McCutchen tops list of most intriguing players for second half

By Albert Chen
INSIDE BASEBALL
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
July 14, 2011

PHOENIX -- Joel Hanrahan started seeing strange things at PNC Park about a month ago. "People were showing up to the ballpark, and they weren't wearing Steelers gear, or Penguins gear, or paper bags over their heads," the floppy-haired, goateed Pirates closer was saying Tuesday afternoon at Chase Field before the All-Star game. "They were actually wearing Pirates gear. It was kind of strange."

These are strange days in the Steel City, where for the last two decades the once iconic franchise has made its headlines with bad management, mascot abuse, Indian reality show contestants -- and a lot of losing. But, suddenly, everything has changed: attendance is up (the 10 sellouts so far are already the most in a season since 2001, PNC Park's inaugural year); TV ratings are on the rise (up 33 percent from last year); the ball club, after an unprecedented 18 straight seasons of losing, is winning; and the wait for the franchise's next superstar is, finally, over.

Andrew McCutchen is the son of a youth minister, he's a former choir boy and bank custodian, he's a poet and an artist. He's also the Pirates' most talented player since Barry Bonds, and already, at 24, one of the best players in all of baseball. A dazzling five-tool talent, "he's the Jose Reyes of the outfield," says Hanrahan. "He can do it all." McCutchen, who's batting .291/.390/.505 with 14 home runs, 54 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, has been one of the most valuable players in baseball, according to both the advanced metrics (he is ranked third in Fangraphs' Wins Above Replacement behind Jose Bautista and Reyes) and the Lance Berkman Power Rankings. "There's no doubt that he's up there as one of the best, and one of the most exciting guys right now," Berkman said as he glanced over at McCutchen in the National League clubhouse on Tuesday. "He's one of the three fastest guys in the game. He hits for power. From what I've seen, he plays really good defense. What else do you want?"

Last Saturday night at PNC Park, a sellout crowd of 39,325 stood up and cheered when the stadium scoreboard announced McCutchen's 11th-hour selection to his first All-Star game. "When you think about the past, with the fans not showing up in the stands and not much winning," McCutchen said over during All-Star week, talking about Pittsburgh's recent sorry history, "and you have a moment where they make that announcement, and the fans all stand up and clap and go crazy -- it was quite a humbling experience, just because you know how it was here in the past. It's a moment I really cherish."

Will there be many more magical nights in Pittsburgh this summer? That will depend on whether McCutchen can continue his MVP-caliber season. (We'll find out soon enough if the Pirates are for real: they ended the first half with 16 of their last 19 games against losing teams; now, after a three-game series against the Astros this At 47-43, Pittsburgh enters the second half just one behind, and tied in the loss column with, the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central. With the Pirates on the verge of becoming The Big Story in baseball, the Steel City's new sensation will be one of the second half's most intriguing players. Here are four other players to watch.

Jose Reyes, Mets

One afternoon last week at Dodger Stadium, Mets GM Sandy Alderson was watching batting practice as he spoke about the challenge of measuring the worth of a player like Jose Reyes. "It's baseball, but it's entertainment," Alderson said. "Jose contributes to the quality of the game, but he also contributes to the level of entertainment. Of course he has a real following with the Mets fans, and that bond is important. Trying to monetize all that gets to be very difficult." Alderson paused, smiled, and said, "But that's a process for another day." It's a longshot now that the Mets deal Reyes before the July 31 trade deadline; whether the NL MVP of the first half ends up commanding Carl Crawford money and whether the cash-strapped Mets will be able to afford their face of the franchise, will depend on if he can match his otherworldly production in the first-half, which ended with him on the disabled list. "Everyone's waiting to see how that hamstring is," says an NL executive. "When he's healthy, he's one of the best in the game."

Mike Adams, Padres

Heath Bell gets all the love because of his gaudy saves total and because he does crazy things like slide up to the mound during the All-Star game, but Adams is the best reliever in San Diego, a closer-in-waiting with one of the most devastating pitches in baseball, a cutter that rivals Mariano Rivera's. Since he began throwing his cutter with regularity in 2008, Adams has been nearly unhittable. "I don't think it's a secret how I'm attacking people -- I think they pretty much know I'm going to go with the cutter and the fastball and go right after them," he said one recent afternoon in San Diego, in his slow Texas twang. "We get scouting reports on hitters before every series, and I'm not going to say I stay away from them, but I know what my strengths are. If you can hit my cutter, then good luck." If the Padres make him available --- and all indications are that San Diego will be one of the big sellers this summer --- then Adams will be the best reliever available at the deadline. His cutter could be a big difference-maker for a contender down the stretch.

Jason Kipnis, Indians

On Sunday, he was the star of the Futures Games, and very soon, Jason Kipnis could be starring at Jacobs Field and helping the Tribe reach the postseason. The second baseman is having a splendid year at Triple-A Columbus (.297/.380/.506, 11 home runs, 11-for-11 in stolen bases), and scouts are beginning to wonder if Kipnis isn't better than Seattle's Dustin Ackley, a fellow second baseman who made his big league debut last month. "I don't see Cleveland making any big trades," says a scout, "but this kid, Kipnis, could give them a good boost, especially with how bad [Orlando] Cabrera has been. [Kipnis] has good power for a second baseman, and his defense is improving. Is he better than Ackley? Maybe. He's ready -- I don't know what they're waiting for."

Mike Trout, Angels

Yes, he's still just a baby at 19, and yes, he may be sent back to the minors faster than you can say Peter Bourjos. But with the Angels in the hunt in the AL West, and with the offense sputtering (ranked 20th in the majors in runs scored), Trout, who was destroying the ball at Double-A Arkansas (.324/.415/.534) and was called up to Los Angeles a week before the All-Star break, could turn out to be an X-factor in what should be a thrilling division race with the Rangers. Trout is the best prospect in baseball not named Bryce Harper, and his time in the majors this season, even if it is brief, will be a preview of his greatness to come.

James Harrison's words dull his point

Steelers LB's language in ripping Goodell overshadows his criticism of commissioner

By Ashley Fox
http://espn.go.com/
July 13, 2011

James Harrison posed with two of his handguns for this photo that appears in Men's Journal. (Mensjournal.com)

James Harrison does not look tough. He does not look like the meanest player in the NFL, the hardest hitter or the most feared defender.

He looks like an idiot. And he looks very, very bad.

I'm not sure what is the most offensive part of the spread on Harrison in the August issue of Men's Journal, out on Friday. The picture with the guns? The anti-gay slur? The utter disrespect for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell? Or the calling out of two of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates?

It is all bad, and it overshadows the fact that Harrison does have a valid criticism, shared by other players in the NFL, of how Goodell went about fining players for illegal hits last season. There are players like Harrison who think Goodell unfairly targeted African-American players and fined certain players more than others. There are players like Harrison who think Goodell issued harsher fines for illegal hits on white players than for hits on black players. And there are players like Harrison who think Goodell had it out for certain players.

Harrison is the perfect person to speak on this subject, because Goodell took $100,000 out of his pocket last season, fining Harrison more than any other player. But because of his inflammatory language, Harrison lost any opportunity to make his point about the fairness of Goodell's system or to try to persuade Goodell to change it. He ripped Goodell, which was not breaking news, but he did so by using an anti-gay slur to describe the commissioner.

Using an anti-gay slur is just as unacceptable as using a racial slur. You don't have to be in support of gay marriage, but you cannot be intolerant. Gay slurs are not slang. They are hurtful, and the use of them has to stop.
Harrison also called Goodell "stupid," a "puppet" and a "dictator," and said that, "If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him."

Harrison can hate Goodell all he wants. He can think Goodell is out to get him, is unfair and is unjust, but he needs to show Goodell respect, just as he needs to show his head coach, Mike Tomlin, respect and his position coach respect and the person who makes his lunch in the Steelers' cafeteria respect.

Playing football under a six-year, $51.175 million contract does not mean Harrison isn't still an employee. He is. There are rules, and there are consequences for breaking those rules.

Harrison said that if the Steelers had defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, he was going to whisper in Goodell's ear during the trophy presentation: "Why don't you quit and do something else, like start your own league in flag football?" Now that would have been classy, but Harrison did not get that opportunity. The Steelers did not win. Harrison did not take responsibility for losing the game, even though he had only one tackle the entire game, a sack of Aaron Rodgers where Rodgers essentially ran into him. He did not apologize for getting dominated most of the game by Packers tackle Chad Clifton.

Instead, Harrison ripped his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, who did take responsibility for the loss after throwing two interceptions in the game.
"Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again," Harrison said of Roethlisberger. "Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain't that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does."

Harrison also called Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall a "fumble machine."
Rule No. 1 of being a good teammate is you do not publicly criticize a teammate -- ever. You keep that in house. Publicly throwing a teammate under the bus, particularly the quarterback, only serves to divide a locker room, and divided locker rooms do not produce championships.

Tomlin is a master at managing star players and their monster egos, and he will have his hands full with this one whenever the lockout ends. Harrison drew a line down the middle of the team, offense on one side, defense on the other. Tomlin will have to fix that.

The photo accompanying the article shows Harrison shirtless with his arms crossed holding two of his guns, reportedly an FN Five-Seven pistol and a Smith & Wesson 460V revolver. It is a ridiculous image for kids to see. Harrison is a professional football player and therefore, unfortunately, a role model for some children. In the picture he is promoting guns, as if he has never been to inner city Chicago or Detroit or Philadelphia and seen the devastation gun use causes.

Harrison is not some character in a video game or a movie. He is a name and a number and a man with influence and sway on young people. We don't need more young people on the streets with guns. We need less.

If he wants to own a gun, fine. That is his right. But don't pretend that a gun makes you tough. It does not. It makes you dangerous. There is a difference.

No one has ever questioned Harrison's toughness. But it is now fair to question whether he has a clue.

Ashley Fox covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

Perfect compromise for Clemente

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Wednesday, July 13, 2011

PHOENIX — Those of us in favor of retiring Roberto Clemente's No. 21 across Major League Baseball had to know five years ago that it had no chance. It was then, at Pittsburgh's All-Star Game, that Bud Selig presented the Clemente family with the Commissioner's Achievement Award — whatever that is — in Roberto's name and, essentially, quashed momentum building at the time.

But that might be changing.

In what undoubtedly has been my favorite experience of All-Star week, the Clementes told me they are formulating a Plan B, and a wonderful one at that.

I met with Vera Clemente, Roberto's widow, and Luis, one of three sons, Monday at a charity event. Upon sharing with them anew my views on retiring No. 21, Vera tapped her heart.

"I believe in destiny," she said. "I believe it's meant to be."

"But how?" I asked.

Selig was as blunt as can be in his World Series news conference two years ago when he declared that no player will have his number retired across baseball the way Jackie Robinson's No. 42 was in 1997. "Jackie Robinson transcended baseball," Selig said then. "You want to be very careful about retiring numbers. We honor Roberto every chance we get in every other way we can."

Vera began to answer my question when Luis jumped in to mention the plan, which is still in the formative stage but could be brought to baseball's powers before long. Per the plan, Luis said, a player could only wear No. 21 "if he earns it."

So, if a Puerto Rican such as the New York Mets' Carlos Beltran asks to wear the number and honor Clemente as many Latino players have done ...

"No," Vera interjected. "He has to earn it."

That's when it resonated: The only players who could wear No. 21 would be those who have won the Roberto Clemente Award, which has been given annually since 1972 — the year of Clemente's death — to players of all 30 teams who best exemplify excellence on and off the field.

It's so perfect, it hurts.

Think about it:

>> The main objection generally raised against retiring No. 21 is that Robinson's distinction should remain unique. As Robinson's daughter, Sharon, said five years ago, it would be "diluting the original purpose" to do likewise for anyone else. But the Clementes' Plan B would not replicate Robinson's honor or any other. No. 21 would not be retired universally, just selectively.

>> As Vera Clemente pointed out, a player still could wear No. 21 for the right reason, preserving a tradition of honoring the number at all levels. "Many kids, especially in Latin America, have the dream to grow up and wear it. This way they can," she said. This season alone, 17 players in the majors have worn No. 21. Be sure that they aren't all honoring Clemente.

>> It's an elegant tie-in with the Roberto Clemente Award, an honor that has become so prominent that MLB now annually celebrates Roberto Clemente Day in every ballpark to present it. Just as Clemente had to earn his way into acceptance, so will these players have to follow in his footsteps, whether the plan involves the winners for all 30 teams or the national winner selected at the end.

"It would be a privilege," Luis said. "You've got to work for it."

Know that the Clementes are working to make this happen in their own understated, first-class way.

The family was here all week accompanying Selig on various charity initiatives. Vera still holds the title of "MLB Goodwill Ambassador," and she showed here that it means more to her than some honorary title. Luis was by her side every step of the trip. Selig, in turn, was introducing them to the various crowds by referring to Roberto as "legendary."

The Clementes and the commissioner could have become enemies, but it's easy to see they are not.

Still, differences remain.

"I know Bud has said retiring the number will never happen, at least not on his watch. I guess Bud's got his reasons," Roberto Jr. said by phone from New York. "People know that my father was not the first Latino, but he was the first Latino superstar. And he was an activist, not only for Latinos but for all minorities. He deserves to have his number recognized. But it's in the hands of the commissioner."

Maybe through this Plan B the Clementes and Selig can find compromise.

They'll have earned it.


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Boltin' Bucs embrace athleticism

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Monday, July 11, 2011

In his first season with Double-A Altoona, Starling Marte is batting .314 with five home runs, 28 RBI and 16 steals, to go with elite defense.

Starling Marte, the Pirates' center field prospect with the scary ceiling, looked like he was momentarily freaked out by the ceiling at Chase Field on Sunday night: It was the second inning of the All-Star Futures Game, and a high, deep drive sent Marte in a full sprint back toward the fence. He looked up, twisted, looked over the other shoulder, tumbled a bit and ... can of corn.

He parked under the ball as if he had set up there all along.

Reminded me of something pitcher Jeff Karstens mentioned the other day in the Pirates' clubhouse: "I'll tell you what: There are some athletes in here."

And Marte isn't even there yet.

Look, it's no coincidence that the Pirates' offense has gone from dull to dynamic since fleet-footed Alex Presley and Chase d'Arnaud arrived, delivering 89 runs in 18 games with that 9-1 clubbing of the Chicago Cubs yesterday at PNC Park. These kids are beating out infield choppers, chasing the extra base on gappers and putting pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses.

Go around the diamond, and there's plenty more: Andrew McCutchen is among the fastest men in baseball. Fellow outfielders Jose Tabata and Xavier Paul fall into a solid second tier. Shortstop Ronny Cedeno is faster than most think. And second baseman Neil Walker has had the all-around-athlete tag since high school.

Call them the Boltin' Bucs.

And call this roster, in my view, a far better fit for PNC Park, and for the model manager Clint Hurdle had in mind back in spring training when he had everyone running rampant.

"We wanted to attack, wanted to push things," Hurdle said. "Now you're starting to see some guys who play that way on talent and on instinct."

Marte oozes both traits: His contact is solid, with the potential for power. His speed meets the scouts' top grade, as evidenced by an eye-popping dash to first base in his second at-bat last night. His arm is so strong that a radar gun this summer in Altoona clocked one of his throws to home plate at 101 mph. And his overall feel for center field has some in management feeling that he could assume the position in Pittsburgh right away.

Yes, ahead of McCutchen.

I asked Marte about that yesterday, and he burst out with a laugh before answering: "Sure, why not?"

A little attitude doesn't hurt, either.

The Pirates' system isn't deep in position-player prospects, to put it kindly, but there are two more in this mold on the horizon with Triple-A Indianapolis: Gorkys Hernandez has an elegance in center field similar to Marte's, and Jordy Mercer is the sharpest defensive shortstop.

It's not nearly enough, but it's at least a sign of management's broader emphasis on physical traits that, unlike most elements in baseball, don't go into slumps.

"We came on board with a goal of improving the overall athleticism within the organization," general manager Neal Huntington said. "But we want to ensure we properly evaluate all attributes."

Fine, but he probably can bump left-handed power off the top of that list.

Remember when PNC Park opened how the Clemente Wall in right field was supposed to define the Pirates' roster-building, how lefty sluggers would be paramount?

I do, because I subscribed to the narrative for years. Not anymore. Brian Giles was the only lefty to take full advantage of that wall. Adam LaRoche didn't do it, even though he was acquired primarily for that. Pedro Alvarez hasn't done it yet.

Moreover, there are those who feel that the closeness of the wall, even though the right foul pole is only 320 feet away, is an illusion. The batter tries to pull, but the 21-foot height of the wall and the sharp angle back to right-center punish him.

Of 1,485 home runs hit since PNC Park opened, 399 have cleared the Clemente Wall, just 27 percent. Sure, there are other factors in play there, but it still comes down to only one quarter of one way of scoring runs. I'm not building an offensive foundation off that.

Give me the speed. Give me a sure thing in an economically imbalanced sport that limits risk. Give me outfielders capable of covering the North Side Notch in left-center. Give me infielders that support a pitch-to-contact staff. But mostly, since offense is more valuable than defense in baseball, give me a lineup laced with aggressiveness, athleticism and attitude.

And oh, yeah, give me Marte taking it all to another level.


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So Long, Jaromir Jag-off

Why Penguins fans should be relieved that no. 68 didn’t come home.

BY SEAN CONBOY
http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pulling-No-Punches/
July 6, 2011

At 2:48 pm EST on Friday, the first day of the NHL’s free agency bonanza, the city of Pittsburgh imploded. It all started with an impossibly brief message posted on Twitter by Washington Times reporter Stephen Whyno. His 26-character bombshell was a perfect metaphor for our sporting times: the message itself, a hastily mashed fragment; the explosive reaction to it, the way it was instantaneously translated into Russian, French and Swedish; and the prologue surrounding the five-word tripwire that glowed on monitors across the world, the pandering, nostalgia and inevitable letdown ...

“Jagr to Flyers. Done Deal.”

A couple things happened with the digital heralding of that news. Penguins fans sat slack-jawed staring into the abyss of their laptops like Stephen Whyno had just said, “We need to talk about us,” Flyers fans took to the communal therapy of their favorite blogs to talk themselves into a 39-year-old enigma as their team’s leased show pony, and most importantly, Mario Lemieux kicked back in a leather office chair worth more than your family sedan and lit photos of his supposed pal Jaromir on fire with the butt of a Cuban cigar.

What “Jagr to Flyers” means in the grand scheme of things probably has a lot more to do with our psyches as Penguins fans, and maybe even sports fans in general, than it does the landscape of the NHL in 2011.

Because no matter what lies our "Best of Jagr" YouTube marathons tricked us into believing in the yuletide of free-agency, the 39-year-old version of Double J will not be splitting defenders, bouncing off forecheckers and defrocking goaltenders in Skid Row regalia. He’s no longer the blur hydroplaning across your laptop. He’s now a regal old solider who's spent his three-year, self-imposed exile in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in a state of gradual, graceful decline. In 155 games with the humorless-sounding Omsk Avangard (bless you), Jagr scored (wait for it) 66 goals.

Not bad, but certainly not Magnifique. And when you consider the diminished competition of the KHL and his penchant for the sort of emotional volatility that makes your ex-girlfriend seem well-adjusted, the $3.3 million the Flyers paid for his services is peculiar. But more peculiar is that it only took a difference of $1.3 million to coax Jagr into a Hollywood Hulk Hogan style double-cross of his former mentor and idol, Lemieux.

Like the knee-capitated Nancy Kerrigan, we ask, Why?

Why, why why?

Our city’s 48-hour meltdown, replete with smoldering retro-Jagr jerseys, has nothing to do with the strength of the Penguins’ team without Jagr. It’s about disrespect. Even after Pens fans forgave Jagr for years of passive-aggressive sulking and aggressive-aggressive demands for former general manager Craig Patrick to ship him out of town (which torpedoed his trade value and left the Penguins’ ship Kris Beech’ed for a half-decade), even after Jagr's agent said his client's “heart was in Pittsburgh,” even after a few intrepid citizen journalists drove to the Pittsburgh International Airport to confirm rumors that his flight from the Czech Republic was inbound, even after everyone shielded themselves from cynicism and believed, Jaromir Jagr went dark on the Pittsburgh Penguins. He went dark on us.

Jagr extended his hand to Penguins fans, and we all reached to slap him five. But he pulled it away and slicked back the hair where his flowing mullet used to reside.

There's no hockey hair there anymore—just the boring, cropped chopped salad of a businessman. Despite our wildest, unsuppressed hopes, Jagr was never growing his hair long again. He was never going to morph into that wild-eyed, 20-year-old kid who made The Igloo explode with his preposterous balance and effortless speed and grace in a way that even Super Mario couldn’t.

The Igloo is gone, and so is the Jagr we once loved.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Jagr doesn’t want to come back to the NHL to win his third Stanley Cup. He wants to come back to play star again. He wants to rack up power play points and salute his own fading greatness. In an interview with reporters on Saturday, he said just as much. After empty platitudes about wanting to go to a team that could compete for a Cup (hockey’s new vacation-season boilerplate cliche), Jagr shed light on his motivation:

"For me it's an advantage to have centermen like Briere and Giroux (who) have a right-handed shot," Jagr said. "If I were playing in Pittsburgh, where it's Crosby or Malkin, (both) left-handed, I don't think I would be able to play there. If go to Detroit, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are left-handed. I don't think I would have a chance to play at all."

In the end, Crosby's shadow loomed too large for Jagr. Maybe the shadow looked a bit too much like one he used to know. Even at 39, a veritable grown-ass-man, his fragile ego came first.

There was a power vacuum in Philadelphia after their two petulant B-list stars, captain sourpuss Mike Richards and workmanlike sniper Jeff Carter were traded away, and Jagr saw an opportunity to be the alpha dog once more. That was more important to him than his legacy to Penguins fans, his supposed but almost unverifiable “friendship” with Lemieux and his chances of lifting a Cup.

What the Penguins have now, two megastars and a cast of supporting actors who have made financial sacrifices to be here (Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis both took less than their market value to stay in black-and-gold), is far more exciting than a declining, softening winger.

It’s easy to look at Philadelphia’s stupefying five-year takeover of Superstar Incorporated and its CEO Maxime Talbot and have a quiet chuckle at the money they threw at him, like Shero himself did in his press conference. But then you realize why teams like the Flyers offer silly terms to buddy-cop grinders like Talbot (see also: Colby Armstrong). Those teams want the locker room that the Penguins already have. It goes deeper than pranks.

It’s hard to imagine Jagr taking a ribbing in the Penguins’ locker room (would he laugh it off if someone put a pacifier in his locker, as teammates did to Sid?) But it’s even harder to picture him grinding out checking drills during a Tuesday morning practice. There’s a reason why Bill Guerin retired at 39, the same age Jagr is currently. It was the grind: the off-season workout programs (six minute miles), the weight room squats (500 pounds), the red-eye flights from Ottawa to Boston and the backbreaking cycling drills in practice, not to mention the extra maintenance work a 39-year-old has to do to keep up with a linemate like Crosby.

When you hear Jagr talk to the media, he doesn’t seem like someone prepared for the grind. He doesn’t seem ready to sacrifice everything for the Cup. When I chatted with Shero before last season’s trade deadline, he said something illuminating about his philosophy of building his team: “There might be better players available on the market, but they might not be Pittsburgh Penguins,” he said. “I want to build a team for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, not the regular season.”

Jagr in 2011 is not a Penguin. He would have spent this season doing his best Alexei Kovalev impression—treading water along the fringes of the offensive zone and waiting for power plays to convince us, and himself, that he still gives a damn.

You don’t tread water on a line with Crosby. He doesn’t stand for it. That’s the reason why hustlers like Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz flank him instead of more talented wingers. That’s the reason why he’s never once asked Shero for a scoring winger, according to Shero himself. He doesn’t necessarily want or need one. All Crosby demands is sacrifice. It’s hard to imagine Sid, or coach Dan Bylsma for that matter, prayed for the return of the prodigal son.
Would Jagr have helped the Penguins in the veteran role formerly filled by Bill Guerin and Petr Sykora? Would he dive feet-first in front of a slapshot like Sykora did in Game 6 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, sacrificing himself for a greater good, something hardly anyone outside the Penguins locker room remembers today?

Not likely. In the orange and black, Jagr will probably score a handful of scintillating one-timers on the power play while being liability in the defensive zone. He will be nothing like the phenom of our nostalgia.

As hockey fans, we want to believe in magic. Perhaps it’s because we’ve seen so much of it in Pittsburgh over the past two decades. We’ve seen the way Crosby has handled success, and we want to believe that every hero is a kid at heart. In Lemieux, we’ve seen a superstar knocked down by cancer make a dramatic, secret return to the ice without missing a step, then follow up that miracle in his post-career life not just by saving the franchise, but by devoting his life to philanthropy with The Lemieux Foundation.

We can't help it. We want to believe in Superman, because we’ve seen him with our own eyes.
But we were reminded once again on Friday that not everyone is Super Mario. Most certainly not Mr. Jagr.

Now the reformed gambler better pray his $3.3 million parlay was worth the risk.

This article appears in the July 2011 issue of Pulling No Punches
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Why You Should Give Andrew McCutchen More Love

All-Star or not, Pirates fans are witnessing a genuine star and they might not even know it.

BY PAT LACKEY
http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pulling-No-Punches/
July 8, 2011

Pat Lackey is a frequent guest blogger for Pulling No Punches. You can find him at his own blog, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? and on Twitter @whygavs.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Andrew McCutchen(notes) #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates follows his RBI single against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on July 3, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

It seems that Andrew McCutchen's All-Star snub may be getting him more attention than being named to the All-Star team would have. He's leading ESPN stories about snubs and Sports Illustrated scribe Joe Posnanski wrote a post about how McCutchen's exclusion summarizes everything he thinks is wrong with baseball's Midsummer Classic. Weirdly enough, the one place that I'm not sure that McCutchen is getting enough respect is right where he plays his own games. I don't know if Pittsburgh has any idea just how well Andrew McCutchen is playing.

Now, let me explain. Pittsburgh knows McCutchen is good. I was at Monday's game and McCutchen shirts and jerseys were second in the crowd only to hometown hero Neil Walker. It's impossible to watch Andrew McCutchen and conclude that he's anything except good. But sometimes when you're close to something, it's hard to see how special it is. During Friday's ROOT Sports broadcast of the Pirates/Nationals game, fans were asked to name the Pirates' MVP during their 16-11 run in the month of June. Joel Hanrahan, a closer who pitched just 12 1/3 innings on the month, doubled McCutchen's total. In the stands at PNC on Monday, I heard fans arguing that Kevin Correia was a bigger snub than McCutchen because of his 11 wins and because of how important the rotation has been to the Pirates' success this year.

Before I dig too deep into advanced metrics to explain how good McCutchen is, let's start simple. The Pirates were awesome in June with those 16 wins in 27 games. What might be the most impressive part of their run is that Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Doumit, and Steve Pearce didn't step foot on a baseball field, Chris Snyder spent most of the month on the shelf, Neil Walker and Lyle Overbay had terrible months at the plate, and yet the club averaged 3.9 runs per game, which is actually up from their 3.8 run average over the course of the season.

How did they do that? Andrew McCutchen is how. In June, he hit .347/.447/.495. He either scored or drove in 30 of the team's 105 runs on the month (with home runs subtracted from double-counting), had eight doubles and two homers and stole five bases in six tries. He was a one-man offensive wrecking crew for the entire month, save the Cleveland series. The pitching staff struggled a bit more in June than they did in their excellent May, and McCutchen was the reason the offense was able to support them.

There's also this notion that McCutchen hasn't been a consistent contributor this year because of his early-season slump. This is hogwash. At his lowest, McCutchen was hitting .196/.302/.370 on April 15 after an 0-for-5 night against the Reds. Over the next month, he put up a much more respectable .250/.330/.470 line, but because his ugly start suppressed his season numbers and especially because his batting average (which didn't start coming up until late May) was a bit low, lots of people didn't notice that he was already starting to play good baseball. Since April 15, McCutchen's triple-slash line is .311/.404/.523 with 10 homers, 20 doubles, three triples, and 14 steals in 17 tries. Over a 162 game season, that translates to 24 homers, 47 doubles, seven triples, and 33 steals.

And we're still only scratching the surface with this discussion. McCutchen's defense has been leaps and bounds better than it was in 2010 according to every advanced defensive metric. Ultimate Zone Rating puts him at 8.3 runs above average. At FanGraphs, they use data from Baseball Info Solutions to track the number of balls hit into the defensive "zone" that each player is responsible for and how many of those plays each player makes. This year, McCutchen's making 92.4 percent of the plays in his zone; in the past, he was only making between 88 and 89 percent. They also keep track of plays made outside of the player's zone. In 2010, McCutchen made 78 out-of-zone plays the entire year. In 2011, he's already made 60.

The big stat that sabermetricians use to measure a player's total value is Wins Above Replacement, or WAR. That combines offensive value and defensive value, then compares it to how the value a team could expect from a typical Triple-A callup at that player's position and tries to estimate how many wins a player is worth vs. that replacement. Because defensive metrics vary, it's not an exact science, but at FanGraphs, McCutchen is already worth 4.9 wins, surpassing his previous career high of 3.7 with almost half a season to play. At Baseball-Reference, they estimate McCutchen to be worth 5.1 wins already this year. At both sites, McCutchen is one of the two best players in the National League according to WAR.

McCutchen is just 24, and he's advancing by leaps and bounds in all aspects of his game. He's drawing more walks this year and his on-base percentage is up nearly 30 points as a result. He's driving the ball into the gaps and over the fence more regularly, which has his slugging percentage up nearly 50 points. He's playing fantastic defense at one of the most important and difficult positions on the field.

There are plenty of reasons that the Pirates are in the position they're in right now, but there's no one player more responsible for the team's success to this point than McCutchen. Without his bat and his glove, there's a good chance the Pirates would be under .500 and quite a bit further back in the NL Central race.

McCutchen may have been an All-Star snub, but for the first time in a long time, Pirates fans have more important things to worry about than the Midsummer Classic.

This article appears in the July 2011 issue of Pulling No Punches
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Football-starved NFL Network reaches with top 100 list

By Nick Canepa
The San Diego Union-Tribune
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/sports/
July 6, 2011

The NFL Network, no doubt suffering from a bad case of lockout logy, has to do something to hasten its tentative pulse. So, well aware these things create Twitter unrest in its neighborhood, the network has unveiled its list of the top 100 players in The League.

pulse. So, well aware these things create Twitter unrest in its neighborhood, the network has unveiled its list of the top 100 players in The League.

And, as fully expected, it’s a 100-pound mound of manure.

The network, which I admire for its candidness, claims the list is a result of voting by players and coaches, but no one can tell us who they are. My best guess is that they’re from the CFL.

We can’t get into the entire 100, but here’s the top 10, in order:

1. Tom Brady, Patriots, quarterback. 2. Peyton Manning, Colts, QB. 3. Adrian Peterson, tailback, Vikings. 4. Ray Lewis, linebacker, Ravens. 5. Ed Reed, safety, Ravens. 6. Troy Polamalu, S, Steelers, 7. Andre Johnson, wide receiver, Texans. 8. Darrelle Revis, cornerback, Jets. 9. Drew Brees, QB, Saints. 10. Julius Peppers, defensive end, Bears.

So yesterday. This 2011 top 10 has a lot of 2006 in it, rewarding career reputation over declining skill.

Tom Brady. Love Tom Brady. I love John Elway and Joe Montana, too. Tom won three Super Bowls (thanks to Adam Vinatieri’s toe), the last coming in 2005. Soon to be 34, he’s still exceptional, but not what he was. If this is supposed to be a vote for the best “football player,” it’s not Brady. Not now.

Peyton Manning. He’s 35 and has won one thing in his life, the 2007 Super Bowl. Has any player in history lost more big games than Manning? Doubtful.

Ray Lewis. In his salad days, he was the best football player alive. He’s 36 now and still serviceable, still good, but not close to the monstrous linebacker he once was. To rank him fourth now is a joke.

Ed Reed. Love Ed Reed, one of the truly great playmakers. Two years ago, I would have voted him as best player. But he’s soon to be 33 and injuries have slowed him. This is supposed to be about now. He’s played a total of 22 games the past two seasons.

Troy Polamalu. When he’s injured and out, the Steelers are not nearly as good. A Hall of Fame player. He’s only 30, but I fear leg injuries have taken their toll. Healthy, no question, one of the great players, a difference-maker.

I look at this list and notice Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ranks 41st. No matter what one thinks of his personal life, he’s won two Super Bowls and been to a third. This guy’s going to Canton one day, and I guarantee you most of the 40 in front of him won’t get a Hall of Fame sniff.

Among Chargers, tight end Antonio Gates and quarterback Philip Rivers rank 22nd and 26th, respectively, which is ridiculous. Michael Vick (20th) ranks ahead of Rivers. As John McEnroe would say, you cannot be serious. That said, how can Rivers rank 15 spots ahead of Roethlisberger?

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here is my top 10 — top 10 current football players — with their NFL Network ranking in parentheses:

1. Revis (8). 2. Chris Johnson (13). 3. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, QB (11). 4. Gates (22). 5. Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders, CB (18). 6. Peterson (3). 7. Andre Johnson (7). 8. Roethlisberger (41). 9. Brees (9). 10. Patrick Willis, 49ers, LB (23).

I honestly believe that, when Gates has two good feet under him, he’s the best, most mystifying unique and player in the game. He’s a freak. He can’t be covered. There’s never been anyone like him. To watch him every week is to marvel. Unfortunately, with his tender lower extremities, that hasn’t been possible lately. Still, I actually hate to rank him as low as fourth.

Revis, playing an impossible position under impossible rules, may be the best shutdown corner I’ve seen, and that includes Deion Sanders. No defender causes offensive coordinators more nightmares, because he takes away half the field — and takes on all comers.

Chris Johnson is the most dangerous back in the game. He may be the most frightening runner since O.J. Simpson. I don’t know what the Titans are doing with him, but it isn’t enough.

Asomugha must be placed just below Revis, but he’s one of the finest corners of his generation and about to become an incredibly wealthy one. The Chargers won’t cry if he goes to another division.

Meanwhile, as you can tell, when it comes to quarterbacks, I’m more of a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of guy.

I see no reason why Rodgers shouldn’t be considered the top quarterback now. Brees won the Super Bowl two years ago. Roethlisberger has won two and was on the field vs. Rodgers in Texas in February.

At 26th — incredibly, two spots lower than he ranked a year ago — Rivers is ranked unfairly. But he hasn’t won anything, and winning is a quarterback thing.

Still, I’d like to put all 32 general managers in a room to see how many of them would take Vick over Rivers. Can’t believe there would be one.

nick.canepa@uniontrib.com (619) 293-1397

Top 20 players of 2011

NFL player voting (via NFL Network)

Rank Player, Pos. Team

1. Tom Brady, QB Patriots

2. Peyton Manning, QB Colts

3. Adrian Peterson, RB Vikings

4. Ray Lewis, LB Ravens

5. Ed Reed, S Ravens

6. Troy Polamalu, S Steelers

7. Andre Johnson, WR Texans

8. Darrelle Revis, CB Jets

9. Drew Brees, QB Saints

10. Julius Peppers, DE Bears

11. Aaron Rodgers, QB Packers

12. DeMarcus Ware, DE Cowboys

13. Chris Johnson, RB Titans

14. Larry Fitzgerald, WR Cardinals

15. Dwight Freeney, DE Colts

16. Charles Woodson, CB Packers

17. Haloti Ngata, DT Ravens

18. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB Raiders

19. Clay Matthews, LB Packers

20. Michael Vick, QB Eagles

Nick Canepa's picks

1. Darrelle Revis, CB Jets

2. Chris Johnson, RB Titans

3. Aaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay

4. Antonio Gates, TE Chargers

5. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB Raiders

6. Adrian Peterson, RB Vikings

7. Andre Johnson, WR Texans

8. Ben Roethlisberger, QB Steelers

9. Drew Brees, QB Saints

10. Patrick Willis, LB 49ers

11. Tom Brady, QB Patriots

12. Larry Fitzgerald, WR Cardinals

13. Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers

14. Troy Polamalu, S Steelers

15. Calvin Johnson, WR Lions

16. Peyton Manning, QB Colts

17. Clay Matthews, LB Packers

18. James Harrison, LB Steelers

19. Haloti Ngata, DT Ravens

20. Ed Reed, S Ravens

Another Look: Milt May made Series history in 1971

Bob Barrickman
Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
July 6, 2011

Milt May wasn't a starter in 1971, but he found his way into baseball's record books during the World Series that season.

The former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher had an RBI pinch-hit single in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the 1971 Fall Classic played at Three Rivers Stadium, driving in the winning run of the first night game in Series history. The Pirates edged the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 to even the Series at two games apiece before winning the championship in seven games.

It didn't appear that May would be the hero of Game 4 after the Orioles scored three runs off Pirate starter Luke Walker in the first inning.

"With our hitting, we knew if we could hold them, we had a chance," May said. "Bruce (Kison) held them and it gave us a chance to chip away.

Kison, a 21-year old rookie, relieved Walker in the first and shut out the Orioles over six-plus innings to get the win. The Pirates scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and tied the game with a run in the third. May untied it in the seventh.

"I dunked one in there and it worked out good for us," said May.

May was on hand two weeks ago when Pittsburgh honored the 1971 world champions before a game against the Orioles at PNC Park. Coincidentally, May, 60, now works for the Orioles as the organization's hitting coach for Sarasota (Rookie) and extended spring training. May, a Florida native, has resided in Bradenton since 1969, his first spring with the Bucs.

There weren't too many opportunities early in May's career as Manny Sanguillen was the established regular.

"Manny was an unusual commodity as a catcher because he ran very well," said May. "He could hit a ball neck-high or ankle-high."

May's at bats increased to 283 in 1973 as Sanguillen played some in right field. But May was dealt to the Astros after that season for pitcher Jerry Reuss.

May spent 15 years in the majors, including a second stint with the Pirates from 1983-84 before retiring. He also played for the Tigers, White Sox and Giants. After his playing career, May was the Pirates' hitting coach under manager Jim Leyland from 1987-96. The Pirates won N.L. East titles during that stretch from 1990-92.

"I don't think we had as dominant a team as Pittsburgh had in the early '70s," May said. "We didn't have anyone with the stature of a (Roberto) Clemente or a (Willie) Stargell."

That dominance gave May a skewed view of life in the majors. That '71 season was May's first full year in the big leagues.

"My first full year, what a thrill," May said. "I said, 'Is it going to be like this every year?' It took me (26 years) to get back in 1997."

That season, May was the hitting coach with the Marlins when Leyland took over as their manager. Just like in '71, May's team won the Series in seven games as the Marlins beat the Indians.

"It makes it more gratifying, because you know how tough it is to get there."

Forty years later, people still bring up May's game winning single on Oct. 13, 1971, which was the 11th anniversary of Bill Mazeroski's homer to the World Series in 1960.

"It doesn't bother me," May said. "It brings back good memories."

This team's problems are hardly problems

Wednesday, July 06, 2011
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

PITTSBURGH - JULY 05: Jeff Karstens(notes) #27 of the Pittsburgh Pirates lays down a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros during the game on July 5, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

At some point on the dreary continuum from the Pirates' long deployment as a national joke to their recent arrival as a National League Central force that now gets a well-pitched game eight days a week, a seriously curious phenomenon emerged.

Somehow, at least for the moment, even this team's real problems aren't problems, really.

You'd think it would be an issue when the worst team in baseball, a sorry Houston Astros edition that will soon need the Hubble Space Telescope to locate fifth place, still puts a lineup on the field that has six more home runs than Clint Hurdle's.

You'd think it would be a problem for Hurdle when he has to plop down at his desk every afternoon and write the names of two to four Indianapolis Indians and one or two waiver-wire claims onto his lineup card just to get to Michael, a.k.a. Fort, McKenry, the stocky catching understudy who has now presided over 13 wins in 17 starts.

Somehow, and again, at least momentarily, what should be glaring problems look like charming idiosyncrasies. Anyone feverish?

"I've had people hurt before," said a Pirates manager whose disabled list looks like the line for "Transformers 3" and includes four everyday starters. "And I've had situations where the people you call up have not played well. It's like you're looking at your watch every five minutes, and every time you look at it, only 30 seconds has gone by while you're waiting for people to get healthy.

"That's why I think this is a watershed time for this organization. It's a tribute to our scouts and our player development people going three years back."

OK, so here's your official watershed moment: With this latest methodical 5-1 dismissal of the Astros, the Pirates won their 17th series of the season. In all of 2010, they won 16.

But before we settle ourselves to ponder the absolutely imponderable, namely which will happen first, a return to vital baseball health or an incursion into first place, Hurdle and his superiors will lay some groundwork.

A meeting is scheduled today with upper management that should draw the framework for the central, if seriously clichéd, question -- are the Pirates sellers or buyers as the trade deadline draws within weeks.

"We'll talk about external needs," Hurdle promised. "And options."

I don't think the external needs have changed that much.

Basically, they need Albert Pujols and Jose Bautista, but in an era when the Kardashians make more money than the Pirates, that's not what you look for, even if that doesn't make it any less urgent.

The Pirates, despite their startling proximity to Fantasyland -- they slipped past the Milwaukee Brewers into second place Tuesday, as close as they've been to first this far into a summer in 14 years -- are still 12th in the league in runs scored, still 12th in homers, still 15th in slugging, and they might have gotten an unwelcome glimpse of the near future Tuesday night when Class AAA acquisitions Alex Presley and Chase d'Arnaud went 0 for 8 with four strikeouts and exactly one ball hit out of the infield. Though Presley came into the game hitting .364, and d'Arnaud an acceptable .250, there would seem to be a natural correction coming for Hurdle's severely inexperienced hitters.

But nothing about this team seems very natural.

If I'd told you in March that in the week before the All-Star break, Brandon Wood would have twice as many Pirate homers as Pedro Alvarez, what would you have said?

Exactly -- "Who's Brandon Wood?"

Wood launched his fourth homer with Lyle Overbay on in front of him in the second inning, taking Wandy Rodriguez's first-pitch fastball to the seats for a 2-0 lead that set like concrete because of Jeff Karstens, who hasn't lost since May.

It would be the eighth consecutive game in which a Pirate starter allowed two earned runs or fewer.

"He was dealing," Wood said admiringly of Karstens. "He didn't leave a pitch up in the zone. He didn't miss a spot."

Rodriguez missed one with that first pitch to Wood, leaving it thigh high on the outer half and watching it morph into the kind of opposite field homer that is generally the prerogative of home-run hitters, not utility third basemen.

"I've always felt I had the ability to hit homers," said Wood, the Angels castoff who actually has 15 home runs in 633 big league at-bats. "It just hasn't happened that much at the big league level. For me it's always best to look for a fastball and adjust to something else."

The real adjustment now belongs to a city that generally looks for the Pirates in the NL Central cellar, not a game and a half out of first on the front end of July.

Yes, we've probably printed the standings upside down before, but not today.

Not today.

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11187/1158469-150-0.stm#ixzz1RNDdKvcx

Jagr's greed wins out again

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Flyers?

Really?

It's as if Jaromir Jagr woke up Friday morning after dreaming of fans welcoming him at Pittsburgh International, of donning a Penguins sweater again, of reuniting with Mario Lemieux, of being handed the Stanley Cup by Sidney Crosby, of watching his No. 68 raised to the rafters ... and then thought, "Hmmm ... how can I really stick it to those people?"
I realize, though, that this isn't at all what happened.

Rather, it's always about the money with Jagr. Once a mercenary, always a mercenary.

When Jagr accepted a one-year, $3.3 million offer from Philadelphia, he spurned not only the Penguins — who offered $2 million — but also the Detroit Red Wings, another perennial contender, and the Montreal Canadiens, where his Czech friend Tomas Plekanec plays. So you know this much for sure: Jagr's decision had nothing to do with winning, a coach's system, a comfort level and certainly not legacy. The Flyers simply swooped in Thursday and tossed more cash on the table.

This wasn't about greener pastures. It was about going for the green.
Jagr genuinely has grown up in some ways at age 39. I've seen it myself, on and off the ice. But he evidently never passed the point where he bases all his decisions on money. Sure, he could have stayed in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and been paid even more, around $4 million, and it would have been tax-free to help cover those Siberian heating bills.
I'm sure that's going to be part of his defense.

But that doesn't change this about Jagr's choice of NHL teams: By the end of next season, he will have made roughly $101 million in his career, not counting endorsements and other earnings. The difference between the Flyers' and Penguins' offers was $1.3 million. That's a ton of money to most of us, but it's roughly 1 percent of everything Jagr has made. It's a penny on his dollar.

Small wonder the Penguins were furious, even before learning Jagr chose Philadelphia.

Lemieux and a handful of his closest acquaintances had been guardedly optimistic through Tuesday, according to multiple sources. Some went so far as to express that an agreement or understanding was in place. All that soured Wednesday, especially into the night, when the Penguins heard of Jagr's lingering flirtations with Detroit and Montreal.

General manager Ray Shero, who essentially emptied the team's pockets to ensure Jagr would get a respectable offer, was said to be livid.

"It didn't really feel right," Shero said of that stage.

On the Penguins' level, this was outright betrayal. It would have been one thing for Jagr to enter free agency and acknowledge that the best fit or highest bidder would win. It's quite another to tell Lemieux directly that he wants to return to play out of respect for him. And it was worse still that agent Petr Svoboda had the nerve to say that Jagr's "heart is in Pittsburgh" as recently as Thursday. Even while Jagr and Svoboda — and believe me, Jagr always calls his own shots — were finagling with the Flyers.

That's unconscionable.

As for the Penguins' fans, suffice it to say they had a small taste of how Cleveland felt after LeBron James' epic blowoff.

It's not the same scope, of course. James is the NBA's dominant talent, born and raised in Akron. But I would rank this Jagr snub as more insulting than, say, Marian Hossa's leap to the Red Wings in 2008. Hossa left after a couple months because he thought he had a better chance to win. That is hardly some moral crime, even if Hossa's prediction proved painfully wrong.

What Jagr did was different: Our city has 446 bridges, and one of its greatest athletes just burned them all.

Sure, we forgave Terry Bradshaw's foibles, and we stopped tossing batteries at Dave Parker. But those two and others eventually came back and made things right. I don't see that happening with Jagr. I don't see the circumstance in which that No. 68 ever gets raised.

No, the only numbers of consequence regarding Jagr in these parts will be 12-29. That's the date the Flyers make their first trip into town next season, and it could be quite the scene.

Unless someone offers Jagr a couple more bucks to be outside hawking T-shirts.

Related:

Jagr signing reignites Pens-Flyers rivalry -
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_744993.html

Jagr won't be feeling the love from Pens fans -
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_744945.html

Jagr's baggage wasn't worth Penguins' risk

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
July 2, 2011

One day, Penguins general manager Ray Shero will thank Jaromir Jagr. Not today or next week, maybe. The wounds and anger from being used and abused by Jagr, who signed Friday with the hated Philadelphia Flyers, still are too fresh. But sometime next season. The Penguins will be competing for the Stanley Cup and an immature, erratic Jagr will be pulling his usual Operation Shutdown routine with the Flyers. You bet Shero will thank Jagr for not coming back to Pittsburgh. Let him be the Flyers' problem. They deserve each other.

I didn't understand the Penguins' interest in Jagr in the first place. Approaching 40, not having played in the NHL in three seasons and needing U-Haul's biggest truck to bring all of his baggage, he just wasn't worth the risk. If you've been paying attention the past week, you saw his character. His agent, Petr Svoboda, kept telling everyone how much Jagr loved Pittsburgh, how doing a deal wasn't about the money, how he wanted to be reunited again with his hero, Mario Lemieux.

Blah, blah, blah.

When the Penguins got tired of waiting for Jagr and pulled their one-year, $2 million offer Friday morning, he signed with the Flyers shortly after noon. It turns out it really was about the money; the Flyers' deal is for $3.3 million. Nice. That should make for some warm reception for Jagr when the Flyers come to Consol Energy Center Dec. 29 for the first of three times next season. Max Talbot, who also signed Friday with the Flyers, will be cheered. He was nothing but class with the Penguins -- not to mention a Stanley Cup hero -- and left with class even if it was to go to Philadelphia. But Jagr? You know what they say. Once a jerk ...

Really, it's just as well it didn't work out for Jagr here. I couldn't see how he was going to fit in with the Penguins. I doubt there was room for his sizable ego in their locker room.

You don't have to spend much time around the Penguins to know they have something special going. You saw that on HBO's "24/7" series last season. It starts with owners Ron Burkle and Lemieux and works down through president David Morehouse, Shero and coach Dan Bylsma. They create an atmosphere that makes players want to play and stay with the team even if it means taking less money. It happened again this week when unrestricted free agents Pascal Dupuis and Tyler Kennedy re-upped with two-year deals.

Chances seem pretty high that Jagr's presence would have damaged the karma. When he was with the Penguins the first time -- granted, a lifetime ago -- he sulked when things didn't go his way. It was so bad at the end that he repeatedly begged Lemieux and then-general manager Craig Patrick to trade him and put him out of his misery. He was a real baby. That's the last thing the team needs now.

I hear people say the Penguins' desperate need for offense made it imperative to sign Jagr. They point to the playoff series recently against the Tampa Bay Lightning when the team went 1 for 35 on the power play. They point to the 1-0 loss in Game 7. It's as if they've forgotten that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missed that series with injuries. I know the power play has struggled with the two stars at times, but I would bet it would have scored more than one power-play goal against the Lightning if they were healthy. Many more, actually.

As for the desperate need for scoring wingers, I'm not buying it. Crosby was having a career year last season playing with Chris Kunitz and Dupuis before he was hurt. It's also as if people have forgotten that Shero traded a good player -- power-play specialist/defenseman Alex Goligoski -- at the trade deadline last season to bring in scoring winger James Neal. I know, Neal struggled, getting one goal in 20 games before getting just one more in the playoffs, although that one won Game 4 against the Lightning in double overtime. Let's see what he can do playing with Crosby or Malkin. He's 23. He scored 24 goals with the Dallas Stars in 2008-09, 27 goals in 2009-10 and 21 in 59 games last season before the trade. If he doesn't score at least 25 goals this season, Shero will be disappointed. So will I.

Maybe Jagr would have provided another 25 goals, his total in his most recent NHL season, 2007-08, with the New York Rangers. Maybe he would have pushed up the power play's conversion rate to the 20- or 22-percent range. Maybe he would have withstood the grind of the long NHL season and been able to play 70 games for the Penguins. Maybe he would have been the perfect teammate.

Or maybe not.

I want to believe a guy can go home again and be successful, but I just didn't see it in this case.

Jagr did the Penguins a favor by picking the Flyers.

They are better off without him.

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. More articles by this author

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11183/1157785-87-0.stm#ixzz1Qwwmyadk

Related:

Penguins see Jagr, Talbot join rival Flyers -
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11183/1157826-61.stm

Penguins re-sign Kennedy, add Sullivan -
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11183/1157794-61.stm

Band of believers: Young Bucs look to end losing streak

By Seth Livingstone
http://www.usatotday.com
June 29, 2011

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 30: Andrew McCutchen(notes) #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates bats during MLB interleague game action against the Toronto Blue Jays June 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Brad White/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH — No member of the Pittsburgh Pirates feels the pain of 18 consecutive losing seasons quite like Neil Walker.

"I've always bled black and gold," says Walker, raised 20 minutes north of town. "In 1992, I was 7 and I just remember the excitement in the city — how excited people were about Pirates baseball. After that season, the buzz just started to slowly fade. A lot of people kind of jumped off board."

Years of free agent defections and draft-day busts turned the Pirates from pennant winners into perennial losers. But 2011 has been different. Despite injuries, new manager Clint Hurdle has transformed a team that won 57 games last year into a band of believers who are daring to dream beyond the elusive .500 threshold.

"I have a Twitter account (@neilwalker18)," Walker says, "and a lot of people are on there saying — not just to me but to a lot of the guys — 'Thank you for helping me become a Pirates fan again.' That's really humbling. A lot of older fans remember the pre-'92 days, but younger kids between the ages of 10 and 20 don't. They've never seen (a winner)."

They might this season. After taking two of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Pirates were 41-39, the latest in the season they've been above .500 since 1999.

Walker, a first-round pick out of Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa., in 2004, is just one piece of a puzzle being pieced together by general manager Neal Huntington. In his fourth season, Huntington has been charged by owner Bob Nutting and team President Frank Coonelly with building a youthful team, primarily through a farm system dotted with blossoming draft picks.

Pirates fans have heard this tune before. What they haven't seen are as many viable young players on the roster at one time since the last century.

Hurdle, who guided the upstart Colorado Rockies to the 2007 National League pennant, says he studied Pirates history as well as the current franchise climate before accepting the managerial challenge. So he understood the city's psyche when the Pirates were swept at the Cleveland Indians (managing four runs in three games) and then dropped a fourth consecutive game when they returned home against the Baltimore Orioles last week.

"You mean the sky is falling?" says Hurdle, settling in at his desk. "Some people are going to believe. Some people are going to be only as confident as the last game we play. There are also people going to look at the body of work — people who are going to hold on to the last 18 years.

"My goal is to be a small part of a group of men trying to make a difference here and rebound a city with a baseball team."

There's no Chicken Little mentality in the clubhouse.

"We're not going to back down because of a losing streak," says Andrew McCutchen, a multitool center fielder and 2005 first-round pick, perhaps on the verge of his first All-Star Game appearance. "We'll bend, but we won't break. Clint has always stressed to us to play a hard nine innings, and that's what we do."

Walker says Hurdle has changed the culture in the Pittsburgh dugout, combining high-intensity instruction and levity .

"This team feels like it can win," says right-hander Kevin Correia, a free agent contributor who is 10-6 after signing a two-year, $8 million deal. "We're hovering around .500, and that's like a big number to people watching outside this organization. But we think we can play better than .500 baseball.

"This wasn't an organization happy with being a 100-game loser, and they're doing something to change that. Just from watching these guys play the past few years, I knew they had a good, young core that was getting better every year."

With a 2.66 ERA, pitcher Jeff Karstens is becoming the pitcher Huntington hoped for when he acquired him along with left fielder Tabata and pitchers Daniel McCutchen and Ross Ohlendorf from the New York Yankees in a mid-2008 trade for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

"Last year, when we'd come to the yard, there was a hope we could win," Karstens says. "Now it's a belief. One different aspect this year: We're kind of watching the scoreboard."

"One big thing our fans don't realize is we haven't even clicked on all cylinders," Karstens says. "This is a great sports town with the Penguins and Steelers who have won championships. A lot of fans here want .500, but we're not playing for that. We're playing for a lot more."

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 30: Jeff Karstens(notes) #27 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during MLB interleague game action against the Toronto Blue Jays June 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Brad White/Getty Images)

Buttoned-down leadership

The first day of summer brings sweltering 90-degree heat to PNC Park. Coonelly manages to look cool, despite being buttoned up in a black pinstripe suit and red power tie, his typical attire as he greets fans arriving at the park in shorts and Pirates gold T-shirts.

"This is the way I dress. Must be the old lawyer in me," says Coonelly, formerly chief labor counsel for Major League Baseball. "I have a hard time giving up the suit and tie — although on Sundays I'll wear a golf shirt."

Coonelly delivers his corporate message as he mingles with fans:

"We're not done yet," he says. "We have a lot of work ahead.

"Fans are excited about the 2011 Pirates. People who have left us over some period of years are coming back. There's a buzz that hasn't been here in quite some time. People are believing in the new leader in the clubhouse, and they also believe in the young talent that's coming up."

If the June 21 crowd of 33,106 — boosted by a salute to the 1971 World Series champion team — is any indication, the city is embracing the Bucs.

"I think all of Pittsburgh is excited about the team, the stability and nucleus they've got," says Ken Bush, 60, in the stands with wife Trish to watch batting practice. The couple invested in a 10-game ticket package and plan to attend considerably more games than in past years. "We feel strongly that we're not going to trade away our good guys like we have in the past. We like the upper management now, and we like the new manager."

Even Pirates old-timers who shook their heads when players such as Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Doug Drabek were cast adrift see a team that's turning a corner.

"They started three years ago with this plan, and I think it's working because of guys like Walker and McCutchen," says Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski. "I think they've got a little more depth — some (talent) in the minor leagues that's going to be here pretty soon. They're going about it the right way, doing it from the ground up."

But Pittsburgh talk shows also want to know if the Pirates are willing to take the next, immediate step: Go beyond the $45 million payroll — smallest in the NL — and add impact players, particularly for an offense ranking 13th in the National League in runs and 15th in slugging.

It's a hot topic for a franchise accustomed to selling, not buying around the All-Star break.

"It's not a money issue," Coonelly says. "There's no question our fans are interested in seeing us add a piece. We haven't hit as well as we should. Neal and I are aggressively looking into what's out there to help this team win today. But we have some needs today we may not have in three weeks.

"If an acquisition will not set back the growth of the organization, we're prepared to make it. But we can't do it simply because we have a need now. We can't give away the future that we've worked very hard to build."

Turnaround in pitching

No question, pitching and defense are powering the Pirates.

Employing a pitch-to-contact philosophy that stresses first-pitch strikes, pitching coach Ray Searage's staff has gone from having the worst ERA in the majors in 2010 (5.00) to fifth best in the NL at 3.49.

Searage has helped Charlie Morton go from a 2-12 record to 7-4 with a new three-quarter arm slot. James McDonald is 5-4, veteran Paul Maholm has a 3.17 ERA despite a hard-luck 4-9 record, and a no-name relief corps led by workhorses Daniel McCutchen, Jose Veras and Chris Resop has come up big when starters have faltered.

And closer Joel Hanrahan is 23-for-23 in save opportunities.

"To coin a phrase that Clint uses, I'm pleased but I'm not satisfied," says Searage, who knows challenges will come as innings pitched take a toll. Morton skipped his turn in the rotation this week, giving him 11 days to re-energize.

"These guys are breaking barriers," Searage says. "This is going to be a real battle as we move forward."

Hurdle says his team's defense, spearheaded by fleet McCutchen in center field, has "improved by leaps and bounds" this season. In the middle infield, shortstop Ronny Cedeno and Walker combined to play 36 consecutive games, from April 28 through June 9, without committing an error.

"I've had more double-play balls this year than I can remember in my big-league career," Hanrahan says. "The defense has been phenomenal behind me."

But not everything has gone to plan.

Injuries to Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder have forced Mike McKenry and Dusty Brown— with fewer than 100 major league at-bats combined) into starting roles behind the plate.

Beyond McCutchen, who leads the team with a .280 average and 11 homers, and Walker, who had 51 RBI in the first 78 games, the offense has struggled.

Lyle Overbay, a $5 million offseason signing, was hitting .230 when he was benched by Hurdle last week.

The Pirates are winning without a prototypical cleanup hitter. Last week Hurdle used McCutchen and, somewhat reluctantly, Walker in that slot. He debated the Walker decision.

Hurdle appreciates out-of-the-box thinking ("I'm not big on vacu-forming things," he says) and is willing to cut young players slack, as when McKenry tries to beat out a ground ball by diving into first base.

"You tell him you don't like to see it, but they're kids," Hurdle says. "Every time they dive, I just close my eyes. I watch them get up and, if they're OK, (then) we're good. They're out in the backyard playing ball."

Just as Walker did just north of town. It's enough for Pittsburgh fans to believe those good old days are coming back.

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