The Free Fall Continues
Just 10 days ago, the Pirates were in first place in the National League Central, a game up in the standings on the second place Milwaukee Brewers.
After losing their ninth consecutive game yesterday, 8-3 to the Cubs at PNC Park, they now sit in fourth place, five games under .500, five games back of the division-leading Cincinnati Reds, and six games back of the L.A. Dodgers in the final Wild Card spot.
It’s the team’s longest losing streak in two years, and it’s punctuating a 15-30 stretch that in no uncertain terms qualifies as a collapse.
If this collapse happened in September, it could be the kind of thing that would get a manager canned.
Let me be clear: I’m not advocating for firing Derek Shelton.
Yet.
But it’s on him to turn this around and turn it around fast.
Since the announcement of his contract extension on April 22, the Pirates have gone 19-32.
Do I think getting the extension has caused the collapse? No, that’s not the case.
I do think it was a terrible idea to give Shelton the extension back in April, though. I thought so at the time, as well. There was no reason to race to extend him. Even if the Pirates had continued to play well, the organization could have waited until at least Labor Day, if not until after the season, to re-sign Shelton.
The easy thing to do would be to chalk up the last seven weeks – and especially the last seven days – to injuries and inexperience. Those both have something to do with this skid.
But when a manager gets a vote of confidence the way Shelton did when he was extended, the buck has to stop with him.
Well, We’re Waiting
With six days until the NHL Draft in Nashville, the Penguins sent out a press release updating every one on just how many picks they have and when they are in the draft.
For the record, they are as follows:
Round 1 Pick #14
Round 3 Pick #90
Round 5 Pick #142
Round 6 Pick #174
Round 7 Pick #217
Round 7 Pick #223
I’m still betting their first, the 14th overall pick in the first round, isn’t in their possession when the selection is ultimately made.
And I’m betting it’s used to make a splashy move that doesn’t necessarily solve the goaltending issue immediately.
Dubas may go out and find the kind of top six forward that does more than just replace Jason Zucker, it may be an upgrade. It may also be the kind of move that gives him flexibility to move on from a Bryan Rust, who could be part of a package that eventually goes out and gets that goaltender.
With a goalie free agent market as thin as this summer’s though, and the possibility that Tristan Jarry may legitimately be the best available option on that market, what Dubas is not going to do, in my opinion, is cut off his nose to spite his face. He won’t tell Jarry he’s not interested at all. Dubas will watch the market and how it plays out, and if it makes sense, he’ll circle back around to Jarry and bring him back if the interest is mutual and there aren’t any other (better) options available.
Perhaps Dubas is able to win the ongoing Connor Hellebyuck sweepstakes and this entire conversation is moot. But if the price tag is too rich, and Draft weekend plays out, when free agency opens up days later, let’s not confuse Dubas’s desire to fix the goaltending issue with a desire to do jump in hot and heavy and make a big move just to make a big move.
Barrasso Gets His Call
It took 17 years, but two-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Tom Barrasso is going in to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
It’s certainly been said over the years that athletes don’t get elected to halls of fame based on how good they were as people. Ty Cobb is always cited as the prime example. However, it’s also true that having off-field issues and/or being a jerk to people generally – and the media more specifically – can make the wait for a hall-worthy player much, much longer.
It’s no coincidence that Barrasso waited nearly two decades to get in despite multiple rings and a Calder & Vezina, both of the latter coming in the same season.
Barrasso knew exactly what his reputation was though, and didn’t care. He never faked a teary-eyed press conference from his driveway, never referred to himself in the third person, and was an integral part of the Penguins’ first two Cup runs.
InspirationPhil
Who knew Phil Kessel had it in him?
When the Vegas Golden Knights needed a rah-rah moment before Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final, the two-time – now three-time Stanley Cup champ – delivered in his own, inimitable way.
It’s not quite Mario Lemieux’s now famous text the night before Game Seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, but it must have gotten the job done.
Bengals-Chiefs Rivalry Heating Up
The games played between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs over the past few years have been classics. They’ve met four times in the last two seasons, twice in the AFC Championship Game, once going to overtime, with a three point margin of victory in each contest. The Bengals have won three of the four matchups, with the cumulative score Cincinnati, 108-102.
There isn’t much better than two great teams trading haymakers and body blows behind two generational quarterbacks.
The only thing the rivalry needed was some classic trash talk. The Mayor of Cincinnati tried his damnedest, even if it ended up falling flat.
What took things to the next level was when the players took notice, particularly Travis Kelce in the post-AFC Championship Game celebration.
And then JaMarr Chase and Patrick Mahomes escalated things in the past few weeks.
Kelce, via his podcast, has taken the opportunity to remind Chase as well, that if he’s going to mess around, he better be ready to find out.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again, on New Year’s Eve, in Kansas City.