Black and Gold: February 2019

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Penguins start make-or-break stretch on right foot

By Tim Benz

https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-penguins-start-make-or-break-stretch-on-right-foot/

February 27, 2019

Jared McCann #19 of the Pittsburgh Penguins beats Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets for a goal during the third period on February 26, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Pittsburgh defeated Columbus 5-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

The NHL trade deadline is always an identifiable line in any hockey team’s season.

The way the last few weeks have gone, Penguins fans should see the first nine games out of the gate following the deadline as a make-or-break stretch in the season.

Between Tuesday night and March 14, eight of the nine dates for the Pens are against foes in the Eastern Conference playoff race. At puck drop Tuesday in Columbus, Mike Sullivan’s team was in ninth in the Eastern Conference, out of the playoff mix.

So far, so good.

A 5-2 win over Columbus on Tuesday vaulted Sidney Crosby and comp … well, maybe I should say … Jared McCann and company into a third-place tie with Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.

That’s because the Hurricanes also won. They whipped Los Angeles, 6-1.

The Penguins and Hurricanes have 74 points each. Because of tiebreakers, Carolina has the advantage over the Penguins, so Pittsburgh finds itself clinging to a second wild-card spot in the East. That’s a point behind Montreal, which has 75. The Canadiens also won big, crushing Detroit, 8-1.

The next eight games for the Penguins will go a long way toward figuring out if this franchise makes the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season.

They have two more matchups against the Blue Jackets on March 7 and March 9. The Blue Jackets are now the ninth-place team in the conference with 73 points. Plus, there are two games against the Sabres, one on Friday and one March 14. Both games are in Buffalo. The Sabres have 66 points.

Also during this run, the Penguins visit Montreal (March 2), host Boston (March 10) and welcome Washington (March 12). They all were in the playoff bracket after Tuesday’s games.

Throw in a March 5 game against the Panthers, too, if you like. But they are nine points out of the playoff picture, in 12th place.

It’s not until March 16, when St. Louis visits PPG Paints Arena, that the Penguins will see a Western Conference team.

That’s 18 points on the table, mainly against teams that are vying for the same postseason real estate the Penguins are.

They better win at least six of these nine games. And it wouldn’t hurt to get at least five of those wins in regulation, too, so as not to give points back to chief competitors.

If they can go 6-2-1 in this stretch, they’ll emerge with 85 points with 11 games remaining. Four of those remaining games (two each against the Rangers and Detroit) will be against teams with no hope at the postseason.

That should be good enough to make the playoffs.

Anything less than that, though, and the Penguins could be biting their fingernails all the way down to Game 82.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Sports | Penguins | Tim Benz Breakfast With

MORE PENGUINS/NHL STORIES

Penguins defensemen Jack Johnson, Justin Schultz come through in Columbus

Jared McCann scores twice; Penguins earn confidence-boosting win in Columbus

New Penguins defenseman Erik Gudbranson gets ex-teammate’s stamp of approval

Penguins’ defenseman Zach Trotman gets chance to show he fits in

Kevin Gorman: Penguins GM Jim Rutherford keeps trading away his mistakes

Penguins 5, Blue Jackets 2 | New-look Jackets off to sputtering start

By Brian Hedger
https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190226/penguins-5-blue-jackets-2--new-look-jackets-off-to-sputtering-start
February 26, 2019

Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets gets called for slashing while trying to block a shot from Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period on February 26, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Pittsburgh defeated Columbus 5-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Three new toys were ready to go, looking to help the Blue Jackets rev up a turbocharged engine Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Instead, the engine didn’t turnover quickly enough and stalled out in a 5-2 loss to the Penguins at Nationwide Arena.

“Throughout the game, I don’t think we developed enough offense,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after the Penguins outshot his team 27-23. “I don’t think we gave them much, but we certainly didn’t develop enough forechecking, which leads to us not developing enough offense.”

That wasn’t supposed to be the case.

The Blue Jackets acquired a star center, Matt Duchene, and a forward with 22 goals, Ryan Dzingel, in separate trades with the Ottawa Senators over the weekend. They also bolstered their defense Monday by adding a third goaltender, Keith Kinkaid, from the New Jersey Devils and veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid from the New York Rangers.

Duchene, Dzingel and McQuaid were all in the lineup, with Dzingel and McQuaid making their Blue Jackets debuts, but it didn’t matter to the Penguins.

Pittsburgh raced to a 3-0 lead despite starting without their top three defensemen, including Kris Letang.

“There’s some good stuff there (offensively), but that’s a wounded team on the back end that we played tonight and we didn’t take advantage of it,” Tortorella said. “We did not develop enough forechecking.”

The Penguins did early, and they cashed in with goals in the first period by Jake Guentzel and the first of two for Jared McCann.

Guentzel did what he often does against the Blue Jackets, scoring with 6:15 left in the first, and McCann scored 5:23 later for a 2-0 lead — finding the net with a wrist shot that appeared to deflect off defenseman David Savard’s stick.

Evgeni Malkin made it 3-0 just 1:15 into the second, scoring his 20th goal by simply throwing a long wrist shot at the net from the right point, and that was all the Penguins needed.

The Jackets clawed back with goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson in the second, cutting the Penguins’ lead to 3-2, but the Jackets just couldn’t pull even — squandering a couple of scoring chances during a power play to start the third.

Nick Foligno hit the goal post with a shot 51 seconds into the period and then a 3-on-0 rush went by the wayside after Penguins goaltender Matt Murray tipped Atkinson’s cross-ice pass attempt, with the puck eluding Duchene to the left of the net.

″(Trailing) 3-0 is hard to come back from,” Foligno said. “And we had the chances. We had a 3-on-0 that we didn’t score on.”

The Penguins leaped into third place of the Metropolitan Division with the win and dropped the Blue Jackets to a point outside the playoff picture.

“I think we better understand that we need to get in, and we’re not going to skill our way in,” Tortorella said. “No matter what the transactions were, we need to stay true to our identity or we won’t have a chance.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

>> Rob Oller: For once, the Blue Jackets go all in

02/26/19 Condensed Game: Penguins @ Blue Jackets

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

How Steelers dump distractions, get back to winning tradition

By Jeremy Fowler

http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/

February 26, 2019

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward (97) and outside linebacker T.J. Watt (90) celebrate after making a tackle during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for championships, unassuming class and sound business.

A bizarre series of events have camouflaged that identity of late.

Running back Le'Veon Bell's yearlong holdout punctuated one of the messiest contract negotiations of the past decade. Complications with wide receiver Antonio Brown existed long before he became trade bait. Drama followed the Brown-Ben Roethlisberger relationship, and the quarterback has taken heat in the national media for publicly criticizing teammates.

The Steelers' locker room is stocked with low-key players who want to work and win games. And the front office hasn't changed its proven approach. But the distractions have turned into an avalanche that the Steelers haven't quite plowed through yet.

"Hopefully, it will pass and it will be all about football [in 2019]," said defensive end Tyson Alualu, who signed a two-year extension on Friday and who often gets asked what's going on with the Steelers. "That will be great for our team."

The organization has the next seven months to regain its signature touch.

The Big Ben leadership dynamic: The franchise is prepared to defend and support Roethlisberger in any way possible. He is the only current Steeler with Super Bowl rings and the longevity to bridge two generations of Steelers football.

That's part of the reason general manager Kevin Colbert has come to Roethlisberger's defense, labeling the 15-year quarterback the team's "unquestioned leader" who has the expertise and experience to criticize players or even the GM. In a quarterback-centric league, Roethlisberger gives the Steelers the best chance to win -- and a chance in every game.

With Brown and Bell gone, the spotlight will be on Roethlisberger's leadership more than ever. The Steelers will lean on him to inspire, to lift the play of others around him.

The fallback from Roethlisberger's in-season public criticisms of Brown was immense. Brown was privately frustrated by the slights and didn't stay silent for long, tweeting on Feb. 16 that the quarterback has an "owner mentality." Former teammates such as Ryan Clark and Hines Ward have said Roethlisberger should keep his concerns private.

Roethlisberger has his reasons for his approach, citing his status as a veteran and multiyear captain. And several current players have stressed they have no problem with the critiques. But Roethlisberger must decide whether that method is worth the trouble, and if further criticisms puts him at risk of alienating more teammates.

More voices heard: Roethlisberger doesn't have to handle leadership alone. The Steelers need several tough-nosed, no-hard-feelings leaders to curb issues in 2019.

Captains such as Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey are a good place to start. They can expand that group. The Pro Bowlers from the 2017 draft class -- JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and T.J. Watt -- might be thrust into that mix faster than expected. Cornerback Joe Haden also has a Pro Bowl résumé to match his nine years of experience.

Fair or not, many former Steelers believe stronger locker room personalities at key positions would have assuaged some of the team's recent problems. Some of the best locker rooms police themselves. The Steelers have enough players to embody the Steeler tradition and get that done.

With his recent comments, Colbert was defending his quarterback from the negative media attention, but he also was sending out a flare: Emerging leaders need to follow the blueprint of Roethlisberger and others.

An adaptable Mike Tomlin: Despite one of the most successful coaching runs of the past decade, Tomlin faces questions about whether he has lost his grip of the locker room and, if so, how he can take it back.

That's a convenient storyline when a talented team underachieves and misses the playoffs. But the Brown saga didn't help Tomlin's cause, because of what former teammates illustrated as years of star treatment for the All-Pro.

Those who have played for Tomlin say he believes policing minutiae distracts from winning. That philosophy has largely worked. But the roster changes this offseason offer Tomlin a chance to stay true to his principles while regaining his edge with a few changes.

He can put parameters in place for repeat offenders, such as escalating those routine, in-house fines to actual "conduct detrimental to the team" violations -- which levy heftier fines coming out of the game-week check. He also can get assistant help for sideline functions such as challenges and clock management.

Tomlin has the ability to pump up intensity in all areas. He did so after the team's 4-5 start in 2016. Every sprint was run correctly, every fine went checked. The team railed off seven straight wins to make the playoffs.

Tomlin's ability to rally his team is underrated, and it will serve him well in a season that lacks the star power of past years.

"I accept responsibility, and I foster and develop every aspect of our culture," Tomlin said shortly after the season. "That’s this game. That’s leadership. You embrace and respect and honor all aspects of that, certainly."

Find pieces that fit: The Steelers' talent drain is real. Bell and Brown are top-10 players, and linebacker Ryan Shazier wasn't far behind before his spinal injury in 2017.

But the Steelers must hope to offset the loss of singular talent with a more cohesive team. Finding a true vertical threat to match Smith-Schuster's all-around game can help. The Steelers will evaluate the need for more run-pass balance after leading the league in passing attempts by a large margin. That offers more opportunities for Conner, Jaylen Samuels and perhaps an accomplished veteran to find a rhythm.

The Steelers are still addressing the secondary after years of assigning top draft picks to the unit. Colbert singled it out as needing to improve multiple times during his media session.

Offsetting the benching of Artie Burns with a high pick or an established free agent to pair with Haden will almost certainly be considered.

Pens GM Jim Rutherford’s deadline deals unlikely to matter much

By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-pens-gm-jim-rutherfords-deadline-deals-unlikely-to-matter-much/
February 25, 2019

Image result for erik gudbranson canucks

Image result for erik gudbranson canucks

Erik Gudbranson/Tanner Pearson

Every time the NHL trade deadline comes around, Penguins fans want the team to trade for Ron Francis again. Like in 1991.

That’s speaking metaphorically. But local hockey nostalgia holds that a blockbuster trade is a harbinger for winning a Stanley Cup, especially since it happened again the next year, 1992, with Rick Tocchet. (More recent Cups have generated a different sort of nostalgia: “H-B-K! H-B-K!” and the idea that Ian Cole is irreplaceable.)

What GM Jim Rutherford did at the NHL trade deadline, however, didn’t bust any blocks. He made two minor deals that likely will prove inconsequential.

Let’s hope, anyway. Defenseman Chris Wideman got sent to the Penguins’ minor league affiliate at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton immediately upon acquisition from Florida, and that’s with Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta all hurt.

A cholera epidemic likely would be required to press Wideman into NHL duty.

But getting defenseman Erik Gudbranson from Vancouver isn’t likely to result in bouquets being strewn at Rutherford’s feet. Not initially, certainly.

Gudbranson has the NHL’s worst plus/minus at minus-27. If you’re not enamored of that stat, Gudbranson’s advanced metrics also stink.

But acquiring Gudbranson has almost zero risk involved. Giving winger Tanner Pearson in exchange is no loss. The Penguins’ cap goes up by just a quarter million. Gudbranson is a decent stop-gap given the injury situation. He shoots right — big plus.

When Letang returns, Gudbranson becomes the right-side defenseman on the bottom pair. Paying somebody at that spot a pro-rated chunk of $3.75 million is a bit pricey, but it’s not my money.

Gudbranson’s partner on that bottom pair easily could be Jack Johnson. Those enamored of fancy stats might be in danger of their heads exploding.

Getting Gudbranson is a minor deal. He’s signed for two more years, but somebody would trade for him. Rutherford did. Gudbranson was third pick overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has pedigree and size (6-foot-5, 217 pounds), just not latter-day NHL style.

Johnson hasn’t blossomed since arriving in Pittsburgh this past offseason. But a few blue-line reclamation projects have turned their careers around here: Justin Schultz and Marcus Pettersson on the current team, Cole and Trevor Daley in the recent past.

That might be coaching, especially the one-on-one tutelage provided by assistant Sergei Gonchar. It might be playing with better players or a mere change of scenery.

But getting Gudbranson can’t implode, because the Penguins gave up little to get him. If he stinks, play somebody else. Getting Letang and Dumoulin healthy ASAP (and eventually Maatta) is of far greater concern. Maybe Gudbranson is just a fill-in. If he turns out to be better, that would help.

But the citizens just love to get angry, because a GM who is the architect of two Cups in the past three years deserves zero benefit of the doubt.

Remember the hoi polloi’s reaction when the Penguins sent winger Daniel Sprong to Anaheim for Pettersson this past Dec. 3? You’d have thought Rutherford ditched Rocket Richard. But Sprong has been a healthy scratch for the Ducks’ last four games, and Pettersson has been more than serviceable playing a regular shift.

You lose, Twitter.

Some trades work. Some don’t. No GM is infallible.

The most probable result of Rutherford’s deadline deals this season is that neither will matter very much.

Letang, Dumoulin and Maatta getting healthy is important. Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist breaking out of slumps is important.

Matt Murray finding consistency is most important of all.

The goaltender was diabolically bad in the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss Saturday at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. The tying and winning goals were awful, and the first Flyers’ goal came on a stoppable shot that was their only good chance of the first period.

Murray hasn’t been useless. His .912 save percentage and 2.97 goals-against average are both middle-of-the-pack figures. Murray got red-hot after returning from injury in mid-December, winning nine straight and conceding just 14 goals in those games.

But Murray’s bad outings and bad goals can be soul-crushing, and he’s plainly lost some of the coaching staff’s trust. Murray is also brittle.

If Murray plays badly or can’t find consistency or gets hurt again, nothing else that transpires with the Penguins matters. Certainly not Rutherford’s two deadline-day trades.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM 105.9.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Time for NHL to rein in outdoor games

By John Steigerwald
https://triblive.com/sports/john-steigerwald-time-for-nhl-to-rein-in-outdoor-games/
February 24, 2019

A small ice resurfacing machine works through the pre-game rain during the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at the Lincoln Financial Field on February 23, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

OK, enough with the outdoor games.

Like so many other things, playing an NHL regular-season game in a football stadium was a good idea that has been beaten to death. Saturday in Philadelphia turned out to be an ugly night for the Penguins because of the final score and the injuries, but it also was an ugly night for the NHL and the sport.

Hockey’s not supposed to be played in the rain.

When the Penguins played the Sabres on Jan. 1, 2008, in Buffalo in the first Winter Classic, it seemed like a great idea, and the game was everything any hockey fan could have hoped for. (Has it really been 11 years?)

It snowed before and during the game.

More than 71,000 fans showed up.

It went to overtime, and Sidney Crosby, who was 20 years old, won it in a shootout.

Of course, it didn’t take long for somebody to decide there was no need to limit it to the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. We saw the proof of that Saturday night, when the Penguins lost to the Flyers in what’s known as a Stadium Series game. The first outdoor game was the Heritage Classic in 2003 in Edmonton between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens.

More than 57,000 showed up.

It was 21 below zero. Hockey weather.

Getting people to come to the games hasn’t been a problem. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings drew 105,491 to Michigan Stadium on New Year’s Day 2014.

But you knew the concept was in danger of being beaten to death when somebody thought it was a good idea for the Kings to play the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

It didn’t snow.

All of the games draw well, but there’s just nothing special about them anymore, at least not for a North American TV audience.

So instead of overkilling a really good idea, let’s go back to one game a year Jan. 1. And how about we play it in places where, if there is precipitation, it’s going to be snow?

If one game on New Year’s Day isn’t enough, how about a festival in a Canadian city where hockey weather is guaranteed? Games Friday, Saturday and Sunday with six teams, including one game with the home team. Spice it up with some snowmobile races and Winter Olympic events during the day. Just no more games in California, Texas or in the rain.

The game Saturday night in Philadelphia was a spectacle, and the Flyers fans who sat in the rain had to be happy with the result, but they were cheated.

Nobody played Duck, Duck, Goose after the game.

It’s all the rage in Raleigh, N.C., now, where the Carolina Hurricanes play. After wins, the players have been putting on choreographed celebrations, and if you think that’s ridiculous, it’s probably only because you’re old.

Don Cherry, a Canadian institution who, at 85, is still co-hosting the most popular 10 minutes in Canadian TV every Saturday night between the first and second periods of “Hockey Night in Canada,” took a lot of heat for calling the Hurricanes “a bunch of jerks” last Saturday night. The Hurricanes had “Bunch of Jerks” T-shirts printed, and sales were brisk. The celebration that set Cherry off was an imitation of a walk-off home run that included a dramatic bat flip and a celebration at home plate.

That was bad enough.

Image result for bunch of jerks carolina hurricanes

After an earlier win, all the players went to center ice and played a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. If you think that’s embarrassing, then there’s something wrong with you.

Or you could be old.

Imagine what Gordie Howe’s reaction would have been if, after a Red Wings win in Detroit, a PR guy had approached him and asked if he’d mind getting the guys to play a game of Duck, Duck Goose at center ice.

The PR guy would have been spitting chiclets.

John Steigerwald is a freelance writer.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Andrew McCutchen and Phillies a reminder of Pirates’ choices

By Kevin Gorman

https://triblive.com/sports/kevin-gorman-andrew-mccutchen-and-phillies-a-reminder-of-pirates-choices/

February 23, 2019

Philadelphia Phillies' Andrew McCutchen signs autographs before a spring training baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, in Clearwater, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky)

Andrew McCutchen was sitting at his locker stall and twisting the locks atop his head when asked why he signed a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

McCutchen broke into a broad smile.

“See what they offered me?” McCutchen said, laughing in reference to his three-year, $50-million contract. “That’s an easy choice.”

If there was a constant reminder of choices for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was opening Grapefruit League play Saturday against McCutchen and the Phillies at Spectrum Field. McCutchen got the big-money commitment from the Phillies that the Pirates weren’t willing to make when they traded him to the San Francisco Giants in January 2018 with a year left on the six-year, $51.5-million extension he signed in 2012.

“It’s a crazy dynamic of the game, how it’s changed so much,” McCutchen said. “When I was 25, signing my extension, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ll be 32 at the end of it. I can get me another five-, six-, seven-year deal, even if I put up mediocre numbers.’ That was the market back then. But the market’s definitely changed. You’re not getting paid for past performance. You’re getting paid for projected performance.”

Thirteen months later, projections are the Pirates look like they made a smart baseball move with McCutchen. The five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP batted .255 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs in 155 games last season, spending the final month with the New York Yankees after an Aug. 31 trade.

The Pirates were convinced they couldn’t afford that production at such a steep price tag. They went 82-79 without McCutchen, but attendance suffered. Turns out, the Pirates vastly underestimated the emotional attachment fans had to the player who was the catalyst of their turnaround from two decades of losing to three consecutive postseasons. It’s no coincidence one of their biggest crowds last season (34,720) was for Cutch’s return.

“It was really different seeing him in a Giant uniform,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said before the Phillies game. “He looks good in red — there’s not a big-league uniform he’s not going to look good in — and he’s ecstatic about his opportunity there. He’s one of our favorites. He did everything that an organization could ask a man to do. We’ll all be pulling for him in Philadelphia when we’re not playing him.”

Whether or not that feeling is mutual for McCutchen, he showed class by tipping his cap toward Hurdle and the Pirates after receiving a warm ovation upon being introduced in the starting lineup for the Phillies.

But McCutchen also feigned indifference when asked about starting the spring against the Pirates, coyly suggesting he only found out Friday. He said he follows the Pirates on Twitter and knew they finished above .500 without him but was well aware they are projected to have MLB’s second-lowest Opening Day payroll.

“I know their payroll is what it is — what, $68 million? — compared to everyone else,” McCutchen said. “That hasn’t changed. It’s always been that way. They have a different philosophy. It’s making things work without spending a lot of money to get big-name guys. That’s the way it’s always been. They did well for themselves last year. They had an over-.500 season. That was good. It shows you don’t always need the payroll to win. That’s always been their philosophy.”

The Phillies, meantime, are spending like they won Powerball. Not only did they sign McCutchen but they traded with Seattle for shortstop Jean Segura and the Marlins for catcher J.T. Realmuto and locked up 25-year-old pitcher Aaron Nola to a club-friendly contract. More important, they remain the frontrunner for Bryce Harper, the bonanza of free agency who could instantly change them from contenders to favorites.

“We all know what he can do. He changes the team. He changes it a lot of whatever team he’s on,” McCutchen said. “The Phillies have done a good job getting some guys here. … It’s a great team here, and he’s only going to make it better. It would be amazing. We saw a helicopter circling around here the other day, and we were joking that it would be funny if he just landed and got out. Who knows?”

We made the same joke upon seeing a helicopter flying over Pirate City, without any expectations whatsoever of a grand entrance. That’s the difference between these teams on opposite ends of the state. The Phillies aren’t just talking about winning a World Series, they are making every effort to attract the best free agents on the market. That was another thing they offered that made McCutchen’s decision easy.

“That’s part of the reason I came over here. I knew that the Phillies were a team trying to get big-name guys,” McCutchen said. “They did that with me, and I was pumped about that. And I knew they weren’t done. … I just want to win a championship, and I think this team is capable of that.”

McCutchen, however, also described how championship teams require certain chemistry. He was the centerpiece when the Pirates built a contender through draft and development and added complementary pieces, but also experienced the Giants going 79-83 after adding Evan Longoria, Austin Jackson and Tony Watson.

So, McCutchen knows buying big names doesn’t necessarily bring a championship. Where the Pirates are seeking internal solutions for power, the Phillies are planning to throw money at a power hitter. They are differing philosophies toward chasing a championship, so it will be interesting to see if the proof is in the payroll.

But having that choice sure makes it easier to accept what they are offering.

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Pirates owner Bob Nutting, others specialize in absurdity

By Mark Madden

https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-pirates-owner-bob-nutting-others-specialize-in-absurdity/

February 22, 2019

Bob Nutting with Josh Bell

With sports media and social media bleeding into each other (think bloody mess), content is at a premium.

It doesn’t have to be good content. It doesn’t have to be true content. It just has to be voluminous.

As a result, a lot of nonsense gets put out there. (Ahem.)

Consider the preseason word-drool of Pirates owner Bob Nutting and president Frank Coonelly.

Coonelly said he expects the Pirates to win the National League Central.

Nutting said the Pirates payroll is “not controllable.” But it certainly is, and Nutting controls it. It’s not inscribed on stone tablets. It hasn’t cut itself by approximately 25 percent over the last three years.

Nutting said the Pirates will never have a $200 million payroll. OK. How about a $100 million payroll?

Nutting said that giving one player a Manny Machado-level contract would throw off the clubhouse dynamic. “Clubhouse dynamic.” Is that an advanced stat? Don’t good players trump clubhouse dynamic? (OK, maybe not with the Steelers.) How often is Nutting in the clubhouse?

The proper followup question to such drivel is, “You are so full of crap.”

But the need for content is what’s most important. Anyway, the media is mostly frightened of rich guys like Nutting.

The Penguins aren’t immune to such baloney.

General manager Jim Rutherford said defenseman Jack Johnson is playing well, and that fans and media haven’t given him a fair chance.

Nobody could play as bad as the vitriol directed at Johnson via the usual outlets. But every stat, fancy and otherwise, says Johnson has performed poorly.

It’s understandable that Rutherford would defend a player he signed to a five-year, $16.25 million contract this past offseason. But by no definition is Johnson playing well.

Perhaps Johnson will play better. There’s a better chance of that than there is of Nutting increasing payroll.

That bring us to the Steelers. Absurdity orbits around them like a twisted solar system where the planets bump into each other.

Ex-NFL player Marcellus Wiley on Fox: “You can get rid of (Antonio) Brown if you want to. It’ll be a mistake because you’ll be stuck with Ben Roethlisberger, who’s really the root of this issue.”

Ex-NFL player Deion Sanders on Twitter: “The Steelers have a real problem and the elephant in the room is about to be exposed for what and who they really are. This won’t end well, I promise (you).”

Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark on ESPN: “If you’re a black ex-player, you’re made to feel like you should support everything that’s black.”

When Brown and Le’Veon Bell became prominent cogs in the Steelers’ machinery, the Steelers mostly stopped winning playoff games. Does anybody know why the quarterback with two Super Bowl rings is absorbing so much criticism?

Clark said Roethlisberger isn’t a natural leader, or an ideal one. Fair enough.

Coach Mike Tomlin is definitely an enabler. He won’t suddenly turn into a fixer.

But the “root of this issue” is that big-time sports organizations are absolutely scared to death of their star athletes. Because if you don’t let them run roughshod over everything, they might leave. Like Brown and Bell are doing after having run roughshod over everything.

Brown turns 31 before next season. He will decline soon.

Bell averaged 12.5 games over his five Steelers season, milking injuries at inopportune times. The New York Jets are worried about Bell’s conditioning. Maybe Bell is the “elephant in the room.” (A fat guy can say that.)

As for Roethlisberger, GM Kevin Colbert gave the stamp of approval to Roethlisberger calling out teammates in public: “They should listen.”

The most important Steeler is staying.

But the Super Bowl window has slammed shut. Playoffs? Maybe, if management executes a perfect offseason.

How’s that for content?

Options considered but not chosen:

• Will Rutherford make a big move by Monday’s trade deadline? (Probably not. There’s not a Stanley Cup-winning deal to be made.)

• Are the Penguins soft? (Maybe. But they responded well after San Jose’s Evander Kane invaded their time-out huddle Thursday. What a bush-league move by Kane.)

• Phil Kessel will be traded this coming offseason. He has hit his expiration date in Pittsburgh.

• Should Zion Williamson play for Duke again or sit until the NBA Draft? (Depends on the severity of his knee sprain, which seems minimal. But Williamson should be in the NBA getting paid right now.)

• The Pirates starting rotation is horribly overestimated, but that’s par for the course when it comes to their local media stooges.

Pay me.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM 105.9.

Categories: Sports | Mark Madden Columns