AP Top 25

1. Florida (58) 0-0 1,498

2. Texas (2) 0-0 1,424

3. Oklahoma 0-0 1,370

4. USC 0-0 1,313

5. Alabama 0-0 1,156

6. Ohio State 0-0 1,113

7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,054

8. Mississippi 0-0 1,047

9. Oklahoma State 0-0 989

9. Penn State 0-0 989

11. LSU 0-0 914

12. California 0-0 746

13. Georgia 0-0 714

14. Boise State 0-0 659

15. Georgia Tech 0-0 593

16. Oregon 0-0 587

17. TCU 0-0 521

18. Florida State 0-0 307

19. Utah 0-0 289

20. Brigham Young 0-0 267

21. North Carolina 0-0 261

22. Iowa 0-0 229

23. Notre Dame 0-0 225

24. Nebraska 0-0 207

25. Kansas 0-0 134

USA Today Poll

1. Florida (53) 0-0 1,466

2. Texas (4) 0-0 1,386

3. Oklahoma (1) 0-0 1,358

4. USC (1) 0-0 1,321

5. Alabama 0-0 1,134

6. Ohio State 0-0 1,126

7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,020

8. Penn State 0-0 988

9. LSU 0-0 917

10. Mississippi 0-0 889

11. Oklahoma State 0-0 861

12. California 0-0 711

13. Georgia 0-0 707

14. Oregon 0-0 694

15. Georgia Tech 0-0 559

16. Boise State 0-0 542

17. TCU 0-0 461

18. Utah 0-0 404

19. Florida State 0-0 371

20. North Carolina 0-0 293

21. Iowa 0-0 257

22. Nebraska 0-0 236

23. Notre Dame 0-0 194

24. Brigham Young 0-0 178

25. Oregon State 0-0 165

Penn State is right where they should be, in the 8-12 range that I predicted. I'm not sure how Ohio State is so high with all they lost in the offseason, but hey, that's why these are just preseason polls.

I'll give anyone that $1 million in Penn State bucks if the polls end up like this at the end. Just think about some of the great things you could buy with that, like this for example.

Anyway, lastly about the poll, Florida is the consensus and easy #1. I hate Florida (who doesn't even play Ole Miss and Bama during the season). I hate Tebow. There I said it. I hate Tebow, and guess what, I didn't get struck by lightning after saying it. That whole Tebowgate thing from last month was pathetic. I mean, how dare somebody slight God on Earth himself, Tim Tebow. Hey Tebow, live it up now, because being a 4th round pick in the NFL won't cut it. Oh that's right, you don't. Which, when you had a girlfriend that looks like this, I'm gonna call bs on anyway. This guy here has it right, 15 pertinent questions for Mr. Tebow.

That's What I've Been Saying

2009-08-24T00:45:00.002-04:00

I spent some time going through Smizik's blog tonight and found a post from Friday. And in it Bob makes the same point I've mentioned to a few people. So if I see it, and that fine looking man sees it, why doesn't Pirates management see it? Move Andy LaRoche to Second Base. Now they may be thinking it for all we know, what with Pedro Alvarez showing that he'll probably be on the big club by 2011, if not late 2010. Moving LaRoche to second would make a lot of sense. He hasn't shown that much power but he is a decent, not great, bat. But I can tell you when he was here with the Las Vegas 51s, (which at the time was the Dodgers Triple A squad, before they moved to Albuquerque and became the Isotopes), the Dodgers loved him. And the Dodgers have been known to be able to spot good young players. James Loney and Russell Martin were just two guys that were in Las Vegas the same time as LaRoche. Now clearly all of the answers to the Pirates becoming a good baseball are not with the club right now, heck they aren't even in the Pirates farm system right now. But moving LaRoche to that spot could help him become a rock-solid ballplayer. The last guy the Pirates moved a marginal third baseman to second it was Freddy Sanchez. And Huntington traded him for a future top of the rotation guy after some solid seasons from Sanchez. But you know, that whole trading thing is over according to Huntington. But to that I have to quote a woman from a film called "Erotic City". A man tells that woman he's never slept with a woman he didn't like. And the woman replies "yeeeaaah riiight."

Do a Little Dance, Make a Little Love, Get Down Tonight

2009-08-23T13:02:00.003-04:00

Five in a row. Fifth game in a row in which the Pirates homered and they've won them all. And I can't say it enough these '79 throwbacks are outstanding. Maybe they should have been wearing them all year. Or maybe the Pirates should have been playing teams that have hit the skids big time like the Brewers and Reds all year. But you can't deny that they're hitting the hell out of the ball, something the Bucs haven't done all year. It's been fun watching these guys this weekend. Here's hoping for a second straight sweep today. Let's go Bucs.

Looking Good

2009-08-22T01:00:00.002-04:00

Just had to get this picture up here. Four in a row and number four happens in those duds. I think they should keep wearing them until the streak ends. Why haven't the pirates made the gold jersey their alternative? The black is nice and all, but man that yellow would look good.

Turn Off the Scoreboard

2009-08-19T08:27:00.009-04:00

So we've written ad nauseum on here about the Pirates and our support for their, finally, breaking it all down and rebuilding the right way. In fact, it's been proven again in this draft that since Bob Nutting took over principal operations, that this Pirates' organization under him and Neal Huntington is different than those before:

"The Pirates spent $8,919,000 for their 23 signed players out of 51 draft picks, sixth-highest payout in Major League Baseball, general manager Neal Huntington said. Last year, the Pirates spent a franchise-record $9,780,500 in signing 32 of 50 picks"

Sure, you may not like the fact that the ML payroll is ridiculously low, but the fact is that we are outspending nearly every ML team where we, a small market club, need to, and that's in drafting good players. This is a winning plan and this should put to rest those garbage "Bob Nutting doesn't care about winning" and "Bob Nutting won't spend money" arguments. Period.

Now, if these guys should develop into good players, contributing to a winning team, in a few years, and trades of these sorts continue because he won't give big contracts, then we'll revisit this line of thought. For now though, it's over.

Ok, now that we have that rant over with, I read a very good point on a message board that made a lot of sense and wanted to expand on it.

A poster named steelreign said here:

"For the rest of the season I am watching Pirate games like I watch Steeler pre-season games. I am not concerned with wins and losses, I am looking for and at performance from the new roster.

I am looking to see how they grow as a team and as individuals through the rest of the season. I like the fact that the guys still have a good attitude and want to get better. This group is getting a unique experience, and growth through adversity can produce amazing results.

I believe, come spring training, this 45 game tryout is gonna produce positive results come next spring. These players will learn what they need to do to become major leaguers."

I think that's a brilliant way to think of the rest of the Pirates' season. See this as an extended, or even a "pre", Spring Training. We need to just see improvement in playing ability. We need to see consistency from a lot of players now just getting their first chance. We need to see mental mistakes not being made. We need to see just plain good baseball playing.

This could be saved for September 1, when callups are made, but take a look at the current 25 man roster, you can even go so far as the 40 man roster that includes some prized minor league prospects. Those are the players we need to be watching.

Who's safe? Who needs to show more? Who's barely making it? Who's out?

Those are the questions to answer, not "who won last night?"

Towards the end of the year, I'll try and tackle those questions, but for now, just hang on and watch the show, no matter how much it may make you cringe at times.

Making the Smart Pick

2009-08-18T12:50:00.007-04:00

Every team has at least one preseason game under their belt, Favre is coming back, Vick is back, so it's the time of the year for all of the experts to start making their preseason picks. Now I understand that these are just guesses and everything changes as soon as that ball gets kicked off on week one, but you still have to laugh. ESPN's Chris Mortensen's pick to win the AFC North this year drum roll please... The Baltimore Ravens. Well, at least it looks a little better than when everyone picked the Browns last year. And even Mortensen seems to think he's way off.

"The Ravens are going to win the AFC North. Then I put them in the pool of four or five teams that can win the Super Bowl. But every time I pick the Super Bowl, I get it wrong. I know this much – two months ago when anybody asked me, I said the Patriots and the Eagles, instinctively. I think the Ravens will be right there with the Patriots, I really do."

But still what was the thought process? Did Mort like the team that has a new defensive coordinator, and lost one of its stars in Bart Scott, and one of its rising stars in Brian Leonard over the team that won the Super Bowl last year and has almost everyone returning this year. All the Steelers lost were Nate Washington (Who everyone seems to be remembering that he was a lot better than he really was now that he's gone.) , and Bryant McFadden. The only big impact play I ever remember him making was swatting away a ball in the endzone late in that Colts playoff game during the Super Bowl run in '05. But I'm sure he did more than that.

Since the NFL moved the Steelers from the old AFC Central into the newly created AFC North in 2002 (Which blows my mind actually, was it only in 2002? Seems so much longer ago.) The Steelers have won the division four times. The Ravens did it twice and the Bengals once. You know the year when they turned the division from Black and White to Color according to Chad Johnson. And we all remember what happened in that first playoff game.

If you lump the AFC Central and AFC North titles together you get 25 for the Steelers, seven for the Bengals, and six when you combine the old Browns with the new Browns.

So I'll make my expert pick and go with the Steelers as the AFC North champ this year. Not because they're my favorite team, but because they are the favorites.

'Cause It Feels So Empty Without Me

2009-08-14T09:09:00.003-04:00

"Two trailer park girls go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside."

Well, not really, but I had to roll with the lyrics to complete the theme. I bet now you can't get that song out of your head the rest of the day.

So like the Vegas Jesus said, not much has been going on, of significance, in Pittsburgh sports over the last couple weeks. Add to that a vacation for myself, and we're left with little blogging.

Now though that we're close to both the NFL and College Football seasons, and the winding down of another stellar (yet exciting in it's own way) Pirates' season and we'll pick it up again.

So to start, of course the big news is that last night the Steelers played a "game".

A few things:

1. I haven't really been following preseason and training camp too much. Let's be honest, this is essentially the same team as last year. We have to replace a third WR and a guy or two in the secondary. Sepulveda and Mendenhall are back.

That's it. Those are your football story lines.

2. Everything else is fluff pieces. As long as they knock the rust off a bit during preseason games and nobody gets hurt, that's all August is about, and that's about all I care about training camp.

3. That being said, I watched a little of the game last night. I also found time to flip back and forth between The A-Team and Magnum P.I. on the Retro channel.

4. I said it last year, and I'll repeat it here, Sweed will be fine. He's our future #2 receiver, opposite Holmes, and Ward will be put to the slot 3rd WR (which he'll be perfect for) to play out his final days as a Steeler.

5. I want Mendenhall to do well, for fantasy football selfish reasons too, because I think he's the back of the future for the team. He did ok, but that leads me to the next point...

6. The O-Line still looked like the garbage that it was last year when we won in spite of them.

Overall though, last night was what it was, an over-hyped scrimmage, that they make season ticket holders (like me) pay full price for, but that's another gripe for another time.

One game down, 3 to go. Play like last night, stay healthy, and look forward to September 10 against the Flaming Tacks.

Turning the Lights Back On in Here

2009-08-13T01:31:00.004-04:00

No new posts on here since July 30th. And why not when there's hasn't been a lot to talk about?
Pirates season is in the tank, but at least there's hope that help is on the way. The ESPN and everyone else is trying to hype tonight's Preseason game as a Super Bowl Rematch, when it's really just a practice.

So things have been pretty slow. But things should be picking up in a few weeks. College Football and Steelers start up pretty soon, so hang in there everybody. You'll be able to climb out of your Steely McBeam sleeping bag soon.

This is the Post Where I Tell All of the Yinzers to Suck It.

2009-07-30T00:37:00.009-04:00

Today the Pirates traded two 31-year-old guys and a pitcher that the team and the fans didn't want for five prospects. This is the day there was no more kidding yourself. The Pirates are rebuilding. No more half-assed rebuilding effort. Neal Huntington is tearing this house to the ground. No more small trades for the Yankees and Red Sox middle of the road prospects. No more signing washed-up free agents to one-year deals. This thing is getting built from the ground up, and it's beautiful.

Yet, when I logged on to Facebook today I read this,

"The Red Sox do not sell out 500 consecutive home games with joe schmos in their lineup. The Bucs will be amused by there attendance now with Joe Schmo #1-9 in the lineup. For those who say it was a good move, not buying it. Show me what the Bucs farm systems have produced over the last 17 years. If they have produced someone tell me what team they are on now, it is surely not the pirates."

Should I mention that the person who wrote that played Division II ball?

Would you like to hear what some Giants fans have to say about the Sanchez trade on the chat boards on the San Francisco Chronicle?

Okay here we go...

"Management is losing credibility. First they tell us that they are going to rebuild the team by the draft and then they go back to their old ways of trading off the better prospects."

Sound familiar?

Here are some names Neal Huntington has added to the Pirates and it's farm system in the last year.

Garrett Jones- Maybe you've heard of him

Alderson- 20-year-old A- pitching prospect, projected to be top of rotation guy.

Jeff Clement- 25-year-old 1b. Top 5 pick in 2005.

Tabata - hitting .301

Alvarez - has hit 20 home runs so far in the minors this year.

Tony Sanchez - hitting in the .340 range in low single A

Hunter Strickland- combined for a no-hitter in his debut in the Bucs farm system

Already on the big club or have spent time there:

Ross Ohlendorf

Jeff Karstens

Charlie Morton

Andy LaRoche

Brandon Moss

Robinson Diaz

Delwyn Young
...And who can forget those Indian guys they found on a game show.

That's a lot better than what they had last year, which I believe you could sum up as Brad Lincoln, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, who isn't really that good. But, hey he's a local guy.

Well done, Mr. Hungtonton, well done. And to all of you Yinzer complainers... Suck it.

What? Really?

2009-07-29T08:53:00.009-04:00

I stand before you, knee deep in the bullshit.

That's a line from Cheats, one of the funniest movies that nobody's really ever seen, I highly recommend you check it out.

Anyway, two things have been chapping my ass for a couple days now since it first came out, so here goes.

1. Terrelle Pryor was named the pre-season pick to be the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten. As my title says, "what, really"? Pryor's good, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't all that fantastic last year. I saw him completely dominate high school football here in Western PA, but his passing has always been suspect, and last years' numbers bear that.

He only completed 60% of his passes with a piddly yards/attempt of 7.95. He dinked and dunked to a veteran receiving corp that deserved better (I think OSU would have done better last year with Boeckman as the starter). His rushing numbers weren't even that great for a player of his talent.

So where's that leave him this year? Sure, he should be mentioned as a top candidate, his talent is ridiculous, but with losing his RB (Wells) to the draft and his goto WR's (Robiskie and Hartline), he's going to be more of the focus of opposing defenses. They'll gear up to stop him and he'll have to show he can beat them with his arm. Can he?

The homer in me says why not Clark for pre-season POY? I mean, he was the offensise POY last year and he's coming back, seems like a no brainer to me.

2. This here though, a "technicality" perhaps, always pisses me off, from the original P-G article:

"...whose Buckeyes also were selected as favorites to capture their fifth consecutive Big Ten championship."

Say what? Why? No, no, no, not that they were selected to win the Big Ten, which they always reload, but I think PSU gets em again this year and wins the Big Ten, but what's with this "consecutive" nonsense? Ohio State was mentioned a few years back as being "Co-Champs of the Big Ten" when PSU won in 2005 too. Why?

Last I checked, PSU beat them last year (and in the 2005 Championship season, that video is still goosebump city for a PSU fan) and finished ahead of them in the Big Ten (due to that head to head win), even getting the automatic BCS birth.

So enough with the "consecutive" and "co-champ" garbage already.

Let's Go Camping

2009-07-27T08:59:00.002-04:00

Well, it's that time that yinzers, and otherwise normally sane people, look forward to each summer, Steelers' Training Camp. I'm usually the type that ho-hums it, as I still follow the Pirates very closely, but this year, coming off a Super Bowl and with our team essentially in tact, lends to a distinct and exciting buzz.

Camp officially begins as the players report this Friday, but each of our local papers tripped over themselves with coverage in their Sunday editions.

So a few links to satiate you all:

- Similar to what the Jesus spoke about the other day, the Steelers just can't seem to come into a camp, where they defend a Super Bowl that is, without distractions of some sort. Hopefully they learned from the screwups of 2006, but the Trib details here how 2006 was, and how they plan to avoid that from happening again.

The P-G also hopped on the "distraction wagon" with an article here.

- Tomlin plans to address the distractions and tackle them head on. I like that approach. That's better than the "elephant in the room" approach taken last time.

- Here's the Trib's breakdown of all 32 NFL teams and their issues etc heading into camp. The Steelers are on the top of the list, so that you don't have to waste your time looking at other teams if you don't want.

- The P-G blog has dates and times listed for those of you going out to Latrobe. I think that the archery shoot is during the second week and the craft show, with popsicle stick birdhouses, the following week.

While you're out there, put in a word to get this back to locally brewed, ya know, since their damn slogan contains the word "Latrobe" in it.

Otherwise, now's the time to buckle up. Six months of in depth, interesting, needless and pointless, and sometimes just too damn much Steelers' coverage gets underway.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Now with 50% less LaRoche

2009-07-23T02:20:00.005-04:00

Note: I wrote this Wednesday night and forgot to post it.

A great performance by the Pirates got overshadowed by the trade of another starter Wednesday. Brandon Moss hit a walk-off, McCutchen hit his third, Doumit went yard twice, and Garrett Jones hit his 73rd home run of the season.

But the big story was Adam LaRoche getting called up to the GM's office to be told he's joining Jason Bay in Boston. LaRoche's legacy in Pittsburgh will be that he never fulfilled expectations. He spent years in a ballpark custom made for left-handed power hitters and didn't do a whole lot with the opportunity. Even LaRoche said he wished he could have done more.

But, he did come down to the dugout to watch Moss hit his walk-off. Prince Fielder made sure to stoke my hatred of the Brewers by saying if it had been him that was traded he would have been gone. I like how he and the Brewers act like they've won eight-straight world series. Didn't they limp into the playoffs last year only to lose the series? Didn't they just lose two out of three to a team they seem to look down on so much? (By the way the Bucs have just taken two straight series from two playoff contender.)

And let me add this, If I'm a mid-level free agent in the upcoming off season and I'm not getting any bites from contenders I'm having my agent call the Pirates. Because the way Neal Huntington is making deals if you have a decent year, you're ending up on a contender by July. So far only Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett have gotten the shaft by being traded to the Nationals. This season and last the Pirates have sent three players to the Yanks, Two guys to the Red Sox, and one guy to the Braves.

Steeler Nation Snakebitten

2009-07-22T01:01:00.004-04:00

I've been waiting for about a week to use that picture and this seemed as appropriate a time as any.

A lot is going on with the Roethlisberger lawsuit, and it was just the first full day it was out.
So to recap.

-Woman says Ben faked some tv troubles then assaulted her.

-TMZ says woman may have some issues, considering co-workers say she once fell in love with a guy that never existed. (Utah already wrapped that one up.)

-She also says her bosses seemed to be a little gay for Roethlisberger which made her afraid to report the assault to police.

-KDKA's Jon Delano says she may have resorted to the civil suit because it's easier to win than a criminal case.

-Lynn Hayes Freeland has yinzer reaction. (I can't quite figure out how to link to it, but if you go to Delano's story you'll see it there.)

Now this is a sports blog so it's time to get way ahead of ourselves. You have to wonder what this does to the team. Just the other day I wrote that you have to think the Steelers have a good chance of repeating. This off season has been smooth sailing up until this point, unlike the summer after Super Bowl XL. How will Goodell react? He seems to take the wait and see approach. Look how he handled the Dante Stallworth business. He waited until the judge had his say, then he leveled his punishment. Does the fact that this is a civil suit and not a criminal one change the way Goodell would handle this if it goes to court and she wins? I don't think so. A black eye is a black eye. Now, if there is a settlement out of court, which some could perceive as an admission of guilt by Roethlisberger that's a different story. How would the commissioner handle that? How would the Steelers handle it? The Rooney's are very protective of the reputation of their golden goose known as the Steelers, but they've sunk a lot of money into Roethlisberger. But could a court win, or a settlement be enough to make them real happy about drafting Dennis Dixon last year? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

ESPN playing favorites?

2009-07-21T18:36:00.002-04:00

NBC sports is questioning why ESPN won't report the Roethlisberger story, and came up with something interesting.

Big Ben Update

2009-07-21T15:49:00.001-04:00

Well, according to TMZ, this woman may in fact be crazy, and not because of Roethlisberger.

Story here.

More Big Ben Takes

2009-07-21T07:58:00.002-04:00

I woke up and saw the news this morning about the lawsuit.

It may get uglier before it gets better.

I saw a blog take on Yahoo that asked a pertinent question, but also raised one for me.

Here's the blog article.

My question is this: according to the lawsuit, Ben is "one of nine defendants listed".

Ok, but how does that jive with the situation described as "The suit alleges that Roethlisberger asked the woman into his room on the pretense that he needed help with the television, and then forced her to have sex with him."?

So there's "nine" involved with that scenario or just one? I don't know. I guess we shall have to see and stay tuned. I'm sure that the Smoking Gun will have the entire complaint up sometime today or tomorrow.

The Yahoo blog author asks a very good question though:

"First, why only file the lawsuit now when the alleged incident happened a year ago? And second, why were there never any criminal charges? Why only a civil suit?"

I'm no expert in sexual assault cases, although I've seen my share of Lifetime movies, but I would assume that in these situations, a criminal complaint should be/would be filed very quickly (as to not lose evidence etc), and a civil complaint is only after a criminal complaint.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but (and I'm thinking of the OJ trial) isn't a civil complaint almost akin to just getting a money settlement in return and no jailtime for the guilty?

Big Ben Sued

2009-07-21T02:37:00.002-04:00

A woman from Northern Nevada has sued Roethlisberger. Here's the Associated Press report.

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a woman in Nevada.
According to online court records, a defamation lawsuit was filed in Washoe County on Friday. Andrea McNulty is listed as the plaintiff.
Roethlisberger's attorney released a statement to several media outlets Monday night saying the two-time Super Bowl winner was accused of sexual assault in the lawsuit by McNulty. Atlanta-based attorney David Cornwell denied Roethlisberger sexually assaulted McNulty.
Details of the suit were not available late Monday night.
Roethlisberger is one of nine defendants listed in the online court docket report.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Don't worry Pittsburgh, folk. You'll be hearing plenty about this on your local news. I have it on good authority that KDKA is sending Harold Hayes (Harold sent me text tonight asking me where in the hell Washoe county is) to Reno in the morning to get to the bottom of this.

My early and highly uneducated guess is that this suit will bounce off Ben like he bounced off of that windshield in front of the 10th Street Bridge. Does that picture look like a man who would sexually assault a woman?

It's Finally Over

2009-07-21T01:11:00.005-04:00

The Pirates finally beat the Brewers. And of course the Brew Crew was very classy about it when they plunked Jeff Karstens. You see Karstens hit Ryan Braun after he hot dogged it after a homer earlier this year. And Braun has been acting like he has sand in his vagina ever since. He even told on the Bucs to the commissioner. Because you see, the Pirates are just a bunch of big bullies and they must be stopped. God, I hate the Brewers. Just reading the PG article made me mad. Look at that picture of Kendall. What a dick! He looks like the scrawny guy at the bar that picks a fight and then has the big guy in his group hold him back, while he pretends like he wants his buddy to let him go, but he doesn't. Kendall was probably afraid that Jack Wilson would bite him with his snaggle tooth. Or that the LaRoche brothers would act like the Rougeau brothers and kick his ass.

My Conspiracy Theory

2009-07-20T00:44:00.004-04:00

MLB.com reports that Sanchez and Wilson rejected the Pirates semi-homoerotic offer for them both to sign extensions (although that story has mysteriously disappeared from MLB.com, but trust me it was there earlier). Post Gazette says the Pirates pulled it back because of a lack of counter offers. But, the plot thickens... Wilson now says they were never given a chance to make counter offers, and were told the deals were take it or leave it. And now Huntington says the door is still open. Huh? If this post is confusing it's because I'm confused. And besides I thought the deal was fishy from the start. Why would a team that is looking to add prospects any way it can, want to keep the guy who can get them the most right now in Sanchez? I think the Pirates made the offer and made it public to get the fans off their back. I think they knew damn well Wilson and Sanchez would reject the deal. But now they can say, "See we tried to sign them they turned us down. Now we have to trade them." Plus, the deal would have voided Sanchez's big raise if he had signed it. Besides, who says even if they would have signed either guy would have then been un-tradeable (if that is that a word)?

But of course if I have thought of it, so has Neal Huntington.

Huntington also took umbrage -- again -- at the notion that the Pirates made the offers as a public-relations maneuver.
"There's only one good outcome for us in the PR sense, and that's if both players sign. For us to take a PR beating to make offers that weren't genuine wouldn't be a smart move. We made these offers with the understanding that we wanted these players to stay here. The first offer has expired. But, as long as they're Pirates, we'll be open to considering keeping them."

Taking a Look at the Futures

2009-07-19T20:41:00.006-04:00

No, that's not a typo. I stopped at a casino yesterday and picked up some futures sheets. Specifically, college football and NFL. Before we get started I want to be clear that I grabbed them from the Silverton Casino which uses a sports and race book called Leroy's that can be found around Nevada. Kind of like a McDonald's franchised for gambling degenerates' pleasure. If you look around at other casinos you could find different odds. Let's start with college football.

Leroy's has PSU at 25/1. I think that's fair considering if we learned anything from last year's Rose Bowl, it's that the Lions are still a bit behind the big boys. Beating some SEC or Big 12 powerhouses might be out of their range, then again maybe its not. But what raises some questions straight from a football stand point is that Notre Dame is also listed at 25/1. PSU and ND on the same level? Nope, that's where the gambling comes into play. You see, almost any Notre Dame fan that is still waiting for Charlie Weiss' recruiting mastery to kick in will bet on the Irish to win it all anytime they come to Vegas. You know this, I know this, the Vegas odds makers know this. So the key is to place the odds just right so those guys will throw the money down, but the books won't take a bath if somehow Jimmy Claussen turns into Joe Montana this year. Other odds of note: Florida is the favorite at 2/1, Sooners get 4/1, Texas & USC 5/1, Ohio State 10/1, Pitt 50/1, the field 25/1 that's right you can pick Temple and get better odds than picking Pitt.

On to the NFL, no real surprises here. Pats are the favorites at 9/2 followed by the Steelers 6/1, Giants have the same odds, followed by the Colts 8/1 and the Cowboys at 10/1. Never mind that the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game in a decade, and just lost their best receiver. Pats are 2/1 to win the AFC, Steelers are 5/2. If you're looking to throw some money at something may I suggest Vikings 2/1 to win the NFC or 5/1 to win the Super Bowl before Favre signs up and those odds shrink.

Personally, I hate that the Pats are the favorite just because Brady is back. I know I shouldn't run my mouth before the season starts, but that defense was looking a little old last year. And the Giants exposed that O-Line in the Super Bowl two years ago, and the Steelers tore it up when they played in New England last year. I know I'm biased, but I think the Steelers have a much better at repeating than they did after Super Bowl XL. Other than that I think it's wide open this year.

So gentleman, place your bets. Or don't.

Jack Hearts Freddy 4 Ever

2009-07-17T10:21:00.009-04:00

So this came out of, no pun intended, left field.

The Pirates, who have been in trade-mode all month, have offered multi-year contract extensions to Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez.

"The Pirates have approached shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez about multiyear contract extensions, putting on hold, for now, the possibility that either will be traded by Major League Baseball's July 31 deadline."

But wait, like that special offer from an infomercial, there's a catch:

"If the parties are to agree on extensions, they will need to do so far enough in advance of the deadline so that, if the Pirates decide no agreement is possible, they still can pursue a trade for one or both. That likely means something must get done within the next week to 10 days."

So where does that leave the situation? Obviously, the Pirates would love to trade both of them and get prospects to continue the rebuild. The problem is that there's nobody in the system to bring up or move around to replace them should they be gone.

There's no dollar amount listed, but I'm sure the Pirates are trying to save a bit of money per year by offering them term, more years on a contract.

Smizik, who's blogging has been excellent lately, has a detailed take here.

Oh, and as far as this post's title, do we have to read garbage like this?:

"Wilson and Sanchez are best friends to the point of being virtually inseparable, on and off the infield dirt."

""I'm very excited to possibly continue my career in Pittsburgh, to finish what I've started, and Freddy is going to be a vital piece of any decision I make," Wilson said last night"

""I want to finish my career turning double plays with Jack in a Pirates uniform," Sanchez said. "If it works out, it would be unbelievable. This is what we've been talking about for a long time.""

Vomit. This could be the biggest unintentional man crush since Rocky beat Apollo in the race on the beach. If only they'd bring back those shorts as a fashion statement.

To sum it up, adding this to the mix of usual July trade deadline rumors and deals, plus the Sano situation, and we've got a busy Pirate month ahead.

Smizik Hearts Paterno

2009-07-16T01:17:00.002-04:00

At least for now. The cranky one wrote about Joe in his new blog post(A blog post commenting on another blog post, we might be through the looking glass here, folks). Smizik loves the recruiting resurgence, and why not? Like Smizik says he's pulling a lot of guy's out from underneath Wannstadt's mustache in western PA. And with a recruiting pitch like this who could turn the old man down?

The Second Half is Ready to Roll...

2009-07-15T00:44:00.002-04:00

Well, another AL win in the Mid-Summer Classic. Ho-hum. Let's just get on with what looks to be yet another exciting late summer for Pirates baseball. Well, at least for us so-called Roto GMs, anyways. July 31st is one of my favorite days. It's the culmination of all those wild rumors of who's going where for whom. And, as has been SOP in these parts for close to two decades now, the Bucs are sellers. Good. Let's sell. So, who's first up for bids?

Freddy Sanchez: Hollywood is as good as gone. The only questions remaining are where and for whom. Jonathan Sanchez's name has been the most prominent and, no-hitter aside, the Giants would likely do an even swap here. Maybe it's because JS appears to be somewhat similar to another former Pirate southpaw - Oliver Perez. No, not the 2004 version. Well, maybe. Who knows? Sanchez has been as maddeningly frustrating to the Giants as Ollie was here. Neal Huntingdon will likely hold out for an additional prospect here, maybe throw a bit of cash or another player going SF's way. I simply don't see the Twins being serious players for Freddy. The Giants lead the wild-card and a bat like Freddy, even though the Giants are looking for power, would solidify a playoff spot. So, yes, I see some version of this deal getting done with the two Sanchezs' as the centerpieces. I see other players involved as well.

Adam LaRoche: He'll get dealt. However, it's been an unseasonably cool summer in the 'Burgh and that has translated to a similarly cool summer for LaRoche. He's yet to kick in, which simply means he'll fetch far less than anyone's hoping for. Hopefully, he'll go on a maddening tear the last 10-15 days of the month and someone - anyone - gives up a decent prospect for him.

Zach Duke: This would be a classic "sell high" scenario and, if NH is presented with a nice offer, should take it and run. With our $16 million middle infield set to be dismantled, it would also likely dismantle Duke's All-Star season as well. He's a pitch-to-contact guy. Decent control, slightly above-average stuff. Without Sanchez and, possibly JW, behind him, many of Duke's outs become hits. While many of you may disagree, this - like the McLouth deal - is the best time to deal Zach. He's also young and quite affordable, which should net us some intriguing offers.

John Grabow: Some team will pay to get our only decent reliever. A lefty is always a hot commodity and there are a number of teams that can use Grabow's services. The Angels come to mind here. They're in a tight race with surprising Texas (whom also will vie for Grabow's services) and, aside from Brian Fuentes, their bullpen has been one of the least productive in MLB. It wouldn't surprise me to see a bidding war between the Halos and Rangers and that's music to Huntington's ears. Where does that leave us without a quality lefty? Who cares? You didn't expect us to be in a pennant race, did you? Besides, in my opinion, the lefty-righty thing is overrated. If you can get guys out you can get guys out. Grabow gets them both out and that's what we'll lack in the short term. Donnie Veal's a lefty. Doesn't mean he can pitch, at least at the MLB level - yet.

Matt Capps: See my above opinion for my opinion on "closers". The most overrated, stat-generated position ever created. The Pirates need a closer? Since when? The last time the Bucs won anything, they had guys like Bill Landrum and Stan Belinda "closing" games, but it was more a bullpen-by-committee approach. Problem is, Capps simply isn't that good. Somehow, he still manages to hold a 13-game saves streak, the Philadelphia meltdown aside. And, he can hit 96 mph on the gun. So, here's hoping Capps can somehow run that streak to 17 or 18 games and we get him out of here. He'll generate interest, although it's doubtful teams will view him as a closer. Many teams seem to consider him a set-up man, a la J.J. Putz. Don't expect anywhere near the same return the Mariners got for Putz, though. Give me either an organization's top two or three prospect or two decent ones in the lower minors and I'll personally ship him out. No need to thank me here.

Jack Wilson: Personally, I don't see a JW deal, unless perhaps the Mariners come calling. I can also see Boston making a run at him. I like JW and it'd be nice to keep him around. Not much to say here that hasn't already been said by everyone. Depends on the return. Let's not forget: An injury to some team's SS in the next couple weeks could create a whole new market.

Honestly, aside from Andrew McCutchen, ANY Pirate could be dealt by the 31st, either July or August. That includes Paul Maholm, Ryan Doumit, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, Brandon Moss...well, no, not Brandon Moss. I think NH's good, but he ain't THAT good.

Random thoughts...

Kudos to Garrett Jones. Pitchers will figure him out - they always do - but it's a nice run for the kid. Nice bat, surprising speed, great hustle. BTW, is it "Garrett" or "Garret"?

Neil Walker. Never heard of him...

I miss Nate McLouth's hair. Jason Michaels' too, for that matter. Although I kinda dig Cutch's locks. Personality.

I read a post on an outstanding Bucco message board regarding Jesse Chavez needing a bath. Too funny. I have thought the same thing. Or, maybe he was talking about Chavez's "filthy" stuff...nah.

Speaking of personality - I wish John Russell would get one.

Steelers training camp is just around the corner here in good ol' Latrobe. Since I'm 2 minutes from St. Vincent, it somehow just reminded me of how pissed off I get with all the traffic.

Oh well. Second half baseball. Drink up. You'll need to.

Gettin' to be That Time

2009-07-14T09:02:00.003-04:00

Whoa Nellie. It's getting real close to College Football season. Two signs are out that confirm this.

1. This just came out today, which I will be getting this week sometime.

2. ESPN has early early rankings and analysis out already.

So let's look at beloved PSU.

The link is here, but it's an Insider link, so I'll have to detail it.

Essentially, they have PSU ranked #9 in this pre-season look. That sounds about right to me. PSU should open up in the 'real polls' anywhere between 7 and 12.

It's a big story about the offense and losing the three wide receivers. I agree that they'll, rightly so, rely more heavily on the running game at first, until the new starters get their feet wet a bit.

Clark, the Big Ten/Eleven Offensive Player of the Year last year, should be back to his running roots with Royster and Green in the backfield.

About those new starting receivers though:

"These guys have all played games," Paterno said. "Graham Zug and Brett Brackett have been there. They've had key moments." (The same could be said of Derek Moye and Chaz Powell.)

"Zug caught the winner at Ohio State," Paterno added. "A lot of times, we'd have four and five guys out there, and the guys coming back were one or three of those guys."

Good point. But being 'the man' is much different than being 'a man'.

I think that this here will be the key to success:

"the more Penn State ran the football, the more games it won.

Paterno insists the offense will make both the pass and the run a priority.

"We're looking to be a 200-200 team," he said, referring to a goal of gaining 200 yards on the ground and in the air every game. ""

Last year, they started throwing too much with Clark, especially in the Iowa game. Use him mainly for what he is, a deadly running qb that throws when he needs to. Don't turn him into a 7 step dropback passer.

Some charts from the article:

Penn State, scoring and turnovers, 2008

	2008	Big 10 Rank
TD	56	1st
Punt	39	1st
Turnovers	14	2nd
3 & Out pct.	14.2	2nd
Scoring pct.	48.7	1st

More running seemed to translate into more wins.

	2008	2007	2006
Record	11-2 (7-1)	9-4 (4-4)	9-4 (5-3)
Run Pct.	57	56	52
Pass Pct.	43	44	48
Rush yds/gm	205.8	193.8	150.0
Rushes/gm	39.3	40.6	35.2
Yards/rush	5.2	4.8	4.3
Rush TD	36	27	16

Yards per rush by down, 2008

	Penn State	Big 10 rank
1st	5.2	3rd
2nd	6.0	1st
3rd	4.0	1st
Overall	5.2	1st

So it's simple. Get to the 200 yards rushing and you win. The qb is in place. The running backs are there. The line is reloaded.

Do it.

Here though is a main reason for optimism in PSU this year:

The Lions have done it again with scheduling. They don't even leave Beaver Stadium in September, and kick off the season with the frightening prospect of an Akron-Syracuse-Temple buffet. Then they get Iowa, the team that took a divot out of their perfect season last year. Penn State's two toughest roadies will be at Illinois and Michigan State; the Lions will miss Wisconsin and get Ohio State at home.

Obviously, they wouldn't be in the title hunt as a 1 loss team, but they can run the table with a schedule like that. So if you're looking to place a small wager on a team to win the National Title, and you want some decent odds that you won't get with the Floridas and Oklahomas etc, look at PSU.

There will be more previews to come, but an early look never hurts.

Pitt Guys Contributing

2009-07-12T23:44:00.004-04:00

This is a rare time that my living in Vegas actually helps me contribute to a blog on Pittsburgh sports. The NBA summer league is in town. If you don't know it's almost like NFL spring OTA's except it's just for rookies, guys trying to make the team, and some players who just need a little work. Two summers ago I ran into the Sonics at the gym. Man, Kevin Durant does not like to lift weights, but I digress. Two Pitt players hit the court tonight, Sam Young for the Grizzlies and DeJuan Blair who lucked out and fell to the Spurs in the draft. So now he gets to play next to Tim Duncan and have Tony Parker feed him the ball. Both former Panthers did well, Young dropped in 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and stole the ball twice. Blair had 13 points and 10 boards in 22 minutes. Now they're playing against some scrubs, but who knows this could be a start of some healthy NBA careers for these guys. I'm hoping to go check out some games this Friday. I'd like to see some of the other rookies like Steph Curry and Blake Griffin. We'll see.

Well, Here We Are...

2009-07-12T22:15:00.003-04:00

It's the all-star break and like Andy Dufresne the Bucs seemed to have climbed through five football fields of stench to get here. But instead of coming out clean on the other side, they've arrived at a spot where they get to play the other half of the season. Climb back into that sewer pipe fellas. What can you say? Saturday's collapse against the Phillies, ugh. Sunday's pounding, double ugh. So let's try to look at some good points. First, there are some Matt Capps trade rumors, although Saturday couldn't have helped that move along at all. I'm actually hoping the Sanchez trade rumors are true. He should deliver some decent prospects. Then there are some bright spots on the current club like Garrett Jones. Five homers in 11 games, not too shabby. Keep it up and he could find himself on a contender by July 31st. Zach Duke got himself on the all-star team. That means the last place team in the NL central will have two guys on the team. Apparently, Duke impressed Phillies manager Charlie Manuel with his complete game loss on Saturday, so he picked him to replace Matt Cain. And finally Jeff Karstens. He pitched some no-hit relief Sunday through little more than three innings. I have to ask, why did he get dumped into the bullpen again? He seemed to be solid in the starting rotation to begin with, a lot more solid than Snell at the time, and more solid than Vasquez has been so far. On a side note, I caught "Shawshank" on tv Friday morning. The first time since hearing that Morgan Freeman was engaged to his step-granddaughter. Turns out it's not true. Good thing, because I was thinking Morgan would need to do a little time in the movie theater projector room with Boggs and the boys for that one.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2009-07-10T08:29:00.003-04:00

Well, here we are at, give or take, the half-way point of the baseball season.

So in the immortal words of Kenny, "Meet me halfway".

ESPN has a great stat sorter here for hitting, here for fielding, and here for pitching. So let's take a look at some stats (as of today, 4 games past the half-way point) and what not.

The Good:

- The Pirates are 11th out of 30 ML teams in batting average. They're 11th in doubles and 4th in triples. Lastly, they're 15th, in the top half in all of baseball, in total hits.

And those numbers are all after a horrible series in Houston and the final game against Florida (a shutout), which technically falls into the second half of the year. Actually, when I first looked at this on Wednesday, they were 10th in hits, 9th in doubles, and 2nd in triples.

- The Pirates are dead in the middle in pitching team ERA at 14th. So we'll call that a good, especially based on the question marks entering the season.

- The Pirates rank 5th in all of baseball when it comes to quality starts for the pitching staff.

- The defense has been fantastic. The Pirates are 27th in the league in errors committed, which ranks them 4th in fielding %.

The Bad:

- The Pirates rank 20th in both runs scored and extra base hits. Now though, for how critical we are of the offense, they're not quite in the bottom third of the league and for a team picked to be the worst in baseball at the start of the year, that's not too shabby, but certainly not good, nor ugly.

- The team OBP ranks 19th. Another not good, but not quite ugly stat.

The Ugly:

- The lack of power in the lineup is glaring. The Pirates rank 29th in home runs hit. That leads to a drop in their team OPS (being that their OBP isn't too shabby), ranking them 24th in the league.

- The offense also strikes out too much, they have struck out the 13th most times in the league, while walking the 25th least amount.

Seems that their pitch selection and patience at the plate needs worked on.

- For all the quality starts goodness, the pitching staff ranks 23rd in team WHIP. That's not good.

- Also not good is there ranking of 23rd when it comes to BAA (batting average against).

To sum that up, teams are getting players on base a lot by hits and walks, but with our ERA stat so much higher, it shows that our pitchers are working out of a lot of jams and not allowing those runners to score. Play with fire like that enough, and you get burnt. It could be only a matter of time until the other shoe drops and teams score more runs.

- The Pirates' pitching staff ranks 30th, dead last, in strike outs. Ugly.

- The Pirates rank 19th in RBI's. So for a team to be 1th in batting average, yet 19th in RBI's, shows that they just aren't knocking those runners in.

Add it Up:

So what does it all mean?

It means that the Pirates are a wildly inconsistent team, one that still may end up being dead last in the league, as predicted by preseason publications. As of now though, I feel ok saying that they are better than we thought they'd be.

So stay tuned as the second half should promise some more changes to the Buccos.

And in case one was curious, the Pirates scored 101 runs in April and 113 in May (both with McLouth) and 123 in June (without McLouth), so the trade of Nate didn't hurt the on field production in scoring runs (which is the bottom line).

Hanrahan Tearing it Up

2009-07-09T21:02:00.004-04:00

Here's some positive Pirates news. New Pitcher Joel Hanrahan got the win today. But you might declare, "What?!! The Pirates didn't play, what the?!! I can't believe it this is amazing!!!" Okay, I wouldn't really expect anyone to react that way. No, you see he was the pitcher of record when the Nationals and the Astros had a game suspended awhile back. Today the wrapped it up, and the Nats got the one run they needed to win.

Uh-Oh

2009-07-09T18:51:00.003-04:00

There hasn't been a whole lot to talk about lately. Hence, the lack of postings on here, but if this happens, look out. I think fans would head to PNC with torches and pitchforks, or they wouldn't head there at all. It's tough I don't know what to think about it anymore. Looking ahead to some Steelers stuff, I recently signed up for Twitter and found out that Frank Summers is really looking forward to "spring training".

Pennsylvania = Awesome

2009-07-07T17:18:00.003-04:00

Sure we're Pittsburgh-focused here, but every now and then, we can accept West Jersey, I mean Philly, as our state brethren.

For the first time ever, all of these trophies were on display together.

So that's right all you other States; bow to our sports supremacy... and declining and aging population, cruddy climate, plethora of rednecks, uncompetitive and archaic tax structure, and just general buffoonery.

Is It Over Yet?

2009-07-07T01:14:00.005-04:00

Ugh, another loss to Houston. Fine I'll say it, but I don't like it. When does training camp open again? Yeah, at this point I'm looking forward to "Can Casey Hampton show up in shape?" stories more than anything connected to my beloved Buccos. Write it down, July 6th. A new record for me.

On a related note, check out this good column in the PG about how the Pirates are losing young fans.

It's Getting a Little Harder Every Day

2009-07-06T01:05:00.005-04:00

Wow, even I am finding it hard to pay attention to the Pirates these days. I managed to watch an entire half inning of today's game. A 5-0 beating that included 13 strike outs by the Bucs. And watch out for a full-on yinzer revolt if the rumors of a Freddy Sanchez trade are true. Which begs the question, if Sanchez is traded would the Pirates get another all-star selection? Would Sanchez lose his spot in the game since the team he would be traded to would already have their "token" player as well as a few who were voted into the game? Oh well, at least one of those Indian guys did something exciting. Keep it up and he can have Grabow's spot. Rumors say the Yankees are going after him hard. I say, take him. More rumors about Matt Capps. Word is Pirates say Capps will have a big price tag on him. Looks like Huntington has read "Moneyball". Billy Beane loves closers. He says they're over valued, and other teams will always "over pay" in a trade. I hope they get something for Capps. Trade 'em all I say. It might just pique my interest again.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T09:58:00.002-04:00

Now go celebrate like only Americans can:

Eat copious amounts of food, consume alcohol, and blow things up.

Happy Birthday America.

More on the Morgan/Burnett Trade

2009-07-01T01:45:00.006-04:00

"He's a good player. They'll be trading him soon."

-50-year-old yinzer woman in front of me at Friday's Pirates-Royals game

When I heard the woman say that after Nyjer Morgan's home run off of Gil Meche last Friday, I instantly chuckled and dismissed it as a rant from a bitter yinzer who didn't know what she was talking about. Don't I look stupid. When I first heard the news about the trades yesterday, my initial reaction was "duck, the whiners will be at it again soon". Then I started thinking about the trade and at first I didn't quite get it. The trades up until this one have been ones that have stocked the minors. You trade one big league guy and get three in return, etc. This time they traded a speedy outfielder/lead off guy and a shaky set up man for another speedy outfield/lead off guy and a shaky set up man. Then I came around on it, not because I drank the kool-aid, or bought into the "high ceilings" for Milledge and Hanerahan ( I think that's how you spell it, no time to look it up now.) No, I came around by asking myself one question... why not? At the beginning of the year everyone was saying Morgan had no business starting, so why act like the Bucs traded away 1997 Kenny Lofton now? And Burnett, the first batter he faced as a National took him deep, no big loss there. I'm with Bob Smizik (for once) Neal Huntington is right being five games out of first, and dead last doesn't make you a contender. Stop your whining Jack Wilson. You weren't getting that pennant this year, or next. Maybe since there's no one to back you up in the bare-cupboard Pirates minor league system, you will be there when the Pirates do make it above .500.

I spent last week in PA and checked out the Pirates, Curve, and the State College Spikes. I'll have a lot more to say in the next few days.

2 Cents on the Trades

2009-06-30T16:22:00.004-04:00

So the Pirates made two trades today.

Here's some finer details on the players in the Hinske trade. I'm completely fine with this trade. We traded a role/bit player and got a return. Fine by me.

Now the second trade is a little tougher to gauge.

My first reaction is that I don't like bringing a guy who's been a cancer onto the team. I'm also concerned about his ability to play good defense in the vastness of PNC's LF.

However, thinking about it more, when you're the Pirates, you have to do this trade. It could be a great buy low (Milledge) and sell high (Morgan) for them.

Milledge has never really been able to string together a couple of full seasons. He's a former first round pick, with a small track record and pedigree, who's shown some flashes of being a good/above average player.

Recall too, just a few years ago, that GM God himself, Billy Beane, was rumored to be scorching his shorts over this guy. His continuing to ask for Milledge in trades for Haren and Zito, was always a deal breaker when he talked to the Mets.

So is Milledge's potential still there? Is it worth it to find out?

I say yes.

I don't put any stock into the Nats sending him down this year. Hell, they sent him down after only one week of the season, after they had played 4% of their games for the season. Who does that? With that line of thought, the Yankees should have sent A-Rod down last year in April.

I think too that they sold high on Morgan. I like him, but recall that he barely made the team out of Spring Training. He's down to hitting .277 with an OBP of .350 after finishing April hitting around .340. Again, this is just the type of move the Pirates need to do.

Time as always will tell, but as of now, you gotta pull this trigger.

Even the oft quoted Scouts expert from ESPN, Keith Law, had this to say:

"Easy win for Pittsburgh, especially with Hanrahan thrown in for free."

To Bulk Up, or Not...

2009-06-30T14:00:00.003-04:00

It is an age old question for professional athletes in general, but a tricky one for those who rely on speed.

In today's Trib, there was an article about Steelers' WR Santonio Holmes, no relation to John, wanting to add some bulk, to increase strength and speed, before the start of camp.

He says that he's going to be about 8-10 pounds over his playing weight of last year to start camp, then lose it in camp, but keep the extra strength. Sounds all well and dandy, but let's hope that he doesn't keep that extra weight on. I also gotta wonder how well even that "extra strength" will work for him.

I fail to see how adding extra weight and strength increases speed though.

There is caution here, especially for a player like Holmes that relies on his breakaway speed as a primary weapon.

As a Penn State fan, I recall Derrick Williams adding 10 pounds of muscle, for these same reasons, after his Freshman year. Suffice to say, he wasn't quite as quick and speedy his Sophomore year and therefore he wasn't as effective.

Also this season coming up in the NFL, superstar Adrian Peterson is planning on adding 10 pounds of muscle. Again, he's a big back as is, but his breakaway speed and elusiveness or incredible. How though will that extra weight affect that? His coach said it best:

"Vikings head coach Brad Childress agreed with Nelson Peterson in nixing the notion that bigger translates to better.

"Just put a 10-pound sack of potatoes on your back and think of how that works for you," Childress said."

For a concrete example, and one who realized the mistake of bulking up, look at Pirates' SS Jack Wilson. Heading into 2006, he added 20 pounds of weight to bulk up and "add power". Well, to do that, he sacrificed his great range on defense and become less of a player. The next year, he slimmed back down and got that range and quickness in the field back. Said Wilson:

"I just got wide. I got wide in the shoulders, and my first step wasn't as quick as it used to be. Most of the reason why I'm here is for defensive reasons. That's my bread and butter, and that's what I've got to get back to, getting to balls that I'm used to getting to."

So back to Holmes. Sure, time will tell as to whether this works or not, but the precedent is there, and warning signs are all over, that this isn't a good move for a speedy athlete.

Big Week Coming Up

2009-06-28T11:45:00.003-04:00

This week coming up is a pretty major one when it comes to the immediate, short-term, and long-term future of two of Pittsburgh's sports teams.

1. Sure there's on the field action this week with the Pirates, and this week could be one of their most important of the season, so we'll start there.

We've won our 4 outta 6, at worst, against Cleveland and KC, that the rest of this homestand (Cubs and one Mets' game) is the most important stretch so far this season.

Win or lose today against Greinke, but we're still within striking distance of the .500 stepping stone, which is a good spot for us to be in at this juncture of the season based on early season predictions.

However, tank and lose 3 outta 4 to the Cubs/Mets, and we are just right back to the verge of having the season slip away.

2. Continuing with the Buccos, this is finally the week where we see how we stand with Sano, the prized prospect from the Dominican. July 2 is the start of the signing period for International Prospects.They've stated that they're not just gonna throw a truck of money at this kid, but they are going to offer him "value".

We've had a good season so far with our draft, trades, and beefing up our minors, as noted before, but signing this kid would be the icing on the cake and be a major coup for us.

In addition to the July 2 date, there's a chance that we may have offers and/or signings this week for two of our highly regarded pitching prospects that we just drafted.

3. As we remain in the glare coming off the Stanley Cup, this is a major week for the future of the Pens as the free agent signing period begins on July 1. This article here details it out.

I can't speculate too much, and who knows what to expect, but don't assume that all the players, especially Scuderi, will be with us next year.

Actually, speaking of Scuderi, I think the Pens are already planning on him not being here anymore after seeing their 1st round pick in the draft. Reading the descriptions of this kid, he sounds just like a younger Scuderi.

We shall see.

But pay attention as this week coming up will go a long way towards the rest of this baseball season, the upcoming and next couple hockey seasons, and the short and long term success of the Pirates.

Next MLB 300 Game Winner

2009-06-25T12:56:00.002-04:00

Recently, there was some discussion of a dying breed in MLB...the 300 game winner. When Randy Johnson won his 300th game there was discussion about the next possible pitcher to win 300 games. Many said it may never happen again. They claim the 300 game winner heading into extiction is due to... 5 man rotations, pitch counts, high salaries and erratic bull pens. Many focused on current pitchers that have won 100 games by the age of 28, giving them another 10-12 years to win the other 200 or so. A few that were mentioned were... CC Sabathia, Johan Santana, Mark Buehrle and a few others. I feel the most likely was omitted. Former Pirate, Tim Wakefield. A knuckleball pitcher can last longer than the "normal" type of hurler. Phil Niekro pitched until he was 48. It is conceivable that Tim could pitch until 48 or even 50. Tim will be 43 years old this August and stays in great shape. At this point in time ( June 25th ) Wakefield has 187 wins. If we give Wake only 5 more wins this year he ends 2009 with 192 wins. Needing 108 after that to reach the coveted 300, pitching through his 48th birthday, he would have 6 years left. He could reach 300 by averaging 18 wins per season. If he plays until he's 50 he could reach 300 by averaging 13.5 victories. Not impossible since he is with such a good team. What is more likely is that Tim would win 8 more games this year...bringing his career total to 195 at the end of this year. Thus he would only have to play until he was 49 years old ( his uniform number ) and average 15 wins per season. I'm sure if he were 5-10 victories short, he would try for the extra season at age 50. The next few years will be crucial. If Wake can average 17 wins in the next 4 years he would only be 37 short and only 46 years old. A worst case scenario is that Wakefield could wind up like Hoyt Wilhelm or Early Wynn hanging on to get #300. However, that would be a sure-fire ticket to the Hall of Fame. It would be very possible that by age 49 needing less than 10 victories would drive him to play long enough to reach the milestone.

doyle 37

Morning Dump 6/25

2009-06-25T10:20:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've done a morning dump here, almost as if I was backed up from eating a wheel of cheese.

But alas, at some point, all things break open, thus today's dump.

Also speaking of cheese, let's start out with a perfect compliment, some wine. And this is courtesy of present Pittsburgh whiner Ian Snell.

- Snell is on thin ice in the ML rotation, and he does have one minor league option remaining. Both are detailed in this article, as well as Snell's complaining about how "tough" it is to have had 3 different pitching coaches in the last few years etc. Meanwhile, all the rest of the staff has better numbers currently under Kerrigan, except Snell. Even in the article it states:

"Kerrigan recently helped Snell revert to many of his previous mechanics that made him successful in 2007."

Sorry Ian, your excuse falls flat.

GM Neal Huntington said it best in the article:

"He gets worried about things which are beyond his control."

In that end, Snell needs to either grow up and deal with it, or get sent down to deal with it. Smizik is on that bandwagon too.

- Just as frustrating about Snell is this article, where he says:

"It's a matter of keeping too much information out of my brain, thinking too much," Snell said. "We (have) a game plan and it's going through my head, like, 'I've got to throw this here and that there,' instead of just blocking it out and pitching the ball. I'm going to have to deal with it."

Well jeez Ian, if you haven't figured out how to effectively pitch and deal with the mental side of it by now, in your 4th year as a starter, you're not gonna get it.

- Speaking of the Pirates, they broke out the hurtin bats last night and pounded the Injuns. Adam LaRoche continued to up his trade value with a big night and Zack Duke continued his resurgence (under a new pitching coach, are you paying attention Snell?). The rubber match of the series is today.

- Now good Pirates' news, Mr. MuCutchen deserves some early chatter in the Rookie of the Year category.

- Again, the best Pirate news may be in the minors, as Lincoln dazzles in his AAA debut, and Alvarez homers in his second AA game.

- A quick note on the Pens, Game 7 was a ratings boom for NBC nationally, but especially here in the area. Right now, there's a nice afterglow on the Pens' season, a quiet calm before the storm of free agency.

- Finally, speaking of calm before the storm, I'm still relishing the Steeler off season. I do get burnt out by the end of the season and just need to step away. There's been some minor news here and there, but nothing too major. So I did though go to the Steelers' P-G site and was appalled by this. If anyone goes on there and prints out any of those to hang up or use, I will personally consider punching you in your face.

The Future's So Bright?

2009-06-22T09:23:00.004-04:00

That in fact, yes, I gotta wear shades.

Let's talk a little Bucco baseball. So the Pirates went to the shit tank over the weekend at Denver. Game 1, they couldn't hit a damn thing. So between Games 1 and 2, they took some extra BP, and did much better. It's just too bad that they're setup man grooved an 0-2 pitch down the middle that was driven for a game-tying 3 run homer in the 8th. Yesterday's Game 3 of the series was close, but the "ace of the staff" was spotted a 3-0 lead and couldn't do jack squat with it. "Pitiful" isn't a strong enough word.

So the ML team has lost 5 in a row to go to a season worst 31-38. They've been teetering on collapse all month, but finally may have hit it.

But fear not Bucco faithful and other Kool-Aid drinkers, the future looks great for our Pirates.

1. 2 words: Andrew McCutchen. Nuff said.

2. Former first rounder Brad Lincoln was promoted to AAA over the weekend.

3. Last years' first rounder Pedro Alvarez, after going on a home run tear in Lynchburg, was promoted to AA.

4. This year's first rounder Tony Sanchez is playing already.

5. The Pirates signed their second round pick from this year, Brooks Pounders. No word yet on how much they had to pay Vivid Video for the royalties to get his name back.

So all in all, as an organization, things are on the up and up. It's gonna be a fun couple years watching these guys come through the system. Sure, the ML club will still suck hind tit, but only for the time being.

Smizik had a good blog post today, wondering who's next on the trade block. As much as I like the players, I root for the name on the jersey. All of these guys are tradable, should the return be right. We've gotten a lot of better players in our minors now, and soon enough, talent will percolate to the top.

So hang on ye Pirate faithful. Calmer seas lay ahead.

Introducing The Mad Griffin

2009-06-20T02:49:00.002-04:00

Drum roll, please...no, seriously. Far from an old hand at this sort of thing. I'm just a long-time Pirate fan who likes to think he may know a thing or two about Bucco baseball. You may disagree and that's okay, too. I chose the moniker "The Mad Griffin" because things make me mad, just not necessarily what you might think. See, it's too easy to get mad about the obvious things like the Pirates losing. That's a beaten and bludgeoned topic if there ever was one. No, I get mad over the more minute details, like whether or not the Nate McLouth trade was a good trade. In short, YES I believe it WAS a good trade. What makes me mad about it is those who complain that Nate was traded because he was POPULAR. Look, good baseball decisions aren't always POPULAR decisions. This wasn't the ARam deal (now that TRADE made me MAD). Look, to hold Neal Huntington and Frank Coonley accountable for the previous 15 years prior to their arrival is utter nonsense. Finally, it appears we have a management team that has an actual plan - a good plan. And, please, do not buy into any team's PR jargon about "core" players, like the Pirates did when they signed Nate to his contract extension and proclaimed him part of their "core". It was PR - plain and simple. Lets face it - a team such as the Pirates will make ANY player available for the right return, "core" player or not. If some team offers Huntington the moon for Paul Maholm, you can bet the farm Maholm is an ex-Pirate. That's the way it SHOULD be. Fans buying Pirates jerseys and getting their favorite player name and number stitched on the back should remember that they're likely wearing a relic quicker than they think. Small-market players are transient. That's the reality of 21-st century MLB. So, please, don't get upset you just dropped a nice chunk of change on that #13 McLouth jersey. Stick with the retired players. At least you know THEY'RE not getting traded.

See Craig Monroe was designated for assignment after tonight's Bucs-Rox game. Steve Pearce has been recalled from AAA Indianapolis. Whether Pearce will be a solid contributor is open for discussion, but Monroe needed to GOOOO! What makes me mad about the situation isn't the fact Monroe was designated or that the Bucs signed him in the first place. It was that the guy was worthless as a pinch-hitter, slow as molasses, and then couldn't believe he was actually sent packing and wasn't given opportunities. What??? Here's an idea, Craig. If you had actually PRODUCED when called upon, you might still have a roster spot. Maybe it's just me. Silly me.

No Fat People Allowed

2009-06-18T17:02:00.003-04:00

Sound like the best place ever?

Yup, of course it does.

Alas, it's only Steelers' Training Camp that we're talking about.

Coach Tomlin today called out Casey Hampton, and basically told him not to come to camp as an out of shape lardass.

No word on whether Hampton will ingest castor oil before team dinner to start a big 'Barf-o-Rama', a la one young Davey Hogan, to get revenge on Tomlin and the team.

Defensive Minded

2009-06-18T09:05:00.004-04:00

Never too early to think Penn State football, well for me anyway and I'm all that matters right now.

Since the Vegas Jesus and his West Coastedness took dibs on the Pirates' game yesterday, which makes me quite sad as I was all set to use this to talk about the LaRoche brothers going yard, I'm gonna comment on an interview I read yesterday with Tom Bradley.

Wormser on ESPN had a good 2 part interview with him. Part 1 is here. Part 2 can be found here.

It basically boils down to the fact that the D was great last year. They were ranked 8th Nationally in scoring defense, total defense, and rushing defense. There are some major holes to fill though, starting on the defensive line with Maybin and Evans. After that, they lost a "lot" in the secondary. They lost all of their starters. They have guys coming back that played, but didn't start. Bradley says that Spring Practice was a litle rough as some players had to find their footing.

Now I put "lot" in quotes because, in my uncontestable opinion, the only thing they really lost was experience, not talent. None of those guys got drafted, they signed FA contracts. I always thought that they were starting mainly due to seniority and experience, not talent. I cursed the name of Anthony Scirrotto (and seriously, what is a senior class safety, #7 in the clip, playing a 2-deep zone, doing on this play from 2:44-3:06?) more times than I can count.

As an aside, that still pains me to watch anything from that game.

That being said, I'm most confident that they just reload on the line. They've had a knack for doing that recently and credit goes to Coach Larry Johnson there. The secondary will be the big defensive question mark. Sure they may have a little more talent, but that experience is a valuable thing. In the end, the secondary may be better than last year, but we have to wait and see.

Penn State should be able to get these guys that valuable experience in the non-conference games, which are weak.

-----Rant----

And people should stop bitching about Penn State's weak non-conference schedule. Nearly all top team do that. They play a bunch of cupcakes and one decent/good team. There's no official pre-season, so the weak non-conference games are essentially that. We can disagree with who they play as the 'good team', but recall a few years back how they caught flack for scheduling Bama? How's that game looking now for 2010 and 2011?

Suck it.

---Rant Off---

Oh, and the linebackers? I'm not concerned at all as long as they stay healthy. They should have one of the best groups in the nation.

All told, it should be a very good D again this year.

Lumber Company

2009-06-18T01:19:00.005-04:00

The Bucs practically doubled their home run output for the season in Minneapolis last night. Three of them, that's right I said three. The brothers LaRoche had one each and Andrew McCutchen showed he's not just all speed and long luxurious hair. I noticed a little pop in his bat in a game last week, in Atlanta unfortunately the ball hooked just a bit foul, if it had stayed straight it could have been an upper decker... no not that kind. But the power is there, and we'll see a few more from very soon. Anyway, those dirty dongs accounted for five of the Pirates eight runs in the game. Rubber match is tomorrow, I probably won't watch because I don't like anything that has to do with the word rubber. Sorry if I offended anyone by working a little blue tonight. But it's not like anyone reads this thing. It's kind of like Joe Buck Live. Maybe I can Artie Lange it up a bit.

The Secret of My Success

2009-06-16T16:41:00.003-04:00

Well, not mine mind you, but perhaps the Pirates' pitching staff's for this year and beyond.

Although not as wonderful as the movie of the same name, I stumbled upon this article today that was exceptionally good.

In today's Trib, there was an in-depth article about how the Pirates are forcing pitchers to develop a changeup.

I couldn't agree more with the article. The changeup is a tremendous pitch to have. I used to love watching Pedro Martinez, back in the late 90's/early 2000's, making hitters look like complete jokes swinging at his change.

The entire article is fabulous, please read it, but here are some excerpts:

"Stark (farm director - edit) has implemented pitch-usage goals for each level of the minors. Pitchers must throw a specific number of changes in each outing, and each pitcher's plan is reviewed in three-outing increments.

If a pitcher is relying on another pitch at the expense of the changeup, he will not be allowed to throw that pitch for an inning or two in an outing."

Brilliant!!

"The Pirates also use a carrot-and-stick approach. Pitchers who do not throw enough changeups will be intentionally held back from promotions to the next level."

Brilliant again!!

"The Pirates have three basic rules for every pitcher in their system, from teenagers at the Dominican academy to the veterans in the majors.

Command the four-seam fastball. Pitch aggressively in the strike zone to contact. Master the changeup."

Beautiful!!

Ya gotta love what's gong on right now with the Pirates in their entire organization and the changes made since Neil Huntington took over, not just in personnel, but in mindset and the overall plan.

Excuse me now, as I go back to drinking my Pirates' Kool-Aid.

Party Time

2009-06-15T15:28:00.003-04:00

Well, apparently it was quite a party downtown today for the Stanley Cup Champion Pens. Of course some of us have to work, so all we can do is read about it.

I don't think that we've seen a "party time" moment such as this since these two, the real megapowers, came together.

Although the biggest news of the day, according to Empty Netters, is that KDKA's Sonni Abatta, (a former co-worker/stalker victim of the Vegas Jesus) stepped in horse shit.

Enjoy it Pens, have a whole Summer of partying down.

The Dust Settles

2009-06-14T20:40:00.005-04:00

Now that the Stanley Cup finals are in the books and Steelers training camp is still more than a month away the Pirates are the only Pittsburgh sports team to pay attention to. And hey look at that, things aren't too bad. Right now they sit four games out of first place, and three games away from the blessed .500 mark. While everyone is still moaning about the McLouth trade, the Pirates have swept the Mets, lost a series to Houston, split a series with the Braves and took two out of three from Detroit. Next up, a trip to the Minnesota to play a three-game series with the Twins. The Twins are second in the AL Central but are two game below .500. Follow that up with a trip to play the red-hot Rockies. They won their 11th in a row today, but it was against Seattle so that may get an asterisk. My point is, things aren't so bad despite what you might read in the PG's special sports mailbag. Here's my favorite.

"My 9-year-old son plays baseball and just recently began following the Pirates. He loves them and gets up an hour early every day to watch SportsCenter to see what has happened with the Pirates. This morning, he asked me, "Mom, why would the Pirates trade Nate McLouth?" I could not answer. Mr. Nutting, could you please answer my son?"

Well, ma'am. I'll explain it for him. Anytime you can get three players for a guy who hits .250 you do it. Even though the cranky guy on the radio says the three guys stink. Because you never know. Besides baseball players are here one day and gone the next. I'll hook you up with a 9-year-old Rangers fan who loved Mark Texiera. He was traded to the Braves, then to the Angels, then cashed in big with the Yanks. It happens. This isn't 1958, guys get traded and sign with new teams all the time. Sometimes you think the deal stinks. If you don't like it, direct your anger towards a dead guy named Curt Flood. And son, you should be commended for sitting through SportsCenter to see 20 seconds of Pirates highlights after the "Who's More Now" segment.

Champs

2009-06-12T23:33:00.001-04:00

Like the Jesus said in the prior post, Champs.

Nothing else need be said.

Congrats Pens.

Pittsburgh Beats Detroit!

2009-06-12T22:46:00.002-04:00

Well, that was exciting. When they're still playing after the horn goes off I guess it was a good game. Hossa looks like an ass, and so do I. Behave yourself out there tonight kids.

Pittsburgh Loses to Detroit!

2009-06-12T21:58:00.003-04:00

I'm have to admit, I am amazed that there are about 18,000 people just like me that would have chosen Pirates - Tigers over Red Wings - Penguins Game 7.

Clean Up This Mess!

2009-06-12T19:20:00.004-04:00

Just a few house cleaning issues before tonight's big game, as I scan through the P-G's breaking news box. Pirates sign number one pick Sanchez. That was easy. Just the way they wanted it. Now they have to try and get those high school kids. Steelers also signed some picks, including my pick for soon to be fan favorite, Frank "The Tank" Summers. And finally, Ben Roethlisberger played golf and it was breathtaking.

One last thing. I think, now I say think because it was about 4:00 AM, I heard on Sportcenter that the last team to win a Game 7 on the road in any sport was drumroll please... The 1979 Pirates.

Game 7

2009-06-12T15:48:00.002-04:00

Well, there's not much more to say.

Inspirational speeches aren't necessary.

Hardcore motivational speeches won't be needed.

If a player in this game tonight needs something like that, then they shouldn't be lacing up their skates.

There's hokey numbers and stats, like this is the 87th game of the playoffs, the last team to win a road Game 7 in sports was the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979, etc, but none of that matters.

At this point, there's only one thing left to do, 0:21-0:31.

Go into battle and "Give em Hell".

The Pirates' Draft

2009-06-12T08:03:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's A-Rod, no, it's not Pirate-related, but it is draft-related. That's when he got the call on draft day in 1993. Rockin' the jean shirt and tie...nuff said.

Game 7 deserves its own post later on and yesterday's thrilling Pirates' win was taken care of by a West Coaster with a little to do as I, so I wanted to finally delve into some opinions on the Pirates' draft.

My kneejerk reaction to the Round 1 pick on Tuesday was that it was a Littlefield reincarnation of "signability". Reading opinions over the last few days and hearing arguments from both sides, I have come to a couple opinions of my own.

In addition to Sanchez, they spent the next couple days taking a ton of high school arms. This is a great strategy for a team that's rebuilding their broken system. Herein also lies where my initial thought about "penny pinching Pirates again" gets kinda blown up and I've changed my mind some.

Last year, the Pirates spent the second most money in all of MLB on the draft, helped out of course by Alvarez's contract.

Taking all of those high school arms usually commands more signing bonus money because a team has to overspend a tad to get those kids to not go to big time colleges, where the thinking is that we get them earlier in their careers and in later rounds before they become dominant college pitchers with a track record that would then go in the first round(s) in a few years and command more money. Also, getting a pitcher out of high school, before college, makes it better for a MLB team to groom the player and keep them healthy. College coaches can ruin arms tremendously through bad mechanics and especially by overusing them.

Anyway, with all of those bigger bonuses that we will have to pay out to sign these kids, we very well could end up very high (top 5 I'd say for sure) on the list again of money spent in the draft, which is exactly where the Pirates need to be since we don't spend on the ML roster.

Now for some "expert" opinions.

First is Jim Callis from 'Baseball America'. He had this to say in an ESPN chat the other day:

"The Pirates said before the draft that if they took a below-slot guy (Tony Sanchez) at No. 4, they'd put the money into later picks. Looks like they'll do that, as they've taken several talented guys today who could be costly: Texas HS lefties Zack Dodson and Colton Cain, Louisiana HS righty Zack Von Rosenberg (a personal favorite) and Arizona prep righty Trent Stevenson."

Next is Keith Law, who is ESPN's 'Mel Kiper of the MLB Draft':

"Pittsburgh's selection of Tony Sanchez at No. 4 overall on Tuesday was the most controversial pick of the day, but the Pirates did do one thing they promised, taking some tough-sign high school pitchers on Wednesday. Their philosophy is that high school arms are so volatile that paying premium prices in the first round is a poor strategy, and that the value of that first pick (when you might get a premium bat or college arm) is too high to surrender, so try to stockpile young arms in later rounds. Whether Sanchez was the best pick for slot is another question -- I don't think he was -- but the idea of adding young arms who fell due to signability reasons is a sound one, and they added four good ones, two from my top 100 in Jordan Cooper and Zach Von Rosenburg and two who would have ranked in the next 50 or so players in Colton Cain and Trent Stevenson. Stevenson and Cooper both looked like top-two-round picks last summer, but neither had a good spring, with Stephenson losing a little velocity and Cooper pitching very inconsistently until late in the season. If the Pirates sign three of those four kids, it's a great draft, and if they sign two, it's still a good one."

Next is a take on the draft as a whole that made a lot of sense, and this is from a message board poster on the 'Buccos Forum':

"Occasionally there is a "can't miss" player, but that phenomenom is somewhat rare. Just review the history to see how many players drafted in the first two rounds over the past ten years have actually had much impact at the ML level....

HAVING SAID THAT, there is an mportant caveat when it comes to the Pirates: they have passed on "can't miss" players like BJ Upton (for Bryan Bullington!!) and Matt Weiters (for Danny Moskos). They also passed on Tim Lincecum by taking Brad Lincoln, but that's not a done deal

Ok, here's the main point: the most important thing about the draft is to get a good mix of players throughout every round. THIS IS NOT THE NFL. These guys are mostly a few years away from the big leagues. Player development is just as important as scouting and drafting!!!"

- buccoman

Another from the Forum:

"1. There can be NO question that signability played a major factor in this pick. The Pirates obviously wanted to avoid the bullshit Pedro put them through last year. This kid will sign probably by the end of the week and be behind the plate in WV by the end of the month. The advantage of signing early and playing immediately can't be overstated enough for a young developing player.

2. I think Sanchez was the 3rd rated player on their board all things considered especially when signability played a major part of the equation. Talent wise though I think it’s just GM speak or just plain bullshit to say Sanchez was the 3 best talent in this years draft.

3. Let me say this on Sanchez's behalf. Sanchez has the look of a player on the come
he is a good player maybe a better than good player and without question the best catcher in the draft. What I really like about him is his work ethic and his character, those two tracts can not be minimized especially for a catcher. He is already a very good catch and throw guy which is a catchers bread and butter. I also think people are underestimating his bat. Look at his numbers this year they match up very favorably to Matt Wieters numbers his JR year. Why Wieters was rated a better prospect was that he hit all 3 years at GT, Sanchez just started to come around this year. Also Wieters was a year older than Sanchez when he was drafted.

4. The Pirates have no catching prospects in their system. The best of the lot is Steve Lerud a supposed offensive catcher who does hit much and as still an average defensively. Next is Kris Watts who is better offensively than Lerud but is worst behind the plate. Then there is Andrew Walker who has some pedigree as a major college catcher but has failed miserably so far and is back in EST. So Sanchez definitely fills an organizational need.

5. If the Pirates do follow through on their draft strategy and spend 9 or 10 mil as they said they would I can’t see how anyone can label them cheap."

-PittFaninVa

One last take from the Forum:

"The Pirates spent the 2nd most in the draft of all of Baseball last year. the Pirates also don't have the lowest payroll of all of Baseball either. Now, Washington should eclipse what the Pirates spend in the draft this year on Stephen Strasburg alone but the Pirates will and should likely end up being one of the top spenders in the draft again. This was CLEARLY something that they weren't during the Littlefield and Mcclatchy years. They skimped on the first round pick and didn't spend much on the rest of the draft. The Pirates are planning on spending a lot of money in this draft, I believe this.

Here is where I differ personally from DK and media guys etc... They view Sanchez as nothing more than saving money, I view this as basically analyzing the draft and placing a value tag on players to what the Pirates believe they are worth,. Last eyar the Pirates believed Pedro Alvarez's value was worth more than slot and worth what they paid and were willing to pay him big money. Going into this draft, the rumblings from the FO made it clear that they didn't view any player that they would likely draft this year to be worth value wise paying over slot for (I agree with that. you don't overpay for players whose value doesn't command it). So they passed on some arms that were likely to demand over slot money and weren't worth it. I'm all for that. Instead they drafted a bat that they really liked who will happen to sign for at best slot and in the end will have a good chunk of change to spend later on in the draft.

Because of this, the Pirates were able to draft all of the highschool players that they did because those players generally require overpayment to entice them to skip out on college and their college commitments to go Pro. there's an upside to drafting Highschool players because those very players could goto college and 2-4 years down the road eventually become First or Second round picks and demand big money. we just overpaid a little for them but still are spending much less than what they could be down the road and if there was any luck in the world we could end up with say a couple future first round picks down the road because we drafted them now.

Some say, well, our payroll is low so we should use that extra money in the draft. That's not how it works and there's no other teams in Baseball who do that. If this is how it were done, the Marlins or whatever other small market team is out there would be spending $10-$50 million more in the draft than other teams. It's never happened. There's a set budget for the draft before the season starts, I don't know how it is determined. there's a set budget for International signings, for the MLB payroll for other things. I don't know where extra money goes, but it's not like the Pirates are the only team with a specific payroll and a specific limit on the draft and a question mark around where the extra money is. More than half of the MLB teams are like this"

- Kipper

So, there are of course the folks saying that it's the same old Pirates not spending etc etc, and that's cool, but really if you step back and look at the draft as a whole, and of course, we do have to sign these players to make this point stick, we are spending more than nearly all teams when it comes to the draft. Also, our system is completely devoid of any young catching talent, so this pick (Sanchez) did have a lot of baseball sense to it as well.

Suppose, hypothetically, that we sign Sano too, then things are turning around for sure and the 'money issue' can be put to rest for a bit. Hell, even without Sano, I'd say we're on the right track to a winner in the near future.

Now excuse me while I finish this Kool-Aid.

Lukewarm Bucs & Hot Makeout Sessions

2009-06-11T18:28:00.004-04:00

Things have been hectic lately so I haven't had a lot of time to post and I'll keep this short. Pirates split the series with the Braves. Andy LaRoche had a two-RBI single in the top of the 9th to win today (or this morning if you were watching it on the west coast like I was). I think the less said about the draft the better. It makes it real hard to defend the team when they make a number one pick like that. The consensus seemed to be that they should take a shortstop from USC, who ended up going to the A's. But the Pirates seem to be putting all their eggs in the Sano basket. After that number one pick the Bucs took a ton of pitchers which is good I guess. I don't know, we'll see.

Finally, anyone who knows me, knows that I don't like hockey. But between the term, "through the five hole" and this picture of Evengi Malkin that Deadspin scored, I might be coming around.

Game 7 Tomorrow

2009-06-11T17:42:00.003-04:00

This just in though, Bill Guerin = awesome.

Morning Dump, Pens Edition

2009-06-10T08:50:00.003-04:00

"I'll meet you in the schoolyard... for all the marbles on Friday night in Detroit!" - Mike Lange after Game 6

The Pirates lost again yesterday, but the big Pirates news yesterday was the draft. I was at the hockey game last night, so I didn't delve into it too much, perhaps another author here can write more, but my initial thought is that we may have went back to Dave Littlefield-esque drafts...

The Steelers got their rings yesterday, and goddamn that's a gaudy ring. I may not be able to lift my arm while wearing that.

On to the Pens though, and whoa boy what a game.

First, the links.

- Laziness and no coffee yet today make for simply a link to Seth at the P-G and his link dump for the majority of today's fodder.

Quickly, one link that stuck out to me was this one quoting Zetterberg:

"You can't ask for anything better than Game 7 at home." - Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg.

Really?

How about a sweep, or a win in 5 or 6?

The way it was made to sound this series, we shoulda been done after the first 2 games, and then easily we were supposed to roll over in Game 6 last night after that horrible Game 5.

Henrik is talking out his wazoo there. That there's scare talk. He's stunned they lost. Be afraid...

- Speaking again of Seth at the P-G, he does a great recap.

And now for my recap, which will consist of random junk.

Leaving work, we head down and there's really not much backed up traffic, a rarity for 6:30ish in Pittsburgh. After parking Uptown, we made our way to our favorite dive bar, Shale's Cafe on 5th. Who knew it was a person? A few Miller Lites and a great grilled hot dog later, we're heading to the arena. We see one minor celebrity, well, I recognize him because I'm a sports junkie, but we see Coach Izzo. A couple people here and there walk up to take his pic. Walking by, I simply tell him to "take it easy on my Lions this year". He chuckles and tells me that "they need to do the same to him". Good joking around kinda guy.

Like others have said in their recaps and listening to the morning radio shows, there were more Wings' fans there than I thought there'd be. Although, I guess when you're jobless, you have free time to do these kinds of things. I suggest they try this though.

So we go in, get our towels and shirts, sit down. Lo and behold, in the 2 seats next to us, 10 minutes or so after we're there, 2 Red Wings' fans sit down. Now this isn't our first trip to this rodeo, we had Ravens fans that sat next to us at the AFC Championship in January, but this just made me miserable.

I consulted my friend Muss who said I should fight them, but this is coming from a guy who's been in stadium fights in at least 4 different states. I decided to pass for now. They were 20-somethings who had dyed their hair red for the game. Carson Kressley would've been proud.

Pregame, intros, game start. Place is the loudest I've heard it. Guy behind me has some awesome chants. His throat will feel like it has razorblades in it after the game.

We score, finally, after dominating the game, in the second. Place goes nuts. Guys next to me stay seated like they just saw a trainwreck.

Guy behind me still screaming his ass off. We score in the 3rd to go up by two. Beer was dumped on the guys next to me. Classless? Sure. Funny? You betcha. Just as I tell them that "if they leave now, they'll be home in time to get in the unemployment line" (lots of mileage from that joke), they score. Vomit.

So now things are tight, my wife dug holes in my arm at one point. I'm not very manly so it kinda hurt. A penalty, shit. Killed it. Another penalty, I'm gonna die. Killed it. The Wings are coming in waves. The only other thing to see waves like this is the Superdome.

A breakaway chance, Fleury stones it. A scrum in front of the net, I puke on myself like Stan. The Wings' fans are trying to say it's a goal and/or (they couldn't make up their mind) there should be a penalty shot. Sure guys.

No goal, we kill the last seconds and it's game over. Like a thief in the night, the Wings' fans next to us leave.

We wait for the three stars, then leave. Lots of horn honking and random awkward hi-fives walking to the car.

The night was topped off by Sheetz breakfast burritos.

A couple days off, Game 7 on Friday.

Up All Night, Sleep All Day

2009-06-09T01:22:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I quoted Slaughter, what about it? Pirates lost to the Braves tonight in what was sure to be hyped, if anyone cared to hype it, as McLouth against the guys who miss him so much they probably just stared at him longingly across the field... sniff. Zack Duke missed him so much he let Natey Boy hit a home run off of him. McLouth's stats in his first game against the Bucs 4-for-7, 2 runs, 1 RBI that came from that home run. His replacement did alright. McCutchen went 3-for-7, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 double, and 2 triples. Not too shabby. I guess he's not all hype after all. Anyways it all ended after 15 innings, more than four hours, and way too many pitchers. A close call at the plate that if you ask me the Umpire called the right way was the final nail in the coffin. Looked to me like Jaramillo pulled the foot. Tough loss, but if this one had gone on any longer I think it could have cost the Pirates more resources and another loss tomorrow. We'll see.

Pens = Jazz or Pens = Bulls?

2009-06-08T08:45:00.002-04:00

I'm skipping the usual 'Morning Dump' today. There was no hockey game yesterday, and there's none today, so a much needed break and breather is appreciated. Besides, I can't give much a game recap of a game that I stopped watching in the second period. Also yesterday, the Pirates lost, Snell was mediocre to suck, water's wet, and the sky is blue. Basically, nothing of note happened.

I did however want to delve into a column that I saw linked on Seth's P-G blog yesterday. Someone in Denver, and this was so dumb you'd have sworn that Woody Paige wrote it, said the Pens are the Jazz of the NHL.

The analogy he was trying to make is obvious, that the Pens have great players, but they're losers and will always be losers that don't win championships. Ok, fair enough, so far they haven't won any championships.

Look deeper though and you see how this analogy is ridiculous.

The main conflicting point is that the Jazz (and the Suns in his analogy) were teams of veterans when they made it to the NBA Finals back in the day. KJ, Chambers, Barkley, Stockton, Malone, etc were all older league vets that those teams were built around. The Pens are still built around players between the ages of 20-24. If they fail to win with this group and they're all in their 30's, then I'll buy that argument the writer's trying to make.

Also, the Jazz and Suns had the great misfortune, or bad luck, of being good when one Michael Jordan was playing.

Which leads me to making an analogy of my own. I think that these Pens are more like Jordan's Bulls before they won a championship than the Jazz/Suns.

Anyone who is old enough to remember the late 80's (I'm 31 so screw you all) will recall that the same thing the writer of the article is saying about the Pens ("losers", "great players that will never win", etc) was being said about Jordan back then because the Bulls couldn't get past another Detroit team, the Pistons.

The similarities are numerous.

The Bulls were led at the time by Jordan. He was a young dynamic scorer, face of the league, league MVP, most popular player, and the player most opponents feared as an individual. Crosby/Malkin are Jordanesque, the best in the league, MVP's, but not quite champions yet. Substitute Crosby/Malkin for Jordan.

The Pistons were a complete team. They were battle-tested and knew how to win. They had the air of "been there, done that" about them and nothing would rattle them. They also knew how to shut down Jordan. They are a team of veteran champions who know how to get it done and beat the young team. Substitute the Wings for the Pistons.

As we recall, and from the link for you young pups, you can see that the Bulls got beat badly by the Pistons the first time they played in a playoff series. The next year, they played better, but still lost. The following year, they met them again, and lost once more. All told, they lost three times to the Pistons. Each year got more heated and competitive, just like we're seeing now with the Pens and Wings.

All those losses by Jordan and the Bulls led to two camps. One was that Jordan would never be a winner, just a great player and scorer. Another was that he was still going through growing pains. Which is exactly the camps the Pens/Crosby/Malkin have themselves in now.

Finally though, the Bulls broke through against that same Pistons team on the fourth try in the playoffs. They used all of that learned experience from the previous three losses, beat their nemesis, and went on to win the first of their 6 championships.

Now the current series isn't of course over, but since that article was written and was so ridiculous, it can be discussed. The Pens can change the conversation forever this week with back-to-back wins.

Oh the Humanity!

2009-06-08T01:00:00.003-04:00

Just when things were settling down a little bit. Less than a week after the trade that shook the world, the Pirates head to Atlanta for a four-game series. I have nothing left to say. But, I'm sure plenty of others do.

In Recovery...

2009-06-07T21:29:00.007-04:00

The tag line on the poster sums it all up. I was in California's Napa Valley touring some wineries yesterday. And anyone who tells you that stuff is for sissies has never done it. I think I spent 30 dollars all day, and was messed up. Almost like being at Jack's on the South Side, except you're surrounded by pretentious assholes instead of just drunk assholes. But anyway I think I remember reading on my phone that the Penguins lost 5-0 and the Pirates won by a score of I don't remember to I don't care. I'm sure Utah will have more concise analysis on the Pens game tomorrow. And I'll write up something on my trip to McAfee Coliseum to see the A's take on the Orioles. Matt Wieters was what I went to see, but had the treat of watching former Buccos Rajai Davis and Ty Wiggington. A short preview, Wiggington still stinks.

Apparently Dejan Kovacevic is feeling some side effects as well. I hate to point out a mistake by a guy who's always so solid. But this is a funny mistake so that makes it okay. This is from what I'm sure was a rapidly written game recap from Sunday before Dejan had to catch a flight out of Houston.

"Houston lost its starter, Ronny Paulino, after 1 2/3 when he slipped on the mound and strained his right groin. That brought Russ Ortiz in emergency duty, and he would pitch 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief."

That's actually Felipe Paulino. It was probably the groin injury that reminded Dejan of Ronny. If Ronny Paulino was a pitcher would probably have to be a closer, or a late-inning specialist because he'd quit after one inning.

Act Like Professionals and Get Over It

2009-06-05T16:47:00.002-04:00

This was quite ridiculous to read.

To see professional ballplayers be this outspoken to the press about the trade and to go as far as to light a candle etc remembering their now former teammate is appalling.

Man up guys, jeez. LaRoche, enough of the war analogies and quit being a damn baby.

If I was the manager, I'd stomp this down right away and tell the guys to shut up and play ball.

Again, who's to say we're worse off without Nate? He was our #3 hole hitter, therefore he should be the best hitter, and did you see his BA, OPS, and Slugging %? Pitiful.

How about just play and we'll see how good we are.

I'm Off to Punish Myself

2009-06-05T13:39:00.003-04:00

Tonight I'll be in Oakland to watch The Orioles take on the A's. I know that headed to that town to watch two last place teams go at it seems like punishment enough, there's an added bonus. I get to watch Matt Wieters, the guy the Pirates passed on two years ago. I might just break down crying in the middle of McAfee Coliseum. At least if it were a Raiders game someone might stab me and put me out of my misery.

Also, what the hell? I think the PG editorial board is pandering to the complainers, but whatever.

Morning Dump 6/5

2009-06-05T09:22:00.004-04:00

Well, it was a great day yesterday again for Pittsburgh sports.

- I'll again cheat and link to Seth at the P-G's general collection of links for the hockey game.

There are a couple of note though to delve into.

- One that stands out is Cook writing that the Wings really need Datsyuk back to win the Cup. Sure, he's a finalist for the MVP, but he's missed 7 games now. How rusty is he gonna be? What shape is he gonna be in? Does a 75% Datsyuk help or hinder? It's a big subplot going forward.

- We can't mention the game without 3 major items:

1. Staal's short-handed goal not only turned the game around, but also may have turned around the series for the Pens. It was great karma since just before that, Malkin had a mini breakaway and was hooked without a call.

2. Crosby was only gonna be held off the goal sheet for so long, but sheesh what a pass he fed to Kennedy.

3. Malkin, Malkin, Malkin. What more can you say?

- There's also lots of talk about Detroit's infighting between themselves and looking tired (which is a major subplot as well at this point). Orpik mentioned it in his postgame interview, and the tiredness is mentioned by the Canadian Press here, ESPN here, and lastly Yahoo sums it up nicely here.

"All that chasing and nudging left Zetterberg bent over at the end of Game 4, the coming off-day needed more than ever."

-Lastly, what's a Pens' game recap without the Pensblog's insight. Well done. Any blog that mentions Hacksaw Jim Duggan as much as they do if just fine by me.

- Lange's calls, classic.

- Vegas Jesus recapped the Pirates' game already from yesterday, I thought it was interesting to see Smizik flip flop already on the trade.

- One more trade take from the Beaver County times. "Knee-jerk reaction" is a good way to describe most of the Pirates fans.

The Outrage That I don't Understand Continues

2009-06-05T01:01:00.009-04:00

So fans are really mad about this McClouth trade. The P-G interviewed fans about it before the game. I've said what I have to say about it. But I really would have to like to have read some fan interviews from after the game. I mean as long as fans are going to be so fickle let's at least capture the transition over the course of a few hours. Anyone still mad about the trade after McCutchen put on his show is either a moron, or someone who just likes to complain. I think the morons were outnumbered.

This was my favorite part of the P-G's fan reaction article.

"I've been a Pirates fan long enough to see it every year," Jeff Bennett, who walked up to the game with his son and purchased tickets, said yesterday about the seemingly annual trades of promising players. "Who's next?"

OK buddy, so you're outraged... but you're still buying tickets. Way to send a message to management about what a terrible job you think they're doing.

I say if you're mad don't spend the money. So that means don't buy a McCutchen jersey. You'll have to tape over the V-O-G-E-L-S-O-N-G on the #22 jersey you bought in 2005.

And here's something else for the complainers to chew on.

One more thing worth pointing out. It looks like the Pirates Single A squad the Lynchburg Hillcats are holding a "Trades that Infuriated Pirates Fans Bobblehead Series This Summer." On July 17th it's Aramis Ramirez night, followed by Nate McClouth on August 15th.

Nate Who?

2009-06-04T16:34:00.003-04:00

Andrew McCutchen had a better major league debut than Matt Weiters did with the Orioles. His line for the day 2 for 4 with three runs, a walk, an RBI and a stolen base.

More Trade Takes...

2009-06-04T13:48:00.003-04:00

I agree with everything VJ said, I couldn't say it much better myself.

A couple other takes.

First, and I may have to cleanse my soul for saying this, but I agree with Olbermann here.

Face it, McLouth had a good April and May last year, that inflated his numbers for the entire year. He's 27 (peak) and hitting only .250ish this year. I was always under the impression that he was a one-hit wonder last year. He's a career .261 hitter for crying out loud and most Pirate fans (and Smizik's dumbass) are acting like we traded away Clemente.

Keith Law, who scouts players for a living said this today:

"Like it a lot for Pittsburgh - Morton could go right in their rotation, Gorkys is a ++ defender with a chance to hit (he hasn't been good this year but he's also 21 in AA), Locke is a high-upside LHP with three pitches who has shown good feel and command in the past. That's a lot of talent - and difficult-to-get talent, since players up the middle and LHP are hard to acquire in trade or free agency - for a guy who is, what, an average outfielder? Fringe-average? Since 6/1/08 McLouth has hit .256/.327/.447 if you exclude his 7 IBB, and he's not good in CF. "

Law was on ESPN 1250 this morning and his exact words to describe the trade was that it was a "heist" for the Pirates.

Law also went on to say that in the offseason, these players that we got plus a SS were on the table from the Braves for a trade for Peavy, but the Braves eventually thought twice and withdrew the offer because they thought they'd be giving up too much, and we got that for McLouth? Sign me up any day for that.

Pirate fans, ask yourself this, stop for a moment and evaluate where our entire organization is as a whole right now, compared to 2 years ago when Littlefield was still here. Now think if we have a good draft and are able to get that Sano kid from the Dominican (or even if we don't, but hey), so compare July 2009 with July 2007.

If you can honestly tell me that we're not better off, then I'd like to hear your argument.

Barry Bonds isn't Walking Through That Door, Bobby Bonilla isn't Walking Through That Door

2009-06-04T01:10:00.005-04:00

A lot of Pirates fans seem to be upset at the McClouth trade and I don't get it. I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but with all trades I'm taking the wait and see approach. The sky is not falling, it fell back in 1992. Right now the Pirates need to do anything they can to get something going. Bob Smizik says the Pirates gave up on their present. What present? The present that has the team a few games out of the basement... again. Yes, they're only four games below the sacred .500 mark right now, but for how long? Another nice road skid takes care of that. And I don't know about anyone else but the sacred .500 mark shouldn't be so sacred. How about a nice .600 mark or .700? It's time to stop aiming to be mediocre at best. The Pirates weren't a good team before this trade, they're not a good team after it. But they could be better down the road. And you have to take that chance. Pirates management is in a damned if they do, damned if they don't state. If they do nothing everyone criticizes them, if they make a big trade like this everyone criticizes them. So, I think everyone needs to stop complaining about the team trading the "best" player. Andy LaRoche has a better average after that 0-for-20 start. Instead fans need to get excited about the arrival of Andrew McCutchen. He should provide for a nice little boost in attendance once this NHL finals thing wraps up. It's what fans have been wanting for awhile now. Enjoy it.

Pirates Rocking the Boat

2009-06-03T19:25:00.004-04:00

Dejan has the scoop. McClouth traded to the Braves for two pitchers. McCutchen is coming up. Keep checking Dejan's blog for details. But the Braves are making more than this one move. The Atlanta Journal Constitution says they've cut Glavine after 50 years on the team minus a small stint on the Mets.

Grumpy Old Men

2009-06-03T15:31:00.002-04:00

There was an article in the P-G today about Paterno most likely getting a big lead over Bowden in NCAA D-I coaching wins. Paterno has said, when he's not been busy handing out Werthers Originals, that he doesn't want the record that way and that Bowden should keep those wins.

The issue of contention is that FSU would have to forfeit some wins from 2006-07 when they used some ineligible players. Sure, it's a cheap way to get the record, but that's the way the NCAA rolls. When ineligible players are found to have played, the NCAA strips those wins from a program. Ask UMass and Michigan basketball, and maybe soon Memphis basketball.

Me? I think that if wins are going to be taken, it shouldn't be these ones from 2006-07, but ones from years ago. As part of Bowden's wins, they are counting wins that he had at a I-AA school, Samford. I think that this record chase should only reflect wins at a D-I program.

I also think that Bowden should have to forfeit wins that he accumulated while wearing that ridiculous hat.

Morning Dump 6/3

2009-06-03T08:33:00.003-04:00

You kinda have to see the puck to stop it, no?

Yeah, Comcast still blows, so there was no cable last night to watch the Pens and Pirates. Off to the bar I went.

I think the Pittsburgh Sports' Media just copy each other, the links:

- Starkey at the Trib notes that the Hockey Gods favored the Pens last night after abandoning them in Games 1 and 2. Collier at the P-G says the same thing. I'm still waiting for confirmation that they dressed the same to work today.

- Trib recap of the game here. Seth at the P-G here. Talbot's beard looks great. Gonchar woke up. Crosby finally got a point, but he played a great game that didn't show up in the stat sheet. Malkin was the best player on the ice. The Pens were lucky to be tied up in the game after a dreadful (Simon Cowell) 2nd period.

- Osgood was finally exposed as the average goalie that he is. I heard on the radio yesterday, remember I have no tv, that they actually benched him for like a week this season because he sucked so bad. There were calls from the fans and media up there to have him replaced. Now they all bend over in front of him. The people are fickle...

- Also following the route of copying each other, Prisuta says it's serious now, and Cook says that life is back in the series. I guess they're twins too.

Hey now, how bout those battlin' Bucs.

- Of course, not being at home, I couldn't watch the Pirate game at the bar, they wouldn't even put it on a small tv in the corner. I was quite surprised, when I checked my phone at 9ish, that the game was in the 8th inning and the Pirates were winning. They went on to win as Duke outdueld Santana.

I wrote about Duke last week and what can you say about the guy? He's pitching great lately, and in fact all season.

That's twice in the past week that the Pirates have beaten the NL's top two in ERA.

- The Pirates defense, with Morgan in left covering more ground than Lewis and Clark, has been great.

- Also, in good Pirates' news, former first rounder Brad Lincoln appears to have gotten his groove back. Trib report here, the P-G has a blurb in the Notebook. Last year was basically a wash for him, it was a year just to build arm strength again after surgery. This year, he's looking like a first rounder and is moving up. Lots of good details in the articles, check them out.

Battlin' Bucs and Bloodsport

2009-06-02T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well, I wanted to do a nice post this morning about the Pirates' game last night, but thanks to Comcast, my cable was out.

So now that I'm at work and of course not working, I wanted to give some props to the Pirates.

I start out watching the game as I'm in and out of the house cooking on the grill. Thankfully I didn't have to sit wholly through another Ian Snell disaster. Smizik's right, Snell needs to go down, or something. He's a headcase, and he's a cocky asshole who blames anyone but himself for his shitty pitching. He needs knocked down a few pegs for that alone, but he's simply not getting it done.

The middle innings were ho hum. The bullpen kept the game close. Thankfully again I didn't have to watch the game entirely because VS. had this on, and frankly, when that's on most everything else takes a backseat.

So the dilemma started around 9:45ish, when the Pirates were making their 8th inning comeback. My remote flipping skills were in their full glory as I flipped back and forth between key at bats and the final fight against Chong Li.

Needless to say, I didn't miss an at bat, and I saw the great fight for the most part. A HOF performance by myself, I must say.

To the Pirates though, props first to the bullpen for shutting the door. Second props go to the batters for finally getting some timely hitting (although McLouth looked like me swinging out there a few times). Third props go to the defense for some sparkling plays.

Say hey too, how about that Andy LaRoche...Starting out the year 0-20, now hitting over .300. Have we finally found our third baseman of the future and does that mean that super prospect Alvarez gets moved to first?

Ben, Get Your Agent on the Phone, Stat!

2009-06-01T23:36:00.004-04:00

General Motors filed for bankruptcy on Monday. On Tuesday they will start airing this television advertisement. Check out the 1:02 mark. Can anyone tell me what Ben Roethlisberger has to do with one of America's biggest financial disasters? If I'm Roethlisberger, I'm saying thanks, but don't you think Tom Brady is more American than me? How about putting a shot of some apple pie in there instead?

UPDATE: Looks like GM didn't want anyone watching that beauty of an ad without getting hits on their own website. Try this link.

Steelers Steal?

2009-06-01T15:09:00.002-04:00

Like I said, in this very space, when the draft happened, Shipley, the center they drafted out of PSU in the 7th round, is gonna start for them someday.

Mark it down.

A 3-year starter and the top center in the country last year (2008 Rimington Trophy winner) on a very good offensive line at PSU won't miss a beat in the NFL, despite his short arms (some of those scouting evals and why players slip are laughable). He was one of the top lineman in strength and agility drills at the combine, along with a stellar Wonderlic score.

Morning Dump 6/1

2009-06-01T08:39:00.005-04:00

Holy hell, it's June already. First of the month.

And this morning, being a crud day for Pittsburgh sports, and a Monday of a five-day workweek, coming off a short week last week, will be a bitch fest.

- I'll just let Seth at the P-G handle the links today for the Pens's game last night.

- The Pens played better in Games 1 and 2 this year in Detroit, but in the end the outcome was the same. Now they have to win 4 outta 5 against them. It's not impossible, but it is very difficult. For the optimist point of view: It was also once said that it was impossible to break onto the heavily protected boat in this, but it was done.

Osgood was beat more times last night than Julia Roberts in that 'Sleeping with the Enemy' movie.

He's been on the good luck side of posts and his other players diving into the net to cover a puck (I swear that one that Zetterberg covered up was in, we just couldn't see it).

Regardless, in the grand scheme of things, all the Wings did was do what they were supposed to do, win their home games and hold serve.

This feels like the Washington series all over. We lost the first 2, but could have very easily won one or two of them if a bounce goes here or there.

We've gotta take care of business at home. That's all there's to it.

- Pensblog recap of the game here.

And now onto the damn Pirates...

Ok, let's recap the weekend series against the basement dwelling Astros. Yes, like a bunch of assholes, we lost the series. Our schizo offense is maddening and made me want to throw my remote through the tv. Well, that and that lameass fans that sold out PNC Park on Saturday just to see fireworks.

So on Friday, Brian Moehler, he of the 8+ era, throws his first complete game since 2000 against us. Vomit.

Then on Saturday, we go against Wandy Rodriguez, who had the second best era in the majors, and we tag him for a run/inning. Well done.

That was then followed up on Sunday, when Pirate killer Mike Hampton, held us to 3 hits. Vomit again.

Basically, I can't figure it out. Who the hell can? Some nights they may as well put a batting dummy up there and get the same results.

- Oh, and this week in Pirates' futility, the last time we were .500, in 1992, 'Sister Act' had just come out. Me? This week in 1992 I probably upped my OBP in Teener League to about .750.

- This makes me want to vomit even more:

"Consider this: Maholm's quality start -- six or more innings, three or fewer runs -- was the starting rotation's 29th of the season, second-most in all of Major League Baseball. Only the Toronto Blue Jays have more, with 30. And yet, in those quality starts, the Pirates' record is a pedestrian 15-14, including 5-12 in the past 17."

There I said it.

2009-05-31T21:55:00.004-04:00

Those who know me know that I'm not the biggest hockey fan. In fact, I can only stand to watch about ten minutes of any game at one time. During my years in Pittsburgh I went to a few Penguins games, but only when someone gave me free tickets. But I never bought into the old standby that hockey is better when you see it live. Every sport is better when you see it live, except NFL football. Even finding hockey on television is a chore. It's either on Versus in between hunting and beach volleyball, or NBC when the network feels like it. In fact NBC agreed to cram games one and two in this weekend. Apparently the weeknights are taken. The network can't wait to debut, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

So here's what I have to say. I hope the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in The Stanley Cup Finals. Not because I don't like hockey or the Penguins. It's for two other reasons. First, I don't like Penguins fans. Not all of them mind you, just the most serious ones. To me they come across the same way Pitt football fans do. Whiners with an inferiority complex, that take the team way too seriously. To me the Penguins fan is personified by the grown man I saw on the verge of tears at PNC Park years ago. All because my friend called the team the Kansas City Penguins.

Then there are the bandwagon fans. People who could not have cared less when the team was struggling, and was on the verge of leaving town. But they took notice once the team won the top spot in the lottery that got them Sidney Crosby. After that came success, and the bandwagon filled up past capacity.

The second and biggest reason I want to see the Penguins lose is that I want to see Marian Hossa succeed. The man that has been demonized among Penguins fans for taking less money so he could take a job with a team that he felt gave him a better chance to win a title. Let's take off the black and gold colored glasses for a second and admire that. In a day and age when it's all about money this guy essentially said keep the cash, I want a title. Penguins fans labled Hossa a traitor and made up lame nicknames for him. Never mind that he joined the team in a trade on February 26th 2008 and then signed with Detroit on July 2nd. That's not even five months on the team. It's not like he was homegrown talent that turned his back on a fanbase who spent years supporting him.

So, I hope Hossa achieves his goal. It took guts to publicly say why he chose to jump to the Red Wings and anger an entire fan base. And that's first thing releated to hockey I've been able to appreciate in a long time. And if Penguins fans want to punish me for it I have good news for them. I'm a die-hard Pirates fan so I get my punishment every day.

Game 1, Cup Finals

2009-05-30T15:04:00.003-04:00

Well, it's upon us all here. As I type this, we're 5 hours away from dropping the puck in the Stanley Cup Finals rematch. That would also put me about 3 hours away from having a cool and refreshing beverage in front of me at the bar.

A couple more previews for us all...

- Prisuta at the Trib here.

- Seth at the P-G blog here.

We head into enemy territory, yet again. We've been a very good road team in these playoffs, closing out each of the prior three series on the road. I can't forsee us being a 'deer in headlights' like we were last year heading into the Finals. This year, unlike last, we're not playing with house money. We fully expected to be here.

Red Wings fans are already making excuses, like I said yesterday in a post. That reeks of weakness and shows that they're scared. The smell of fear in them is starting to rise.

Obviously a split is great for us this weekend. We need to go in there tonight like we're Bear F'n Grylls. Basically hop on in, throw caution to the wind, get dirty, do what you need to do to get by, do your job, and come out the other end with a big F.U. grin on your face.

So once more boys, hit the road of battle.

"Come back with your shield, or on it."

And lastly:

"Give them nothing! But take from them everything!"

The Trail of Tears and Various Predictions

2009-05-29T10:42:00.002-04:00

I think that the old Trail of Tears painting should be updated to show a line connecting every Pens opponent during this playoff run. Each one of them seemed to have something to cry about. Well, make sure you add Detroit to the trail of tears as they start their crying before Game 1 even starts.

Here are some various ESPN predicions:

- Buccigross says Pens in 6. That's actually a pretty good take on the series and a good analysis. For a good laugh, read some of the mailbag comments at the end. They pertain to a column he did entitled "Why Does Everyone Hate Sidney Crosby".

- Burnside also says Pens in 6.

- Here's a breakdown of the ESPN "experts'" picks for the series.

- And lastly, here's my official prediction. Pens in 6 and this.

Morning Dump 5/29

2009-05-29T08:36:00.003-04:00

Well it's a huge weekend in Pittsburgh sports. Now, of course, everyone's talking about the back to back Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup, but let's not forget about the Pirates.

- The Astros finally have their first meaningful game since this as they come to Pittsburgh for the 'Battle of the Basement' in the NL Central. The losing team this series has to feed Sloth from 'The Goonies'.

- The good Pirate news of the day is that Ryan Doumit has been cleared to rehab for his return to the lineup.

Here's to the Buccos getting another series under their belt!

Now just a few Pens' links here this morn, as the buildup to the games this weekend will probably cause me to do posts just on that alone.

- The big story is the schedule. Puck Daddy talks of the back to back games here. The quick start of the series is dissected here.

Personally, I think that both the quick start to the series and the back to back games help the Pens. First, the Wings are fairly banged up. Now, they're not as banged up as a random police chase car from the 'Dukes of Hazzard', but banged up they are. So the quicker the start, the less time to heal. Speaking of less time to heal, the Pens are a younger and healthier team, so the back to back shouldn't affect them as much as Detroit. Suppose Lidstrom and Datsyuk do play on Saturday, and play a little hurt, how are they gonna turn around and be as effective on Sunday? Maybe they can borrow Hines Ward's hyperbaric chamber? No, hell with that, the best they can hope for is to borrow Michael Jackson's.

- Apparently it's all Conan O'Brien's "fault". Hey though, before some of you yinzers get all pissy at Conan, watch this, laugh your ass off, and all will be forgiven towards Conan.

- Seth at the P-G has a good breakdown of 5 keys to the series.

- The Pensblog, as only they can, nail a preview.

Morning Dump 5/28

2009-05-28T08:38:00.003-04:00

- Well, it's settled, it's a Cup rematch against Detroit. Last year we went to Detroit and played like we were just happy to be there and got blitzed. This year feels different. A year older = a year wiser, unless you're this guy.

- Cup schedule here.

- Steady Dan gave the Pens a well-deserved day off. They'll look at film and practice for sure, but they know what they have to do against Detroit and it starts with not letting them park freely in front of the net.

- Did you guys know that Crosby and Malkin have been playing really well?

There will be a ton more as we get closer to Saturday.

- On to the Buccos, who lost in Chicago yesterday afternoon. The bullpen kinda threw up on themselves yesterday again. If you haven't seen Zambrano's ejection fit, check it out here. He got his money's worth.

- Really though, you gotta feel for Zack Duke. He's having a great season so far. He's getting no support though. He's getting less help then a Katrina refugee. Check out just his games pitched on the trip to Chicago: 15 IP's, 14 hits, 4 ER, 10 K's... and he came out 0-2. Sad.

- So Capps won't go to the DL. Surprising. I guess this is teeing up an excuse for him when he comes out and blows up his next couple outings.

- God Pirates' news...when you don't spend on the payroll, you've gotta spend on the draft coming up. The Pirates aren't gonna be Johhny Moneybags or anything, but they appear to be trying to draft the best player available.

The Axe Falleth

2009-05-27T17:37:00.002-04:00

Jim Colony from ESPN 1250 got canned today.

He wasn't a major player there as he only did little 'extra points' in the morning and filled in when needed. I think he may have done the weekend show as well, oh well.

He was ok, but no big loss.

I'm just hoping that the firing went like this.

Morning Dump 5/27

2009-05-27T08:24:00.003-04:00

"You can spit shine your shoes Loretta, the Pens are going dancing with Lord Stanley."

What a great game last night watching the Pens sweep away the Drizzles. I was pretty confident heading into the series (I predicted a 5 game series), but wow, a sweep? Nice.

Now we sit and wait for presumably Detroit.

On to the links, and there's a lot of 'em today.

- Let's start with the recaps. Of course, the always classic Pensblog recap is here. The P-G's is here. The Trib's is here. Seth at the P-G's here.

- Anyone who watched the game was made sick by the repetition of stats: "the Canes are 7-0 when Staal scores, Cam Ward is 5-0 when facing elimination, Cam Ward has never lost a playoff series, the RBC is the loudest arena, the Canes never lose on the last Tuesday of the month following the first full moon after the spring harvest, etc etc".

Well after last night, they can take all those stats and shove them in their trailer's burn barrel. Staal scored...gak!!

Let's talk about Ward though. He was supposed to be the difference maker. He was supposed to be the guy that led them to the Cup again since he's done it before. Ah, piss on Cam Ward. Anyone who watched the series can tell you that he just wasn't that great. Last night was the exclamation point. Yup, I'm talking about 'the goal'.

First, the shit VS. announcer actually said "OMG" when the goal was scored. Someone check and see if he has balls. Also check and see if he has Jonas Brothers tickets too. What is he, 13?

Second, as for the goal, Puck Daddy at Yahoo said it best here. For those of you that don't get it, the shitty kid always plays right field in Little League. It's the kid that always gets in there because of that lame rule that everyone plays. For those that remember, and know too much about movies like I do, think Timmy Lupus. An original photoshop of mine here. Another great one here.

- Pens Eastern Conf Champs gear will be a hot seller. Me? No thank you. I never buy things like that unless they're 'final' Championship items.

- Puck Daddy again with a good ditty on Shero and Bylsma.

- Lastly, there's a little talk today about Sid touching the Prince of Wales trophy. So the tradition and superstition goes that the Captain isn't supposed to touch the Conference Champion Trophy since that's "not the one they want" (they want the Cup). Last year, he didn't touch it and we lost. This year, he listened to Joel Goodson, "Sometimes you just gotta say, 'What the fuck, make your move.'" Seemed to work out well in the past.

- Now as for the beloved Buccos, Snell shit the bed again last night. I'm about sick of Snell. All he ever has is excuses that aren't his fault for why he pitches poorly. Man up.

- Like I said yesterday, since I'm so damn smart, Capps may be heading to the DL.

- All of our pitchers can take a lesson from Duke, pitch inside from time to time. You can't let guys sit on top of the plate and tee off. Maholm should be studying this as we speak.

Morning Dump, 5/26

2009-05-26T09:26:00.004-04:00

Ok, after a long weekend, we're back and ready to go.

- We'll kick off with some Pirates ball, and how can you not start out talking about Freddy Sanchez going 6 for 6 last night in a win against the Cubbies last night? Trib story on it here. It's too bad those bats weren't around over the weekend, they would've swept the ChiSox. As it is though, they're sitting at 2-2 on the trip to Chicago and that's not bad by their standards and their history in that city.

A win tonight guarantees a .500 Chicago trip, and we'd all take that.

- Matt Capps was struck in the elbow by a liner, but his plumpness saved him from a fracture. All kidding aside, I'm sure that a DL stint is in his future.

Now to the big sports' news of the day though: the Pens are trying to break out the brooms against the Drizzles.

Sweeping a team is difficult, especially on their home ice. They'll be playing with pride and emotion, not wanting to go out like that. That's why you have to break their heart and jump on them early. The longer they stay in it, the harder it'll be. Knock them out early, and they'll just skate around aimlessly.

- The Pens power play is plugged back in.

- The Pens are playing "Ruslan Fedotenko Hockey". Which is eerily similar to this here.

- Saying that Malkin is "keeping his critics quiet" is an understatement. I'd say it's more that he's stuffed a sock in their mouth and duck-taped it shut.

- Cam Ward = "subdued". If that's any reflection of how they'll play, then we're in like Flynn. At least he's talking though after being that shell-shocked.

- Finish them. The Pens have had a great killer instinct on the road in these playoffs, wining clinching games in both Philly and Washington. Let's not come back to Mellon til the Cup Finals.

- I expect the fair-weathers to be sitting out tongiht at the RBC. Plenty of good tickets to be had, so expect a lot of Pens fans to be there.

Pens 6, Hurricant's 2

2009-05-23T22:32:00.003-04:00

Great win.

RBC tough place to play my ass.

Cam Ward's a tough goalie my ass.

The Pens go for the sweep on Tuesday (ugh) night.

And yes, even after about 8 Miller Lites, I was able to pause my DVR, take that pic with my iPhone, and photoshop that myself.

What am I saying? I rule.

Go Pens.

Game Day, Saturday Game 3

2009-05-23T16:42:00.003-04:00

"We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy."

Carolina's not been here before. Their resiliency has only brought them back to win after a loss, not after 2 losses in a row.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, we, like Washington last series, only held serve on our home ice. But this feels different. In that Washington series, we felt that we could've won those first two, Carolina didn't have much a chance in those first two games.

The RBC Center is supposed to be loud, and their fans/team are hanging their comeback on that. But again, is it really any tougher to play in than Philly or Washington? I think not.

Anything can happen, but it starts tonight. A win here puts a stranglehold on the series, a loss makes it a little more interesting. I don't see them, at this point, being able to win 4 outta 6 games against us to take the series though. Overall, I'd take a split down there and be happy, and then try to close it out here in Game 5.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, tonight we hit the road and start anew.

"Give them nothing, but take from them, everything."

I Got Bit in the Ass Today Son...

2009-05-22T16:47:00.003-04:00

So James Harrison can't stay out of the news lately. Turns out his toddler son got bit by his pit bull.

So it seems that the kid will be ok, and not all pit bulls are bad, but I do wonder why someone would let one around a toddler. Oh well.

Anyway, the whole thing reminded me of the scene in 'Friday' when Craig's Dad is telling the story about getting bit in the ass by a dog at work. The scene is still tremendously funny, and it's in crappy quality here:

"I got bit in the ass today son, by a stinky ass filthy dog."

Morning Dump 5/22

2009-05-22T09:16:00.002-04:00

Heavy on the Pens link updates with their big win last night.

- Recaps: ESPN here. P-G here. Seth from EN's at the P-G with the best one here. My post from last night when I got home from the game, the rambling mess of run-ons and fragments, summed up my thoughts quite well.

- And now for the, deserved, Malkin love fest: Burnside from ESPN here. Collier here. And lastly, some guy named DeCock (huh huh huh) from Carolina here.

- Puck Daddy at Yahoo has a good take and some observations on the game last night.

- Malkin's goals. The VS announcer said it best on the third goal with his stunned initial call, "Oh my word".

- Speaking of goal calls, does it get any better than Pens broadcaster Mike Lange? The correct answer is 'no'.

- Super goalie Cam Ward was rattled to say the least. He wouldn't have been able to stop a beach ball thrown at him last night.

- Last, but certainly not least, I think that Satan is smiling in this picture as he pops the Carolina player. I'm officially scared of him. Last time I saw someone smile in a fight like that was here.

- The Pirates blew an 8th inning lead last night in a loss. They won the 5 outta 7 that they had to in the last 2 series, and have won 3 series in a row. They however go into the House of Horrors known as Interleague Play where they've sucked hind tit.