March 10, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Sid, Beard, Derrick, Lambo, Jamie
Sidney Crosby puts the body into the Sharks’ Melker Karlsson late Monday night in San Jose. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. Use the comments below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: And away we go …
cbattin: Hey, Dejan, it seems like zone entry is a major reason why the Pens falter on so many power plays. They constantly get caught up in the neutral zone, and it wastes valuable time. Is this because they don’t have a legitimate power play quarterback or is their power play philosophy all wrong? And has zone entry been emphasized at all in practice?
DK: Actually, it’s funny that you say that, because zone entry has been a really big emphasis through practices over the past month and — at the risk of respectfully disagreeing with you — I think they’ve gotten a lot better in that area.
But the power play as a whole?
Wow, what an abomination it’s becoming.
Let me start by giving credit where it’s due: The Penguins just had a wonderful swing through California, capped by an inspiring point against the Sharks late last night. Five of six points is an outstanding outcome against these opponents in their buildings. Hats off, stick taps, the whole deal.
In that context, then, the power play went 0 for 11 and, what’s more alarming by far, continues to show not the faintest sign of improvement once the Penguins have set up in the attacking zone. Nothing has changed.
No, really. Nothing has changed. Not the personnel. Not the strategy. Not the insanity of gluing Paul Martin to the bench when the first team is on the rink. Not Sidney Crosby standing and watching after he dishes from the half-wall — he did that in San Jose even on a four-on-three! — rather than going through the slot. Not Evgeni Malkin marooned on the point. Not Chris Kunitz whiffing on open nets while better players sit. Not Kris Letang getting shot after shot and pass after pass blocked.
I wrote this about the Penguins’ power play three weeks ago — including the below graphic — and wouldn’t change a syllable. Maybe I’ll never need to.
Ryan Sanders: Why did Patric Hornqvist not shoot in the shootout vs the Sharks? Also, I feel like Derrick Pouliot had one in him. Should have given him one rather than Steve Downie.
DK: Well, this is where I’ll revert back to the opening position up there that the Penguins, as a whole, played really, really well. And almost all of the feedback I got, both here and on social media, was from people upset about Mike Johnston’s shootout choices. Strikes me as more than a little out of whack.
Hornqvist wasn’t available, per my understanding, after leaving the ice following OT, so scratch him off your list. And Pouliot, for all his offensive gifts, is a defenseman who, at least to my knowledge, doesn’t have any particular strength in shootouts. Playing a terrific game isn’t a precursor to participating in a shootout.
I’d rather have seen Blake Comeau, a player no one has mentioned.
Poor Downie was absolutely blown up by Antti Niemi, who showed him a Fort Pitt Tunnel-sized five-hole only to slam his left leg pad down. No mas.
But again, it’s a shootout against a Western team where you don’t care at all that the other team got an extra point and you’ve mostly got to be delighted with the one you got given the overall performance. The Penguins increasingly are looking like a playoff team, and this game did nothing to interrupt that.
Now, about that power play …
yinzer84: Why is Cam Thomas still on the Steelers roster?
DK: I suppose I could offer some deep analysis here comparing Thomas to Brett Keisel both in terms of age and health, or I could go so far as to project how one of the two nose tackles, Steve McLendon or Daniel McCullers, might work at an end position. But that probably would be looking at the trees rather than the forest.
Fact is, Thomas signed a two-year, $4 million contract last summer.
Further fact is, the Steelers signed a ton of bad deals last summer and, presumably for cap reasons that extend back to eating LaMarr Woodley’s mansion full of dead money, they’ve made up their minds to live with whatever they signed and work around it.
That’s why Mike Mitchell is still in Pittsburgh after a terrible season. Same goes for Cortez Allen after an even worse season. And now Thomas, who was, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced film study and analytics, the second-worst defensive end in the NFL. (Some guy from San Diego was worse. Can’t remember the name in a live session here.)
This is damage control on the part of Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin, nothing more.
Brian: Dejan, with the injury situation at first base, would you like to see the Pirates make an acquisition, perhaps trading some pitching to do so, or is it too soon in the spring to start worrying about this?
DK: Corey Hart just returned from a foot laceration, so he really isn’t part of any injury situation. There are lingering concerns about his right knee, if that’s what you’re referencing, but Hart assured me two weeks ago that the knee is as strong as it’s been since his surgery in 2013. No reason not to take his word on that.
Pedro Alvarez’s hyperextended elbow was deemed by the Pirates’ medical staff to be mild enough that he’s expected to swing again in a few days. Not sure I’d get all worried about that one, either.
Would I have welcomed the Pirates upgrading first base?
Yes, absolutely, and I wrote as much most of the winter. Watching Alvarez walk out the door after all his inconsistencies at the plate and in the field wouldn’t break many hearts with those running the Pirates, either. That’s why they’ve been open to trading him. But as long as he’s in the fold, he’s got to play, got to get another chance at recreating his 2013. Nothing else would make sense.
In the meantime, hey, maybe Andrew Lambo can inject a little suspense into the picture. He’s about to get a lot more at-bats, for sure.
Psychlone: Why did you help to launch WPXI-TV’s ‘The Final Word’ — which, ratings aside, is a far more entertaining than KDKA-TV’s ‘Sports Showdown,’ in my opinion — to leave exclusively for ‘Showdown?’
DK: I didn’t help to launch ‘Final Word,’ though I was on the show’s initial panel. It was a combined venture of WPXI and the Trib, my employer at the time. That planning happened at a much higher level than my position as lead sports columnist.
I enjoyed my time with that group, but when this site launched, my No. 1 priority became visibility for the site and brand. As you correctly note, ‘Showdown’ beats — usually by a 2-to-1 ratio — ‘Final Word’ in the ratings. It’s a very successful, long-standing show. Upon leaving the Trib, that’s the way I decided to go, and I’m absolutely delighted I did with no hard feelings in the rear-view mirror.
I’m all about this site. That’s what matters to me.
Oh, and I would robustly disagree with you about which show is more entertaining, except that it appears the viewing public at large could do that much better. 
CRW Yinzer: Good morning DK! What are your thoughts on Andrew McCutchen, Pascal Dupuis and other athletes’ contributions to The Players’ Tribune? Historically, it was the responsibility of the sports journalist to humanize our athletes; this website represents a clear shift to the desire of the athlete to get their own story out in their own words. Do you view this as a direct response to the job some of your peers have done? Does such a venture make it more difficult as a sports journalist?
DK: I read both the pieces you cite, and both were excellent. But neither one of them was written by McCutchen or Dupuis. Both were written by a talented Pittsburgh journalist named Sean Conboy. They told him their stories, and he did the writing, borrowing from the time-honored technique of ghost-writing.
Fear not for the journalism profession. At least not on that front.
J.R.: Which Division I coaches have done a better job than Jamie Dixon over the course of the past 12 years, given realistic restraints of local high school talent, program history, and the like?
DK: Dixon operates with a handicap in that Western Pennsylvania basketball is nowhere near what it once was, no question. Michael Young is a very, very good ACC player with a chance to be more. But Young, Sheldon Jeter and Ryan Luther are among the best the area has to offer in hoops, and that doesn’t stack up with what’s available in North Carolina and other conference corridors.
Other than that, though, I’m not seeing where Dixon is at any disadvantage, certainly not with program history that you cite or facilities or budget or a passionate fan base or a big-time conference. I’d argue that Pitt ranks right at or near the top in all of those categories, and yes, that includes the history, because you’re dealing with recruiting kids here, and all most of them have ever seen is a top-25 Pitt program.
Dixon is a very good coach in that context. He can still do better. And one would hope he does exactly that with this sophomore class he has going forward.
Roberto Clemente and Dick Groat, Forbes Field, circa 1960. — PITTSBURGH COURIER
PennStateMike: OK, DK, why is there never any talk of Dick Groat for Hall of Fame? Batting champ, All-Star, two-time world champion. Has stats better than a lot of contemporary and pre-contemporary shortstop. Back in the day when the shortstop was not considered to be an offensive producer.
DK: I really can’t come up with a good reason, Mike, to be honest. I’m not advocating that the Veterans Committee take it up, but to the exact spirit of your question, I can’t understand why his name — and you’re right about this — never comes up.
His overall stats don’t blow anyone away — .286, 29 career home runs, no Gold Gloves — and that obviously doesn’t help. But the fact that he was the 1960 National League MVP (albeit in a controversial vote for the many who believe that should have gone to teammate Roberto Clemente), that he finished among top 20 in MVP voting four times, and that he was runnerup in 1963, that’s compelling stuff. The list is very, very long of Hall of Famers who never so much as sniffed MVP, and that always disappoints me. To me, the Hall should be about players who, at least at one point in their careers, were considered among the best of the best. If not, why should they be enshrined?
All the other stuff shouldn’t matter, meaning Groat being a two-sport star. But on baseball alone, yes, it’s a fair point to raise.
grfisk: As of now, no one in the NHL is on pace to score 90 points. What will it take for the league to view the lack of scoring as a serious problem and take steps to address it?
DK: A commissioner with a clue. Thanks for the gimme putt.
seantcampbell3: The Pens defense has looked smarter and more consistent than I can ever remember seeing in recent history. Do you think this could be the biggest difference maker heading into the playoffs?
DK: Funny how that broader paradigm shifted in a week, huh?
Not you, Sean, just in general. We went from this sweeping outrage over losing Simon Despres — with some fretting that he’ll be the next Markus Naslund-type loss for the franchise — to immediately seeing exactly what Jim Rutherford and Mike Johnston had intended in acquiring Ben Lovejoy and Ian Cole. They wanted smart players with good speed making smart decisions while operating at full speed. And that’s exactly what they got on this trip, meaning all four games. The Penguins weren’t perfect on the trip, especially not in the flat opening in Denver, but they rarely spent extensive time trapped in their zone.
The new NHL is about a mobile defense. The Penguins, largely to Ray Shero’s credit, were very much ahead of that curve both in roster-building and in drafting Olli Maatta, Derrick Pouliot and others in that mold. Rutherford is doing a fine job of continuing that.
Would it be nice if the defense were bigger and could hit more?
Sure, but it isn’t as important as these traits. It would be a bonus.
pittgrad07: Dejan, love your site especially being a Pittsburgh transplant living in South Carolina! With more cap space than recent years, do you see the Steelers being active in the free-agent market? If so, anyone specific they could be targeting?
DK: This is almost invariably a stupid thing to think, much less say, but I really do.
Let’s suppose that today Jason Worilds does leave and is immediately snapped up, as some are predicting, by the Vikings or Bears or whoever. (I’m stubbornly insisting he could still stay.) The moment that happens, a whole lot more money is freed up, at least in the planning sense. And more important, a much bigger hole is there to be filled, along with the one at cornerback. And anyone who thinks the Steelers can address two huge holes on defense through a rookie right out of the draft hasn’t been paying attention. The Keith Butler defense might not be a replica of Dick LeBeau’s, but early indications are that Butler won’t exactly be simplifying it down to a page or two. It’s going to require experience.
That must come through free agency. And where outside linebacker is concerned, if it’s someone who’s going to be an upgrade on Worilds — if it isn’t, why not just keep Worilds? — then that’s going to cost an unusual amount of cash.
Kevin Colbert didn’t show many cards in our talk a couple weeks ago, but he didn’t hesitate at all in suggesting he’ll use free agency, if needed, at those positions.
VABurgher: I know it’s early, but do you think Lambo can oh-fer his way off this team two springs in a row? If so, who is most likely to replace him, Jaff Decker or Jose Tabata?
DK: Whoa there, VA, it’s the 10th of March, man!
Lambo is 1 for 16, which obviously isn’t encouraging, especially since he’s been given the most at-bats of anyone to this point. But he’s struck out only twice and …
Oh, never mind. Look, Lambo’s making this roster. Neal Huntington willingly conceded his loss on this front last spring to Clint Hurdle, and I don’t think it will happen again. He’s anything but a believer in spring performance, good or bad, and he’d probably pay no heed either way in picking who will go to Cincinnati at month’s end. And as I’ve written here a couple times before, he loves Lambo. He sees this season as his chance.
Let’s give him more than a couple weeks, maybe?
Mizery: I know I need to stop caring, but how can Greg Amodio be so happy with Jim Ferry as Duquesne’s coach?
Ron Everhart made the Dukes competitive for the first time in decades and gets canned, but he is happy with Ferry dragging them back down the depths of ineptitude?
Doesn’t anyone at Duquesne have a business or marketing degree to realize how positive branding of one of your most visible commodities generates a big return on that investment?
DK: I don’t have much to add to the extensive Sunday column on this topic, Miz, but I will add that you shouldn’t wonder too hard why an AD only has so many coaches he can fire before he’s next in line. Ask Steve Pederson about that.
I don’t believe, even at Duquesne, where the program is overseen by an apathetic, uninspiring school president and a grossly over-inflated head of student life, of all things, that Amodio could keep his job if Ferry lost his.
Hey, maybe when the the president and head of student life are gone in the next few months, the same will happen at the Bluff that happened in Oakland: Someone will come in and care enough to make a real difference.
Donnie Mason: One thing I’ve always wanted to know about sports writers and analysts: How do your wives cope with all the games you have to watch?
DK: Ha! Well, games really aren’t the issue. They don’t take as much of a percentage of the time as you’d think, certainly not compared to the actual writing and other reporter stuff.
The coping comes not with any of the above, though. Rather, it’s that the average sports writer becomes far more married with his or her mobile phone. It’s an addiction, and it’s a hard one to kick even for short spans. You have to remind yourself — forcefully at times — to put the bleeping thing down and focus on family.
On the bright side, if she ever wises up and divorces me, I’ll already have a spouse in hand.
Thanks to all for participating! Neat stuff today!
