Cleaning Out The Mental In-Box, Sports Division

A whirl around the wide, wide world of sports.....

Perhaps the most stunning news in sports this past week was the surprise announcement that Indy Colts QB Andrew Luck was retiring at the age of 29.  Yet another injury and the facing of yet another long and laborious rehab process caused Luck to reach this decision.  Equally stunning were the reactions of both the fans of the Colts and of the (too) numerous ex-jock talking heads that populate the (too) many sports networks that have too much time to fill.  How dare Luck do such a thing?  Everything from his dedication, his courage, and his very manhood was questioned by these neanderthals.  It was kind of distressing, actually.

From what I know and have read about Andrew Luck, he is an intelligent guy, and he would not have come to this decision lightly.  I hope he does well in whatever his future endeavors are, and that he can take every opportunity possible to tell the Steve Beuerleins of the world to go pound salt.

********

When the circus that comprised much of the Steelers off-season came to a merciful end this past winter with the free agent signing of a former RB by the New York Jets and the trade of one of their WR's to the Oakland Raiders I made comments in this space to the effect that I won't ever have to write about the two guys again, and I have pretty much kept to that.  Events over this training camp season and reports out of the Raiders camp have only reaffirmed that decision of mine, and it seems that everyone surrounding the Steelers would be well served to do the same.  In fairness, the Steelers themselves have pretty much adopted that stance.  That changed this past Sunday night when Ben Roethlisberger was interviewed by Michelle Tofoya on NBC and the subject of said wide out was mentioned.  I thought Ben took a high road and handled it well, but, of course, it brought up the idiotic tweets out of Oakland, and some idiotic comments by, among others, Shannon Sharpe.

Enough already.  That should be the last time anyone connected to the Steelers agrees to have anything to say about the guy who was last seen in Pittsburgh walking out and quitting on his team during the last game of the season.

********

How about those "Players Weekend" uniforms worn by all MLB teams last weekend?  Without doubt, the ugliest and most stupid idea ever.  Whomever in the high echelons of MLB came up with the idea for those monochromatic monstrosities should be fired immediately.

Earlier in the week, I made a post on Facebook and asked if anybody, anybody at all, actually liked them.  All I got were more comments saying how much everyone detested them.

********

Earlier in the year, Steve Blass got into a bit of a jam when he made an old-man-yelling-at-the-clouds comment about the excess amount of jewelry being worn by some opposing player.  The comment was seized upon by some as being racist and Blass was branded as such.  Now, you can say that Steve Blass is many things, a cranky old guy being one of them, but one thing that he is definitely NOT is racist.  His entire body of work in his sixty year association with the Pirates and MLB makes such a notion absurd.  Blass is also smart, or he certainly was in this case, because he chose to ignore the entire kerfuffle.  Never responded to any of the changes, and inside of a week, the entire story deservedly went away.

I mention this only to suggest a path for those associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers to follow whenever the subject of a certain Oakland Raider comes up for discussion.

********

One of the more distressing bits of news amidst the crashing and burning of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second half of the 2019 season was the news that Jameson Taillon underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, and that he would be lost not only for the rest of 2019 but for the entire 2020 season as well.

Taillon was the second player selected overall in the amateur draft in 2010, and it hasn't been an easy road for him.  Tommy John surgery and surgery for a sports hernia cost him parts of two seasons in the minor leagues and delayed his debut in Pittsburgh.  He also was a cancer victim a few seasons back.  He seemed to turn a corner in 2018 and it looked like he was going to become the ace of the staff that the Pirates expected him to be when they used that high draft slot to select him.  This second TJ surgery on his pitching arm certainly throws his future and career in doubt.

Of course, shortly after his surgery, Taillon tweeted out the above photo of himself with the message that he knows what lies ahead, and that he will do the work necessary to get back to where he belongs.  Nobody really knows what our sports heroes are really like in real life, but Jameson Taillon has given every impression that he is as he seems:  hard working, strong, and, mainly, a good guy.

Here's wishing him nothing but the best as he heads down the long path of rehab.

Monday, Monday.....

Sporting thoughts......

Hello, friends.

Patrick Reed wins The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other (cue schmaltzy music) (I believe I had that!), and if tradition holds that The Masters always produces great drama on Sunday, yesterday certainly fit the bill.  Leading by three strokes after the third round, Reed played the final round in only one under par and held on for a one stroke win, but the drama was provided by.... 

• Eventual third place finisher Jordan Spieth who was nine shots behind after three rounds, shot -8 on Sunday and was actually tied for the lead after his 16th hole.
• Eventual second place finisher Rickey Fowler who birdied  the eighteenth hole, which forced Reed to sink a tricky three footer for par on 18 to avoid a playoff.
• Rory McIlroy who was looking for a career grand slam and was three shots behind Reed at the beginning, had a chance to tie for the lead when he missed a makeable put for eagle on the second hole.  He seemed to lose his mojo right then, faded (+2 on Sunday) and finished T-5.

And now all of the post-Masters write ups are telling us that Reed is basically an unlikeable guy, and his victory was a rather joyless one amongst the folks at Augusta....the other players don't like him, he's estranged from his parents, he bounced through two colleges and was accused of stealing and cheating.  No word on whether or not he had anything to do with kidnapping the Lindbergh baby, but give it time.

Sometimes you just get to know too much about people.

********

We all know that the Pirates, 7-2 and in first place by two games, have gotten off to their best start in a zillion years.  It's been fun to watch, I must say.  Some initial takes on the team.

Good:

• Gregory Polanco with 3 home runs, 13 RBI, and an OPS well in excess of 1.000.
• Six of the eight starters are hitting over .300
• Newcomers Colin Moran and Corey Dickerson both playing really well.
• Jameson Taillon is 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA, and a WHIP of 0.49.  This includes an absolute masterpiece complete game, one hit shut out yesterday.

Not So Good:

• Until Taillon's gem yesterday, no Pirate starter had pitched into the seventh inning, and only one had completed as much as six innings.
• The bullpen, particularly, the middle relievers, has been shaky to awful.
• A limited bench that tells you that if any of the eight position regulars goes down for any considerable length of time, it will spell big trouble for the team.
• Base running continues to be an adventure for the Pirates.  I haven't watched every inning of all nine games, but I have already seen three rock headed blunders on the base paths, one each by Polanco, Starling Marte, and Josh Bell.  I mean, what is it with these guys?

Still and all, the 2018 season, albeit only one week old, has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates and their fans.

********

The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow night, so it's time for The Grandstander's Stanley Cup Preview.  Here it is:

The Pittsburgh Penguins to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup.  Probably will sweep all four of their playoff series.  Might be pushed to a fifth game in one or two of them, maybe.

You heard it here first, and, as always, watch, but don't bet.

Seriously, I have no idea how it will all shake out, but I look forward to the "exquisite torture" only Playoff Hockey can deliver. Remember the double overtime game seven in the conference final last year?  Exquisite torture.

And if the Pens somehow fall short this year, well, I'd say they've earned a pass from all of us after the last two seasons.

Enjoy!

Locke'd Out

After watching yet another ineffective start from Jeff Locke on Wednesday night, it is my opinion that the Pirates need to move on and away from this guy.  I am tired of the dance that the Pirates have been doing with guys like Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon and Steven Brault.  You know what I mean...bring him up, give him a spot start, send him back to Indy, bring him back from Indy, put him on the DL....yet Locke keeps getting sent out every fifth day in hopes for another "lightning in a bottle" start, like the one against Madison Bumgarner a few weeks ago, only to see him not make it out of the fourth inning AGAIN.

Taillon certainly seems to be here to stay, and, yeah, I know Glasnow still has that Too Many Walks Box to check,  but why was Chad Kuhl sent back to Indy after going toe to toe, pitch for pitch against Max Scherzer on Sunday?

Taillon, Glasnow, and Kuhl may become the Pirates equivalent of a Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz rotation someday.  Or, they may turn out to be the second comings of Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, and Oliver Perez.  I don't know, but I do know what Jeff Locke is, and it is time for the Pirates to move on.  It is my hope that Neal Huntington will make some sort of move or moves at the August 1 trade deadline that will allow the Pirates to revamp the rotation that will include guys like Taillon and Kuhl.

Speaking of Taillon, and it does appear that he now is a part of the rotation, I was fortunate enough to have seats right behind the Pirates dugout (thank you, Tim Baker) on Tuesday night so I was witness to the frightening scene of Taillon being hit in the head by a line drive.

"Frightening" is the best word I can use to describe it, and it is positively unbelievable that he was able to stay in the game and continue to pitch, and pitch quite well.

Tough kid.

Jameson Taillon Debuts

When I happened to come upon tickets for tonight's Pirate-Mets game (and thank you for that, Mike Muro!) last week, little did I realize just what the significance of tonight's game would be.  If you've been sleeping for the last 24 hours and haven't heard, Jameson Taillon will make his debut for the Pirates tonight, starting against Mets ace Noah Syndergaard.

It has been a long road for Taillon since he was the second overall selection in the MLB Entry Draft in 2010.  Tommy John surgery cost him the 2014 season, and surgery for a sports hernia cost him the 2015 season, but he has continued to work hard throughout, and has been lights out in Triple-A this season, and now his time has come.  Reading Taillon's comments in the paper this morning, I was struck by his maturity.  "This wasn't the path I envisioned, but it was that hand that I was dealt, so I've worked within it."  Says a lot about the kids mental make-up.

I looked up who else went in the first round of that 2010 draft, and lots of guys have already made their marks in MBL:  Bryce Harper, who was selected ahead of Taillon, has won an MVP Award, and here are some of the others:  Manny Machado, Chris Sale, Matt Harvey, and Christian Yelich.  And while it may seem that it has taken forever for Taillon the get to the PNC Park mound, keep in mind this little factoid: Taillon is fourteen months younger than Gerrit Cole.

In the post-game interview last night, Robbie Inchimikowski (who will never be confused with Edward R. Murrow) asked Mark Melancon his thoughts on Taillon's arrival.  Melancon said "I can't wait.  He's an absolute stud."  This was in contrast to Neal Huntington's comments in the paper this morning that this call-up is to address a pitching emergency, there's no guarantee that Taillon is here to stay, it still might be too early and yada yada yada.  Maybe NH is trying to tamp down expectations in an effort to take pressure off of the kid, but this just continues an old habit of Huntington's of taking an event that should be a cause for excitement and throwing a big wet blanket on it.

It won't be slam dunk for Taillon and the Pirates tonight.  They are up against the defending NL Pennant winner and one of the best pitchers in baseball in Syndergaard, but why not go up against the best in your debut?  I am hopeful that this will be the start of a long and successful career for Taillon, and if it is, I will be able to say that "I was there" for the beginning.

Pirates Thoughts

Well, there sure isn't a whole hell of a lot that can be said of the beat down that the Cubs laid on the Pirates over these last three days.  It was Ugly with a capital U.  To be sure, the Cubs are a good team, very good, although let's not make them the '27 Yankees just yet, please, no matter how brilliant Joe Maddon (just ask him and the media who fawns over him) may be.  Let them play 162 games first, AND get through the post-season before we  canonize them.

So, rather than slice-and-dice that horrendous three game series, let's talk about what may be the biggest concern for the '16 Bucs, the starting pitching, by looking a little spread sheet I put together this morning:

	GS	IP	W-L	ERA	K	BB	WHIP	BA Against
Jon Niese	6	33.1	3-1	5.94	25	14	1.68	0.309
Jeff Locke	5	26.2	1-2	4.73	21	17	1.84	0.341
Juan Nicasio	6	31.1	3-3	3.16	32	15	1.34	0.231
Tyler Glasnow	5	26.0	2-1	2.08	30	9	1.12	n/a
Jameson Taillon	5	30.1	2-0	1.19	26	3	0.76	n/a

DISCLAIMER:  The numbers for Niese, Locke, and Nicasio are against Major League hitters, while Glasnow and Taillon are still facing Triple-A teams, and that thought must always be kept in mind. (Also, "n/a" means "Not Available".)

So what are we to make of this?  Here are my own opinions.

• Since Jon Niese came here in the trade that sent the Pittsburgh Kid packing, he's not going to be going away any time soon, so no use even considering that option.
• Despite the hand wringing over Juan Nicasio's lack of a "third pitch", he has clearly been the most effective of these three starters.  Whether that continues or not is a big question.
• While Locke has been surprisingly effective in his last two starts - and what does that say about his first three starts? - there isn't much good that can be said about him.  I mean, just look at those numbers!  They stink, and except for a good half of a season that got him on the All-Star Team a couple of years ago, they are representative of his career.  He is not going to wake up tomorrow and turn into Babe Adams or Bob Friend.  He is what he is, and that ain't good
• We all know that Jameson Taillon has missed the last two years due to injuries, but really, what has he left to prove in Triple-A?  He is totally and completely dominating down there.  Two or three more starts in Indy, and if those numbers continue, it's time to get him to Pittsburgh.  He's 24 years old, and it's time.

• What I just said about Taillon, is probably applicable to Glasnow, too.  Although he is two years younger than Taillon, so a case could probably be made to keep in in Indy longer, but as the Pirates starters keep getting bombed, it will be harder and harder to make that case as the season progresses.

The Pirates now stand at 8-7 within the Central Division, and the next nine games are all on the road with Central teams, three each with the Cardinals, Reds, and Cubs.  A 6-3 record over those games would sure be nice.

Future Pirates Pitching Rotation

In the not too distant future, the Pirates starting pitching rotation could include these four guys (age is as of Opening Day, 2015):

Gerrit Cole, 24, 6'4", 240 lbs.

Nick Kingham, 23, 6'5", 220

Jameson Taillon, 23, 6'5", 245

Tyler Glasnow, 22, 6'8", 225

Now will that be an imposing rotation to roll out against opponents or what?

Of course, only one of these guys has proven that he can pitch in the majors so far, so we can only hope that Kingham, Taillon, and Glasnow will live up to the promise that they have shown in the bushes so, but it sure is fun to imagine the possibilities of what the future may hold, isn't it?

Neal Speaks About Taillon

It has been awhile since I have written about some of the Wild and Wacky quotes from Pirates GM Neal Huntington, lovingly referred to as "Nealspeil", or not so lovingly as "NHB", but that doesn't mean that Neal doesn't keep churning them out.

When asked to comment on prized pitching prospect Jameson Taillon's recent start for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, this is what Neal had to say, as printed in both the Post-Gazette and Tribune Review:

“It was unnerving, as a GM, to watch a young pitcher with as high expectations as we have for Taillon pitch a make-or-break game against Team USA. But he handled himself well.”

Okay, let's parse that out a bit.  Why exactly, do you suppose, Neal was "unnerved"?  Because one of his young pitchers was actually, you know, pitching in an actual baseball game?  Or was it because Taillon was not pitching under the watchful eyes of the Pirates developmental staff?  Was it because he, Taillon, was stretched to four complete innings, when the Pirates felt he shouldn't pitch that many innings until, say, June 1?  It almost sounds like Neal's concession that "he handled himself well" came reluctantly from his lips, as if he dreads the fact that by pitching well, Taillon might force the team's hand to accelerate his pace through the minors.

Hey, call me crazy, but if I was the GM, and one of my young stud prospects performed as well as Taillon just did on such a stage, I would be ecstatic.  Not GM Neal, though.  The whole thing just "unnerved" him.

Here's an idea for Neal to ponder.  Scout, draft, and sign as many of these pitching prospects as you can, and then never let them pitch in an actual game.  That way (a) they will never risk them being injured, (b) by not accumulating any major league service time, they will never qualify for arbitration and free agency, so the Pirates will have years of control over them forever, and (c) they will always remain a vital part of the "future" to which the NHR is forever building.

By the way, and before the Neal Defenders (NHD's?) pounce, I am not suggesting that Taillon is ready for the major leagues at this point in his career.  At the very least, he is one year away from being ready for the big club.  But for God's sake, Neal, why does a strong performance by an ace prospect in a highly leveraged (as they say today) situation "unnerve" you?   

I don't get it.

Fun With the TV Clicker

Fun with the TV clicker late this afternoon and early evening.

Went back and forth between NBC and watching Tiger Woods put the finishing touches on his WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral in Miami.

This was a wire-to-wire win for Woods.  It was his second win of the season and was his 76th career PGA Tour win, which is now only six behind Sam Snead's all time record of 82.  This is a record that Tiger is sure to bag, probably sometime in 2014 by the looks of how he has been playing so far this year.

The other programming being watched was the USA's 9-4 win over Canada in the World Baseball Classic.  This win advanced the USA out of pool play and into the second round of the WBC.

Nothing like a little jingoism to infuse some life and interest into the WBC.  I believe that the USA will play either Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic in the first round of a single elimination bracket-style tournament.  Single elimination is a tough way to go, and this is especially true in baseball.  Makes it a real crap shoot, but at least there is now some rooting interest in this event.

The other exciting news from this game is that Jameson Taillon was the starting pitcher for Team Canada and pitched four innings, struck out three, and gave up two runs, only one earned.  Those were real big league players he was pitching against for the USA, so that was indeed good news.