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Jason Mackey's sports chat: 04.03.25
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Cam
12:22
What percent chance do you give it that Paul Skenes is a lifelong Pirate?
Jason Mackey
12:22
It's very low, unfortunately.
Guest
12:23
Any word about the outfielder we just picked up? Has he been added to the 40 man roster?
Jason Mackey
12:24
He will be. I've heard Friday as the desired report date. Canario has produced a decent amount in limited time. Right-handed bat, could platoon with Jack or spell Pham. Will depend on his production.
Paul
12:24
Jason, you recently wrote a great piece about the future of Malkin with the Penguins. With that said, he’s obviously had an amazing career in Pittsburgh. So my question is, would he be on your penguins Mount Rushmore? First three seem easy with Mario, Sid and JJ.
Jason Mackey
12:26
Thank you so much for the non-Pirates question, Paul. ... He would be, yes. If you use winning as the ultimate barometer, that culls your candidates down to Malkin, Letang and Fleury for that final spot; guys from the early 90s won the Cup "only" twice. Ha. But Malkin's individual accomplishments relative to position are greater than the other two. I'm also operating under the assumption that it's players only. If not, I honestly might have to put Mike Lange up there.
Mike F
12:26
Is Henry Davis going to end up being a 1-1 bust?
Jason Mackey
12:27
We don't know. It's too early. There seems to be an obsession with applying this label to Henry, which I don't get. They can let him try to find it in the minors. Who's that hurting? I also don't think he will be, though it might take a change of scenery first.
J D
12:27
Jason, do you think the Steelers will move TJ around the box since teams have slowed him down considerably last year?
Jason Mackey
12:28
Points! Points! Points! That was the sense I got from TJ last year -- open to anything, so long as it helps. They didn't do a good enough job of scheming him away from chips & whatnot last year. So, yeah, I do expect that to be different. And it needs to be.
Paul
12:28
Thanks for the chats Jason. While Rodgers has taken up the headlines, the Steelers did make a series of FA additions. Is there one free agent signing that caught your eye the most? Maybe the best under-the-radar signing?
Jason Mackey
12:29
A few, yes. I wrote about this a couple days ago. We haven't talked about it enough. I like the Darius Slay pickup. I don't know if it's under-the-radar, but I think he's the exact type of player they've needed in the secondary. They've had veteran projects there before, but those guys saw some declines in their game. It really hasn't been that way with Slay.
Jay P.
12:29
You get $100 million, but once a month for the rest of your life you become naked at a random moment for 10 seconds. Would you do it?
Jason Mackey
12:30
What a question. Yeah, I'd do it. Why not? If I can explain to people why those 10 seconds of horror existed and then compensate them for their time, I'm still very much in the plus column.
James A from 'Negie
12:30
With how bad they are at developing players, who is at fault with this?  The coaches at the minor league levels, the instructors?  Why don't they just clear everyone out and get new coaches and philosophies.  It's been how long now?
Jason Mackey
12:32
I wanna pretend that James is asking about the Penguins or Steelers. Or maybe the Riverhounds. You never know. (They did this at the start of the rebuild. It's why I said it was reasonable to hear the Pirates out, because of the changes they made. They haven't been good enough, mind you. It's beyond fair to criticize those processes and not improving enough.)
J D
12:32
Jason, it use to be the Steelers would build through the draft but now it looks more like FA is their way to go.  Is that because the players in college are hard to evaluate or is it because the Steelers haven't drafted well, or both?
Jason Mackey
12:32
Maybe a little bit of both. I also think the team-building cycles in the NFL have gotten shorter. Immediate gratification, right? Sometimes you get that through the draft, but free agency is probably a surer bet. But, yeah, they've also been forced to chase some poor drafts.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:33
The Steelers had to have had some assurance either through a secret handshake or a fist bump that Rogers is coming. Do you think he’s waiting for Pat McAfee‘s show in Pittsburgh next week to announce his signing or do you think he is holding on to hope with Minnesota and he will wait until OTA’s are done before he makes a decision?
Jason Mackey
12:34
I really hope it's not the McAfee thing. I don't think that's how you want to start this relationship, and I'm also not going to pretend to know Aaron Rodgers' thinking. But if he's serious about doing this, wants to think it through and know everything before committing, I get it. I just think it would be a bad look to do it then and there.
Jeff M
12:34
Hi Jason, Last season the bullpen was bad an lost their best relieve in Chapman. The offense was bad and they made no meaningful addition. So they were banking on a lot of internal improvement. However, in 5 years under Shelton we have seen very little internal improvement. Especially among hitters. Did they really expected this years results to be better?
Jason Mackey
12:35
Well, to answer your question, Jeff, yes, they did. And do. You can disregard it if you want. I think there's also some nuance to the discussion. But they do believe there are areas they can improve internally. They're also not wrong, though I understand fans saying "Show me first, and I'll believe it." That's more than fair. They haven't given fans enough evidence.
Benson DuBois
12:35
Did Bednar get a long leash because of his popularity and local ties?  Strange that they got Chapman in '24, but nothing close to that this year.
Jason Mackey
12:36
I mean, they sent him to the minors during the second series of the season. I'd hate to see a short leash. ... I don't have any issue not spending another $10.5 million on a setup guy. Chapman didn't want to come back here. Borucki and Santana have been good. I've liked Lawrence & Ferguson as well. Nicolas should be here. Mayza hasn't been bad. Holderman needs to be a lot better, obviously.
James A from 'Negie
12:36
How many yinzer fans were groaning about Joe Milton being traded this morning?? Hope now they'll shut up about him.  Any idea if the Steelers have kicked the tires or Wentz/Flacco in case Rodgers decides to retire or continues to be in a holding pattern until before training camp begins?
Jason Mackey
12:37
I would imagine they've at least remained alert to the situation. But with an offer out to Rodgers, they're not also going to offer Wentz or Flacco until they know. What if both say yes? The Rodgers domino has to fall first.
Les Paul
12:37
I know it's early, but the Pirates hitters all look very passive at the plate - There is no swing aggression at all.  The Rays all looked like they were very aggressive and swinging angry.  Do you think this is the impact of Daniel Vogelbach Vs Matt Hague?  I know he liked to look at a ton of pitches.
Jason Mackey
12:38
Nah, they looked at too many pitches last year. I think they're slumping or scuffling, sure. That's fair. But the approach throughout spring has been more aggression. That just hasn't translated yet.
Danimal
12:38
Could it be possible that Andy Haines wasn’t nearly the problem he was made out to be by some?
Jason Mackey
12:38
It's possible, sure. Anything is possible. Or both hitting coaches might be bad. I do think there are too many voices. But it's been 7 games. We can't accurately reach any conclusions at this point. I know the bulk of the 7 games hasn't been good.
demosthenes98
12:38
Happy columnist-versary! What do you like best about being a columnist, and what do you miss most about being a beat writer?
Jason Mackey
12:40
Oh man! I forgot about that. I guess it is, huh? Crazy. I guess I like always having my stuff played prominently. That and the ability to bounce around. What I miss? Doing the job. Seriously, I love reporting, learning and building relationships. Being around a team, finding a story and telling it. It's harder to do that here. We have 4 Steelers beat writers, two on baseball. There's some space on hockey. You also don't want to piss off your beat writers, which I've done. But I miss the being-close-to-it parts of the job that just aren't as available on this side.
demosthenes98
12:40
The woebegone Pirates are hosting the defending AL pennant winner and 27-time World Series champion Yankees this coming winter. In professional sports, when this drastic of a mismatch occurs, does the inferior team lie to themselves with the fiction that the superior team is Just Another Opponent, or do they treat their betters with the respect, deference, and gratitude that they have earned?
Jason Mackey
12:41
Ha. What do you want the Pirates to do here, forfeit? They treat it like any other game: go out there and compete. It's also baseball. It's not like the better team wins 100% of the time.
demosthenes98
12:41
Paul Skenes talks about "letting all the outside stuff be outside stuff[,]" but what if "the outside stuff" has a point? Shouldn't he and his teammates be a bit more humble and open-minded?
Jason Mackey
12:41
I have zero issue with Paul Skenes' mentality on anything. Seems like you're looking for reasons to get upset.
demosthenes98
12:41
Did you hear about the NBA's Boston Celtics being sold for $6.1 billion the other day? Their now-former owners sure made a lot of money by selling the team, didn't they? Just asking. No reason.
Jason Mackey
12:42
You want to suggest Bob can sell and make a lot of money. I'm well-aware: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/jason-mackey/2024/10/25/jason-mack...
Paul
12:42
Throwing out a wild one. Hypothetical, you wake up tomorrow and hear that the NBA has added an expansion team in Pittsburgh. What would your reaction be? Any chance the city could support a fourth major team?
Jason Mackey
12:43
I'd be thrilled. That would be awesome. But I do have my doubts. I think it would depend on success. If the team won, yeah, I think we'd support the crap out of it. I worry that there's enough here to justify it during the tougher times.
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