Here's the dilemma: The Pirates need a veteran pitcher to anchor a 2017 rotation that will probably be short on experience.
Ivan Nova, who might be the prize of the limited free agent market this winter, is already here.
Reports say he's looking for a five-year deal worth $70 million. Is that kind of investment justified for a pitcher who will be 30 next season, and who has a spotty record of accomplishment prior to a string of fine starts for the Pirates?
Nova is a ground ball pitcher and a strike thrower. Does that merit a five-year commitment that will eat a big chunk of the payroll?
Highly unlikely. Nova's agent says the Pirates have made a couple of offers, but it's doubtful any of them are near five years and $70 million.
It also makes no sense for Nova to commit to a deal before shopping the free agent market. There may be an offer even crazier than the one he wants.
---
--NO PANIC
NFL TV ratings were down after the first two weeks of the season.
Some have attributed this to a backlash to the national anthem protests. More likely it's two factors -- the absence of some big names and the nice weather that has lingered in the Midwest and northeast.
A Super Bowl rematch is always a good season opener, but maybe not so much with Peyton Manning retired to a full-time career in commercials.
We get confined to quarters for so much of the season, when the NFL is a welcome distraction. But if the weather is still warm and the sun is shining, camping in front of the TV is a less appealing option.
If the ratings are still down after eight weeks, it's a story. Not now.
---
--WASTE OF TIME
These are stressful times for Penguins manager Jim Rutherford, who is just three months removed from kissing the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins have opened training camp, but more than $20 million worth of Rutherford's players are participating in the meaningless World Cup tournament.
Blame it on Canada. Canadians are wonderful people. The brew excellent beer, their bacon is superb and you have to love the colourful way they insert an extra "u' in certain words, eh?
But they're paranoid about hockey, and they take every challenge personally. Thus you get make-believe tournaments like the World Cup.
So Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who played into mid-June, are expending energy playing in a tournament that proves nothing. Then they'll come to Pittsburgh to begin an 82-game season, followed by playoffs that may last for two months.
Oh, Canada. Stop being so touchy about international hockey. Let the players devote their effort to the teams that pay them.
---
--NO THOUGHT
You watch MLB games and wonder what's going through the players' heads, aside from an occasional gentle breeze.
Maybe they're so busy socializing with players from the other team that they forget the basics of playing the game.
Case in point: Friday night's game between Washington and the Pirates. Pedro Florimon had come into the game as a pinch runner and was on first base with two outs
Sean Rodriguez lined a ball that sailed over the center fielder's head. Replay cameras caught Florimon going at less than full speed toward second while his head was turned toward the outfield, watching the play.
The rule is the same if you're in Class A or the major leagues: Two outs, you take off on contact and run hard. If the ball is caught, it doesn't matter. At least you've had the workout of a sprint.
Florimon scored, but had to slide. A better throw may have gotten him, and added a new entry to the endless list of heartbreaking ways the Pirates have lost games this season.
Pedro Florimon, taking it easy? What's wrong with that picture?
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Altoona Mirror, September 18, 2016
So what do we get at 1 o'clock this afternoon, NFL or WWE?
It's the first showdown of the season between the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals and, just as the TV announcers always say, these are two teams that just don't like each other very much.
The last time they shared a field was January's playoff game in Cincinnati, which threatened to become a street fight.
There were suspensions from that, and the NFL even passed a new rule that prohibits assistant coaches from going onto the field for injury situations (Hello, Joey Porter).
Emotions run high, and that's a good thing. It makes for a compelling game. But if they bubble over, there's trouble. The NFL is well aware of how that works, thanks to the playoff game.
You can be sure the NFL has contacted both teams about keeping things under control, and the officials have undoubtedly been instructed to start throwing flags at the first hint of trouble.
Cincinnati's Vontaze Burfict is suspended for this game, so that's one large supply of gasoline that won't be thrown on any brush fires. But there are enough hotheads on both sides to make things volatile. Adam (He Doesn't Go By Pacman Anymore) Jones still plays for the Bengals.
We'll find out soon enough how this one unfolds. It's better for all concerned if the focus is on football.
---
--IT'S ON AGAIN
Speaking of rivalries that boiled over, Penn State and Pitt got things back up to speed last week after a too-long layoff.
This one used to be burn white hot, as illustrated by one incident from a routine weekly press luncheon at Pitt one year.
Aside from the complimentary hot meal, one mainstay of those events was the conference call with the opposing coach.
They'd get the guy on speaker phone, and he'd say a bunch of complimentary things about Pitt that could be used to fill advance stories for the week.
One week when Penn State was the opponent, Joe Paterno was on the line. Before anyone could ask anything, Joe was on the warpath about the lousy tickets Pitt had sent for his family to use for the game at Pitt Stadium.
"Geez, we take good care of them when they come here," was the basis of what he said.
So almost instantly, the Pitt people were staring daggers at the speaker box and muttering among themselves. In one corner of the room, Beano Cook was bellowing that it was all "unbelievable."
And just like that, things were at a boiling point five days before anybody suited up for the actual game.
Those were two programs that just didn't like each other very much. It was nice to see it ramp up again last Saturday.
---
--BIG DECISION
A lousy season will make an interesting offseason for the Pirates.
No decision will be bigger than what to do with Andrew McCutchen. Has the late-season surge raised his trade value after four mediocre months? If so, do the Pirates deal him and reconfigure the outfield to put Josh Bell in right field?
McCutchen has two years left on his contract (the second is a club option) and McCutchen won't be around beyond that. In addition to this year's hitting struggles, he's become a below-average center fielder.
What is the market for him? Are there teams that will view his first four months as an aberration?
Deciding McCutchen's future is where the Pirates' offseason starts.
---
NO MULTI-TASKING
One thing the Pirates might want to emphasize in 2017:
Just focus on playing ball, and don't bother trying to umpire, too.
It's the first showdown of the season between the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals and, just as the TV announcers always say, these are two teams that just don't like each other very much.
The last time they shared a field was January's playoff game in Cincinnati, which threatened to become a street fight.
There were suspensions from that, and the NFL even passed a new rule that prohibits assistant coaches from going onto the field for injury situations (Hello, Joey Porter).
Emotions run high, and that's a good thing. It makes for a compelling game. But if they bubble over, there's trouble. The NFL is well aware of how that works, thanks to the playoff game.
You can be sure the NFL has contacted both teams about keeping things under control, and the officials have undoubtedly been instructed to start throwing flags at the first hint of trouble.
Cincinnati's Vontaze Burfict is suspended for this game, so that's one large supply of gasoline that won't be thrown on any brush fires. But there are enough hotheads on both sides to make things volatile. Adam (He Doesn't Go By Pacman Anymore) Jones still plays for the Bengals.
We'll find out soon enough how this one unfolds. It's better for all concerned if the focus is on football.
---
--IT'S ON AGAIN
Speaking of rivalries that boiled over, Penn State and Pitt got things back up to speed last week after a too-long layoff.
This one used to be burn white hot, as illustrated by one incident from a routine weekly press luncheon at Pitt one year.
Aside from the complimentary hot meal, one mainstay of those events was the conference call with the opposing coach.
They'd get the guy on speaker phone, and he'd say a bunch of complimentary things about Pitt that could be used to fill advance stories for the week.
One week when Penn State was the opponent, Joe Paterno was on the line. Before anyone could ask anything, Joe was on the warpath about the lousy tickets Pitt had sent for his family to use for the game at Pitt Stadium.
"Geez, we take good care of them when they come here," was the basis of what he said.
So almost instantly, the Pitt people were staring daggers at the speaker box and muttering among themselves. In one corner of the room, Beano Cook was bellowing that it was all "unbelievable."
And just like that, things were at a boiling point five days before anybody suited up for the actual game.
Those were two programs that just didn't like each other very much. It was nice to see it ramp up again last Saturday.
---
--BIG DECISION
A lousy season will make an interesting offseason for the Pirates.
No decision will be bigger than what to do with Andrew McCutchen. Has the late-season surge raised his trade value after four mediocre months? If so, do the Pirates deal him and reconfigure the outfield to put Josh Bell in right field?
McCutchen has two years left on his contract (the second is a club option) and McCutchen won't be around beyond that. In addition to this year's hitting struggles, he's become a below-average center fielder.
What is the market for him? Are there teams that will view his first four months as an aberration?
Deciding McCutchen's future is where the Pirates' offseason starts.
---
NO MULTI-TASKING
One thing the Pirates might want to emphasize in 2017:
Just focus on playing ball, and don't bother trying to umpire, too.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Altoona Mirror, September 11, 2016
This is the time of year when a lot of NFL teams are selecting their starting quarterback.
For the Minnesota Vikings, it's a last-second decision brought on by a freak non-contact practice injury to Teddy Bridgewater. The Los Angeles Rams have chosen someone named Case Keenum ahead of overall No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff, who will be the team's No. 3 quarterback for at least one game.
The hapless Cleveland Browns are going with Robert Griffin III, even though the coaching staff doubts his ability to read defenses after four years in the league.
The quarterback decisions make for an interesting preseason coverage, but it's no way to run a football team.
Makes you realize how fortunate the Steelers are to have a franchise-caliber quarterback who should still have a few years left on his career.
Ben Roethlisberger has grown up before our eyes, from the indifferent and obnoxiously entitled rookie who alienated teammates to a guy who's an automatic choice for team captain. He's gone from someone whose encounters with random women drew police attention to a father of three who recently spent an off day at the zoo with his family.
He's matured from a quarterback who mostly handed the ball to Jerome Bettis to a force who can take over any game.
Sports fans seem to be blessed with a strange brand of amnesia that allows them to block out past reality, no matter how recent it is. That's why Pirates fans can complain about "only" getting to the wild card after the team has had 20 losing seasons.
And that's why people who complain about Roethlisberger don't seem to have any recollection of the Cliff Stoudt/Mark Malone/Bubby Brister/Neil O'Donnell/Kordell Stewart/Kent Graham/Mike Tomczak/Tommy Maddox succession that formed a wobbly bridge from one Hall of Famer, Terry Bradshaw, to another likely Hall selection in Roethlisberger.
One of these days, Roethlisberger won't be there. The odds are the Steelers will be one of those teams making an announcement about who will start at quarterback.
Things could be Cliff Stoudt scary again.
---
--DIRECTIONS NEEDED
A lot of people want to know who coaches the Pirates on base running.
It's an issue because of the frequent mishaps on the bases. The Pirates have shown the ability to get thrown out at any of the four bases, usually at the worst possible time.
Replacing a coach would be simple, but it's not the answer.
Base running is on the players. They need to make split-second decisions, and making the correct ones has been a significant challenge.
For all the instruction they get, players have to process the information and decide when to go and when to stay.
The coaches are no more responsible for that than the driver training instructor is to blame when a teenage decides to run a red light.
---
--NEVER ENDS
You see college coaches attending Friday night high school games and you realize what an endless grind college coaching is.
Recruiting never stops. Some people are naturals at sales, but you have to think that trying to convince a parade of 17-year-olds to accept a scholarship gets old at some point.
---
--YOU'RE WELCOME
Cranky old guy observation: When you see kids gladly accept a baseball flipped to them by a ball girl or a player, do they ever say thanks?
---
--IT'S ON AGAIN
Penn State vs. Pitt lived up to expectations.
Oh, to have a dime for every mean-spirited Tweet that was posted, and a dollar for every tasteless t-shirt that was sold.
For the Minnesota Vikings, it's a last-second decision brought on by a freak non-contact practice injury to Teddy Bridgewater. The Los Angeles Rams have chosen someone named Case Keenum ahead of overall No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff, who will be the team's No. 3 quarterback for at least one game.
The hapless Cleveland Browns are going with Robert Griffin III, even though the coaching staff doubts his ability to read defenses after four years in the league.
The quarterback decisions make for an interesting preseason coverage, but it's no way to run a football team.
Makes you realize how fortunate the Steelers are to have a franchise-caliber quarterback who should still have a few years left on his career.
Ben Roethlisberger has grown up before our eyes, from the indifferent and obnoxiously entitled rookie who alienated teammates to a guy who's an automatic choice for team captain. He's gone from someone whose encounters with random women drew police attention to a father of three who recently spent an off day at the zoo with his family.
He's matured from a quarterback who mostly handed the ball to Jerome Bettis to a force who can take over any game.
Sports fans seem to be blessed with a strange brand of amnesia that allows them to block out past reality, no matter how recent it is. That's why Pirates fans can complain about "only" getting to the wild card after the team has had 20 losing seasons.
And that's why people who complain about Roethlisberger don't seem to have any recollection of the Cliff Stoudt/Mark Malone/Bubby Brister/Neil O'Donnell/Kordell Stewart/Kent Graham/Mike Tomczak/Tommy Maddox succession that formed a wobbly bridge from one Hall of Famer, Terry Bradshaw, to another likely Hall selection in Roethlisberger.
One of these days, Roethlisberger won't be there. The odds are the Steelers will be one of those teams making an announcement about who will start at quarterback.
Things could be Cliff Stoudt scary again.
---
--DIRECTIONS NEEDED
A lot of people want to know who coaches the Pirates on base running.
It's an issue because of the frequent mishaps on the bases. The Pirates have shown the ability to get thrown out at any of the four bases, usually at the worst possible time.
Replacing a coach would be simple, but it's not the answer.
Base running is on the players. They need to make split-second decisions, and making the correct ones has been a significant challenge.
For all the instruction they get, players have to process the information and decide when to go and when to stay.
The coaches are no more responsible for that than the driver training instructor is to blame when a teenage decides to run a red light.
---
--NEVER ENDS
You see college coaches attending Friday night high school games and you realize what an endless grind college coaching is.
Recruiting never stops. Some people are naturals at sales, but you have to think that trying to convince a parade of 17-year-olds to accept a scholarship gets old at some point.
---
--YOU'RE WELCOME
Cranky old guy observation: When you see kids gladly accept a baseball flipped to them by a ball girl or a player, do they ever say thanks?
---
--IT'S ON AGAIN
Penn State vs. Pitt lived up to expectations.
Oh, to have a dime for every mean-spirited Tweet that was posted, and a dollar for every tasteless t-shirt that was sold.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Altoona Mirror, September 4, 2016
Penn State plays Pitt at Heinz Field this Saturday, and it's more than the revival of a storied rivalry.
It's a referendum on Pitt football.
Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes hasn't been on the job that long. On Saturday he'll get a first-hand look at how the Panthers' football program fits into the Pittsburgh sports scene.
The game is sold out, and it's rare that Heinz Field is packed for a Saturday game. That usually depends on the opponent, never more so than it will this week.
Pitt has two basic problems in trying to sell its football program to fans. The first is the Steelers own the town. The No. 2 area of football interest might be the high schools.
Pitt had too many years of mediocrity and too much turmoil to either build or maintain a large fan base.
The other battle has been the large number of Penn State and West Virginia alumni who live in western Pennsylvania. Not only are they not Pitt fans, they delight in seeing Pitt on the wrong end of something like a 48-14 score whenever possible.
That brings us to this game. The stadium will be full, but what will the percentage of allegiance be? There are reports some Penn State fans bought a full Pitt season ticket just to get this game.
Will it be 70-30 in Pitt's favor? Is 60-40 a more realistic ratio? Could it be 50-50?
Scott Barnes will take the pulse this Saturday.
---
--WALKER'S WOES
The timing couldn't have been worse for Neil Walker.
He's on the verge of free agency, and he'll head into the market after having back surgery that ended his season prematurely.
That's not the strongest negotiating position for a 31-year-old second baseman whose defensive range is already limited.
Walker had solid numbers with the Mets -- a career-best .823 OPS, a .282 average, second-best in his career, while matching his high for home runs with 23.
But his status is clouded by the surgery. He's expected to make a full recovery, but how much is a team willing to guarantee a player over 30 who's coming off surgery?
Instead of hitting the jackpot, Walker may have to settle for a one-year deal somewhere that's loaded with incentives based on how much he can play and how productive he is.
Walker has been paid around $28 million so far in his major league career. Had he stayed healthy, there's a good chance he would have exceeded that total with a three-year deal somewhere.
Now he'll likely have to wait until he can convince teams that he's healthy enough for a multi-year commitment.
---
--BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
All reunions have a degree of wistfulness about them, and that was certainly the case when some of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates gathered this weekend.
Eight of the players from the 25-man World Series have died. A few others were unable to travel.
The hair is gray among those who still have some. When the former teammates gather, they're as likely to talk about their grandchildren as they are to recall stories from the old days.
There's another reason to feel some pangs of nostalgia. The 1971 team was the Pirates' last championship team in the era before the baseball landscape changed radically.
Salary arbitration didn't go into effect until 1974. Free agency followed two years later. Fans who followed the Pirates in 1971 never had a worry about service time, years of control or players opting to leave or becoming too expensive to keep.
Under the current system, maybe the Pirates would have been forced to choose among Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Al Oliver rather than having them play in the same outfield.
Nobody left the team until the team decided it was time for them to go. The system wasn't fair for the players, and that's why it changed.
But it was a great time to be a fan.
It's a referendum on Pitt football.
Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes hasn't been on the job that long. On Saturday he'll get a first-hand look at how the Panthers' football program fits into the Pittsburgh sports scene.
The game is sold out, and it's rare that Heinz Field is packed for a Saturday game. That usually depends on the opponent, never more so than it will this week.
Pitt has two basic problems in trying to sell its football program to fans. The first is the Steelers own the town. The No. 2 area of football interest might be the high schools.
Pitt had too many years of mediocrity and too much turmoil to either build or maintain a large fan base.
The other battle has been the large number of Penn State and West Virginia alumni who live in western Pennsylvania. Not only are they not Pitt fans, they delight in seeing Pitt on the wrong end of something like a 48-14 score whenever possible.
That brings us to this game. The stadium will be full, but what will the percentage of allegiance be? There are reports some Penn State fans bought a full Pitt season ticket just to get this game.
Will it be 70-30 in Pitt's favor? Is 60-40 a more realistic ratio? Could it be 50-50?
Scott Barnes will take the pulse this Saturday.
---
--WALKER'S WOES
The timing couldn't have been worse for Neil Walker.
He's on the verge of free agency, and he'll head into the market after having back surgery that ended his season prematurely.
That's not the strongest negotiating position for a 31-year-old second baseman whose defensive range is already limited.
Walker had solid numbers with the Mets -- a career-best .823 OPS, a .282 average, second-best in his career, while matching his high for home runs with 23.
But his status is clouded by the surgery. He's expected to make a full recovery, but how much is a team willing to guarantee a player over 30 who's coming off surgery?
Instead of hitting the jackpot, Walker may have to settle for a one-year deal somewhere that's loaded with incentives based on how much he can play and how productive he is.
Walker has been paid around $28 million so far in his major league career. Had he stayed healthy, there's a good chance he would have exceeded that total with a three-year deal somewhere.
Now he'll likely have to wait until he can convince teams that he's healthy enough for a multi-year commitment.
---
--BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
All reunions have a degree of wistfulness about them, and that was certainly the case when some of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates gathered this weekend.
Eight of the players from the 25-man World Series have died. A few others were unable to travel.
The hair is gray among those who still have some. When the former teammates gather, they're as likely to talk about their grandchildren as they are to recall stories from the old days.
There's another reason to feel some pangs of nostalgia. The 1971 team was the Pirates' last championship team in the era before the baseball landscape changed radically.
Salary arbitration didn't go into effect until 1974. Free agency followed two years later. Fans who followed the Pirates in 1971 never had a worry about service time, years of control or players opting to leave or becoming too expensive to keep.
Under the current system, maybe the Pirates would have been forced to choose among Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Al Oliver rather than having them play in the same outfield.
Nobody left the team until the team decided it was time for them to go. The system wasn't fair for the players, and that's why it changed.
But it was a great time to be a fan.
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