Rendon Watch: Can't-Miss Prospect Heating Up Early

Anthony Rendon has a.417 batting average

When Rice University's Junior third basemen Anthony Rendon took the field last Friday against Stanford, he was not only starting a new season, he was playing in his first game since July 2010 when he brutally shattered his right ankle.  As expected, Rendon struggled in his return debut going 0-4 in a 5-3 loss to the Cardinal.  In his second game, he went 1-4 with a run scored.  In his third game, he went 2-4.  Now, with six games in the books on this young season, Anthony Rendon has reclaimed his top spot on the Owl's hitting chart with a .417 batting average while also hitting his first home run last night against USC.  In order to maintain his status as Top Prospect in the 2011 MLB Draft, he has to show he can stay healthy while continuing to be extremely productive. 

His current .417 batting average may hold up as the season wears on as he hit .394 last year as a sophomore.  However, he has been dealing with minor shoulder issues which have kept him as the DH in the lineup.  His health has to be somewhat of a red flag for Pirates' management and if Rendon's problems continue to linger on during his junior season, the Pirates may end up taking either TCU pitcher Matt Purke or UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole.  Purke threw 4 shutout innings against Kansas before being lifted after the Horned Frogs got out to an 8-0 lead.  Gerrit Cole threw a complete game shutout allowing only 4 hits and striking out 11 batters.  All three players are competing for the number 1 pick and with all three being represented by money shark Scott Boras, signability is no longer an excuse for our Buccos. 

Drafting and signing Rendon would be the most logical choice for the Pirates.  Although you can never have too much pitching, with the money Cole and Purke would command along with last year's signing of Jameson Taillon, the Pirates would be taking a financial risk, spending upwards of 25 million dollars on two players whose position is more fragile and erratic during the developmental stages than position players.  Also, with Rendon being a position player and a defensive stud at third base, you would have someone to move Pedro Alvarez over to first.  As for now, let us sit back and watch this kid tear up Division 1 College Baseball.  As Rendon continues to heat up, his numbers will go through the roof, making his arrival to Pittsburgh closer each step of the way.

NHL Does it Again: Hockey Across America Week

In an effort to cram more hockey exposure across the United States, the NHL has teamed up with NBC and USA Hockey to bring "Hockey Across America Weekend."  The point of this weekend is to make the general US public more aware of the awesome sport of hockey.  The schedule has the Flyers slated at noon against the Rangers, the Blackhawks hosting the Penguins at 3pm and (on versus) the 2011 Heritage Classic between the Flames and the Canadiens in McMahon Stadium in Alberta at 6pm.  On Twitter, USAhockey has been promoting this weekend by encouraging followers to participate in showing their hockey support.  Friday was "wear your favorite jersey" day and Saturday was "Bring a friend to the rink" day. 

The promotions are cute and all, but how much are they actually helping  to bring interest back to the sport? Believe it or not, yes.  According to Tv by the numbers, Stanley Cup ratings have risen since the season after the lockout.  The Stanley Cup finals last year produced 3.42 million viewers which was the most since 2003.  But as effective as these marketing ploys have been, there seems to be a cheesiness to their approaches.  Every year, leading up the Winter Classic, we have to hear about players playing on ponds growing up in -100 degree northern Canada.  While those stories are interesting, after 5 years of hearing the same thing from different players, it has somewhat lost its aura.  For hockey fanatics, like myself, it's cool to see the video of the Staal brothers.  However, the casual fan may look at the video and think "is this all the NHL has to offer for promotion?  A history lesson?" 

I wonder, what could I do to show my true dedication to the sport of hockey this weekend?  I could play hockey; well no because the rinks around here are closed for whatever reason.  The Ice Castle was closed this weekend, as was Airport Ice Arena.  Robert Morris had a game this weekend so Neville Island was closed as well.  So what else can I do?  Well, I've created a list.  The 3 things I must do to show my true diehard hockey fanaticism:

1. Brush teeth- Yes that's right, I'm going to brush my teeth.  But first, I will wrap my black hockey tape around my toothbrush.  If I had a wood toothbrush, I would break out the blow torch.

2. Drink everything out of my Gatorade bottle- Water, wine, juice, beer; doesn't matter.  I will put whatever liquid I plan to drink in a Gatorade bottle.

3.  Wear my hockey gear while watching the games- Yes the full face shield will be annoying but it's the only way I could feel like a true hockey fan.  I'll sit on the couch wearing all my gear and my stick.  After every good play, I'll bang my stick against the couch.


What have you done this weekend to show your support?  How will you show your support for the rest of the day?

Crosby Should Sit for Season

Through the turmoil and unpredictability of Sidney Crosby's return to playing hockey, previous stories in hockey, namely Marc Savard's, should be enough evidence for the Penguins to play it safe and keep Crosby out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.  It is entirely possible Crosby could return this season...or not.  And for that fact alone, there should be no risk taken in bringing him back too early.  Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard was concussed on March 7th of 2010 and missed the rest of the regular season.  He was, once again, placed on the shelf this year for the remainder of the season due to another concussion he received.  Simply put, Savard was brought back too early last year in the NHL playoffs and because he never fully recovered, he constantly has been in and out of the lineup due to post-concussion symptoms.  To ensure that does not happen to Pittsburgh's franchise player, the Penguins would be better off sitting Crosby and living to fight another day or, in this case, for several more years.

Let us not forget, the Penguins will be without their other star center, Evgeni Malkin who tore his ACL on February 4th against the Buffalo Sabres.  From that injury, there has been much speculation that the Penguins, now with 8 million dollars in cap space, will go after a few top 6 forwards (Kovalev, Iginla, Versteeg, etc.) to play on Crosby's wing in the playoffs.  The big question, however, is what would the Penguins have to give up to land these players?  Would Kris Letang, at the age of 23 and already one of the top offensive defensemen in the game, be worth an aging Iginla?  Any player received in the trade, would purely be a rental and the Penguins would have to give up pieces of their future to try and win a cup without one of their best players on the ice. 

The Penguins were already built for a cup run this year before their injuries.  Although they only have 6 forwards (Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Cooke, Kunitz, Letestu) under contract after this season, the 2nd ranked defense in the NHL has all seven defensemen and both goaltenders signed through next season.  Ray Shero will re-sign the forwards he feels will be most beneficial to the team and the Penguins, once again, will be loaded up and ready for another run at the Stanley Cup.  But this year should be conceded to the field.  The Stanley Cup playoffs are a tough grind with a completely healthy roster as it is, and teams like Vancouver, Detroit, Philadelphia and Dallas are too much for the Penguins without Evgeni Malkin.  For that reason, risking Sidney Crosby's career by having him return from a concussion to play during one of the most violent stages in hockey, is nonsensical.  The odds are too high to overcome without a full roster and, like Malkin, Crosby should rest and get ready for next season.

Steelers lose Super Bowl XLV (Recap)

This post is actually a new podcast.  Check it out here:

http://pennlinesportstalk.podbean.com/

Tomlin vs Cowher Comparisons Not to be Made on Playoff Success Alone

When Head Coach Mike Tomlin takes to the sideline on Sunday night, he will be going for his second Super Bowl ring in four seasons.  It took Bill Cowher four seasons to reach his first Super Bowl which ended in a loss after a disastrous performance by Neil O'Donnell.  If Tomlin's Steelers win on Sunday, critics from all over the country and especially Steeler Nation will move Tomlin ahead of Cowher as second greatest head coach in franchise history.  But how justified is that argument?  Yes, Tomlin's teams have been more "clutch" in the playoffs.  As head coach, he is 2-0 in home AFC title games which is almost a direct contrast to Cowher's 0-5 record.  However, we cannot overlook certain factors involved when examining these games.  Before I make these comparisons, I would like to say that my goal is not to bash Tomlin's success, but rather shed a little more light on the difficulty Cowher had in being successful:

Let's be real, the most consistent quarterback in Steelers history (post-merger) is Ben Roethlisberger.  Yes that includes Terry Bradshaw as well.  Neil O'Donnell never had completion rating higher than 59.1 in his 5 years with the Steelers.  Big Ben has only had 1 season where his completion rating was BELOW 60%.  Kordell Stewart had one year where his completion rating was at 60.2 as a starter but in the playoffs, much like O'Donnell, Stewart was a different player.  O'Donnell's playoff record was 3-4 while Kordell's was 2-2 in just two playoff appearances.  O'Donnell cracked under the pressure of the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX and threw two perfect passes right to Cowboys's cornerback Larry Brown.  Kordell Stewart faced a similar fate against the Denver Broncos in the 1997 season when he turned the ball over twice in the second half.  Ben Roethlisberger, however, is 9-2 in the playoffs including two Super Bowl victories.

Speaking of the 1997 Denver Broncos, who was the quarterback on that team? Hall of Famer John Elway.  In fact, when you look at the quarterbacks both Tomlin and Cowher have faced in the playoffs, the competition doesn't really compare.  Cowher's playoff losses have come to quarterbacks named Aikman, Elway, Kelly, Brady (twice), Humphries...OK so maybe that last one was a true choke job by Cowher's team.  But Cowher's road to a Super Bowl championship almost mirrors Tomlin's.  The 2005-2006 Steelers defeated Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning, Jake Plummer and Matt Hasselbeck to bring the Lombardi trophy back to Pittsburgh for a 5th time.  Peyton Manning, a future hall of famer, nearly led a high powered offense, after struggling in the first half of the game, to a comeback win against the Steelers had it not been for Ben Roethlisberger's clutch play and Manning's team having a below average defense.  Sound familiar?  Say, Kurt Warner's Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII?  


Let us compare that to Tomlin's success in the playoffs:  Garrard, Rivers, Flacco (twice), Sanchez, Warner.  Granted, Tomlin has only lost once in the playoffs in his young career thus-far.  But you simply cannot compare the two lists of quarterbacks on a talent level.  When you look at Tomlin's list, two of those quarterbacks are extremely young.  Flacco's defeats to the Steelers came in his first and third years in the season.  Mark Sanchez was only in his second season when he lost to the Steelers two Sundays ago.  This brings me to my next point: Troy Polamalu.  With the same playoff record as Big Ben, Troy may go down as the greatest Strong Safety in Steelers history.  His involvement in the defense is so dynamic, teams struggle to locate him on the field, even when their game plan is centered around him.  He has tortured Joe Flacco over the past three years and he opened up opportunities for other defensive players to make a play against Mark Sanchez.  Like Ben, the Steelers did not win any post-70's Super Bowls without Troy Polamalu.  There is not a single player on the Steelers defense from the 90's that compares to Troy's impact on the field.   


One thing Mike Tomlin can do that coach Bill Cowher chose against, is extend his legacy in Pittsburgh.  The Green Bay Packers will pose the biggest test in Tomlin's short playoff career. They have a team with a tremendous offense and a punishing defense narrowing the margin of error in Tomlin's game plan.  How he chooses to attack the Packers could make the difference between winning and losing.  If he chooses wisely, (Indiana Jones pun intended) he will gain the notoriety he deserves as an elite level coach in the current NFL.  However, we should not forget the contributions Bill Cowher made to the Steelers franchise leading up to his departure, and Tomlin's instant success.