Oneil Cruz Day

 Well, Father's Day young Buc was Jack Suwinsky with his 3 homers, including a walk off.  Then yesterday there were more young Buc sightings.  O'Neil Cruz showed up with his bat and finished 2 of 5 with 4 RBIs.  In the 3rd inning he put on a little show with his arm.  A ball was hit to the third base side of him.  It wasn't hit exceptionally and wasn't a difficult play, but what followed made you think maybe the outfield isn't a bad place for him.  He backhanded it easily, double clutched as he moved toward first base and uncorked a fireball to Michael Chavis at first.  Chavis extended and easily made the play, but I'm wondering if he expected the ball to drill a hole in his glove when it was released.  Hopefully he has practiced with Cruz and knew that it was a possibility.  The throw was clocked at 96.7 mph.  

As I said about Jack Suwinski the other day, I hope his potential is as good as the flashes of talent he's shown in his highlights and I hope they find a spot where he is comfortable.  

It also didn't escape my attention that JT Brubaker was finally able to put together a win and a scoreless 6 innings.  It didn't hurt that the offense scored 12 runs too.  It's a little easier to pitch with some offensive help.  

I'm a little disappointed in Jack Suwinsky.  C'mon Jack, I expected at least 1 HR after the hat trick.

Yet another Bucco made his Major League debut in the game in pretty impressive fashion, Bligh Madris.  He contributed 3 hits, 2 RBIs and a stolen base.  Quite a debut, what's he going to do next? hit 3 home runs in a game.  We can only hope.

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!

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!!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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?

What happened at halftime?

Did you wonder what happened at halftime. With the Steelers down 21 to 7 and the Ravens having the momentum by scoring 21 points I have to admit prospects were a bit bleak. But most of these guys had played on at least one Super Bowl winner and a lot had played on two.

Did coach Tomlin give a Knute Rockne speach and tell them to win one for the Gipper? According to most of the players the answer is no. Really, no rousing speech from the coach. The battle tested defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau must have willed his defense to make some big plays and Ryan Clark accepted the challenge forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass setting the offense that had turned the ball over twice up for two easy TDs. Not according to the players.

It must have been the two time starting Super Bowl Champion Quarterback. Where else would a team look but to it's starting Quarterback. Ben has had his problems off the field, but all he does is win big games and make big plays. Just ask anyone in the stadium last Sunday. Just ask a rookie receiver playing in his first playoff game. Just ask any of his teammates. Ben is just a winner. But, according to the team Ben did not will them to the Victory.

One of my theories is that the coaches did have a plan. Seeing as how the Ravens forced the Steelers to turn the ball over twice, the plan was to try to get them to turn the ball over wherever they had a chance. The Ravens had been on a tear forcing turnovers in the last several weeks, why not give them a taste of their own medicine and see what happened. The result was that Joe Flacco felt the wrath of the Steelers Defense and the noise of the crowd and was shaken. How else would you explain that perfect pass to Clark and the botched snap.

The other theory I have is that this team just plays for each other. They simply are an extremely cohesive unit. Each of them know what the other is doing. They will do anything to win. You need look no further than Doug Legursky. He is a man of many talents for this offense and each time someone on the line went down he came in to take their place. The guy plays center and anywhere else he's needed. He even lined up as tackle eligible. Geez, throw the guy a ball once to reward him. There's no doubt in my mind he'd catch it. I heard Ben talk about it one time. He said they throw it to him all the time in practice, but never in a game.

So, what happened in that locker room to turn the game around. The answer is not what, but who. The team is who. This team will not give up on their goal and on each other. Here we go.

Ravens Meltdown

The Pittsburgh Sports Buzz has heard the phrase over and over again. It was a tale of two halves. So I will not use that one. The Steelers just took it one half at a time and the strategy worked.

After the Ravens failed to score on the first possession of the game the Steelers methodically took it down the field, thanks in part to a lengthy pass interference call on the Ravens. Then Rashard Mendenhall took it in for a touchdown. That made the Steelers and their fans feel pretty good. But, anyone who has watched these 2 teams play knew that the game was far from over. Each of the 2 games in the regular season were decided in the fourth quarter and this game would be no different.

Anthony Madison returned the pass interference favor with a 33 yarder of his own and Ray Rice found a hole 13 yards out and the Ravens were back in the game and tied up at 7, then the drama began.

A penalty on a kickoff return backed the Steelers up near their goal line. Ben dropped back to pass and Terrell Suggs, ala James Harrison, tomahawked the ball as Ben was starting his motion. Hmm...., a ball on the ground and no whistle blown. The majority of the players on both sides stood and wondered why the referees did nothing until Cory Redding decided the ball was lonely and picked it up to take it home. Any number of players had their chance at it, but Redding took advantage of the misfortune of the Steelers and the Ravens took the lead.

Soon after that Ben handed off to Mendenhall for a short gain and another turnover. It didn't seem to be a hard hit but the ball was simply jostled out of Mendenhall's grip and the Ravens recovered. At this point, playoff games past started flashing through the PSB's memory.

Remember how the Steelers made a formerly unknown tight end for the Chargers an All Pro. Alfred Pupunu had an inauspicious career til one AFC Championship game where he could drop nothing and would not go down when he made those catches.

Luckily there was still one half to play and remember what I said, this game would not be be decided until the 4th quarter. After the fumble Flacco connected with Todd Heap on short TD pass and Mo was on the Ravens sideline taunting the Steelers.

The thing about it is the Ravens haven't had much luck getting past the Steelers in the playoffs. What was said in the locker room at halftime. Maybe coach Tomlin reminded them that this team has been to the playoffs, and they didn't need to panic. Maybe he didn't say anything. This is a veteran team and if they didn't know there were 2 halves in a game then why even go out for the second half. They didn't need to be reminded as evidenced by the second half.

They did not instill confidence back into the fans immediately in the second half. The initial drive fizzled and they gave it back to the Ravens. That's where the tide turned in this game. The sure handed, 405 carries without a fumble, Ray Rice didn't know what hit him. Rice broke free and that other Safety, Ryan Clark made a beeline toward him and punched the ball free from Rice. LaMarr Woodley recovered and Mo standing behind all the Ravens players took off his Ravens helmet and put on his Steelers helmet. Roethlisberger found a wide open Heath Miller in the back of the end zone and the Steelers closed the gap. The fans were back in it and the stadium was rockin'.

Any QB nicknamed "Joe Cool" would surely settle his teammates down and take control. "Joe Cool" promptly completed a pass to that other Safety, and the Steelers had the ball back. Ben found Mr. Reliable, Hines Ward, for the score and tie after the conversion by Suan Suishman. If you looked closely on the Ravens sideline after this score you might have seen Mo in full Steelers gear. The game was tied up and so was the turnovers.

Surely, "Joe Cool" could stem the tide and muster up something to get Mo back on his side, right? Wrong. Joe Cool became Joe Butterfingers when he couldn't even handle a snap from center. Brett Keisel corraled it and the ball was again the Steelers. Mo was rounding the endzone and headed for the Steelers sideline. Suan Suishman put a 35 yarder through the goal posts and the lead was back to the Steelers.

A couple of punts followed and a return for a TD nullified by a holding penalty on the Ravens. Flacco threw a pass to Anquan Boldin that bounced off his chest as if he were wearing armor and the Ravens settled for a field goal to tie the score.

If you were Dan Dierdorff you were thinking this could be the first overtime playoff game under the new NFL overtime rules. If you were the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz or a Steelers fan you were thinking this is where Ben puts the Ravens away. Ben gets sacked and it is 3rd and 19. A look at the Ravens sideline reveals overconfidence that they'll get the ball back. No way Ben will convert a 3rd and 19. Who's the target? Sure handed Hines Ward or Mike Wallace outrunning the defense. Streaking down the right sideline is Antonio Brown, Ben heaves it and Brown passes the defender, reaches up and pulls it in, the ball slips up the jersey but Brown pins it against his helmet controls it and goes out of bounds. After a pass and a few runs Mendenhall takes it in for a TD. A look at the Steelers sideline and Mo is standing beside Coach Tomlin giving him a big hug.

The Ravens make one last futile drive, but Mo has already chosen his team and the Steelers sack Flacco and Houshmanzadeh drops a pass on fourth down. It's over. The Steelers will play against the New York Jets next week in Hines' Field. "Classic" as Hines said.

The Ravens have

Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Hey Pittsburgh Sports Buzz Readers

One game to go in the regular season, and this one is big. Thanks to that opening kickoff return for a TD to the Jets this is quite an important game. It has a ton of implications for the playoffs.

First of all, it's the Brownies. This rivalry isn't what it used to be, but I still cannot tolerate a loss to those guys in the Brown unis. I don't like Josh Cribbs, I don't like Eric Mangini, I don't like Mike Holmgren and his whiny self, and I don't even like ex Browns like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow. They're just plain annoying. It's almost enough just to beat these guys just for the satisfaction of beating them.

But, there's much more riding on this game. Remember last year, another win would have put the Steelers in the playoffs, but they lost to the lowly Brownies. It's payback time.

Here are the other things riding on this game:
This win will clinch the 2nd best record in the AFC. What does that mean. Simple. It means that the Steelers will have a first round playoff bye, at least one home playoff game and if they win that game and the Patriots lose their first game a second home game. It's happened before. Without the win in this game they will be a Wild Card team and will have to travel a path they've traveled successfully before, but it will be difficult. Remember the path to Super Bowl XL. Three victories on the road in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Denver. Carson Palmer remembers it, that's where his career started going downhill. Jerome Bettis remembers it. Hard to forget that goalline fumble and subsequent tackle by Ben.

But, the Steelers are much better off playing that first game at home and taking their chances. The bye week will help a few players get a little bit better.

Remember Aaron Smith? He's been trying to rehabilitate that torn tricep he injured earlier this season. I would say he would be a great addition to the run defense, but the Steelers run defense has been historically great this year. What would they have done with Aaron Smith. Who knows, but I sure would like to see what he can do with even more time to rehabilitate that injury.

There's a few other players who are nursing injuries and it would be great to get them as healthy as possible. There's Troy Polamalu, a candidate for defensive player of the year. He has been a key to all the games he's played in this year and probably locked up at least 3 with big plays. Tomlin says that he is close to being able to play against the Browns, but a bye week could help him heal even more.

Then there's the quarterback with one extra large shoe. Does he have a broken foot or did he just aggravate an old injury. Who really knows but the doctors. A week off could do nothing but help that injury, not to mention that broken nose he's dealing with.

Needless to say this team would benefit greatly from a win this week against their AFC north rival. Forget the other stuff, payback would be sweet.