Jack Wilson Thinks Jose Castillo Is A Dog; And A Kordell Stewart Sighting!

I was lounging around this morning, enjoying my day off, when I discovered that Kordell Stewart of all people was a guest co-host on ESPN's Cold Pizza. Seriously. Kordell Stewart. He and resident ESPN asshat Skip Bayliss were arguing the topics of the day. In addition to my initial shock of seeing Kordell Stewart on ESPN, there was something about Stewart that took me by surprise.

He was really freakin' good.

Stewart was always one of my favorite Steelers. I realize admitting that is considered a sin in some circles of Steelers fans, but I don't care. I really liked the guy. Sure, there were some low points, but he really did get an unfair shake in town. I always viewed Stewart as a guy that played his ass off everytime he stepped on the field and he seemed to do whatever was asked of him. He didn't always do it well, but he did make some eye popping plays and when he was on his game he really was a dangerous player (*cough* 2001 *cough*).

But back to him in front of the camera for a second - he really did do a fantastic job. Much better than the more popular Jerome Bettis seems to do on NBC. I'm not really sure why Bettis is so popular on the set, but he seemed really lost most of the time this past season. Perhaps it was just rookie jitters? Maybe the suck of Bob Costas and Cris Colinsworth rubbed off on him? Who knows. But while Bettis was the better player on the field, Stewart seems better behind the mic. Perhaps he has a future there?

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Jack Wilson made some headlines at Piratefest this past weekend when he said what all Pirate fans were thinking last season: Jose Castillo played like a dog.

"I want whoever's going to make this a winning team," Wilson said. "Right now, Freddy is my second baseman, in my mind. He's the guy I can trust to go 100 percent and get the job done. Castillo's got to show me something. You're going to see it in spring training. If he's slimmed down and ready to work, he's going to have a good year. But, if it's the other way around, we're going to have some problems."

Seems fair enough. But a lot of fans didn't like Wilson lobbing the criticism, mainly because Wilson wasn't much better than Castillo at the plate last season. Wilson is certaintly a flawed player, but he's not a terrible one. The worst thing about him is the fact he's going to spend so much time hitting at the top of the batting order - and thats not his fault.

Not only was Castillo quite possibly the worst player at his position last season - he was - he was also perhaps the worst player on the Pirates not named Jose Hernandez. And at least Hernandez put up some sort of an actual effort. I went into last season a huge Castillo fan, and like most Pirates fans, came away largely disappointed with his play and (lack of) effort.

Had Wilson come out and said something like, "I need to see more than a .682 OPS from Jose" - when Jack Himself had a .686 OPS - then that would have been a stupid comment worthy of heavy criticism. But thats not what Wilson said. He questioned Castillo's effort. Something that has never been an issue with Wilson.

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A couple weeks after the trade for Adam Laroche and the proposed Pirates line-up remains the same as it did soon after the trade:

1. Chris Duffy
2. Jack Wilson
3. Freddy Sanchez
4. Adam Laroche
5. Jason Bay

And it remains as awful as it was the first time I saw it. Wilson should be hitting eigth, Duffy should probably be hitting sixth or seventh while Sanchez and Bay need to be hitting higher.

- Duffy and Wilson are not good enough to be hitting 1 and 2. Among the biggest problems with last years Pirates team were the blackholes at the top of the lineup...and to remedy this problem we're going to go into 2007 with the two guys that spent the most time in those spots...spending even more time there. Brilliant.

- Laroche should be "protecting" Bay. Not the other way around.

- I still believe the #2 spot is the best place for your best hitter (in this case Jason Bay).

- The Pirates are going to waste a lot of at-bats and outs when Jim Tracy has Jack Wilson bunt 30 times from the #2 spot over the course of the season.

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Hey, how about those Penguins? I hope they can continue this momentum throughout the second half of the season because playoff hockey really is an incredible time. And while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are getting all of the attention (and for good reason of course) another of the recent top two picks has played just as big of a role and done so under the radar.

Marc-Andre Fleury.

In Case You Haven't Heard, Mike Tomlin Is Black

I guess this is supposed to be a big deal or something. Mike Tomlin being black that is.

Because the Steelers have never had a black head coach, everytime Tomlin's name gets mentioned in media circles it is always thrown into the conversation that "he is the first black head coach in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Good for him. But do we have to keep mentioning it?

Same question applies to the already tired Tony Dungy-Lovie Smith "First two black coaches in the Super Bowl story."

Last week everyones least favorite Pittsburgh scribe wrote a column for the Post-Gazette that basically suggested that the only reason Tomlin was hired was because he is black. The fact that Tomlin is black, combined with the fact that Dan Rooney hired him was supposed to make Rooney good for following through on the rule that is named after him. Or something like that.

I know it's fun to try and disect this from every angle one can think of, but isn't it possible - if not likely - that Mike Tomlin was hired because he was the best possible person for the job?

FINALLY!

At long last the chaos has ended and someone with the name of "Rooney" introduced us to our new head coach. It is official. And I for one am psyched.

I didn't have a chance to watch the Press Conference today but I have caught clips of it this evening. Tomlin seems like a pretty bright, well spoken guy. I like it. However, I'd be lying if I said my excitement is felt throughout town. Thats not to say a lot of people aren't pumped (because I think a lot of people are)... but there seems to be a lot that aren't to pleased with the choice.

Just doing some browsing on the web and gabbing at the water cooler today (granted, neither forum should be taken to seriously, but here we are) i've found a lot of people pretty honked off that Russ Grimm wasn't given the job for no other reason than he's Russ Grimm.

I have to ask the question:

What makes Russ Grimm so damn qualified for the job, while Mike Tomlin, is not?

I actually asked it once today and recieved no answer in return.

Heading into today the chief concern seemed to be that the hiring of Tomlin would mean the 3-4 defense and Dick Lebeau would be gone. And then the first thing Tomlin announces is that he will be keeping Lebeau around.

So much for idle speculation.

Somebody over at MGS asked a few weeks ago (I wish I could remember who it was, sorry to who asked it, I can't remember who you are) "if Russ Grimm weren't an assistant coach with the Steelers would he even be interviewed?"

I have to admit, I don't think he would have been a choice.

As I've said before, I think a lot of people just wanted to see the local guy get the job simply because he's a local guy. That of course is no way to build a contender. After all, Chuck Noll was from Cleveland. The bastard.

I was watching the news tonight and the station (can't remember which one) sent one of their reporters out around town to gather opinions of the new guy. The first fan they talked to was some guy sitting in a diner going on about how Russ Grimm has been to Super Bowls and knows what it takes to win, therefore he should have been the coach. I'm not even sure what that means. He was obviously forgetting that Mike Tomlin has also been to a Super Bowl and earned himself a ring. I believe thats it on his right hand in the picture to the right - which I stole from the PG's Blog & Gold.

Some other guy was talking about how Tomlin never even played in the NFL. Had I been the reporter I would have asked him what he thought of Bill Belicheck as a coach. Belicheck, like Tomlin, never set foot in the NFL as a player, and unlike Belicheck, Tomlin doesn't seem to be an overwhelming jagoff and appears to be able to string words together in a sentence without seperating them with a series of grunts and growls. And I like Belicheck. As a coach.

Of course, I would like to take this time to welcome our new fearless leader and hope that it's another 15 years before we have to go through this type of circus again. Maybe in Cleveland the hiring of a new coach isn't that big of a deal, but down here...we're just not used to this crap. Hopefully by the time we do this again Mike Prisuta's source gets something right and Mike Tomlin has a couple more rings on his fingers to please the guy in the diner.

Now Jay Glazer Joins The Fun; Dewey Wins!

Not that I believe anything yet, but Jay Glazer becomes the latest in a long line of scribes that have an unnamed inside source close to the situation. Glazer has reported that the Steelers have finally informed Mike Tomlin that he is the guy and that they have agreed to a deal. According to Glazer, Tomlin will be introduced tomorrow.

I'm still not going to believe it for sure until I see it...but it's starting to look like Mike Prisuta and our good friends over at the trib wet the bed like Drew Brees today. Not good for those guys. Not good at all.

If this is indeed the real deal and Mike Tomlin is the man, I think they made the right choice. For the longest time I was convinced that it was going to be Ron Rivera (why else would the Steelers wait so long when they had the other guys right there in front of them?) but I was kind of pulling for Tomlin to get the job. I was never convinced on Russ Grimm and felt he was simply being considered because he's a local guy and an assistant on the current staff. Had he been neither, he may have never been a possibility. On the plus side, Southmoreland High School has a fantastic stadium named after him. So he's got that going for him......

Tomlin may do things a little differently (like the Cover-2 instead of what we're used to around here) but thats okay. Change isn't always bad. He's young. He has new ideas. I like it.

Just so it's for real this time.

Oh, and congrats to the Chicago Bears for reaching Super Bowl XLI as they just dismantled the New Orleans Saints. Hopefully the Colts do the same to the Patriots.

Bears-Colts?

That seems like the least objectionable option if the Steelers can't be involved somehow.............

It's Mike Tomlin..No..It's Not - Wait - Yes It Is...NO! IT'S RUSS GRIM! NO! WAIT!.........

I've been kind of out of touch with the sports world today (I was covering Cal U Basketball all day) and I return to find the city of Pittsburgh in mass chaos as the Steelers Head Coaching search takes a crazy turn for the worse. It's to the point now where the Steelers obviously see the power they hold over the city and are just leaking reports to laugh at the pandamonium that is sure to follow.

As I said before, I don't know exactly what happened today (except Lock Haven has two kind of bad basketball teams) but my understanding is this:

- Michael Silver the NFL writer from Sports Illustrated first broke the news that the Steelers had decided on Mike Tomlin to be their next Head Coach.

- Mike Tomlin and the Steelers denied this.

- Other sources - including ESPN's Chris Mortensen - confirmed the Michael Silver SI report and also reported that the Steelers have hired Mike Tomlin.

- Now, in this late night/early morning hour Mike Prisuta reports that Russ Grimm is actually the new guy.

I for one am tired of this crap and i'm not believing anything until one of the Rooney boys introduces someone at a press conference and I hear from one of their lips that so and so is the next Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I can't take the drama anymore.

More On The Mike Gonzalez For Adam Laroche Trade

It's looking like the Minor Leaguers in the trade are Brent Lillibridge going from Pittsburgh to Atlanta while Jamie Romack is coming to Pittsburgh. If true, this doesn't really fix my shaken confidence in this trade.

I still think the biggest problem with the Pirates (in)ability to score runs is their overall inability to get people on base. To remedy this ongoing problem we went balls to the wall for a guy that has a career On-Base Percentage of .335 and only once has been above .340 in a single season.

I realize he could hit 30 homeruns this season but i'm really not concerned about homeruns. I'm concerned about getting a guy that can simply hit. If you want homeruns then you just stick Brad Eldred at first base and he'll probably hit more homeruns than Adam Laroche or Aubrey Huff or Chad Tracy or whoever else we courted this off-season. Granted, he wouldn't do anything else. But damnit, he'd hit homeruns.

To make matters worse, coming into today the Pirates had three position players in their minor league system that could be looked at as legit prospects with a potential Major League future. And now one of them is on his way to Atlanta so we could we could complete a trade for a guy that appears to be the only player in Major League Baseball based on our approach to this off-season. And that doesn't include the fact that we had to give up our best pitcher (lets be honest, he is..err...was) to make it happen.

I don't like it......

Pirates Acquire Adam Laroche.....Again

The off again on again Mike Gonzalez for Adam Laroche deal appears to be on again. And this time for real. Once again multiple sources are confirming this deal as done and Ed Eagle (link to come) is reporting both teams will get a prospect as well. Obviously a lot depends on who the prospects are but I remain mixed on this deal overall. Mainly because I still think we're giving up the best player in the deal.

If Laroche plays like he did in the 2nd half of last year then the Pirates picked up a useful player. If he plays like he did for the first two and a half years of his career - mediocre- and Gonzalez continues to mow down the National League....well....then it's just more of the same.

Since i'm the optimist I'll hold out hope that Laroche hits 32 homeruns with a .915 OPS again but I won't be surprised if he doesn't. We are talking about Pirate luck here.

Arizona Takes A Whiz And Chris Myers Poops His Pants On National TV

According to multiple sources - Fox' Jay Glazer and The East Valley Tribune - Ken Whisenhunt has accepted the Arizona Cardinals offer to become their next head coach. This leaves the Steelers with either Russ Grimm or Mike Tomlin...or a few more stalling interviews (ie: Chan Gailey and Mike Sherman) until Ron Rivera becomes available when/if the Bears lose.

I wish Whiz nothing but the best of luck but to say he has a lot of work to do to turn that franchise around is a fantastic understatement. Good luck Whiz......you're going to need it.

- Just prior to kickoff of the Bears-Seahawks game, FOX sideline reporter Chris Myers was talking to Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren and made the following comment to coach walrus:

"Defending Super Bowl Champs heavy road underdogs today..."

What? Not only did nobody correct Myers glarring mistake, walrus answered the question as if nothing was wrong.

Defending Super Bowl Champs? Seattle?

I have a sweatshirt and hat that say otherwise...

Heres hoping the Bears take Seattle out behind the woodshed today...or win on a controversial call. Either would be fine with me.

A Week Of Sports

I feel like poop tonight and since I have nothing better to do I figure now would be a good time to rant about some of the happenings in Sports over the past week.

Lets start with the news of the day and the top story in the world of sports which would be David Beckham jumping the pond. According to the AP story, Beckham signed a 5 year 250 million dollar contract to play for the LA Galaxy of MLS. Take a second and try to take that all in. David Beckham. LA Galaxy. MLS. 250 Million dollars.

Thats craptastic.

Make no mistake about it, Beckham probably becomes the best player in the MLS right now without having played a single game. Of course, that statement says more about the current state of the league than the current state of Beckhams declining/overated abilities, but he is the best and he's married to a Spice Girl, which is pretty cool.

The LA Galaxy of MLS giving Beckham 250 million dollars over five years is kind of like the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League giving Barry Bonds 250 million dollars over five years. It's just that silly. This of course is par the course for upstart American soccer leagues trying to make a name for themselves and make soccer work in America. If Pele couldn't pull it off, Beckham isn't either.

Remember when Alex Rodriguez signed that 250 million dollar contract over ten years with the Texas Rangers? That deal is starting to look like an absolute bargain in the sporting world. Who knew such craziness was ahead of us? Even if the Galaxy win the MLS cup in each of the next five years how do they justify paying a guy $250 million dollars (roughly a million dollars a week) when the league averages about 15,000 per game in attendance and probably fewer viewers on the tube?

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A couple of weeks ago I said that my ideal bowl season would feature the Michigan Wolverines stomping USC, Boise State upsetting Oklahoma and Florida absolutely pounding Ohio State. As it turns out, that dream almost came true.

Boise State managed to upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and thanks to the Gators ass whomping of THE Ohio State University on Monday night, they end the season as the only unbeaten team in Division 1-A football. Which gets them nothing because we don't know what would have happened if they would have played Florida in a game where they may or may not have won, and since they'll never get to play the game they'll just have to take their # 4 or #5 ranking (behind 3 or 4 teams that lost a game at some point) and be happy with it. It sucks and it's one of the reasons that college football continues to suck.

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Cal Ripken Jr and Tony Gwynn were voted into Cooperstown this week in what should have been a pretty easy choice. Meanwhile, Mark Mcgwire was only listed on 20% of the ballots which means...well...it means he didn't get in.

- In related news Bobby Bonilla and Jay Buhner received votes which shows how seriously the esteemed baseball writers of america take their honor.

The baseball hall of fame is starting to become kind of a joke and will be downright useless in six or seven years when Barry Bonds doesn't get elected on his first ballot (and he won't -it's just the way the votes are).

After visiting the hall of fame a few years back I realized that the actual hall of fame itself (the plaques) meant little to me. I enjoyed the museum aspect of it and the town of Cooperstown far more than seeing a bronze tribute to Reggie Jacksons playing days. I don't need the Bob Smizik's of the world to vindicate Mark Mcgwire or Barry Bonds or Cal Ripken or Tony Gwynns greatness. I'll remember them as the great players they were whether they have a plaque in Cooperstown or not. Perhaps thats just me though...

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The Steelers head coaching search has continued this week. So far the Whiz, Russ Grimm, Vikings Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin and Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera have already interviewed, while former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Georgia Tech Head Coach Chan Gailey will interview on Saturday. Gailey seems to be coming from left field and I really can't see him as a legitimate possibility. I still think it's down to Whiz and Grimm, although I wouldn't be surprised (or opposed to) Mike Tomlin.

Whiz is scheduled to have a 2nd interview in Arizona next week while Russ Grimm seems to be down to the Steelers head coaching job or remaing as an assistant, neither is a bad job of course. Whiz was connected to the Atlanta job but that has already been filled by former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino which further proves that some NFL owners just don't learn.

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And last but not least. How about the rise and fall of the not so legendary Tony Romo? You knew it was coming, but who knew it was coming that fast? The only negative of the Romo fall is the fact it happened against those latte sippin' wuss bags up in Seattle. Hopefully this week they get throttled and Mike Holmgren whines at the Seahawks annual "Celebrate The Loser Rally" like he did last year.

Thanks For The Memories Bill

So it looks like this is it. I usually refrain from talking about things like this until they actually happen for fear that they won't happen and then all of the discussion will be for nothing.

But this looks like it's the real deal.

The Steelers have called a 1 p.m. Press Conference for tomorrow where Bill Cowher will announce his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

What a fantastic ride it has been. Whatever few bad times there were they were by far and away out numbered by the good times and the past 15 years of Steelers Football have been pretty damn fantastic.

When Bill Cowher became head coach in 1992 the Penguins were coming off of their 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup, the Pirates had won three straight division titles and the Steelers were mired in mediocrity for the better part of the previous decade. That all changed pretty quickly.

I missed out on Jeromes final home game but i'm glad I was able to see Bills final game even though it ended on a sour note. I was actually at Cowhers first game in Pittsburgh as well back in 1992. The Steelers home opener that year was against the New York Jets and Barry Foster steamrolled the Jets for something like 194 yards, including a 54 yard run in the 2nd quarter.

I must say, it's going to be pretty bizarre seeing a different coach on the sidelines of Heinz Field next season. You think there is any chance the Steelers can hit on a hall of fame coach for third time in a row?