Mike Wallace, Wherefore Art Thou (going)?

Mike Wallace going 95 in Arizona last year.

Like Steelers fans everywhere, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls continue to wring our hands and watch with concern, exasperation and frustration the developing story that is The Mike Wallace Contract Situation.

Like everybody else, including Mike Wallace and the Steelers, we wonder how it will play out.

We wonder whether the Steelers have a plan and if so, what it is.  Do they plan to let "the market" determine Wallace's contract?  Probably.  One lesson the Steelers have learned over the years: Do not bid against yourself; i.e., let other teams establish the market price for a player.

Not a one-trick pony, as many fans suggest.

Wallace would be a welcome addition to just about any other NFL team.  Any number of franchises might step forward and offer him a blockbuster of a contract that the Steelers would have the opportunity to match -- or, alternatively, receive a late first-round draft choice.  The merits of that position are being debated ad nauseum, and the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette, makes a valid point:  An extra first-rounder would help the Steelers fill needs on the both sides of the line of scrimmage.  Maybe.  But, still ...


How did it get to this point?  

Neal Coolong over at Behind the Steel Curtain wrote a spot-on critique asking that very question and raising the possibility -- gasp! -- that the Steelers' braintrust in charge of such issues (Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, etc.) -- fumbled the ball on this one.

And, at the risk of incurring The Wrath of Khan ... we should point out that somebody needed to write a post like this and call out the Steelers for how they’ve handled (or mis-handled) the planning of their cap situation the past two or three years.  Neal's write-up is much more thoughtful, detailed and better written than anything JPPBs could have crafted, but the same damn thing occurred to us a few weeks ago when news leaked that St. Louis was making overtures to Omar Khan.  Not looking to blame anybody in particular here —  lots of people get involved in these decisions — but how is it that the Steelers are in this mess?

Mike Wallace is entering his prime years.

Why Willie Colon Instead of Mike Wallace?

Signing Willie Colon instead of Mike Wallace last off-season probably wasn't an either/or choice -- or maybe it was? -- but to Joey Porter's Pit Bulls, the Willie Colon contract extension last year was a head-scratcher at the time and looks like an absolutely terrible decision today, even in light of the “restructuring” announced last week.

The team committed a five-year, $25 million contract to Colon but let Mike Wallace twist in the wind?   What’s Willie Colon ever done? … hang out with Big Ben in Milledgeville?

It's a fair question to ask: Did the Steelers commit money to Willie Colon that could have gone to an extension for Mike Wallace?

In any case, here we are.  The Bengals — never a model of how to run a pro football franchise — are $60 million under the cap.  Yeah, they are perennially mismanaged and subject to ridicule, but here they are: SIXTY MILLION UNDER THE CAP!   You think the Bengals wouldn’t like to sign Mike Wallace?  Or the 49ers?  Or the Ravens?  Or, most worrisome, the Patriots?

The Patriots always seem to find a way to sign whomever they want.  They may well have won the Super Bowl if Tom Brady had been throwing deep to Mike Wallace instead of hobbled Rob Gronkowski.

Now the Steelers have tough decisions to make.  Chuck Noll used to say — after he learned his lesson in the late 70s and early 80s — that it’s better to let a player go a year early than to hang onto him a year late.

Who would you rather have? Wallace, or a first-rounder?

The Steelers are going to have to make those kinds of decisions during the next few weeks, as painful as they will be. Players we love, too: Casey Hampton? Aaron Smith? James Farrior? Charlie Batch? Larry Foote? Decisions will need to made on these players and others.

To Joey Porter's Pit Bulls, though, the Willie Colon contract is Exhibit A of a well-intentioned mistake that is having ripple effects that may result in the loss of Mike Wallace.

Hopefully, the Steelers will work out something with Wallace. But it should never have gotten to this point

Food for Thought:
Could this be the sort of deal be a model for what the Steelers are trying to devise for Mike Wallace?  Probably not -- the franchise tender for Mike Wallace would be much higher than for Jermichael Finley -- but it's an interesting solution to a similar problem.  And the Packers have proven very adept at dealing with the salary cap.

More Food (literally) for Thought:
Patty Tascarella's "The Fish Sandwich Chronicles" in The Pittsburgh Business Times

Sunset Gun:  "Every Day Needs a Little Otis Tenderness"

We Win! YinzBurgh BBQ for Everybody!!

In a bit of revisionist near-history, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls declares victory in the 4th annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog hosted by Sean's Ramblings ... never mind that the Post-Gazette's awesome Empty Netters blog annihilated trounced bested edged us by a vote of 132-51 in Round One, Part II, Kip Miller Division.  Close enough, and it's a fine day for all.

Thanks to all who voted for Joey Porter's Pit Bulls, and we can revel this Fat Tuesday in our 28 percent of the vote.  Everybody wins, and what better way to celebrate than with a visit to YinzBurgh BBQ for some seriously tasty, finger lickin' ribs, brisket, chicken, 'n fixins' such as black-eyed peas like you've never seen, greens and macaroni 'n cheese.  

Seriously, folks, this is good eating, and you know it's good 'cause it's where are all the cabbies and jitney drivers go for ribs 'n such.  
 

Check it aht.  YinzBurgh BBQ has the tenderest, most succulent, fall-off-the-bone ribs, plus Addictive Brisket, and pulled pork sandwiches, wings, barbecue chicken, sides, and even some weird stuff like smoked tofu and smoked paneer salad.  
 

Plus, and this is for real, YinzBurgh BBQ carries Natrona Bottling products, which is like the cult zenith of soda pop, especially their Red Ribbon Cherry Soda or Vanilla Cream or Pennsylvania Punch. 
 
Good stuff.  
 
Visit YinzBurgh BBQ, at 4903 Baum Blvd. between Morewood and S. Milvale Ave., across the street from the Get-Go and adjacent to KFC.  YinzBurgh BBQ is good food.  Call 'em at 412-621-YINZ (9469).

And put in your vote at UrbanSpoon.

Just asking ...

If the Steelers had not signed Willie Colon to his five-year, $25 million extension before last season, would they be at risk of losing Mike Wallace today?  Does Colon's contract affect what the Steelers can do with Wallace?

Just asking.

A Shameless Plea for Votes in the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament

Visit Sean's Ramblings and vote for Joey Porter's Pit Bulls!

Thanks to Sean at the always excellent Sean's Ramblings for alerting us that Joey Porter's Pit Bulls somehow got drafted as a candidate in the 4th annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament.  It is an honor, certainly, and very humbling. And very possibly humiliating.

With voting already underway today and continuing until 8 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), we are here today to shamelessly shill for votes.  Not sure why, but that's what we're doing today.

As the humble No. 8 seed in the Kip Miller Division, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls are massive underdogs pitted (?) against the eminently worthy top-seeded Empty Netters blog.

So, there we are:  Your chance to vote is here -- you'll have to scroll down to the Kip Miller Division -- but we implore you to join the one other misguided soul who has already voted for Joey Porter's Pit Bulls ... so vote early and often!

Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

A.J. Burnett in pinstripes

Which version of A.J. Burnett are the Pirates getting?
 
The pitcher whom the Yankees thought was good enough as recently as 2009 to give a five-year, $83 million contract?  Or the pitcher who, at best, was the eighth option in New York's projected five-man rotation entering this year's spring training? ... the pitcher who, over the past two seasons in New York, had a 5.20 ERA and lost 26 games for a team that finished 60 games over .500 in that span?
 
The Yankees couldn't wait to get rid of Burnett and paid $20 million of the $33 million remaining on his contract to do it.  Many Yankee fans also seem to be happy to see him leave the Bronx, judging by comments on various Yankee-related blogs ("Our long national nightmare is over!"),  or this one from BomberBanter.com:  "By now, you’re aware that A.J. Burnett has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates due to his extreme suckiness for marginal prospects and salary relief."
 
None of that deterred Neal Huntington, Pirates general manager, who likes to yak and blab about the team's "portfolio" of on-field talent, as if individual players are commodity items like natural gas, alumina futures and pork bellies.
 
Huntington should know, then, that the fine print at the bottom of 10K prospectuses (prospecti?) and other portfolio disclosure statements typically reads, "Past performance is no guarantee of future results."  Ya think?
 

Any idea what that tattoo means?  "Glad to be a Bucco"?

This caveat, which applies neatly to so many things in life, is apt for a 35-year-old pitcher who's lost his fastball and may be looking forward to a post-baseball life enhanced by his own "portfolio" of more than $100 million in career earnings.


It's fair to ask: Will Burnett go through the motions with the Pirates?  Or will he summon personal pride to perform to his best, even if that's not much at this point, just because he has something to prove? Does it matter?
 
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
 
Joey Porter's Pit Bulls expect Burnett will do his best -- but he appears to be past his prime. 

If the past two years indicate anything, his best days are behind him.  He surrenders a ton of walks, throws a lot of wild pitches and gives up a ton of gophers -- 31 home runs last year.  Thirty-one home runs!  Burnett's ERA is well north of 5.00.  Studious seam-heads like the guys at Pinstripe Alley, who really study the byzantine minutiae of baseball statistics, have been able to mine all kinds of other data that point to a general decline in Burnett's performance, from the velocity of his fastball to the number of wild pitches he throws to the location of the home runs he surrenders and where they are hit.  Here is Pinstripe Alley's Lord Duggan had to say ...

"These last two seasons, A.J. Burnett has been an unmitigated disaster.  Even if there were a way to line up the numbers to feel more hopeful about 377 innings of 5+ ERA, I wouldn't bother.  There's a problem here and there may not be a solution."

The solution for the Yankees, apparently, was to trade Burnett to the Pirates.

Our new leader at the top of the rotation.

Defenders of the trade will say Burnett's a top-of-the-rotation guy -- which tells all you need to know about the Pirates' rotation -- and that he will benefit from pitching in the National League Central (as opposed to the American League East), that he should be able to relax away from the glare of the New York media.  They say he will fare better in PNC Park, and that he's an innings-eater.

What good are innings pitched if they are bad innings?


Joey Porter's Pit Bulls don't trust the Yankees, and we trust the Pirates even less -- at least their "braintrust's" ability to make smart decisions involving on-field talent.

This trade doesn't look like any kind of a bargain.  People are saying things like, "Well, for $5 million $6.5 million a year for the next two years, it's worth it for the Pirates to take a shot at Burnett to see what he has left."

Last we looked, a $5 million $6.5 million salary is still a lot of money.  Worse, it seems Burnett is in fairly serious decline.  For some reason, his appeal at this point appears to be that he is an "innings-eater."   That's just great.  His ERA the past two years is something like 5.15 ... which means that for every nine innings he pitches, the Pirates had better score six runs. 

Sorry, but the Bucs just don't have that kind of bat production.  Couldn't they find a pitcher at the league minimum to give them a 5.15 ERA kind of pitching performance?  

Again, what good are a bunch of innings pitched if they are bad innings pitched?  

As noted on Big League Stew, at least Burnett's time in New York was "interesting," so it may be entertaining in Pittsburgh, as well.  Let's hope in a good way.

This deal reeks of Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington saying, "See? We told you we'd spend some money."

Past Performance is no indicator of future results -- except in the case of the Pirates' front office.  Oh, and since Neal Huntington loves to talk about his "portfolio," he should like the following graph showing the purported decline in Burnett's fastball over the past few years, at least according to Pinstripe Alley ... 

For what it's worth: A.J. Burnett's fastball velocity, according to Pinstripe Alley.

All It Takes Is a Little

Todd Haley and Antonio Brown, as Tweeted last week by Mr. Brown. "Eyes Up. Chest Up. Prayed Up."

Kudos to Antonio Brown for (apparently) seeking out new offensive coordinator Todd Haley on Friday, Feb. 17, if what Dale Lolley reports on NFL From the Sidelines is accurate.

Young Mr. Brown Tweeted a photo of himself and Haley at the Steelers' facility on the Sahsthside.  Apparently, Brown, who is having an interesting off-season, flew into town last week and -- gasp! -- actually sought out Haley with the express intent of, uh, y'know, meeting Haley or something.  Imagine that.

Maybe this small example of enthusiasm, leadership and "want-to" is an example of why Brown's teammates voted him (instead of you know who) as the team's MVP last season.  Keep in mind that Antonio "First Down" Brown is all of 23 years of age.  As Brown himself would say, "Chest up. Eyes up. Prayed up."

Geez, isn't reaching out to a significant newcomer like Haley something one might expect the franchise quarterback might do?  Or, even more so, vice-versa?? ... especially considering Haley and Roethlisberger were in the same building at the same time the week before last.  

Then again, maybe we're reading too much into this non-meeting thing, as suggested in this wickedly funny and exceptionally well-written piece by Sean Conboy at Pulling No Punches.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Are In On Peyton Manning

The beleaguered Pittsburgh Pirates, trying to avoid a pro-sports record 20th consecutive losing season, are interested in signing Peyton Manning, who is expected to be moved by the Indianapolis Colts this off-season.


"Peyton would fill seats at PNC Park, and if healthy, he's got a strong arm," said Neal Huntington, general manager of the Pirates. "He would have to pass our physical, but Manning would add a veteran presence for our young team, and we like the ancillary marketing possibilities. PNC Park would become 'Peyton's Place,' and we're excited about the potential for him to help us sell lots of Pirates jerseys."


Neither Manning nor his agent, Tom Condon, were available for comment.

It's the Feast of St. Valentine

St. Valentine knows what it's all about.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls aren't the sappy, sentimental type. And, somehow we find it hard to imagine Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley exchanging Valentine's Day cards, chocolates and roses. Well, let's hope the rest of us somehow find love and inspiration even if only in our own hearts or in the eyes of a loving, faithful pitbull doggy friend.

We could go on and on talking about great movies or appropriate music for Valentine's Day, but we kinda did that last year with a suggested set of music for the day -- or, really, for any day, so we'll just link back to that post here, if that's okay with you, dear reader(s).

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours, or yinz 'n your'n.

Rolling the Dice on Todd Haley

The tumbling dice are cast.

The Steelers' roll of the dice on hiring Todd Haley to be their offensive coordinator could pay off big or blow up spectacularly.  We shall see.

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls reserve the right to reserve judgment. Or something. Like. That.

Of course, that didn't stop us from weighing in before the hire, when we wrote the following on Jan. 29 ...

 "Todd Haley? Joey Porter's Pit Bulls aren't crazy about the idea. Haley seems paranoid and unstable, and his reputation is that he doesn't play nice with others, including and maybe especially quarterbacks." 

So, there.  Now that Haley's The Man, however, let's give him the benefit of the doubt.  Give the man a chance.  He said some good things at the introductory news conference. The "best chance to succeed" and all that -- then again, what else would he have said?

It's been tough biting our tongue all week, but Joey Porter's Pit Bulls continue to resist the temptation to indulge in knee-jerk judgment of the decision to hire Todd Haley, and with it, a judgment of Todd Haley himself, the man ... who has yet to don a headset, call a play or even meet with his new team.  Or his quarterback.

Is that weird?  That Haley hasn't met with you-know-who?  Well, maybe a bit odd.

Oh, my. Big Ben doesn't know what to think.

We don't know Haley (what a surprise!), however, and we don't know what went into the Steelers' decision to hire him.  So it's tough to judge the decision to hire him.

... 'shouldn't stop us from jumping in with an opinion, but, after all ...

What do we fans know?  All we know is based on what we hear, see and feel.

Amazingly, we're not in the rooms where the decisions are made; or in the rooms where video is reviewed, and data checked and double-checked; or the other rooms where various job candidates are interviewed or vetted; or the executive offices where behind-the-scenes conversations are held, people-in-the-know consulted; and the deepest, heaviest thinking is done.

We simply don't know what went into the Steelers' decision to hire Todd Haley as the new offensive coordinator.  We'd love to know, but we don't, and it's doubtful we ever will.

If somehow Joey Porter's Pit Bulls had been involved in the decision-making process, would we have hired Haley?  Not having ever met the man, we can't say for sure.  We can say, however, that we would have talked to another candidate or two (besides Gentle Jim Caldwell, and he doesn't count).

Mike Sullivan takes his jiu-jitsu to Tampa Bay.

We'd previously advocated the Steelers at least talk to Mike Sullivan, the New York Giants quarterback coach who worked wonders with Eli Manning -- and now has been hired as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sullivan goes from working with Tom Coughlan, a two-time Super Bowl winner, and Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP still in his prime, to working with Greg Schiano, an NFL-rookie head coach, and Josh Freeman, a young quarterback still trying to establish himself in the NFL.

We still wish the Steelers would have at least brought Sullivan in for an interview, but ... what do we know?  We're just fans.

For all we know, Haley will be great, and we sincerely hope so.  But we don't know. Nobody knows.

What could possibly go wrong?

What do we know about Haley?

All we know is what we see and hear, and that appears to be a majorly mixed bag of seriously mixed opinions.

We can opine based on what we hear, see and feel. We can speculate. We can read between the lines of every over-scrutinized statement he makes, every phrase, each off-the-cuff, throwaway line, and all the blathered rumors, whispered innuendos and detailed critiques. 

So let's get started.

"If you are sensitive," Haley said in his introductory news conference yesterday, "this is probably not the best place to be."   Okay.  We've been warned.

Let's pray this all works out.

Haley is reputed to be volatile and headstrong, and he almost certainly is.  When things go awry the first time, it should be interesting to observe the dynamic between Haley and Ben Roethlisberger.

Isn't it curious that, in his introductory news conference, Haley singled out Heath Miller, a great player admittedly, and an underutilized one at that, but still, a tight end, but .... but not a word about the franchise quarterback?

Could Ben be Tebowing? Hoping this all works out?

For his part, Ben Roethlisberger seemed to be speaking through clenched teeth -- (well, okay, we're projecting here, and willfully reading between the lines) -- when he told the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette that ...

"I've gotten a lot of calls and texts and emails from people around the league, both good and bad about him.  Everybody has an opinion, as we all know, and they're letting me know what their interaction with him was -- good, bad and indifferent. I've heard a lot of things and I'm looking forward to meeting him and forming my own opinion."

Uh-huh.  Okay.  Yeaah, ri-i-ight.

Roethlisberger said he had been trying to reach Kurt Warner to talk about Haley, and wouldn't you love to listen in on that conversation?

Even more so, wouldn't you love to eavesdrop on the first substantive talk between Roethlisberger and Haley?

Some fans like the hiring.

For now, forsooth!, we shall withhold judgment on the Haley hiring.  Not that it wouldn't be fun to jump in with knee-jerk reactionary, off-the-cuff, talking-head punditry-type, know-it-all opinions.

It doesn't give pause to other tin-horn experts with microphones and newspaper columns.  Well, speaking up and engaging in vigorous discourse about this sort of thing is half the fun of being a fan.

We hope for the best.

Giants Prevail Over Pats

Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Deion Branch lament the catch not caught.

Exciting finish.  Good for the Giants.  

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls are happy our prediction of a Patriots' win was off-target.

Now it's time for the Steelers to get to work.

It's About Time

Jack Butler

Congrats to new Hall of Famers Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Curtis Martin, Chris Doleman -- all Pittsburgh guys either by birth or affiliation --and fellow Hall inductees Willie Roaf and Cortez Kennedy.

Jerome Bettis will make it next year.  He should have made it this year.  It's disappointing and hard to figure, but he and Chris Carter definitely should get voted in next year.  Chris Carter not making it is the most puzzling part of this year's vote, and he's got to be majorly disappointed.

Bellichick is cold.
But we knew that.  Still, cutting Tiquan Underwood on the eve of the Super Bowl ... man, that's cold.

Tom Clements Makes It Official

Not news, exactly, but the Packers yesterday confirmed what we noted on this humble blog on Jan. 26, which is that Tom Clements is staying in Green Bay as offensive coordinator.  Oh, well. That rules him out.

Also out of the picture, thankfully, are Jim Caldwell and Brad Childress, and we can surmise Todd Haley, too.  Fine.

At this point, on the eve of the Super Bowl, we can speculate the Steelers might be considering somebody from the coaching staff of either the New England Patriots or the New York Giants.

That would be okay with Joey Porter's Pit Bulls.  We'd prefer the Steelers steer clear of the usual suspects -- guys like Al Saunders and Jim Zorn -- and go with somebody like, say, Mike Sullivan, quarterbacks coach of the Giants, who has been instrumental in the development of Eli Manning.

Our prediction for the Super Bowl?  New England will win, going away. 

We hate to say it, and we hope that prediction is wrong, but that's our prediction -- which, hopefully, means the Giants will win.