Black and Gold

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Penguins' Crosby, Hornqvist thriving when paired together

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, 10:45 p.m.
http://triblive.com/sports

Nov 4, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (87) and forward Patric Hornqvist (72) against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Penguins defeated the Wild 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Blame the slump on a split.

The Penguins have struggled to score with uncharacteristic frequency, but they aren't struggling when center Sidney Crosby and right wing Patric Hornqvist play together.

Those two were reunited Saturday in St. Louis, and not coincidentally the Penguins scored nine total goals during a pair of weekend victories.

The numbers suggest Crosby and Hornqvist should remain on the same line.

When they have played together this season, the Penguins are averaging 3.22 goals per game and have boasted an 18-5-4 record. Tampa Bay leads the NHL with 3.27 goals per game.

When Crosby or Hornqvist is out of the lineup, or if they have been separated, the Penguins are averaging 2.58 goals and have a 16-12-5 record.

“The last couple of games have been really good,” Hornqvist said. “It's only two games, but it's been a good two games. We're feeling good about ourselves.”

Hornqvist has averaged a point per game in his 27 games flanking Crosby. Twelve points have come on the power play, but the Penguins' offensive rhythm has been better with Crosby as playmaker and Hornqvist as finisher.

Hornqvist notches 0.50 points per game when he isn't on Crosby's line. Crosby, meanwhile, is averaging 1.41 points per game (his career average entering the season was 1.40) with Hornqvist. Without Hornqvist, Crosby is producing 0.79 points per game.

“Sid's been great,” Hornqvist said. “He's getting me the puck. Hopefully I can keep finding the net.”

Hornqvist broke a foot Dec. 27 against Washington and missed the next month. He admittedly needed a few games to find his timing and stamina.

Now back in top form, he looks comfortable on Crosby's right wing. The chemistry between them partially is explained by their styles. Crosby loves playing with wingers who make beelines to the net.

Crosby long has preferred to play with left wing Chris Kunitz. He said the adjustment to Hornqvist is minimal, noting Hornqvist being right-handed is the only difference.

“Those two guys both go to the net really hard,” Crosby said. “It doesn't change a whole lot for me.”

It does seem to change his production, at least this season.

Hornqvist's net-front prowess is getting everyone's attention. Crosby said one of Hornqvist's strongest attributes is his ability to free his stick when close to the net.

“He's one of the rare guys in the league who can jam any puck into the net,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “He tips pucks really well, brings so much energy. He's a big guy for us.”

Coach Mike Johnston has said on numerous occasions that Hornqvist wasn't himself after returning from the injury.

However, Johnston said he now believes Hornqvist is clicking.

“You see Hornqvist starting to push back up again,” Johnston said. “The goals he's scored, he's right there, three feet away from the net. You know where he's going to be all the time. I think everybody on the team that plays with him knows exactly where he's going to be.”

Josh Yohe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jyohe@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JoshYohe_Trib.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Still game left in healthy Harrison says agent

By Chris Bradford cbradford@timesonline.com

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

February 23, 2015

James Harrison James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is introduced prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Heinz Field on September 28, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is introduced prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Heinz Field on September 28, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Source: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America

This time, James Harrison need not agonize over his decision, need not feel compelled to return out of a sense of loyalty to team or teammates. The linebacker's desire to play a 12th NFL season really wasn't all that difficult says Bill Parise, Harrison's Beaver County-based agent.

After the season that Harrison enjoyed in 2014, after coming out of a nine-month retirement and recording 5.5 sacks and 29 tackles in 11 games for the Steelers, why not give it another shot? Harrison, who will turn 37 in May, flew to Arizona early Monday morning to begin training just as he has in years past.

"I think there were a lot of factors (into his decision), certainly health is one of them," said Parise. "He went in to the year very healthy and came out of the year very healthy. That had a lot to do with it.

"He had an awful lot of success last year. I think that sharpened his appetite to continue. Certainly, being with the Steelers was something that was very, very positive. All that together, what you have is a year that ended with some very good feelings outside of that loss in the first playoff game, He had a good year. He was back home with his family, his boys. He was back with the Steelers, I think that was all good stuff."

Whether Harrison returns to the Steelers is the million-dollar question, or make that the $1,020,000 question. That's what Harrison earned last year on a one-year deal. With only one outside linebacker under contract and a need for an edge rusher, the Steelers would seem to have a need for what Harrison provided. But age and money, the two factors that the Steelers balked at in 2013 when Harrison ultimately signed a two-year deal with Cincinnati, could complicate matters again.

Parise says Pittsburgh remains an option, but not the only one for his client. Harrison is technically Steelers property until his contract expires on March 10 and the start of the NFL business year. Suitors can not pursue Harrison's services until three days before that time.

"(The Steelers) have some other things they need to do," Parise said. "Obviously they're trying to take care of Ben (Roethlisberger), I think that's a priority for them. I don't think we're going to do anything until then. Certainly we could hear sooner but I'm not real sure we're going to hear tomorrow morning."

If Harrison returns to the Steelers, some things will have changed. Most notably, Dick LeBeau is no longer the defensive coordinator. The 77-year-old resigned last month, and since took over as assistant head coach/defense in Tennessee under Ken Whisenhunt, with whom he served in Pittsburgh from 2003-06.

Also, there is no guarantee that Harrison would start as he did the final four games of last season. With 2013 first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones healthy and Jason Worilds' future undecided, to say nothing of free agency and the draft, Harrison might have to accept a lesser role to stay in Pittsburgh.

Harrison, who missed two late-season games at Cincinnati and Atlanta with a knee injury, will almost surely be in outstanding shape wherever he lands after a full off-season and training camp to prepare. Last week, the former defensive player of the year released a video of himself lifting a 135-pound barbell -- with one hand.

Whether Harrison puts that training to use in Pittsburgh, Parise wasn't tipping his hand.

"I don't think at this point that we're going to close the door to anything," Parise said. "We're going to be open to anything. We have definite desires but the NFL is a real strange business and I think only fools paint themselves in corners. We're not really interested in doing that."

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Pirates studying success of NBA's Warriors

By Jayson Stark | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/
February 22, 2015

Feb 13, 2014; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle

BRADENTON, Fla. -- You never know where the search for information and inspiration will take a team in modern-day baseball. Well, this just in:

The Pittsburgh Pirates have found their latest source of information and inspiration in the Golden State Warriors, of all teams.

The Pirates may not aspire to bury as many 3-pointers as Stephen Curry, but they have noticed something about the Warriors' success that just might work for them, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says.

Hurdle was answering a seemingly innocent question Sunday about whether he hoped to rest his best player, Andrew McCutchen, a little more this season when he casually dropped the Warriors into the conversation, with no prompting.

"I read an interesting article a while ago on the Golden State Warriors, how they get maximum production with their players," Hurdle said. "They're actually playing less, and they're playing better collectively as a group."

Now there's probably a fascinating master's thesis out there for somebody on how NBA minutes equate to MLB plate appearances, or something like that. But if the moral of the Warriors' story turns out to be that less is more, the Pirates are curious about what exactly that might mean in their sport.

Turns out the Pirates didn't just stumble into this info by reading a random magazine story. They are always studying successful teams in all sports. GM Neal Huntington told ESPN.com they noticed this trend in a study of the Warriors by a member of their front office.

"We're always looking collectively as a group ... just watching different models of behavior," Hurdle said, "whether it's the NFL or the NBA or hockey. They're the perfect example of maximizing ice time and shifts and things like that.

"We're not in that same mode. But how do you maximize all the ability that you have and the abilities that you have? What's the right amount of reps for a guy? What are the at-bats you want to carry through at certain times, the innings that are played? You've got to keep an eye on everything.

"But it caught our attention," Hurdle went on, "just for the fact that they have found a rhythm and a rhyme, through the coaching staff and the player pool that they have. And at the point in time of the article, they were playing the best basketball they have in a long time. And actually, minutes per game were down for some of their key core players."

The Pirates are still trying to determine how, or whether, this translates to their sport. But even if there is no definitive answer, merely asking the question at all intrigues them.

"We're looking for how it can apply to baseball," Hurdle said. "You've got to continue to try and be creative, to look for different ways to do things in the model that we have here. And there's a lot of different ways to learn and a lot of different things to learn from."

So why, the Pirates wonder, does all your learning have to come between the white lines? Why not keep on searching -- all the way to the 3-point line?

Jayson Stark | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com

Senior writer for ESPN.com
21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer
Author of three baseball books

Sunday, February 22, 2015

An Ex-Yankee Starts Over, and May Win a Starting Job

By TYLER KEPNER

February 22, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/

A.J. Burnett and Francisco Cervelli (Gene Puskar/AP)

BRADENTON, Fla. — This is the way it can happen in baseball. An organization signs you at age 16, a decade or more passes, and then you take a phone call from the general manager while working out in the off-season. Just like that, traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The news jolted Francisco Cervelli last November, because he had never known anything but the Yankees since signing from Venezuela in 2003. But soon he processed what it meant, the restoration of something he never quite grasped in New York. Cervelli had another chance to be a starting catcher in the majors.

“I realized it was the best for me,” he said here the other day as the Pirates opened spring training. “The opportunity I was waiting for.”

Cervelli had it once — or, at least, he should have. In 2013, after the Yankees let Russell Martin leave for Pittsburgh as a free agent, Cervelli started 16 of the first 22 games. A foul tip by Rajai Davis broke his hand in late April, and a recovery that was supposed to last six weeks ended up taking 10 months.

But the record shows another reason Cervelli never played again that season. He was one of more than a dozen players suspended by Major League Baseball for using performance-enhancing drugs from the notorious Biogenesis clinic. Another suspended Yankee, Alex Rodriguez, proclaimed his innocence, filed lawsuits and is just now returning from a one-year ban. Cervelli took his 50 games immediately.

“I forgive myself,” he said. “That’s the first thing you’ve got to do. If you keep walking around feeling guilty, guilty, guilty, it’s going to feel a little miserable. You’ve just got to move forward. At that time, my teammates support me a lot. I feel new. I’m a better person.”

Asked about Rodriguez and the challenges he faces in his comeback, Cervelli seemed uncomfortable and hedged his answer. Rodriguez has that effect on people, and besides, he is not Cervelli’s teammate anymore.

And while Cervelli speaks in generalities about his ties to Biogenesis, he said he had urged minor leaguers to learn from his example.

“When you’re guilty, you just bite the bullet and keep moving forward,” Cervelli said. “A lot of people are pointing fingers at you. It’s an embarrassing moment. But now I feel more careful with things, especially with people I know, and people you’re going to meet in the future. That’s what I tell the kids now: ‘You’ve got to be careful with the people around you. Sometimes people want a piece of you and they don’t care about you.’

“I don’t tell the kids now what they have to do, or the way they’ve got to live. Just you’ve got to be careful, and in the tough times, just sit down and think about what you’re going to do and the decisions you’re going to make.”

Rodriguez’s decisions have ruined his legacy. Cervelli, who turns 29 next month, had no legacy to tarnish. He has played parts of seven seasons and appeared in just 250 games.

Last season, Cervelli hit .301, a career high. But he rarely played because the Yankees signed Brian McCann after Cervelli was lost in 2013. McCann started a five-year, $85 million contract with the worst season of his career, while Martin led the Pirates to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Now, Cervelli is following Martin again. The Pirates could not compete with Toronto’s five-year, $82 million deal for Martin, so they acquired Cervelli from the Yankees for reliever Justin Wilson.

Neal Huntington, the Pirates’ general manager, said the team had tried to acquire Cervelli in past years and had long admired his defense — blocking, throwing, receiving, game calling. The Pirates also believe that as a regular catcher, Cervelli can approximate his part-time hitting portfolio. His career on-base plus slugging percentage, .729, would have ranked in the upper half of catchers with 400 plate appearances last season.

“There’s going to be some regression from fatigue that comes with the position, naturally,” Huntington said. “But we see some bat speed, our scouts see him barreling the ball, they see some impact, and they think that he can more than hold his own from what we’re asking for him.”

Cervelli is one of several former Yankees on the Pirates, with his fellow catcher Chris Stewart, starter A. J. Burnett and closer Mark Melancon. It is hard to overstate Martin’s impact in Pittsburgh, but Melancon said the pitchers would also appreciate Cervelli.

“You know that he really cares,” Melancon said. “He wants you to succeed on the mound; that’s all it is. It’s a real tandem, and you feel that passion he has. He’s great to throw to.”

Like Melancon, Cervelli was a bit player on the Yankees’ last title team, in 2009. He did not play in the World Series, but he may have had the single most important at-bat of that regular season.

In a game in Atlanta in June — after Manager Joe Girardi had been ejected — Cervelli jolted the offense with his first career homer, off Kris Medlen, to break up a no-hitter in the sixth inning. The Yankees, who had lost nine of 13 games, won 10 of their next 11 and were soon back in first place.

Cervelli does not wear his championship ring, but said it sits proudly in a case at his home, and he likes to admire it. As a Yankee, he was more popular for his exuberance than anything else, and that is how he wants it. Just last week, he said, an older couple from New York recognized him at an amusement park and told him how much they loved his attitude.

“I’m never going to change the way I play,” Cervelli said. “When people say, ‘Wow, I like the way you play, you play the game with a lot of energy’ — that’s everything for me.”

With regular playing time, Cervelli acknowledged, he may have to scale back his intensity, pace himself for the long season. He wants to be a fixture in Pittsburgh, and said he would not hide from his past as he gets to know new teammates.

“It’s easy to teach how you can be successful, how you can do routines,” Cervelli said. “But it’s not easy to go down and stand up again. All my career has been like that. I’ve got to stand up again and stay tall.”

Comeau scores twice, leads Penguins past Blues 4-2

The Associated Press

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/pit/

February 22, 2015

Comeau scores twice, leads Penguins past Blues 4-2

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Thomas Greiss blocks a shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Sarah Conard)

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Even with skilled stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in a scoring slump when they arrived in St. Louis.

Three Stars

1)Blake Comeau

#17, Pittsburgh

G: 2

A: 1

Pts: 3

+/-: 3

PPP: 0

SOG: 4
2)Kris Letang

#58, Pittsburgh

A: 1

Pts: 1

+/-: 0

PPP: 1

SOG: 2
3)Thomas Greiss

#1, Pittsburgh

W: 1

GAA: 2.01

SV: 21

SV%: .913

G:	2
A:	1
Pts:	3
+/-:	3
PPP:	0
SOG:	4

A:	1
Pts:	1
+/-:	0
PPP:	1
SOG:	2

W:	1
GAA:	2.01
SV:	21
SV%:	.913

Blake Comeau changed that Saturday night with two goals and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Blues.

The win snapped a three-game skid in which Pittsburgh had managed only one goal in each game. Comeau said the Penguins just got back to basics.

''I think we did a lot of things we've been preaching over the last couple weeks,'' he said. ''Getting guys to the net, and the specialty teams came up big. All in all, we're happy we got the win. I thought we played well tonight.''

Patrick Hornqvist and Brandon Sutter also scored for the Penguins. Crosby got his 40th assist on Hornqvist's goal.

''It's been tough,'' Crosby said. ''We've played and battled, but I think we've been at one (goal) for three games, so yeah, it's nice to get four and generate some chances.''

Pittsburgh is 12-4-2 against Western Conference teams and 5-1-1 in its last seven road games.

Playing in place of starter Marc-Andre Fleury, backup goalie Thomas Greiss proved up to the challenge. Greiss stopped 21 shots and had the Blues shut out until giving up a goal to Dmitrij Jaskin with 5:27 left.

''It was a different game today,'' Greiss said. ''I had a lot of shots where they just walked in, so you have to challenge them and take the angle away. It was a little different game than the last couple.''

Although Fleury has been playing well, Comeau said the Penguins had no problem seeing Greiss in net.

''When he's in, we have a lot of confidence in him,'' Comeau said. ''There are a few things there at the end we've got to clean up, but he played outstanding for us tonight.''

Ian Cole added a goal for St. Louis on a one-timer at 18:38. Vladimir Tarasenko assisted on both Blues goals, and Brian Elliott made 25 saves.

Elliott was hard on himself afterward.

''It starts with me, obviously, in net,'' he said. ''I want to give your team a chance to win and when you keep getting scored on throughout the game, it's got to come to a stop.''

Blues rookie defenseman Petteri Lindbohm made a costly mistake, one night after scoring his first NHL goal in a 5-1 win over Boston.

Attempting to clear the puck from behind his own net late in the first period, Lindbohm tried a pass that was intercepted by Comeau. He walked in front and beat Elliott with a backhand at 16:31.

Pittsburgh extended its lead with two second-period goals. Tarasenko was off for holding when Crosby found Hornqvist in the slot and he beat Elliott at 6:26. Comeau then scored his 14th of the season when he re-directed Simon Despres' shot from the point at 15:38.

Comeau assisted on Sutter's 12th goal that made it 4-0 at 12:21 of the third.

''Obviously, that fourth goal can't happen,'' Elliott said. ''We managed to get two goals, so it came down to a couple in the end instead of one. You don't like giving up goals like that.''

NOTES: The Blues and San Jose Sharks are the only teams Crosby has not scored against. ... St. Louis is 1-2 on its four-game homestand. ... Greiss has lost just once in his last seven starts (4-1-2). ... Pittsburgh was visiting St. Louis for first time since Nov. 9, 2013, and the game attracted a standing-room only crowd of 19,120.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Gerrit Cole's goal in 2015: Stay healthy

BY ALAN DELL

adell@bradenton.comFebruary 18, 2015

http://www.bradenton.com/

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole takes a breather while running in the outfield at Pirate City during an informal spring training baseball workout in Bradenton, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. Pirates pitchers and catchers get underway Thurday, Feb. 19, with the full squad in action on Feb. 24. (Gene J. Puskar AP)

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/deportes/beisbol/article10600976.html#storylink=cpy

BRADENTON -- Some people like to use the word ace to describe Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole.

Others prefer to play it safe and call him a potential ace.

The 24-year-old right-hander is not taking sides.

The only number Cole cares about is the one on his medical chart. He is hoping for a zero to denote no injuries, no lost time and no disabled list in 2015.

After missing a good chunk of last season -- he was limited to 138 innings and forced to make two trips to the DL -- Cole showed up a week early to Pirates camp. The purpose was to get himself acclimated to the rigors of spring training and thus minimize the chance for an injury.

"I'd like to stay healthy the whole year, put in a full season of work and be able to complement the other guys we have to offer," Cole said Wednesday, the official reporting day for Pirates pitchers and catchers. "It's my only goal. I'd like to win as many as I can and pitch as many games as I can. I don't put statistical goals out there. I am trying to take it one day at a time, stay healthy and put a productive season on the mound."

Those are surely sweet words to Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage, who says Cole must use a more balanced approach and not try to max out on everything he does.

He sees the impetuousness of youth in Cole when he wants to move too quickly, which can cause physical problems. It happened last year when the Newport Beach, Calif., native went home to pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers and did too much too soon while trying to impress family and friends who were there to see him.

"His mental approach was max effort on everything." Searage told the media at the club's PirateFest. "He had to learn how to pitch. He had to learn how to add and subtract because the way things were going he was one of those guys who thought more is better. He was maxing out on everything, and I tried to tell him to back off."

Cole describes his injury as a shoulder tightness and soreness. He admits he didn't allow enough time for the shoulder to recover. He assures that will not happen again.

"It kind of caught back up with me when I got off the DL the first time and I had to go back on, but once I got everything right I came back and finished strong," Cole said. "Now I feel great and had a normal off season. I came here a week early to get used to running around."

Cole is glad there will be a good deal of veteran presence on the Pirates staff this year to help him with patience in A.J. Burnett, Charlie Morton and Francisco Liriano.

Cole is particularly excited Burnett returned after spending last season with Philadelphia.

"He brings great presence. It's tough to find a guy with 15-16 years in the big leagues that is still as good as he is," Cole said. "He is not a big advice giver. He is more of a lead-by-example type of guy. Passion is a good word to describe him. He kind of creates an atmosphere that it's us against them, and that plays well with the style of baseball we play."

The number one overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Cole went on the disabled list in June of last season with shoulder fatigue. He returned before the month was out but went back on the DL with right lat soreness.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder out of UCLA started the 2012 season with the Bradenton Marauders and made his MLB debut in 2013.

He didn't return until late August, but was impressive. In his final three starts, covering 21 innings, he allowed only five runs, fanned 27 and walked two.

"I've been fortunate to pitch with Frankie, A.J. and Morton. Those guys know what they are doing," Cole said. "It's not always about having people talk to you and tell you what to do. Sometimes it's more about watching how they go about their work and how they compete."

Black and Gold

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Penguins' Crosby, Hornqvist thriving when paired together

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Still game left in healthy Harrison says agent

More about Steelers

More about James Harrison

More about Bill Parise