"The Piece" Looks for Second Ring with Kings

Despite being the eight seed in the vaunted Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings find themselves four wins away from their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.  The recipe for success has been timely scoring, solid defense, and superb goaltending.

But, while Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Mike Richards, and Anze Kopitar have received most of the attention, Rob Scuderi has continued to perform at a high yet unnoticeable level.  In 14 playoff games, Scuderi is a +8 with 21 blocked shots.

This is nothing new to Penguins' fans, who witnessed "Scuds" become a shutdown defenseman in the 2009 playoffs.  After teaming up with Hal Gill to shutdown Claude Giroux, Daniel Briere, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Eric Staal in the first three rounds, Scuderi made two unbelievable plays in game six of the 2009 Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.  Late in the third, the Penguins were up 2-1 when the puck trickled past Marc-Andre Fleury and sat in the crease.  With Red Wings swirling around the crease, Rob Scuderi made a last-ditch effort to knock the puck out of harm's way. 

Then, with 16 seconds remaining in the game, Marian Hossa's shot produced a big rebound in front of the net.  With Fleury out of position, swaying to the left side of the crease, Johan Franzen had a golden opportunity to tie the game.  But as Franzen jabbed away at the puck, Rob Scuderi made two amazing kick saves to buy enough time for Fleury to cover the puck and stop play.  The Penguins would go on to win game six and, eventually, game seven to clinch the Stanley Cup.

Rob Scuderi was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 5th round of the 1998 draft out of Boston College after his freshman season.   Eleven years later, Scuderi became the first Long-Island native to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.  

While Evgeni Malkin would end up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Rob Scuderi picked up the nickname "the piece"after misspeaking during a post-game interview.  After a Penguins' win, Scuderi accidentally said he was "the piece to the puzzle" instead of "a piece to the puzzle."  The quote was more than enough fodder for teammates to give him a hard time.

Three years later, it is Scuderi who has the last laugh. While he is in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Penguins are sitting at home after failing to get out of the first round.  Maybe the nickname is more than just a playful inside joke.  Against a tough, opportunistic New Jersey Devils team, the Kings will need a complete effort to close out their unprecedented run.  Jonathan Quick will need to be stellar between the pipes, Anze Kopitar will need to continue his offensive dominance, and Rob Scuderi will need to be the defensive piece to a championship puzzle.  

Fans Need to Show More Support of Malkin

Since Mario Lemieux in 1992, only one player has lead the league in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs.  

Evgeni Malkin.

Not since Wayne Gretzky's 1982 season has a player led the NHL in scoring during the regular season, and the World Championships in the same year. 

That would also be Evgeni Malkin.

Yet, for some reason, Malkin has been receiving undue criticism about his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team he joined in 2007 after defecting from the Metallurg Magnitogorsk in an airport in Finland. 

What's the deal, Pittsburgh?  

If this is some Eastern European complex because either A) Jaromir Jagr is from the Czech Republic and he left the Penguins or B) the Russians used to be the Soviet Union, need I remind you both events are in the past and neither have any connection to Evgeni Malkin.  

Jagr and Malkin aren't even the same type of personalities.  I spoke to someone within the Pittsburgh media who recounts an 18 year old Jaromir Jagr walking into night clubs with a pen and tablet, trying to get as many phone numbers as possible.  Meanwhile, since he first arrived in the United States, Malkin has surrounded himself with teammates and family.

Evgeni Malkin's 2012 playoff stat sheet shows he was not nearly as dominant as he was in the regular season when he racked up 109 points in 75 games.  Nevertheless, his 8 points were still second on the team behind Jordan Staal.  What most people forget is, the Penguins' biggest problem wasn't a lack of scoring goals.  Despite playing just six games in these playoffs, the Penguins are still ranked 7th out of 16 in goals scored.  With a league leading 4.33 goals per game, the Penguins should've rolled through the Philadelphia Flyers.  Instead, due to bad defense and horrific penalty killing, the Penguins were sent packing in six. 

Malkin then took his talent to Sweden where he racked up a tournament best 19 points (11 g, 8 a) en route to Russia's third Gold Medal in the last five years.  

The reaction in Pittsburgh?  Largely negative.

Rather than applaud Geno's efforts, fans have characterized Malkin's performance as a brand of betrayal; believing he took games off in the NHL playoffs in order to get to the World Championships quicker.  These are the same fans that are quick to point out how critical Sidney Crosby's participation in the 2010 Olympic games was for the Canadians to win the Gold Medal.  Why can't Malkin get that kind of recognition?

Regardless of what fans may speculate, the truth is that Evgeni Malkin loves Pittsburgh.  It is a town similar to his own back in Russia.  He risked his livelihood, friends, and family to come here and be a part of something special.  So far he's contributed to one Stanley Cup and if the Penguins hope to get back within the next 10 years, they'll need Evgeni Malkin to help carry the load.  

McCutchen's Star Shining Brighter than Ever

The Pittsburgh Pirates have squandered a lot of drafts over the last two decades.  But they appeared to hit the jackpot in the 2005 MLB draft when they selected a sinewy high school outfielder from Fort Meade, Florida with the 11th pick.  In a draft that featured names like Braun, Zimmerman, Bruce, Tulowitzki, Upton, and Ellsbury, it is hard to believe there would be room for one more superstar taken in the first round.

Andrew McCutchen is rapidly reaching the superstar level fans have been waiting for since Barry Bonds left in 1992.  While the Pirates have had All-Star players such as Brian Giles, Jason Bay, and Aramis Ramirez, since then, none of them have come close to the excitement McCutchen brings to every game.  He's the perfect balance of speed, power, coordination, athleticism and professionalism.

He's baseball's version of Sidney Crosby, if you will.  Maybe not in terms of his ceiling potential, but definitely in regards to the level of excitement, creating countless hold-your-breath moments.

In 125 bats this season, McCutchen has a .344/.404/.488 with five home runs and seven stolen bases.  After batting a solid .302 in April, 'Cutch has turned it up even further, hitting .436 in 12 games in May.  His performance has been lost in the shuffle with the Pirates' starting rotation continuing to dominate while the rest of the lineup compiles a league worst .219 average. 

This all coming after 6 year, $51.5 million contract in the offseason.  The Pirates paid for MVP numbers and, so far, the 25 year old has been able to produce just that.  In last night's win against the Washington Nationals, McCutchen went 2-4 with two monster home runs, the second coming after a spectacular acrobatic catch in the bottom half of the previous inning.  While Matt Kemp is still the early, overwhelming favorite to take the NL MVP title, McCutchen is at least in the conversation.

Another big step in Andrew McCutchen's development is an increase in his power numbers.  After posting 23 long balls, last season, McCutchen is currently on pace for about 25 home runs.  But if he continues to hit like he has in May, we could see #22 reach the 30 home run milestone; something another former Pirate outfielder didn't do until he was 25 years old.

Barry Bonds.

Poor Offensive Free Agents Hurting the Bucs Again

Seeing free agent signings fall flat is nothing new to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After all, this franchise has endured the likes of Adam Laroche, Jeromy Burnitz, Joe Randa, Raul Mondesi and, of course, Derek Bell.  While Clint Barmes's poor play hasn't reached the point where it could be considered a "saga", I still believe it belongs in the conversation of worst Pirate signings.

The Pirates -having grown tired of watching Ronny Cedeno bunt with the bases loaded- decided to replace him by signing Barmes to a two year, $10 million contract.

For a front office staff that prides itself on using sabremetrics in evaluating talent, this signing makes absolutely no sense, especially to a small-market team with a low payroll.  Barmes's career OPS is .696 while Cedeno's is .640.  Both players share the exact same fielding percentage at .970 and while Barmes has a higher range factor, Cedeno (29) is four years younger.

Those numbers seem relatively even, in fact, it shows that Cedeno and Barmes have followed very similar career paths.  The difference is, Barmes is making five million dollars this season while Cedeno is only making $1.2 million.  Even if the Pirates overpaid Cedeno and gave him $2.5 million to return, that still leaves $7.5 million over two years that could have been better spent on, say, a true first baseman.

This has been the most consistent problem for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the last 20 years.  They can't afford to spend the big bucks on free agents like the Yankees so they stupidly sign below average players to a ridiculously high salary.  Luckily, Edwin Jackson turned down Pittsburgh's rumored three year $30 million offer to sign with the Nationals.  Otherwise, this team would have had six average to above-average starters, less available money, and still no one to hit behind Andrew McCutchen.

Pirates' GM Neal Huntington had to know this team's strength was their pitching.  With that in mind, why wasn't there a bigger push for a bat; either through trade or free agency?

Carlos Pena signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for one year $7.25 million.  He's a left handed hitter who can draw walks, hit with power, and play first base.  With the best first base prospect currently in A ball (Alex Dickerson), why not overpay for a big bat that can help your lineup?

Don't like Pena?  Fine.  He strikes out too much and can't hit lefties.

How about Michael Cuddyer?  The Colorado Rockies gave him $31.5 million over three years to play for a losing team.  Cuddyer has a .814 OPS this season and he has shown position flexibility, playing 712 games in the outfield, 211 at first base, and 171 at third base.  Is that worth $10 million per year?  Maybe not to the economist, but with lesser options available, it would have been worth a shot.  Worse case scenario, the Pirates sell him to a contending team for mid-level prospects at the trade deadline.

Don't like Cuddyer?  How about a trade?

I wrote back in November that the Pirates should have been shopping Joel Hanrahan and Alex Presley.  Their suitors could have been the Boston Red Sox, a team that was loaded with position players and missing a closer.  The Pirates could have targeted Ryan Lavarnway, a catcher stuck in AAA because of Jarrod Saltalamachia.  Lavarnway has tremendous power, slugging 32 home runs last season for Pawtucket.  A closer of Hanrahan's ilk paired with one or two mid-level prospects would have brought Lavarnway over and probably would've saved the team money on Rod Barajas in the process.  With Tony Sanchez struggling to make it out of AA before his 25th birthday, it is safe to say the Pirates are inept at that position.

The Pirates had a multitude of opportunities in the offseason to improve the major league club without sacrificing future pieces.  Instead, they elected to do what they always have done, sign mediocre players to super-inflated contracts in hopes that they produces career numbers.  Now, the offense is left struggling while the pitching tries to produce at an unsustainable rate throughout the season.  With the season only six weeks old, a big trade seems unlikely meaning the Pirates will continue to trot Clint Barmes and Rod Barajas out to give the opposing team, at minimum, six easy outs per game.

Healthy Roster Moves in Store for Pirates in 2012

Last July, Neal Huntington had the privilege of searching the trade market in hopes of acquiring major-league talent at the deadline.  The Pirates were buyers for the first time in two decades and Huntington was able to land two bats (Ryan Ludwick and Derek Lee) for marginal minor league talent.  

This season, the forecast for roster moves looks extremely good, both on the trade front and in minor league player movement.  

Once again, the Pirates are hanging around the .500 mark a month and a half into the season.  And, once again, the team is winning because tremendous pitching is covering up below average hitting.  If the Pirates continue to compete throughout the year, they'll most assuredly become buyers at the trade deadline this season.  In that case, the front office would have to search for a solid hitter to bat in the fifth spot behind Pedro Alvarez.  

Or, the team could completely cave as we've grown accustomed to over the years, which would force Pittsburgh to sell off pitchers Erik Bedard or AJ Burnett, or both.  Either way, at least one trade will be made around the deadline; not that it should be a surprise given how frequently players are moved in baseball.

Pittsburgh could go another route of player movement in the form of calling up prospects.

The Pirates were hoping that Starling Marte would make his Major League debut in June but that plan has been put on hold due to inconsistencies at the plate and now a hand injury.  At 23 years old, Marte has the potential to be a very good outfielder and figures into the plan for the Pirates' winning future.  With a status to his injury still unclear, all Pirates' fans can do is hope he can get back to playing soon.  

After a terrible 2011 campaign for AAA Indianapolis, Rudy Owens has been dominant in the early 2012 season for the Indians.  In five starts this season, Owens is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA while striking out 26 and walking just two in 34 innings.  With the major league club pitching so well as a collective group, Owens is stuck in AAA until a move is made.  Then again, he could also be part of a trade to land a solid hitting prospect.  

Meanwhile in Bradenton, two former first round picks are lighting up the Florida State League.  Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon have been outstanding for the Marauders and could make their way to AA Altoona soon.  In his second professional season, Jameson Taillon is enjoying a 1.72 ERA with 33 strikeouts and six walks over 30.2 innings.  Cole, the first overall pick last season, has a 3.54 ERA with 34 strikeouts and ten walks over 28 innings.  With both players pitching so well, Taillon and Cole could be on the fast track to see the majors as early as 2013.  

There are a lot of potential moves for the Pirates in this upcoming season.  This time, it will be on the basis of actually improving the club and moving in the right direction towards being a competitive team.  The days of selling off stars for prospects will never cease to exist in a small-market city.  But, for now, let's sit back and enjoy the progress the organization is making and hope that their next big move puts them in a spot for contention.

  

Who Should Be Traded, Malkin or Staal...Really?

The Pittsburgh Penguins have built a lot of success using the three center model over the last six seasons.  Since Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal made their way to Pittsburgh, the Penguins have made six straight playoff appearances including two conference titles and a Stanley Cup.

However, not all is well in the Steel City.

Pittsburgh has failed to get out of the first round in the last two years, including the last playoff run when they had a completely healthy roster.  Now, GM Ray Shero believes changes may be coming to the Penguins who surely need to beef up their defense if they want to have a chance in 2013.

Since the Penguins won't be losing any significant cap space from free agency, it may be time to look at a trade.  Jordan Staal, a free agent after next season, is 23 years old and rumored to be looking for a bigger role.  While Staal has shown feelings of admiration to Pittsburgh, it is foolish to believe he wouldn't test the free agent market.  With this information, trading Jordan Staal appears to be the right way to go.  In return, the Penguins could fetch a combination of high draft picks and solid prospects which would be used to repair any holes on the team.

But some people have voiced another route: trade Malkin and keep Staal for the long term.  I am going to vehemently disagree with this idea and I will argue against some of the points I've heard from around town:

Staal is a big game player.  He's built for the playoffs and showed that in the Philadelphia series.  Malkin, on the other hand, loses focus and doesn't seem to fight in the corners for loose pucks.


Not only have I heard this in Pittsburgh, I've heard this from hockey media members, particularly, north of the border.  This is a ridiculous to say the least.  First of all, it's pretty obvious a Canadian hockey analyst would take a Canadian over a Russian in pretty much everything.  The stigma that Canadians play harder than Europeans is outdated, unlike the pure bitterness seething over a country that cannot get over the fact that they used to be dominated at their own game by these same "lazy" players.

Staal is a solid playoff player, but he's still not on the level of Evgeni Malkin.  While Staal did score more goals (6) and register more points (9) than Malkin, his play on the penalty kill was atrocious.  Of the 12 goals scored by the Flyers on the power play, Jordan Staal was on the ice for 7 of them.

Oh, by the way, Evgeni Malkin has a Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the best playoff performer.

Staal is only getting better whereas Malkin is probably at his peak.


As talented as Jordan Staal is, he will never be on the level of Evgeni Malkin.  For one, they are two completely different players.  While Staal is seen as a power forward, using his 6'4 220 pound body to get to the front of the net, Malkin is a playmaker.  In just 75 games, Malkin put up 109 points and finished as the only player to register a 100+ point season.

Also, it is worth noting that the best player in the world (Sidney Crosby) has had concussion issues which raises the question, "who gives the Penguins a better chance to win, Malkin or Staal?"  The answer has to be Malkin.  In the 2010-2011 season -where Staal played 28 of 42 games without Crosby and Malkin- Staal totaled 30 points.  In the playoffs, he had 3 measly points in seven games.  This year, Staal's numbers were much better.  Why?  Because he's going up against the third defensive pairing while the top four defensemen are focusing on Malkin and Crosby.

Staal may be getting better.  But he'll never reach the level of Evgeni Malkin; a player who joined the conversation as one of the best in the world after his performance this season.  And, while Staal is 23, Malkin is only 25.

You could get a bigger return for Malkin than you could for Staal


Does that matter?  This is not a team in need of rebuilding.  They are simply one or two players away from returning to the Stanley Cup.  If you can trade your third best center -no matter how good he is- and keep your top six forwards intact, and improve the team considerably, wouldn't that be the best scenario?

To me, it's not even close.  Jordan Staal should be the first one to go if the Penguins decide to trade one of their centers.  That's not to say I want Jordan Staal traded.   He is a valuable part of the Penguins and was a key piece to their Stanley Cup run in 2009.

The best scenario would be to keep all three centers.   However, the contracts of Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek, coupled with the fact that Staal may want to be a more premier player, make that option the hardest to complete.  Also, despite all the rumors swirling about possible trade partners for Staal, it seems unlikely Ray Shero would pull the trigger on a deal until the new CBA and salary cap are announced.