Opening Day roster reaction: The Pitching Staff.

                              I have been busy with Pitt, NCAA tournamen business, and of course High School Basketball. I love all things sports, but Pirates baseball has always been the backbone of this blog, at least I like to think it is. I'll try to keep up with the season and the events it brings as best as I can on the blog. Forewarning, I am not the most knowledgeable baseball guru, but I can hold my own. Again, I like to think so. I will tell it how it is, or how I see how it is. If you are looking for sabermetrics statistics, this probably is not the place for you. I do not understand it all, but I understand some people like it. I do not get why a trillion little acronyms tell me why Andrew McCutchen is the best centerfielder in baseball anymore than the usual stats do, but again its just not my cup of tea. So the forewarning is over, we can talk some baseball.

Starting rotation- The Pirates will anchor their staff with 36 year old righty, AJ Burnett. Burnett is coming off of a bit of a revivial season. He was able to be the main guy in Pittsburgh mostly, but like most of the Pittsburgh baseball club, he tailed off late in the season. He still possess a good fastball, and his control still appears to be on par. Burnett's best assets are his passion, and leadership. He is one of the leader's of the clubhouse, and younger guys seem to respond to him. The Pirates will be asking a lot of the veteran. I'm hopeful he can produce in the 15 win range again. After that,  Wandy Rodriguez will be the number 2 man in the rotation. The 34 year old lefty was the big trade acquistion last season, and came with mixed results. Overall, Rodriguez has been a pretty consistent big league pitcher, and I see him being able to post double digit wins again. He is an inning eater, and every rotation needs a few of those. James McDonald will enter as the third starting pitcher. He had a strange season last season, as he looked like an All Star for half the season, and flopped for the most part in the second half. You will hear about the great stuff and potential he possess, and you will see it too. The key is consistency. I get less thrilled with the potential of the remaining two spots. Francisco Liriano will begin the season on the DL, but he has had a less than ideal past few seasons. He may be able to turn some things around, but he needs to prove it.  Jonathan Sanchez will take his place, and that may not be a good thing. Sanchez had a few OK seasons with San Francisco, but nothing great for being in a good pitcher's park. He had a horrid 2012, and a bad Spring. Jeff Locke beat out Kyle McPhearson for the fifth spot. Both guys are organization guys with limited major league potential. Neither are more than fringe fifth starters, but they are not terrible. Locke gives the rotation three left handers, which does not excite me.  

Analysis- Simply put, Burnett needs to pitch pretty much on par with what he did last year. The rotation's success starts with him, and actually with the dead weight at the back end, he may need to do more than last year.  Rodriguez needs to find his grove in Pittsburgh. He struggled initially after the trade, but got it going somewhat. He still has some good seasons left in him, and the Pirates could sure use one. James McDonald is all about consistency, he can pitch like an ace on one night and a minor leaguer the next. Locke and Sanchez seem to be fillers for Liriano and Jeff Karstens. Karstens in return appears to be a filler for top prospect, Gerrit Cole. The Pirates can hang on to Cole longer if they hold out to June, so unless some unforseeable mess of injuries occurs, do not expect to see Cole before then. He will be in Pittsburgh around then, if all things hold true. The other top prospect, Jameson Taillon, seems a longshot to make Pittsburgh this year, but it could happen. The rotation can be a strength, but it is no doubt shaky. Consistency is the key.

My Grade- C

Bullpen- The Bullpen will look much different without Joel Hanrahan as its face. The two time all star was shipped up to Boston. (Dropkick Murpphy's reference: intended) The Pirates will have some familar faces from last season, some new intriguing ones, and being brutally honest, some bad ones.  Jason Grilli will assume the role as closer to start the season. The 36 year old can still bring the fastball, and is coming off the best season of his career. The Pirates found him out of nowhere (and sidenote--if nothing else, Neal Huntington can scout out relief pitching.) Grilli will need to be that guy to shut down and seal off close games, the Hammer was pretty good, and he also had a good entrance video, so Grilli has so much to live up to. After that, I see  Mark Melancon being pretty good. He had a good Spring training, and the talent is there. The cliche "change of scenery" can definitely apply here. He has a good fastball, and has closer potential down the line. Hanrahan had similar credentials before joining the Pirates, and he turned out to be pretty good. Jared Hughes is another right hander that can be placed at the back of the bullpen. He looks like a bully out on the mound, and he had a tremendous Spring following up a solid 2012 campaign. Tony Watson will be the top left hander. He had a miserable Spring, and an OK 2012. I think Watson can be a desent option for Hurdle in situational use. Justin Wilson was kept on as another lefty, and I like what he can become. He throws in the high 90's and can strikeout a lot of batters, and he is only 25. He was a starter for most of his minor league career, but I like the thought of him in the Bullpen.  Jeanmar Gomez is young and was a starting pitcher in Cleveland up until now. I am not exactly sure how or why he is in the Pirates' bullpen. Chris Leroux had a 8.59 ERA in Spring Training, and he is on the 25 man roster. That is all I need to say.

Analysis- Joel Hanrahan is a little better than some Pirate fans would like to admit, and he will be missed. The comfort of knowing he was there, was a nice luxury. I am not a big Grilli guy, and I will be surprised if he remains the closer throughout the season. I like what Melancon can be. Guys like Hughes, Wilson, and Watson are homegrown guys, and they can be reliable. After that, I say there are some MAJOR probelems. Leroux? Gomez? Ehhh, I bet this will be a revolving door.

My Grade- C-

The Last One

                        This is not meant to be a nostalgic sob story by an old time sport's writer distraught about the Big East conference as we know it ending. Unfortunatley, it will just be a young bloggers goodbye to the greatest college basketball conference ever assembled. There is no real great place to begin when describing the Big East and its postseason tournament. It is dripping wet with college basketball history and lore. This piece will not do it justice, but I am going to give it Hell.

                 Where to start, ah yes, The Garden. The Mecca, The World's most famous arena. Is there possibly a better venue? Not a chance. The arena is built for this. Sure, the Knicks and Rangers are the tennents, but the Garden is for Big East Basketball. Plain and simple. The collection of fans it brings together, and the playground of Manhattan just beckoning outside these hallowed walls, it is indescribible. The fans are the atmosphere, but something about that building brings it to a whole new level. I will dare to say that is the best atmosphere in all of college basketball. It does not have the Final Four importance, nor does it have the national relevance that the first weekend of the tournament has, and it certainly does not have that on campus feel. But it is better. Ask someone that has been there.


                     I am a veteran of five Big East tournaments. I have witnessed four Big East Tournament Titles, and have been to close to twenty games inside the Garden overall. The passion this tournament brings trumps that of the NCAA tournament. Its the Garden, you are not just rooting against some of these teams, you hate them. You hate their fans, and they hate you. Its college basketball at its most pure level. UConn, Syracuse?  Calhoun, Boeheim, Huggins?  They were the villains that took over Gotham for one week in the middle of March annually. But, no more.

The allure of the Big East tournament was and still is simple. A weekend in New York in March. check. Watching some of the best basketball money can buy. check. Need I say more?  That is why I am going to miss it.

-Seeing Gerry McNamara takeover a town for a weekend (Hell, I was half rooting for him towards the end) -The collection of iconic coaches roaming the sideline, Calhoun, Pitino, Huggins, Boeheim, Dixon, Wright, Thompson III. 
-The level of play with the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Emeka Okafor, Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, and so on and on and on and on......
-UConn, Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova,Cincinnati, Notre Dame all in the same building in one weekend
-Walking down Broadway wearing your team colors proudly.
-Having some wild stories to tell, or well, ehh maybe not tell.

                   It sucks, it is over. Still,  the name will lives on, and half of the league will continue to have this weekend, but they know it will never be the same. How could it?  Butler and Xavier are not Pitt and Syracuse. As a Pitt fan, how am I going to get excited about the ACC tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina? How as a town can Greensboro expect to create excitment for Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame fans? It can not. The Big East tournament was one of a kind, and it is dead. It is something that will be talked about as long as college basketball is being played. The Big East had it right. Now all they will have will be the two minute montages ESPN put together.

             My last and greatest Big East tournament story took place just this past weekend, my friend calls me Saturday around noon. "Do you want to go to the Big East Championship, its the last one." I think it took me all of two seconds to say yes. Seven hours later we are scalping tickets for $100 outside of Pennsylvania Station. We were there, we made the last one. A long night of bickering Syracuse fans, celebrating Saint Patrick's Day, and waking up on a hotel room floor with a giant hole in my wallet later.....was it worth it?  No Doubt. I saw the last Big East Tournament game, and that is nothing I will ever forget.

PIAA Western Class AA Boys Basketball Playoff Primer

Team to Beat - Beaver Falls - The Tigers look different from last season, but the local powerhouse can still play. They run an up tempo style predicated on defensive pressure. They have only lost to Lincoln Park, Montour, and New Castle, who are three of the better teams this end of the state regardless of class. They have way better athletes than any other team this end of the state.

The Contender - West Middlesex - The Big Reds have only one loss in Pennsylvania this season, and that was to Beaver Falls by ten on opening night. They have a really good talent in 6-6 wing, Dan Dogan. They can make some noise in the bottom half of the bracket.

Top Local Team - Penn Cambria - The Panthers won District Six by defeating Northern Cambria in convincing fashion. They have an exberienced bunch, and a talented 6-7 forward in AJ Leahey. They can defend fairly well, and really keep teams at their pace.

Best Road for a Local Team - Bishop McCort - The Crushers may have a run in them. They play an overachieving Burrell team in the first round. Should they advance, it would be a difficult yet winnable game with West Middlesex. They could see Westinghouse in the quarterfinals, before eventually seeing Beaver Falls in the Western Final.

Down Year- Not the same luster this season with all of the upsets in the WPIAL playoffs. Brentwood, Burrell, and Apollo Ridge are not the usual suspects. Sill some familiar faces are out there from District Seven like Beaver Falls, Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, and Quaker Valley.

What to expect from the East- It has typically been a Philadelphia team for many years now, and expect no different. Sayre, Communications Tech, and Constitution are three public school teams from District 12 that could all be considered contenders.

My Picks

Beaver Falls over Bald Eagle
Mercyhurst Prep over Brockway
Greensburg Central Catholic over Penn Cambria
Quaker Valley over Lakeview
Westinghouse over Brentwood
Apollo Ridge over Northern Cambria
Bishop McCort over Burrell
West Middlesex over Jeannette

Beaver Falls over Mercyhurst Prep
Greensburg Central Catholic over Quaker Valley
Westinghouse over Apollo Ridge
Bishop McCort over West Middlesex

Beaver Falls over GCC
Westinghouse over Bishop McCort

Beaver Falls over Westinghouse

PIAA Western Class A Boys Basketball Playoff Primer.

The Frontrunner- Lincoln Park - Despite being rated as the fourth place team from District Seven, these guys are still the team to beat. The Leopards are paced by talented 6-8 junior, Elijah Minnie. Lincoln Park was surprised by an athletic Clairton bunch in the WPIAL semifinals, but that was on Clairton's best day. Lincoln Park has great athletes, and have played a trying schedule. They are ready to make a run to Hershey.

The Challenger- Vincentian Academy - Vincentian enters the tournament with a 25-1 mark, and the champions of the WPIAL. They are a team that is very comfortable scoring a lot of points, and can run and gun with the best of them. They will be confident, and tough to slow down.

Best Local Challenger - Bishop Carroll - I understand Shade's gaudy record, and the fact Bishop Guilfoyle just beat Bishop Carroll, but in a state tournament setting, these Huskies are the best bet. Brandon Martinazzi is an outstanding lead guard, and Marcus Lee is a formidable presence inside. Not to mention that one loss for Vincentian came to the Huskies.

Local Team with best road to advance- Bishop Guilfoyle - The Maruaders have things setting up rather nicely for themselves. BG gets a Smethport team in their own backyard at Altoona High School. After that, they would have to see a Clairton team that is certainly beatable. It would be North Catholic or Johnsonburg after that in the state quarterfinal round, and they would be able to avoid Lincoln Park until the Western Final.

District that can surprise- District 9- The WPIAL typically has a hold on anything this end of the state, yet other districts have certain classifications in certain sports that can contend. That would be the case for District 9 in class A boys basketball. Johnsonburg has excellent shooters, and they are a viable contender for the bottom half of the bracket. Ridgway made it to the Western Final last season, and some of those players are still there. North Clarion and Smethport only have 5 combined losses, so do not sleep on any team from up that way.

What to expect from the East- Vaux or Math Civics & Sciences- Vaux is led by Rysheed Jordan, who is down to UCLA, St. John's, or Temple. He is a five star player ranked in the top 30 in the country. MCS has three Division 1 players, Britton Lee and Jeremiah Worthem both going to Robert Morris, and Quadir Welton going to Saint Peter's.


My Picks
Vincentian over North Clarion
Bishop Carroll over Shanksville
Ridgway over Homer Center
Lincoln Park over Kennedy Catholic
Bishop Guilfoyle over Smethport
Clairton over Cochranton
North Catholic over Shade
Johnsonburg over Eisenhower

Vincentian over Bishop Carroll
Lincoln Park over RIdgway
Clairton over Bishop Guilfoyle
Johnsonburg over North Catholic

Lincoln Park over Vincentian
Johnsonburg over Clairton

Lincoln Park