It was a wild weekend for the Pirates. I was among the many who turned out Saturday for what turned out to be one of the craziest games we’ve seen from the Bucs in quite a while. I’d love to tell you I stayed for the five hour plus thirteen inning marathon. I didn’t. I left in the seventh when the game had already gone more than three hours. It was frustrating seeing the Pirates give up five runs early, rally to take the lead and then blow it a couple of times. It’s a game they should have won but found a way to give away. The Pirates aren’t going to win the NL Central. That said, they need to win games against teams like the Brewers when they have them down for the count. It was a fun day at PNC. It could have been even better.
• Chris Archer has been a major disappointment for the Pirates. Hopefully he’s back on the right track after a solid outing Friday against the Brewers. Archer did give up four runs, but was really good while going seven innings for the Bucs. They need more performances like that from Archer. Ironically, it was Chris Archer bobblehead day on Saturday at PNC Park. Unlike last year when many fans destroyed the Sean Rodriguez bobbles on the day they were given out, Archer’s bobbles stayed intact. Hopefully he does the same thing on the mound for a team that desperately needs good pitching.
• The MLB amateur draft is Monday. Let’s hope the Pirates can draft good players and develop them into major league regulars. Though they’ve drafted high many times, the Pirates have not done a good job in the draft under Neal Huntington. They’ve also done a rather poor job when it comes to player development. That needs to change if the Pirates are ever going to compete with teams like the Brewers and Cardinals. Even if they strike it rich in the draft, conventional wisdom says it will take guys a few years to get to the big leagues. Huntingdon said most players don’t get there for five to seven years. The MLB draft is a crapshoot. Hopefully it will be a good one for the Pirates. It’s about time.
• One of the interesting position battles developing as the Steelers continue their OTA’s is for the backup quarterback spot. I fully expect Mason Rudolph to take the job away from Josh Dobbs this season. The Steelers didn’t spend a third round pick in 2018 to have Rudolph be their number three signal caller. The Steelers need to find out if he can play and my guess is Rudolph will see lots of action throughout camp and in the pre-season.
• It will be interesting to see if Jim Rutherford can deal Phil Kessel now that the Pens’ winger has nixed a proposed trade to Minnesota, a team that was not on his list of eight teams he would go to. So what does Rutherford do now? I still think the Pens’ GM will make every effort to deal Kessel. It would be quite awkward for him to return to Pittsburgh after the deal fell through. Look for Rutherford to try to make a trade at the draft. That’s where these things usually go down. If it doesn’t happen then, maybe Kessel will be wearing the Black and Gold again this coming season.
• It was a pretty big blow for Penn State’s football program to lose the state’s top recruit and number four ranked player in the nation, Julian Fleming. That he made a verbal commitment to Ohio State was a real kick in the groin for James Franklin and his team. Fleming is a five-star player, and considered one of the best players to come out of Pa. in years. Losing him, and having him go to a rival you’re trying to catch up with in the Big Ten is not good news for the Lions. You can be assured that Penn State will continue to recruit Fleming and hope they can flip him back to Happy Valley. I just don’t see it happening. So much for owning the state.
• The Golden State Warriors may have saved their season Sunday night. They used an impressive 18-0 third quarter run to win Game Two in Toronto. They got the split they wanted on the road and now head home to Oakland where the defending champs have a chance to take control of the series. The Warriors have been playing without superstar Kevin Durant. If he returns in the next game or two as expected, Golden State will get a huge shot in the arm. I’m sticking with my pick of Golden State.
• You’ve got to like the position the Boston Bruins are in right now in the Stanley Cup Finals. The B’s are up 2-1 and would have to lose three of the next four games, including two at home, to not raise the Stanley Cup. I just don’t see that happening. Boston was dominant in Game Three. If they win Game Four on the road I think they’ll wrap it up in five. I said take Boston in six before the series began. No matter what happens, Boston will win the Stanley Cup and Beantown will have their third parade in less than a year.
