Did you watch the Steelers' preseason opener on Friday?
Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell did. If the Steelers had a starting tight end, he probably would have watched from the sidelines, too.
It wasn't the Steelers vs. Detroit Lions as much as it was Guys Who Are Temporarily Wearing Steelers Uniforms against the Lions.
The coaches got some video tape on marginal players who will be sent packing in the coming weeks (or starting at tight end). It was basically a continuation of the combined practices the Steelers and Lions had in Latrobe earlier in the week.
Fans must buy preseason games as part of their season ticket package.
It probably worked out. People got a chance to scout for an increasingly rare parking spot on the North Side and got a head start on their tailgate drinking routine.
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--WORKING OVERTIME?
Jameson Taillon is looking more like a major league pitcher every time he starts.
His success is welcome after the rotation has struggled so badly, but it does come with a caveat. Taillon didn't pitch competitively for the last two seasons because of injuries, including Tommy John surgery.
He's never thrown more than 147 innings in a professional season. He's currently at 121 innings.
Will there come a time the Pirates have to start consciously curtailing Taillon's innings?
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--NUMBERS PLEASE
Every time designated hitter Pedro Alvarez hits a home run for Baltimore, some irrationally angry Pirates fans yell, "See?....see?"
Easy does it. The Pirates' offense is actually better than it was last year, and they're hitting more home runs, too.
After 112 games, this year's team is superior in runs (503 to 475), home runs (103 to 95), on-base percentage (.329 to .320), slugging percentage (.401 to .394) and OPS (.730 to .714).
The only decline is a negligible one in batting average (.259 to .257).
The difference between last season and this one has been sub-standard starting pitching for more than half a season.
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--WORTH REPEATING
There was a court date last week for the woman who was hit in the head by a foul ball while standing behind the home plate screen at PNC Park.
Exhibiting the kind of restraint common to local TV news, KDKA-TV showed her getting conked in the head five times in less than 30 seconds. There would have been a sixth replay, but the script on the voiceover ended.
The record was probably broken later by the guy who face-planted his own plate of nachos.
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--MORE OF THE SAME
Just when you thought those post-game interviews on Root Sports couldn't get more unctuous, Robby Incmikoski established a new standard on Friday.
He ended an interview with Andrew McCutchen by pointing to the camera and telling McCutchen, "Say goodbye to everybody in Pittsburgh and thank them for staying up this late."
McCutchen looked at the camera, nodded, and walked away without saying a word.
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--REACHING DEEP
Some of Steve Blass' random digressions on Pirates broadcasts are taking on that "crazy uncle" flavor.
OK, you understand there will be a Bob Gibson reference at some point. (Gibson, who's now 80, last pitched in 1975).
But the presence of Travis Jankowski in the Padres lineup led Blass to reference a 1965 instrumental hit, "A Walk In The Black Forest" by Horst Jankowski.
It reached No. 12 on the Billboard chart, but probably hasn't been played on radio since 1965.
If Casey Kasem were still around, it's doubtful he'd remember the record.
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--COUPLES TRIP
Thirty Pirates wives are accompanying their husbands on the current trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Wonder if there would be as much participation if the destinations were Cincinnati and Milwaukee?
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