The Steelers Must Do These Things To Finish Strong

Week 15 is almost over, there's just one game left and it just might hold the key to how the Steelers perform in the post-season this season. There were some major surprises this week that helped the Steelers out and made their chances look much better.

Number 1.
In the early games Kansas City shocked Green Bay. I have to admit I did not see this one coming. I thought if anyone was going to beat them it would have happened against the Giants a few weeks ago. The Pack pulled that one out and set themselves up well to run the regular season table. They ran into the Haleyless Chiefs though and were thoroughly dominated. They have 2 tough games left against the Bears and Lions, but those are both at the Curly, so they should win those. The bad thing about this is now they are aware that they are beatable. As before they just seemed to be on cruise control knocking of each opponent they faced. What's the saying about sleeping giants? I think the Chefs might have just woke them up. The good thing is the Steelers win against the Chiefs doesn't look so bad, remember it was a struggle to escape Arrowhead with the win.

Number 2.
Most importantly for the Steelers playoff positioning was the game Sunday night between the Ravens and the Chargers. This one was a little more predictable than the other game because it was in San Diego and the Chargers are on their usual late season roll. I thought the Ravens would put up more of a fight, but they again choked and lost control of their playoff destiny this year. As of now they are in the fifth spot in the AFC and will be again packing their bags for the playoffs if the Steelers and Patriots win out. That's counting our chickens a little early, because the Steelers are also travelling to the West Coast this weekend to face the other Harbaugh and the 49ers. Arians has said this week he doesn't know what information can be given to Jim by John to help the Niners, but the Ravens have given the Steelers a tough time this year and know more than any team how to play them. Arians said the Niners won't change their game plan to beat the Steelers, but I disagree. If John gives Jim information on how to beat the Steelers he's not going to say, "No, I think we'll just give it a shot with what we've got." A good coach will adapt and try every trick they have up their sleeve. Jim has proven that he's not a bad coach, turning a team and a quarterback into a contender in one year.

Number 3.
The Steelers have 3 winnable games left. Tonight, at home against the Rams and at Cleveland. Tonight should be the toughest of the 3 facing a good team away from home. If they can win out they will have secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of their win against the Pats. Seems like plenty of incentive to do just that. We will see if the veterans on this team have a Super Bowl Run left in them. If they win these 3 games they will be on a significant roll heading into the playoffs and they'll get a week off, which doesn't hurt.

Resounding Victory

I know there isn't a big following for the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz but it appears that someone in the Steelers organization or some of the players are reading. After the KC game I wrote about how the Steelers continually try to make things interesting in their games. They played down to the level of their opponent in KC and stretched the outcome out to the last drive of the game.

Well, today the Steelers opened a can on the Bengals and the game was not in doubt after the Steelers scored their first touchdown. Their performance was textbook and they showed why they went to the Super Bowl last year.

Week 13 preview

Not Pretty, But It's A Win

The Pittsburgh Steelers try their best to make every win exciting. I don't really like the way they do it though. Take Sunday night, for example. For some unexplainable reason Mewelde Moore has been able to gain playing time as the season has gone on despite several older veterans losing playing time because of diminishing returns. Yeah, I know, Mewelde is that trustworthy veteran off the bench. He's the one that you can count on to hold on to the ball when that's all you need. He knows all the blocking schemes and does everything he's told. But, Mendenhall and Redman must be teetering on being in the doghouse for Moore to get a carry in the redzone early in the game. So what does Moore do. He manages to fumble the ball and the chance for Pittsburgh to get their offense on track and in the end zone early in the game.

It looked like Ben was headed for a quality game during that drive and everyone was doing their part. Thankfully the Chiefs and Tyler Palko were feeling generous this game because it would have been an embarrassing loss had Palko not given the ball to the Steelers a couple of times. He might as well have handed the ball to Ryan Mundy on one interception. Moore's fumble was just one of the many ways the Steelers made the game interesting. The Steelers were penalized time and time again for holding and otherwise, making those third down conversions even more difficult. Despite my objection to Mewelde getting the ball it's easy to see why. Mendenhall has not realized his potential as a running back and I think his time is running out in Pittsburgh. He shows flashes, like his touchdown run a few weeks ago, but then he'll get stuffed behind the line time after time. Don't put all the blame on him for that, because the line is bad, but a tough back needs to find the hole more than Mendenhall does.

Other puzzling ways the Steelers managed to make this game interesting included the Wide Receivers playing hot potato. Mike Wallace who has been somewhat absent in big play production the last several games temporarily lost his hand eye coordination on a routine pass in the endzone. The other young wide receivers seemed to have the same condition. Maybe Ben was off target a little but come on. You still need to catch some of those.

Then there's the special teams. I have to give credit to the special teams because they have certainly solidified their tackling and holding their opponents returns down to a minimum. I can actually turn away for a few seconds when the other team is returning the ball because I have confidence they won't give up a big return. On the flip side, though, the Steelers returns have also caused me to look away. Last year Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown were a threat to break it every return. This year it's like they're happy with their 10 yards and let's get on with the game. Maybe they're more focused on their receiving chores, but a good return here and there would help, especially if you're going to play hot potato with the ball.

William Gay in the past has made us antsy and angry with his coverage skills, but this year his name hasn't been overly abused. He did give up that TD to end the second Ravens game, but supposedly he should have had help on that one and didn't. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for that. But, he almost reverted back to give up the big play Gay on Sunday when he mistimed a jump and whiffed on the ball. Fortunately the Chiefs receivers didn't play much better than the Steelers and the receiver didn't catch it. If he did it would have been a TD.

So, after all that playing down to the level of their competition it came down to the final drive by the Chiefs. They needed a touchdown, something they haven't been able to produce for several weeks. The time was running out, but it was for the Ravens too. As the NBC announcers said, it would have been a storybook game for Palko to beat the team he had worked out next to when he was at Pitt and grown up watching. Palko ended the game, though, by completing a pass to Keenan Lewis.

The Steelers made it exciting. I'm much more interested in quality play and a bigger margin of victory though. That would excite me much more.

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There goes the neighborhood

You just know things will never be the same. You've grown up in a neighborhood, spent your whole life hanging out with the friends that live next door and competing with that kid that lives behind your house. You come home from school and play one on one basketball with him. You can even manage to play one on one football. Try to throw a pass to yourself. Unless you're Mike Wallace and can outrun a bullet you have to give it a lot of hang time and be able to outjump the other guy to do that.

So, as you get older the kids in your neighborhood start moving out. Jimmy's dad gets a new job in California. The Smiths have a new baby and outgrow their house. Bobby's family moves to Florida. Until finally you and your rival, Panther, are the only ones left. Even though you have always had heated competition to see who will be the best you have a mutual respect for each other. You think there will never be an end to the competition that exists between the two of you. But the developers decide that your neighborhood is better suited for a shopping center. You do well to get out while the getting's good, but it is the end of the neighborhood and the end of the rivalry.

Well, it looks like all the neighbors in the old Big East neighborhood have vacated the hood and it's down to the Mountaineers and the Panthers. Penn State wasn't in the Big East but they lived in the next development over when everyone was an independent. The Penn State rivalry with West Virginia was mostly one-sided, but it was one that everyone in West Virginia looked forward to every year. When the Mountaineers beat Penn State there were a few parties in Morgantown.

Next, some more longtime neighbors decided to vacate. Boston College and Virginia Tech and Miami left for greener pastures in the ACC. Not the best football conference, but the basketball roots were deep. There were some new neighbors moving in, but you knew they were either going to be short timers or maybe fight for the neighborhood. One just moved in and didn't like the scene and decided to leave before even staying the night. Then you find out your neighbor Syracuse has had enough and is moving to the new development a few miles away.

Finally, you go out to play one on one football with the kid that lives behind you, you call it the "Backyard Brawl" and he tells you that his family has decided to move. You and your remaining neighbors are crushed. You never really liked him, but it will never be the same after he's gone. You looked forward all day to taking him on. One year he grew several inches and had an advantage over you, the next year you surpassed him and were better than him, but it was always competitive.

Now the Mountaineer family has found a new neighborhood and is moving on and the Panther family is moving on. You thought after the Lion family moved to their new neighborhood that you'd still have a get together occasionally, but they never looked back and didn't even want to get together every few years. Somehow it looks like that's what will happen with the Panther family. Billy Panther has already made new friends with the kids in the new neighborhood and he doesn't even say hi to you in school anymore.

So, you challenge him to one last game tonight. The last bragging rights to the neighborhood are on the line. This may be the last one for a long time. It is a sad sight to see, but an inevitable reality of life in the big business of college sports.



Ego Leonard Sighting

Gerry Dulac Report

Gerry and Ed Discuss the Cincy Game

Gerry and Ed Discuss the New England Game

Separated at Birth

Since the New England game is tomorrow, I thought I would break this story first. Pittsburgh Sports Buzz has just learned some incredible news about the New England Patriots coach Bill Belicheat, I mean Belichick. While working on a story for the game I came upon a photo which I'll reveal here. There has been no DNA testing to prove this but I have noticed a striking resemblance between Bill Belichick and a famous television star. I have put their pictures side by side so that the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz readers can decide for themselves. Here you go.

YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Did I get your attention?

I think I got a few people's attention with the major announcement post, but I'm hoping to hear from some more that are interested in what it will be. Send a comment or email me at stegmasterj@yahoo.com to let me know what you're thinking it will be.

Running Right

Recently Ike Taylor was discussing Mike Wallace's running form and how he doesn't even run right. He puts his arms up and just doesn't use proper form.
Wallace's response to that was, I do run right, I run right by all the defensive backs.

Speed Kills.

The answer

The answer to yesterday's post in the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz was Steve McClendon. That is the life of an undrafted NFL free agent. When you're signed to the practice squad it is never a certain thing that you will be on the practice squad the whole year. You could be dropped the next day because of the circumstances. An injury could happen and the need could arise for a player on the practice squad or an injury could happen and cause the team to release a player on the practice squad. If the team likes what they see, at the first chance the player will probably be resigned, if not the player will try to hook up with another team. Steve McClendon went through all the transactions listed in the post. He has gained some experience and looks to be a valuable player for the Steelers now. After Casey and Chris went down he has filled in at nose tackle well. Maybe McClendon is another in a line of free agent signings that the Steelers struck gold on. For now, he has been solid and allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to continue the success of the defensive line.

Can you guess who this is?

Signed to the Steelers active roster on October 30, 2010
Re-signed to the practice squad on October 11, 2010
Released on October 7, 2010…
Signed to the active roster on October 2, 2010
Re-signed to the Steelers practice squad on September 21, 2010
Released on September 20, 2010
Signed to the active roster on September 18, 2010
Signed to the practice squad on September 6, 2010
Released on September 4, 2010
Signed to the Steelers' offseason roster on January 7, 2010
Released by the Steelers on September 5, 2009
Signed to the practice squad the very next day
Released from the practice squad on November 25, 2009
Signed to the practice squad on December 2, 2009
Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Steelers on April 27, 2009.

Can you imagine being hired and let go and rehired this frequently?

Answer tomorrow if you haven't figured it out already.

Steelers Rule!!!!!

Gerry and Ed Discuss the Arizona Game

Major Announcement coming soon to Pittsburgh Sports Buzz

To my loyal readers, all 3 of you:
Yes, there has not been much to read on the site lately.
Yes, there has been plenty to talk about.
Yes, I should have more posts.
Yes, I have been busy with other things and haven't had the chance to express my extremely interesting opinions on Pittsburgh Sports.
Yes, I would like to give away some fantastic prizes for my readers.
No, I did not get a promotion like my friend(he doesn't know he's my friend) Jim Shearer of Yinz luv da stillers and VH-1 top 20 countdown fame.
No, I am not happy with the spammers that are leaving annoying comments trying to advertise their crap that have nothing to do with Pittsburgh Sports on my articles.
No, I do not allow them and it is really pointless for you to leave them. They are deleted immediately.
No, I'm not giving away any fantastic prizes for you to visit my site.
Yes, I do allow anyone to comment on anything to do with Pittsburgh Sports, I especially like the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins.

In Summary:
Keep following the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement coming soon.
Oh yeah the Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the Jags today.

Just as I suspected

Last weekend the Steelers played the Ravens and they appeared "too old" for the NFL as many of the broadcasters put it. Funny, most of those guys, including Warren Sapp were former players who had had their butts whooped up and down the field many times by those old players.

You can write that first game off for a couple of reasons

1. The Steelers were not prepared for their first game. To me, this a very shocking part about the Ravens game, but not as big a concern for the rest of the season. The Steelers knew the Ravens would be a tough opponent. It looked like the defense did not expect Ray Rice to catch passes out of the backfield and they did not expect him to try to run the ball. Uh, he's the starting tailback guys. It also seemed like Ben didn't expect them to come up with anything exotic on defense. It kind of looked like they were just waiting for the Ravens to walk over and give them the game ball and say, "You're too good, we quit." It looked like Ben was as confident about his line on the field as he talks about them off the field. When you start players one year and discard them the next you can't expect the offensive line to be great. The Ravens and Terrell Suggs brought the pressure and caused Ben to make mistakes and turn over the ball. When the Steelers start finding Alan Fanecas and Maurkice Pounceys in the draft every year instead of Tony Hills that's when Ben can really have some confidence in them. The problem is they are hit and miss alot in the draft with Offensive Linemen. So you need Sean Kugler to work his magic and come up with a line that will be able to plug the dike.

2. I could almost see the game resulting in a loss, not that much of a loss, but a loss. Yeah, they keep beating them in the playoffs and that's something to be proud of, but do you have to get on their nerves the whole off season. Take it to the field and show them who's better there. Not on twitter or wherever. The game was in Baltimore after the Ravens had all off season to think about it. The fans were mad at them for not beating the Steelers and the Steelers even helped them out as much as possible by giving them the ball 7 times on turnovers. The Steelers had talked trash the whole off season about the Ravens and Flacco not being able to beat them. They had the bragging rights but why do they need to fire up the opponent before the opener. Not a good choice. They're already sore from losing that playoff game so you add insult to injury and add to that a noisy stadium filled with people dressed in purple.(I don't think the color the people were wearing has anything to do with it, I just threw that in). Frankly they were just pissed off and fired up. Sometimes that emotion runs out, sometimes it's maintained throughout the game. Last week they maintained it, this week it ran out.

3. The schedule maker apparently does not care if you played in the Super Bowl the previous year or not. They scheduled the Steelers at Baltimore to start the season, really? This is usually an extremely intense game and it is important for whoever comes out on top of the AFC North. I'm pretty much dismissing the Bengals and Browns from the competition. Can the NFL give the Steelers some kind of advantage for getting to the Super Bowl? Wait til they start clicking before the game is scheduled or let them have the first game at home. You know, give em a game or two against the MAC conference of the NFL. They gave 'em the Seahawks but it was a game too late. Well, what's done is done. The Steelers are 1-1 and could possible end up behind the Bengals if the Bengals win today.

Oh yeah, the Steelers Defense is old, with some of those starters being over 30, but they have some youth lined up in there at linebacker and lineman. Ziggy Hood showed last year he could continue the run stopping job of the defensive line. Cameron Heyward will probably play behind the Diesel this year and be ready to take over when he's done. Yeah, they'll need to replace Casey Hampton, but he's still holding his own plugging up the middle with his girth. Those youngsters can substitute in and give the old men a break at any time. Then, Harrison and Farrior are getting up there, but there are some quality guys in Worilds and Sylvester, ready to step in when father time says enough is enough.

I'm concerned about the defensive backfield most of all. They've tried to draft several dbs after the first round in the last few drafts and can't seem to find one that can start. They need to address that position in the next draft, preferably in the first round, or the defense will drop off badly. Gay has been bad several years and they just keep running him out there. Keenan Lewis showed signs in preseason, but injuries sidetracked his progress. Clark is slowing down, but Polamalu, if healthy, can help him out and he will be around a couple more years.

This defense will be better than they showed in the Ravens game, but it will be hard to tell if they'll be as good as they looked in the Seahawks game until they play a real opponent. Look for more of the same inferior talent from their opponent next week when they play the Colts minus Peyton. The Browns beat em. Enough said.

Ravens Preview

Gerry and Ed discuss the Carolina game

Gerry and Ed discuss the Atlanta game

Pirates 9 - Brewers 2, The losing streak ends with a big 7th inning

Pirates 1 - Brewers 8, Karstens pitches well but bullpen fails

One Bouncer

The game ended tonight with Garrett Jones crushing an Arthur Rhodes offering over the right field stands bouncing once and ending up in the river. It truly was an offering, because if Garrett Jones had placed that pitch on a tee, it would not have been located any better than where Rhodes put it. Garrett did the rest and knew immediately the result. What a great ending to one of those games that has been going to the other team the last few months.

The games that the Pirates were winning in the first half just haven't been going their way in the 2nd. But the Pirates seem to be taking their frustrations out on the Cards. They have taken the first 2 games of this series and look to sweep tomorrow. This against the team that is trying to keep pace with the Brewers.

Tonight the Pirates had what it took to overcome that late deficit and come out ahead at the end of the game. Jeff Karstens continued his storybook season pitching 5 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs and keeping the Pirates in the game. Andrew McCutcheon continues to grow daily and become a dominant force in the National League. He cranked out his 17th homer to plate 3 runs.

Neil Walker has had a few chances in the last week to add to his RBIs and pull a few games out late, but has not been able to come through, until tonight that is. With the Pirates down by 1 in the bottom of the ninth Walker came through and delivered the clutch hit to tie up the game and send it to extra innings. Oh yeah, Brandon Wood may have saved the game in the ninth by knocking down a shot down the 3rd base line, staying with it and completing the play at first. It was impressive.



Then it was Garrett Jones turn to feed the fish in the 11th. It was a no doubter as soon as it came off his bat, and he knew it.

Nice night for the Bucs

As if beating the Cards at PNC wasn't enough, the Pirates made an encore performance and came to terms with their top two draft picks this year, Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell.

This is a definite bright spot in an otherwise bleak second half of the season. It is a continuing sign that Pirates ownership is willing to spend some money and lock down some talent for the Bucs.

It is always a tense situation getting down to the last days and hours of the signing period, but if you've paid attention in the past that's how it happens much of the time. So, it wasn't a shock that these 2 deals took so long.

It's good to add these two quality players to the team and it's good to have another top pitcher and possibly some offense in Bell.

Did anyone get the license plate number

I feel like I was watching the infamous JR Ewing dream episode.....for you older readers in the crowd. One day JR is alive and well, the next day he's shot, then none of it ever happened. I never would have dreamed I would ever mention Dallas in this blog, except for the Steelers beating up on the Dallas Cowboys. But, I just connected the 2 scenarios and there you go.

In the Pirates case they were on top of the world. Higher than they had been for 18 years. They were cruising along in a 3 or 4 team race for the lead in the NL Central. Even a couple days either alone at top or tied for first. The pitching was outstanding, a few young players were stepping up for the walking wounded. The Pirates for the first time in many years were looking to supplement the talent on the team to brace for the stretch run. All seemed well in the Pirate's world.

Then suddenly the gunshot rang out, it sounded a lot like a safe call from the mouth of Jerry Meals in the 19th inning of a marathon game and that happy place the Pirates had found this year disappeared. There were no answers. Those pitchers who had been dominant for much of the season suddenly could not hold their opponents from batting around. There were no stoppers among the starting 5, the bullpen became overwhelmed and overused, and the coaching staff searched for any solution possible. The Pirates went from 7 games over .500 to 6 games under in the blink of an eye.

Then, the alarm rang and JR woke up from his dream. The Pirates managed to escape PNC park and headed west. Anyone who witnessed that 10 game losing streak had to assume the Pirates pitching staff would not fare well against the defending World Champs. Fortunately the Giants strength is pitching and not offense. Their pitching didn't show up for 2 games of the 3 game series and the Pirates were able to return to their series winning ways.

Prior to the season noone would have expected the Pirates to perform the way they had before the recent 10 game skid. But the Pirates won time and again. The fans became spoiled expecting wins from this team and they produced. It was a great run and unless the Brewers experience the same fate as the Pirates, the race no longer includes the Pirates.

There is one thing Pirate fans can look forward to this season, and one thing the Pirates can play for. Another streak that has lasted far too long. These players should be aiming for the most wins they can get, but they should certainly focus on 82.

Pirates Acquire Lee and Ludwick

To help the Pirates chances for the second half of the season Dereck Lee and Ryan Ludwick were acquired to take an outfield spot and first base. We will see what they can do to help the Pirates challenge for their division crown.

Tough losses

Paul Maholm knows all about them, but the team hasn't had any more disappointing losses than the last 2 against the Braves. The team fought valiantly again last night only to lose in the 10th inning. The silver lining in this is that the Pirates continue their dominant pitching. Maholm again pitched a great game and again there was little offense to back him up. He dueled with Jair Jurjjens for most of the game, but the Braves came up with the big run when it was needed.

Where is that deal that will help the Pirates O Mr. Huntington?

Where is the Pirates Offense

If Clint Hurdle needed to make a case to Neal Huntington to add a player to the team this year to improve the Pittsburgh Pirates chances in the second half this season all he would need is 3 DVDs.

What would those DVDs contain? They would contain the offensive highlights/lowlights from each of the 3 games against the Cincinnati Reds. I may be mistaken but the closest the Pirates came to a home run in the series was Andrew McCutcheon's double off the wall in yesterday's game.

Clint has done an great job in taking this offense and managing to score runs and obviously win games, but they are sorely lacking power. I hear you out there saying tell us something we don't know. What can the Pirates do? I think they need to trade Lyle Overbay back to his former team in Milwaukee for Prince Fielder. Just kidding. I would not want another slow first baseman who is going to get cut down at home in a big playoff game. It doesn't matter how many home runs he hits, Fielder is huge and he's going to break down sooner rather than later. Not to mention the Brewers will not trade him while they're in the playoff chase and to another team in their division.

What else can they do? They have a glut of outfielders who are all ok, but except for Cutch, none have an extremely high ceiling. The first tier is Andrew McCutcheon and Jose Tabata. Tabata has not proven anything as of yet, but his potential talent ceiling is slightly lower than McCutcheon's. Andrew's proving his talent, Tabata has a way to go. So hang onto those two.

From there it's just a mishmash. The next outfielder who has shown some flashes is Alex Presley. He is lightning in a bottle right now. Starting off his major league career he has been a very good leadoff hitter and has hit for a high average. The home runs don't look like they are in his future. He's a contact hitter and an aggressive baserunner. That has really helped the Pirates out to this point in his brief stop in the Major Leagues. But, we've seen many many outfielders start out just this same way and fizzle after their first year. Where are you Tike Redman?

The rest are Garrett Jones, Xavier Nady.. I mean Paul. By the way, do the Pirates just like guys named Xavier, or what's the story with that. What are the chances they'd get two Xaviers within 5 years. Matt Diaz and Steve Pearce round out the rest of the outfielders.

The ideal option would be to pick up a proven player such as Andre Ethier in Los Angeles, Hunter Pence from the Astros, or Carlos Beltran from the Mets. If the Pirates could get one of or a combination of these guys for Jones, Diaz, Pearce, Presley, Paul that would be fantastic. The only prospect out of that crew is Presley though. The other guys have shown what they have and probably wouldn't tempt anyone to trade for them. Presley is at the height of his value as a prospect right now though. As I said, he is hitting well, played good defense and has been a spark plug getting things started.

The Buzz has heard the rumors circulating that the Mets are willing to give up Carlos Beltran for little to nothing, and pay part of his remaining salary too. There was a definite hesitancy about that with me because of the perceived lack of production from him. Once I dug into his stats though, I was quite surprised. He is hitting .290 this year with 15 home runs. You can look at his some of his other stats to see he is still performing very well, especially the .911 OPS (On base plus slugging).

The other 2 guys are younger than Beltran, but the Pirates have another guy in the pipeline that appears to have all the tools and will probably be in Pittsburgh next year in Starling Marte. Because the Pirates are in the race this year renting a Beltran would be a perfect fit. Take Beltran for the rest of this year, hopefully he'll add some punch to the offense, then get Marte into the fold next year. If he's not ready at the beginning of the year you've still got plenty of outfielders to hold down the fort til he arrives.

By the way just looking at Ethier and Pence's stats. Ethier's hitting .299 with 9 HRs, 44 RBIs and a .817 OPS. Pence is hitting .316 with 11 HRs, 61 RBIs and a .845 OPS.

I like Beltran's 15 Home Runs compared to the other 2. I think the Astros and the Dodgers would want a lot more in return for their players than the Mets for Beltran though.

So, where is the Pirates Offense? Maybe it is in New York, Houston, or Los Angeles. We will see.

Pirates regain top spot in NL Central

Chase D'Arnaud makes a big play behind second.

Thanks to Charlie Morton, some very good defensive plays, and timely hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates are now in first place. They outlasted 2 rain delays to make this one happen and it was worth the wait. Morton struggled through the first two innings but regrouped to combine with Tony Watson, Daniel McCutcheon, and Joel Hanrahan for the shutout.

Pirates half game back

Kevin Correia, the RBI man, stands at 2nd base after a two run double.

The Pirates are half a game back after taking 2 of 3 from the Astros in Houston. Kevin Correia made his second half preview, and after a shaky start settled down and kept the Pirates within striking distance. Correia also helped out with two RBIs on the offensive side. Neil Walker continued his hot streak and the Pirates moved back to within half a game of first.

Thome hits Home Run number 596

I'm not a Twins fan whatsoever, but Jim Thome is a player that I like to keep track of. He is a professional in all aspects of the word and he is just plain good. So, I was watching this clip of him jacking a big time home run to the upper deck of the Twins stadium in Minnesota. It was pretty awesome and to back me up check out the guy on deck's expression as Thome caught hold of all of this one. Fill in your own bubble of what he's saying. The clean version from me is Holy Cow!

Tryout

I've been doing some scouting lately and I think I may have found a prospect. The only problem is the prospect is a she.

If you've been watching the FIFA Women's World Cup, you've seen Abby Wambach come up with the big scores the U.S. needed in critical situations to win the last 2 games. One of her teammates said that it was amazing how she goes after so many balls and is always in the right place to make the big play. That's not why I'm thinking she could be a good prospect as an athlete type. You know sometimes teams draft players based on their athletic ability alone with hopes they'll adjust and be so athletic that they'll learn the sport quickly and their ability will carry them.

The reason I'm thinking Abby Wambach would be a good prospect is that every clip I've seen of her big plays, she does a patented slide after and it's not a sloppy slide that you see in the majors at times. Her form is perfect, just the way you were taught from the very beginning in little league. Her athletic ability ought to help her with the rest of the sport. But she has the slide down and how hard could it be to get the rest. She's a winner and every championship team needs a winner. The Pirates have definitely lacked that one person that's been able to win at all costs.

The one problem I forsee is being able to clear a roster spot for her. There are quite a few prospects on the Pirates now and I wouldn't want to lose any of them, even for such a talent as Abby Wambach. Oh well, she has one more game to go anyway and she probably wouldn't want to leave for Bradenton to begin her training until after. So, we'll see if the Pirates can lure her away from Soccer.

Multiple All Stars

Wow!
It has been so long since the Pirates have produced a team with multiple All Stars. The Buzz has to use the way back machine to go all the way back to 2009. What? 2009. That can't be right. The Pirates were horrible in 2009. But, the recollection is short when it comes to anything positive about the Pirates because of that long negative string of below .500 seasons. In 2009, though, Zach Duke and Freddy Sanchez were All Stars representing the Pirates. In 2006 it was the Freddy and Jason show, with Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Bay being named as All Stars.

Really?
It is really necessary to dust off the way back machine, though, to find the last time 2 Pirates started in the All Star game. Back in 1992, Mr. Bonds, and Andy Van Slyke both appeared in the outfield in the first inning of that All Star game. In 1990 and 1988 the Pirates had 3 players on the roster.

Who cares about those other guys.
I'm going to pretend that a lot of players didn't drop out and help 3 of our Buccos get on the roster for this game. Why should I pretend? Because I think these 3 guys really deserve to represent the National League in this game and will hopefully help the NLers knock off the ALers to continue the 1 game win streak. The A.L. had dominated up until last year, and I guess you could say they are still dominating. 1 win out of 10 games doesn't really instill confidence that the NL will start their own streak. But, maybe it is just in time for the NL to start their winning streak and give the NL home field advantage in the World Series. With the Pirates looking like they may have the talent for a run that is.

The Selig Rule.
Remember the Selig rule? The other non-loss the NL had in its previous 10 games was the tie when the commissioner decided to end the game all knotted up because there weren't enough players to continue. The next year the Commish decided, in his infinite wisdom, to make the All Star game more meaningful by making it the deciding factor in home field advantage. Doesn't really seem like it motivated the N.L. too much.

But, All that history doesn't make a difference to me, and like I said, I'm going to pretend that those other players injuries and decisions not to play really didn't matter in the decision of the All Star rosters. These 3 Pirates that are to be included in the game are all deserving of a spot.

The 2011 - 3
Joel Hanrahan, the first Pirate to be named was Joel Hanrahan, the Pirates closer. He has been a rock for the Pirates in the 9th inning and is a perfect 26 for 26 in save chances this year. I'm sure everyone realizes how important it is to have a reliable closer. If you don't, check out what the Reds Francisco Cordero has done in his last 4 chances. 3 of those appearances resulted in Ls for the Reds.

Andrew McCutcheon
Then, midway through a game against the Cubs the crowd started cheering and if you looked up to the jumbotron you would see why. The big screen operator found out before McCutcheon, it appeared, that he would be on the roster. Hanrahan definitely deserved a roster spot for his unbelievable performance in the first half, but Andrew McCutcheon was just as deserving. He started slowly and in the last few months has been revving up to full speed culminating in a 5 RBI night the other night, including a Home Run. He has shown everything that the Pirates and fans have expected him to do and it has been a treat. Clint Hurdle even threw Bruce Bochy under the bus saying he whiffed in not picking McCutcheon. Apparently Hurdle and Bochy have mended their fences and made up though.

Kevin Correia
The 3rd Pirate to make the team was the pitcher that has led the way from the start and helped the Pirates to get off to an awesome start on the road, where he won a majority of his games. Kevin Correia has 2 more wins at the All Star break than the winningest Pirate Pitcher had all last year. That was Correia's fellow starter, Paul Maholm. Maholm has turned his fortunes around and if he would have received 3 or 4 runs of support in his games the Pirates could have 4 players in this game. Or, if you really want to be a homer you could say 5 players, because Neil Walker has produced some very good numbers in the first half.

It is a great story and one that is sure to continue after the All Star game if these 3 players have anything to do with it. The Pittsburgh Pirates trio of Joel Hanrahan, Andrew McCutcheon, and Kevin Correia have played some outstanding baseball in the first half of the season and as the young players on the team continue to mature and more of their prospects arrive this could be the year to end the streak and to start a positive streak that could keep Pittsburgh Pirates fans happy for several years to come.

1 Back at the All Star Break

Andrew McCutcheon is congratulated at home plate after his 3 run HR.

The Pirates have reached the All Star Break and something is a little different from the last couple decades worth of seasons. The Pirates are over .500 and they are competing for the lead in the National League Central.

The pitching has been outstanding and the offense has been enough to win. On Sunday Paul Maholm pitched a great game and Andrew McCutcheon put on an All Star show with 5 RBI's to show why he was named to the All Star team.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the second half of the season will bring. Hopefully more of the same winning ways.

Could It Be

I know the season is a little over halfway done and we shouldn't be buying playoff tickets yet, but what Pittsburgh Pirate fan is not brimming with enthusiasm when talking about their buccos right now. Going into the game tonight the Pirates were 1 game out of first place. They were looking up in the standings to St. Louis and Milwaukee. Well, thanks to a Michael McKenry and a 4 run 8th inning the Pirates may be looking eye to eye at the Brewers and Cards. At the time of this article the Pirates have won and the Cardinals and Brewers are losing.

Awesome! Go Buccos!

Update:
The Brewers rallied late in their game and pulled out the win, but the Cards helped the Pirates cause and lost. The Pirates remain one game out before the all star break.

A bad inning

The Pirates 6th inning was as dismal as the Civic Arena future. Charlie Morton pitched 5 scoreless innings and then came the 6th. The Astros scored 5 runs in the 6th to end the game and the Pirates win streak. In that 6th inning the sinker that Charlie had found this year did not sink and the velocity didn't seem to be there. This raises questions about Morton's health. Of course, he and the Pirates both say he is fine and his arm feels good, but comparing his last several outings to his early success raises some red flags.

The All Star break will give him some more time to rest the arm, but the Pirates will need a healthy Morton to continue the success they've had this year. I'm hoping the Pirates future looks a lot brighter than the Civic Arena future.

Karstens picks up number 7

Thanks to a homer from Brandon Wood, Jeff Karstens picked up win, number 7. Not bad for someone who was supposed to be in the bullpen this year.

Casey Anthony Found Not Guilty

No, you're not in the wrong place. I opened my email and every media outlet had the same headline yesterday so I thought I'd join the crowd. I will not write about that situation though, other than to say our legal system has failed and it is a shame.

Now, onto the 2nd place Pittsburgh Pirates. That's right, second place Pittsburgh Pirates. They are a game and a half behind the Cards and playing well. Brandon Wood homered yesterday and now is pulling away from Pedro Alvarez in that category. He has 4 which is more than we expected he would contribute at the beginning of the season, because he was with the Angels.

With the All Star break bearing down this is finally a year that Pirates would rather just keep playing than take a break. They are on a hot streak right now and don't want anything to cool them down.

The All Star break will give the Pirates a chance to rest their pitching arms and give the players on the DL some time to get healthy and get back in the lineup. The Pirates are in second Place, has a nice ring to it, almost as nice as the Pirates are in first place.

The Burgh is Loving This

2 Wins in 2 nights against the Red Sox. These young Buccos are making this a fun season. People are coming to the ballpark to see this team perform and these players are obliging.

Thanks to a couple of home runs, a 3 run shot from Lyle Overbay and a solo shot from Garrett Jones the Pirates defeated the Sox and are now 2 over .500, 3 games behind the Brewers. Stay tuned this is shaping up to be a great season.

Game 7

I know it's quite late to let you know this, but I just saw on the Pirates website that Root Sports will air game 7 of the 71 World Series tonight, Wednesday, at 7 o'clock.

Hopefully it won't be the last time in the near future that we see the Pirates in the World Series. Go Buccos. I hope the game has an exciting ending. When was the last time the Pirates came up with two wins in a day.

Back to a game below .500

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the 134 mile trip to Cleveland, OH for a 3 game interleague series that began on Friday. They had raised their record to two games above .500 for the first time in many many years and it looked like they may have a chance to put up a fight against the closest thing they have to an interleague rival.

The ruling attendant steams before the infinite disguise.

Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly have tried to convince the league that just as the Browns are a rival to the Steelers, or at least were a rival before the Brownies moved, the Pirates are a rival to the Indians.

Well, the Pirates equipment manager should receive some severe discipline after this series because, unfortunately, he forgot to pack the offense when they made their 134 mile trip to Cleveland. The Pirates have not been the the greatest of offensive teams this year, but they have managed to score enough runs to outscore their opponent in many of their games. Thus, they were able to climb 2 games over .500.

Maybe it was too much to ask of these young guys to familiarize themselves with a new set of pitchers from the other league. They did manage to play even with the Indians today until the 11th inning.

It would have been nice to win the series or at least a game against their, "interleague rival" but hopefully they can regain the momentum that put them over .500 and continue those winning ways. After all, let's give Cleveland a little break. I'm happy seeing the Steelers repeatedly stomp the Browns until the Pirates gain some more momentum and dominate the Indians also.

The Best at What He Does

Sports

Sports are a great thing, even mixed up in all of the lockouts in the NFL and what is to come in the NBA. Hopefully there will not be any strike or lockout in the NBA and hopefully the NFL situation will end quickly. You know what though, there is always some place else to go if you are a true sports fan. If the NFL does not have a season, that's ok just tune into your favorite college team and watch the game on Saturday instead of Sunday or every other day of the week. This article isn't really about that it is about a man that is the best at what he does.

Who am I talking about you ask. Well, let's take a look inside ourselves. doesn't everyone want to be the best they can be at their dream job. A lot of us don't take the opportunities we need to take advantage of what talents we are given. We don't go for it. That's a big reason I like to write. I think I'm fairly good at it and I think I have a talent for it.

Love of the game
Most athletes play sports for a reason. I'm a throwback and I think that reason is that they love to play the sport that they choose. Professional athletes, yes they get a paycheck, but yes most of them love to play the game. They grew up playing it, and played at every opportunity once their parents introduced the sport to them and stopped pushing them to go to every practice and every game. At some point they started to really enjoy taking the field, smelling the grass, and all the other smells at the football field or baseball diamond.

Hard Work
Those guys got better and better and most worked extremely hard to do what they wanted to do. Neil Walker grew up around Pittsburgh and loved to watch the Pirates, and I'm sure he was a Steelers and Penguins fan too. I've never seen an article about him and who his favorite players were, but there were many to choose from even though the Pirates were in the midst of their losing streak while he was growing up.

All Star
Really, I'm not talking about Neil Walker. The story has something to do with Evan Meek. Do you remember how well he pitched last year. He was on the all-star team he pitched so well. Meek went through quite a bit and worked extremely hard to finally reach the point where he was pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Being an all star, despite the fact that the game has lost some credibility, is still a very exciting feat. I would say that to that point in his career Evan Meek was at the Pinnacle of his career. He had worked hard practiced hard and was sought out when the Pirates needed someone to set up a save.

Sought after
Can you imagine being the only person on your team that the coach looks to in a certain situation. You are sought after by your coach and depended on to do your job. This story isn't really about Evan Meek though. Evan has had a fairly rough year. He's had arm problems and been on the disabled list. Recently after a short time back from the disabled list Meek felt great for a while, but after pitching several games he realized his arm wasn't what it should be. The Pirates again shut him down and put him on the disabled list with a prescription of rehabilitation and treatment for the ailing shoulder.

Second Opinion
Meek was unsure and requested to have a second opinion. The Pirates consented and Meek sought out his second opinion. Who did he go to? That's the real point in this article, Meek sought out the opinion of the most highly regarded Orthopedic Surgeons in the world. If you are an prized athlete and your team values your talent they will take no chances with your care. Dr. James Andrews is the most well known orthopedic surgeon in all professional sports. Just like the top athletes in sports, ARod, Troy Polamalu, Sidney Crosby in their sports Dr. James Andrews has reached the top of his profession. I don't know how he has time to look after all of these injured athletes, but every time one of them tears a ligament or muscle he is the man.

The best in his field
He did not reach that expertise by sitting around and absorbing knowledge, he undoubtedly studied as much as athletes practiced and worked his tail off. That is the real story here. A tail of the best athletes and how they are not so different than professionals outside the world of sports. If you want to achieve your goals and be sought out as an expert or simply by friends needing an opinion you need to work at it and earn their trust. If you do that and have the knowledge to back it up you will achieve what you want. Maybe you'll be to your profession or the passion in your life what Dr. Andrews is to his. I know the Pittsburgh Pirates and Evan Meek trust Dr. Andrews with his arm.

Pelotas

Hello everyone,

I like to keep track of the traffic of people visiting the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz. I hope that people enjoy my sporadic writings as much as I enjoy my favorite recreational activity, writing. Well, it's not a very active recreational activity but it's recreational for my brain after looking at dollars and spreadsheets all day.

I was checking out the Traffic tonight and saw that I had a visit from someone in Pelotas, Brazil. I have 1 friend in Brazil, Marcos Macedo from Rio. He was an exchange student with our family for a year, but maybe now I have another friend or Marcos found out about my website and is checking it out.

If you are my Pelotas reader please drop me an email, jerrysteege@gmail.com, or anyone else is welcome to email me also. I'd love to hear any article ideas. I have been working on an article about the top 30 Steelers with the help of a friend and I hope to unveil that near the beginning of the next season, whenever that may be. Anyway keep reading Pelotas and everyone else.

It's happening to the Pittsburgh Pirates Part 2

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had 2 pitchers that have translated their quality outings into wins this season and those 2 pitchers are Charlie Morton and Kevin Correia. But there are other members of the staff that have suddenly turned in some outstanding efforts this season. The result is that the Pirates have 5 men in their rotation that are able to keep the opponent within striking distance of the offense.

James McDonald came to the Pirates near the end of last year in a trade with the Dodgers. Unexplicably the Dodgers couldn't seem to get enough out of McDonald. This just goes to show the sad shape the Dodgers are in right now. With not much of a chance given to him in the Major Leagues the Dodgers gave the Pirates McDonald and another prospect in Andrew Lambo. Lambo's story was a little different. He has a history of drug problems and was suspended for 50 games last year for what is believed to be marijuana usage. Nobody disputes his talent though and he was an integral part of the trade that sent Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers last year. McDonald has consistently kept the Pirates in games after some tinkering with the mechanics early in the season. His record is 4-4, but he has kept the Pirates in most of the games he's pitched.

Paul Maholm is the remaining cog from the last group of hopeful pitchers on the Pirates. He and Zach Duke and Tom Gorzelanny all were supposed to turn the Pirates fortunes around. Those other 2 were traded and Maholm remained. Why didn't the Pirates get rid of him? He's one of those guys that just has so much promise. He has always shown a lot of promise. This year he has pitched as well as he ever did. His record so far this season is 2-7. But that is definitely not indicative of how he has pitched this year. Most of his outings have been outstanding, but he has had little to no support and thus the record. He has kept the Pirates in most games that he has pitched, but sometimes there is a pitcher that the team just doesn't score runs for. This time it's Maholm, and it is unfortunate because he has pitched so well this season.

The 5th guy or wherever you wanted to slot him in the rotation was going to be Ross Ohlendorf. Ohlendorf has shown flashes of above average stuff in the past and has given the Pirates hope that they have found another quality arm to fill out the rotation. So much for that. Ohlendorf has continued to have arm problems and is currently on the 60 day disabled list. But, one's misfortune is another's fortune, or however that saying goes. Ohlendorf goes down and Jeff Karstens steps in as the short term solution. Karstens has done an amazing job. Every time he takes the mound the Pirates have had a chance to take the W.

Karstens came to the Pirates in 2008 as part of the Damaso Marte/Xavier Nady trade with the Yankees. He has had mixed success in previous attempts at starting but he may be solidifying his spot in the rotation for the rest of the year. His record is only 3-4 but his era is sub 3. The only drawback is that he usually doesn't get past the 7th inning, but I think Clint Hurdle would be happy if his pitchers could keep their eras in the 2s.

Let's look at that trade. Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte for Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Jose Tabata, and Daniel McCutchen. That one seems to be working out well for the Pirates this year. 3 out of the 4 are on the Pirates and playing very well. The fourth was expected to be part of the rotation. That trade has worked out pretty well for the Pirates this year. Xavier Nady has been injured and bounced around a few teams, Damaso Marte remains with the Yankees, but is no stranger to the disabled list.

It is amazing that amongst this streak of losing that the Pirates have not managed to find some quality pitchers that could not even break the double digit win plateau. This year with the addition of Kevin Correia and the seasoning and tinkering of the pitchers they have acquired the Pirates seem to have a rotation that can keep them in games for 7 to 8 innings regularly. When the rotation can do that and keep the bullpen staff from extended duty it makes the bullpen that much fresher which helps them to be ready when needed. If these guys continue to improve that streak may be in danger.

These 5 guys are just a part of the pitching staff that has shown a lot of improvement from last year. In part 3 of this series I'll give analysis of the bullpen staff. The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking like they have the makings of a good team. It's great to be close to .500 and not out of the race at this point in the season, thanks in large part to the starting staff.

The Pittsburgh Pirates take Cole

Given the opportunity to pick first in this year's major league draft the Pirates selected Gerrit Cole.

Cole is a California boy, and has a fastball that has ventured into triple digits.
Read more about him soon.

It's happening to the Pittsburgh Pirates Part 1

Since Barry Bonds left years and years ago the Pirates have gone through waves and waves of what Pirates fans have hoped would be the next group to take the Pittsburgh Pirates back to the playoffs, or at least a winning season. Well, the core of the current group is the heart of this team right now.

At pitcher the Pirates have a group that seems to have been tinkered with and matured to the point where their ERA makes you forget about the recent flops that have been part of those other failed groups. A series of trades and free agent signings by the front office has brought what looks like a talented group to the team until the group of young arms recently drafted arrives.

Recall the high hopes the Pirates had for Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell. The expectations for that group were never realized. The ERAs never went down and the wins never came. Now there is a new group ready to stake their claim and lead the Pirates into the promised land.

Charlie Morton, obtained from the Braves, could be considered the Pirates stopper. At the time of the trade Pirate Nation was up in arms because of the player he was traded for. Nate McLouth had become a fan favorite with his hitting and fielding. Why would the Pirates trade a part of their then core for a pitcher that had shown promise but had failed in his tryouts for the Braves.

Morton is starting to show Pirates Nation what the front office saw and McLouth has been average in his time with the Braves, never hitting as well as he did at the time of the trade. Morton has been nothing short of amazing this year. He has risen from the realm of AAAA players and finally started showing the stuff in the majors that he did in AAA. The Braves gave up on him and traded him to the Pirates. Thank you Atlanta. The Pirates did some tinkering and changed his delivery in the offseason and he discovered a sinker that some could argue that is now one of the best in the majors.

If the Pirates manage to break that string of losing seasons this year, another signing in the offseason might have much to do with it. Another pitcher, who could be considered the co stopper or the road stopper and who recently led the majors in wins has been a huge success and might be a major reason for the change in attitude of the team.

Kevin Correia, who now has 8 wins, brings a confidence to the Pirates that has been lacking. He has shown that he can win in the past and thanks to a change of scenery to Pittsburgh, he has shown so far this season that those past performances were not a fluke. He has been outstanding on the road especially, helping the Pirates confidence in that area and translating to as many wins this year, a third of the way through the season as all of last year.

These 2 guys are the heart of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation this year, but there are others that have contributed significantly. Check out Part 2 of this series in the next few days.

Cameron Heyward Selected

Late last night the Steelers selected Cameron Heyward as the number 1 draft pick, surprising most of the "experts."

If you listen to Kevin Colbert you would get the impression that Heyward was their choice from the beginning. The Pittsburgh Sports Buzz does not have a way back machine so we can't go back and see what would happen if nobody chose Mike Pouncey until the Steelers pick.

I'm inclined to believe Colbert though. Look at how the Steelers have ignored the Offensive Line at the expense of allowing teams to pound on Ben. Picking an Offensive lineman 2 years in a row would really have been a stretch.

That being said. The Steelers have been to the Super Bowl 3 times in recent years. Despite taking Ziggy Hood, they need to find a lineman to replace Keisel in the not to distant future and this would give them time to groom him as they've done in the past with other first rounders. More on Heyward soon.

The Newest Young Guns

Jameson Taillon will make his professional debut for the West Virginia Power on Wednesday. Get your tickets now.

Brandon Wood is a Pirate

Since Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly have been running the Pittsburgh Pirates they have been picking up the castoffs of other teams like they were all stars.

Huntington history

When Coonelly and Huntington took over you would think that they were trying to find their whole pitching staff from what the Yankees did not want. If the Yankees released or traded a pitcher the Pirates were there to comfort them and welcome them into the fold. Hello Anthony Clagget, Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker. Goodbye Anthony Clagget, Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker.

They even traded for some desired Yankees, that is desired by the Pirates. Not many other teams were in the market for them.

Former First Round Draft Choice

This past week, a former number one draft pick of the California, Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels(they seem to be as confused as the Pirates, as far as their name goes at least) was released by the club and became available. Based on the Pirates past practice of trying to find a rock and attempt to turn it into a diamond they jumped at the opportunity to have a former first round draft pick join the team.

Same Problem Different Team

The Angels had given up on their former first rounder, sound like a familiar scenario Pirates fans? Unfortunately, until recently, this was the norm for the Pirates. But, this was another team and their draft pick that didn't work out for them. So, by virtue of the Pirates horrible record last year, they had the first crack at picking up this infielder. As you can tell Neal Huntington is not shy about trying to take a castoff and making something out of him, especially one that was so highly thought of fairly recently.

Brandon Wood is a Pirate

The Pirates wasted no time and claimed Wood off waivers and made room for him on the roster by designating Josh Rodriquez for assignment. Brandon Wood is a Pirate shortly and an option in the infield. What does that mean? It means that the Pirates have some hope that another of their infield positions has a player with a potentially high upside.

Lack of shortstop production

When the Pirates traded Jack Wilson to the Pirates they signed Ronny Cedeno to take his place. Cedeno, another castoff, had a lot of potential, showed some power, and played a decent shortstop defensively. As with the other teams he's been with, that potential has not been fulfilled with the Pirates. There have been short flashes here and there, but nothing sustained.

No options
If the Pirates had a viable option before this Cedeno would undoubtedly be a former Pirate also, but there were none. The Pirates went so far this year as to take another diamond in the rough, Josh Rodriquez, in the Rule 5 draft. Doing this obligated the Pirates to keep Rodriquez in the majors this year, or designate him for assignment to the minors and work out a deal for him with Cleveland, or just send him back to Cleveland. For now they have designated him for assignment and will see if Cleveland wants him back.

Brandon Wood is a Pirate, what now?
It looks like the Pirates will alternate Wood and Cedeno at shortstop to see what Wood has. Since Wood has also played third he will be used as an option there also. Will Wood be an upgrade at shortstop from Cedeno? Not if his Major League playing history holds. He has been an accomplished AAA player in his Angels career, but hasn't been able to succeed at the top.

AAAA Is Wood a AAAA player? One that dominates at AAA but can't translate the success to the majors. The Pirates had another shortstop that fits this tag, Brian Bixler. He did well in AAA, but every time he was called up to the Pirates his game was never there. Couldn't hit and couldn't field. Those 2 items are slightly important if you want to be a major leaguer.

Bixler or Wilson
Since Brandon Wood is a Pirate now, will he become Jack Wilson or Brian Bixler. The jury is still out til he gets a chance, but if Clint Hurdle can turn this guy's career around the Pittsburgh Pirates will have 3 younger players with high upsides in the infield. Hopefully Brandon Wood is a Pirate that will turn into a quality player. I'm hoping he'll turn into what the Angels thought he would. But, for now Brandon Wood is a Pirate and we'll see what he can do in the next few weeks.

Kids and the Pittsburgh Pirates - Gotta Love It

Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day 2011

Neil Walker, starting his first full season as the Pirates full time second baseman already shares something with one of the, if not the, greatest Pirate of all time Roberto Clemente.


They are the only 2 Pirates to open the season with a Grand Slam.

Walker is as close to a Pirate legend as anyone on the squad this year. Not for the reason Roberto was a legend for the Pirates, not yet at least. He has not yet earned his stripes as a great Pirate based on his play.

He inherited his legendary status simply by being the hometown kid that gets to live out the dream of every kid that roots for his favorite team. He actually gets to play for the Pirates, the team he grew up watching and admiring as a youngster. I could only dream of standing out there on opening day playing the game you love.

In the fifth inning Walker stepped up to bat in Wrigley Field and sent Ryan Dempster's pitch flying over the outfield wall and out of the ballpark, eventually landing on Waveland Avenue. A dream come true.

What's great about Walker's story is that last year at this time Walker did not have a position. He was one of those can't miss prospects. He had so much talent that it was just a matter of time before he made it to the majors and was a cornerstone of the Pirates.

He was drafted as a catcher. The Pirates decided they had plenty of talent at the position so they tried him at third. He had the athletic ability and many a catchers have been successfully moved to third base.

He started off well and showed that he was capable defensively, but struggled offensively. Along comes Pedro Alvarez and now 3rd base is not open for competition and Walker still doesn't have the offensive punch the Pirates desperately need. So, he learns as many positions as he can so he can catch on as a utility player and get on the major league roster. At this point the idea of becoming an every day player is fading.

The Pirates then sign Akinori Iwamura as their everyday second baseman. As fate would have it that was a bad signing. I know, you're stunned. The Pirates never do that. Hey! was that Raul Mondesi over there. I couldn't tell because he was gone too fast. Anyway, Iwamura had major knee problems and had the range of a turtle. The Pirates tried several players including Walker.

First, he was in the rotation for a game here and a game there. Then a strange thing happened for a Pirates prospect, sorry Andrew that excludes you, he started hitting, and he started hitting home runs. So, the rotation became more of Walker and less of others. Walker kept hitting and kept hitting home runs. Remember the Pirates went some ridiculous number of games last year without hitting a 2 or more run home run. They need power hitters.

Walker kept hitting and playing a decent second base and the Pirates finally had no choice but to make him the regular second baseman. A lot of people had problems with his defensive play, but you don't just learn a new position overnight.

Does Walker's story remind anyone of the story of a former Pirate who won a batting title. Due to bad choices Freddy Sanchez languished on the Pirates bench after they signed Joe Randa to be their third baseman. Surprise, surprise, Sanchez took over during the season and never looked back, eventually moving to second base and eventually replaced at the position by Mr. Walker.

Hopefully Walker puts up numbers for his hometown team that eventually put him up there next to Roberto. For now, I'll settle for that memorable Pirates opening day in 2011 and look forward to many more days just like this for Neil.

Sano Update

I was just wondering what Miguel Angel Sano was doing since the Pirates lost out on his services to the Twins. He played in the Dominican Summer League in 2009 and managed to hit the first pitch he saw for a home run then managed to dominate the rest of the season. He moved up to the rookie league and struggled a bit, but he was 17 and 3 years younger than most of the other players. Hopefully the Pirates did not blow the chance of getting the next Roberto. We will see.

30 Greatest Steelers

I'm going to put together an article about the 30 greatest Steelers of all time, but I'm not going to decide on my own who they are. I want you to help me. please send emails to jerrysteege@gmail.com to comment on who you think the greatest steelers are.

A Bad Week and Other News

It was not bad enough that the Steelers didn't win the Super Bowl, but then Pittsburgh lost one of it's great managers.

I'll return to the Super Bowl in another article, needless to say it was turnovers that lost the game for the Steelers, but I want to focus on one of Pittsburgh Sports Buzz's favorite managers.

My family was visiting some friends in Virginia during the 1979 World Series. They were big Baltimore Orioles fans. I remember the TV, which was black and white and on a rolling stand. During the games they would pull it out of the corner and put it in the middle of the room. I remember all the great players, Willie Stargell, Bill Madlock, Dave Parker, Omar Moreno, Phil Garner, Bill Robinson, Mike Easler, Manny Sanguillen, Kent Tekulve, Bert Blyleven, John Candelaria, Rick Rhoden.

Then I remember the man that was able to put together all of those players into a championship team. I'll always be a great fan of Chuck Tanner for this one great season. Maybe overshadowed a little by another Chuck coaching the Pittsburgh Football team at the time, he turned me into a baseball fan and a lifelong Pirates fan. I don't know how much he had to do with Willie Stargell having a monster series, but that was not all that went into the Pirates winning that series. Down 3-1 in the series and coming back to win the last 3 was a great feat, plus the last 2 games were in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. I just hope Pittsburgh will once again find a manager that is able to put it together again like Chuck Tanner. I'm sure he will be missed in Spring Training this year.

LaMarr Woodley designated
With all the unrest in the collective bargaining agreement between ownership and the players, Pittsburgh Sports Buzz was a little concerned about how the LaMarr Woodley situation would turn out. The Steelers laid that to rest this week and designated Woodley with the franchise tag. Most players don't care for this because it keeps them from signing a big multiyear contract with a big signing bonus. But, for Woodley it will give him a huge payday this year. With his talent and when the collective bargaining agreement is straightened out he'll sign his long term contract. He's too good to let go, right?

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

WOW! Gameday. I've heard it all these last 2 weeks. I find it hard to believe that the Steelers blood is not boiling if they've been watching TV at all. Charles Woodson will be the difference maker, Clay Mathews will be the difference maker, or Aaron Rodgers. Ok, those are two guys amongst the Packers.

The Steelers have difference makers up and down their lineup. They have shown that they can make the plays in the big games and they will do it again today. So much so that I need to break it down by Offense and Defense, not just 3 guys.
Let's check it out
Offense
Ben Roethlisberger
He has made his share of mistakes off the field, but on the field he does nothing but make great plays and win games. He has a 10-2 playoff record, with 2 Super Bowl wins. How many other active QBs have won 2 Super Bowls. One, and his team got beat by the Jets this year in the playoffs. The last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl Ben threw one of the best passes in Super Bowl history to Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the endzone in a game winning drive with minutes left. In Super Bowl XL, everyone says he had one of the worst performances by a QB in Super Bowl history. That was a QB who had taken his team to a Super Bowl in his second year after taking them to the AFC Championship game in his first year. Gee, he can't be that good, AFC Championship game first year, Super Bowl second year. Yeah, not too good. Oh, and that Super Bowl in Detroit that he played so badly in, on one play he scrambled all over the place and managed to find Hines Ward near the goal line to set up a touchdown. Difference Maker.

Hines Ward
The leading receiver in Steelers history. Oh, yeah, um, he holds most of the receiving records in Steelers history. Did I mention that he's broken most of all the records of that Steelers receiving tandem... what were their names? That's right I think they were named Swann and Stallworth. He also caught that pass mentioned above from Ben along with, amongst others, from one of his fellow receivers Antwaan Randle El. Along with the 2 Lombardi trophies he's helped win, he has a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Throw him a ball in a clutch situation and he will catch it. Need him to get open in a clutch situation and he'll find a space in the defense and be open. One other thing, find a receiver that blocks better than this one and opens holes for his teammates. Difference Maker.

Heath Miller
Somehow he manages to stay below the radar of all the media. He gets nowhere near the recognition he could get if he played on another team that featured him. He could be the featured receiver on most teams in the NFL. He is a complete Tight End. He will stay back and block or he will catch the big time passes. He missed the first game with Baltimore this year and like would have been the Difference Maker.

Rashard Mendenhall
Early in the season the Steelers played what would end up to be one of the best teams in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons. The game was tied in regulation and went to overtime. On the first play of overtime Mendenhall put the game away with a 50 yard TD run. Mendenhall helped this team to a 3-1 start in the absence of Ben and achieved another 1,000 yard season. He was given the ball early and often against the Jets in the AFC championship game which helped the Steelers control the time of possession, especially in the first quarter. Difference Maker.

Mike Wallace
The Steelers have one of the fastest players in football on their team. He has smoked many defenses this year and has a ridiculous yards per catch average and has become a complete receiver in his second year. Last year in the game against the Packers he caught a ball with no time left and put two feet down inside the line to secure a victory. Difference Maker.

The Steelers have two rookie wide receivers that have battled each other for much of the season to be active players each week. Both have made some spectacular plays when they have gotten into games. Let's just sum it up with this, 3rd and long, long, long. The Jets are expecting a long pass, the Steelers aren't hiding anything. Antonio Brown beats the secondary, Ben throws a perfect pass and the result first down inside the five. Difference Maker, Rookie Difference Maker at that.

Defense
Troy Polamalu
Defensive player of the year, specializes in speed, tomahawk chopping the ball out of quarterbacks hands, big plays, and flying tackles. 'Nuff said.
Difference Maker.

James Harrison
Super Bowl XLIII, right before halftime. Harrison was supposed to perform his normal role of pursuing the quarterback. Instead he went with his instincts and dropped into coverage to cover the quick slant route. 100 yards, a couple player hurdles, a couple tacklers shrugged off he falls into the endzone. The outcome could have been quite different if the Cardinals scored even a field goal there. Difference Maker.

LaMarr Woodley
Woodley is a great player during the regular season, but he takes it up a notch. He has had a sack in every playoff game he has been in. In Super Bowl XLIII as the Cardinals were driving to try to take the lead with seconds left. Warner dropped back to pass and Woodley swooped in to knock the ball out of his hands. It was recovered by the Steelers, game over. Difference Maker.

Casey Hampton
The Steelers held their opponents to the 3rd best rushing yards per game in the Super Bowl era this season. One reason for that was the mountain of a man, not to be confused with Mountain man Brett Keisel, although he was a huge reason for the rushing defense success, but I'm talking about Casey Hampton. Hampton has been the immovable force in the middle of the Steelers Line since he was drafted out of the University of Texas. He plugs the middle to prevent any running back from getting past the line, and on occasion when he gets mad, he'll come up with a big sack, not to be confused with his nickname, big snack. Difference Maker.

Ryan Clark
The Ravens start the second half of the AFC playoffs in control of the game. Ray Rice catches a screen and starts up the middle. A player comes in from the side, makes a flying tackle and punches the ball out of Rice's hand. Fumble recovered by the Steelers. Momentum swings the Steelers way. Later Flacco overthrows his receiver and a player comes over from the middle of the field to intercept. Ryan Clark comes up with 2 turnovers to turn the momentum in favor of the Steelers and lead them to the victory and a date for the AFC Championship game. Difference Maker.

These are the multitude of big time players the Steelers have. One of these guys will make a difference in this game.

By the way, I ran a scrimmage on Madden to determine the outcome of this game. I'm not the defensive coordinator that Dick Lebeau is, but the final score ended up being 106-14 Steelers, with