Another Beatdown of the Bucco Bullpen
Through the first two months of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were an up-and-down outfit marked by an incredible 20-8 run to start the season as much as they were defined by going 6-18 for the next three and a half weeks.
One of the few constants though, was their bullpen.
Through May 31, the Pirates’ bullpen was 9th in MLB with a 3.73 ERA. In the two weeks since, they are the worst bullpen in baseball, with a 9.76 ERA.
It blew up in their face again last night at Wrigley Field in Chicago, as a 5-1 lead spurred via an Andrew McCutchen leadoff home run and a decent start by Osvaldo Bido in his Major League debut, was vaporized by the Cubs’ six-run 6th inning.
It’s not what anyone wants to hear, but I’ve been saying it for weeks because it’s true: This is a young, inconsistent team who is going to be just that: Inconsistent.
One month it may be driven by offense and a strong bullpen. Another month it may feel like everything’s falling apart as the rotation struggles.
However they get there, it increasingly feels as if the Pirates are headed for a wildly up-and-down, 80-85 win season.
Oh, Canada
It doesn’t take more than one good perusal of Jeff Hathhorn’s piece on Matt Canada’s first media availability of the 2023 season to find the pillars of the Steelers offensive philosophy and the through line that will tie it all together: What Art Rooney II wants, he will get.
He’s afraid of a young quarterback turning the ball over too much, and with what should be an elite defense on the other side of the ball, he believes his offense doesn’t need to do too much other than hold on to the ball and grind opponents down.
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How does that keep the Steelers offense from being “different,” though?
They’ve upgraded their offensive line, added more pass-catching weapons, and will have the benefit of Kenny Pickett’s first full NFL offseason of development providing a catapult-like improvement.
They have the personnel to put two running backs on the field at the same time, four tight ends if they want to, and receiving weapons running the gamut from young and explosive (George Pickens) to experienced and crafty (Diontae Johnson and/or Allen Robinson) to unproven but versatile (Calvin Austin).
If we don’t see some different wrinkles to Canada’s offense, what is he there for?
And above and beyond holding Canada accountable, when do we start to hold Mike Tomlin and Rooney accountable?
How’d He Get From Harris To Highsmith?
Yesterday’s discussion regarding the contractual future of Najee Harris given the devaluation of running backs around the NFL led to interesting feedback from some listeners.
For Alex Highsmith’s part, the Steelers’ fourth year edge rusher has shown up for every practice – optional or otherwise – up through and including this week’s mandatory minicamp.
Eschewing the “hold in” method of showing up to minicamp but not participating in team drills seems to have garnered Highsmith some more respect from Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
“His maturation has been one that we anticipate and expect to be quite honest with you,” said Tomlin on Tuesday. “We put quality people in this program, and they work within, and they just simply get better, and their tape does as well and he's an example of that.”
Does extending Highsmith at market rate necessarily preclude doing the same to Harris in a few years though?
Now, will the Steelers need to re-balance their outlay of cap resources between the two sides of the ball eventually? Certainly. But at some point, Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, and Patrick Petersen will fall off the books and players like Harris, Pat Freiermuth, Kenny Pickett, and George Pickens will require extensions. So the re-balancing, so to speak, will take care of itself, won’t it?
I’m not so sure Omar Khan needs to start making those decisions now.
The Penguins Effect
With Phil Kessel getting his name on the Stanley Cup a third time, five of the 10 active players with three Stanley Cups won all or the majority of their rings with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One of the guys on that list seemed happy for Kessel.
The question now is whether Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang can become the first teammates to add a fourth Cup together since Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, and Darren McCarty won their fourth championship together with the 2008 Detroit Red Wings.
Chris Kunitz is the last individual to win a fourth ring when he added his third as a Penguin in 2017 to his first, with Anaheim in 2007.
Pardon me while I take another opportunity to gratuitously share a great Penguins postseason goal.
Thank You, Next
The parade should be epic in Vegas to celebrate the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup Championship, but for the other 31 NHL cities across North America, it’s on to the next one.
In Pittsburgh, it involved officially naming Jason Spezza as the new Assistant General Manager yesterday
It’s now Choose Your Own Adventure time for Kyle Dubas, Spezza, and the Penguins. What do they focus on first and how do the dominoes fall from there?
Is it a buyout for Mikael Granlund? Ensuring Jason Zucker doesn’t hit the open market? Shopping that 14th overall pick in the First Round of the Draft for an answer in goal? Moving Jeff Petry’s massively overpriced cap hit? Starting talks with Jake Guentzel on an extension so the cap picture is clear going forward?
More ACC Speculation
Another day, another report on which members of the Atlantic Coast Conference could be poached by the two growing megaconferences , the Big Ten and SEC.
While the idea of the ACC’s Grant of Rights – which doesn’t expire until 2036 – being a major stumbling block to any realignment rumors continues to persist, the money currently coursing through the veins of major Division I college football will end up being more than enough at some point to make movement possible.
The question then is, who goes where? The SEC has a footprint and culture that will limit it to Florida State, Clemson, and perhaps North Carolina or Virginia Tech. (To that end, would West Virginia in the Big XII, who flirted with the SEC years ago, make sense at some point?) The Big Ten seems more focused on large TV markets with sizable alumni bases, which makes Miami and Georgia Tech prime targets.
If four schools were peeled off, what would a 10 (11 with Notre Dame)-team ACC look like? Would it seek to expand as well and if so, which direction would they look? South Florida? UCF, and/or Cincinnati, who just left the American Athletic Conference for the Big XII? Would the Pac-10, Big XII, and an ever shrinking ACC battle over each other’s members (that sounds dirty) or join forces somehow?
Regardless, the wheel of realignment seems ready to spin again.