Ten possible positives for Pirates' second half

Duke vs. Astros tonight restarts season that, so far, has been awful

Friday, July 16, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

The Pirates will carry a six-game losing streak into their return from the All-Star break tonight against the visiting Houston Astros, an opponent that has beaten them all six times this season. They will do so with the lowest team batting average, the highest ERA of any rotation, a mindboggling stretch of 1,004 at-bats since the most recent home run with a man on base, the ...

Well, been there, done that.


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Zach Duke will try to stop the Pirates' six-game losing streak.

Here, in the spirit of Major League Baseball's refreshing annual pause, are 10 good things that could happen to the team in the second half of 2010 ...

10. Keep losing?

For all the losing the Pirates have done all these past 18 years, they have secured the No. 1 overall draft pick only twice, and those produced Kris Benson and Bryan Bullington.

Baltimore currently has Major League Baseball's worst record, but only by one game. The Pirates are 30-58, the Orioles 29-59, and the Orioles are fresh off a four-game sweep of first-place Texas.

Nothing could be more reprehensible in sports than losing willfully, but hey, if it happens to play out that way, consider that the Washington franchise has been thoroughly energized by landing No. 1 two years in a row, with pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg and power-hitting catcher Bryce Harper.

Early candidate for No. 1 next year is Rice University third baseman Anthony Rendon. Jim Callis, Baseball America's respected draft analyst wrote last month, "I'd take him over Harper."

9. Someone is caught stealing.

Perhaps no facet of the Pirates' first-half failure has reflected more poorly on management and the coaching staff than the all-encompassing inability to control opponents' baserunning: Of 75 steal attempts, 65 have succeeded.

The obvious culprit is catcher Ryan Doumit, whose 9 percent success rate in throwing out runners is the sport's worst, but he is far from alone: Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan has not made it a priority, the pitchers have done little to keep runners close, and the infielders have failed to catch throws.

General manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell have not made this area a priority, either, in part because of their belief that a pitcher focusing too much on a runner fails to make "a quality pitch," as Huntington reiterated last week.

A team like the Pirates must have elite instruction to be successful. Demonstrating that they can keep teams from taking extra bases at will would be a stride in that direction.

8. Better trades are made.

Doumit, starter Zach Duke, closer Octavio Dotel and reliever Brendan Donnelly are the most likely trade targets for other teams in advance of the July 31 deadline, though none would be expected to fetch much. But should any moves be made?

When owner Bob Nutting hired team president Frank Coonelly, one of his mandates was that Coonelly function as a "check and balance" for baseball operations, citing the cataclysmic example of the Matt Morris trade under Dave Littlefield. There has been no error of that scope under Huntington and his staff, but there have been many misevaluations at the major-league level.

Coonelly and Huntington both have reiterated recently that the Pirates always are examining past moves, to better learn from their successes and failures. But those examinations have yet to result in a single personnel change in baseball operations, despite the costly trade for Aki Iwamura. Nor is it known that there has been any procedural change.

7. Spots get solidified.

Half the diamond is now filled with young everyday players in Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Jose Tabata, and Doumit remains behind the plate.

That leaves Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Jones facing a key second half in which they can either establish themselves as fixtures, or give the Pirates reason to look elsewhere.

All three have shown encouraging signs: Milledge is on a .345 tear over his past 18 games, including a couple of no-doubt home runs last weekend in Milwaukee. Cedeno is 5 for 12 in the past week and has looked like a different player offensively and defensively, especially in driving the ball for four doubles. Jones has hovered at a steady .298 over the past 55 games, but he went nearly a month between home runs before the one Saturday.

6. The four Ms move up.

The drag of the Pirates' many recent promotions is that the upper levels of the minors were left mostly empty, especially regarding position players.

Thus, perhaps the biggest hope for a second-half appearance would appear to be a second coming of Brandon Moss. He still is batting only .249, but with 11 home runs and a modest surge of late.

The pitching looks better, with Charlie Morton always a possibility to find himself and reliever Daniel Moskos now up to Class AAA Indianapolis. But the other top starters, Bryan Morris and Rudy Owens, remain two levels away with Class AA Altoona.

5. The starters will pitch better.

They almost have to, don't they?

Paul Maholm and Jeff Karstens should do as they are, Ross Ohlendorf is looking much better of late and finally has a W, Zach Duke rebounded two years ago almost immediately from elbow pain, and Brad Lincoln was a slow starter at each new level through the system.

4. A payroll hike is promised.

It already is plenty clear that the Pirates' major-league payroll will go up in 2011, partly because it really cannot go much lower than the current $36 million, partly because they already have assured the MLB Players Association that it will, but mostly because Nutting has said it would in years to come.

There has been no indication from Nutting or Coonelly that they would announce their payroll for next year, but maybe this is the summer that will change and, perhaps, restore some trust with the fan base.

Management's longtime reasoning against announcing payroll in advance has been that it gives agents leverage in the offseason. But agents have direct links with the union, and agents tend to find these things out, anyway.

3. The young players improve.

This might be as close to a lock as any as Alvarez, Tabata and Lincoln have shown encouraging glimpses, and Walker has shown consistently since his arrival.

To date, none has visibly let all the losing have a draining effect, but it might be time -- before long, anyway -- for all four to take direct control of that.

2. Sign the elite pitchers.

Imagine the impact it would have on all civic grumbling about payroll if the Pirates were to sign their top two draft picks, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, as well as top Mexican prospect Luis Heredia, at a total cost in the range of $10 million.

Far more important, imagine the impact it would have on the Pirates' system to add three elite right-handed arms.

1. Losing turns to winning.

Forget the draft pick.

After all the losing, the laughingstock elements, the lost generation of local fans, nothing could mean more for the Pirates for the rest of 2010 and beyond than simply winning.

Listen to Donnelly, the old man of the bullpen who spent most of his career on contenders, including the 2002 World Series champion Anaheim Angels ...

"We haven't had the season anyone was expecting us to have," he said. "We show up one day and play good baseball, then don't show up the next time around. Why? Why are we having so many more downs than ups? It's frustrating for guys who have been ..."

Winners?

"I guess winners. And I'm not saying we're losers. It's frustrating for everybody. It's frustrating for guys who haven't won. Losing stinks. Winning is way cooler than losing."

He laughed.

"It's a constant battle. You have to show up every day, be prepared to put the work in. And at the end of the day, look at that scoreboard. Doesn't matter what you did that day, if you went 4 for 4 or struck out the side ... if you lose the game, you should be ticked off. That's the attitude that needs to be spread throughout this organization. And, until that happens, we're going to struggle."

Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.


Today

Game: Pirates vs. Houston Astros, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.

TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).

Pitching: LHP Zach Duke (3-8, 5.49) vs. RHP Brett Myers (6-6, 3.41).

Season series: Astros, 6-0.

Key matchup: Duke will be pitching for the first time since June 16, after a strained elbow put him on the disabled list. He made two rehabilitation starts but threw only 29 and 54 pitches, so he will be limited.

Of note: The Pirates have given up 18 home runs in the past eight games, and half of the 46 total runs allowed in that span have come by home run.

Pirates' midterm grades are in

By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, July 11, 2010

MILWAUKEE — Even Meek and Andrew McCutchen can go to the head of the class. The rest of the Pirates, however, had better study harder.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is by far the team's most exciting player, and can be a run-generator anywhere in the batting order.

Joe Appel Tribune-Review

With one game left before the All-Star break, the Pirates have a ... record and are on pace for ... losses. An 18th consecutive losing season is guaranteed.

From the start, though, this season wasn't really about wins and losses. It's about personnel. Management played practically all of the its major trade cards over the past two years. What's important is determining how the pieces fit together, especially after the arrivals of top prospects Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and Brad Lincoln.

On-field production is an important gauge of how well the plan is working. So far, as this midseason report card indicates, the results haven't been sparkling.

Catchers

Ryan Doumit has been OK at the plate (he ranks among the top five NL catchers in RBI) but continues to struggle defensively. Doumit's six passed balls are the most in the majors. He's throwing out just 10 percent of base-stealers, the lowest success rate in the majors. Backup Jason Jaramillo, surprisingly, has regressed in both areas, prompting management to mull sending him to the minors to get regular playing time. Opponents steal bases seemingly at will -- a situation that likely won't change until Tony Sanchez works his way up.

Grade: D

Valedictorian: Doumit, simply for staying healthy.

Infielders

None of the four Opening Day starters — Jeff Clement, Aki Iwamura, Ronny Cedeno and Andy LaRoche — hung on to his job. Neither Clement nor Iwamura could hit and so were banished to the minors. Cedeno and LaRoche now are bench guys.

Things began to change for the better May 25, when Neil Walker was called up from Triple-A. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez gets an "incomplete" grade because he's only been in the majors 3[1/2] weeks. Bobby Crosby has been adequate at shortstop, though his ascension to an everyday role is partly due to Cedeno's maddening inconsistency. Although first baseman Garrett Jones' home run production is down, he's on track to finish with around 100 RBI.

LaRoche could still be valuable in a utility role, as he showed by stepping up at second base when Walker and Crosby went down with concussions. Cedeno still has a chance to regain his starting role but must do better than a .220 average and must be more reliable defensively.

Grade: A big, fat, stinking F for the Opening Day unit. The current group gets a C, pending Alvarez's second-half performance.

Valedictorian: Walker. Despite having practically no experience at second base, he took to the position quickly and played well enough to bump Iwamura out of the picture.

Outfielders

The new-look alignment of Jose Tabata in left, Andrew McCutchen in center and Lastings Milledge in right is just average defensively, but has the potential to improve. They have very good speed — a good thing, considering there's not much power. Still, McCutchen will hit his share, and management believes Tabata's pop eventually will emerge. Milledge can be a good clutch hitter, though the runs will have to come via singles and doubles instead of homers.

Backup Ryan Church has battled injuries and illness and can't seem to keep his batting average above .200. After rocky outings at second and third, Delwyn Young, a superb pinch-hitter, seems best used as a spot starter in right.

Grade: C

Valedictorian: McCutchen is by far the team's most exciting player, and can be a run-generator anywhere in the batting order.

Starting pitchers

It wasn't until the 76th game of the season, two weeks ago in Chicago, that a Pirates starter finally recorded an out in the eighth inning. Paul Maholm again is unsteady. Zach Duke, who's on the DL with a tender elbow, has been lackluster after a 2-0 start. It took Ross Ohlendorf three months to notch a victory. Charlie Morton was ... um, yuck.

Grade: F

Valedictorian: No matter how hard management tried to come up with alternatives, Jeff Karstens kept showing he deserved another look and one more start ... and then another, and then another ...

Bullpen

The most reliable part of the team. Early in the season, when the starters weren't able to consistently go deep in games, the Pirates rode the bullpen hard, but it came through fine. Octavio Dotel has embraced the closer role again after spending the past couple of seasons as a setup man. The 30-something Gang -- D.J. Carrasco, 33; Brendan Donnelly, 39; and Javier Lopez, who today turned 33 -- has done the job on the mound and in the clubhouse. Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek have been steady and, especially in Meek's case, often spectacular.

Grade: A

Valedictorian: Meek quickly made a name for himself around the league and was rewarded with an All-Star bid.

Coaching staff

Manager John Russell and his staff underperformed last year when the team's morale and performance collapsed after the last round of roster-wrenching trades. This year, they face a different challenge: keeping the Bucs on course while simultaneously helping the rookies develop. In that sense, this really is the start of Russell's tenure as manager; the past two seasons were a sort of prelude. Russell's critics moan that he's not fiery — as if that counts for anything — but his players have his back.

Still, the Pirates continue to make glaring blunders — for instance, the two-runners-on-third-base double play — and often struggle with fundamentals. They run themselves out of innings. They miss cutoffs. In short, they have a lot of work to do.

Grade: C-

Front office

General Manager Neal Huntington has drawn praise from around the industry for assembling an experienced, effective, budget-priced bullpen. Yet, there were some gasps when the Pirates simply let closer Matt Capps walk away as a non-tendered free agent in December, getting nothing in return.

Church and Crosby were good values and filled holes, though neither has made much of an impact. Some of Huntington's other acquisitions -- namely, Hayden Penn and Dana Eveland -- were head-scratchers. Iwamura, a costly blunder, might be good next year when he's finally fully healthy, but he'll be with another club by then.

Other curious decisions by management include the eight months of silence after Huntington and Russell got contract extensions and the late-night, hush-hush callups of highly touted prospects Tabata and Alvarez.

Grade: D

On the Pirates: First-half bests, worsts

Misevaluations, poor pitching, offense, defense make for epic failure

Sunday, July 11, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

MILWAUKEE -- A second baseman collides with a right fielder and gets a concussion. Later in the week, the replacement second baseman collides with another right fielder and gets a concussion.

Just days after, a Class A Bradenton catching prospect has the left side of his face fractured by a pitch. Later in the week, Bradenton's replacement catching prospect has the left side of his face fractured by a pitch.

Does anyone really want to see how the second half of the Pirates' 2010 season plays out?

Here are 18 All-Star break highs and lows of yet another low, low summer ...

Most valuable player: Jeff Karstens. The key term here is valuable, as in worth to the team. Andrew McCutchen and Evan Meek were far better players, but Karstens -- ignominiously removed from the 40-man roster over the winter, then ignored in the spring -- repeatedly picked up the Pirates when they were most down, beginning with ending that epic seven-game losing streak in April.

Least valuable player: Again stressing value, Aki Iwamura provided next to nothing for a team-high $4.85 million salary. He currently is being paid that amount to ride buses in the International League.

Best player: McCutchen. However much respectability the Pirates had in the first half, he provided most of it on a daily basis.

Worst player: The Pirates had a winning record through the first 37 games -- 19-18 -- they played in which Charlie Morton did not pitch. That is as pronounced a negative impact as one starting pitcher can have.

High point: The 4-3, 10-inning edging of the Dodgers in the season's second game stunningly drew 31,061 to PNC Park. Yes, many seats were discounted to $1, but it still displayed how little it would take -- in this case, just the 12-5 rout of the Dodgers in the opener -- to get Pittsburghers to come out on a Wednesday night in April.

Low point: 20-0.

Top front-office move: Neal Huntington's deft, methodical offseason building of a dynamic, inexpensive bullpen.

Bottom front-office move: A multiple-way tie between thrusting upon manager John Russell the since-aborted pitcher batting eighth, the since-diminished radical defensive shifts, the since-departed Iwamura batting leadoff with a .169 average, and the since-demoted Morton taking the ball every fifth day with a 9-plus ERA.

Penthouse: No player grew more in management's eyes than Meek, entrusted by Russell with the team's most challenging bullpen situations. Meek makes for an unconventional All-Star, but his numbers back him firmly.

Doghouse: Ronny Cedeno.

Accurate evaluation: Russell and his staff immediately recognized that Dana Eveland, a highly dubious trade acquisition, had nothing to offer and correctly sought that Karstens keep his spot in the rotation.

Botched evaluation: Finding out that Neil Walker could be an everyday player in the middle of the diamond only after his arrival in the majors May 26 -- and this after some in the front office had preferred a callup of Argenis Diaz that day -- qualifies as a colossal gaffe. Even after his callup, Walker was labeled a corner utility player. Nothing about Walker, in the Pirates' system since 2004, should have been a surprise to any of the team's evaluators.

Sharpest managerial move: Russell's handling of Huntington's bullpen has been beyond reproach.

Dullest managerial move: Russell had no excuse for the Pirates' failure -- specifically Zach Duke's failure -- to retaliate when Ramon Ortiz twice threw at McCutchen's head May 1 in Los Angeles. Russell's passion would become more visible later in the summer, but it was needed that night.

Best play: With apologies to Paul Maholm's body-bending flip to first in San Francisco, it is hard to top Lastings Milledge's dramatic diving catch June 5 at the track for the final out with bases loaded in front of a big home crowd.

Worst play: With further apologies to McCutchen and Andy LaRoche sharing third base ... as if to illustrate Milledge's inconsistency, it is just as hard to top his getting tagged out on the basepaths May 6 because he began a home-run trot upon hearing fireworks over the Allegheny. His drive actually had caromed off the fence.

Favorite opponent: Who else? Cubs.

Dreaded opponent: Anyone outside Pittsburgh city limits, where the Pirates now are 11-37.

Unsung hero: Joel Hanrahan. Octavio Dotel has the 19 saves and Meek the All-Star bid, but Hanrahan has performed at just as high a level.

Unsung goat: For all the scorn cast upon Morton, so much more was expected of Ross Ohlendorf than one win at the break.

Correct internal forecast: That Garrett Jones would remain a solid performer. Few humans could maintain his 40-home run pace as a rookie, but the Pirates will happily take his team-high 11 this year, as well as his team-high 52 RBIs.

Wrong internal forecast: Jeff Clement as everyday first baseman.

Promising minor matter: The system's star suddenly became Bryan Morris, the highest-ceiling acquisition in the Jason Bay trade finally beginning to fulfill his potential. Expect him in Indianapolis by summer's end.

Deflating minor matter: Long-term injuries to Starling Marte, Tony Sanchez, Victor Black, Quinton Miller, Colton Cain and Brock Holt have pushed back timelines for some of the system's top talent.

Best statistic: The Pirates' 19-20 record at PNC Park. So that's all they need, a little love?

Worst statistic: A projection of 105 losses not strong enough? OK, try this: The starting pitching and offense have been the franchise's worst since the Rickey Dinks of the 1950s, resulting in the Pirates' run differential -- a powerful indicator of a team's overall play -- projecting to a staggering minus-362 for the year. If it should sink as low as minus-373, it would be the worst in baseball since 1899.

Best P.R.: Only winning will work at this stage.

Worst P.R.: No franchise is likely to top the week in June where the Pirates clumsily handled Pedro Alvarez's bcallup, team president Frank Coonelly disclosed that he had given extensions to Huntington and Russell eight months earlier, and a racing pierogi was fired for a Facebook posting. The latter was not upper management's doing, but it still drew local scorn and national laughter.

Uplifting quote: Walker, after living a Pittsburgh kid's dream with his first home run June 1 at PNC Park: "I was 6 years old the last time the Pirates had a winning season, you know? But I'm from here, and I know the energy that our people have for the Steelers and Penguins, and I think the fan base for our team is just dying to give us that same kind of support. We are, too. It doesn't happen overnight. But there's talent here, and we're working toward that. And if I can be a part of that, of the Pirates winning again, that would be one of the most incredible things in my life."

Dejected quote: Jose Tabata, whispering just before a group of reporters was about to surround him to ask about his first career home run, this during the 12-game losing streak in June: "What should I say? They're going to ask about my home run, and my team only loses. I'm not happy."

Sizzling sight: McCutchen, sprinting like a gazelle from first to third.

Discouraging sight: A ball headed toward Ryan Doumit. No one works harder on his defense, but Doumit's receiving and throwing have taken a sizable step backward.

Prime investment: The Pirates are poised -- though far from certain -- to spend into eight figures on elite pitching in top two draft picks Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie -- after another strong class under Huntington and scouting director Greg Smith -- as well as Mexican international amateur Luis Heredia.

Busted investment: Iwamura's $4.85 million + Ramon Vazquez's $2 million + $3.3 million sent to Seattle for Cedeno, Clement and three modestly promising Class A prospects = Matt Morris' salary.

Reason to believe: The potential for improvement among Alvarez, Tabata, Walker and Brad Lincoln offers the Pirates a rare chance to be better in the second half, and even beyond.

Reason to doubt: Until this ownership and front office establishes a commitment to funding payroll, and until the baseball operations staff establishes an ability to execute personnel moves at the major-league level, the promise of those youngsters might mean little.

Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.

Traveling exhibit honors Clemente, the humanitarian

Comes to California University through August

Thursday, July 08, 2010
By Dave Zuchowski, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Roberto Clemente, the first Latin American baseball player to win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award (1966) and the first to be admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1973), is remembered as one of the sport's greatest athletes.

But a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit now at California University of Pennsylvania through Aug. 24 also honors his work as a humanitarian (link to official site below).

With his canon for a throwing arm and lightning speed on the base paths, Clemente was not only an outstanding ball player, but a man who also won the hearts of millions of fans through his humanitarian efforts. He died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972.

Decades later, "I receive mail from fans of different ages," said his widow, Vera, according to a quotation from the exhibit. "They use his name for babies and some send me the birth certificate to sign. And it really doesn't stop. Every year. United States. Latin America. Europe."

"Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente" has already been to ten venues including the Slugger Museum in Louisville, Ky., and will go on to the Little League Museum in Williamsport, among other places. However, Cal U's Mandarino Library Gallery is the exhibit's only stop in Western Pennsylvania.

As a special adjunct to the Cal U exhibit, Mrs. Clemente, along with her son, Luis, will visit the campus July 28 and address the audience at 7 p.m. at Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

"It's a rare treat for Cal U to have her and Luis here for the exhibit," said Tim Buchanan, executive director of special initiatives. "On the evening of the talk, not only will attendees have a chance to hear Mrs. Clemente speak, they'll also be able to have their photo taken and placed on a baseball card and have another photo taken with one of the silver bats Roberto received for winning one of his three batting titles."


"Clemente!" by Willie Perdomo and Bryan Collier.

Before the talk, visitors can walk through the exhibit on the third floor gallery of the library. Developed by the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and organized by the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibit includes more than 100 artifacts on loan from the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh as well as items loaned by private collectors.

On entering the gallery, visitors will see banners in both English and Spanish that outline Clemente's philanthropic efforts and background, then move on to his career, including the early years when some people still resisted the idea of Latin Americans playing major league baseball. In the background, visitors will hear former Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince announcing the 1965 All-Star Game in Bloomington, Minn.

Along with a home team dugout bench and home plate from Three Rivers Stadium, visitors will also see Clemente's unsigned 1956 contract for $7,000 with the Pirates.

"Clemente resisted signing the contract because he was asking for $10,000 that year," Mr. Buchanan said. "Eventually, he settled for $8,500."

Visitors will also be able to view a baseball signed by Clemente, a Wheaties box with Clemente's photo on the front panel and a blown-up black-and-white photo of him exchanging his baseball bat for an Army rifle when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in 1958.

One of the first to visit the exhibit was Rosellen Salopek of Hopwood and her grandaughters, Jackie, 10, and Marilynn, 7, of Brownsville.

"I got to meet Roberto in Florida in 1962 and even got to take my photo with him," Mrs. Salopek said. "At home, I have his autograph and lots of Clemente memorabilia, but I could spend an entire day here at the exhibit."

Details: 724-938-5244.

Related: http://www.robertoclemente.si.edu/


Dave Zuchowski, freelance: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.

Ward keeps plugging along

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Summer — or at least the fun part of it — officially ended for Hines Ward on Monday.

From now until July 30, the Steelers' wide receiver will eat nothing but fish, broccoli and fruit. He will work out two times a day to acclimate his body to the grind of training camp. And Ward will log a considerable amount of time in his hyperbaric chamber, which promotes the flow of oxygen throughout the body.

"That's just been the formula I've had success with over the years," said Ward, who plans to report to camp at least five pounds lighter than his listed weight of 205 pounds.

"Every year, the older I get, I want to lose more weight, I want to look better. There's never been a problem with me coming into camp out of shape."

Such drive is a reason why Ward owns most of the Steelers' major receiving records — and why the 34-year-old has yet to make any concessions to age.

Ward's motivation is at least one thing coach Mike Tomlin doesn't have to worry about during the rest of what has been a Murphy's Law offseason for the Steelers.

It is a good thing, too, considering how heavily the Steelers may lean on Ward this season.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss at least the first four games because of a suspension. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who joined Ward in eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark last season, is in New York following a trade with the Jets.

And the Steelers will be without arguably their top offensive lineman this season after right tackle Willie Colon tore his right Achilles tendon last week while working out.

The Steelers' offseason woes may have folks writing them off before the start of the season, but Ward said that may not be a bad thing.

"It seems like every year we won the Super Bowl, nobody gave us a chance to win the Super Bowl, and when everybody thought we were going to win it, we didn't make the playoffs," Ward said. "We don't buy into all that stuff. Every year we know we have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs. There's teams in the league that can't say that, can't say they have a legitimate chance of winning the Super Bowl. Every year, we have the core group of guys that can get it done."

Ward proved hard to pin down when asked how long he will be a part of that core group of players.

The 13-year veteran does not foresee playing beyond the three years left on his contract, though Ward said hasn't ruled it out either. He could walk away from the game after this season if the Steelers win a Super Bowl, or if the owners lock out the players and there is a protracted labor dispute.

"He'll probably play five more years, knowing Hines," ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski said. "He's got such an incredible love for the game. He just reeks of a passion for the game."

Ward's presence at a recent NFL broadcast boot camp was at least a tacit admission that he will not play football forever. He provided another one during a break at the broadcast camp when Ward said he has started pondering his legacy.

Ward, who is approaching 10,000 yards on receptions, will go down as one of the Steelers' all-time greats.

But Ward knows that winning another Super Bowl could also put him in the rarefied air of John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, both Hall of Famers and owners of four Super Bowl rings.

As for how long he can continue playing at a high level before age compromises what speed he has left, Ward welcomes such questions.

"I understand that perception," said Ward, never a speed burner even when he made the Pro Bowl four consecutive years (2002-05). "That doesn't mean that I can't play football. People are so quick to bury us and put us in an old folks' home like we can't play. I still caught 95 balls (in 2009). How can you explain that? Next year if I only catch 40 balls then you have a legitimate story to write."

Shero's work over the top

Monday, July 05, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

We knew Penguins general manager Ray Shero was good at his job long before his terrific signings of free-agent defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek Thursday. The team's run to the Stanley Cup final in 2008 and its Cup win in '09 are pretty good proof. But we didn't find out just how great Shero is until after the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup this spring. The champagne wasn't even dry in Chicago when the Blackhawks traded key players Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Colin Fraser, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel because of NHL salary-cap concerns.

Contrast that to the Penguins who have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Martin, Michalek and Marc-Andre Fleury signed through at least the 2012-13 season. It will be disappointing if they don't win at least one more Cup during that time.

No wonder Shero said Friday morning after doing five-year deals with Martin and Michalek for a total of $45 million: "I slept good last night."

No wonder a lot of Penguins fans have a new slogan: "In Shero We Trust."


General Manager Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins watches his team's practice session at Mellon Arena on May 20, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Shero is quick to point out it's not just him. He had glowing praise for assistant general manager Jason Botterill, who does the complicated cap arithmetic for him, and former assistant Chuck Fletcher. He also mentioned how many players took less to sign with or stay with the Penguins. He's thankful every night that Crosby set that tone by signing a five-year, $43.5 million contract extension after the '07 season, taking probably $2 million a year less than he could have demanded.

"What? Are we not going to pay Sidney Crosby?" Shero asked. "He'll tell us what he wants us to pay him, and we'll pay it."

Other players followed Crosby's lead. The seven other core guys took less to play here, including Martin and Michalek. Martin turned down, in Shero's words, a "significantly better" offer from another team.

"I think the word is out there about the Pittsburgh Penguins," Shero said.

About their solid ownership of Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux. They treat players right.

About the new Consol Energy Center, which opens this fall. It's a dandy.

About playing with Crosby. Before he's done, he'll be regarded as one of his sport's all-time great captains.

About the chance to compete for that precious Cup every season.

Certainly, all of that convinced winger Matt Cooke to stay rather than try free agency last week. He might have taken less than anyone. Former Penguins forward Colby Armstrong did a three-year, $9 million deal with Toronto Thursday that made Cooke's new three-year, $5.4 million contract seem like an incredible bargain. Armstrong is four years younger, but there's no way he's a better player.

Deals such as Cooke's go a long way toward explaining why Shero has been such a cap genius.

The Penguins' personnel losses have been relatively minimal considering their success. Ryan Malone left after the '08 season for more money, Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill after '09. Marian Hossa left after '08 because he thought Detroit had a better chance to win the Cup the next season. Ooops. Sergei Gonchar left for Ottawa last week because the Senators offered him a third year in his $16.5 million contract.

Shero's firm stance with Gonchar is another example of why he's been so successful. Gonchar was a popular, productive player here for five seasons. As tempted as Shero might have been to give him a guaranteed third year, he wouldn't move off of two years because Gonchar is 36. That third year could turn out to be a cap crusher if Gonchar doesn't stay healthy.

"To me, it's about contract flexibility," Shero said. "The more flexibility you have, the better. We haven't done any contracts that have turned out to be problems. We haven't had guys who turn out to be untradable. We haven't had to send a guy to the minors making $5 million."

The Blackhawks haven't been quite so shrewd. They gave horrendous deals to now-backup goaltender Cristobal Huet (four years, $22.5 million) and defenseman Brian Campbell (eight years, $56.8 million). Now, they're dumping salary because of it.

You won't catch Shero smirking. He knows how tough it is in the salary-cap era. "We're all going to lose players and we all have to live with it." He also knows a bad contract can happen to any general manager.

Maybe the Martin deal will turn out to be a mistake for the Penguins. Or the Michalek deal.

Probably not, though.

Considering Shero's track record, the chances are a lot greater of Martin and Michalek getting their name on the Cup as Penguins than of one or the other being a free-agent bust.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

Meek 'surprised' at being named Pirates' All-Star

Rare middle-relief pick had majors' lowest ERA; McCutchen left out

Monday, July 05, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pirates/


Peter Diana / Post-Gazette

Evan Meek picked up the win in relief against Phillies a couple hours after being selected for National League All-Star team for first time.

Evan Meek, All-Star.

No matter how many times he heard it Sunday, the Pirates' best reliever apparently would not let it fully penetrate. Not when manager John Russell summoned him into the office at noon to tell him he will represent Pittsburgh at Major League Baseball's 81st All-Star Game, July 13 in Anaheim, Calif. Not when he called his parents in Seattle and heard them "crying with joy," as he recalled. Not even when he stood on the grass at PNC Park and was feted by the standing, cheering crowd just before the game against Philadelphia.

"I'm surprised, I really am," Meek said. "It's a tremendous honor. I'm still kind of taking it all in."

He had at least three good reasons to be taken aback:

1. Few positions in professional sports offer a lower profile than pitching in middle relief for the last-place Pirates.

But such was Meek's dominance -- best seen in the lowest ERA in the majors at 0.98 -- that Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel, who witnessed Meek tear through the Phillies for two innings Thursday night, made him a manager's selection.

Did that outing have any influence?

"In some ways, it did," Manuel said after Meek pitched another scoreless inning to beat the Phillies, 8-5, Sunday. "But, if you look at his numbers and experience and things like that and what he's done, I think that definitely wasn't a hard pick at all."

Meek also had 42 strikeouts, 11 walks and a .178 opponents' batting average in a staff-high 37 appearances.

2. Middle relievers tend to get ignored in favor of starters and closers in All-Star selections.

The National League team has only Meek and Cincinnati's Arthur Rhodes in that category. And the Pirates never previously had a middle reliever chosen since the save became an official statistic in 1969. One has to go back to Mace Brown in 1938 for their last true middle-man All-Star.

But, as Russell had been stressing in openly lobbying for Meek over the past week, his usage of Meek made him akin to a roving closer, entering in jams and often staying an extra inning.

"It's great," Russell said of Meek's selection. "Like I said before, I thought he should be a shoo-in, to have that kind of ERA at this point."

3. Andrew McCutchen.

Nearly every publication forecasting All-Stars had the Pirates' center fielder as their lone representative, and most made not even a fleeting mention of Meek.

At the time of the selection, McCutchen was batting.299 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs, as well as 16 doubles, four triples, 20 steals in 26 attempts and a .379 on-base percentage that was best among the league's center fielders.

"I'm very, very excited for Evan," Russell said. "On the same note, I'm very disappointed for Andrew. I thought he was a deserving candidate."

"Cutch is very deserving," Meek said.

McCutchen appeared to shrug it off.

Asked if he was disappointed: "Nope. Not at all. I am perfectly fine. I'm happy for Evan. Clearly, he had the numbers to go. It was going to be me or him, and I'm happy for him."

Did he get his hopes up a little?

"I mean, yeah, it was good to think about, but things didn't go that way."

McCutchen still might go: If Atlanta's Jason Heyward, the superb rookie outfielder voted into the starting lineup, is unable to play -- he currently is on the disabled list because of a badly bruised thumb-- Manuel will name a replacement.

Meek, 27, took quite the circuitous path to becoming an All-Star.

He showed a golden arm as a youngster in his native Washington state, but some ill-advised tinkering with mechanics in his earliest days in the Minnesota system led to epic wildness and to the Twins releasing him. Meek overcame that and was the Pirates' Rule 5 draft pick in late 2007 -- general manager Neal Huntington's first major-league acquisition -- but nerves and more wildness had him last in the Pittsburgh bullpen only a month.

Huntington sent cash to Tampa Bay to retain Meek's rights and assign him to the minors, wher Kyle Stark, director of player development, mapped out a way for Meek to work his way back up from Class AA. He spent most of 2009 with the Pirates and finally entrenched himself.

"There were a lot of development people along the way, some good instruction, but the credit obviously goes to Evan," Huntington said. "He's battled through a lot, and he's very deserving of this."

This past spring, as Meek described emotionally Sunday, he also benefited from the tutelage of veteran relievers Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan and Brendan Donnelly.

"Those guys taught me how to just let it go, to just trust my stuff and pitch," Meek said. "I can't tell you how much it's meant to me to have them here."

Dotel, the Pirates' closer with 19 saves now, has pushed Meek the hardest.

"I'm so proud of him," Dotel said. "I can't even tell you how much."

"We're all excited for Evan," Hanrahan said. "I saw this in him last year, and now everybody knows. He had the stuff, and all he needed to do was go out there and be confident, pound the strike zone. That's the biggest difference now. He's saying, 'OK, here's 96 with cut, see what you can do with it.' "

Meek said he hoped his selection brought notice to more pitchers in his role.

"I know a lot of attention gets paid to starters and closers, but there are a lot of good relief pitchers in setup roles who are a big part of their team," Meek said.

The Pirates had two All-Stars last year, with Freddy Sanchez and Zach Duke, but have been represented by one player in 14 of the past 17 All-Star Games. Duke also impressed Manuel with a strong showing in Philadelphia just before Manuel selected him.

Two former Pirates also were named All-Stars: Matt Capps, the 22-save closer for the Washington Nationals, and Jose Bautista, the 21-home run outfielder of the Toronto Blue Jays. Each was selected for the first time, each by way of the player ballots.

Capps was released by the Pirates because of a contract difference this past winter, and Bautista was traded two years ago for third-string catcher Robinzon Diaz, since released.

Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.

Penguins far from perfect

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Sunday, July 4, 2010


Serious questions remain for the Penguins, even after an impressive free-agent binge that saw them commit $45 million to defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek on Thursday.

The five biggest questions, in reverse order:

5. How will the leadership structure change?

Starting at the top, coach Dan Bylsma was critical of himself when I asked after the Montreal series how he'd grade his performance in his first full season. For one thing, Bylsma thought he could have been tougher on players. If it's in his DNA to be that way, he needs to set the tone in training camp.

In the dressing room, it's time for a passing of the torch. The young core — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik — already was providing plenty of leadership, but it's truly their team now that Sergei Gonchar and perhaps Bill Guerin are gone.

The Penguins also need an assistant to replace Mike Yeo, who oversaw the power play. It might be worth a call to see what Rob Blake is up to now that he has retired.

A long-time star defenseman, Blake knows a thing or two about running a power play, and the Penguins brass is familiar with him. Assistant coach Tony Granato was a teammate of Blake's and coached him in Colorado. Bylsma was a teammate in Los Angeles (and maybe those two, in a pinch, could coax Blake into suiting up at the trade deadline).

4. Who quarterbacks the power play?

This is where Gonchar's absence could really sting. The obvious candidates to replace him are Martin and Alex Goligoski, who happen to be friends and workout partners. Neither is Gonchar. Neither has to be. The Penguins need an efficient distributor who can consistently hit the net. The ability to gain the zone and keep pucks from escaping it would be nice, too.

Goligoski has more raw offensive talent. Martin has more experience and veteran savvy. He has run the Devils' power play in recent years. Though he hasn't put up monster numbers, his output has a chance to increase because of the elite talent that would surround him.

3. Wingers, anyone?

Fatigue, defense and goaltending were the biggest culprits in the Penguins' playoff demise. Lack of scoring on the wings wasn't far behind. The Canadiens game-planned to stop the Penguins down the middle. Nobody on the flanks made them pay. Montreal had a much different challenge against the Flyers and could not cope with Philly's strength on the walls.

It'll be an open audition at training camp, likely featuring has-beens and not-yets and players best suited for third- or fourth-line duty.

If not enough of them pan out, Shero will again break out his dart board at the trade deadline and fire away.

2. Can Malkin rejoin the best-player-in-the-world conversation?

This will be a fascinating story to track. It could be the pivotal season of Malkin's career.

Consider the challenge at hand: Malkin lost his mentor, Gonchar, and every other Russian-speaking player in the Penguins' dressing room. The team did not provide him with an impact winger, and he could be asked to switch positions, as his agent, J.P. Barry, suggested to me the other day during a radio interview.

That's a lot. Barry said Malkin, entering his fifth season, is OK with all the changes and prospective changes. We'll see. This is his chance to prove his maturity and desire to be great. He was one of the elite players in the world and can be again.

He must be, if the Penguins are to flourish.

1. Will goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury rebound from a dreadful season?

Those of us who defended Fleury deep into the Montreal series — saying he would salvage his pedestrian season by flourishing in the biggest games — were proven wrong when he failed to deliver in Game 6 and imploded in Game 7.

Having a better defense corps obviously should help Fleury, but there is no escaping the fact that he was pulled from more games (eight) than any No. 1 goalie in the league last season, that his numbers were among the worst in the NHL and that he failed at crunch time.

"I still want him in nets in the next big game," Bylsma said after the Montreal series.

I would, too. But, as with Malkin, the coming season is pivotal for Fleury. He took a step back last year. He has five years and $25 million left on his contract.

Fleury needs to make himself the least of the Penguins' worries, not the list-topper.

Gonchar offers parting words

By Rob Rossi, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sergei Gonchar is not sure what he will miss most about Pittsburgh.

"It has not hit me yet that I will not be back," he said Friday from his offseason home in Miami. "Ask me in a few months when I am not there every day."

Gonchar, 36, signed a three-year contract that totals $16.5 million with the Ottawa Senators within 30 minutes after the NHL free-agent market opened at noon Wednesday.

By autographing that offer sheet, he ended a five-year career with the Penguins. The notable numbers: 54 goals, 205 points, a Stanley Cup and a pivotal role mentoring fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin.

During an exclusive interview with the Tribune-Review, Gonchar referred to the Penguins as "we," the Senators as "them" — catching his mistake only at the end.

"It is a business, and it will be my job to adjust, and I will," he said. "I can tell you it will not be easy for me to leave. When I talk to my grandchildren about playing in the NHL, I will start with playing in Pittsburgh. It was like I started a new career there."

Did you enter last season thinking it would be your final year with the Penguins?

No. I always thought we would get a deal done. Even at noon on Wednesday I thought we would get a deal done. It was tough because I wanted to stay there. We won a Cup together. We had great chemistry, and I thought we had a shot to win more.

How often did you talk to Evgeni Malkin about your contract situation, and when did you talk to him after signing with Ottawa?

It was tough for me to call him and say, "Oh, OK, I'm with Ottawa — goodbye." It was not like that, but we did talk on Wednesday. He understands from both sides, I believe. I talked with a lot of my teammates or heard from them by text message before Wednesday, and after; it was not just Evgeni. I heard from Sidney (Crosby) and Max (Talbot). I had great relationships in Pittsburgh. That won't change.

What did Malkin say when you told him you were leaving?

(Laughs) I can tell you, but only in Russian.

There was no shortage of interested teams, so why the Senators?

Well, it is a Canadian city. You know how Canada is with hockey; playing up there is something special. If I was going to leave, I wanted to go someplace where hockey really mattered. Also, we played against them a lot in the playoffs and I do believe they are a good team. They played us very tough in the playoffs. They are very close to winning the Cup, and I believe I can help them go that next step.

The Penguins weren't willing to give you a third year, and a lot of people believe their reluctance was the sensible move.

Yes, I can say before you ask that it motivates me. My goal is not to play just until that third year. I want to play in the NHL until the (2014) Olympics. They are in Russia, and I would love to be there for my country. Three years was never going to be the end of my career.

How do you view your legacy with the Penguins?

You (media) guys can decide that. I never thought about it, and it is tough for me to judge right now. Everything was so quick. I woke up a Penguin on Wednesday and just after noon I was with Ottawa. Maybe in a year or two you will have a good answer to that question, you will write something and I will let you know if I agree or disagree.

I can say now you were one of the most impactful players in franchise history, but I'm curious if you believe playing a vital role in the Penguins' revival was important for your hockey legacy?

I honestly have never thought one second about that. What I will remember is playing for a first-class organization that treated me and my family well. What we had in Pittsburgh was a great atmosphere, great friendships and, for me, special teammates. That is why I wanted to stay.

Your start with the Penguins was rough by your own admission. Fans warmed to you, but some of them said you shouldn't be re-signed. They were unhappy with your performance in the Game 7 loss against Montreal. What is your last message to them?

Thanks for everything, and I mean that. The first year I was not as good as I would have liked to be, and I would like to say to them thank you for getting over that. They turned around and cheered me, and the people were always kind to my family. All that energy at the (Mellon) Arena — I had never played with home crowds excited for hockey.

Varsho a fiery link to last good Pirates teams

Sunday, July 04, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Thomas Ondrey/Pittsburgh Press

Pirates bench coach Gary Varsho was an outfielder with the Pirates in the 1990s.

Of Gary Varsho's many admirable qualities that make him a legitimate candidate to be a big-league manager, this is the best:

"I've got a lot of Leyland in me," he said. "Maybe too much."

That alone should get Varsho an interview with any club that has an opening.

He's in his third season as the Pirates' bench coach. He's also the only link in what has become a sorry franchise to the team's most-recent glory days of the early 1990s. He was a role player on a couple of manager Jim Leyland's division championship clubs. That means he learned from the very best, to the point that he quotes Leyland verbatim about the only two rules for players that should matter to any manager or coach.

"Be on time and play the game the right way."

It's that second rule that nudged Varsho from the relative obscurity of bench coach into the news late last month. On two occasions, he had heated dugout exchanges with shortstop Ronny Cedeno and outfielder Lastings Milledge in front of prying eyes because he didn't like the way they were going about their business.

You don't see that sort of thing with the Pirates much.

I loved it.

We're talking about an organization that preaches accountability, but hardly ever seems to demand it. President Frank Coonelly gave contract extensions to general manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell through the 2011 season after a 99-loss season in '09, then, perhaps out of embarrassment, didn't announce it for eight months. Huntington kept do-nothing second baseman Aki Iwamura, first baseman Jeff Clement and pitcher Charlie Morton with the Pirates far too long this season, hamstringing Russell and sabotaging the team's chances. Russell hardly ever shows any passion and gives the impression the Pirates' 28-51 record heading into the weekend was perfectly acceptable.

Accountability?

Here's hoping Varsho hollers at a few more players.

"I don't look for it and I'm not proud of it," he said the other night before a Pirates-Phillies game. "Etiquette-wise, you like that stuff to happen behind closed doors. But I'm an emotional guy, maybe a little more emotional than most guys. When I think a point needs to be driven home, I'm going to do it. I'm not always right, but I know there's a certain way to play the game. I'm not afraid to speak up when I see that isn't happening."

And one more thing ...

"It won't be the last time it happens," Varsho said, fairly growling.

Good.

Clearly, Varsho paid attention to Leyland when he was a bench player on the Pirates' championship clubs in '91 and '92. He has stayed in touch with Leyland, frequently calling him for advice when he managed in the Philadelphia Phillies' farm system from 1997-2001 and when he was the Phillies' bench coach from 2002-06. The two spoke at length when the Pirates played Leyland's Detroit Tigers last month in Detroit.

"I'm on the phone with him a lot," Varsho said. "I'm not an idiot. Who better to bounce things off?"

Sadly, Leyland's best advice can't help these Pirates.

Casey Stengel's couldn't.

The early '90s were a much different time, the Pirates a much different organization.

"I remember driving in from Mars to Three Rivers every night," Varsho said, an outfielder at the time. "We knew we were going to laugh and have fun. But we also knew we were going to work and do things the right way all of the time. We thought we were going to win every night."

That's why all of this losing with the Pirates -- 18 consecutive seasons -- is so hard on Varsho, probably harder on him than just about anyone with the franchise. He was here for the good times.

"I saw the heartbeat of this city when it was going hot," he said.

It might never be that good again for the Pirates, at least not with the current weak ownership. That won't stop Varsho, 49, from doing his thing, from demanding the best of his players, from insisting that they prepare for and play the game the right way. Maybe that will lead to a manager's job. "Yes, I have aspirations," he said.

Or maybe it won't.

Either way, Varsho isn't going to change. When it comes to baseball, he knows only one way. He learned from the best.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

Analysis: Penguins now positioned for many Stanley Cup runs

By Rob Rossi, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Friday, July 2, 2010

The cost of turning potential free-agency defeat into possible Stanley Cup victories was $9 million annual.

General manager Ray Shero spent shrewdly for the Penguins on Thursday, adding a couple of young defensemen on five-year deals and losing players who were less ideal fits for various reasons.

Zbynek Michalek, 27, will do what Rob Scuderi did for the 2008 and 2009 Cup Finalist Penguins (block shots, take away open space near the goal, smartly move the puck), only with sharper offensive skills and a better upside. He'll cost $4 million against the salary cap.

Paul Martin (pictured at left), 29, is a sure two-way player who skates smoothly, passes crisply and instinctively thinks offensively while adhering to sound defensive principles. He'll cost $5 million against the cap.

These two players were targeted by many teams. Shero didn't settle; he surveyed the scene and made aggressive moves to vastly improve the franchise.

Consider that a big win for the Penguins. The NHL free-agent season was less than half-an-hour old yesterday and they already appeared beaten.

Top defenseman Sergei Gonchar was off to the Ottawa Senators on a three-year contract that totaled $16.5 million.

Dan Hamhuis, the cornerstone defensemen with whom Shero had been speaking since acquiring his rights from Philadelphia for a 2011 third-round pick last Friday, had not committed to re-signing. Instead, he was working toward an eventual six-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks that totaled $27 million.

Even deadline-period acquisition Jordan Leopold eventually left in favor of three years with the Buffalo Sabres.

So Shero turned to Plan B, and it was A-plus for these reasons:

» Signing younger defensemen afforded the Penguins an opportunity to offer long-term deals. This kept the average annual salaries of Michalek and Martin lower, thus working in favor of future salary cap totals against which will count new and richer deals for The Big Three centers.

» With scarce projected cap space next season (around $2 million) for NHL-tested wingers, centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal have no choice but to assume significant leadership roles. Time is perfect, because entering season No. 5, they're ready. Malkin and Staal also are ready to score more goals, produce more points and achieve a level of offensive consistency that rivals that of captain Sidney Crosby. They'll need to find that consistency with forward prospects being grafted into the lineup.

» The Penguins' top four on defense will rival any in the NHL. Michalek and Orpik are capable of filling shutdown roles, and Martin and Letang merit two-way responsibilities with a focus on puck movement. The puck shouldn't be in the defensive zone long, and shooters won't enjoy much space to fire upon goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The franchise investment in Fleury is inescapable ($5 million annual for the next five seasons). He's a proven championship goalie when playing behind a stout defense, and the Penguins are stouter today than they were at any time since lifting the Cup on June 12, 2009.

» The flexibility of this roster is enviable. The oldest of the Penguins' five NHL-tested defensemen is a full year from 31, and none are past their primes. Orpik, Michalek and Martin possess limited movement clauses, but that wouldn't prevent Shero from moving either player if the deal was right. Any of these defensemen could be moved without little difficulty for potential impact forwards in future years. The Penguins are deepest at the prospect level on defense, and those players can now develop at a natural pace. Workable options are the way of successful season-by-season life in the NHL, and Shero has secured those options at the one position every team covets.

Free agents Martin, Michalek join Penguins

Gonchar signs with Ottawa, Hamhuis lands in Vancouver

Friday, July 02, 2010
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Former Devils defenseman Paul Martin signed with the Penguins yesterday.

This was not, by any means, the way Ray Shero's plan was supposed to work out.

Not even close.

If the pieces had fallen into place the way he was hoping, Sergei Gonchar and Dan Hamhuis would have pledged their services to the Penguins well before noon Thursday, and Shero could have devoted the free-agency signing period sifting through a rather suspect collection of forwards posing as top-six wingers.

But Shero concluded well before midday that Gonchar, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with Ottawa, would not accept the two-year contract the Penguins were offering and realized when his exclusive negotiating rights with Hamhuis expired at noon that it was time to explore other possibilities.

Quickly. And, more important, effectively.

And so, shortly after Gonchar joined the Senators -- and well before Hamhuis signed a six-year contract in Vancouver -- Shero had a five-year, $20 million deal in place with Zbynek Michalek, late of Phoenix, and shortly thereafter, a five-year agreement worth $25 million with Paul Martin, formerly of New Jersey.

In the process, Shero gave his defense corps the makeover -- and upgrade -- he had been hoping for.

Whether the group, which also figures to include Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy and Deryk Engelland, is better than it would have been with Gonchar and Hamhuis on the payroll is impossible to say yet.

Shero, though, seems to like the chances.

"I made it clear that we'd like to sign Dan Hamhuis and Sergei Gonchar," he said. "That didn't happen, but I think we're really, really ecstatic to have Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek."

That's understandable, because Martin was regarded by many as the best two-way defenseman available in this free-agent class, and Michalek is an exceptional shot-blocker with shutdown potential.

Both consume major minutes and can work the point of the power play, although neither should be expected to do it as efficiently as Gonchar, one of the top offensive defensemen in recent NHL history.


David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Former Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek signed with the Penguins yesterday.

"Nobody is going to replace Sergei Gonchar," Shero said. "Sergei is an extremely talented offensive player, good for 50 or 60 points."

Martin managed just 11 of those last season, mostly because a broken left forearm he got when struck by a Bill Guerin shot Oct. 24 at Mellon Arena limited him to 22 appearances.

Martin recalled that "I was in front of net, and put myself in a bad spot" when he was injured, and when the fracture didn't heal correctly at first, his rehabilitation took up much of the winter.

He added that he's "back to 100 percent," and obviously does not carry a grudge because it did not stop him from signing here. In fact, Martin declined lucrative offers from clubs like Los Angeles, Toronto and the Devils to join the Penguins.

"I'm excited," he said, citing the caliber of the Penguins' personnel and their new rink as contributing factors.

The Penguins lost another defenseman when Jordan Leopold signed a three-year deal with Buffalo. Another former Penguins defenseman, Mark Eaton, remains an unsigned free agent.

Whether the Penguins will have a new forward on the NHL depth chart by the time the Consol Energy Center opens this fall remains to be seen. Shero and his staff focused on defensemen Thursday; today, they will evaluate the wingers still on the market and decide whether one is worth pursuing.

"We're going to sit back over the next day or so and just see what's still out there, from a forwards standpoint," Shero said.

Bringing back Guerin, who apparently has balked at accepting a reduction in the $2 million he was paid last season, is a possibility.

"I can't say Billy's out of the picture at this point," Shero said, noting that he spoke with Guerin Thursday and that at least one club had inquired about him.

Still, the Penguins will not rule out filling their openings up front from inside the organization, especially if Evgeni Malkin or Jordan Staal is shifted from center to wing on one of the top two lines.

Shero ran through a list of prospects such as Eric Tangradi, Mark Letestu, Dustin Jeffrey and Nick Johnson, and said, "These guys are deserving of some looks here."

He was quick to add that preventing goals has been more of a problem than scoring them for the Penguins in recent years, which is why improving the defense corps was his top priority.

"I think we've done that," Shero said. "We have a heck of a corps of defensemen who are signed for a number of years. They're at the right age, I think. We're pretty thrilled.

"You can't replace Sergei, but one day, we had to. And it happens to be today."

Dave Molinari: dmolinari@post-gazette.com.

Penguins make changes for the better

Friday, July 02, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, I'm prepared to declare the Penguins a big winner after the first day of NHL free agency. Maybe the biggest winner in the league. But still, I'm wary. I won't feel really good about the team's maneuverings until I hear from that other 1 percent.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

It's hard to imagine Crosby and Malkin being as thrilled as, say, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury about Penguins general manager Ray Shero's strategy to strengthen the team's defense significantly at a sizable cost to the offense.


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar signed with the Senators yesterday.

The team didn't just sign superb two-way defenseman Paul Martin and potential-shutdown defenseman Zbynek Michalek to five-year deals totaling $45 million, spending most of its available money under the salary cap in the process. It lost its best offensive defenseman and power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar to Ottawa.

What a change in philosophy for an organization that always has tried to outscore the other team with Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Crosby and Malkin.

I love it.

Defense wins championships in any sport.

I'm just hoping Crosby and Malkin see it that way.

They have to, right? They are all about winning. They have to know that there was no way they were going to get another Stanley Cup without a serious upgrade of the defense. After losing free-agent defensemen Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill from their Cup team in 2009, the Penguins gave up 237 goals last season to rank 13th in the NHL. Then, they had no answers for Montreal's Mike Cammalleri in their premature second-round playoff loss.

Well, now the Penguins have an answer.

Michalek.

Not just for Cammalleri, but for Washington's Alex Ovechkin and every other top scorer they will face.

"He was our first phone call," Shero said of Michalek.

Not the first choice, though. That was defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who wound up with Vancouver later Thursday. But as first alternates go, Michalek is a good one. He's a terrific shot-blocker. He kills penalties. He eats a lot of minutes. He's extraordinarily durable, having played in 72, 82, 75, 82 and 82 games for Phoenix the past five seasons. And he's just 27. He's not as good as he's going to be. Certainly, he has the size -- 6-foot-2, 210 pounds -- to play an even more physical game.

It says something about the day Shero had that Martin, 29, is considered to be an even better all-around player. Team USA was crushed when he had to withdraw from the Olympics team in February at the Vancouver Games because of a broken arm. He has the offensive skills to move the puck, play on the power play and ease some of the sting from Gonchar's departure. He's also much better than Gonchar in his own end.

It's hard to say any team helped itself more Thursday than the Penguins did.

Shero now has the core of a Cup contender -- Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Martin, Michalek and Fleury -- signed through at least the 2012-13 season.

Wow.

Losing Gonchar hurts, but Shero is no fool. He knew he couldn't offer Gonchar, 36, more than a two-year contract. Give him credit for standing firm when Ottawa offered Gonchar three years for $16.5 million. Gonchar had to take it. The Penguins had to let him go. "Nothing was ever acrimonious, it was just business," Shero said.

Crosby and Malkin will miss Gonchar because he was so good for them on the power play. As for that scoring winger so many hoped Shero would find for one or the other? You probably can forget about that now. There's no cap space.

That means another season of Crosby playing with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. It means another year of Malkin playing with Max Talbot and your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine. One of the kids, perhaps? Eric Tangradi? Nick Johnson? Dustin Jeffrey? Mark Letestu? Chris Conner?

Hey, you can't fill all of your needs in the salary-cap era. It's impossible.

Maybe Shero would have taken a different approach if there had been more wingers to choose from in free agency. The pickings were so slim that a third-line player such as old friend Colby Armstrong signed a three-year, $9 million deal with Toronto.

"We didn't see any real difference-makers up front," Shero said.

Or maybe the approach wouldn't have been different even if there had been better scorers available.

"We've had no problem scoring goals," Shero said.

The Penguins ranked fifth in the NHL with 257 goals last season.

Shero seems confident the Penguins will do just fine if that number goes down a bit next season. They just might have to win 3-2 instead of 5-4 on many nights.

"I think we did really well," Shero said of the work Thursday.

That makes two of us.

If the Penguins win, Crosby and Malkin will make it three and four.

Heck, if the Penguins win, it will be unanimous.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

Lincoln's first victory part of Pirates' 2-0 shutout

Jones' key double, Dotel's save put down Cubs to end trip

Thursday, July 01, 2010
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

CHICAGO --These are the far too Friendly Confines where baseballs rocket onto Waveland Avenue. This is the venerable venue where there once was a final score of 26-23. . This is the home of prodigious home runs, flighty fly balls, bloated ERAs and dizzy pitchers.

Welcome to Wrigley Field, Brad Lincoln.

Here is your first major league victory.

A combined shutout, no less.


John Smierciak/Associated Press

Pirates starting pitcher Brad Lincoln throws in the second inning.

"It's a different ballyard when the wind blows in," Pirates manager John Russell said after the 2-0 victory provided the rookie right-hander with a Wednesday afternoon to remember.

Lincoln dragged an 0-2 record and 6.00 ERA into the game, but the famed park certainly was the land of Lincoln.

And the 25-year-old fourth-overall pick from 2006 knew which way the wind was blowing.

"It was something I put in my back pocket and used to my advantage," Lincoln said. "If you see something like that, then you attack your zone with all your pitches. That's what I did. I felt like it was going to be my day."

"He dominated," added Garrett Jones, whose eighth-inning double -- his first extra-base hit after 11 games without one -- drove in the winning run.

"He looked like it was more than his third or fourth start," said Joel Hanrahan, who followed him with a nine-pitch, two-strikeout eighth inning.

Octavio Dotel finished Lincoln's fifth start for his 16th save.

Lincoln allowed only one baserunner through the first three innings, plunking Derrek Lee hard with a 91 mph fastball. Mike Fontenot's leadoff single in the fourth was the first hit against him. He allowed two hits in the fifth, but, with Cubs on second and third and two out, pinch-batter Tyler Colvin struck out facing five curveballs in six pitches.

"Absolutely, it was very sharp today," Lincoln said of his curve. "I was able to throw it for strikes when I needed to and use it as a put-away pitch. That's going to be a big key for me."

His final line: Four hits, one walk, one hit by pitch and six strikeouts in seven innings at Wrigley. This by a rookie who yielded 29 hits and 16 earned runs and had eight strikeouts in his previous four starts.

The last two batters he faced, Alfonso Soriano and Koyie Hill, each saw 92-, 93-mph heat in striking out and grounding into an inning-ending double play.

"I was very pleased the last two innings," Russell said. "The velocity was there. As the game went on, he got stronger."

And when was the last time the soft-spoken manager was "very pleased?"

"That's what he's capable of doing," Russell added of Lincoln, a pitcher with a nasty curveball that works best when ahead in the count. "He's been building to this start. I knew it was coming sooner or later. He [previously] showed signs of being very efficient."

Lincoln threw eight pitches in the first inning, 11 in the third, six more after a six-pitch walk to open the sixth and 11 in the seventh, his last of the day.

In the top of the eighth, Andy LaRoche, starting at second base for a second consecutive day, reached first on an Aramis Ramirez error, took second on Andrew McCutchen's single and scored on Jones' double. Soon after the Cubs chose to walk the bases loaded, Lastings Milledge -- hitting .377 this season with runners in scoring position -- "laid off a pretty good cutter" and took a run-scoring walk to give Lincoln the 2-0 lead.

Hanrahan and Dotel cruised. The Pirates had their ninth victory in 12 games this season against the Cubs (they are 18-48 against everybody else). And they had their third road series victory in 13 this season.

They slammed the lid on the franchise's worst June since 1891 -- the previous time they won six games in this month against 20 losses.

"Anytime you win a series, it puts confidence in a team," said Lincoln, talking like it was more than his fifth start. "It's not like we've been getting our butts kicked every time. ... We've just been on the other side of things, and, hopefully, this series win will put us on the upside."

For him, the victory "gets that monkey off my back. Now I can just go out there and relax and be who I am and not have to worry about anything that goes on around me. I can be myself and attack hitters.

"For the most part, I've realized that I can still attack the zone at this level and get away with some stuff. That's what I did today. The wind helped me a little bit, but I felt I was my strongest today."

Everyone will learn more in his next start, which comes indoors: Tuesday in his home area, Houston.

Chuck Finder: cfinder@post-gazette.com.

Steelers players had close bond with 11-year-old fan

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, June 27, 2010

A framed Steelers jersey hangs on a wall. Autographed footballs sit on shelves. A gold helmet rests on a bed stand, and the sliding closet doors are painted black to look like lockers.

There is a story behind every Steelers item in the bedroom of the late Heather Miller, who would have celebrated her 12th birthday this week. Together, they explain why sports matter beyond final scores -- and how some Steelers players are still helping a family in its greatest time of need.

The jersey is signed by safety Troy Polamalu, and it is the one he wore in the 2008 AFC title game.

The gift offers a glimpse into the bond between Polamalu and Heather, both of whom have been described as fearless.


Troy Polamalu visits Heather Miller at Children's Hospital.
Courtesy the Miller family

Casey Hampton wore the helmet during the Steelers' final home game in 2009. Shortly after the Steelers beat the Ravens last December, the mammoth nose tackle slid the helmet onto the head of the girl that he says changed his life.

Heather proudly wore that helmet for several hours. She probably would have kept it on all night had gravity not intervened.

Wendy Miller laughs as she talks about how the younger of her two daughters looked like a "bobblehead" that night as they wheeled her through the lobby of the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown.

That is one of many memories that Wendy embraces when the grief feels like it may suffocate her.

It has been a daily struggle for the Bedford County family since Heather died Jan. 29 after a 15-month battle with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone and tissue cancer that generally afflicts children.

Fridays, Wendy says, are a "land mine" because that is the day of the week that Heather died. Tears help Wendy and her husband, Don, get through the tough times.

Take the ones that rolled down Wendy's face recently when she went through some of the text messages on Heather's cell phone. She was standing in the kitchen of her Osterburg home when she came across the final text Hampton sent to Heather.

Hampton had been in Miami, preparing to play in the Pro Bowl, and he had called Heather to check on her. Her physical condition prevented Heather from talking on the phone.

So Hampton sent her a text message: "If you're feeling up to it, give me a call. If not, just know I love you."

Wendy gets just as emotional when she recalls the call from Polamalu on Jan. 29. It came less than a half hour after Heather's death.

"Wendy," Polamalu said, "she's the lucky one."


Heather Miller gets a lift from Casey Hampton at the Steelers' training facility on the South Side.
Courtesy the Miller family

Gone but not forgotten

All the softball teams in the Chestnut Ridge League wear shirts emblazoned with "In memory of Heather Miller", along with a small picture of a frog. Heather loved and collected all things frog, and Fully Rely On God became the mantra by which she lived.

Before every game, the players gather at a sign dedicated to Heather on the outfield wall. They hold hands as Heather's older sister, Hannah, 13, says a prayer.

"It's a tear-jerker for me," Wendy said, "but it thrills me that they still think of her the way they do."

The sentiment extends far beyond this rural community in the shadow of the Laurel Mountains. It runs all the way to Steelers headquarters on the South Side.

Hampton wears the green bracelet that Heather gave him - even during offseason practices. At his home, assistant head coach/defensive line coach John Mitchell keeps a picture of Heather and her sister.

As for why the Steelers players and coaches forged such a connection with Heather, the list runs longer than Polamalu's hair.

Start with the "Hershey-bar smile," as her mother calls it, one that could have been measured in wattage. If that drew people to Heather, so did her personality. She was an impish girl who loved to fish, hunt and play sports.

"She was a tomboy," Polamalu said with a smile, "and I think that's what attracted a lot of the football players to her."

The men who play one of the roughest sports also came to respect and admire Heather's courage.

"She was always smiling," Hampton said. "I know she was having bad days sometimes, but she was tough. You would always think she was happy no matter what was going on."

'You already have me'

Three weeks after Heather was diagnosed in October 2008, she got a bed in the oncology ward of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. That same day, Polamalu was there visiting kids.

He and Heather hit it off immediately.

When the Make-A-Wish Foundation got involved with Heather, she told Polamalu she was going to request a day with him.

"You already have me," he said.

When she then said she wanted to meet Hampton, Polamalu grinned, knowing she would turn the tough Texas native into a big teddy bear. Through the local Make-A-Wish chapter, Heather and her family were invited to Steelers headquarters last spring for her day with Hampton.

Mitchell had her direct a drill in which the defensive linemen fire off the line of scrimmage. She made them do it again after Mitchell temporarily ceded control to her.

At the end of practice as the team huddled, Hampton gingerly lifted Heather above his head, mindful to avoid her right side, where she had lost five ribs to cancer.


Troy Polamalu plays Guitar Hero with Heather Miller at Children's Hospital.
Courtesy the Miller family

A story that makes Wendy laugh and cry happened shortly before Heather's first major surgery on Jan. 26, 2009. Polamalu had left a present for her at Children's Hospital to help take her mind off the operation.

To heighten Heather's anticipation, nurses texted her about the gift but offered no clues.

When Heather arrived and saw the jersey Polamalu had worn when he scored the touchdown that clinched the Steelers' trip to Super Bowl XLIII, she beamed. She wore it until the nurses had to wheel her into the operating room.

"Her whole demeanor could have been so much worse that day," Wendy said. "But that day, you could tell: 'Yeah, I'm getting surgery, but I've got Troy's shirt on.' A day that you didn't feel like smiling, I think it put a smile on all of our faces."

For last season's final home game, Hampton hosted the Millers in his private box at Heinz Field. After the Steelers beat the Ravens on Dec. 27, Hampton pointed toward Heather, his green bracelet in full view.

"Just gave me the chills," said Don Miller. "Heather was in her glory."

But by late January, there was nothing more that could be done medically for Heather.

Heavily sedated from the morphine she was given to ease her pain, Heather woke up every morning in the days leading up to her death and asked: "Is today the Pro Bowl?"

Hampton and Steelers tight end Heath Miller, who had also befriended Heather, were playing in the game. Heather desperately wanted to watch them play one more time, but she died less than 48 hours before kickoff.

After the game, Hampton flew to Pittsburgh.

Hampton, Mitchell, Miller and his wife, Katie, and Steelers community relations manager Michele Rosenthal drove to Bedford for the funeral.

A truck carrying Hershey bars overturned in front of them on the turnpike, causing a slight delay. Wendy interpreted this as a sign sent by Heather.

When Wendy broke down at the service during the playing of "Awesome God" - it was the song she had been singing to Heather when she died - Hampton consoled her.

Earlier in the service, Wendy comforted a sobbing Hampton, who sat beside her.

"I just wanted to hug him and tell him Heather was at peace," Wendy said. "I know how much she loved him."

A life-long bond

This week, the Millers will celebrate Heather's 12th birthday in the Outer Banks, the North Carolina beach where they vacation every summer.

On Friday, the family will do "all things Heather," Wendy said.

That means a trip to Applebee's Restaurant, rounds of miniature golf and catching crabs in the Atlantic Ocean at night.

"Hopefully, we'll find a sense of closeness," Wendy said. "I've talked with a lot of parents that had their kids' first birthdays without them, and I know it's hard. But we're going to take five minutes at a time. That's how we've gotten four months later. We're still standing."

The Steelers are among those who keep them propped up.

Polamalu sent a prayer to Wendy on Mother's Day. Hampton periodically texts her: "Hey, I'm thinking about you. Love you guys."

The Steelers say Heather did as much for them as they did for her and her family.

Hampton said he stopped worrying about "small stuff" after becoming friends with Heather.

"It gives me a lot of strength," Hampton said, "just thinking about the things she went through and how she always had a smile on her face."

Wendy had been hesitant to talk about Heather's relationship with Polamalu because he eschews publicity about his off-field activities. But an offseason that has generated a wave of negative publicity for the Steelers, she said, compelled her to talk about the "men behind the pads."

"They always gave Heather something to look forward to, and I'm not just talking football," Wendy said. "It was about their friendship and the strength they gave her. They lifted her higher than she's ever been."


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