Mike Tomlin took heavy criticism for his time management after the Steelers' Nov. 1 loss. -- JARED WICKERHAM

Mike Tomlin took heavy criticism for his time management after the Steelers' Nov. 1 loss. -- JARED WICKERHAM

Matt’s Stats: Is time ever on Steelers’ side?

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MATT
One of the joys of following sports is vicarious coaching.

Who would you put on Sidney Crosby‘s wing? Where would you bat Jung Ho Kang in the order? What would you call on a second-and-short situation near midfield?

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With acknowledgements to hockey, baseball, basketball and all the rest, football might provide the most scenarios in which the fan can insert him/herself into the coach’s shoes.

Not only are there countless play-calling options on both sides of the ball, there are questions of scheme, formation, player usage and the various tactical decisions that fall under the umbrella of game theory.

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Matt’s Stats: Good to go against the grain?

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MATT
Some people just have to be different. I’ve always been a contrarian by nature, although I sometimes wonder how beneficial that is.

Sure, there’s hidden value to be had in zigging when most others are zagging, but it takes psychological energy to do it. Plus, even if it pans out, swimming against the current can be a lonely experience. Our brains are wired to be social, dating back to the days when a pack mentality helped early humans survive.

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It’s easier to flout convention these days, and despite the stigma, it can be quite satisfying. A guidance counselor once told me that engineering could be my optimal career, but I chose my own route — and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t derive some joy from that.

You know who else has gone their own way? The Kansas City Royals.

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The Penguins blew a two-goal lead before beating the Panthers in overtime Tuesday night. -- GETTY

The Penguins blew a two-goal lead before beating the Panthers in overtime Tuesday night. -- GETTY

Matt’s Stats: Penguins better as frontrunners

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MATT
Stats don’t get simpler, or more stark, than the Penguins’ record last season when trailing after two periods: 0-18-5.

I know scoring is down in the NHL, but to go six months without one successful third-period rally? That’s almost beyond comprehension, especially for a team that ostensibly has several gamebreakers on its roster.

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You might be asking, What’s the big deal about third-period comebacks? While admittedly a rudimentary way to measure a team’s rallying abilities — overcoming a multiple-goal deficit earlier in the game counts for something, too — ‘stealing’ two points late can go a long way toward maximizing a team’s position in the standings.

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Matt’s Stats: Any hope in Ben-for-Vick swap?

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MATT
The Steelers head into Thursday’s home game against the beloved Ravens compromised at what might be the most important position in sports. For this first AFC North matchup of the season, they go from one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks to a guy signed at the end of August.

This isn’t to denigrate Mike Vick‘s remaining skills as much as it is to remind how good Ben Roethlisberger has been since the start of last season.

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You know about all the traditional counting stats that Roethlisberger compiled last year, but he was also a darling of some of the advanced metrics out there. Judging by one of those, Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement (DYAR), he was the NFL’s best in 2014 after ranking ninth and 11th in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

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Sidney Crosby skates off the ice after a practice at the new Cranberry facility this week. -- DALI KOVACEVIC

Sidney Crosby skates off the ice after a practice at the new Cranberry facility this week. -- DALI KOVACEVIC

Matt’s Stats: All signs point to Crosby rebound

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MATT
This summer, for a variety of reasons, it became fashionable to look for the NHL’s new king.

Maybe it was the imminent arrival of can’t-miss youngsters Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel to franchises that could use the help. It’s a familiar, yet irresistible storyline.

Perhaps it was the free-for-all scoring race last spring. No fewer than five players had a shot at the Art Ross Trophy entering the final week, and the Stars’ Jamie Benn snagged the prize from the Islanders’ John Tavares with a stirring four-point finale.

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Or it might have been that Sidney Crosby posted his lowest-ever point total (84) in a season of more than 53 games, even if his 1.09 points-per-game average still led the league.

All these explanations aside, I’m here to tell you that — as he enters his second decade in Pittsburgh — the 28-year-old Crosby is still pro hockey’s monarch, at least among forwards.

And that he’ll prove it this year with another scoring title.

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Roberto Clemente Day was celebrated throughout PNC Park Wednesday night. -- GETTY

Roberto Clemente Day was celebrated throughout PNC Park Wednesday night. -- GETTY

Matt’s Stats: With clean slate, pick ideal infield

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MATT
You heard it straight from Clint Hurdle last weekend: Once the lineup card comes out, second-guessing replaces baseball as the great American pastime.

That’s especially been the case around these parts since Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison returned from the disabled list nearly a month ago. Over the span of about four weeks, Hurdle and the Pirates have juggled no fewer than seven viable MLB infielders, with Jung Ho Kang, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Aramis Ramirez and Michael Morse rounding out that portion of the roster.

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No matter which foursome Hurdle selects for duty on a particular afternoon, someone out there is going to be upset.

Kang on the bench? The Pirates are coddling him. Mercer in the lineup again? Coach’s pet. Alvarez at first? You can’t have a defensive liability like that. Ramirez at first? Don’t experiment in a pennant race. Harrison at second? It’s not 2014 anymore. Walker against a lefty? He’s a platoon player now. Mercer on the bench? They’re not prioritizing defense.

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Matt’s Stats: Scheduled step back for Steelers?

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MATT
With the new NFL season on the doorstep, we’ve blessedly reached the end of prediction season.

You know how it goes: Everyone and their brother asks you how many wins the Steelers — or any other NFL team, for that matter — will end up with by the end of December.

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This phenomenon isn’t exclusive to football. There are over-under lines in Vegas sportsbooks for teams in all the major-league sports in North America, plus worldwide soccer and pretty much anything else one might have the faintest desire to wager on.

But there’s something about football, and the NFL in particular, that lends itself to rampant prognostication, more so than the other sports and leagues.

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Matt’s Stats: Gerrit Cole, with or without Stew

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MATT
The idea seemed logical.

With an eye toward the future, the National League wild card game in particular, the Pirates paired Gerrit Cole with Francisco Cervelli for an Aug. 12 tilt in St. Louis.

In most circumstances, a battery consisting of a team’s ace-in-training and its No. 1 catcher would be the obvious choice. Not so for the Pirates and manager Clint Hurdle, who had matched Cole with backup Chris Stewart in 19 of his first 22 starts of 2015.

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In fact, after Cole and Cervelli played pitch and catch three times in the opening month of the season, Stewart had handled the former No. 1 overall draft pick 18 straight times — until that aforementioned game at the Cardinals. Prior to that Wednesday evening, Cole had thrown more to Tony Sanchez (four games) than Cervelli (three) in his three-year Pirates career.

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Matt’s Stats: Cracking the close-game code

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MIAMI — It’s an accepted tenet of sports analytics that success in close games is fickle and difficult to repeat, whether it be from week to week, month to month or season to season.

The ultimate recent baseball example is that of the 2012-13 Baltimore Orioles. In the first year, the O’s went an incredible 29-9 in one-run games, a .763 winning percentage that set an all-time MLB record. That success in the clutch pushed Baltimore to a 93-69 record and its first postseason berth since the turn of the century.

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But in the following year, the Orioles plummeted to 20-31 in one-run results and missed the playoffs with an 85-77 record. This happened despite seven of the 2012 team’s top 12 players in Wins Above Replacement repeating that feat in ’13.

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Paul Martin skates by the Rangers, celebrating their April playoff victory over the Penguins. -- GETTY

Paul Martin skates by the Rangers, celebrating their April playoff victory over the Penguins. -- GETTY

Matt’s Stats: Victims of sports geography?

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MATT
Remember the days of the National League ‘Comedy Central?’

For a refresher, the 1997 Pirates finished at 79-83, but they were in the division race until the final week of the season. The 84-win Astros backed into the title before being swept by the Braves in the National League Division Series.

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The Central is anything but comedic this year, although every look at the standings is a ‘Daily Show’ in itself, if only to marvel at how the NL’s best three teams reside in the same division. As of Wednesday, the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs were all at least 80 percent likely to make the playoffs, no matter whether we turn to Baseball Prospectus or FanGraphs for the odds. With about six weeks to go in the regular season, that’s both rare and remarkable.

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Matt’s Stats: Trade market abandoned Pirates?

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MATT
The act of seeking out information that confirms our beliefs, while ignoring data that doesn’t, is known as confirmation bias.

This way of thinking comes into play in all areas of human endeavor. Some might call it narrow-minded, others would say it keeps things simple. Regardless of labels, I believe that at least trying to fight confirmation bias can lead to interesting discoveries.

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My preconceived notions came into play while absorbing the coverage of this year’s MLB trade deadline frenzy. How important is dealing for additional talent when trying to make a run at a championship? I’ve long suspected that trade acquisitions, while initially exciting, are ultimately overblown.

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Matt’s Stats: Forget saves, let’s talk Shutdowns

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MATT
Baseball’s save statistic is silly.

Now, it’s not as lame as win-loss record, which somehow still has a presence in 2015 despite every indication that it’s the bluntest of instruments to measure pitcher performance. I thought we were ready to “kill the win” in 2010, when Felix Hernandez took the American League Cy Young award with a 13-12 record, but it stubbornly persists five years later.

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The save has proven to be just as cockroach-like.

Invented by sports writer Jerome Holtzman in 1959 and officially adopted by Major League Baseball 10 years later, the save means well. The problem is that its requirements are so situation-dependent that a reliever could allow two runs and three more baserunners and still “earn” the save, just as someone who pitched a perfect ninth with a one-run lead would.

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