Bob Smizik: Pirates' foundation of youngsters not so stable

Monday, May 21, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pirates lost another one yesterday, which was no surprise considering this weak-hitting club was facing future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Even in his dotage -- he'll be 44 in September -- the Big Unit is too much for the Pirates. He struck out 10 and allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks won at PNC Park, 5-2. The Pirates were even more submissive against the three Arizona relievers, who retired 10 consecutive batters once Johnson departed.

And so it is that the Pirates continue their dogged pursuit of .500, a chase that is beginning to look like the impossible dream. They're five games under .500, which is not that much, except for them. After a promising April (12-12), they're a miserable 7-12 in May and looking every day like, well, the same old Pirates.



Paul Maholm

But here's what's really disturbing about this team. The plan to move forward with a group of players who are under contract through 2009, a plan that once had promise, is unraveling daily. The players that were being counted on as a major part of the team's future are either failing or failing to live up to expectations. At best, this was a modest group. But it's no longer at its best and the small window of opportunity that seemed to exist in 2008 and 2009 is narrowing.

Consider:

* Paul Maholm. He took the loss yesterday, giving up five runs and eight hits in five innings. Aside from one exceptional start, a three-hit shutout, Maholm has been extremely disappointing after a good second half last season. His earned run average is a whopping 5.82 and opponents are batting .309 against him. He has allowed 10 home runs in 51 innings. He should be a candidate for a trip to the minors, but he's not. "He has to stay in the rotation," manager Jim Tracy said when asked about Maholm's future. That, as much as anything, says it all about what the Pirates have behind Maholm at Indianapolis.



Zach Duke

* Zach Duke. He has fallen dramatically since his brilliant rookie season in 2005, when he was 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA. Opponents -- and this is hard to believe -- are batting .340 against Duke. To put that in perspective, only three players in the National League are batting higher than that. Perhaps worse is the fact that opponents are slugging (total bases divided by at-bats) .527 against Duke, worst in the National League. With those numbers in mind, it's incredible that Duke is 2-5 and not 0-7. This one time ace-in-the-making now has the look of a journeyman -- at best.

* Chris Duffy. He's a player the Pirates desperately need to succeed, and he's not. After a promising April, .264 batting average, .350 on-base percentage, Duffy has slumped badly. He's batting .153 in May with a .175 on-base percentage. Duffy has teased the Pirates before. In 2005, he batted .350 in the final two months of the season. He batted .336 last September. But he has never been able to put a full season together. At 27, time is running out. But Duffy's skill set, as a leadoff hitter and center fielder, is so important to the Pirates they can't even think about giving up on him.



Chris Duffy

* Andrew McCutchen. The thinking of some was that if Duffy failed, McCutchen might be waiting to take over for him. It doesn't look that way. No one doubts McCutchen's exceptional talent, but he's struggling at Class AA Altoona. He was dropped to seventh in the Curve's batting order yesterday and was hitting .180.

* Jose Bautista. He has made the transition to third base brilliantly, playing the position in a Gold Glove style. His offense, though, has been a disappointment. He's batting .261, which is acceptable, but his lack of power is troubling. After his recall in May of last season, he hit 10 home runs in 145 at-bats, an extremely promising rate. Those numbers look like a mirage today. Since that start, he has homered only eight times in 389 at-bats, an unacceptable rate for a third baseman. Bautista is 26 and with little major-league experience. His power stroke could return.



Jose Bautista

* Jose Castillo. Once a definite building block of the future, a possible Gold Glove second baseman with some pop in his bat, Castillo's career has taken a hard left turn. He's a utility player, who might not have a future with the Pirates.

* Xavier Nady. The Pirates need Nady to be a productive everyday player, a possible middle-of-the lineup presence. First, though, he must show he can handle right-handed pitching. He's batting .224 against right-handers this year, 19 points lower than his career average. He's a terror against left-handers, batting .393 this season and .332 for his career. What's alarming is that he has shown less power against left-handed pitching. At 28, Nady needs to step up soon or be relegated to a platoon role.

That's a lot of players on the bubble -- too many to expect anything but more of the same from this team the remainder of the season.


(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.)

Tracy's decision looms large in 9-8 loss

Pirates' manager summons shell-shocked McLeary for fateful grand slam by Arizona's Clark

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sunday, May 20, 2007



Jason Bay watches as ball drops in between him and second baseman Freddy Sanchez on a base hit by the Diamondbacks Stephen Drew in the fifth inning last night at PNC Park.


It seemed a questionable choice, to be generous.

Arizona was slithering back into the game, down four runs in the seventh inning, and bases were loaded. A big hit was needed, and the Diamondbacks' pinch-hitter for light-hitting Robby Hammock surely would be switch-hitting slugger Tony Clark, owner of 232 career home runs and extraordinary power.

And Pirates manager Jim Tracy's signal to the bullpen was to summon ...

Marty McLeary?

The same Marty McLeary who had been hit hard in every outing since his recall from Class AAA Indianapolis two weeks ago?

The same Marty McLeary who had been used only in mopup duty?

Right.

Boom!

Clark's grand slam high into the center-field seats brought a tie that stunned and silenced the crowd of 30,677 at PNC Park, and Arizona's two-run eighth off Matt Capps would cap an astounding 9-8 victory for the Diamondbacks last night.



Pirates reliever Marty McLeary walks back to the mound after surrendering Tony Clark's tying grand slam in the seventh inning last night at PNC Park.

Tracy had all his relievers available except John Grabow, who had created the mess that inning, and Shawn Chacon, who had pitched five innings Thursday. He could have brought in Damaso Marte, Jonah Bayliss or Matt Capps, those he usually uses with the game on the line.

Or even Salomon Torres. Some managers in recent years have taken to calling on their closers in the game's most critical situations rather than just the ninth inning.

Instead, Tracy chose McLeary, whose first three appearances with the Pirates resulted in eight hits -- three of them home runs -- and a 7.36 ERA.

Tracy was asked the glaring question: Why?

"Well, you saw what happened in the eighth inning with Matt Capps," Tracy replied. "And some of that still has to do with the hangover that we're suffering from a couple days ago."

That was a reference to the six innings the bullpen turned in Thursday, although five of those came from Chacon. Capps did not pitch that night but recorded four outs Friday.

"He does that and goes out there tonight, and his fastball was not quite as crisp as it normally is," Tracy said, still discussing Capps. "And that's what happens when you start having to extend guys further than where they need to be."

Asked if he might have chosen Marte rather than McLeary, Tracy turned to the topic of control. Grabow's two walks were pivotal in that seventh inning.

"One thing for certain, what we definitely needed were strikes," Tracy said. "We weren't throwing too many. Damaso came into the last game, and the first three pitches he threw were balls one, two and three."

But Marte recovered that night and got a grounder that resulted in an error. It was his only batter. Marte has walked only five batters all season, has a 0.71 ERA and has limited opponents to a .196 average.

And that was it on the subject of McLeary.

McLeary, who pitched well for the Pirates as a September callup last fall and for Indianapolis early this season, had not been placed in a situation such as this since his most recent recall. But he would not offer it as an excuse.



Freddy Sanchez is unable to turn double play as the Diamondbacks Mark Reynolds breaks it up.

"I've got to be able to come in and get that out," McLeary said. "I try to stay ready whenever down there. I'm going to be ready whenever that phone rings."

The Pirates had the game in a vise grip early on, taking a 7-1 lead in the third inning with Tom Gorzelanny, one of their two aces, on the mound.

The highlights of that inning included Jason Bay's five-pitch walk off Arizona rookie Micah Owings with the bases loaded, Ryan Doumit's 12-pitch walk right after that, Xavier Nady's RBI single and Gorzelanny's two-run bouncer through the right side.

Gorzelanny would keep it at 7-2 by the time he exited after six innings, but Grabow found immediate trouble in the fateful seventh.

That started with Conor Jackson's leadoff home run and continued with a walk to Orlando Hudson.

"That's what killed us," Tracy said. "OK, so Conor Jackson hits a home run, and it's 7-3. The last thing you want to do is walk somebody."

One out later, Mark Reynolds singled. Carlos Quentin bounced into a forceout that might have been a 6-4-3 double play except that second baseman Freddy Sanchez was slow on the transfer.

"It seemed a little slow in developing," Tracy said.

Chris Snyder walked to load the bases.

Tracy pulled Grabow.

McLeary ran up a full count on Clark, including two swinging strikes on high heat. But the sixth pitch, a right-down-the-pipe fastball, resulted in his towering blast and a 7-7 tie.

"I was trying to stay in on him, and it ran back over the plate," McLeary said.

"I was fortunate to get into a count where, obviously, he doesn't want to walk a run in," Clark said. "And I put a good swing on it."

It was Clark's sixth home run of the season in just 66 at-bats -- all six left-handed -- and his third career grand slam.

Arizona made that count by scoring twice off Capps in the eighth. Stephen Drew and Jackson singled, then were bunted up a base. Eric Byrnes was intentionally walked and, one out later, Quentin lined a two-run single to center.

Bay's two-out RBI single pulled the Pirates within 9-8, but Doumit's popup stranded two, and they went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

"That's baseball," Gorzelanny said after his chance to improve to 6-2 -- and tie for the National League lead in victories -- was wasted. "Games like this happen."


(Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.)

Ron Cook: Steelers have to sign Polamalu to be fair to Tomlin

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What a sight Troy Polamalu must have been, relaxing in the hot tub on that cold January day.

Talk about a great place, a fabulous resort, to just get away to for a few days after the Steelers played their final game of the Bill Cowher era. A whole season of 8-8 frustration, not to mention an awful lot of aches and pains, were going up with the steam from the soothing water. Polamalu's wife, Theodora, was off being pampered, getting a massage. He had a few quiet moments to himself and was at peace. It's not hard to imagine him sitting back, closing his eyes, drifting away ...

"Then this old man comes walking up," Polamalu said.

The two chatted, as people tend to do at a hot tub.

"I asked him where he's from," Polamalu said. "He said he lives all over the world. I say, 'No, seriously. What do you do?' He says, 'I own this place.' "

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa.

It was Joe Hardy.

No, there was no sign of Hardy's 22-year-old bride-to-be.

Just in case you were wondering.

"Listen, they're having a surprise 84th birthday party for me today. How would you like to come?" Hardy asked.

So that's how the Polamalus ended up as special guests at Hardy's table, along with Robin Williams, Gov. Ed Rendell and Tom Ridge, listening to Bette Midler and Christina Aguilera sing and watching all the beautiful people at the party of all parties, even if it wasn't much of a surprise for the very wealthy man of the hour.

"A pretty amazing weekend," Polamalu recalled last week. "We didn't even have clothes with us. We had to buy everything there."

It was pricey, but Polamalu can afford it.

One day soon, presumably with the Steelers, he will sign an enormous contract. Maybe it won't pay him Hardy-like money, but it will make him the highest-paid player on the team.

Don't you wish, Alan Faneca?

The Steelers might be able to get by losing one All-Pro after the coming season. That would be the unhappy Faneca, who made such an ugly scene at minicamp last weekend when he went public with his contract conundrum. But the team can't afford to lose a second great player. It has to find a way to do a new deal with Polamalu, who also will be a free agent after the season if he isn't re-signed.

If it's an either/or situation, Faneca or Polamalu, the Steelers have to go with Polamalu, who's right behind Ben Roethlisberger at the top of their most-indispensable-players list.

"He's our playmaker, our star," Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said at minicamp. "We run a lot of stuff in our defense that's just for him. We can't let him go."



It's nice to think new coach Mike Tomlin has gone to the Rooneys with that same message.

Much has been said and written about the type of defense Tomlin will coach. Will he stick with the 3-4, zone-blitz scheme that Cowher preferred? Or will he slowly convert to a 4-3, cover-2 defense that he learned under Tony Dungy? It's a fascinating topic, but the bottom line never changes: Tomlin needs great players to make either defense work.

The Steelers need Polamalu to be a great defense.

"He's the best player I've ever seen at safety," Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said last season. "He's phenomenal."

It was in the game at Cleveland last year that Polamalu left no doubt that he's one of the NFL's special players. On a three-play sequence in the fourth quarter, he used his incredible closing speed on first down to run down Browns quarterback Charlie Frye for a sack in front of the Steelers' bench; displayed his toughness on second down by slicing through a mass of humanity to tackle running back Jason Wright after a 2-yard gain; and showed his marvelous football instincts on third down by pulling up on a blitz and leaping to bat down Frye's pass intended for Winslow. The Browns punted, and the Steelers scored a late touchdown to win, 24-20.

That's why Foote said of Polamalu that day, "I've been playing a long time, and I've never seen anyone make plays like he makes."

And that's why Foote says now, "His presence alone out there makes you better. Playing next to him breeds confidence. Knowing he's next to you makes you stronger."

Polamalu is saying little about his contract situation. He says little about just about everything and says it very quietly. "I don't know what's going on. I'm just living. ... Only God knows what's going to happen." But Polamalu did add, "Definitely, I'd love to be here. This is home. I live here year-round. I don't think I have to make a case for that."

Surely, you like reading that more than Faneca's startling promise: "This will be my last year as a Pittsburgh Steeler." But the reality is, neither statement means much at this point of the negotiating game. To keep Polamalu, the Steelers are going to have to come up with a very big number on a contract. He might not be paying attention to the negotiations, but his agent certainly is.



Polamalu seemed more interested in what's happening with Faneca. "He's somebody everyone on this team looks up to." Like the Steelers' other veterans, he's wary that Cowher left, that linebacker Joey Porter was released, that Faneca appears all but gone. "I think everybody is a little unsure about the direction of the team."

Don't take that the wrong way, though.

In the next breath, Polamalu said, "I think it's good that things are shaken up a little. Everybody's got to work to establish themselves again. ... There's always apprehension when there's change. I went through it at USC when coach [Pete] Carroll came in. All of us were unsure about what was going to happen. That turned out pretty well."

Carroll won big and still is winning big because of great players.

Tomlin needs great players to be successful.

The Steelers want to give their new coach a fair shot?

They have to do a deal with Polamalu.


(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.)

Patience at plate pays for Pirates, 11-5

Nady, Doumit each hits three-run home run vs. Arizona

Saturday, May 19, 2007



Ronny Paulino slides safely past the tag of Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero in the fifth inning last night at PNC Park.


By Dejan Kovacevic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For a strikeout pitcher, Doug Davis is blessed with neither overwhelming velocity nor exceptional breaking stuff. But he does have a maddening knack for getting hitters to swing at pretty much whatever he throws, no matter its location.

A week ago, he and his ilk were the free-swinging Pirates' worst enemy.

Not anymore, apparently.

An all-through-the-lineup patient approach, seldom seen before this week, resulted in 14 hits, four walks, three-run home runs by Xavier Nady and Ryan Doumit and, ultimately, an 11-5 dunking of the Arizona Diamondbacks last night before 32,682 at PNC Park.

Davis gave up seven of those runs and was chased in the fifth inning.

Pitch count: 101.

"What's happening right now at the plate for us is the way you see a successful baseball team perform," manager Jim Tracy said. "Look at all our big hits tonight. Look how many came in deep counts. Look how many came after two outs. You become a better hitter when you take pitches you can't hit, and when you swing at the ones you can hit."

Everything seems to follow from there.

The Pirates have walked 25 times in six games since Sunday, the day after a 50-minute, closed-door meeting in which Tracy and hitting coach Jeff Manto urged all position players to be more patient, more selective at the plate. That average of 4.2 walks per game is a sweeping upgrade on the 2.57 mark of the first 35 games.

It surely is no coincidence, then, that the offense has broken out for 44 runs in these six games, an eye-popping average of 7.3.

Nor that the eruption last night included a 5-for-15 tally with runners in scoring position and 10 of the 11 RBIs coming after two outs.

Can it continue?

"Each night, there's a different plan," Manto said. "Some pitchers, you don't want to let too many pitches go by. But our word on Davis was that he was spraying the ball a little, and we needed to be patient. That's what we were."

What has changed?

"I don't think our approaches have changed," he said. "I think the results have changed."



Starter Ian Snell delivers against the Diamondbacks last night. He gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out seven for his fourth win.


Ian Snell failed to achieve seven innings for just the third time in his nine starts, lasting 52/3 and getting charged with four runs. But, in something that is becoming strangely common, it did not matter much because of all the offense.

The Pirates made Davis toil from the outset and, in the third inning, it paid off. Freddy Sanchez singled on the sixth pitch he saw, Jason Bay followed suit on his third pitch, and Nady worked the count full before ramming a high, flat fastball above the Clemente Wall for his fifth home run and a 3-0 lead.

Nady, carrying a 3-for-24 slump into this one, had a sharply struck single, too.

"I've felt good at the plate the past few days, mostly because I feel I've been swinging at quality pitches," he said. "It's all about pitch selection."

Tracy saw it the same way.

"He stayed off some tough pitches in that at-bat," Tracy said. "He was chasing some of those early in the season."

The fifth inning brought an even greater output through mostly the same approach.

Jose Bautista and Sanchez opened by drawing walks, then took second and third on a wild pitch. Bay and Nady, in a bit of a flashback, struck out by fishing at offerings well out of the zone.

But Adam LaRoche, the Pirates' leader with 23 walks, took his count to 2-1 before lashing a two-run single up the middle.

Ronny Paulino singled off a 1-1 count. Even Jose Castillo, the freest of free swingers, took a pitch before his single drove in another run. Snell's first-pitch single made it 7-0, and Davis was lifted.

Arizona, also struggling on offense most of the season, scored four times against Snell in the sixth. There nearly was more once Jonah Bayliss had replaced him: Robby Hammock's single to right field had Carlos Quentin trying to score from second, but Nady's no-hop bullet to Paulino nailed him at the plate to end the inning.

"That was huge," Tracy said. "The momentum was shifting the other way."

The Diamondbacks added to that shift with another run in the seventh to pull within 7-5, but the Pirates answered in the bottom half of the inning. LaRoche doubled -- on a full count -- took third on a passed ball and scored on Castillo's groundout.

LaRoche's average is up to .203, the result of a 15-for-42 awakening in the past 13 games.

To top if off, pinch-hitter Doumit's home run, his third of the season, tacked on three runs in the eighth.

That came on a full count, too.

"A great, pinch-hit, major-league at-bat," Tracy called it.

Matt Capps and Salomon Torres finished it off by retiring all seven batters they faced.

Tom Gorzelanny, 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA, pitches tonight as the Pirates try for their first three-game winning streak since taking five in a row April 24-27.



(Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.)

Gorzelanny golden again in Pirates' 7-0 shutout

Seven zeroes vs. Marlins raise his status among league's lefties

Tuesday, May 15, 2007



Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny pitched seven innings last night, allowing five hits with no runs against the Marlins at PNC Park. The Pirates won 7-0.


By Dejan Kovacevic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

At some point, perhaps soon, Tom Gorzelanny's name will be on the tip of the National League's collective tongue.

It would seem that has not happened yet.

Minutes after Gorzelanny's seven shutout innings sparked the Pirates to a 7-0 silencing of Florida last night at PNC Park, a few in the Marlins' clubhouse needed a little help in identifying him correctly.

"You've just got to tip your hat to ... I want to say his name, Gorzelanny?" Florida ace Dontrelle Willis said after taking a tough loss. "He did a great job today. It was his night."

"We're not scoring any runs," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said, bemoaning his slumping lineup. "We had a chance there, and he ... uh, how do you pronounce his name?"

For the record, it is GORE-zuh-LAWN-ey.

And anyone interested in learning more about him should check the league's pitching leaders, especially among left-handers: His record is 5-2, tied with Willis, the Milwaukee Brewers' Chris Capuano and the Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels for most victories by a southpaw, and his 2.36 ERA is second to none.



The Pirates' Jose Castillo high fives teammate Chris Duffy after they both came home for runs six and seven respectively against the Florida Marlins last night at PNC Park.

In fact, it ranks seventh among all pitchers -- left or right -- in Major League Baseball.

There is more: Gorzelanny has gone seven innings in each of his past three starts and been charged with a total of three runs. All but one of his eight starts have met the quality standard of six innings and three runs or less. And he has struck out 34 while walking 13, including five and zero last night, respectively.

"Tom Gorzelanny has pitched terrific all year," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "He's throwing three pitches for strikes, hitting quality spots ... it's tough to deal with pitchers like that."

As tough as any lefty in the league right now?

"No doubt," reliever John Grabow said. "He's got a great fastball, a good slider, a curveball and a changeup. He's mixing his pitches, and he's got deception, too. If you've got all that going for you from the left side, you can be pretty dominating."

"The numbers speak for themselves," first baseman Ryan Doumit said. "You look at his track record, and he did that every year in the minor leagues. What's to keep him from doing it up here?"

Gorzelanny, 24, was starring in the minors at this time last year, actually, but he has carried that success into majors without a hitch: He was promoted in July and, after a bit of settling in, his ERA from July 23 until now is 2.43 over 16 starts.

Still, he appears to be keeping a level head.

"I'll say this all year: This is my first full season in the bigs," Gorzelanny said. "I'm doing well, and I'm feeling happy about that. But the main thing is that there's still more work to be done. I've still got a long way to go. I'm far from established."

And the pressure that might come from performing so well?

"I'm not going to worry about what anyone says or what the stats are. I'm going to go out there every fifth day and try to win a ball game."

That is something Willis has done with regularity, of course, and this season is no exception, given his 5-3 record. But it was clear from the outset that he would need to pitch with pinpoint precision to match Gorzelanny.

As Willis put it, "I knew it was going to be competitive."

He was right: The Marlins would muster only five hits off Gorzelanny -- all singles -- and six baserunners, only two of those getting as far as second.

The Pirates nicked Willis for two runs in his six innings. One came in the first when Jack Wilson walked, took third on Freddy Sanchez's double and scored on Jason Bay's forceout. The other came in the sixth on Ronny Paulino's fourth home run, an 0-2 slider he launched into the bullpens beyond left-center for a 2-0 lead.

Two batters later came an even more momentous hit, in some ways: Gorzelanny finally snapped his career drought at the plate at 0 for 36 by squibbing a ball through the left side.

That drew a standing ovation from the 12,958 on hand and plenty of good-natured razzing in the dugout.

"Yeah, but it's great," Gorzelanny said. "I'll be able to tell my grandkids I got my first hit off Dontrelle Willis."

There would be more fun from there as the Pirates added five in the eighth off the Florida bullpen: Jose Castillo's double to the base of the fence in center drove in two runs, Chris Duffy's suicide squeeze -- with Paulino sprinting from third, no less -- brought another, and Sanchez capped a 4-for-4 night with a two-run liner to center.

For Castillo, filling in for injured Jose Bautista, it was his first RBI and a rare show of upbeat emotion when he reached second base.

"I was so excited," he said. "It's been a long time without playing. This felt good."

Matt Capps and Salomon Torres completed the shutout, the Pirates' second of the season, and the team had its first back-to-back victories since April 26-27.


(Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.)

Ron Cook: Tomlin turns negatives into positives in first test

STEELERS MINICAMP
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin talks with guards Alan Faneca, left, and Kendall Simmons Sunday in warm-ups for the last day of minicamp.


The career of one of baseball's great managers was made on a spring-training day in 1991 when Jim Leyland jumped in the face of Pirates superstar Barry Bonds in Bradenton, Fla. Bonds, the National League's Most Valuable Player the year before, had been sulking through a workout, acting like a spoiled brat because he wasn't happy with his contract. Leyland, though seething, let him go for a while -- he doesn't like putting his laundry out in public -- but he finally erupted on Bonds in front of the television cameras when he saw Bonds show up coach Bill Virdon.

"If you don't want to be here, get the hell out of here," Leyland screamed.

No one ever looked at Leyland -- or Bonds, for that matter -- the same way again.

They looked at Leyland in a much better light, the respect for him clear and estimable because of the way he stood up to a star player.

I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, the past weekend at Steelers minicamp will prove to be the same sort of career-defining moment for new coach Mike Tomlin.

No, there was no juicy public confrontation between Tomlin and pouting All-Pro guard Alan Faneca at the team's South Side headquarters. There merely was a brief, quiet chat during lunch Saturday after Faneca had followed up his angry tirade Friday against Steelers management and its negotiating tactics with him by missing a mandatory practice Saturday morning.

There's also no guarantee Faneca will respond the same way Bonds did. Bonds had an another MVP-caliber season in '91 and led the Pirates to a division championship. Faneca's bitterness might carry into training camp and the season, although it's hard to imagine it affecting his play because he has been such a terrific team guy and still must feel an obligation to give his best for his teammates if no longer for the Rooneys.

But that doesn't mean Tomlin didn't do a fabulous job handling a very difficult situation.

This couldn't have been the way Tomlin wanted to start his head coaching career. It's tough enough that he's a young coach replacing Bill Cowher, a legend of sorts around here. Now he had to face this kind of distraction at his first mandatory team function?

It didn't seem fair.

Then again, who said life is fair?

One of the reasons the Steelers released linebacker Joey Porter after last season was that management felt he might be a disruptive locker-room force heading into the final year of his contract. But the team couldn't release Faneca or trade him for less than equal value; he, arguably, is the Steelers' best player and is in the prime of his career. Management knew he was unhappy with his contract status but couldn't have imagined him going off like he did Friday. He said, among other things, that he wanted to be traded and didn't care to what team and that he couldn't see himself being a team captain for a franchise that clearly didn't want him. He didn't back off from his earlier comments that he wasn't happy the Steelers picked Tomlin to replace Cowher instead of one of Cowher's former assistants, Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, coach!

Tomlin never flinched.

He never lost his poise, not once.

Much like Leyland, but in a very different way, he left no doubt that he was the man in charge and that this ugly little episode wasn't going to change that.

Man, he was impressive.

"It's part of the territory in today's NFL," Tomlin said, shrugging.

The man is 35 -- only 5 years older than Faneca -- but he showed, at least in this instance, that he's wise beyond his years. He made it a point to treat the great Faneca with the proper respect. "Everything I've heard about him is he's a professional. ... It's an emotional deal for him -- and rightfully so. It's his livelihood." But, at the same time, he made it clear the Steelers were going to move forward, preferably with Faneca, but without him if necessary. "This is a lesson for us as a football team. Adversity is part of it. Distractions are part of it. ... The standard of expectation is not going to change regardless of what's going on."

Cowher couldn't have handled it better.

Tomlin still has much to prove as a coach. He must prove he can build a team, draft the right players, sign the right free agents. He must prove he can motivate his guys and get the best out of them all season long. He must prove he and his staff can do the X's and O's better than the coaches on the other sideline.

Tomlin still must win his first game, for heaven's sake.

But as far as standing tall in the tough times and not wilting under the pressure?

That won't be a problem for this guy.

He has already proven that.


(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.)

Pirates finally break out the bats

Four players get multiple RBIs in 13-2 thrashing of Atlanta

Monday, May 14, 2007



Jose Bautista grabs his leg after being tagged out by the Braves' Jarrod Saltalamacchia yesterday at PNC Park. Bautista sustained a sprained ankle on the play.


By Dejan Kovacevic

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Take your pick.

The Pirates finally ...

A. Found a pitcher with a high enough career ERA that they could hit.

B. Found a defense generous enough to help them along on the basepaths.

C. Found a way to look something other than petrified at the plate.

Or, it might well have been D, all of the above.

Those rare sounds reverberating through PNC Park, that of the home team's bats making firm contact with baseballs, resulted in -- sit down for this -- a 13-2 thumping of the Atlanta Braves yesterday afternoon in which the Pirates' offense rang up a season-high 18 hits, drew seven walks and went 9 for 19 with runners in scoring position.

"That was pretty nice," manager Jim Tracy said, smiling. "Offense throughout the lineup."

"That gives us a little taste of what we're capable of," first baseman Adam LaRoche said after a double and two walks. "I don't want to fool anybody and say we're capable of scoring eight or 10 runs a day, but you saw the quality of the at-bats, the way we worked the count and took walks, the way we fought off tough pitches ... it was fun."

OK, so Atlanta's pitcher, Anthony Lerew, was riding buses with Class AAA Richmond a week ago, had a 6.75 career ERA in Major League Baseball and was starting a game at the top level for only the second time. Five of the Pirates' runs and seven of their hits came in his 32/3 innings.

And yeah, two other runs came on third baseman Pete Orr's throwing error in the fourth that handed the Pirates a 5-0 lead. The Braves were charged with two wild pitches and a passed ball, too.

But that did little, it seemed, to diminish the magnitude of the event.



Jack Wilson eludes the tag of Braves catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia yesterday at PNC Park.

For one, the Pirates topped seven runs for the first time. It came in their 36th game, which is one game longer than the previous franchise record for such futility from the outset of a season, that in 1965.

For another ...

"Hey, that was outstanding," shortstop Jack Wilson said after reaching base all five times up, three of those on singles, and driving in a run. "It was just fun to be out there. We got on base, we stole, we did hit-and-runs, did everything offensively a team can ask for."

Well, there were no home runs.

Still, go figure a team looking so thoroughly lost, then looking like it could extend innings for hours.

"That's baseball," Wilson said.

A night earlier, center fielder Chris Duffy was lugging a 4-for-34 May around his neck as he spoke in a nearly silent clubhouse about how poor hitting can be contagious.

Yesterday, he was 3 for 4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt.

"I guess it's pretty evident that contagious goes both ways, huh?" Duffy said. "You get that early lead, and you just see people relax. It's not something you talk about in the dugout or anything. It's something you subconsciously feel."

Other standouts on a day when every starting position player had a hit and no fewer than two men reached base safely in every inning: Freddy Sanchez went 3 for 6 with three RBIs; Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino each went 2 for 4 with two RBIs; and Ryan Doumit stayed sizzling with an RBI double and a single.

To be sure, Pirates starter Ian Snell was not complaining. He had been getting only 2.4 runs per game of support, but he seized upon the early lead and went seven solid innings -- two runs, seven hits and seven strikeouts -- to improve to 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA.

"It felt good to work with that five-spot," Snell said.

Even the only downer to the day wound up brighter than initially feared.

For now, anyway.

Third baseman Jose Bautista's left ankle was sprained in the sixth inning, when he was thrown out at home plate by left fielder Willie Harris after tagging up on a Doumit flyout. Bautista stepped on the left shoe of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the ankle rolled back in an ugly way.

He lay writhing in pain, as the crowd of 19,484 fell silent. But he was helped off three minutes later and, within a half-hour, was walking about the clubhouse in a soft boot-cast.

X-rays detected no fracture, and his status was listed as day to day. He will be examined again this afternoon, after which more should be known.

"It hurt a lot at the time, but it didn't feel too bad a couple minutes later," Bautista said. "I was worried about something worse than a sprain when it happened."

Bautista, in his first season as an everyday player, is batting .260 with two home runs and nine RBIs, and is playing Gold Glove-caliber defense.

"I took a deep breath," Tracy said of seeing Bautista go down.

Jose Castillo took Bautista's place at third base and likely will assume some starting infield duty -- second or third -- for as long as Bautista is out.

The Pirates avoided a three-game sweep and improved to 16-20.


(Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.)

Ron Cook: Has Sanchez finally found comfort zone?

Freddy Sanchez acknowledges an ovation from the fans in Pittsburgh after going 2-for-4 on the final day of the season to win the 2006 NL batting title.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

You're right, it is hard to wrap your arms around the fact the Pirates banged 18 hits in a 13-2 win against the Atlanta Braves yesterday. I watched with my own eyes and still can't believe it. Only a night earlier, after being convinced that Braves starter Chuck James would finish the job after cruising into the seventh inning with a no-hitter, I was ready to suggest that the gem shouldn't really count against such weak competition.

But all of those unexpected hits and runs weren't the most amazing part of a wonderful Mother's Day at PNC Park. This took that prize: Freddy Sanchez drove in a run for the first time in three weeks.

That's 2006 National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez.

The same Sanchez who drove in 85 runs last season despite hitting just six home runs.

The same Sanchez who was one of the game's best clutch players a year ago with a .386 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Three weeks!

"Geez, has it really been that long?" Sanchez asked. "I knew it had been awhile, but that long?"

An eternity, actually.

A darned eternity for a Pirates' team that has been baseball's worst offensive team as the season pushes hard toward the quarter-pole.

"I take total responsibility for that," Sanchez said, admirably.

You're right again, Sanchez would have to fight off a lot of teammates -- notably Adam LaRoche and Ronny Paulino -- to get his hands on the clubhouse sword on which to impale himself. But he did have a legitimate point. He has been awful.

A .250 hitter going into yesterday.

A .136 average with runners in scoring position.

Four RBIs.

"When the 3-hole hitter isn't getting the job done, I think it takes a toll on the rest of the team," Sanchez said. "That's why I had no problem with [manager Jim Tracy] taking me out of there. I didn't deserve to be there. He had to go with Jason Bay or Ryan Doumit or anybody's who hot because I wasn't getting the job done."

That's why the game yesterday seemed a little more significant than an ordinary win in the long season. Tracy had Sanchez back in the No. 3 slot and Sanchez made the Braves pay instead of the Pirates. He singled in a run in the first inning, then had run-scoring singles in the fourth and sixth innings. He still doesn't look like that .344 hitter from a year ago, but this might have been a big step in that direction.

"I think that batting title has been a part of Freddy's problem, to be honest," Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. "He thinks he should be that guy every game. It doesn't work that way in baseball. This really is the first time he's failed offensively. It's been hard on him."

It didn't help that Sanchez missed most of spring training and the first five games of the season because of a knee injury. His hitting is based on rhythm and timing, neither of which satisfies him yet. He says he has tweaked just about everything, from his stance to his swing to his hitting approach, a startling admission from a batting champion. He still complains of not seeing the ball as well as he'd like but said he's starting to feel better at the plate. The numbers support him; he has hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games, a .322 average in that stretch.

"You know a slump isn't going to last forever for a guy as good as he is," Wilson said.

In a sad way, an unfortunate ankle injury yesterday to teammate Jose Bautista could help Sanchez's hitting take off even more because it could mean Sanchez going back to third base. Sanchez did a terrific job there last season, but Tracy moved him to second in the spring when he decided to go with Bautista at third base instead of Jose Castillo at second base. Sanchez doesn't appear nearly as comfortable at second and certainly hasn't been as effective.

He says his position doesn't matter to him, but he wouldn't be human if the extra thinking that second base involves for him didn't touch his hitting at least peripherally.

Bautista had to leave in the sixth inning after his left ankle rolled on him when he slid into home plate. Initially, the injury brought back gruesome memories of Jason Kendall's ankle dislocation on another holiday -- the Fourth of July -- in 1999 and, for you other old-timers like me, Rennie Stennett's career-damaging ankle injury on a slide into second base in 1977. The Pirates said X-rays on Bautista's ankle showed no broken bones, but, the way he limped out of the clubhouse, it wouldn't be shocking if he goes on the disabled list today.

"I hope he's not out long because he's been unbelievable at third base," Sanchez said.

No matter where he plays, Sanchez said, he has still got to keep working to find his comfort level at the plate.

It's nice to think he'll get there soon, not to mention maybe drive in his next run some time before Father's Day.



(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.)

Faneca's actions encourage coach Tomlin

STEELERS MINICAMP

Monday, May 14, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What had become known as the Mother's Day Minicamp, thanks to Plaxico Burress, developed into the Alan Faneca Watch over the weekend for the Steelers.




Wide receiver Hines Ward shows up for minicamp wearing a hat fashioned like an old-style leather helmet yesterday.


It ended quietly at noon yesterday with Faneca joking around with new coach Mike Tomlin on the field beforehand and leaving without a peep to return to his home in Louisiana.

Tomlin was even encouraged that his unhappy guard might return for some of the 14 voluntary practices that begin May 22.

"I don't know what that's going to buy me, but I'm hopeful," Tomlin said.

Not since Burress ripped coach Bill Cowher for holding a minicamp on Mother's Day weekend in 2004 and boycotted it has there been the kind of player discontent as there was with Faneca the past couple of days.

It rivaled two other notorious minicamp incidents: Shouldergate in 1978 when it was revealed the Steelers illegally wore pads in practice and were docked a third-round draft choice in 1979 because of it; and Swinging-gate in 2000 when a fight broke out between halfback Richard Huntley and linebacker Earl Holmes that touched off a chair-swinging brawl in the locker room during the final minicamp at Three Rivers Stadium.

Few players have said such harsh words about Steelers management as did Faneca, however, especially someone of his status -- a six-time Pro Bowl player, three-time co-captain and 2005 winner of The Chief Award, named after franchise founder Art Rooney and given annually to the player who exemplifies Rooney's spirit of cooperation with the media.

It's likely Faneca would not warm up to an award named after any of The Chief's descendants these days.

"They've made it crystal clear that they have no intentions of signing me this year and that's their decision upstairs," Faneca said.

He has said he would fly home after yesterday's one-hour practice session that ended at noon and not return until training camp starts July 23 -- if he's still a Steeler then. He has asked to be traded, but there has been no word that the Steelers have even tried.

The Steelers still have 14 more practices -- officially termed organized team activities -- the next month at their facility on the South Side. Unlike minicamp, however, those are not mandatory and players cannot be disciplined if they do not attend.

Faneca, after fervently ripping into Steelers management on the first day of camp, became upset at a comment someone made and skipped the first practice Saturday, only to return Saturday afternoon after a talk with his coach and finish up yesterday.

Tomlin said he was happy with Faneca and the rest of the team's final practice session. He is happy with his new team's progress.

"But not to confuse that with being satisfied," Tomlin said. "You have to put one foot in front of the other and keep marching. I like where we are right now. I think we had a good weekend. We're just going to continue to move forward, not going to ride the emotional roller coaster, like what has been done, got more to do and we have to have that mind-set as we move forward."

Asked about his interaction with Faneca early in the practice, Tomlin said, "It was a good day, it was a good day. That's a very personal issue for Alan. He has to deal with it. We'll do the best that we can to move forward, but it was a normal workday."

Tomlin said he has talked to management about Faneca's situation and said he would make suggestions whether he thought a player should be re-signed. He would not say what his recommendations were in Faneca's case.

"Since I've been here, the Rooneys have been very receptive to opinions and I've voiced mine. That's just how we do business. I'm glad to be part of it and it'll continue and we'll move forward.

"We've talked about the [Faneca] situation. Again, we'd like to leave those elements of negotiations private -- that is our policy. But we've had in-depth discussions and I'm sure we'll continue to have them."


NOTE -- RB Kevan Barlow, who missed practices Saturday when his right ankle was injured that morning, returned for the final session.


(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.)

Mike Prisuta: Steelers, Tomlin taking baby steps together

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches practice during minicamp.

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 13, 2007


The jury is still out.

On Alan Faneca, on the Australian punter and especially on Mike Tomlin.

The first-year NFL head coach was greeted at the start of his first mandatory mini camp in charge of the Steelers by a salvo of criticism of the organization from perhaps his best player. Confirmation that Faneca, an All-Pro guard, is counting the days to unrestricted free agency reached Tomlin in the wake of reports that Richard Seigler, until very recently a Steelers linebacker, had been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring.

That, admittedly, was a development Tomlin didn't see coming.

But the contract hassle?

Been there, done that.

"Not to make light of the situation, but it's all a re-run," Tomlin said late Friday afternoon.

To prove his point, and perhaps to continue emphasizing that he hasn't come out of nowhere to coach the Steelers, Tomlin recalled his days in Tampa Bay.

"I coached a couple cornerbacks that thought they were underpaid," Tomlin said. "They probably were.

"Warren Sapp went into a similar situation after we won the Super Bowl and went into free agency and probably didn't want to. It's the nature of today's NFL. We're in the process of dealing with it."

Tomlin walked the walk as well as talked the talk in "dealing with it."

He answered the questions that were inevitable. He didn't scowl or make faces while doing so. He didn't throw a tantrum and issue any "I'm only going to address this once" caveats.

The word that came to mind was "professionalism."

Tomlin gives off a similar vibe on the practice field, bouncing from position to position and interacting with players and assistant coaches, even during one of the seemingly endless special teams periods that have characterized his first mandatory mini camp.

The Steelers didn't get around to punting in one of those until Saturday morning. And when they finally did they insisted upon having the return men catch the ball (where was that a year ago?). So the punter they traded up to get, Daniel Sepulveda, has had little opportunity to impress with the "Aussie style" that's supposed to induce bounce backs rather than touchbacks.

It mattered little, for Faneca had given Tomin and the Steelers more to deal with by then by taking a pass on Saturday morning's practice.

After meeting with Tomlin at lunchtime, Faneca hit the field again yesterday afternoon.

Tomlin was asked if Faneca might be testing him.

"Every time I get out of my car in that parking lot, it's a test," Tomlin said. "It's one that I readily accept."

The players, seemingly, are warming to Tomlin's style (Faneca excluded). But even the players don't yet know how Tomlin will run a sideline, whether he'll give his coordinators leeway or interference in calling a game, whether he'll be bold or conservative in his decision-making, whether he'll panic or persevere.

Time will tell.

Until then, the question of the day every day in western Pennsylvania -- "What's the new coach like?" -- will remain unanswered.

Tomlin has embraced the role this weekend, but as he said of his players, "I try to temper my enthusiasm when it comes to football in shorts."

The same applies to coaching it.


Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.

Steelers' Faneca skips morning practice at minicamp

Steelers Alan Faneca said he was not happy to be at minicamp.

By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 13, 2007


Alan Faneca skipped a minicamp practice Saturday, adding another layer to the drama the Pro Bowl guard started the previous day when he blasted Steelers' management over his contract situation.
But Faneca returned to the field at the Steelers' South Side facility for the team's afternoon practice and later downplayed his earlier absence.

In essence, Faneca said, he simply needed to take a time out.

"Some things were said, and I just had to have a little cool off time," Faneca said. "I'm just going to leave it at that. I still stand by what I said (Friday)."

Whether what he said -- Faneca ripped the Steelers for not negotiating in good faith on a contact extension -- led to the nine-year veteran's meeting with management is unclear.

When asked if he wanted to talk to the Steelers yester morning or if they wanted to talk to him, Faneca said, "a little of both."

Faneca is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $4.4 million this season with his roster bonus factored in, and he said he has requested several times for the Steelers to trade or release him.

Coach Mike Tomlin said the team will deal with the issue "internally" but did not rule out the Steelers fining Faneca for skipping the practice.

Tomlin said some positives can be gleaned from the issue that hangs over the Steelers.

"More than anything else, it's got to be a lesson for us as a football team in that the season is not without its ups and downs," said Tomlin, whose team concludes minicamp today with one practice. "Adversity is part of it, distractions are part of it. But again, it's a very personal issue for Alan. I respect that element of it, and we'll move forward."

Faneca apparently wasn't quite ready to move forward yesterday, which is why he didn't practice in the morning.

A day earlier, he went public with his unhappiness over his contract situation but said he would play out his contract with the Steelers if the team didn't trade or release him.

But when asked how he could reconcile putting everything he has into football while still with an organization he no longer wants any part of, Faneca admitted that he was still working on it.

Faneca's teammates have been supportive of him and said his situation has not created a distraction.

"Alan is probably the most stand-up professional athlete I know," right tackle Max Starks said.

"I kind of consider Alan a brother, and I feel like I'm going through it with him," said right guard Kendall Simmons, whose locker at the Steelers' practice facility is right next to Faneca's. "It needs to be taken care of. That's about all I really have to say about it."

As for how the situation can be resolved Simmons said, "I don't know. Ask (management)."

The Steelers have a history of not giving big contract extensions based on past performance or paying top dollar to players because that is what the market is yielding.

Faneca, 30, has been to six consecutive Pro Bowls and seeks the kind of money that guards not nearly as accomplished as he is commanded during the offseason.

Their impasse can be traced to each side being able to make a legitimate argument that it is in the right.

But Faneca is under contract through 2007, leaving him little choice but to play next season in Pittsburgh if the Steelers don't trade or release him.

"It's something I've personally got to learn to deal with," Faneca said, "and I'll figure it out."

Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.

Gene Collier: Minicamp shouldn't be confused as an OTA

A look inside the NFL's offseason dictionary

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Steelers rookies Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley watch practice during minicamp after suffering from minor injuries on Friday, May 11.


In a city where a subscription to Steelers Digest is considered an acceptable and even thoughtful Mother's Day gift, it's no surprise that the Steelers routinely work the holiday weekend that falls just 119 days from their opener, or that the dutiful media now descends on minicamp in numbers similar to its turnout at maxi-camp.

As the National Football League continues to perfect a marketing strategy designed to command our attention 24/7/365, let's not allow ourselves to confuse minicamp with the less formal (if not less formal-sounding) teaching sessions known as OTA's, or organized team activities. Each club is allowed 14 OTA's in addition to its minicamp, and they won't begin under the new Mike Tomlin administration until later this month.

Similarly, Steelers fans should not be misled by exactly what constitutes an organized team activity, like a team meeting, and a disorganized team activity, such as a punt return, or a ridiculously disorganized team activity, like either of last year's games against the Baltimore Ravens.

Further, OTA's vary from city-to-city. In Cincinnati, an OTA could be an arraignment, for example.

In any event, this weekend saw the entirety of Tomlin's first team, including its draft choices, together on a practice field for the first time, and there was no visual evidence that veteran Steelers such as James Harrison, Clark Haggans and Chris Gardocki, all now shadowed by high-profile draft picks, were the least bit uncomfortable.

"It's got nothing to do with me; it's on them," Haggans said after practice the other day. "The only thing that ever bothers me is losing football games. I'm just trying to help them make the transition to a pro camp. It's completely different than what they've done in college, a completely different defense, a whole new set of expectations. I'm willing to help in any way I can."

Haggans and Harrison looked up two rounds into last month's draft and couldn't help but notice the first two Pittsburgh picks happened to play their position, outside linebacker. Lawrence Timmons, the undersized backer out of Florida State, was the club's first pick, and LaMarr Woodley of Michigan the second.

Harrison is surely willing to help these two rookies as well, and Friday afternoon he helped them to perhaps the most instructive moment in the first practice by flashing in front of a running back for an interception and blazing down the right sideline with a highly conspicuous pick.

His point seemed to be that while the draft have underlined that the Steelers are vulnerable at outside linebacker in light of the departure of Joey Porter (whose number 55, by the way, has been assigned to Woodley), the problem is more with the depth at that position than a direct reflection on Harrison or Haggans.

Thus through much of these first practices, linebackers coach Keith Butler and defensive assistant Lou Spanos spent a lot of time telling Timmons and Woodley some part of everything that Harrison and Haggans know about the OLB assignments in Dick LeBeau's defense.

Harrison and Haggans chuckled to each other through some of it, while Harrison again flashed his proficiency at throwing a football into the grass at his feet in such a way that it bounces directly back into his hand. A perfectly useless application, to be sure, but I'm willing to bet Timmons and Woodley can't do it yet.

The first chapter of mini-camp did not include any exhibition of punting by fourth-round pick Daniel Sepulveda, the commotion of whose selection suggested that he could boot one on the South Side and drop it inside the 20 at Heinz Field.

"Everybody's replaceable in the NFL," said the ever-affable Gardocki, whose first punt was caught by, I believe, Jim Thorpe. "I've been punting for a long time. They've got to do what they've got to do."

Chris also threw out the season's first it-is-what-it-is, just for the record.

It might also be entered into the record at this point that placekicker Jeff Reed was rewarded for his persistence with a new apparatus that simulates a goal post with a crossbar matching Arena Football dimensions.

"It's nine feet instead of 18," Reed explained. "I've asked for it the last two years. But Coach Cowher wasn't a big fan of the idea."

When Tomlin convenes everyone in Latrobe 10 weeks from tomorrow, we'll begin to get a good idea of which ideas will really matter.


(Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com or at 412-263-1283.)

Ron Cook: LaRoche's friend keeps him chipper

Adam LaRoche

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There are plenty of good friends in Adam LaRoche's life, but there's only one Chipper Jones.

"You playing tonight?" Jones asked LaRoche at the batting cage before the Pirates-Atlanta Braves game last night.

"Nah, I'm benched," LaRoche said.

"Me, too," Jones replied, trying really hard to keep a straight face.

It was the perfect thing for Jones to say at just the right time. Not because misery loves company. Because it went a long way toward easing an embarrassing moment for LaRoche.

Jones, long one of baseball's stars, wasn't in the Braves' lineup in their laughably easy 9-2 win after banging both wrists in a nasty collision with Pirates third baseman Jose Bautista Friday night. LaRoche wasn't in the Pirates' lineup for a much different reason -- his unseemly .165 batting average. Pirates manager Jim Tracy has tried just about everything to get LaRoche going, batting him everywhere from fourth to seventh. Last night, he tried sitting him against Braves left-hander Chuck James even though he's very aware the Braves are LaRoche's former team and he knew -- just like Jones -- that the night off would sting. It would sting any player, that and having that .165 average in bright lights on the scoreboard for everybody in both dugouts and the PNC Park stands to see.

"I can't blame the manager. I'd probably do the same thing if I was him," LaRoche said.

If this wasn't the season's low point for LaRoche -- the night would get worse when he pinch-hit in the eighth inning and bounced into a double play and his replacement as the Braves' first baseman, Scott Thorman, hit two home runs and drove in five runs -- the game Friday night surely was. He batted against Braves reliever Mike Gonzalez in the ninth of the Pirates' 4-1 loss and also hit into a double play. You probably remember the Pirates traded Gonzalez to get LaRoche in the offseason, when the conventional thinking had LaRoche solving the Pirates' offensive shortcomings.

"I wasn't at the plate thinking I was going to strike out or anything like that," LaRoche said. "Absolutely nothing is going my way."



Chipper Jones

LaRoche appears to be holding up OK. He joked about his average -- "Is it really .165? I thought I was still in the .120s or .130s" -- even though he knows there's nothing funny about it. More significantly, he's trying to take the right approach. "I'm just going to keep swinging until things turn for me," which, hopefully for the Pirates' sake, starts today when he's back in Tracy's lineup. That's the only approach LaRoche can take. He can't throw up his arms and quit and go home to his ranch in Kansas even though a portion of Pirates fans -- sick and tired of 14, going on 15, years of losing -- probably wish that he did. You might imagine the boos after those two double plays.

"Absolutely, I'm pressing. I've been pressing," LaRoche said. "Only a person who couldn't care less about the game or his teammates or his city wouldn't be pressing. I'm pressing because we would be winning more games if I'm doing what I'm capable of doing. I'm letting down the 24 other guys who are counting on me."

Maybe the Braves being here this weekend will help. It can't hurt LaRoche, right? If nothing else, the Braves have reminded him that he's still a pretty fair player. Those 32 home runs he hit last season seem like make-believe stuff to us. But they saw them. They know they were real.

"I think all 25 guys and 10 coaches have mentioned that to me," an appreciative LaRoche said.

It means the most coming from Jones. Actually, this isn't the first time LaRoche has heard it from him. "He's been with me through this whole thing," LaRoche said. "He calls me almost weekly and tells me what he sees. He'll analyze my at-bats. He'll ask me what I was thinking from pitch to pitch. He cares."

It's too bad Jones can't hit for LaRoche these days; he's batting .303 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs. All he can do for him is offer his input. "He's a lot like me from the left side. He has a lot of moving parts and his whole success is based on timing," Jones said. "Right now, he's probably a little pull-conscious. He's not staying planted, not staying firm on the backside. All he needs to get going is to stay back and drive a ball out of the park to center field or the other way."

Jones also can remind LaRoche to stay positive.

"I tell him what my daddy always told me. 'Leopards don't change their spots.' He's only going to hit .160 for so long. As bad as he's going now, he'll go through a period when he'll be flat-out unconscious. A lot of teams are going to pay when that happens."

LaRoche will smile when he reads that this morning.

Everybody should have such a friend.

Steelers' Polamalu not worried about new deal

By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 12, 2007


The stir created by Alan Faneca's incisive and blunt comments Friday obscured the fact that several other key players are in the final year of their contract, most notably safety Troy Polamalu.

On a day when Faneca announced he will not end his career as a Steeler -- the team, he said, made him a "non-offer" in regard to a contract extension -- Polamalu said he would like to do just that.

"God willing, I'll be able to retire here as a Steeler," Polamalu said yesterday after a morning minicamp practice. "That's what I hope."

The Steelers will have to do something with Polamalu that they are apparently unwilling to do with Faneca: pony up some serious cash.

The five-year contract Polamalu signed before his rookie season in 2003 is worth just under $9 million.

His next contract will be a quantum leap from that, and the Steelers just may be willing to make Polamalu one of the highest-paid safeties in the league because he is a perennial Pro Bowler and is only 26 years old.

The Ravens made Ed Reed the highest-paid safety in league history last June when they signed him to a six-year deal that is worth as much as $40 million and included a $15 million signing bonus.

"I honestly haven't paid too much attention to it," Polamalu said of the progress he and the Steelers have made on a contract extension. "It's nothing that really worries me too much. I don't think about it every day."

Polamalu missed minicamp three weeks ago, but it had nothing to do with his contract. He was on a faith-based trip that he had planned well in advance of the scheduling of the voluntary minicamp.

"I want it to happen," Polamalu said of an extension, "but right now, it really doesn't matter."



Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.

Ron Cook: Way too early to get excited over Faneca melodrama

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Let's get one thing straight at the top.

The world isn't going to end because Alan Faneca is unhappy, not even the little corner that the Steelers inhabit.

There are two key points to understand here:

It's business and it's May 12.

Get back to me in early September with an update on Faneca's mood. Who knows? By then, it's possible this big, pouting multimillionaire, who did his best to try to talk his way out of town yesterday, will be a big, ecstatic multimillionaire, who fights back tears and says how it's only right that he's going to finish his All-Pro career with the Steelers.

Not to be cynical.

Did I mention this is business?

That isn't to say Faneca didn't kick the rhetoric up three notches with his inflamed rant at minicamp, the most excitement that normally staid team function has known since linebacker Earl Holmes and running back Richard Huntley swung chairs at each other in a 2000 locker-room melee. Even teammates were surprised to learn that Faneca said he wants out, that he has asked to be traded and doesn't care to what team, and that he'll probably have to give up his captain's position because he can't see being a leader for a franchise that obviously doesn't want him. That last part really raised eyebrows among the fellows.

But the rest of it?

Please.

We've heard it before.

Remember, we're taking about modern-day athletes. They want it both ways. They want the right to sell themselves to the highest bidder, which is as it should be. Football is a brutal game, and the players are entitled to make as much as they can. But if the team decides to go in another direction or disagrees on fair-market value? Look out. The players scream bloody murder and play the loyalty card.

So it is for Faneca.

So it was for Hines Ward.

It was about this time two years ago that Ward expressed unhappiness about heading into the final year of his contract without receiving what he felt was a fair offer from the Steelers. I don't remember if he phrased it exactly like Faneca did yesterday -- "I've lived and breathed Steelers football for nine years" -- but he made it clear he felt unappreciated. That summer, he held out at training camp and reported only after a call from coach Bill Cowher and after realizing the Rooneys would let him sit and rot before resuming negotiations with him as a holdout. Before the first game, he signed the richest contract in franchise history and, a few months later, led the Steelers to the championship as the Super Bowl XL Most Valuable Player.

So it could be for Faneca.

"They're not going to blow my socks off," Faneca said, smirking, dismissing the suggestion that the Steelers have not made their best contract offer. "This will be my last year as a Pittsburgh Steeler."

Maybe.

Not all contract negotiations have happy endings. The Steelers released team leader Joey Porter after last season because they didn't think he was worth $5 million this season. They let Mike Webster and Rod Woodson -- one a Hall of Famer, the other soon-to-be one -- leave after money disputes. They allowed Mike Merriweather to sit out the 1988 season in a contract huff after his team-record 15-sack season in '87. And, most famously, they released Franco Harris after his training-camp hold out in '84.

So, too, that could be for Faneca.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

There's still plenty of time to do a deal.

Did I mention it's May 12?

The Rooneys aren't going to react to Faneca's public sulking or hold it against him. Nor will they trade him because that would send the wrong message to any other disgruntled players. They'll just continue to bide their time. They clearly haven't made their best offer. There's no need to do it now; it's still early in the negotiating game. The time for serious talks won't come until near the end of training camp.

You can bet Faneca -- no matter how bitter -- will listen to what the Rooneys have to say.

In the meantime, Faneca has to decide what he wants. He can sign a new long-term deal this summer for huge guaranteed money and continue to play in a city where he's nothing less than a redheaded football god. Or he can play out the final season of his contract and risk a career-ending injury to become a free agent and make even more money. He can't have it both ways. He can't fully get his true-market value with a year left on his contract. He has to be a free agent.

One thing we know:

The Steelers will go on -- with or without Faneca.

This might be a distraction that new coach Mike Tomlin doesn't need, but he'll survive.

The idea that Faneca will give the Steelers less than his best if he decides to play out the string is ridiculous. He's much too smart for that. He doesn't have to be happy about making a paltry $4.375 million this season to know he has to have a good year if he's going to get his silly money as a free agent.

The idea that the Faneca situation will tear apart the Steelers' locker room also is ludicrous. If the team doesn't win, it won't be because of that. Faneca's assertion that it "sends a quiet, but strong message" to the other players that management won't take care of those who play hard and produce is just flat wrong. The players are much too smart for that. They know playing hard and producing bring no guarantee of a big contract. But they also know they have no chance if they don't play hard and produce.

Anyway, do you really think Ben Roethlisberger cares if Faneca doesn't get his money?

He cares only about getting his when the time comes.

All the players feel that way, which is as it should be.

It's business, after all.


(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.)

Unhappy Faneca says his days here are numbered

Saturday, May 12, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



An unhappy Alan Faneca glances at new offensive line coach Larry Zierlein during the Steelers' minicamp drills yesterday at the team's South Side facility.


Alan Faneca, among the most decorated and respected Steelers over the past decade, turned hotter than his long mop of red hair yesterday. He stood up from the seat in front of his locker and issued the kind of passionate words usually reserved for an opponent.

Only in this case, Faneca's foe is Steelers management.

"This will be my last year as a Pittsburgh Steeler," Faneca declared, his left hand shaking slightly to betray his emotion.

Faneca, among the best offensive linemen in club history, ended three months of silence by ripping into management for not being fair to him in contract negotiations.

He said he repeatedly has asked to be traded, does not believe he wants to serve as a team captain for a fourth season and cannot predict what kind of focus he might bring to the team and its new coach in 2007.

Faneca, 30, has one year left on his contract that will pay him another $3.375 million on top of the $1 million roster bonus he received in March. He wants a new contract that would pay him closer to the $7 million annually that other guards have received recently as free agents. He said the Steelers' offer is not even among the top 10 that NFL guards make.

He said he has lost any hope a new contract will be forthcoming before he becomes a free agent next March.

"There is no progress," Faneca said of contract talks. "They've been crystal clear in the fact they're not going to sign me this year, and that's it."

Faneca said the only reason he showed up for this three-day minicamp is that it is required by NFL rules. If a player skips required attendance -- games, practices or an event -- he can be fined $5,000 daily plus lose a prorated portion of his signing bonus. In Faneca's case, his prorated amount for 2007 is $1,597,750.

"No, I don't want to be here," Faneca said flatly. "It's a matter of them being able to do what they can monetarily and come after me. That's the only reason I'm here, on that chance that they would."

Faneca will depart Pittsburgh Sunday night when practices end and said he won't return until training camp, which starts July 23.

"I've been asking since February to trade me, to let me go," Faneca said. "I've done my piece, I've done my time, I've done everything I can for this organization.

"I lived and breathed Steelers football for nine years and gave them everything I had, helped them win a Super Bowl. In my mind, I've earned the right to be treated fairly. To make me go out there this year, play football with no security ... for what I've done for this organization, in my mind is not right."

Faneca's six Pro Bowls are more than any guard in team history. He made one of them even though he agreed to switch to left tackle during the 2003 season because of injuries.

Faneca repeated that he was not happy when Russ Grimm was passed over to be the next Steelers head coach, and with the release of linebacker and fellow co-captain Joey Porter in March.

"What am I to think? What are the guys in this room to think? If they can do it to me and everybody else and let Joey go and do things like that, what does that say to the rest of the guys?"

Faneca said he's talked to "everyone," including Art Rooney, Dan Rooney and Kevin Colbert, in the front office.

None of those Steelers executives would comment on what Faneca said yesterday, but coach Mike Tomlin took a pragmatic approach.

"Negotiations and the CBA and the things we're going through right now with him are not unlike probably things other people in other cities are going though," Tomlin said. "It's an emotional deal for him, and rightfully so -- it's his livelihood. That's what he does.

"But from an organizational standpoint, we're going through the contract negotiation process. We're not talking about it a great deal publicly because that's our policy.

"Along the line, he's going to express some frustration, but as long as he does what he's supposed to do professionally, which is come to work for mandatory minicamps and play football at a high level like he did today, then we move forward."

Receiver Hines Ward, who went through his own protracted contract talks in 2005 and held out 10 days at the start of training camp, does not like the way things are shaping up in the Steelers' locker room for 2007.

"It sets a precedent," Ward said, "because other guys look at Alan as 'Wow, this guy is a great citizen, he does a lot for the city of Pittsburgh, he's obviously a Pro Bowl player. He's done everything you ask him to do.' The younger guys just sit back and look at that situation.

"It's different now; there's no question this locker room is totally different. You lose a locker-room favorite like Joey -- not having Joey on that field is different. It's a different feel. God forbid if Alan's not out there.

"You can't put a value on leadership and being a veteran. Alan is the first guy to get here, the last guy to leave. He's worked just as hard as anybody on this team," Ward said.

"He paid his dues, he put in his time and he's a productive ballplayer. ... If he's upset, Wow! But, at the same time, he's a professional. He's here. It's not like he didn't show up."


(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.)

Bob Smizik: Don't give up on Pirates just yet

Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche (foreground) collides with second baseman Freddy Sanchez, but holds on to Derrek Lee's popup in the first inning of Thursday's 6-4 win.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's fashionable these days to bash the Pirates, and understandably so. Early season hope that the team might contend for a .500 record is slipping away. A 15th consecutive losing season looms. There's almost nothing to cheer about.

Slugger Adam LaRoche, the expected savior, continues to be mostly unproductive.

Freddy Sanchez has more the look of the utility player he began the 2006 season as rather than the batting champion he became.

Jason Bay, the team's best and most proven player, is not performing up to his usual high standards.

Chris Duffy has again succeeded in tantalizing fans with the promise of his speed and defense but is currently frustrating them with yet another meltdown.

Catcher Ronny Paulino has declined appreciably, offensively and defensively, from his outstanding rookie season.

Other than starters Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny, setup reliever Matt Capps and the torrid-hitting Ryan Doumit, there's little to cheer about.

The future appears to be almost as bleak as the past.

The franchise is being ridiculed by everyone: newspaper columnists, talk-show hosts, bloggers, letter writers, talk-show callers, the fans in the stands, the man in the street.

It's ugly, and there are no easy solutions. In such situations the talk invariably gets around to firing somebody -- usually the manager. But what's wrong with this franchise goes well beyond the manager. Let's not forget that Jim Leyland, acknowledged as one of the best, if not the best, manager in baseball, had four consecutive losing seasons before asking out of his contract. Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon could not produce a winner and thus far neither has Jim Tracy.

Tracy, in his second season, will not be fired. Not only does he not deserve to have his contract terminated, but he also is making about $1.2 million a season. The thought of owner Bob Nutting swallowing the more than $2 million he owes Tracy is incomprehensible.

The second in line to be fired is batting coach Jeff Manto, who is getting more and more criticism for the Pirates' abysmal offense. It doesn't register with his critics that Manto received little or no credit for Sanchez going from a lifetime .280 hitter to a batting champion or for Paulino going from an undistinguished minor-leaguer to a .310 hitting catcher in the majors. So why should Manto be blamed for what's happening this year?

If Manto were to be fired, it would be more the result of public pressure than logic or merit. What makes that unlikely is there's nothing in the previous actions of general manager Dave Littlefield or the Nutting ownership group that indicates they react to public pressure.

Since he became general manager July 13, 2001, and including the 6-4 win yesterday against the Chicago Cubs, in which Bay drove in three runs, the franchise is 396-520 under Littlefield. That's a winning percentage of .432, which translates to 70 wins and 92 losses a season. What could be construed as particularly alarming about the Littlefield era is the two worst seasons of his tenure are the two most recent: 2005 and '06.

Littlefield's contract was extended before the start of last season through '08, making he and Tracy a tandem. Littlefield doesn't make as much as Tracy and has a far worse track record. Still, the thought of Nutting paying Littlefield the $1 million to $1.5 million he has remaining on his contract is only slightly less incomprehensible than him paying off Tracy.

So expect no firings. It will be business as usual for the foreseeable future. The Pirates' hierarchy believes they're on the right track.

There's some merit to that thinking. The Pirates, who took two of three from the Cubs in Chicago, are three games under .500. That's not good, but it's not as calamitous as some seem to be suggesting. The team should get better because it's unlikely the hitting will continue to be so poor. LaRoche has a history that indicates he will begin to produce.

There is a decent core of players under contract through 2009. The Pirates need to add to that core. And they need to hope that St. Louis and/or Houston don't go on a free-agency binge after this season, as the Cubs did last offseason, that would catapult them far ahead of the Pirates.

All is not lost. If you were expecting a championship season, you came to the wrong place. If you're expecting a competitive team, you still might get one.


(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.)