Pittsburgh, the Place to Be For Baseball?

There's a saying in sports that goes, "Don't let the inmates run the asylum." Basically, it means you can't let the will of the players come before the practical decisions needed by the coaches or managers and the front office. Of course the players always feel that they know best, but there is a reason why teams have general managers, team presidents, position coaches, scouts, and advisers. It's because these are the people who remove personal feelings, the will of the fans, and friendship from the equation when it comes to making harsh decisions that need to be made in order to benefit the franchise.

If it wasn't for these higher-ups willing to do this, Brett Favre would be the quarterback in Green Bay for the next 30 years when he'd be putting up interceptions with one hand while gripping a walker in the other.

In a recent Post-Gazette article by Dejan Kovacevic, many players on the Pirates expressed their desire for the higher-ups in Pittsburgh to keep the current lineup together, and forgo trading players to add depth in the minor league system. Among those quoted were Ryan Doumit, Tyler Yates, and Xavier Nady. Nady even went so far as to lobby for himself to remain with the Pirates. Now these players are not blind, and do realize that there needs to be drastic measures taken to improve the starting pitching. They feel, however, that the Pirates management should trade their own prospects in order to bring in depth at starting pitching.

This is why we have a general manager running the team and not the players.

Of course the current Pirates would think this is a feasible solution. These guys are buddies. They have a nice, friendly clubhouse atmosphere going. And most importantly, most of them know they are not going to be here 3 years from now when making impractical moves like that would cripple this franchise even more than it already is! Do you honestly think any of these players knows or even cares who the Pirates have in their minor league system? Why would Xavier Nady give a damn about bringing in single and double A prospects that are two, three, or even four years away from being major league ready. The only way to truly fix this withered franchise is to build through the draft, and make trades for minor league prospects in bulk, and believe me, that is low on the list of importance to the current Pirates since most of them won't be here when things start taking a turn for the better.

Trading what few prospects we have now in order to try to rebuild this embarrassment of a starting rotation would be a disaster. Even if you thought you could get enough starting pitching to make this current squad competitive, how realistic would a run to the post-season be when your six games under .500 coming out of the All-star break? And even if you kept the team intact for two years (which is optimistic), you've given yourself the smallest of windows to work with. After that, your back to fifteen more years of losing because your a small market franchise that can't draft, scout, or develop players.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly understand the bond that comes from being teammates. For some of the Bucko's they've been together for several years now. It's always hard to part with teammates you've worked with for that long. But that's professional sports, and they are professionals (despite what their statistics say). Hopefully management turns a deaf ear to these sentiments, and does the right thing. Hopefully they will do what benefits the team in the long run.

Grading the Penguin's Off-season

The off-season hasn't officially wrapped up, but we've seen almost all the moves Ray Shero and the Penguins are going to make this off-season, and it's time to start handing out grades.

We'll start with the issue on everyone's mind since the Stanley Cup finals ended in disappointment for the Pens. Would we be able to resign Marion Hossa, or would he be lured away by the big dollars that would no doubt be offered by the likes of the Rangers, Canadians, and other spenders? Well, we all got a little surprise when Hossa took a one year deal, for what is chump change in comparison to some of the deals being rumored, signing with the Wings. Yes, it's crazy, but we'll deal with that issue a little later. The fact is he's gone, and that left the Pens back at square one: trying to find a high scoring winger to compliment Sid.

Enter the Satan! Well, not THAT Satan. Miroslav Satan comes over from the Islanders nursing a down year on Long Island. Joining him is former Islander Ruslan Fedotenko. Both are in Pittsburgh on one year deals for very reasonable prices. Clearly neither is a long term answer, being past their prime, but both represent two of the best of a watered-down free agent class of wingers.

This was a good move. Both Satan and Fedotenko will be inspired to produce being on one year deals, not to metion being on last year's Eastern Conference champion team. If Satan is inspired enough, we very well could see him revert to his past 30 goal per season form. Fedotenko also has proved to be a goal producer and should be able to put up around 20 goals. That's what this comes down to: production. If both newcomers can approach these numbers, the offense doesn't miss a beat. It also doesn't lock the Pens into long-term, high-priced contracts with aging veterans; something they were all too familiar with in the past.

Also joining the new wingers is Matt Cooke after leaving Vancouver. This has been labeled as the replacement for Jarko Ruutu, but Cooke also brings big hits and a better scoring touch. They also got him on a two year deal, the same they wanted Ruutu at. No doubt, he'll recieve the same love from the fans that he got in 10 years with the Canucks.

Goodbye, goodbye Big Georges Laraque! I almost broke down from joy when I heard that BGL was not returning. I can hear all the Laraque-lovers now channeling Mike Lange, "There he is setting up in his office." C'mon. He's old, can't skate, can't shoot, and most importantly doesn't fight anymore. How many times did we see Sid or Geno getting mugged and BGL refused to go out to defend them? Too many for me, and now we have Eric Godard, who not only likes to fight (even though he's not quite as good at it as Georges), but he costs half as much.

Most importantly, however, the biggest success this off-season was the re-signing of Brooks Orpik, and the extensions given to Geno Malkin and Marc Andre Fleury. Knowing that for the next six years the Pens have Sid, Geno, Brooks, and the Flower all locked up (for much less than they would have received in the open market) is just as good, if not better, than any blockbuster trade or free agent signing I can think of. Sid and Geno are still kids more or less, and over the next few seasons will no doubt continue to improve and build on their point totals and their experience. It's a scary thought, but yes, they will get better. Even Brooks and Fluery are still relatively young, in hockey terms, and both of them should also improve. While the loss to the Wings in the finals was disappointing, the experience these young players have gained will no doubt make the team better.

The bottom line is this: The core was successfully kept intact long term, for a very good value. True, the search for Sid's long-term winger continues, but the Pens came up with some serviceable stop-gaps. The best way to view it is to compare the team today to the team that started last season. Remember that? Marc Recci, Colby Armstrong, and Eric Christiansen were still here. With the added depth, and the growth of the core players, the offense today is better than it was at the start of last season. The defense, who struggled at times early last season, is poised to be the defense we saw during the run to the finals. A healthy Marc Andre Fluery gives us one of the top three goalies in the Eastern conference, as opposed to lingering question marks about his ability this time last year. Overall, this team IS better.

I don't expect the newcomers to take long at all falling into the way the Pens do things. Shero has proved to be a good judge of character, able to bring in guys that not only can help the team, but who want to be here playing for a winner. Sid has proved himself as leader, even if it's more by his actions than by being vocal. So anyone out there crying about the off-season thinking we should have signed this guy and that guy, stop and take a step back. I know it's been a while since the Pens have been this close to the ultimate goal, but now is not the time to fan the flames of overspending for a one or two year window of winning. Shero's strategy is solid, and will build a winner that lasts for years.


Coming soon, I'll grade the rest of the Eastern Conference.