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.

All hail the Tigers

Rowdy Jr. and I enjoyed that game tonight. He calls it "bat-a-ball," not baseball, and wants every batter to hit the ball "high, high, high."

Now the Mets and Cardinals are on, and both these teams look pretty mediocre. The Mets start Oliver Perez tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do now in a playoff atmosphere. Not too many people expect much, as that NY Post article by Joel Sherman suggests. Maybe Ollie can surprise them all.

Ex-Pirates win!

All hail the skipper!

Kill, kill, kill

Right guard Kendall Simmons gave himself frostbite while watching MNF and will miss the KC game. Starting in his place will be Chris Kemoeatu, Gerry Dulac reports:

Said Kemoeatu, "It's hard for a young guy going out there because all you think is 'kill, kill, kill,' instead of playing smart. Kendall talked to me about that and I think that helped me out a lot."

All hail blman37!

For the 10-4 ATS, earning Week 5 swami honors. I tread water, one game below .500 at 36-38. Rowdy, now at .432, continues his limbo towards the Littlefield Line (.431). Still time to get in the pool.

Shortslef added

Josh Shortslef added to the 40-man roster. For comment, see Wilbur's analysis.

A team like the Pirates can't have too many relief pitchers, as Bones explains.

Nobel Peace prize for hangover-curing powers

News that the microloan dude won the Nobel Peace prize reminds me to plug Kiva.org, my favorite internet charity thing.

With this website, you can lend money to people far away through PayPal. They use it for six months or a year, then pay you back. Then you cash out or lend it again.

One of my favorite deserving entrepreneurs is Juan Quinto. All I know about him is that photo and the text of his loan application, which mentions that his restaurant specializes in "encebollado," which features an "incredible mix of ingredients, including albacore tuna, onions, yucca, and lime." This dish is a favorite in Ecuador for "its hangover-curing powers." All hail Juan Quinto! Have fun spending my money, Juan, and don't forget--I want it back.

No more internet gambling

President Bush is expected to sign Bill Frist's no-internet-gambling measure into law this afternoon.

All this should be good for slots. And this will be good for the Nuttings the children, whose parents will enjoy school property tax cuts.

We blame a lot of things on the Nuttings, but here I'm not serious. This looks more like one man's attempt to make himself a Presidential candidate.

What are you thinking about the gambling ban? Anyone adept at opening Swiss bank accounts? To me it's not clear what loopholes or workarounds exist or will work.

Chad Brown returns

In other news, Porter and Townsend hurt yesterday and Chad Brown signed to take Porter's place. Welcome back, Chad.

Finger pointing

Bob Trumpy and Mike Butler point at Ben. Jack Ham points at the wideouts. Ed Bouchette writes it down.

3-4 defense

The Charger defense looked a lot like the Steeler defense, and that got me wondering if the 3-4 has become more common. A few years ago, it was used by only a few teams and was generally discredited as sacrificing too much bulk and strength for speed. At nose tackle, a team needs a vending machine superman (reg. req. for "Nose tackle with big appetite getting recognition he deserves"; see bugmenot), and at linebacker, a team needs serious skills and leadership.

These teams, I'm pretty sure, mainly use the 3-4: Pittsburgh, San Diego, New England, Cleveland, Dallas, San Francisco, Miami (about half the time), and the New York Jets (adopted it this year). There are some good and some bad defenses. The league's worst defense, which plays a lot down in Texas, just switched to the 4-3 and failing to make the 3-4 work.

So now is it more common? Or do I only think that because I just watched the Chargers shred the Steelers offense, Steeler-style?

And what about the college level? Penn State has been moving toward the 3-4. Are many college teams doing this?

Dave Littlefield, heart surgeon

For most occupations in today's society, gross incompetence will quickly get you fired. Of course there are exceptions, including being GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates. What if Dave Littlefield had followed another path, and similarly failed? What if this utter failure was similarly tolerated? Today we explore one of these parallel universes...

Scene: an operating room. A horribly mangled corpse lies upon an operating table. DL, wearing full surgical gear, is covered in blood and surrounded by bustling assistants. The doors burst open, and the elderly Chief of Surgery, also in full surgical scrubs, enters.

Chief (rushing to corpse): What the hell is going on here?

DL: The motivation was simply that we felt like we could upgrade this man's organ systems like we've done in the past with many other patients.

Chief (inspecting corpse): He's dead. This man was to have an aortic valve replacement. Instead you ... implanted the GI tract of a cadaver into his thorax and arm to give him a second functional anus on his elbow?

DL: Whether it's media or his family, everybody has to realize that, if this man is going to get better, part of it is having a better backup GI tract. I don't want to undermine the fact that he's got a lousy heart. But, as far as other organs go, he's got good individual organs. Better days are definitely ahead for this man, and they're coming soon.

Chief (gravely): Dave, he's dead.

DL: There is often times a misperception of what kind of value certain vital signs have. That's always what's hard for people to understand that are kind of on the outside looking in. You always have in mind the fact that you've got to play the 'What if' game. What if this man's heart starts beating again?

Chief: You just killed a man! That's the third time today! Have you lost your damned mind?

DL: Not at all. This patient retains control over his new elbow sphincter for the next two years.

Chief: Goddamnit, Dave, are you listening to me? He's dead.

DL: In the future he'll need less of his heart just to a lesser degree. We'll maybe see in a couple years. His liver and lungs obviously are both doing a very nice job. His new second anus obviously has taken advantage of this new situation and done a solid job so far.

Chief: (sigh) Go wash up, Dave. Another patient's waiting in OR15.

Drilling Jeff Kent

Hilarious recap now at Deadspin of Scott Ostler's even-better San Francisco Chronicle report on the fantasy-driven deceptions of Tom Candiotti.

For sure I think that fantasy sports and the correlating increase in attention to individual achievement hurts teams like the Pirates. For sure I doubt that our players care enough about winning. For sure I think that the right manager, say Jim Leyland, would get much better results mainly by more effectively motivating these young men.

As much as I like Freddy Sanchez, which is a lot, my disenchantment with the Go Freddy Go stuff, which Bones mocked in mid-September, comes from my sense that the team and the fans were going to accept that consolation prize and feel good about a season that otherwise went as mind-numbingly bad as a season could possibly go.

Once a team starts the year 30-60, there is nothing that can redeem that failure.

That's just my opinion, I know, but the fact that it's not widely shared is something that I find discouraging and, possibly, a part of the self-perpetuating failure that grips the franchise.

Adam Dunn on the block?

Sean Casey fan extraordinaire Hal McCoy argues that the Reds should dump Adam Dunn.

Dunn is a left-handed monster who draws a ton of walks. Can you say "perfect fit" for Pittsburgh? Batting average is not a concern here. If Sanchez does not win the title again next year, maybe Ronny Paulino does.

I would gladly give up any of our starters for whatever remaining rights to Dunn the Reds have to offer.

Steelers lose

So how did that happen? Everything looked under control at the start of the second quarter. Then the Chargers like scored a shitload of points.

NFL week 5: Steelers at Bolts

Years ago they'd bill tonight's game as the Master (Marty Schottenheimer) against the Student (Bill Cowher). There was a stretch of time where the Steelers travelled to Kansas City every year for a Monday night game with such billing.

It would be appropriate tonight, too, because the coaching and the game plan will make the difference. Cowher and his staff once did wonders by limiting Roethlisberger's role in the offense. When not asked to do too much, he exceeded expectations.

The Super Bowl victory, the retirement of Jerome Bettis, and the whole near-death motocycle experience have elevated Roethlisberger's role on the team, perhaps to a point that's higher than a man of his age can handle. So I'd like to see him put back on that same short leash he once found so comfortable.

Chargers preview links

The PG's Gerry Dulac previews the matchup and LT and Michael Turner, while Ed Bouchette previews the much-anticipated Polamalu-Gates matchup. LT and Turner are averaging 5.1 and 7.4 yds/carry respectively. The Bolts' defense leads the league in allowing only 66 rushing yds/game, but has played the Raiders, Titans, and Ravens. The Bolts will wear the powder-blue throwback jerseys and are 3 to 3.5 point favorites. To win, Ben needs to overcome his brain [cramps] and make better and quicker decisions.

ALDS: Ex-Pirates 3, Yankees 1

Congratulations to Leyland, Casey, Mac, Lamont, Slaught, Belliard, and Slick for knocking out the hated Yanks. I want to see the Tigers run the table.

Colclough out for season

Neck problem. Undrafted rookie Anthony Madison gets promoted from the practice squad.

How Not to Drink Like a Champion Today

The Case of the Screeching Weasel.

Blonde Polamalu

KDKA reports on the homecoming queen of Mt. Pleasant High School.

Brad Lincoln shut down

Dejan Kovacevic reports some kind of oblique problem.

Dejan season-ending chat

Dejan has long last chat. On who does what in the front office:

"Littlefield decides what to do with the money allotted to him. The major-league payroll and development money -- not the same thing, necessarily -- are placed in his hands. Thus, if you have a complaint -- as so many do -- about why so much more of it goes toward one-year rentals rather than building up a sound developmental system, this is where to aim it."

So DL really has the decision over how much to invest in development? If so, this sounds like an inherently flawed system. Why should DL care to develop the Bucs beyond 2008, the year he will almost certainly be fired?

One of my favorite Bucs, Bob Walk, on the second half:

"As far as the winning now, I don't really think it means anything. I'm not convinced that finishing strong means anything. We can find examples, sure. The '87 team is one of them. But for every one we find, I can show you a team that did that, then did nothing the next year. Next year is next year. I don't think this will help us next season."

Daily chats begin Nov. 27th. All hail DK!

Season recaps: Pat and Charlie

If you haven't read them yet, Pat and Charlie both have excellent season recaps on how, exactly, this season sucked. Pat laments the questions unanswered and the regular Sisyphusian frustration of being a Pirates fan. Charlie highlights some explanations for what went wrong, gives some props for what went right, debunks the second half improvement, then ends with a depressing commentary on how the Bucs are built to win 65-75 and any deviation from that won't be by design and won't last until we have a change in the ownership group.

Willie Reid to play

Reid in, Colclough out, Dulac reports. Ricardo has a nerve problem in his neck that might keep him out for the year. Dulac also reports that Najeh is feeling better, and will back up #2 Verron. Looks like Duce will don the sweats again.

Addition by subtraction

Santos and Edwards removed from the 40-man roster. Santos, 29, posted a 5.70 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, and .321 BAA in 115.1 (!) IP.

All hail Puzzleman!

For the badass 11-3 ATS picks last week. Rowdy and I are both stinking up the pool, which still has room, so come on in. Rowdy's .433 is flirting with the Littlefield line (.431).

HW preseason predictions: Burnitz botulism

Moving on to the second and third parts of the preseason poll, I admit to crapping my pants with the Reds-in-the-cellar prediction. In my defense I was in good company, and at least was right about the Bucs not finishing in the basement.

As for the other predictions, perhaps Vlad was the most prescient with: "Jeromy Burnitz will go over like a can full of botulism". For $6 million, Burnitz put up an ungodly .230/.289/.422 with 74 Ks in 313 ABs. Symptoms of botulism completely overlap with those induced by the 2006 Bucs and include: difficulty speaking, facial weakness, double vision, trouble breathing, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and paralysis. Note to DL: to prevent botulism, "Avoid eating preserved food if its container is bulging or if the food smells spoiled".

HW preseason predictions: 67-95

Beginning with my 75-win preseason prediction, the win total predictions for the 2006 Bucs in the HW Poll were:
75, 70, 75, 81, 69, 79, 80, 76, 73, <72, 78, 78, 71, 82, 82, 81, 82, 80, 76, 80, 85, 112, 78, 67, 82, 2.
Of 26 predictions, two aren't serious (erh's funny 2 and Rowdy's 112), leaving 22 of 24 predicting over 67 wins. Long lost ex-fan Angry Bucco edged Randy's vague <72 by nailing the 67-95. That leaves over 90% of us who underestimated DL's uncanny ability to field losing teams.

Pirates stay the course

McClatchy going nowhere.

McClatchy fires DL then resigns

Well he freaking should already, right? Kevin, to help make today as easy as possible, I've taken the liberty of writing your resignation speech:

"Good afternoon, Pirates fans. For years you have debated whether my heart is filled with evil, stupidity, or amply supplied with both. If consciously subjecting others to shame and misery for personal monetary gain is "evil", then I guess I've been evil. If having no long-term plan for a contending team and inexplicably extending the contract of an established failure GM is "stupid", then I guess I've been that too. If fielding a sub-.500 team all 11 years I've been on the job is "losing", then I guess that makes me an evil, stupid, loser. And a damn good one at that. I stand before you today as an accomplished loser, and for that, I blush with shame. However, by admitting these shortcomings and accepting the fact that I'm not cut out for this job, today I make the first steps towards regaining my freedom, pride, and membership in the human race. My dignity can no longer be bought and I hereby resign.

My last act as CEO is the immediate dismissal of Dave Littlefield. The only thing Dave has won since infecting the organization with his record-setting ineptitude is a Worst G.M. trophy. Dave bowled over your hopes like Wiggy. Then he kicked off your helmet and stomped on your head. For that I'm truly sorry. My final act as CEO ensures this will never happen again. I look forward to winning baseball returning to Pittsburgh soon."

Simple as ABC

Ed Bouchette spells out a simple plan in today's chat.

Season recap by DK

The PG's Dejan Kovacevic weighs in with season-ending grades, highlights and lowlights, and analysis. The grades look fair to me. I'd downgrade Jack to a C-, as his .316 OBP and 18 errors for $4.9 million aren't "good". As for highlights, DK's second pick is my first: the May 27th game where Bay Wiggified Eric Munson to win the game in the 18th.

Season recap by Rowdy

All in all, the 2006 season just plain sucked.

Baseball radio of the future

I'm a radio guy, and I follow the Pirates much more through the radio than through the TV. So I was a bit sad to hear about no more KDKA. The Pirates will lose some of their reach with the switch to Clear Channel stations -- maybe -- not sure -- But with satellite and internet radio, it does not matter so much.

It's fun to listen to the games from both sides of the press box. The other team's announcers speak more openly and unguardedly about the performance of our players. You need the satellite service or MLB audio to do this, of course. And these things should be easier or more ubiquitous over the next few years. Already I possess the intense technical ability required to stream the living room computer's MLB audio through my state-of-the-art home theater system. Soon enough everyone will be in on the secret.

When MLB and the NFL get on the same satellite radio service, I'm there. And not a minute sooner. There's no way I'll pay for two services and have two clock radios or whatever pieces of crap it is you buy to receive the signal.

In the meantime, MLB audio is OK but the insulting low quality (12 kbps) of the audio feeds infuriates me often. It can be hard to tell if you are listening to Lanny or Greg. The audio quality is that bad, and there's no excuse for it.

They are really shooting themselves in the foot with this shit-for-quality audio service they are selling. Click through iTunes and you see that even the blues stations that crank out tunes with grandpa on the washboard and grandma on the tin can, even those stations offer 32 kbps. No talk stations go lower than 16 kbps, and they don't have the bat cracking and the mitt pounding and the beer man yelling as background. You don't have to be a blind man to observe that one of the great things about the game is the panorama of sound. MLB could do a much better job of miking the game and broadcasting it themselves. I'd pay a lot more for a service that provided something like "high-definition" sound. Maybe we all would.

The sound might be that good on the TV broadcasts, but I'm a working man, and I do not have time to sit on my ass and watch many games. If I'm not looking at the TV, I'd rather have it on the radio since, when they are doing their job, they explain what you are not seeing while you listen and do whatever it is you need to be doing.

Chat

Dejan Kovacevic did one recently.

Game 162: Freddy wins batting title

All hail Freddy, who won the NL batting title the best possible way. The Marlins put Miguel Cabrera in the lead-off spot to better his chances of catching the Rake. No luck for Miguel with that. Freddy started for the Pirates, and he singled in his first two at-bats. He finishes the year at .344.

Go Freddy go

They won a game yeah whatever. Dejan Kovacevic asks:

Despite the standing, chanting support of 35,514 with each of his four at-bats, [Freddy] went hitless -- all against Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo -- to drop his National League-leading average to .343. That left him three points ahead of the Florida Marlins' Miguel Cabrera, who stayed at .340 by going 1 for 4 in Miami.

What it means: Sanchez remains in control, but not by much.

If, for example, he were to go 0 for 4 in the season finale today, his average would drop to .340. Cabrera probably could beat him, then, by getting two hits.

Sounds scary. But consider this, too: If Sanchez simply sat out, Cabrera would need to have a monster day -- 4 for 4, or 4 for 5 -- to pass him.

How will manager Jim Tracy handle it?

How would you handle it? I would start him and consider benching him if (1) he looked lost at the plate (i.e., if I thought someone else on the bench could do a better job) and (2) he would clinch the batting title with a shower. That said, if Freddy can't handle tomorrow with grace and concentration and ability, what good could he be in, say, a playoff game?

In 1991, Terry Pendleton took the final day of the season off with a .319 batting average. Hal Morris would have to go 4-for-4 to finish at .320. Morris led off for the first time all season and got three hits in his first three at-bats. He lined out in the last at-bat.

Pendleton was excused from playing because the Braves had clinched the division title the night before.

That's a good excuse. No one should be asked to further claim a batting title by playing an exhibition game while still drunk or hung over from a division-clinching party.

Tracy has no such excuse. And if Freddy sits tomorrow, Cabrera will get three hits in his first three at-bats. You know it, I know it, maybe Jim Tracy knows it. Honors are for the honorable. Pendleton had an honorable excuse, and you look at what happened to him. The Pirates did not clinch the division tonight. Tomorrow's just another day. Freddy should go to sleep and dream of singles and doubles jumping the middle-infielder's glove.

One last thing about Pendleton's batting title. It may have played a role in his edging out some Pirate for the 1991 MVP award.