No excuse for low payroll?

Dejan stirs up the shitpot in today's Q+A:

Beating the poor horse to a pulp here, the Reds probably will wind up spending close to $70 million on their 2007 payroll. The Brewers could approach that, too. And the difference between these three markets, in terms of size, stadiums and just about every intangible is exactly zero, which means there remains no visible, explainable excuse for the Pirates to spend in the range of $50 million, as they are planning.

Continuing the horse-beating, there's actually an obvious visible, explainable excuse: the ownership group's unquenchable greed and disinterest in winning.

Ohka

Bucs have expressed interest in RH SP Tomo Ohka, Dejan reports.

Looking at the free agent list today, the remaining RH starters (not named Clemens, Eaton, Maddux, Schmidt, Suppan, or Weaver) are Armas, Batista, Helling, Jason Johnson, Marquis, Meche, Moehler, Ohka, Ramon Ortiz, Russ Ortiz, Padilla, Park, Radke, Sele, Thomson, Trachsel, Paul Wilson, and Jamey Wright.

Wow, that's an ugly list. There's a reason these guys are all free agents I guess. I'm no Ohka fan, but in this context, he doesn't seem so bad. I'd guess Batista will get big offers soon. Of everyone else, most I would never want to see in a Bucs uni. Padilla and Thomson are both slightly intriguing, but I'd rather see the money spent on a more promising long-term plan. Anyone have any suggestions for a RH starter?

Intellect-challenged stewardship

Larry Dobrow of cbs tries to throw clueless GM Littlefield off Pirates' sinking ship. A fairly superficial analysis of DL's failures, but I agree with three of the four suggestions to try to Save This Franchise.

Time to clean house

Amen to Gene Collier's column.

Righties

So Dejan Kovacevic reports Jeff Suppan would be a Pirate again. Works for me.

The Cardinals signed Kip Wells. If the current roster had any kind of plate discipline, I would look forward to facing him. They don't, however, so I'm guessing the Pirates will make Kip look good.

Jose Castillo en fuego in Venezuela

Rotoworld reports 85 good 1000-OPS at-bats from the big, powerful-looking big man.

So I guess you can scotch all the trade rumors involving Castillo. Maybe he could move over to first and become the next Randall Simon for us.

Darn sure

BP's Jonah Keri writes now for the New York Times.

When rumors surfaced that the Chicago Cubs had signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136 million contract, reporters ran to General Manager Jim Hendry for confirmation. Were the Cubs really going to be that ... aggressive?

“We won 66 ballgames,” Hendry told them. “We darn sure better be aggressive.”

Why is it always "aggressive" to sign a top-quality player for a price set by the free agent market? I don't mean to sound like an agent, but good things cost good money for good reasons.

And you can't compare the "value" a team gets from players in their first six years vs. players on the free agency market. Those are two different pools. Baseball's union and ownership has created a two-tier caste system. Players have to do their time before they can make full citizenship and the salaries that come with it.

The Pirates are not going to win without good players. They do not have many good players right now. They can sit back and pooh-pooh the Cubs and Astros as being "aggressive" in an "inflated" market all they want, but they can't expect to win more games until they pay good money for good players.

A very pitiful performance

The 2006 Steelers are not very good.

Pirates continue ghetto party

Dejan Kovacevic has this long report today about the Pirates' strategery for winter meetings.

I do not understand the hang-up, if genuine, about Adam Dunn's strikeouts. He has a career OBP of .380. He gets on base, so there's little reason to be concerned about the low batting average or the strikeouts. He hits for tremendous power. What's not to like?

As for the Pirates having a lot of strikeouts in 2006, the team leader was Jason Bay. Because we have Jason Bay, we can't have Adam Dunn? Uh, that can't be called "reasoning." After Bay, the strikeouts came mainly from Tweedledee (Craig Wilson), Tweedledum (Jose Bautista), and Tweedledummer (Jose Castillo). There's no indication that the Pirates are building around either one of those clowns. Paulino is here to stay, but Burnitz and Duffy, also big-time strikeouters, are gone or show little to no promise of being an asset next April. To say the Pirates already "have" lots of strikeouts is bit like saying the Pirates already have little to no hitting talent on the roster. Because we have no hitting talent, we cannot acquire hitting talent?

Let's be clear about this. The Pirates have, more or less, nothing in the hitting department. Nothing! Jason Bay and an 850-OPS third baseman who rarely strikes out. There's nothing else of much consequence or impact. Adam Dunn or any of those guys Kovacevic names are something; any one of those guys would become the team's best or second-best hitter.

So the talk about whether or not this or that hitter "matches" the team's current roster is silly. It's like the Pirates have a big empty loft with two pieces of quality furniture. The rest of the room is filled with hand-me-down junk and stuff picked up from the curb. In this setting, why cavil about whether or not Adam Dunn "matches" the existing decor? The existing decor is terrible. If the addition of Dunn or some other high-quality slugger makes the curtains look shabby, you can't blame the good stuff for that contrast.

Unless you love to live in squalor. If this is the case, you punctuate your half-baked rants on acquiring major-league hitters with a piss in the corner and a compliment for the curtains, which really aren't half bad considering they were free.

It's been Down and Out in PNC Park for many years; why should we expect change? I predict the Pirates mumble something about making some high-impact moves. And then do nothing or little. Real sluggers are expensive. Cardboard boxes are free, and they actually look good in what dirty light filters through the high-strikeout curtains.

NFL week 12: Steelers at Ravens

Time to see what makes these Ravens 8-2.

Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy the holiday. Pass the gravy. Go Steelers!

Roster set, Cota still on it

In case you missed it, the Bucs filled out their 40-man roster Monday night, adding OF Nyjer Morgan, LHP Dave Davidson, and RHP Romulo Sanchez, while dropping C Carlos Maldonado.

Confusion abounds throughout the blogosphere as to whether DL really f-ed up again, mistakenly thinking Wardell Starling and Jesse Chavez would not have to be protected. Initially, Ed Eagle's mlb.com story listed Starling and Chavez along with Bixler as those who, under the new CBA, don't have to be protected. Quickly (and after WTM at OnlyBucs.Net questioned that detail) an edit appeared, deleting Starling and Chavez's names. Perhaps DL intentionally left Starling and Chavez off, preferring prospects Yurendell de Caster and Marty McLeary. I have no idea. I'll admit my reaction to this story was "what? Cota is still on this team?"

The Rule 5 draft is December 7th.

All hail Lonely Cousin!

For the 10-5 week 11 HW NFL pick 'em pool victory, and a remarkable year so far. LC laughed off the improbable week 5 blanking and has clawed his way back into the running for the Grand Prize. Azibuck gets an honorable mention mini-hail for the 10-6. If your cup is still full, go ahead and hail us, too, for my week 9 (first-of-the-year) swoop* and for Rowdy's week 10 win (which he already crowed about). We're still under .500 though, so just have a tiny sip.

[*swoop: (n) a victory of 2 games or more in an NFL pick 'em pool contest; (v) to win via swoop]

Ballbug

This Ballbug "MLB buzz bot" site is growing on me. It's automatically updated every 5 minutes with links to MLB news and accompanying links to relevant blog posts, and is completely devoid of ads.

Short week

There's a number of NFL games this Thursday. Be sure to make your picks in our ATS pool early, especially if you are leaving the Internets for the annual festival of gluttony.

Other teams sign players

While Dave and G. Ogden sing:

"Rinky Tinky!
Think of that!
To be a cat
Without a hat!"

"Sing it, Scat!" said Jim.

And everyone had fun.

Browns lose

The Steelers were going to pull that win off yesterday, I just knew it. Browns fans also knew it:

As the Steelers were making that final drive -- and you just knew they would score a touchdown -- I suddenly felt really sorry for the fans. As usual, there was a sellout at Browns Stadium. The fans acted like their team was 6-3 and in contention, instead of 3-6 and going nowhere. And the Browns actually appeared ready to beat the Steelers -- until the fourth quarter. And then, you just knew they'd lose.

That's Terry Pluto reporting for the Akron Beacon Journal.

I link that not to gloat, but to say, that's how it can be with some franchises. Pirate fans are not alone in the world. It's more than bad luck; it's learned helplessness.

Week 11: Steelers at Browns

If the Browns can stop the run, they can beat the Steelers. Game starts at one.

I predict Steelers 27, Browns 14, with the Steelers pulling away in the fourth quarter.

... 4:30pm ... nice W. That was learned helplessness in action at the end. Thank you, Cleveland. Catch you again on 12/7.

April is the cruelest month

That would be my answer to Smizik's question, which is the most depressing part of the season for Pirate fans?

Fireworks and bobbleheads

Classic Smizik on the offseason depression and learned helplessness of the Pirates fan.

I don't want to see DL trade Bay or Duke only because I have no confidence in what Chief Littlefield might accept in return. Charlie's plea to trade the relievers (all of them!) seems fail-safe to me, because even if we got nothing but utility IFs in return, DL has proven himself an expert at assembling a top-notch bullpen from the scrapheap.

And they say sports fans are strange

Hey, I'm some kind of fogey or something. I don't at all get the level of interest in the PS3 and the Wii.

About 600 people had lined up at the Toys R Us store in Times Square, waiting for a midnight launch event. No. 12 in line, Royce Reynolds from Baker, Fla., said he had been there since 4 p.m. the day before.

At the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Center, 86 people were lined up for the morning opening. Anthony Eaton, dressed in green as the character Link from the "Zelda" series of games, looked chagrined when passing girls called him "Peter Pan."

Eaton, 18, didn't really need to be in line, since his friend had pre-ordered a Wii for him that would be available for pickup the next morning.

"It's all in the spirit of gaming. Wiis only get launched once, and we gotta do this right," said Eaton, who had traveled up from Washington to be at the only U.S. store bearing the Nintendo name.

He's gotta do it right.

Eldred in the groove

Raises average to .231, mlb.com reports.

4.3%

The PG's Gerry Dulac has a simile:

But, when the people entrusted with chasing the quarterback saw that Frye has been sacked 34 times -- a pace dubious enough to chase Tim Couch's franchise record of 54 -- it was almost as though they received a floral-embossed invitation to spend some time in the Browns' backfield.

Gerry also profiles our new 255 lb. return man.

In other news, my two favorite Steelers are both ready to play. For the Browns, CB Bodden is out, and Droughns, McGinest, Cribbs, Winslow, CB Perry, LB Williams are all questionable. Collectively, this should add up to another pistol-whipping of the Browns and set the stage for the unlikely playoff surge.

Speaking of which, over at HSS, Israel stipulates the Steelers into the playoffs. A link from the comments thread over there estimates the Steelers playoff odds at 4.3%.

Dave mumbles

Something about something or other.

Sean Casey re-signs

Scratch the Mayor off Dave's wish list.

Clap harder

Ed Bouchette says the Steelers will make the playoffs if we all clap harder.

Jovorskie Lane

Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling over on YouTube. He'll be lucky to graduate to the NFL and have one Jerome Bettis-like season. Still, he's a lot of fun to watch. It's not every day you see a 274-pound tailback. And it's easy to imagine him in the black and gold.

If the Steelers had a young back like this, they could run the ball on two out of three plays. The 50-50 run-pass ratio is not some law all teams must obey. How about 33 big guy runs, 33 Willie Parker runs, and 34 we let Ben Roethlisberger throw the ball.

Fade the Public

My against-the-spread record last week was 11-5. The strategy? Fade the public. All I did was choose the team with a minority of backers on our site, pigskin.com. The upset mood of the Tuesday election encouraged the suspicion that the experts might also be "all wrong" in the following week of NFL action.

I've also been under the superstition suspicion that the book is way due. If I had the time, I would look through the past weeks. The "public" or majority of pickers have done unusually well this season, I think; that's the impression I've been under at least. I often make the "ugly" choice, all things being equal, and that has brought me to a Littlefieldesque .430 winning percentage on the season. So I will probably continue with the strategy.

White Flag gets red spot

Reflecting the fact that his entrance either indicated or soon precipitated imminent surrender, Ryan Vogelsong came to be known this year as "the Human White Flag" or later just "White Flag".

The Trib reports that RV is set to sign with the Hanshin Tigers. (If you don't believe the Trib, which you shouldn't, Charlie found a picture.) Earlier in the Trib article:

"We have interest in some players in the Japanese market," Littlefield said. "We've had some scouting groups over there. It's an area where we're going to do more business."

Technically, DL isn't lying here, although his main interest involves selling players, not acquiring them. DL and his scouts' hard work has finally paid off. Kaching! RV was a minor league free agent, so the Nuttings don't stand to make a nickel off this deal. Back to the drawing board, Dave.

Fly on, RV.

Tuesday

What's up? Bones and I are busting our asses in our day jobs. Strangely, this blog has yet to generate much in the way of advertising revenue.

Steelers win

Like I said, the problem with the Steelers is Willie Parker, who is not able to lead the team the way The Running Back must lead a Steeler team.

NFL Week 10: Saints at Steelers

Run Willie Run. Game's at four.

What's wrong with the Steelers

The 2006 Steelers lack the power running game of almost every other season in recent Steeler history. Willie Parker is a slashing Tiki Barber type. I'm sorry, but that's not Steeler football. He's a great back, but the team has not been designed to support such a runner.

More specifically, the offensive line has played much worse this year than in previous years. It used to be that Jerome Bettis would inspire those guys by showing them how to hit the would-be tacklers. Last year Bettis was not an every-down player, but he did some things at pivotal moments in that Super Bowl season.

There's a cascade effect here. Parker runs funny for a Steelers number-one back. The offensive line looks confused for this, and now it's all on them to punish the D-line. The other team puts eight men in the box to stop the run. The Steelers run ineffectively. Now the quarterback must attempt more passes. This causes the o-line, built for the power running game, to work more in pass defense, which was not necessarily their strongest point last year. The quarterback is only in his third year. The wide receivers have not been so good. Everything breaks down.

And for me, it all comes from a single problem. Steeler football is when the other team knows you are going to run the ball, and still you run the ball. This team can't do that. So they can't play Steeler football. The Steelers don't win when they deviate from that formula.

It all comes down to the loss of Bettis and getting away from the power running game. That's how I see it.

John Perrotto, if the Pirates go bold

John Perrotto writes:

If the Pirates want to be bold in a trade market, there are three hitters who could be available for the right package of pitchers, most likely closer Mike Gonzalez and left-handed starter Zach Duke. They are Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira, Tampa Bay left fielder Carl Crawford and Cincinnati left fielder Adam Dunn.

Littlefield has always been reluctant to trade pitching, but he almost certainly would have to part with closer Gonzalez.

Teixeira, Crawford, or Dunn would make great additions. But I will believe Littlefield could manage such a trade when I see it.

The forecast for the Pirates before March 1 looks like this: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Bernie Williams

I wonder if Bernie would not be Littlefield's kind of free agent. He switch-hits and has won some gold gloves in the outfield. He's not expensive.

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Have a beer for Jack Palance.

Years ago we had a Jack Palance festival and watched three or four of his best in row. His boxing movie or made-for-TV movie is one of the best sports films ever.

All hail Jack Palance!

Ike might start

The PG's Gerry Dulac reports:

Cowher hasn't made up his mind yet but thinks Ike just might start on Sunday. Santonio will return punts. And Hines will pay Nate's $5K fine for crashing Nate's dance party. All hail the Superfast Smooth-Dancin' Big-Hearted Deep-Pocketed Super Bowl MVP!

Ben is getting creamed.

Ben has been sacked 23 times in seven games, matching his total from last season. Nine have come in the past two games, even though teams have been rushing only three or four players and dropping the rest into coverage.

Teams have stopped blitzing Roethlisberger -- his last 12 sacks have been by defensive lineman -- and are daring him to find creases in their packed zones. Still, though, the sacks come.

"They're putting us in position to see if he can read coverages and beat them with the passing game," said receiver Hines Ward, who has 28 catches for 438 yards the past four games and has benefitted from the increased number of passes. "When you're dropping that many guys, it's hard. We got eight guys against four and we're trying to get open."

This could explain the INTs. Earlier in this same link, Dulac sounds like Rowdy, with the "training wheels" analogy:

Even though the Steelers have taken off the training wheels on their passing game, the results have not been nearly as proficient as when they clamp on their quarterback to be more judicious and conservative.

Lloyd McClendon, hitting coach

I wonder if he'll manage again, ever. Story here.

Porter flaps jaw, Ike to sit

Terrified of the impending disasters that are DL's offseason moves, I haven't completely given up on the Steelers. Theoretically, they could still win out and sneak into the playoffs.

The first step is a win on Sunday vs. the Saints, which is already in the bag because Joey Porter has guaranteed victory. JPeezy has taken a lot of flak this year, accused of being overrated, inconsistent, and of having dogs that eat (tiny) horses. He might come off as a simpleton sometimes, but to me, Joey sounds pretty smart here:

"We haven't lost any hunger. We had more turnovers now than we had all of last year. We were involved in every game, but you're not going to win the game when you have four, five turnovers a game."

Or six. Moving on, HSS discusses an interesting Unsubstantiated Rumor of the Year involving Cowher, a contract, and the Rooneys. Getting back to Joey, HSS also links to MJD, who explains that Joey's $15K fine was for threatening an official. Joey angrily denies even making the comment and is hoping one of his teammates will step forward and confess.

In other Steeler news, McFadden will start on Sunday while Ike is assigned to chatting Duce up on the sideline.

Rowdy Claus recommends the killer Hans doll

Best present for your little Pirate fan? I suggest one or more of these 12 inch posable Cooperstown Collection "Honus Wagner" dolls. They are just like the big eleven-inch GI Joes of my early 1970s childhood--except they play ball. Do an ebay search for honus-wagner cooperstown-collection to find more.

They retailed in the mid-90s for $30. Many people bought them and stuffed them into their closet as "collector's items." For this reason, they are easy to find in a mint, unopened box. How cool is that? All hail crazed investing!

Rowdietta and Rowdy Jr. share about six of them. Cinderella and Pocahontas hang with "Hans," "George" (the Babe), "Ty" (Cobb), "Lou" (Gehrig), and their assorted "evil twins." The one and only Cy Young has been AWOL for many months; he's probably spelunking deep inside a sofa. You can see the whole set here.

Strip these guys down and they look like Gabe Kapler; they have what looks to me like the total mid-90s 'roid aesthetic. George, who comes in two versions (New York and Boston), has an extra layer of padding to make him fat. Rowdietta calls this his "onesie." They also come with baseballs, gloves, bats, and batting helmets which you can set aside if you worry about choking hazards. Again proving he's the greatest player of all time, Hans makes, easily, the most handsome of the dolls. FWIW, Lou's head is too big for his hat. Once you remove it, it never stays on again.

While I paid an average of about $10 for the dozen or so dolls I have collected to give to various children, I would go farther and recommend the mint ones at $25-$30 a pop. (I don't know any of those people now selling them on ebay, either, in case you wonder about that.) They are that cool to have lying around with your four-year-old's Cinderella and Barbie dolls. Hans looks good in the Barbie convertible. You should not have to pay that much, however, unless this post starts some kind of pre-holiday run on them. As you can tell by doing a "completed auctions" search, they often go unsold at any price. They rock. Get some. They make great Christmas presents for your young people.

Pirates showcase players in Japan

OurSportsCentral.com interviewed Indy's pentalingual hitting coach Bam Bam Meulens, who comments upon visiting Japan this summer:

"Dave (Littlefield) and his staff gave us a list of guys to watch," Meulens says. "We also took a list of players -- in our organization -- who will be available to play in Japan next year. There were a couple of our guys who we were trying to showcase and a couple of their guys who we went to look at."

The group identified many promising players during the trip, but the astronomical resources needed to acquire Japanese players can prohibit a trade.

I'd guess that DL had Meulens scouting players like the Nippon Ham Fighter's Shigeyuki Furuki, who can play all IF positions, and could conceivably be converted to a middle reliever.

Seriously, DL sends scouts to Japan to try to showcase his own players? Is this standard practice for MLB international scouts - to showcase their own players rather than focusing on trying to sign talent to improve their team?

Logos and uniforms

Pat at WHYGAVS nicely details the history of Pirates' logos and uniforms. In the comments over there, Azibuck points out the roid-enraged appearance the players take on by 1997. This occurs abruptly in 1995, as the players simultaneously sprout evil menacing faces, just in time for the black-hearted Nuttings' sinking of the team in 1996. Curiously, the home player also suddenly holds out one of his hands. Just behind him, the road player angrily grips his bat. Together they're clearly demanding money for the Nuttings, as in "Give me your freakin' wallet, sucker."

How does this end

Second-half predictions for the Steelers? I figure they are a .500 team who has squandered several wins. It's likely they will squander as many as they quietly steal in the second half, so I foresee, without looking at the schedule, a 4-4 record, meaning they finish at 6-10. That's my prediction. What's yours?

NFL Week 9: Broncos at Steelers

Game on at 4:15. If this turns sour, I recommend you click over to NHL.com and surf the Highlight Machine, which rocks very much. Use the video links on the daily scoreboard to get into it.

This stupid losing feeling

Brett Keisel, via Gerry Dulac, says it all:

"We need to get that feeling back again instead of this stupid losing feeling."

In other Steelers news, even the ACL tear in Haynes' knee isn't enough to play Duce. Instead, Najeh becomes the 3rd down back, and John Kuhn will suit up. The OL has been shuffled: Simmons will start, and Okobi replaces Harting. (BTW, Chukky would like to point out that he did NOT look like an idiot in Oakland: "But did I look like an idiot? No.") Importantly, NT Casey Hampton should return for Sunday's game.

All hail EddieHarks!

For his 8-3 ATS picks, securing the NFL week 8 HW pick 'em pool victory. Meanwhile, Rowdy and I both stunk again. Confidence is a fragile thing. Rowdy and I have no reason to be confident swamis at this point. We haven't done the things it takes to pick winning football teams.

HW salutes: Steve Peeler

Exasperated over 14 years of losing baseball? Disappointed in a 2-5 football team? Too lazy to fill out the Penguins' bandwagon application? Yet desperately seeking a hero? Meet PNC head groundskeeper Steve Peeler, who's been busting his ass. For some reason in April, perhaps due to lack of other heart-lifting stories about the Bucs, mlb.com caught up with Peeler. The 14 hour days were taking its toll:

"Honestly, it feels like a piano on your back come Opening Day," Peeler said...

"We've rebuilt this field over the winter, so parts of the season, especially in the first month, there's going to be adjustments that will need to be made for the players' satisfaction, Jim Tracy's satisfaction, and also Dave Littlefield's satisfaction." ...

"My health has gone downhill quite a bit. I try to remain a healthy person, but over the past few years, I've had some anxiety problems and I think it all stems from this. You can have the best stadium, the best players, but if you don't have a good field, there's nothing. It's definitely a young man's game. The older you get, it really wears you thin. I know it's worn me thin. Sometimes you ask yourself, 'Is it really worth all this?' "

Don't answer that one, Steve. During the ASB, USAT also caught up with Steve:

"Because his hours are so long and can be erratic, Peeler has a small "apartment" in the park for his overnight stays — a windowless room with a pullout couch, desk, television and computer."

Despite the unimportant on-field baseball product, one tireless man works himself into the ground. For the field, for the players, for Tracy, for DL, and for you, loyal Pirates fan. All hail Steve Peeler!

Randa retires

The Joker is done:

"I pretty much made up my mind before last season started that it would be my last."

Have fun with your kids and your $4,000,000, Joe. (link via Bucs Dugout).

Evgeni Malkin, one for the ages?

More reading material. (Thank you Lonely Cousin.)

Penguins win

Read all about it.

How about them Penguins?

If you have not been paying attention, you could start with this article by Damien Cox for ESPN. Then look here.

Pirates close to signing Cuban right-hander

Baseball America's John Manuel reports. Some relevant clips:

Herrera, 25, has finalized a deal on a major league contract with the Pirates, though the deal is not official pending Herrera passing a physical. . . .

Herrera has had success in Cuba, with a career 18-7, 3.72 record. Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said nothing was official with Herrera, though [his agent Jaime] Torres said the physical is the only legal obstacle to the signing. He confirmed the organization's interest in Herrera, saying the Pirates have "seen him a few times in the Dominican. I know there's interest from other clubs. I just don't want to comment until it's really official."

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound righthander, who is still working out in Santo Domingo in the Dominican, has shown command of a fringy fastball and what Torres termed an above-average curveball, and one scout liked him a lot.

"He's got an above-average split-finger (fastball) and was 88-92," the scout said after seeing Herrera pitch in a workout in August. "I could see his velocity jumping up to 90-94 once he gets into a system and he could very easily be a No. 4 starter in the big leagues."

He's young.

One of us! One of us!

Raiders to Steelers: "We accept you, one of us! Gooble Gobble!" No doubt there's gobbling in Cleveland tonight as well. What a turkey this season turned out to be. Kinda reminds me of the season turned in by another local professional team . . .

NFL week 8: Steelers at Raiders

The 2-4 Steelers go west to face the 1-5 Raiders. If the Steelers hand over another one, they'll be tied with the Raiders in the wins column.

We get an extra hour to prepare for this one. All hail the end of daylight savings time! Game on at 5:15 4:15.

Bouchette's weekly miscellany

Ed Bouchette wrote some good stuff here.

I agree that the NFL could do us all some favors by putting the MLB to shame. The NFL could have put Jacksonville at Houston on Sunday night and outdrawn the World Series. Such a move would force the MLB to make their playoffs more compelling.

Making MLB better, again

After further thought, it boils down to one thing for me: the season is much too damn long. It has to end at least three weeks earlier. They can start it sooner or they can shorten the playoffs.

I'd favor eight divisions of four teams who play each other a lot, and the extra round of playoffs is needed for that. So I'd suggest they start it sooner and trim the schedule to 154 games.

83 wins

So MLB has gone and made a schedule and a playoff schedule that results in an 83-win team taking the championship. I've long argued that just about any team can win 82 games, my baseline expectation for just about every team (including the Pirates) year after year.

Far be it from me to question the business judgment of MLB's owners, who are selling plenty of tickets and making money hand over fist, but the game has lost some of its appeal as a game for hardcore fans. Perhaps they are fine with that. The circus sells plenty of tickets and hardly anyone identifies themselves as a loyal circus fan.

To improve the quality of competition, which may have nothing to do with ticket sales, the league should do these things: (1) reorganize the leagues and divisions into even, geographically-tight groups, (2) shorten the season, and (3) adopt a playoff structure that more heavily favors the teams with the most wins during the regular season. I won't hold my breath; the league is happy, I think, to sacrifice anything for the sake of their bottom line. That may even be the best long-term strategy.

Congratulations, St. Louis. All championships are equally awesome. Enjoy the offseason.

Ben to start

Barring another injury on the trip to Oakland, Ben will start on Sunday, Dulac reports. Hampton will join Duce on the sideline, but Haggans and Porter will both start.

Marino prediction

Also from Dulac's notebook is this Dan Marino quote from this week's edition of HBO's "Inside the NFL":

"The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-4 with five division games left. They are going to win that division."

To think I used to hate Marino. All hail winning the division!

Rooney fined $25,000

Dan Rooney doesn't care.

But Rooney apparently had no qualms about speaking out, or about suffering the consequences that came down Friday. "I don't care. They need to know," Rooney said.

In fact, just to make sure he drove his point home, Rooney handed Goodell a copy of the Post-Gazette, including his quotes, at a league meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday.

Is a bigass fine an appropriate way to thank someone for getting you a job? Shame on you, Roger Goodell.

All hail BIGFISH!

For going 9-4 to bring home the Week 7 HW NFL pick 'em pool shout-out. Do Rowdy and I just suck this year? Or are we getting unlucky? Or has someone stolen our mojo? Not understanding why, we continue our Littlefieldian freefall.

Hall of Fame

Carnell Lake, Dermontti Dawson, Kevin Greene, and Donnie Shell nominated.

Hines proud of Hines superhuman speed

Gerry Dulac has Hines quotes: "I'm the only receiver since I've been here to take a skinny route all the way and I've done it twice. I did it last year against New England and I did it this year against supposedly the fastest man in the league. I like to call it running scared."

I like to call it losing, as the Steelers lost both of these games. Hines Ward "Superfast Hines". He's got smooth dance moves too.

Ben

Cowher will wait til Sunday morning to announce if Ben or Batch is starting.

Off the field, Ben has had a busy week, getting teased by the Onion, Sportspickle, and Deadspin.

ex-Pirate homers, Tigers lead game 4

Yes we are rooting for him and the other ex-Pirates.

Make them tie

Ed Bouchette and Florida's Steve Harrod gripe about the OT rules.

I say make them tie. Draws are cool.

Stop the celebrations

Yeah man, I definitely hate the celebrations. It's beyond the day when there was a valid way of defending them. Score the touchdown, drop the ball, get ready for kickoff. Save the celebrations for the locker room.

A whole team that did this would get mad love from the fans.

830-point Scrabble game

And Slate's Stefan Fatsis explains why a bad player set this record.

Burnitz bought out

Ed Eagle reports. No surprise here. Burnitz gets 700K to just go away. Now DL wants to look at anybody else:

"When we originally signed Burnitz, we felt that we wanted to sign someone to a one-year contract -- in his case with a club option -- with the idea of giving some other players time to see how they developed. Right now, our feeling is that we're going to look in another direction, whether that's internal or through a trade or maybe through another free agent."

Which is to say, those other players were either given away by Chief Littlefield, didn't develop quite as hoped, or maybe never even existed in the first place.

In hindsight, DL should've read the writing on the wall. There was no reason to think Burnitz would bounce back from his lousy 2005 .258/.322/.435 year. BBTF's Dan Szymborski wrote this upon the JB signing:

"Horrible, horrible move by Dave Littlefield. If the jury's still out on Littlefield, it's only because the jury asked for their Chinese food to be poisoned so that they wouldn't have to watch this team. I strongly suggest that Pirate fans really make an effort to do what I do with the Orioles - vote with your wallet. Say no to David Littlefield and his Tall Fetid Devil Id. OK, I couldn't think of a better anagram."

At the time, DL rationalized the cockblocking of CW:

"Whether it's media or fans, everybody has to realize that, if we are going to get better, part of it is having better backups," Littlefield said. "Through ownership, we've been able to increase payroll, so you're going to have the opportunity to have quality backups."

(Sounds familiar...) Tracy played it safe with the "We are a different team with Jeromy Burnitz" quote.

Not too surprisingly and despite DL's hopes, JB crashed and burned with a disappointing .238/.289/.422 line. For these struggles he came to epitomize everything that was wrong with the organization and invoked the hatred of the fanbase, culminating in "Buck Furnitz" shirts. At times I felt bad for JB, the 2006 whipping boy, as he took beatings that the front office deserved. He took it all in stride, though, as one would expect from a $6,000,000 man. My favorite JB quote was the one Billy called JB's reflection on the essential inscrutability of reality:

"I realized a while back that the world doesn't make a lot of sense, so trying to understand it doesn't make sense," Burnitz said. "I'm not judging it. It just is what it is."

Best of luck, JB, to you, your family, and your Maltese named Fluffy.

Duce is Jim Brown reincarnated

Ed Bouchette gets silly in today's chat. Ed relates that Ben might practice tomorrow, James Harrison will miss Sunday's game, and Troy won't drink Gatorade.

Ben's injury not severe

Ben's agent thinks Ben seems fine, otherwise Ben would've stayed in Atlanta or not waited a full day to see the UPMC neurosurgery experts, EB reports. Lucky for Ben, UPMC knows concussions, and has found NFL players are typically fine "within a week or so" after suffering one. Meanwhile, the Carbolic Smoke Ball breaks the terrific news of a Big Ben miracle.

All is not well with Ben's head

Concussions are like timeouts--you can't have many in a short period of time.

Get well, Ben.

Shame on Dan Rooney

I disagree with Bones on this one. The Steelers lost that game fair and square. The Steelers have no business pointing fingers at the officials. Yes, they beat up the Falcons good. The defense was great. But the team, especially the offense and the special teams, utterly failed to do the simple things--e.g., protect the ball--required to translate that beat-up into victory. As with the Cincinnati game, the Steelers let this one get away and they have only themselves to blame for it.

The officiating was inconsistent, sure, but the refs are human. We know that going into the game.

The top story on Ballbug this morning is the piece of crap that maybe was or maybe wasn't on Kenny Rogers' hand for one inning. So he forgot to wash his hands after using the bathroom. That's no way to summarize the game.

What's gotten into so many sports fans? The city of Seattle leads the way when it comes to public reactions to sporting disappointment. The country has gone nuts with all this working of the refs. Why such outrage, such suspicion, such disrespect for the rule of zebras? Next thing you know, people will be hollering about "purity of elections." If we can't practice civility as sports fans, there's no hope for us as citizens. What if, some day, (knock on wood), we are shaken from our prosperous slumber to debate real-world emergencies such as a war, a coup, or an environmental disaster?

There can be no sports of any kind without referees. And there can be no long-term enjoyment of the game if people don't respect fundamental rules of sportsmanship. Unless the zebras screw up as terribly as they did with Polamalu's interception in the 2005 Steelers-Colts playoff game, there's no reason to do anything but hold your tongue and sublimate that anger into any more worthwhile activity.

Ridiculous calls

Of course the fumbles had more to do with the loss than the officiating, but the zebras were suspect enough to make Dan Rooney call them out:

"These officials should be ashamed of themselves," Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said. "That last call, you don't call that kind of call."

Rooney did not limit his criticism of referee Ron Winter's crew to that one call, either. He made reference to "ridiculous calls," including one in which Reed was penalized for tripping Falcons return man Allen Rossum near the end of the first half.

"They said he tripped him," Rooney said. "He got beat out, the guy dodged him, he got faked. He didn't trip him, he [Rossum] ran over him and fell."

Shame on you, officials.

Did you feel bad icing a 62-year-old kicker?

Mondesi's house has some questions for coach Cowher.

Labor agreement

MLB players and owners have tentatively reached a labor agreement.

"Everybody's pretty happy with the industry. In baseball, everybody's making out pretty well," Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen said.

Speak for yourself, Izzy.

Beer

Despite the Bucs losing for 14 years straight and the Steelers sitting at 2-4, we still have beer. This Full Sail Wassail Winter Ale lives up to its billing as "ridiculously tasty" (6.5% alcohol). It's no Jubelale, but it's damn good. Any other beer suggestions?

Worst game ever

That was the worst football game I've ever seen. It was a nightmare from start to end. A long nightmare. If all the games were like that, there would be no football fans.

Ben hurt, Steelers lose

Happy freaking Sunday.

NFL week 7: Steelers at Falcons

What's the over/under on number of Steeler fans in the Georgia Dome? I'll take the over.

Watch for the option draw.

Ben does not love Heath

Ed Bouchette's daily answer suggests they are not getting the damn ball to Heath Miller because Ben is not looking his way.

Michael Vick = Kordell Stewart

For years, Steeler fans have been saying they've seen this Vick thing before and know how it turns out. Ed Bouchette does his version.

While Vick has been superior to Stewart in some aspects of the running quarterback game, Bouchette's right that still, star wideouts want to start for Atlanta as much as star outfielders want to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And the way Vick mouths off to the media, you have to acknowledge that Stewart was the superior team leader.

Najeh Davenport, free spirit

A few days ago, I came across this picture of Najeh Getting his Freak On with a high school girls dance team during a charity basketball game.

Today, Gerry Dulac profiles happy Najeh.

"Green Bay, you really had to treat it like a job, like a job-job, like working at Taco Bell, not like a career job. Here, I don't see that. I don't get that feeling. You're here to play football and you're doing something that you love...

In Green Bay, you get fined for every little thing. That feeling they install in you, you don't get the ability, the freedom, to cut loose."

When I look at Najeh now, I don't see a troubled soul. I see a young man in love with life - a free spirit who can't be restrained by such mundane conventions as dress codes, weight limits, power-back-labels, and flush toilets. Just give him the ball.

All hail Azibuck, BIGFISH, and Puzzleman!

For the Week 6 three-way 8-5 tie in the HW NFL pick 'em pool. Like Rod Scurry in '83, I tanked with a 4-9. Rowdy turned things around with a 7-6.

Human Highlight Reel

Gerry Dulac reports some great news on the offensive line. When can we order our Chris Kemoeatu jerseys?

"Strong '06 finish has Littlefield thinking"

Reads a headline at the official Pirates page, referring to Ed Eagle's interview with DL. Bucs Dugout has already poked fun at DL's nihilistic answers. Other than a lefty slugger and a veteran RHP starter, DL is thinking about, of course, his pathological obsessions: a mop-up man, a righty reliever and a utility infielder. Look out, 2007 Cardinals - our bullpen and utility IFs will slay you.

NLCS Game 7: Cardinals vs. ex-Pirate

This might be a good one. What's the over/under on first-inning baserunners?

I'll take the under if it's three.

Dave Wannstedt a Steeler?

Profootballtalk.com speculates that a no-playoffs season for your 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers would result in a new coach. The candidates, they guess, would be Grimm, Whisenhunt, Wannstedt, and the obligatory "Rooney Rule" minority candidate. FWIW.

Ollie to start tonight

It's hard not to root for Oliver Perez as he starts Game 7 of the NLCS for the Mets tonight. Wow, and good luck with that.

Cut blocks

On Sunday the Steelers D will not only have to chase Ron Mexico around, but will have to do so while avoiding those dirty dangerous cut blocks. The NYT has a recent story on the Falcons and their unusual run-blocking plan. Whatever consultant Alex Gibbs has been teaching the OL, it's been working, as the Falcons lead the NFL with an obscene average team rushing of 232 yds/game. Starting G Matt Lehr was just suspended for steroids, so Tyson Clabo will make his NFL debut. This after Vick was sacked 7 times last week, so expect our fearless Samoan warrior to chop some heads.

Week 7 underdogs

I'm in a SU pool that requires 3+ underdogs each week. So I hunt them down. Today I like Carolina. Cincinnati should not be favored in that one. That team looked terrible--I mean bad--on Sunday, and I don't see how they turn that around in time for Carolina.

But what do I know? I'm hitting a buck-fifty or something.

Any other dogs to recommend?

No slots for the Nutting family

Bill Toland reports for the Post-Gazette. Here's another story link, from a ski site, with pictures.

The quick summary is the Nuttings could not waltz around the various laws conspiring to prohibit a MLB team owner from owning a casino in Pennsylvania. So the Nuttings just made a potentially bad financial gamble. So now they depend, perhaps, more heavily on the profits taken from the operation of the baseball club.

Season recap: marketing

The on-field product was never a priority for the 2006 Bucs. So why should reviewing the players' mostly sorry performances be our priority, especially in another 95 loss year in which Ryan Vogelsong led the team in OPS? Instead the recaps begin with the most important facet of Pirates baseball: the marketing department.

The unveiling of the utterly meaningless "We will" was met with immediate mockery. "We will ... what?," we all asked. We will ... lose 95 games again? embarass ourselves and our fan base again? get lucky in the second half? make money hand over fist? pocket the revenue sharing? inexplicably extend DL's contract? I never would have guessed the answers were "persevere", "entertain", and "have fun", so this goes down as a big whiff for marketing in my book.

Moving on, we have the musician commercials. We were promised a KISS commercial. I never heard or saw one, so I'm provisionally marking this down as a lie. We will NOT lick it up. Despite this whiff, Rowdy and I both thought the John Lee Hooker ad kicked ass.

Moving on (and quickly, before I vomit again), the All-Star Game ballot box stuffing and poetry reading of Brownie were positively nauseating. Some didn't like the punk band.

Most importantly, I blame the marketing department for my personal low point of the season. This came when listening to the KDKA broadcast of a second half game at work with my headphones on. Lanny was plugging Pup Night to outrageous lengths. "For 20 dollars, you and your dog can watch the Pirates battle the Cubs!" In this context, he began summarizing all of the players' dogs and at one point delivered this haymaker to my eardrums: "Jeromy Burnitz has a Maltese named Fluffy. Jose Hernandez has a bulldog named Brad Pitt." Blood immediately began pouring out of all five of my cranial orifices, as I tore off my headphones, rent my garments, clutched my head, and reeled from the sickening pain.

Marketing department grade = F.

Samoan warriors

They will destroy you.

Little ball of muscle

EB reports on the emergence of the running game. With 5 TDs through 5 games, Willie's on track to surpass Franco's 1976 Steelers' single season rushing TD record of 14. Meanwhile, Najeh has solidified the #2 role.

Suddenly, the worries about the Steelers' running game without Bettis and with an ineffective Staley walking the sideline in sweats every game do not seem as acute today.

Steelers win big

Happy day.

NLCS Game 4: Ex-Pirate at Cardinals

Oliver Perez vs. Anthony Reyes at 8:15 PM EDT. Ollie bumaye!

NFL Week 6: Chiefs at Steelers

Game on at 4:15pm. As Bradshaw just said on the TV, the Steelers will turn this around. I'm not sure it happens today. But it will happen.

... UPDATE ... it will happen today.

Pirate-ization of the Reds

John Fay reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Reds plan to re-build their team around high batting average and good defense.

So their best player, Adam Dunn, will be the first to go.

Stick with the man

Ed Bouchette argues that the idea of benching Ben for Batch is crazy talk:

This is the franchise quarterback the Steelers have been awaiting for a generation. He got off to the best two-year start of any quarterback in history, both in his own success and his team's. If you go by passer ratings, his first two seasons are the top two in Steelers history. You don't throw that away because of a three-game losing streak in which Roethlisberger did not play well.

... [Rowdy] Bouchette is right on the main point, but this argument from stats is bogus. Ben had a killer passer rating his first two seasons not because he was Dan Marino or John Elway, but because the Steelers installed a very conservative offense for him to manage. In his first season, he was only looking at one half of the field on all the passing plays. The entire team and coaching staff conspired to protect him and pad up those stats. He did not win those games so much as he managed not to lose them.

So to argue that Ben deserves to start because of the stats he accumulated on those teams with those offensive strategies is not unlike arguing that a six-year-old should start in the Tour de France because he was the greatest biker ever on training wheels.

Ben is and has looked like a third-year quarterback. He has struggled more this year than the previous two because his supporting cast has not played as well as they did when they regarded him a child who needed every advantage they could squeeze from the playbook.

When the Steelers go back to seeing Ben for what he is, then perhaps they can go back to having the success they had with him.

Charlie Batch is no long-term option. Like Tommy Maddox or Mike Tomczak, Batch is the kind of player who can put in a fantastic emergency start here or there. Unlike Ben, he is not a player capable of growing into a Dan Marino or a John Elway.