When last season ended and Ben Roethlisberger said he might not be back, people rolled their eyes.
Conventional wisdom said this just more false drama from Ben.
Roethlisberger has revisited that theme as the Steelers opened training camp, saying that he won't commit beyond the upcoming season.
Stop the eye rolling and take him seriously this time.
A lot of players are probably thinking about the future after last week's release of a frightening medical research study that again linked football to long-term brain damage.
The methodology may have been skewed, but there's no question that playing football takes a grim toll beyond the obvious orthopedic problems.
Just last week, Baltimore Ravens lineman John Urschel, a 4.0 Penn State graduate, told the Baltimore Ravens he was done at age 26. Instead, he'll pursue a PhD in mathematics at M.I.T. He's grateful for the monetary stake football has provided him, but he isn't going to push his luck and risk serious injury.
"Right now, I spend most of my time thinking about discrete Schrödinger operators, high-dimensional data compression, algebraic multigrid and Voronoi diagrams," he said on his M.I.T. web page.
That's a little more complex than picking up the safety blitz.
The New York Times reported that Urschel told a teammate he was "unnerved" when he discovered a concussion affected his ability to solve math problems.
So instead of studying the Steelers, Urschel is designing his course load for the fall semester.
Several players have chosen to leave pro football at a young age. It's possible to make some major money in a short period of time, which eases that transition. The smart players took advantage of a free college education and prepared for a life that didn't include football.
We'll never know how Mike Webster's life might have been different had he not played an additional two seasons for Kansas City after the 15 he spent with the Steelers. The certainty is the unhappy bottom line -- Webster died at age 50, his hopelessly scrambled brain preventing him from having any quality of life after he was done with football.
The NFL limits contact in practices and the league has established some procedures for seriously dealing with head injuries. We've come a long way from the days of the press box announcement that, "Lynn Swann had his bell rung. His return to the game is questionable."
At 35, Roethlisberger is in the fourth quarter of his career. He has a wife, three small children and piles of money in the bank. He has two Super Bowl rings. His place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is secure.
What's left to play for? The competition is the lure, but is that worth the considerable risk? Roethlisberger has already compiled a troublesome concussion history.
His offensive line protects him ferociously. He's learned to unload the ball and avoid contact. But the NFL is still a vicious environment, and a quarterback is always one hit or one awkward fall away from concussion protocol.
Enjoy this season. It really could be Roethlisberger's last.
---
--RIDE IN STYLE
Some people are upset over the flamboyant entrance a couple of players made to Steelers training camp.
The grumps took it as further evidence that the players are out of control under Mike Tomlin.
Antonio Brown showed up in a chauffeur-driven vintage Rolls Royce. James Harrison was behind the wheel of a fire truck that had its siren wailing.
Lighten up. They added some life to a mundane day of waiting for players to arrive. They also entertained their teammates.
And, yes, Harrison has the commercial license necessary to drive a truck.
---
--RADIO WAVES
Don't miss ESPN's "30 for 30" show on Mike and the Mad Dog, the former WFAN radio duo who ruled New York sports talk for almost 20 years.
When revenue-generating egomaniacs are involved, radio management people do as much babysitting as coaches and managers do.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Altoona Mirror, July 27, 2017
The uncomfortable dance between athletes and media has been going on since some guy sat down and etched criticism in a stone tablet about a gladiator.
It's an even more unusual dynamic when the media people cover a team as a traveling beat, spending even more time with the players. Turns out familiarity really does breed contempt.
It can get uneasy, even if the media is announcers who travel with the team.
That was apparently the case recently when David Price of the Boston Red Sox unloaded on player-turned-announcer Dennis Eckersley on a team flight.
Eckersley, a Hall of Fame pitcher, does some part-time announcing for the Red Sox. He seems to broadcast for the viewers and not the players, meaning he won't hesitate to be critical if he sees that need.
Reports suggest those tendencies have angered some of the Red Sox players, and Price began taunting Eckersley aboard the plane.
That's an uncomfortable situation. The best strategy is always to walk away from trouble, but that's hard to do at 35,000 feet.
Steve Stone found that out in 2004, when he was announcing for the Chicago Cubs. Stone was sitting on the plane, reading a book, when suddenly he had pitcher Kent Mercker confronting him about on-air comments that the players perceived as negative.
There's a Pittsburgh columnist who had a similar encounter with a Pirates player many years ago when the writer was working for a suburban paper. The man had written a column critical of the player's sudden media boycott. The player responded with a vile series of loud insults that were apparently designed to goad the writer into a fight he couldn't possibly win.
Instead, he sat in silence and suffered through listening to the player denigrate his mother on the way to Chicago.
Teams fly charters exclusively these days, so the players feel like the plane is an extension of the clubhouse, which is their turf.
The Red Sox have resolved the latest issue by having the announcers travel apart from the team. That's inconvenient, at minimum. Sometimes it's close to impossible, given airline schedules and the total lack of logic that sometimes afflicts the baseball schedule.
Traveling with the team in any manner has always been a dicey proposition.
Earl Lawson covered the Cincinnati Reds for a long time. He once witnessed two players fighting on the team bus, but he couldn't write the story for his paper. He had been turning in cab expenses, and writing the bus skirmish would have exposed his ruse to the paper's accounting department.
Sometimes a player will vent on the ground. The Pirates had Wally Backman in 1990 and played him out of position at third base. He wasn't very good there, and Bruce Keidan expressed that opinion at length in a column.
Backman waited for weeks to respond. When Keidan finally showed up, Backman unloaded on him with a profane tirade that was purely personal. It didn't matter that it was a Sunday morning, and many teammates were down the hall at a chapel service. Keidan, a thick-skinned veteran of covering baseball in Philadelphia, took the abuse and moved on.
(By the way, anyone who doubts Backman's gift for profanity should check out the You Tube clips where he's wired for sound as a minor league manager. Don't share them with the kids).
Writers write, commentators comment, players play. It's an odd relationship, and it comes with bumps in the road.
Or in the case of Price and Eckersley, it comes with some turbulence through the skies.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
It's an even more unusual dynamic when the media people cover a team as a traveling beat, spending even more time with the players. Turns out familiarity really does breed contempt.
It can get uneasy, even if the media is announcers who travel with the team.
That was apparently the case recently when David Price of the Boston Red Sox unloaded on player-turned-announcer Dennis Eckersley on a team flight.
Eckersley, a Hall of Fame pitcher, does some part-time announcing for the Red Sox. He seems to broadcast for the viewers and not the players, meaning he won't hesitate to be critical if he sees that need.
Reports suggest those tendencies have angered some of the Red Sox players, and Price began taunting Eckersley aboard the plane.
That's an uncomfortable situation. The best strategy is always to walk away from trouble, but that's hard to do at 35,000 feet.
Steve Stone found that out in 2004, when he was announcing for the Chicago Cubs. Stone was sitting on the plane, reading a book, when suddenly he had pitcher Kent Mercker confronting him about on-air comments that the players perceived as negative.
There's a Pittsburgh columnist who had a similar encounter with a Pirates player many years ago when the writer was working for a suburban paper. The man had written a column critical of the player's sudden media boycott. The player responded with a vile series of loud insults that were apparently designed to goad the writer into a fight he couldn't possibly win.
Instead, he sat in silence and suffered through listening to the player denigrate his mother on the way to Chicago.
Teams fly charters exclusively these days, so the players feel like the plane is an extension of the clubhouse, which is their turf.
The Red Sox have resolved the latest issue by having the announcers travel apart from the team. That's inconvenient, at minimum. Sometimes it's close to impossible, given airline schedules and the total lack of logic that sometimes afflicts the baseball schedule.
Traveling with the team in any manner has always been a dicey proposition.
Earl Lawson covered the Cincinnati Reds for a long time. He once witnessed two players fighting on the team bus, but he couldn't write the story for his paper. He had been turning in cab expenses, and writing the bus skirmish would have exposed his ruse to the paper's accounting department.
Sometimes a player will vent on the ground. The Pirates had Wally Backman in 1990 and played him out of position at third base. He wasn't very good there, and Bruce Keidan expressed that opinion at length in a column.
Backman waited for weeks to respond. When Keidan finally showed up, Backman unloaded on him with a profane tirade that was purely personal. It didn't matter that it was a Sunday morning, and many teammates were down the hall at a chapel service. Keidan, a thick-skinned veteran of covering baseball in Philadelphia, took the abuse and moved on.
(By the way, anyone who doubts Backman's gift for profanity should check out the You Tube clips where he's wired for sound as a minor league manager. Don't share them with the kids).
Writers write, commentators comment, players play. It's an odd relationship, and it comes with bumps in the road.
Or in the case of Price and Eckersley, it comes with some turbulence through the skies.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Altoona Mirror, July 23, 2017
The Pirates went into the All-Star break on a good note, and came back from vacation instantly going 95 miles per hour.
They finally got hot and put together a sustained stretch that got them back in the division race.
It was so abrupt that some people are wearing neck collars to ease the whiplash.that resulted.
People
have been complaining about the Pirates for three months. "It's time to blow it up and start over...No chance, might as well
sell and get something....Hurdle doesn't want to win..."
Then
they won six in a row, including a four-game sweep of the first-place
Brewers, ending s 6-1 homestand that moved them to .500 and within three
he's of first place.
On Friday people were calling
talk shows advising them to trade for an outfielder because Starling
Matte is banned from this year's postseason. Honest.
A
team can't look much better than the Pirates have lately. Starting
pitching is solid, matched by the bullpen. The offense is clicking and
late inning deficits merely set the stage for dramatic comebacks.
Suddenly Max Moroff is getting s Gatorade shower for delivering the game-winning hit. Honest.
As veteran baseball observer Joe Shuta of twominutetimeout.com
noted, "The Pirates are in one of those 'doing everything right'
periods. If they were in the World Series now, they would win it."
He's right about that. The success of the last two weeks has wiped out the frustration of the first three months.
The
nature of baseball is the best teams have stretches where noting goes
right, and rotten teams will have a week or two where they don't look
totally rotten.
The Pirates are not at either
extreme. Their talent level says they're capable of a winning season,
and they can compete in a division where no one has taken charge.
Whether
they make deals to bolster the roster in advance of the non-waiver
trade deadline isn't entirely up to them. There's a question of who's
available, what the cost is (in return players, not salary).and how the
market unfolds. Teams with value to offer also have an abundance of
potential trading partners.
The Pirates could use a
third baseman, a starter, a bullpen arm and a bat off the bench. It's
not realistic to think they can fill all those needs in season.
The
hot streak will eventually cool, because they always do. But if nothing
else, the Pirates have made themselves relevant again.
Fans have gone from firing everyone to worrying about the postseason lineup.
---
--TECHNICOLOR SPLASH
One thing we've learned from the habit of emptying the drink coolers over the star of the game.
The Pirates are the only people over age 12 who like that sick-looking blue Gatorade.
---
--SOON ON THE LOOSE
Here's a story about O.J. Simpson, who was granted parole last week after nine years in prison on a robbery conviction.
Back in better times, Simpson was working for NBC. He came to town during the week to do some interviews with Steelers players.
The Steelers were still at Three Rivers Stadium, and there was a small media work room right off the office lobby.
Simpson
spent part of the day in that work room, killing time between the
interviews. He was instantly everybody's best friend. He couldn't have
been more engaging, to the point that he would listen carefully to
conversations and pick up on everyone's name so he could address people
by name.
One grump even mumbled that he couldn't get his work done because Simpson kept talking to him.
Nobody who was in that room that day walked away with anything less than a good feeling about O.J. Simpson.
Which just goes to show you never know.
(John Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com).
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Altoona Mirror, July 16, 2017
The Chicago Cubs pulled the trigger on a deal a lot of people wished the Pirates had made.
The struggling Cubs acquired lefthanded pitcher Jose Quintana from the White Sox for four prospects, including players considered the two best minor leaguers in the Cubs' system.
So the rebuilding White Sox reload by trading a pitcher who isn't going to make a difference for them this year. The desperate Cubs get a proven arm for their rotation.
Quintana is not a rental player. He has two years on his contract beyond this season, and the price is manageable by today's MLB standards. He tops out at $11.5 million. He's 28 and should be in his prime. Quintana hasn't had a great season so far, but his track record is solid.
The Cubs are in a position to give up prospects, even if they become stars. The Cubs can go out and buy free agents to fill holes. Before last season started, they spent $184 million on Jason Heyward, $155 million on Jon Lester and, oh by the way, $56 million on Ben Zobrist.
Teams in big revenue markets play a different game. The Boston Red Sox admitted they made a mistake on portly free agent Pablo Sandoval and designated him for assignment last week. They'll eat the remaining $48 million of his contract, and it's not like they got much value for the $47 million they've already paid him.
Over three seasons, Sandoval appeared in 161 games and batted .237. His OPS with the Red Sox was .646. By comparison, Clint Barmes' career OPS was .673.
The Red Sox made a $95 million mistake on Sandoval. They'll probably say a few bad words in the office, but it won't crimp their payroll moving forward.
It's easy to trade prospects, just as it's easy to trade draft picks in the other sports. They don't exist as real life major league players. They're abstract. Make the deal that feels good today, and worry about tomorrow when it gets here.
Except when the budget is limited, that's not a good way to live. It's like buying with credit cards.
Prospects are gold to a team like the Pirates. They're dirt cheap (by MLB standards) through their first three years, and manageable for the three or four years that follow before they reach free agency.
That explains their reluctance to trade prospects, and it's understandable. You can argue that some are face-first flops who never amount to anything (Jose Tabata). But some turn out to be Andrew McCutchen.
Maybe keeping Josh Bell was a good idea. It's still too early to tell on Tyler Glasnow.
Sometimes trades get reported as "(big name) for (minor leaguer)." Some of those anonymous minor leaguers in the past turned out to be John Smoltz, Ryne Sandberg and Jeff Bagwell.
Maybe the Pirates could have gotten Quintana for this season and two more. But would it be worth trading away six or seven seasons of players who might have a major impact?
They obviously didn't think so. Were they right? We'll be back in about six years with the answer.
---
--HE'S BACK
The story of the week will be what kind of reception Starling Marte gets when he returns from his steroids suspension on Tuesday.
If he plays well, people will be forgiving. Fans want to win games. Moral issues are a distant second.
---
--NEW...BUT IMPROVED?
There was a lot of fanfare about Root Sports switching its identity to AT&T Sportsnet, something that matters little to viewers.
It's a big deal for the company, of course, because the remaining employees get shirts with the new logo. Otherwise, who cares?
So they did the big buildup about how things are new and improved and shiny and bright.
Next thing you saw was Stan Savran and Kent Tekulve, both 70, sitting at that desk.
So the hoopla was kind of like showing off some detailing on a car that has 200,000 miles on it.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
The struggling Cubs acquired lefthanded pitcher Jose Quintana from the White Sox for four prospects, including players considered the two best minor leaguers in the Cubs' system.
So the rebuilding White Sox reload by trading a pitcher who isn't going to make a difference for them this year. The desperate Cubs get a proven arm for their rotation.
Quintana is not a rental player. He has two years on his contract beyond this season, and the price is manageable by today's MLB standards. He tops out at $11.5 million. He's 28 and should be in his prime. Quintana hasn't had a great season so far, but his track record is solid.
The Cubs are in a position to give up prospects, even if they become stars. The Cubs can go out and buy free agents to fill holes. Before last season started, they spent $184 million on Jason Heyward, $155 million on Jon Lester and, oh by the way, $56 million on Ben Zobrist.
Teams in big revenue markets play a different game. The Boston Red Sox admitted they made a mistake on portly free agent Pablo Sandoval and designated him for assignment last week. They'll eat the remaining $48 million of his contract, and it's not like they got much value for the $47 million they've already paid him.
Over three seasons, Sandoval appeared in 161 games and batted .237. His OPS with the Red Sox was .646. By comparison, Clint Barmes' career OPS was .673.
The Red Sox made a $95 million mistake on Sandoval. They'll probably say a few bad words in the office, but it won't crimp their payroll moving forward.
It's easy to trade prospects, just as it's easy to trade draft picks in the other sports. They don't exist as real life major league players. They're abstract. Make the deal that feels good today, and worry about tomorrow when it gets here.
Except when the budget is limited, that's not a good way to live. It's like buying with credit cards.
Prospects are gold to a team like the Pirates. They're dirt cheap (by MLB standards) through their first three years, and manageable for the three or four years that follow before they reach free agency.
That explains their reluctance to trade prospects, and it's understandable. You can argue that some are face-first flops who never amount to anything (Jose Tabata). But some turn out to be Andrew McCutchen.
Maybe keeping Josh Bell was a good idea. It's still too early to tell on Tyler Glasnow.
Sometimes trades get reported as "(big name) for (minor leaguer)." Some of those anonymous minor leaguers in the past turned out to be John Smoltz, Ryne Sandberg and Jeff Bagwell.
Maybe the Pirates could have gotten Quintana for this season and two more. But would it be worth trading away six or seven seasons of players who might have a major impact?
They obviously didn't think so. Were they right? We'll be back in about six years with the answer.
---
--HE'S BACK
The story of the week will be what kind of reception Starling Marte gets when he returns from his steroids suspension on Tuesday.
If he plays well, people will be forgiving. Fans want to win games. Moral issues are a distant second.
---
--NEW...BUT IMPROVED?
There was a lot of fanfare about Root Sports switching its identity to AT&T Sportsnet, something that matters little to viewers.
It's a big deal for the company, of course, because the remaining employees get shirts with the new logo. Otherwise, who cares?
So they did the big buildup about how things are new and improved and shiny and bright.
Next thing you saw was Stan Savran and Kent Tekulve, both 70, sitting at that desk.
So the hoopla was kind of like showing off some detailing on a car that has 200,000 miles on it.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Monday, July 10, 2017
Altoona Mirror, July 10, 2017
Buyers or sellers?
That's the question facing the Pirates in a few weeks as the non-waiver trade deadline arrives at the end of the month.
The truth is it's not entirely up to them. As much as fans might want to "get rid of" Tony Watson, what's the market for a relever who hasn't offered much relief? Warson pitched his way out of the closer's role, and has struggled since he moved back to a set-up spot. He's a free agent after this year, too. Someone might -- emphasize might -- be willing to take him, but the return would be negligible.
Mike Williams used to pile up saves for bad Pirates teams. But when it came time to trade him (and the Pirates did twice), all they could get were terrible pitchers Frank Brooks and Tony McKnight.
There are more reasons to keep Andrew McCutchen than to trade him. His June surge provided a reliable bat, but even his .400-plus average couldn't get the Pirates to .500.
There's no ready replacement for McCutchen, so his departure would blow a hole in an already weak lineup. The numbers McCutchen has posted lately aren't sustainable. His history has been hot months and really cold ones, but he's worth keeping, especiially considering a good return is unlikely.
How many teams are looking for an outfielder? McCutchen is a star in Pittsburgh, but he's likely a corner outfielder and a No. 6 hitter in a stronger lineup. Contenders don't want to give up players from their major league roster, so any proposed return would be in prospects.
Trading Gerrit Cole makes no sense unless the return is overwhelming. He still has the ability to be a legtimate top of the rotation starter, and those are hard to find. The Pirates still have two years of control and would have to be knocked loopy by a fabulous offer to deal Cole.
Buyers or sellers? It's up to other teams as much as it is the Pirates.
---
--PARTISAN VIEW
So much of the perception of player performance is colored by which colors the player is wearing.
The other night in Philadelphia, Pirates left fielder Jose Osuna threw out three Phillies runners at second base. Two of them came on consecutive plays.
A Pirates fan watching that probably reacted this way: "Osuna has a rifle for an arm, and is a heads-up player."
If the Pirates had been thrown out three times at second base from left field, the reaction likely would have been: "There isn't a team in baseball worse at running the bases."
---
--BY COMPARISON
Osuna's accomplishment sent researchers scrambling to find the last time it happened.
Some of those searches bring impressive results. For example, Josh Bell has the most home runs before the All-Star break by a Pirates rookie since Ralph Kiner in 1949. That's something. Kiner was one of the prolific home run hitters of his era, and power is what punched his ticket for the Hall of Fame.
Other "first since..." facts don't carry as much weight.
Osuna's three outfield assists in a game were the first since Cecil Espy did it in 1992. Espy was a forgettable part-time outfielder who was part of the committee that tried to fill in after Bobby Bonilla left.
Bell has the most runs batted in before by the All-Star break by a Pirates rookie since....Warren Morris in 1999. Morris was a half-season phenom who fizzled quickly after the league developed some familiarity with him.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
That's the question facing the Pirates in a few weeks as the non-waiver trade deadline arrives at the end of the month.
The truth is it's not entirely up to them. As much as fans might want to "get rid of" Tony Watson, what's the market for a relever who hasn't offered much relief? Warson pitched his way out of the closer's role, and has struggled since he moved back to a set-up spot. He's a free agent after this year, too. Someone might -- emphasize might -- be willing to take him, but the return would be negligible.
Mike Williams used to pile up saves for bad Pirates teams. But when it came time to trade him (and the Pirates did twice), all they could get were terrible pitchers Frank Brooks and Tony McKnight.
There are more reasons to keep Andrew McCutchen than to trade him. His June surge provided a reliable bat, but even his .400-plus average couldn't get the Pirates to .500.
There's no ready replacement for McCutchen, so his departure would blow a hole in an already weak lineup. The numbers McCutchen has posted lately aren't sustainable. His history has been hot months and really cold ones, but he's worth keeping, especiially considering a good return is unlikely.
How many teams are looking for an outfielder? McCutchen is a star in Pittsburgh, but he's likely a corner outfielder and a No. 6 hitter in a stronger lineup. Contenders don't want to give up players from their major league roster, so any proposed return would be in prospects.
Trading Gerrit Cole makes no sense unless the return is overwhelming. He still has the ability to be a legtimate top of the rotation starter, and those are hard to find. The Pirates still have two years of control and would have to be knocked loopy by a fabulous offer to deal Cole.
Buyers or sellers? It's up to other teams as much as it is the Pirates.
---
--PARTISAN VIEW
So much of the perception of player performance is colored by which colors the player is wearing.
The other night in Philadelphia, Pirates left fielder Jose Osuna threw out three Phillies runners at second base. Two of them came on consecutive plays.
A Pirates fan watching that probably reacted this way: "Osuna has a rifle for an arm, and is a heads-up player."
If the Pirates had been thrown out three times at second base from left field, the reaction likely would have been: "There isn't a team in baseball worse at running the bases."
---
--BY COMPARISON
Osuna's accomplishment sent researchers scrambling to find the last time it happened.
Some of those searches bring impressive results. For example, Josh Bell has the most home runs before the All-Star break by a Pirates rookie since Ralph Kiner in 1949. That's something. Kiner was one of the prolific home run hitters of his era, and power is what punched his ticket for the Hall of Fame.
Other "first since..." facts don't carry as much weight.
Osuna's three outfield assists in a game were the first since Cecil Espy did it in 1992. Espy was a forgettable part-time outfielder who was part of the committee that tried to fill in after Bobby Bonilla left.
Bell has the most runs batted in before by the All-Star break by a Pirates rookie since....Warren Morris in 1999. Morris was a half-season phenom who fizzled quickly after the league developed some familiarity with him.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Altoona Mirror, July 2, 2017
The second half of the Pirates season starts today and raises the question:
Is this team a contender?
The answer is maybe.
The division has been very forgiving to this point, allowing a team with a sub-.500 record to think it has a chance to finish first.
It wouldn't be right to call it a comedy of errors, because there hasn't been anything funny about it.
Two players -- Jung Ho Kang and Starling Marte -- fought the law, and the law won.
The destruction Marte's decision to bulk up has caused is incalculable. It took a productive bat and Gold Glove out of the lineup and led to a progresssion of left fielders who can't play left field.
Take your favorite vehicular analogy -- the Pirates are like a boat that springs another leak as soon as one is patched. Or they're like a distressed old car that sputters down the road, spewing fumes and making strange noises.
Whatever it's been, it hasn't been good. The offense spent a month in the deep freeze. When that finally thawed, the bulpen fell apart.
It seems like there's a .200 hitter in the lineup every night. Underachievers abound; overreachers can fit in the same booth at Eat 'n Park.
On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants walked 10 hitters. The Pirates scored one run and left 15 men on base. Nobody has stranded that many since USAirways shut down.
Sometimes a below-average division never gets better. In 1973, the Pirates, reeling from the death of Roberto Clemente and Steve Blass' sudden inability to throw strikes, had a major backslide. The New York Mets won the division with a modest 82-79 record.
The 1997 season was similar, with a malaise gripping the entire National League Central. That allowed the Pirates, with the smallest payroll in MLB, to stay in the race until the last week of the season. The Pirates were like gum on the shoes of the Houston Astros, who won the division with an 84-78 mark.
But seasons like that are few and far between, one reason the '97 Pirates were referred to as the freak show.
It's possible for a good team to have a bad first half and prevail. Case in point is the 1974 Pirates, who were buried in fifth place with a 37-44 record at the midpoint. That was a prelude to a 51-30 finishing kick (.630 winning percentage) that won the division.
The Cubs are still the most talented team in the division. They had a tumultuous week, which included the release of a catcher who publicly blamed a teammate and a star third baseman (Kris Bryant) who sprained an ankle when he caught a routine pop-up, then tripped over the base.
Can the fates continue to conspire against the Cubs? Will the St. Louis Cardinals emerge from the shadows and take advantage of the opportunity? Is what Milwaukee has done sustainable?
There's a chance for the Pirates to steal a division. But are they capable of doing that? At halftime, can't do better than a shaky "maybe."
---
--NEW CHALLENGE
There's no summer vacation for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, who is tasked with replacing several players from his two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Unlike last year, when the team returned mostly intact, Rutherford is dealing with free agent defections like Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley and Chris Kunitz, and the subtraction of Marc-Andre Fleury via the expansion draft. There may be more departures, which will have Rutherford shopping for free agents and trades.
The team that raises the banner in October won't be the same one that won the Cup. Rutherford's been on a long winning streak with his personnel moves, and he'll need to maintain that magic touch.
---
--WISHING AND HOPING
Look closely when Clint Hurdle signals for a reliever. Are his fingers crossed?
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Is this team a contender?
The answer is maybe.
The division has been very forgiving to this point, allowing a team with a sub-.500 record to think it has a chance to finish first.
It wouldn't be right to call it a comedy of errors, because there hasn't been anything funny about it.
Two players -- Jung Ho Kang and Starling Marte -- fought the law, and the law won.
The destruction Marte's decision to bulk up has caused is incalculable. It took a productive bat and Gold Glove out of the lineup and led to a progresssion of left fielders who can't play left field.
Take your favorite vehicular analogy -- the Pirates are like a boat that springs another leak as soon as one is patched. Or they're like a distressed old car that sputters down the road, spewing fumes and making strange noises.
Whatever it's been, it hasn't been good. The offense spent a month in the deep freeze. When that finally thawed, the bulpen fell apart.
It seems like there's a .200 hitter in the lineup every night. Underachievers abound; overreachers can fit in the same booth at Eat 'n Park.
On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants walked 10 hitters. The Pirates scored one run and left 15 men on base. Nobody has stranded that many since USAirways shut down.
Sometimes a below-average division never gets better. In 1973, the Pirates, reeling from the death of Roberto Clemente and Steve Blass' sudden inability to throw strikes, had a major backslide. The New York Mets won the division with a modest 82-79 record.
The 1997 season was similar, with a malaise gripping the entire National League Central. That allowed the Pirates, with the smallest payroll in MLB, to stay in the race until the last week of the season. The Pirates were like gum on the shoes of the Houston Astros, who won the division with an 84-78 mark.
But seasons like that are few and far between, one reason the '97 Pirates were referred to as the freak show.
It's possible for a good team to have a bad first half and prevail. Case in point is the 1974 Pirates, who were buried in fifth place with a 37-44 record at the midpoint. That was a prelude to a 51-30 finishing kick (.630 winning percentage) that won the division.
The Cubs are still the most talented team in the division. They had a tumultuous week, which included the release of a catcher who publicly blamed a teammate and a star third baseman (Kris Bryant) who sprained an ankle when he caught a routine pop-up, then tripped over the base.
Can the fates continue to conspire against the Cubs? Will the St. Louis Cardinals emerge from the shadows and take advantage of the opportunity? Is what Milwaukee has done sustainable?
There's a chance for the Pirates to steal a division. But are they capable of doing that? At halftime, can't do better than a shaky "maybe."
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--NEW CHALLENGE
There's no summer vacation for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, who is tasked with replacing several players from his two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Unlike last year, when the team returned mostly intact, Rutherford is dealing with free agent defections like Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley and Chris Kunitz, and the subtraction of Marc-Andre Fleury via the expansion draft. There may be more departures, which will have Rutherford shopping for free agents and trades.
The team that raises the banner in October won't be the same one that won the Cup. Rutherford's been on a long winning streak with his personnel moves, and he'll need to maintain that magic touch.
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--WISHING AND HOPING
Look closely when Clint Hurdle signals for a reliever. Are his fingers crossed?
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
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