No Major Surprises Among Final Cuts

The big names on the list of Steelers' cuts today are running back Jonathan Dwyer and nose tackle Alameda Ta'amu.  Neither will be missed.  Dwyer fumbled away his last chance in the final exhibition game, and Ta'amu was on the team for longer than was merited.

Veteran punter Brian Moorman failed to seize the opportunity to out-kick Drew Butler, so it's no surprise Moorman is gone.

Some of this year's draft picks, namely Terry Hawthorne and Justin Brown, simply didn't pass the eye test. Hawthorne couldn't get healthy and Brown looked average, at best.

We're a bit disappointed some of the undrafted free agents didn't make the final roster, which, it should be pointed out, is subject to change between now and the season opener on Sept. 8th.  We were pulling for defensive lineman Brian Arnfelt, linebacker Alan Baxter, safety Ross Ventrone and some of the young offensive linemen.  There's a chance some of these guys go to the practice squad.

The other notable name to get cut was corner Josh Victorian, whose tackling was suspect.  His departure saves the job, for the time being, of Curtis Brown, who needs to step up his game at corner and continue to make his mark on special teams, if he is to stick around for long.

Survivors 
Also spared the axe today were offensive linemen Guy Whimper and John Malecki,  tight ends Matt Spaeth and Michael Palmer, receiver Derrick Moye, linebackers Chris Carter and Kion Wilson, safety DaMon Cromartie-Smith, corner Isiah Green and nose tackle Hebron Fangupo.

A few of those names will provoke heated discussion among Steelers fans. No surprise there, either.

Justin Morneau: From the Twin Cities to the Three Rivers

The Clemente Wall beckons.

First-baseman Justin Morneau has the perfect swing for launching pitches over PNC Park's 21-foot-high Clemente Wall and into the Allegheny River.

With today's trade, Morneau immediately becomes the Pirates' regular first baseman against right-handed pitching. Moreneu, a longtime fixture and fan favorite in the Minnesota, will be a welcome addition to the Pirates' lineup.

Morneau will take at-bats away from Garrett Jones, whose opportunity for a shot at the majors, ironically, was blocked by Morneau while both were in the Minnesota organization.  Until Friday night, Jones had been in a prolonged, serious slump.  Jones broke out of that slump last night, but his home-run, four RBIs and 3-for-4 performance came too late.  The Pirates had to bolster the lineup.

General Manager Neil Huntington went for it aggressively, not only with Morneau, but also with the acquisition of veterans Marlon Byrd and John Buck earlier in the week. Give Huntington credit.

Jones is a fan favorite in Pittsburgh, and his slump has been distressing to watch. Today's edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Byrd offered Jones some sage batting advice, which may have helped last night and, hopefully, will continue to help. After being benched for three straight games, Michael Sanserino reports, "Jones spent his time down watching video, taking swings in the cage and talking to coaches and teammates about all topics baseball and otherwise."

"Marlon Byrd, when he first got up here, he came up to me and said, 'You could be a guy that could hit 30, 40 home runs,' " Jones said. "We started talking about hitting, and just a few things he said to me made a lot of sense."

"Specifically, Jones said Byrd gave him a couple pointers about getting extension on his swing."

Any Pirates' fan would be all for that, and Jones may see playing time in right field against right-handers. Byrd could get some time in left field until Starling Marte returns from the disabled list.

Going to the Twins in exchange for Morneau is outfielder Alex Presley and either cash or a player to be named later -- not likely to be a top-tier prospect. Let's hope that "player to be named later" is not first baseman Nick Kingham or pitcher Tyler Glasnow. 

That's a topic for another day. For now, it's exciting the Pirates have made moves designed to improve the team.

On this, the last day of August, the Pittsburgh Pirates are legitimate contenders in a pennant race. And we haven't been to say that for a very long time.

Ready or Not ...

"Ready or not," Mike Tomlin said after last night's final pre-season game in Charlotte. "That's the reality this time of year."

Center Ray Mansfield, "The Ol' Ranger"

Like it or not, the start of the regular season looms.  Not that the glorified scrimmages known as pre-season games are a reliable indicator of how any NFL team will perform in the regular season, but the Steelers have looked mostly sloppy and not very good in all four pre-season games.

Running back Jonathan Dwyer fumbled yet again last night, and, although it was recovered by the Steelers, he showed once again that he is not entirely reliable.  Remember last year, the fumbles at Oakland and Cleveland?  The "tapping out" following three consecutive carries? Do we really want more of the same?

It's a little scary to think that newcomer Felix Jones might be the best alternative to Dwyer, but both Dwyer and Isaac Redman offer essentially the same between-the-tackles style, while Jones offers not only a different type of game (burst, speed, shiftiness), he can return kickoffs.   Then again, Jones and Larod Stephens-Howling are essentially the same player, but if Redman is healthy enough to start the season, and considering that Le'Veon Bell should be ready to return to action soon ... Dwyer could and should be the odd man out.

Most of the other cuts to the 53-man roster will be easy.  Dave Bryan over at Steelers Depot offers a list of players who distinguished themselves as Winners and Losers" in last night's Steelers-Panthers game -- click here to read it.  And Marc Uhlmann over at Steel City Blitz chimes in with some interesting observations, which you can read here.

Not all of the following players will make the 53-man squad, but current personal favorites among the bubble players are Brian Arnfelt, Hebron Fangupo, Alan Baxter, Isiaih Green and Mike Golic, Jr. 

We suspect the Steelers will carry just four wide receivers (Brown, Sanders, Wheaton and Cotchery), and that they may pick up somebody from the waiver wire to help the secondary. It needs help.

About the final preseason game ... will Byron Leftwich even make it through without getting hurt?

Man, preseason NFL football is just about unwatchable any more ... but we'll watch some of tonight's Steelers-Panthers game to see how rookie QB Landry Jones looks, and final roster battles, and to see whether Byron Leftwich* gets hurt again, and to see, what?  How our guys who will be looking for jobs next week do against their guys who will be looking for jobs?

It's not so long ago that NFL fans watching the third and fourth pre-season games were able to get a better feel for how their teams were shaping up for the regular season. Steelers' broadcaster and former right tackle Tunch Ilkin, who played for Chuck Noll in the 1980s, noted as much in a conversation he had this week with the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette.

"In his time," Bouchette wrote of Ilkin, "the final preseason game tonight would have been the most important, when coaches played their first teams into the fourth quarter to have them ready to open the season. The starters would play about one quarter in the first game, close to a half in the second and third and most of the fourth.

"I liked that," Ilkin said. "I felt I was more game-ready for that first regular-season game. Usually, that first game, if it's 1 o'clock outside, it's going to be hot. I wanted to know in my mind that I could play 60 minutes in the heat."

"I loved the old way. I understand why they do it this way, because of the injuries. If you get hurt in the last preseason game, you don't have a lot of time to heal up. If you get hurt in that third preseason game, now you have two weeks to get ready."

Joey Porter's Pit Bulls see it this way: In recent years, the Steelers haven't always looked ready for the regular season when it kicks off. Remember the 2011 debacle in Baltimore? Typically, in recent years, even with early wins, the team hasn't rounded into form until the third, fourth of fifth game.

It would be nice if they got off to a fast start this year. Based on what we've seen thus far in the pre-season, though, for what that's worth, it would be a stretch to say they look ready for prime time.

That's it, Fort Pitt.

*What? Whaddya mean, Byron Leftwich's not even on the team?

Whither Jeff Locke?

Just six weeks ago, Jeff Locke was on the National League All-Star team.  Now, he appears to be this year's James MacDonald -- a sterling first half of the season, and a collapse (for no apparent reason) in the second half.

Locke's been stuck at nine wins since July 21st, his only victory since the All-Star game, which was July 16th. In his last six starts, Locke has an 8.10 ERA, and hitters are batting a whopping .388 against him.

It will be interesting to see whether Locke somehow becomes eligible for the post-season roster.

In a clever bit of roster engineering (a "paper" roster move), Pirates general manager Neil Huntington optioned Locke to their Class AA minor league team, the Altoona Curve, along with catcher Tony Sanchez, to clear space on the 25-man roster for the two newly acquired players, right fielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck, who were picked up from the Mets in a trade for a (very) young shortstop prospect and a player to be named later.

To digress for a moment, but that player to be named later? It could be somebody currently injured (Travis Snyder?).  Let's hope it's not 19-year-old pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow,.whom Baseball America recently described as "the most unhittable pitcher in the minors, and it's not even close.".

By sending Locke to Altoona, he will not be eligible to rejoin the major league club until Monday, Sept. 2. Major League Baseball rules stipulate playoff rosters must be set by Sept. 1. The rules are arcane, fuzzy and open to some interpretation, but it appears the only way Locke would be able to pitch in the playoffs would be as a replacement for an injured player.

For all we know, Locke himself has been injured. He didn't even get to pitch in the All-Star game because of what was reported as a minor back injury (lower back strain, spasm or discomfort). Although he's had one good outing since then, he hasn't been the same pitcher he was in the first half of the season, when he was 9-2 with a 2.11 ERA.

At his best, a young Tom Glavine?

If Locke is not hurt, our suggestion for him is to study video of Atlanta Braves great Tom Glavine. At his best, that's who Jeff Locke reminds us of, Tom Glavine.

At this point, it makes sense for Jeanmar Gomez to replace Locke in the rotation, and the Pirates may also call on current minor leaguers Chris Johnson and Brandon Cumpton. both of whom have pitched well in spot situations for the big-league club this year. Gomez has been excellent all season, no matter the situation. He deserves a spot in the rotation, and has for some time.

If the Pirates go with a four-man rotation for the playoffs, it shapes up as Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett, Charlie Morton and Jeanmar Gomez. As unlikely as it seemed six months ago, that could be a very competitive rotation.

Also, if the Pirates are serious about limiting rookie Gerrit Cole's innings, now might be the perfect time to transition him to the bullpen (although he's never pitched in relief).  It would be interesting to have a 100-mph fireballer available to pitch the fifth, sixth or seventh innings in advance of Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli, who is on track to return soon. Now that could be a shutdown bullpen.

If the bats start coming around, and they could ...

Outfield Shuffle
With left-fielder Starling Marte on the disabled list for almost two weeks, it will be interesting to see whether manager Clint Hurdle splits playing time in left field between Jose Tabata and Felix Pie.  Tabata's defense is questionable, at best. Frankly, so his overall talent.

Pie has not been bad at the plate or in the field in the small amount of playing time he's had, and he gives the team a little base-stealing and hit-and-run flexibility on the basepaths.

With Marlon Byrd playing right field every day, it's fair to speculate whether Andrew Lambo (32 minor league home runs this season) may start to take playing time away from Garrett Jones at first base.

Beat 'em, Bucs!

Prepping for Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is the name that comes immediately to mind upon reading the following, by Bob Smizik:

"In terms of OPS against left-handed pitching, the Pirates now have four of the top 11 in the National League. Andrew McCutchen is first (1.120), Starling Marte second (1.078), Marlon Byrd tenth (.980)and Gaby Sanchez eleventh (.958). 

"Marlon Byrd is hitting .285 with an .848 OPS. He has 21 home runs and 71 RBIs. John Buck, 33, has 15 homers and 60 RBIs Byrd has been feasting on left-handed pitching and doing well enough -- much better than any Pirate -- against right-handers. His batting line against left-handers is .345/.383/.597 -- .980. Against right handers: .255/.304/.479 -- .783. Fourteen of his home runs have come against right-handed pitching."

Troy

"It's tough watching any game, but it's a great spiritual learning process for me. It's very humbling. But it also gives me a sense of appreciation for what I do have when I am healthy. 

-- Troy Polamalu

Troy Polamalu is the wild-card of the 2013 Steelers' defense. 

At 32 years of age, will he once again be the whirling- dervish-disruptive-force-of-nature that he was in 2010, when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year?  Or will he once again be the diminished shadow of his former self? ... the player of 2011-2012, bedeviled by chronic injuries (calf, Achilles tendon, concussions, etc.) that forced him to miss 22 games over the past four seasons and rendered him noticeably off his game even when he played.

When healthy, Polamalu is a great player. The Steelers need him to be great, and at full-speed, all season. They don't have enough talent, and not enough depth, to overcome any prolonged absence by him or diminished play. It's worth remembering that the 2012 defense had just 10 interceptions.

Troy Polamalu is 32 years old and, arguably, an old 32.

In an interesting piece that appeared recently on the NFL Network's website, Judy Batista wrote, "He found a new physical therapist, and they spent hours each day during the offseason -- he is still working twice a day during training camp -- attempting to break up the knots of scar tissue that have formed in his calves. In what might be best described as an extremely intensive and not-at-all-relaxing massage, the therapist kneads the clumps of hardened tissue that have formed around the small tears in Polamalu's muscle. The hope is that, as Polamalu endures the strain of the season, his calves will not tighten up again."

However ...

"I felt pretty good last preseason, too," Polamalu said. "I am feeling healthy as we stand here today."

It's pointless to worry about injuries that may not happen. As the late, great Elmore Leonard said, "Don’t worry about anything—unless you absolutely know what the outcome will be. People worry about things that never happen to them. You waste your life like that."

Nobody is potentially more valuable to any NFL team's defense than the Steelers' own Troy Polamalu.  He is the wild card. 

No surprises

Good luck and fare thee well, Baron Batch and the rest of the players cut by the Steelers on Sunday. Much can happen between now and final cutdown.

Guys we're pulling for include Reggie Dunn, Hebron Fangupo, Al Woods, Brian Arnfelt, Isiaih Green and Mike Golic, Jr.

Ironic, isn't it?

Having jettisoned the disappointing Rashard Mendenhall this past off-season, the Steelers have traded for the underwhelming Felix Jones, the running back selected immediately before Mendenhall in the first round of the 2008 draft (21st and 22nd overall). Neither player has lived up to his respective hype.

What do the Steelers want with Jones?  The reports out of Philadelphia say that his skills have eroded and he was about to be cut, even after being signed as a free-agent during the off-season.

Here's what blogger Jimmy Kempski wrote on Bleeding Green Nation after the trade was announced on Friday  ...

Felix Jones is done.

A week ago, I listed my 5 best and 5 worst performances at Eagles training camp. The first name I listed under "worst" was Felix Jones:

Felix Jones: He can't run, catch, pass protect or play special teams anymore. But otherwise, he was great.

Jones had virtually no chance of making the team, so the Eagles did well just to get a body in return for him at a position where they are very thin.

That's nice. It also represents the consensus opinion from Philadelphia.  On top of all that, Jones injured his ribs in his last appearance in an Eagles' uniform. He's passed his physical, though, so now he's a Steeler.

For Steelers' fans, it's another puzzling move.  Frankly, we're still mystified why they tendered/signed Jonathan "Tap Out" Dwyer in the off-season.

Dwyer's focus and motivation seem to go off and on, and off again, his weight fluctuates wildly, he fumbles, and last year, he "tapped out" of games after getting "tired" following a handful of consecutive carries. He's simply not reliable.

If the Steelers think Jones is more reliable than Dwyer, they're in trouble. Maybe the Steelers have no intention of keeping Jones. If that's the case, however, why did they trade for him?

Who will be cut?
The acquisition of Jones signals somebody currently on the roster is gone. Just before last Monday's game vs. the Redskins, we heard Mike Tomlin's pre-game radio interview, during which he called running back Baron Batch by the wrong name, "Byron Batch."  Oh-oh.  Not a good sign.

Even if the Steelers cut Baron Batch, some other running back will also be cut. Maybe it will be off-season free-agent acquisition LaRod Stephens-Howling, whose size and game is similar to that of Jones. Could it be that Howling is hurt more seriously than any of us outsiders know?

Might Isaac Redman be cut?  We'd rather have him than Dwyer.

About That 2008 Draft ...
In any case, adding Felix Jones feels like grasping at a straw in the wind.  It's also a bitter reminder of that 2008 draft. Not one player from that draft is on the Steelers roster today.

Most galling, not to beat a dead horse, to draft Mendenhall, the Steelers passed on Rutgers' Ray Rice, who was no secret to anybody and especially not to Pittsburgh fans who watched Rice trample Pitt and the rest of the Big East during his collegiate career. Now, Rice is arguably the best running back in the NFL and a linchpin for the hated Baltimore Ravens, no less.

Also in that 2008 draft, as Rebecca Rollett points out over at the always-worth-reading Behind the Steel Curtain, the Steelers passed on running backs Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Jamaal Charles -- all of whom have been much better than Rashard Mendenhall and, yes, better even than Felix Strinkin' Jones, the 21st overall pick in that draft.

Friday's trade for Felix Jones is probably a non-event. Honestly, though, sometimes we do wonder what the front office is doing, and what the hell they're thinking.

The shelf life for running backs in the NFL is about four years, give or take.  By all accounts, Felix Jones's "Best if Used By" date has expired.  There must be somebody out there who has more upside than Felix Jones.

A change at tackle? It's starting to look that way ...

The Post-Gazette's Ray Fittpialdo reports today that head coach Mike Tomlin has had offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum working exclusively at tackle this week. Let's hope so.

During Monday's slovenly loss at Washington, starting offensive tackles Gilbert and Adams played like Gilbert & Sullivan, or a vaudeville act. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert looked slow, lost and ineffectual, again,  and left tackle Mike Adams appeared as if were stumbling around looking for the parking valet at 3 a.m. on the South Side. Again.

That dubious quality of play got Tomlin's attention, evidently, as he told Fittipaldi that Beachum, at practice, "played tackle last week and he's playing tackle again this week. He'll be given an opportunity to make a case for himself in that regard."

That certainly sounds like Tomlin is considering a switch, and, as if that last statement isn't clear enough, Tomlin added, "We're going to give him an opportunity to ascend."

This, despite the Steelers having invested high draft choices in Gilbert and Adams, both second-rounders. It may be too soon to say they've squandered their chances, but time is running out.

Beachum: Not backing down vs. the Ravens, 2012

Beachum, just 14 months removed from being the fourth of the Steelers' four seventh-round picks in the April 2012 NFL Draft, may be a better option at this point than either Gilbert or Adams.

Make of that what you will, but last season, Beachum showed enough, surprisingly, that even without the "pedigree" of the higher-dtafted Gilbert and Adams, he now merits consideration as a starter at tackle.

He may be the only option.

As columnist Gene Collier noted following Monday's game vs. the Redskins, "Beachum represents perhaps the lone viable alternative for any kind of offensive line shakeup as the regular-season opener moves within two weeks of Sunday. He's built more like a guard or center than a tackle, but it was at tackle where Beachum got his first pro start last December in Baltimore, and the Ravens quickly found he was no day at the Beachum."

And this: "Beachum might not be a better choice at any of those spots, but as a former All-Academic choice who got a master's degree at SMU and gave the commencement speech to the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development, I imagine he can keep track of the assignments," Collier wrote.

Let's hope so.  After all, it won't be long before somebody will be lined up at tackle facing one James Harrison of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rest in Peace, Elmore Leonard

"Leo narrowed his eyes and stared, trying hard to fake who he was. He raised his preshaped plaid hat and recocked it, see if that would help. No, there was nothing dumber than a dumb guy who thought he was a hotshot. You did have to feel a little sorry for him ..."

-- excerpt from Get Shorty, by Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard at home

Elmore Leonard died on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. He was 87. He's been a favorite of Joey Porter's Pit Bulls for many years.

Why? The ability to draw in the reader and tell a no-frills yet rich story with an uncanny ear for dialogue and an unfailing eye for detail.  The humor. The knack for letting a story unfold from the inner dialogue of his characters, all of whom have defects of character, but whom Elmore coaxes to share their view of the world straight from their mind's eye and the internal voices in their cockeyed heads.

The passage quoted at the top of this post just happens to be from a page in the middle of Get Shorty, which Joey Porter's Pit Bulls just happens to be re-reading, again.  Elmore Leonard apparently had a fondness for the dumb guys, even the ones who thought they were hotshots. In that passage, for all we know, he could have been talking about an earlier, spiritually truncated version of himself -- "Leo" / "Leonard" -- Elmore Leonard was self-deprecating and self-effacing, but his writing displayed a sly, wry humor with a wickedly sharp edge.  By all accounts, he was mostly non-judgmental -- generally amused, but mostly non-judgmental.  He wrote it like he saw it.

We could go on and on -- but, honestly, your time would be better spent reading Elmore Leonard.

Elmore Leonard and Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Or watch Justified, the FX television series based on Leonard's story, Fire in the Hole. As noted by The Los Angeles Times, "Before tackling the adaptation, the show's creator Graham Yost gave each member of his "Justified" writing staff various novels that the prolific Leonard had written so they could understand the rhythm and tone of his work. Yost also gave them each a bracelet inscribed with the letters WWED (What Would Elmore Do), an accessory Yost still wears."

Elmore Leonard had the knack of writing lines that seemed to seek him as a channel for expression because, well, somebody just had to say them, they were too good:  One of his characters, a lawman on a stakeout watching a hapless criminal, said, ""He's over there casing the joint about as subtle as a marching band."

Elmore Leonard was never subtle as a marching band. He was cool. He was subtle as the "b" in subtle, to borrow a line from Dorothy Parker.

Leonard's own advice? “Don’t worry about anything. Don’t worry about anything—unless you absolutely know what the outcome will be. People worry about things that never happen to them. You waste your life like that."

And then there's this line Leonard wrote for U.S. Marshall Art Mullen, a character in his 2012 novel Raylan and on Justified: "You don't think of your manners and let the woman go first," Art Mullen said, "not when she's pointing a gun at you."

Words to live by.

Various links, tributes, quotes, obit, and excerpts will appear when you click the "Read More" jump break, below:

Not Ready for Prime Time, or even pre-prime time

Tick-tock ...

The NFL's third preseason game, next week, is the one where teams usually give their starters extended playing time, try to demonstrate some measure of cohesiveness and generally pull their collective game together for the regular season.

If last night's game vs. the Redskins was any indication, the Steelers aren't nearly ready even for that third pre-season game, let alone the regular season.

The offensive line has to be the major concern. The first unit (Adams, DeCastro, Pouncey, Foster, Gilbert) played most of the first half but clearly has work to do. They look terrible.

Just as he did in the off-season ("Free Hernandez"?), center Maurkice Pouncey last night drew attention to himself for the wrong reasons. With $102-million quarterback Ben Roethlisberger behind him, Pouncey was flailing in space and waving at air most of the first half.

With play like that (and how he played for much of the last two seasons), Pouncey is opening room for discussion over whether he is indeed over-rated (Pro Football Focus, for what it's worth, lists him as the 25th-best center in the NFL).

Also last night, tackle Mike Adams appeared as if were looking for the parking valet at 3 a.m. on the South Side. Marcus Gilbert looked slow, lost and ineffectual.  David DeCastro got pushed around. The line has much room for improvement and little time to do it.

If the line continues to play like this, Roethlisberger won't last six games.