For All Loyal Readers....

A Happy and Blessed Easter to you all!

The Heat Chase the '72 Lakers

One of the neat things about the Miami Heat's winning streak, just snapped at 27 two nights ago, is that it caused some people to look back upon the team that they were chasing, the 1971-72 Lakers.  It caused names such as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Gail Goodrich to reappear in people's consciousness.  Yes, folks, there really were good basketball players BEFORE Michael Jordan.  I wonder if Mike Greenberg and Stewart Scott realize that?

It was also refreshing to know that LeBron James has a sense of basketball history.  Comments from him in recent days make it apparent that HE knows there were giants who came before him.  Refreshing to see that in a modern day athlete.

Predictions for Your 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates

A busy schedule of Church-related activities this Holy Thursday-Good Friday-Easter Sunday Weekend made me realize that if I want to get my Pirates Prediction for 2013 out there before Opening Day, I better do it now, so here goes.  I also thought that I would lead with the Pirates' current Jolly Roger logo, which is scheduled to be out into mothballs at the close of this season.

This is also being written in the shadow of the big news in Pittsburgh sports today:  the Penguins blockbuster deadline deal for Jerome Iginla.  As one contributor on Facebook put it....."The Bucs give you a future that never comes.  The Penguins give you NOW."

Sigh.

Oh, well, many of my thoughts, feelings, and questions concerning the Bucs going into Spring Training still stand.  I won't retype them here, but if interested, please go here:

http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/02/spring-training-begins.html

I am optimistic about the everyday line-up.  I feel good about McCutchen, Alvarez, Walker, and the Jones/Sanchez platoon at first.  I am hopeful that Marte will blossom and be a good to very good player.  I am reasonably hopeful that Russell Martin will be enough of an improvement over last year to be considered a Plus for the team.  Barmes at short rates nothing more than a "Meh" from me.  He won't kill you in the field, but, man he needs to be more than the automatic out he was for much of last year.  Right field remains a question mark.  I hope that Travis Snider and/or Jose Tabata can emerge to be more than the mediocrity that manned that position last year.  I hope that their play will not force the Pirates to play Garrett Jones in RF.  That would upset the balance of the platoon situation at 1B, which I feel could be a strong point for the team.

OK, that brings us to the pitching staff.  For five and one-half seasons, Neal Huntington has been telling us about how pitching will be the Moses that will lead the Pirates out of the World Record Losing Streak (hereafter referred to as the WRLS, and thank you for that, Dan Bonk) Desert.  He will draft young stud pitchers that will be the backbone of championship Pirate teams.  In 2013, the Pirates pitching staff will include Jonathan Sanchez (1-9, 8.07 ERA in 2012) and Jeanmar Gomez (5-8, 5.96).  While Gomez may be nothing more than a long relief mop-up, garbage time last-guy-in-the-bullpen type, Sanchez is going to be one of the STARTING PITCHERS.  Does that tell you all you need to know about where the Pirates are headed this season?

Let's look at the starting rotation as of Opening Day:

A.J. Burnett - I feel good about him as the lead starter.  On the other hand, he is 36 years old.

Wandy Rodriguez - Another guy I feel good about.  I think that he and Burnett could provide a solid 1-2 punch in the rotation.

James McDonald - Need I say more about his Jekyll-and-Hyde 2012?  How much faith does that give you?  A question mark, at best.

Jonathan Sanchez - At the outset of Spring Training I said, "Sure, it doesn't hurt bringing warm bodies like Sanchez into camp.  It's if they end up making the team is when you might have a problem."  I may be proven wrong, but for now I'll stand by that statement.

Jeff Locke - Well, critics have been saying for years let's give the young guys a shot, so let's be open minded on young Mr. Locke, but in the Post-Gazette story this morning, Michael Sanserino wrote : "In a four-man battle for what eventually turned into two open spots in the rotation, Locke was never the most impressive player on the mound in terms of the quality of his pitches."  Talk about damning with faint praise.

Of course, the NHR tells you that waiting in the wings come late May or early June are Jeff Karstens, Francisco Liriano, and Charlie Morton.  All have shown signs at one point or another of being good pitchers, but they ain't Maddox, Glavine, and Smoltz either.

And of course, the biggest pitching elephant in the room is Gerrit Cole.  If we were looking at baseball matters only, Cole would be on the team right now. I will grant that a baseball case could be made that he does need more time to face Triple-A competition, but of course, it is about more than that.  It is about money, it is about years of control, it is about delaying free agent eligibility, and, probably more important to the Pirates, arbitration eligibility.  Yes, we all know that all other MLB teams do the same thing with their big time prospects, but not all other MLB teams have been on a twenty year losing streak.  The NH Kool-Aid drinkers standard line is, "Do you want Cole for a couple of starts in April and May of 2013, or do you want him for a full season in 2019?"   Well, if games in April and May count the same as games in August and September, then, yes, I want him here now if he is in fact one of the Pirates best pitchers.  Simple as that.

As for 2019, well, as the was said above, "The Bucs give you a future that never comes."

And by the way, the argument of having Cole for a full season in 2019 really ticks me off because it automatically assumes that the Pirates will lose Cole once he does become eligible for free agency.  What kind of message is that sending?

I haven't even mentioned the bench.  When you swing a deal in the last week of Spring Training for a 38 year old good-field-no-hit utility infielder, that kind of tells you all you need to know, doesn't it?  The team is in big trouble if someone like Walker, Alvarez, or, God forbid, McCutchen goes down for any significant length of time.

So what's the bottom line?  Given the competition in the Central Division (Reds, Cardinals, Brewers), I don't see a post season berth for the Bucs, so that begs the question, can 82 wins be achieved to end the WRLS?  When I look at the eight man line-up, I think, yes, it will end this year.  Then I look at all the question marks on the pitching staff, and I say, it's not gonna happen.  Beyond Burnett, Rodriguez, and MacDonald (and even he is a huge question mark), I don't see the guys beyond them - Sanchez, Locke, Liriano, Karstens, and Morton - getting it done.  Maybe Cole will be the savior, but will he arrive soon enough?  

(And consider this possibility, the Pirates are floundering at 12 games under .500 in mid-June, and Cole has a bad start in Indy.  GM Neal announces that since the Pirates do not seem like they will contend, and since Cole had a rough outing, the Pirate swill keep him in Indy for a full year for more seasoning and experience at the Triple-A level.  That way, they can now have control over him through 2020.  Does anyone think that that COULDN'T happen?)

So, my call for 2013? Seventy-nine (79) wins, same as last year and the WRLS goes to 21.  I really, REALLY hope I'm wrong, but I'm just not feeling it.  I will be more than happy to celebrate the 82nd victory, and I'll even have a glass of Neal Kool-Aid should the team contend for the post-season deep into September, but, as I say, I'm just not feeling it.

In the meantime, I can't wait for the 2019 season.  That is going to be one helluva a great Pirates team.

Evaluating Neal, the Trader

Pirate Chat / Facebook Friend John Niespodzianski posted the following from the "Battling Bucs" blog yesterday:

http://battlingbucs.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/neal-huntingtons-trade-record-2/

If you are at all interested in the topic at hand, I would recommend you read the entry.  It lists 61 trades - not draft choices, not free agent signings, but trades - made by Neal Huntington since his tenure at PNC Park began back in 2007.  John, who is a Pro-Neal Advocate, asked that people try to evaluate only these trades and make a judgement on how NH has fared in this regard during his tenure.  John and I, and others on Pirate Chat, have had some friendly, yet semi-heated discussions on the topic of GM Neal, but I promised that I would try to look at this matter with an objective an eye as possible and come to a conclusion.

Here are some of my own self-imposed rules in doing my analysis:

1. The blog lists Evan Meek as being acquired in a trade.  I believe that he was a Rule 5 draft pick, but what the hell, for our current purposes, let's consider this a trade.
2. I did not include any of the trades made since the end of the 2012 season.  This includes the Hanrahan to the Red Sox trade.  Too early to evaluate these in my view.
3. Excluding those 2012-13 off-season trades, the number of deals drops from 61 to 55.

So, what are my conclusions? 

Of these 55 deals, I would classify 27 of them as inconsequential, basic nothing-for-nothing deals.  For example: Romulo Sanchez for Eric Hacker, or Luke Carlin for Adam Davis.  You get the idea.  I mean, who are these guys? Some were pretty much straight salary dumps for which the Bucs have become so famous.

This leaves 28 trades to evaluate.  By my count, these trades have brought 33 players to Pittsburgh who have played significant or semi-significant time with the Pirates.  Some of these guys were truly insignificant (Robinson Diaz, Gorkys Hernandez [more on him later].  Some had good times and then flamed out (Ross Ohlendorf), some never achieved potential (Andy La Roche), some flat out stunk  (Jeff Clement, Aki Iwamura).

Of those thirty-three players, sixteen saw and/or continue to see significant roles with the team, and of those sixteen, eleven of them are still with the team and could continue to contribute.  Those eleven players  are:

Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, Josh Harrison, James McDonald, Mike McKenry, A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Travis Snider, and Gaby Sanchez.

Is this the normal rate of attrition for trades pulled off by the typical major league general manager?  I don't know, and I neither have the time nor the inclination to do the research to find out (but maybe somebody out there does!!).  

As for evaluating individual trades (of the so-called significant trades), I will offer the following:

GOOD TRADES

• Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.  Somewhat unpopular at the time, this one now looks pretty good.  Morgan is an okay outfielder and Burnett is now a decent face-one-lefty-batter reliever, and Milledge never did live up to his five-tool hype, in fact, he wasn't all that good, but Hanrahan became a two time All-Star lights out relief pitcher.  This trade could start to look even better if a couple of the guys obtained from Boston in exchange for Hanrahan turn out to be solid players at some point.
• Octavio Dotel for James McDonald and Andrew Lambo.  Yeah, we know questions still exist about J-Mac, and who the hell knows what Lambo is up to, but I would still call this as a good one for the Pirates.
• "Future Considerations" for Mike McKenry.  Don't know what those "future considerations" turned out to be, and The Fort is now only a back-up catcher, but every team needs one, and he's a fairly decent one.
• Aaron Baker for Derek Lee.  This was a bold move made when the Pirates were in contention in 2011 and one that teams fighting for the post-season need to make.  Lee did get injured, so it didn't exactly work out the way the team wanted, but when he did play in 2011, he produced. Who knows what would have happened had he not gotten hurt?
• Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones for A.J. Burnett.  With the way Yankees are going down this year, Moreno and Cayones may yet turn up in the Bronx and become stars, but until they do, this trade has to, so far, be considered Neal's best trade

TRADES THAT COULD  BE A GOOD ONES, STILL TOO SOON TO TELL

• Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen.  Ohlendorf had a good season and flamed out. McCutchen was a fair long reliever for parts of a couple of seasons,  Karstens has been a fairly good starting pitcher but gets hurt too often.  The final net result of this deal depends on the mercurial Jose Tabata, and 2013 could be his last chance to make it with the team.  If he produces like he has shown signs of being capable, this will become a good trade for Neal.  If he doesn't, it becomes a fairly not-good-not-bad deal.
• Nate McLouth for Jeff Locke, Gorkys Hernandez, and Charlie Morton.  This was very unpopular at the time, but Neal due to either sound baseball acumen or blind luck, seemed to sense that All-Star McLouth was something of a one hit wonder.  Morton has shown flashes of being a good pitcher, and I anxiously await his return for surgery.  The jury is still out on Locke, but he could be a starter on the team this season.  Hernandez never did much of anything for the Pirates, but they were able to trade him and receive Gaby Sanchez, and that could become the best net result of the McLouth trade. 
• Colton Cain, Robby Grossman, and Rudy Owens for Wandy Rodriguez.  Exactly the kind of deadline deal that contenders need to make.  A lot of other moving parts went wrong with the Pirates late last year for Wandy to make a difference, but I am genuinely excited that he is a part of the Pirate rotation going into this season.
• Brad Lincoln for Travis Snider.  You can argue that this was not the kind of deal to make at the deadline, and I would tend to agree, but Snider could turn out to be a good outfielder for the Pirates. Or, he could be the next Nate McLouth.  Time will tell.
• Gorkys Hernandez for Gaby Sanchez and Kyle Kaminska.  If Sanchez can platoon at 1B with Garrett Jones and produce like Jones, this could turn out to be very good trade for the Bucs.

BAD TRADES

• Jason Bay for Andy La Roche, Bryan Morris, Brandon Moss, and Craig Hansen.  Bay was the Pirates biggest chip when Huntington took over, and everyone knew that Neal would be trading him in an attempt to rebuild the team.  True, the trade looked good at the time with the team getting four promising and, in the case of La Roche,  highly touted prospects.  In hind sight, and how else are you going to evaluate such things, this trade BOMBED.  Only Morris remains with the team, and he just got sent back to the minors at age 26.  Even if he does make it to Pittsburgh it will be as a middle inning/situational reliever.  Not the results when you trade a former rookie-of-the year, all-star, and you best player.
• Jose Bautista for Robinson Diaz.  No one complained about this one at the time, but let's call in our old friend hind sight again to see that this one was bad.  True, Bautista had more than his share of chances in Pittsburgh, but if part of a GM's and his minions' job is talent evaluation, the NHR failed big time on this one.
• Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson.  Yes, Sanchez was injury prone, and, yes, room needed to be made for Neil Walker, but he was an all-star and a batting champion, and he did start and contribute to a World Series winner in 2010, and what has Tim Alderson done?
• Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Harrison.  A starting pitcher and a pretty good relief pitcher for what has amounted to a utility infielder.
• Jesse Chavez for Aki Iwamura.  This one could be the Signature Neal Huntington Awful Trade.  Neal will say that this is one where "we didn't give up much", but even if the Pirates only sent the Rays a half-dozen used jock straps, it was an awful deal for the team. He was hurt, he was fat and out of shape, he was over the hill, and he was paid a ton of money.  If someone, if not Neal, then someone on the scouting staff, didn't lose their job over this deal, then Bob Nutting is a true cream puff and not the heartless skinflint we all think he is.

CONCLUSIONS

I am not sure what kind of a grade I would assign to Neal's trading history, and,as I said earlier, I am not sure if the mix of hits, misses, and nothing-for-nothings is greater than, less than, or equal to the typical major league GM.  Frankly, I was surprised that there were as many players acquired by NH that are still in a position to make positive contributions to the team going forward, so maybe I give him a C+ or possibly a B- on his deals.   And of course, one has to take into consideration the financial constraints under which Neal operates.  If he were in Brian Cashman's position, who knows what wizardry he might be able to work.  Or, maybe not.

Also, Hunting the Trader does not exist in a vacuum.  Huntington the Drafter, Huntington the Scout/Talent Evaluator, and of course, Huntington the Guy Who Keeps Guys in the Minor Leagues Way Too Long must also be brought into the mix when you consider his overall job performance.  The assignment was evaluate Huntington the Trader, and on that score, he fares better than I thought he would.

March Madness - First Weekend Thoughts

• Having won the prestigious Frissora Gaming Enterprises March Madness Pool (an FGE "Major") last year, I am so far down the track this year that, well, if I was a horse, I'd be headed to the Elmer's Glue Factory post haste.
• I have never been one to watch sports events in sports bars, but I have to say that spending last Thursday and Friday afternoons at different establishments on the North Shore with friends was a fun way to go.  Already looking forward to next year.
• The Pitt loss sure was a disappointment, and it wasn't just the fact that they lost.  They looked really bad in doing so.
• Still, do not count me among the "Jamie Must Go" multitudes.  Good for Pitt for inking him to that long term extension right away, not that long term contracts mean anything if Dixon decides he wants to coach somewhere else (see Howland, Ben and Graham, Todd).
• I wasn't sure how I felt when the NCAA went to four networks for coverage of the first two rounds a few years back, but I have to tell you, I now think it is terrific.
• Showing the scores on screen of the other games being played and indicating which network it is on absolutely defines the term "viewer friendly".
• Marv Albert remains one of my favorite announcers to listen to, but HD television does him no favors.  How many pounds of pancake makeup do you suppose are applied to Marv's mug before each game?
• Speaking of Marv, this great quote from Facebook friend Fred Egler:  "Listening to Marv Albert and Steve Kerr broadcast a game makes you realize what a worthless windbag Dick Vitale is."  WORTHLESS WINDBAG!  I love it.
• Has any athlete rehabilitated his image more than Charles Barkley?  If you remember Sir Charles' playing days, he was more likely to be in the news for throwing some guy through a barroom window than for anything he did on the court.  Now, there are few guys I'd rather listen to when discussing basketball.  Insightful and entertaining.
• Speaking of commercials, how about the Applebee's one with Digger Phelps and Bobby Knight, where Phelps explodes at Knight, knocks over a chair, and ends with Knight saying "That's no way to throw a chair."  I laughed at first, but then thought, they are glorifying one of the most boorish and offensive acts of bad sportsmanship ever seen.  Knight was a great coach, but he was, first and foremost, a jerk.
• Speaking of commercials, part 2.  I absolutely love those AT&T commercials where the guy talks to four little kids.  Everyone of those commercials, and there seems to be dozens of them, are terrific.  The kids are great and so is the guy who plays it completely straight the entire time.  Great campaign.
• Even though Georgetown's loss to Florida Gulf Coast killed both Marilyn's and my brackets, I am glad that they are not around to possibly meet Syracuse in the final four.  I could not have taken another "this is the last time these two Big East giants will meet" story lines.  I think that they have already met for the "last time" about a half dozen times this season.
• Speaking of Syracuse, I never had any great feelings, pro or con, about Jim Boeheim, but I am really getting tired of his constant whining about Syracuse leaving the Big East and going to the ACC "all because of football".  Shut up, Coach.  Believe it or not, YOU have a boss, and that boss has decided to switch conferences.  Like it or leave.  If he does hang it up after this season and not coach the team in the ACC, I will applaud him for having the courage of his convictions.  If he does stay on as coach, well, then you know the old joke: We already know what you are, now we're just negotiating the price.
• The Sweet Sixteen is now made up of some of the Usual Suspects: Louisville, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State et al.  There are also some real surprises: La Salle, Wichita State, and, most of all, Florida Gulf Coast University.  I am sure that FGSU will become everyone's sentimental choice, but I recall the words of some pundit that I heard prior to the tournament.  Early round upsets are fun and exciting, but if those schools continue to advance, it can make for a pretty bad Final Four.
• Having been educated by the Christian Brothers in high school, and having an older brother who graduated from La Salle, the Explorers are the team that has had my rooting interest since their Play In game.  None of their wins have been easy, but they sure have been entertaining and exciting.
• My original Final Four called for Duke, Ohio State, Georgetown, and Indiana, with Duke beating Indiana in the final.  So, I have three of four and both finalists still alive.  Too little, too late.
• Marilyn's picks were Michigan State, New Mexico, Georgetown, and Syracuse, with Georgetown over Michigan State in the final.  Needless to say, she is NOT a fan of Harvard or FGSU.
• If I was starting today, having watched this weekend and with just this sixteen team format, I think that I would go with Louisville, Ohio State, Kansas, and Miami, with Miami over Louisville in the final.
• And need I remind everyone that Robert Morris takes on Providence in a second round NIT game at 7:00 tonight on ESPNews.  Go Colonials!!!

The Great 2013 Hamburger Quest - Part 6

Over the past several days, I have added three new places in my Quest for the Best Hamburger in the Greater Pittsburgh area, Valiant's Diner in Ross, TGI Friday's in McCandless, and McFadden's Pub on the North Shore.

Of these, the most disappointing by far was TGI Friday's.  Since this is part of a nationwide chain, I can visualize their hamburgers being spit out into uniform size and shaped patties by some robotic mechanism in a giant factory, being flash frozen, and shipped to their restaurants across the country.  This produced a tasteless and very disappointing hamburger.

Valiant's is a great diner on Babcock Boulevard, the kind of place that Rick Sebak would put on one of his shows.  The burgers are hand formed and grilled right in front of you as you sit at the counter.  Valiant's is probably an even better place to visit for breakfast (perhaps the subject for the 2014 Quest, although Sebak has that one pretty much covered), but the burger wasn't bad, and I saw them serving up some hot turkey and roast beef sandwiches with gravy that will probably prompt me to visit again soon.  Thanks to pal Bill Harvey for putting me on to this place.  Oh, and, Harv, in case you are wondering, I did not have my hamburger there on a Friday!

The real surprise was the burger at McFadden's. Seeing as how beer and sports on TV (I was there for March Madness on Thursday) is pretty much what this place is about, I wasn't expecting much, but the burger was really good. Fresh and tasty and cooked to order.  I highly recommend this one.

The Rankings:

1. Tessaro's (Bloomfield)
2. The Rochester Inn Hardwood Grill (Ross)
3. McFadden's (North Shore)
4. SoHo Restaurant (North Shore)
5. Bella Ria's (West View)
6. Valiant's (Ross)
7. The Tilted Kilt (North Shore)

Unranked:

• BZ Bar and Grill (North Shore)
• Sunny Jim's (Emsworth)
• TGI Friday's (McCandless)

Robert Morris 59 - Kentucky 57

"This is what college basketball still can be in a world of one-and-dones and broken conferences and coaches draped in Armani. Yes, there can exist a steamy night in a tiny gym high on a hill by the Pittsburgh airport where the little guy stands strong, the giant topples and a swarm of students clad in red spill from wooden stands and dance on the remains of a national champion."

I wish that I could take credit for that paragraph above.  It is actually the lead paragraph from Yahoo Sports' Les Carpenter on last night's positively stunning upset win by Robert Morris over the University of Kentucky in the opening round of the NIT.   If you know me, you know my bona fides where Robert Morris is concerned.   Marilyn and I are proud alums who have been attending Colonials basketball games regularly since 1990, so this is not bandwagon jumping on our part today.

Ironically, we were not able to attend last night's game due to a Caring Place commitment, but, thanks to the magic of the DVR, we froze out all information concerning the game and were then able to watch it in it's entirety when we got home.  When the game ended, it was then so much fun to go to Facebook and Twitter and see all the comments that were being made as this game unfolded and in its aftermath.

When the match-up was announced, it was, of course, thrilling to think of a storied team such as UK coming to the tiny Sewall Center for a game.  My hope was that RMU would be able to hold strong and give Kentucky a game for a half before the inevitable took place.  Never in my wildest hopes did I envision a Colonials win.   What can I say?  It was euphoric.

It is almost a shame that this tournament has to continue and more games have to be played.  I can't imagine that anything will be able to top that win over Kentucky, or that the Colonials will have any emotion left in the tank after that one.  However, I am not going to underestimate what Coach Andy Toole might be able to pull off with this team going forward.

And speaking of Andy Toole, there's the downside from this game.  I am sure that Toole was probably on the radar of larger schools as an up-and-comer young coach.  His days at RMU were probably numbered anyway, but that win last night will no doubt raise his profile higher, and some larger school will no doubt come calling soon.  That is life for a low/mid-major conference.

And a word about Kentucky Coach John Calipari, a native of Moon Township.  If you care about this stuff, you no doubt know how Calipari engineered having his Wildcats come to Moon Township for this game.  Kentucky fans probably thought it a sure win, but I'm not so sure that Calipari did.  In any event, he could not have been more gracious in his post game comments about his past connections to Robert Morris while growing up, and how he was glad that he and Kentucky were able to help a program like Robert Morris.  He acknowledged the Colonials' victory, to the point where he said that it would have been "a shame" had Kentucky's three point buzzer shot went in and Kentucky won the game.  He also gave a shout out to the late Gus Krop, the great coach of long ago who started the basketball program when it was Robert Morris Junior College.

I get that a lot of people don't like Calipari, and he can be criticized for much over how he has run his programs over the years, but he was a class act in bringing this game to RMU and in his post-game remarks.

Oh, and to those who have been making comments like "it's only the NIT" and "this isn't a really good Kentucky team"  and "Kentucky didn't really care about playing in a second rate tournament in a tiny gym" and similar remarks, I politely invite you to take those spoilsport comments and stick them where the sun don't shine!