Tree of Life

17 May

Live Event From Main St. Brew House in Washington PA with Ike Taylor for the Draft

published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 – 5:32 pm

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Posted in Sports Talk Radio

 

16 May

The Pirates will win 82 games in 2012 by Daniel Dudley

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 – 10:31 am

It's mid-May and the Pirates are 17-19 and three games out of first place in the NL Central.
How many of you thought that would be the case when the season began? That April was supposed to kill the Buccos.
So, now as the weather gets nicer and the Pirates aren't out of it, you have to ask, is this the year?
No doubt in my mind 99% of you will say no, but I say yes, and here's how and why they'll do it:

1. Pitching staff must continue its dominance. McDonald, Bedard, Burnett, Morton, must stay in the top 10 in ERA in the MLB and the Pirates will be in good shape.
2. Don't deal Burnett or Bedard, if they get rid of one of them
3. Hire a new batting coach, NOW! The Pirates are the worst offensive team in baseball. Last in runs, RBIs, and hits. Whatever Gregg Ritchie is doing it's not working, get him out!
4. They must get rid of Hanrahan as soon as a solid bat is available for him. And I'm talking someone that will be in the lineup the next day, not the next year.
5. Release Nate McLouth, why is he here, again?
6. Andrew McCutchen, has to have his best season and continue to bat .300 and carry this team.
7. Score 2 runs or more. The Pirates are 17-7 when they do so. If they can get their average up to a solid 3 runs per game, with the solid pitching, .500 will happen.
8. Put Correia in the bullpen. It's time for a change. If things are going well and the Pirates are scoring runs he's fine. Not very comfortable with a team that doesn't score many.
9. Add a couple more fireworks nights. The Pirates are 13-6 in the past 3 seasons on fireworks night. Hey, it couldn't hurt, right?
10. Clint Hurdle is going to have to get agitated or mad or something, and light a fire under these guys! Presley, Barmes, Barajas, Alvarez, tell them they're pros and its time to hit. I think he's a good manager and a nice guy, but he's gotta do something differently to change the attitude.
11. They've been here before. If the Pirates can get to July playing over .500 baseball again, they'll know what to do when the level of play gets real.

I'm sure I'll probably change my mind on all of this in a month, but as of right now, May 16th, 2012, I believe this team can Finishthe season with an 82-80 record

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

14 May

Planning to Fail; A Look at the Bucs' Terrible Offseason by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, Wrestling Reality on Monday, May 14th, 2012 – 10:40 am

Seeing free agent signings fall flat is nothing new to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After all, this franchise has endured the likes of Adam Laroche, Jeromy Burnitz, Joe Randa, Raul Mondesi and, of course, Derek Bell. While Clint Barmes's poor play hasn't reached the point where I could be considered a "saga", I still believe it belongs in the conversation of worst Pirate signings.

The Pirates -having grown tired of watching Ronny Cedeno bunt with the bases loaded- decided to replace him by signing Barmes to a two year, $10 million contract.

For a front office staff that prides itself on using sabremetrics in evaluating talent, this signing makes absolutely no sense, especially to a small-market team with a low payroll. Barmes's career OPS is .696 while Cedeno's is .640. Both players share the exact same fielding percentage at .970 and while Barmes has a higher range factor, Cedeno (29) is four years younger.

Those numbers seem relatively even, in fact, it shows that Cedeno and Barmes have followed very similar career paths. The difference is, Barmes is making five million dollars this season while Cedeno is only making $1.2 million. Even if the Pirates overpaid Cedeno and gave him $2.5 million to return, that still leaves $7.5 million over two years that could have been better spent on, say, a true first baseman.

This has been the most consistent problem for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the last 20 years. They can't afford to spend the big bucks on free agents like the Yankees so they stupidly sign below average players to a ridiculously high salary. Luckily, Edwin Jackson turned down Pittsburgh's rumored three year $30 million offer to sign with the Nationals. Otherwise, this team would have had six average to above-average starters, less available money, and still no one to hit behind Andrew McCutchen.

Pirates' GM Neal Huntington had to know this team's strength was their pitching. With that in mind, why wasn't there a bigger push for a bat; either through trade or free agency?

Carlos Pena signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for one year $7.25 million. He's a left handed hitter who can draw walks, hit with power, and play first base. With the best first base prospect currently in A ball (Alex Dickerson), why not overpay for a big bat that can help your lineup?

Don't like Pena? Fine. He strikes out too much and can't hit lefties.

How about Michael Cuddyer? The Colorado Rockies gave him $31.5 million over three years to play for a losing team. Cuddyer has a .814 OPS this season and he has shown position flexibility, playing 712 games in the outfield, 211 at first base, and 171 at third base. Is that worth $10 million per year? Maybe not to the economist, but with lesser options available, it would have been worth a shot. Worse case scenario, the Pirates sell him to a contending team for mid-level prospects at the trade deadline.

Don't like Cuddyer? How about a trade?

I wrote back in November that the Pirates should have been shopping Joel Hanrahan and Alex Presley. Their suitors could have been the Boston Red Sox, a team that was loaded with position players and missing a closer. The Pirates could have targeted Ryan Lavarnway, a catcher stuck in AAA because of Jarrod Saltalamachia. Lavarnway has tremendous power, slugging 32 home runs last season for Pawtucket. A closer of Hanrahan's ilk paired with one or two mid-level prospects would have brought Lavarnway over and probably would've saved the team money on Rod Barajas in the process. With Tony Sanchez struggling to make it out of AA before his 25th birthday, it is safe to say the Pirates are inept at that position.

The Pirates had a multitude of opportunities in the offseason to improve the major league club without sacrificing future pieces. Instead, they elected to do what they always have done, sign mediocre players to super-inflated contracts in hopes that they produces career numbers. Now, the offense is left struggling while the pitching tries to produce at an unsustainable rate throughout the season. With the season only six weeks old, a big trade seems unlikely meaning the Pirates will continue to trot Clint Barmes and Rod Barajas out to give the opposing team, at minimum, six easy outs per game.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, Wrestling Reality

 

09 May

Hustle Doesn't Last – The Bryce Harper Problem by Jon Anderson

published in category: Uncategorized on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 – 8:36 am

I'm a baseball writer. There are thousands of us all around the country, and we seem to all be writing about one player recently – Bryce Harper. This kid's been hyped up since he was a young teenager, and he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 16. He's 19 years old now and he's taking the major leagues by storm. The way I look at it, the hype itself has done more than anything to capture all those eyes.

He's an unreal athlete. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been on that magazine cover. He has been clocked throwing a baseball at 96 miles per hour, he's hit a 517 foot home run (with a metal bat), and he'll beat most players in the league in a foot race. That's a set of tools that not many people have, especially at the age of 19, so it's understandable that people are excited about him.

But what has he done in his first few weeks in the major leagues? Nothing other players couldn't do. The highlights of his extremely young career have been a couple of laser beam throws from the outfield, a steal of home, and a couple of doubles that he ran really hard on. Good arm, good speed, good hustle. He's not the only player in the league that can do all those things. Rick Ankiel, who plays right next to Bryce Harper, has a similarly spectacular arm. Dexter Fowler and Jacoby Ellsbury have as much or more speed than him. So what's the big deal?

Major League Baseball is full of outstanding athletes. They could all have this same exact effect on the league if they were hyped up like Harper has been. Hype doesn't come randomly though, Harper earned it with his freakish set of skills. Eventually we'll probably see Harper do some things that nobody else can do, but for now we haven't seen them.

What we have seen is an extraordinary amount of hustle. That's been his calling card thus far. He's made some big plays and caused a lot of excitement just by giving all he's got. Why don't we see that more often? How much more fun would this game be to watch if everybody was playing like it was the World Series all the time? It's interesting to think about.

However, we'll never see the game turn into anything close to that. The more you hustle, the more likely you are to injure yourself and lose money in the process. The 162 schedule is too grueling to be able to give 100% every single night. These guys already have more money than they know what to do with, so what's the point in putting forth more effort than they need to? Those are all limiting factors that have held baseball back from being as great as it can be for years.

Eventually, Bryce Harper is going to calm down. It seems impossible for one person to hold that amount of intensity for more than a few weeks. He'll settle in, his days will become routine, and he won't be as jacked up to play every game. He'll still be a fantastic player, but he's not going to be going as hard as you see him going right now. That's a sad fact, but it is indeed a fact.

It's probably uncontrollable. I'm not saying that it's physically and mentally possible to play like Harper has been playing every day, but it would be something else to see it happen. You're seeing one of the most talented athletes in the world play as hard as he can right now – enjoy it while it lasts.

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09 May

Healthy Roster Moves in Store for Pirates in 2012 by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 – 8:36 am

Last July, Neal Huntington had the privilege of searching the trade market in hopes of acquiring major-league talent at the deadline. The Pirates were buyers for the first time in two decades and Huntington was able to land two bats (Ryan Ludwick and Derek Lee) for marginal minor league talent.

This season, the forecast for roster moves looks extremely good, both on the trade front and in minor league player movement.

Once again, the Pirates are hanging around the .500 mark a month and a half into the season. And, once again, the team is winning because tremendous pitching is covering up below average hitting. If the Pirates continue to compete throughout the year, they'll most assuredly become buyers at the trade deadline this season. In that case, the front office would have to search for a solid hitter to bat in the fifth spot behind Pedro Alvarez.

Or, the team could completely cave as we've grown accustomed to over the years, which would force Pittsburgh to sell off pitchers Erik Bedard or AJ Burnett, or both. Either way, at least one trade will be made around the deadline; not that it should be a surprise given how frequently players are moved in baseball.

Pittsburgh could go another route of player movement in the form of calling up prospects.

The Pirates were hoping that Starling Marte would make his Major League debut in June but that plan has been put on hold due to inconsistencies at the plate and now a hand injury. At 23 years old, Marte has the potential to be a very good outfielder and figures into the plan for the Pirates' winning future. With a status to his injury still unclear, all Pirates' fans can do is hope he can get back to playing soon.

After a terrible 2011 campaign for AAA Indianapolis, Rudy Owens has been dominant in the early 2012 season for the Indians. In five starts this season, Owens is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA while striking out 26 and walking just two in 34 innings. With the major league club pitching so well as a collective group, Owens is stuck in AAA until a move is made. Then again, he could also be part of a trade to land a solid hitting prospect.

Meanwhile in Bradenton, two former first round picks are lighting up the Florida State League. Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon have been outstanding for the Marauders and could make their way to AA Altoona soon. In his second professional season, Jameson Taillon is enjoying a 1.72 ERA with 33 strikeouts and six walks over 30.2 innings. Cole, the first overall pick last season, has a 3.54 ERA with 34 strikeouts and ten walks over 28 innings. With both players pitching so well, Taillon and Cole could be on the fast track to see the majors as early as 2013.

There are a lot of potential moves for the Pirates in this upcoming season. This time, it will be on the basis of actually improving the club and moving in the right direction towards being a competitive team. The days of selling off stars for prospects will never cease to exist in a small-market city. But, for now, let's sit back and enjoy the progress the organization is making and hope that their next big move puts them in a spot for contention.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

07 May

Steelers Interviews with All the Draft Picks

published in category: Uncategorized on Monday, May 7th, 2012 – 11:57 am

Ken Laird's thoughts from the Rookie minicamp and interviews with David DeCastro, Mike Adams, Sean Spence and Toney Clemons.

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03 May

Who Should Be Traded, Malkin or Staal…Really? by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Wrestling Reality on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 – 8:46 am

The Pittsburgh Penguins have built a lot of success using the three center model over the last six seasons. Since Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal made their way to Pittsburgh, the Penguins have made six straight playoff appearances including two conference titles and a Stanley Cup.

However, not all is well in the Steel City.

Pittsburgh has failed to get out of the first round in the last two years, including the last playoff run when they had a completely healthy roster. Now, GM Ray Shero believes changes may be coming to the Penguins who surely need to beef up their defense if they want to have a chance in 2013.

Since the Penguins won't be losing any significant cap space from free agency, it may be time to look at a trade. Jordan Staal, a free agent after next season, is 23 years old and rumored to be looking for a bigger role. While Staal has shown feelings of admiration to Pittsburgh, it is foolish to believe he wouldn't test the free agent market. With this information, trading Jordan Staal appears to be the right way to go. In return, the Penguins could fetch a combination of high draft picks and solid prospects which would be used to repair any holes on the team.

But some people have voiced another route: trade Malkin and keep Staal for the long term. I am going to vehemently disagree with this idea and I will argue against some of the points I've heard from around town:

Staal is a big game player. He's built for the playoffs and showed that in the Philadelphia series. Malkin, on the other hand, loses focus and doesn't seem to fight in the corners for loose pucks.

Not only have I heard this in Pittsburgh, I've heard this from hockey media members, particularly, north of the border. This is a ridiculous to say the least. First of all, it's pretty obvious a Canadian hockey analyst would take a Canadian over a Russian in pretty much everything. The stigma that Canadians play harder than Europeans is outdated, unlike the pure bitterness seething over a country that cannot get over the fact that they used to be dominated at their own game by these same "lazy" players.

Staal is a solid playoff player, but he's still not on the level of Evgeni Malkin. While Staal did score more goals (6) and register more points (9) than Malkin, his play on the penalty kill was atrocious. Of the 12 goals scored by the Flyers on the power play, Jordan Staal was on the ice for 7 of them.

Oh, by the way, Evgeni Malkin has a Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the best playoff performer.

Staal is only getting better whereas Malkin is probably at his peak.

As talented as Jordan Staal is, he will never be on the level of Evgeni Malkin. For one, they are two completely different players. While Staal is seen as a power forward, using his 6'4 220 pound body to get to the front of the net, Malkin is a playmaker. In just 75 games, Malkin put up 109 points and finished as the only player to register a 100+ point season.

Also, it is worth noting that the best player in the world (Sidney Crosby) has had concussion issues which raises the question, "who gives the Penguins a better chance to win, Malkin or Staal?" The answer has to be Malkin. In the 2010-2011 season -where Staal played 28 of 42 games without Crosby and Malkin- Staal totaled 30 points. In the playoffs, he had 3 measly points in seven games. This year, Staal's numbers were much better. Why? Because he's going up against the third defensive pairing while the top four defensemen are focusing on Malkin and Crosby.

Staal may be getting better. But he'll never reach the level of Evgeni Malkin; a player who joined the conversation as one of the best in the world after his performance this season. And, while Staal is 23, Malkin is only 25.

You could get a bigger return for Malkin than you could for Staal

Does that matter? This is not a team in need of rebuilding. They are simply one or two players away from returning to the Stanley Cup. If you can trade your third best center -no matter how good he is- and keep your top six forwards intact, and improve the team considerably, wouldn't that be the best scenario?

To me, it's not even close. Jordan Staal should be the first one to go if the Penguins decide to trade one of their centers. That's not to say I want Jordan Staal traded. He is a valuable part of the Penguins and was a key piece to their Stanley Cup run in 2009.

The best scenario would be to keep all three centers. However, the contracts of Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek, coupled with the fact that Staal may want to be a more premier player, make that option the hardest to complete. Also, despite all the rumors swirling about possible trade partners for Staal, it seems unlikely Ray Shero would pull the trigger on a deal until the new CBA and salary cap are announced.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins, Wrestling Reality

 

01 May

Quarterback carousel continues as Power fall to division rival Cleveland by Dominic Errico

published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 – 10:57 am

The roulette wheel known as the Pittsburgh Power quarterback position keeps spinning. This time it landed on Bryan Randall, but the results were pretty much the same they've been all season as the Pittsburgh Power lost to their division rival, the Cleveland Gladiators, 58-43.

Randall did finish the day with 309 yards passing and 5 touchdowns, but he also threw 2 interceptions and the Power (2-5) lost two fumbles. The Power also turned the ball over on downs two additional times.

The Power jumped out to a 21-7 lead, but sat by helplessly as Cleveland (4-3) rattled off 35 unanswered points to take firm control of this Eastern division showdown. Unlike the last home game against Orlando, there would be no epic comeback from the abyss.

Chris LeFlore set a Power franchise record with his sixth interception of the season, breaking Josh Lay's mark of five interceptions from a year ago.

Mike Washington stood out on offense with 13 catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns but he also lost a fumble that helped the Gladiators on that 35 point run. P.J. Berry was strong once again in the return game (8 for 103 yards) but he almost certainly will see his streak of three straight weeks as the JLS Ironman end after this loss.

Coach Siegfried mentioned after the game that he's still waiting for someone to take the quarterback position and run with it. He seemed confident that the answer to the Power quarterback struggles is on the roster but he wouldn't name who that was. Bill Stull should return from injured reserve soon, and could be in line to reclaim the starting role.

Pittsburgh will continue their search for a quarterback this week as they host the Georgia Force. It will be "Super Hero" Night so come dressed as your favorite superhero.

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Posted in Sports Talk Radio

 



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