Eight Is Enough
They’ve been shutout for 24 consecutive innings, and 37 of the last 38 innings. They’ve scored just two runs since Friday. They’ve now lost a season-high eight in a row. They’ve fallen from a one game lead in first place of the National League Central to fourth place and four games back of Red hot Cincinnati, winners of 10 in a row, and five and a half games back of the Dodgers in the final NL Wild Card.
The Pirates are spiraling out of control.
During the eight game losing streak, their 17 runs scored and .579 OPS are the worst in the NL.
The final game of this homestand is 12:35pm today and can be heard on 100.1 FM and AM1020 KDKA.
Haggans Dead at 46
Clark Haggans, a starting outside linebacker on the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL team, died yesterday at the age of 46. No word yet on the cause of death, but it’s a terribly young age for Haggans’ family to lose him.
After taking over for Jason Gildon in 2004, Haggans recorded a pair of sacks in his first game as a starter, and 25 over his next 49 starts, as well as three and a half sacks in seven postseason starts, before leaving in free agency for Arizona in 2008. In four seasons with the Cardinals, Haggans recorded 14 sacks in 56 games before playing his final season in San Francisco in 2012.
TJ’s Pec and Thoughts On ‘Renegade’
T.J. Watt joined Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast this week and discussed a number of issues, including his desire to win a Super Bowl, growing up as part of a competitive family, and his pectoral injury last season.
Watt also shared his thoughts on a hot button issue among Steelers fans: “Renegade” by Styx.
In the end, whether the song’s been “successful” or not, Watt concluded “If it gets the fans loud and creates havoc for the offense, I’m all for it.”
Peyton’s Place
Since we’re on the outside linebacker/edge rusher tip, does Alex Highsmith’s agent know exactly what everyone else around the league seems to already recognize? Perhaps Quincy Peyton, Highsmith’s agent, knows just how many teams are thirsty for edge rushers, as NFL.com ran a list of the 10 biggest remaining roster holes around the league, and six of them were teams in need of a pass rusher.
Highsmith, who is going into the final year of his rookie contract, and his agent, who is presumably negotiating an extension with the Steelers this summer, may see the lack of quality pass rushing options around the league and understand that if they can’t come to an agreement in Pittsburgh, they’d be able to fetch a Harold Landry/Shaq Barrett-style deal ($17-$17.5 million average annual value) on the open market, if not more depending on Highsmith’s production in 2023.
Pens Search For Depth and Youth
The Penguins re-signed forward Valtteri Puustinen to a one-year, two-way deal that pays $775,000 at the NHL level. While his lack of size (5-foot-9, 180 lbs) may not be ideal, Puustinen is another depth piece who can skate and provide some offense in the bottom six alongside Alex Nylander, Drew O’Connor, and Ryan Poehling. The latter two are restricted free agents who will likely be back in Pittsburgh this season.
Puustinen had 24 goals, 35 assists and 59 points in 72 games at Wilkes-Barre last season, leading the team in both assists and points and finishing behind only Nylander in goal scoring.
With the NHL Draft now a week away, the Pens will get a look at last year’s first round pick, Owen Pickering, as he’ll be one of 23 prospects taking part in their annual prospect development camp from July 1-3 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
Pickering scored nine goals and added 36 assists on defense last season as the Swift Current Broncos captain.
STFD Light
It wasn’t quite A.J. Burnett telling Hanley Ramirez to “Sit The F*** Down,” but Gerrit Cole had a little bit of that STFD energy when he got in to it with the Seattle Mariners dugout last night.
Cole ended up improving to 8-1 on the season after giving up a lone earned run on just four hits and striking out eight in 7 2/3 innings, as the Yankees snapped a four game losing streak in a 3-1 victory.
Crews Control
Get ready, Pirates fans. This guy could be here in Pittsburgh very soon.
Dylan Crews went 2-for-4 with that homer and the two RBIs that went with it, as LSU survived an elimination game against SEC rival Tennessee last night in the College World Series.
He also apparently, somehow, got fellow top prospect Paul Skenes in trouble for something.
LSU will have to beat Wake Forest twice in the next two nights in order to advance to the Finals against either Florida or TCU.
The question for Tigers Head Coach Jay Johnson: Does he start Skenes with the season on the line tonight, but on just three days rest? Or does he hope to force a game tomorrow night and save Skenes on four days rest? Would Johnson ever consider trying to get through three elimination games without using Skenes so he could save him for a possible Finals start? Those games will be played Saturday, Sunday, and if necessary, Monday. If Skenes starts tomorrow, he would be coming back on three days rest in a possible Monday game.
All of this talk of three days rest coming at some point has to have Ben Cherington, Mike Rizzo, or whichever MLB GM ends up drafting Skenes, rooting for an LSU loss.
Get the Eck Outta Here
Baseball Hall of Famer and Former Red Sox Color Analyst Dennis Eckersley talked about missing the adrenaline of baseball and broadcasting on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” this week.
Sounds like Eck’s days are filled with a hodgepodge of nothingness.
Say Hey, That’s a Great Idea
The oldest professional ballpark in the United States, Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, will host its first Major League Baseball game next summer when the St. Louis Cardinals play the San Francisco Giants.
"I never thought I’d see in my lifetime a Major League Baseball game being played on the very field where I played baseball as a teenager,” said 92-year old Hall of Famer and Birmingham native Willie Mays.
Mays made his professional debut in 1948 for the Birmingham Black Barons at Rickwood Field.
“To learn that my Giants and the Cardinals will play a game there and honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues and all those who came before them is really emotional for me. We can’t forget what got us here and that was the Negro Leagues for so many of us."