Heard Courtney Upshaw was or will be in town for a visit too, but he's likely to be gone by our pick. He's a good athlete that's always around the ball. Some say he lacks a bit in agility and footwork and that he's much better playing downhill than chasing plays down. More of an ILB type by that description. He did get a lot of sacks at OLB in college though.
Last edited by Captain Hook: 04-12-2012 at 11:17 AM.
LaMichael James is an explosive runner. He's not big (5'8" - 195) but very quick. He's really a scat back like Darren Sproles. He could add a new dimension for Steelers. Only downsize besides his size is he has trouble to handling the ball. I think he will be picked in 2nd-3rd round. I'm not a fan of drafting a RB in first 2 rounds.
I have some doubts about Hightower. He's not fast so he is probably more suited for 3-4 defense but he won't play all downs. He's strictly a 2-down player. Not worth for 1st rounder, IMO. Reminds me of Levon Kirkland.
I don't think they will draft a TE since we have Miller, Pope, Johnson, and Saunders. Unless they move Johnson to FB permanently and release Saunders.
Late-career Levon Kirkland. Early in his NFL career, Kirkland could run with TEs and RBs in coverage. Hightower couldn't even do that in college.
I was watching a movie that wasn't going to end until 10:30, so I recorded the start of the game to catch up on DVR. I was able to catch up and actually fast forwarded through the Dodger runs, and at least 4 or 5 times since then, I've wished that I could start fast forwarding again.
I'm shocked by the McCutchen's continued ability to produce well despite the rest of the lineup giving pitchers every reason to pitch around him. Maybe they figure they don't need to pitch around him because even if he gets on base, someone will hit into a double play and Pedro will strike out.
Michael McKenry might be better than Rod Barajas. Yamaico Navarro is definitely better than Clint Barmes. They're all below average, but at least the young guys might get better.
I have no clue why the Pirates even bothered with Barmes, other than that Barmes has an in with Hurdle. He's old and hasn't been a decent hitter in years (played most of career at Coors, career OBP of .301, .250 avg, slug of exactly .400 ugh.) Might as well as taken a long look at Navarro at SS and see what they have there. He's shown some decent patience and some power for a middle infielder without being a butcher with the glove. Really, what's the best case scenario with Barmes, hitting 250/300/400 this year and having no future with team since he's in his mid-30's? Even worse he's signed through next season and I guarantee he will be starter throughout his term since he's a "gamer" who "plays the game the right way", etc. Navarro is probably as good as a hitter as Barmes right now, might as well give him an extended look, but instead, he'll probably start once or twice a week, never get in a rhythm, finish the year hitting like 200/240/310 and by the end of the season the team will know nothing more about his ability than they do now.
Just make it end already.
Oh God, just looked and Navarro is tied with McCutchen with a team high two walks this year....in 6 plate appearances. The team has 7 ****ing walks all year. Where have you gone Brian Giles?
Alvarez, 8 k's in 14 AB's, couple of errors, probably the worst everyday player in the league so far this season. 2008 mlb draft had a pretty bad 1-2 with him and Tim Beckham, who looks like an average mlb ss at best. Eric Hosmer and Buster Posey went 3 and 5, Brian Matsuz went 4th and was looking legit until whatever the hell happened to him last year.
Has there ever been such a disparity in tanking ability in a city than with Bucs and Pens? How do you pick top ten for 20 years in a row and still never have multiple elite players? From 93 to today, their best 1st round picks have been McCutchen, Maholm, Walker and Kris Benson. A very good CF, slightly-above average 2B and two mid-rotation starters. How is that possible?
We all remember Anthony Rendon around here, right? Surefire #1 overall pick last year who kept having ankle issues that caused him to slip out of that spot last year...yeah, well, in his 2nd pro game he fractured his ankle.
He will be back at some point this season...but that ankle is basically tissue paper at this point. I'm used to this stuff happening after the Pirates draft a guy instead of before...so we can all be thankful for that, at least.
Tissue-paper Rendon would still represent a huge upgrade over this crap team offensively.
8 RBIs through 7 games...I don't even have words for that.
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“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile, but that it is indifferent. If we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death, our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” - Stanley Kubrick
