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Jason Mackey's sports chat: 06.19.25
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Jason Mackey
12:22
Yes, I do.
Jacob Stallings
12:22
Pretty bad when a 13 win team releases you.
Jason Mackey
12:24
Jacob Stallings is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Great husband & father. If you wanna sit behind a keyboard & take shots. Go nuts. I'm not gonna do it. At the end of the day, Jacob Stallings played 563 MLB games & won a Gold Glove. And did so by being a class person, on and off the field.
Pablo
12:25
Hey Jason, why why why are the Pirates still holding onto Tommy Pham? The signing didn’t make sense when they made it, and his continued place on the roster makes even less sense. Wouldn’t the club be better served to give someone like Suwinski, Cook, or Yorke those reps? This really just seems to be GMBC refusing to acknowledge his mistake.
Jason Mackey
12:25
Because (1) They paid him and (2) It's the Pirates. I agree with you. Makes no sense. They should be giving ABs to younger players. Literally anyone but Pham. But it's also not the first time they've done this. It's absurd.
Pablo
12:26
Rodgers noted he’d be happy to host the receivers in Cali for workouts. He kind of made light of it, but any updates on whether or not that is something that will happen. Seems like a great opportunity to develop those relationships and make up for any time lost at OTAs.
Jason Mackey
12:26
No, he made light of the fact that it won't be a hard sell to get them to Malibu, Calif. ... Not updates on it -- they would never communicate that with us -- but I fully expect it to occur.
Mitchell Goosen
12:26
McDavid is the NHLs version of Lamar Jackson. Unbelievable talent, undeniable regular season greatness. But not enough when the lights shine brightest. What say you, Mr. Mackey?
Jason Mackey
12:27
Maybe. I get the comp now. Though it's not exactly perfect. McDavid has played really well and still lost. Jackson had bouts of having his game crater on the big stage. Oilers also had team-building issues.I get the similarities but maybe not the EXACT same.
Josh
12:28
Rate these from awful to want to poke your eyes out:
Jason Mackey
12:28
1.
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3.
4.
Chuck not from Uniontown
12:28
List these “shows” from awful to unwatchable:
Jason Mackey
12:28
1.
2.
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Rodgers
12:28
Do you think young Broderick will be able to protect my blind side long enough to let plays develop?
Jason Mackey
12:28
I do. I like him a lot more on the left. I also think the Steelers are going to make a concerted effort to get rid of the ball quicker.
Rodgers
12:28
My man Favre lead the Vikings to an NFC championship game - will the coaching staff and talent surrounding me in Pittsburgh provide enough resources to do the same?
Jason Mackey
12:29
Pretty sure the Steelers have the same odds of reaching the NFC and AFC championship games -- zero.
Todd Gak
12:29
First Take, Get Up, The Facility, First Things First, The Nightly Sports Call (hosted by Richie). Rank worst to beyond unwatchable
Jason Mackey
12:30
They're all unwatchable for me other than Nightly Sports Call. Mainly because I have no interest in watching them.
Big B
12:30
In early May Bob Nutting responded to the Derek Shelton firing by stating that there was a lot of baseball left in the season and he/the Pirates were acting with great urgency to salvage the season. Six weeks later, here we sit with the same inept hitters in the lineup, including Tommy Pham and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Countless more games have been lost when the impotent lineup provided no support to Skenes, Keller, and other starting pitchers. Can you please do a follow-up with Bottom Line Bob to hold him accountable for the lack of any sense of urgency since he fired Shelton?
Jason Mackey
12:31
I know. I was who he told that to. Ha. I will try and chat with him, sure. There's a 0.00% chance of that happening. But the next time SOMEONE talks, I'll be more than happy to ask why we haven't seen any moves whatsoever to address the lack of offense.
SDWC
12:32
Hi Jason, a break from the usual topics. Do you think Ovechkin tries to stick around and try for 1,000 goals?  Also, Matthews is already at 401 at age 27, do you think he has a reasonable shot at the record?
Jason Mackey
12:34
Good questions, SDWC. Thank you. It wouldn't surprise me. He's 39, just scored 44, his team is good, etc. What's another 103? That said, I don't know how his body feels. I don't know what sort of national pressure he might be getting to play a year or two back home. I know that's a non-answer, but I think there's a chance he could do either.

Yes, I do. Very reasonable. Ovechkin had 371 goals at age 27. I don't know how you could discount it when Matthews has more by the same age.
Bob
12:35
I have seen many pirate fans bash Ben Cherington for the roster make-up.  With good reason.   I wonder if Nutting only gave him a small amount to spend on free agents.  I think this is a real possibility.  Especially, since Nutting stated he has provided enough payroll.
Jason Mackey
12:37
I mean, we're talking about the Pirates. Do they ever have a large amount to spend on free agents? But even though those expenditures have been small, they still haven't gotten ROI. Or anywhere close.

Rough numbers, but the 2023 and '24 offseasons, Cherington added around $60-$70 M in payroll via trades & free agency. WAR-wise, those players performed to about 30% of expectation.

It's small spending, yes. But it's also inefficient spending.

This offseason, Cherington had a lump of money -- however small -- and chose to spend a bunch on analytics over players. It hasn't worked.

I'm not defending Nutting. I am saying Cherington has done a horrible job spending and could have impacted the club positively with better moves.
Jim
12:37
I wanted to ask your opinion as well, Sterelrs finish middle of the pack again, picking 20th first round, what does it take to move inot thje top 5 to grab one of the two best qbs?
Jason Mackey
12:38
For Rodgers to get hurt, Mason to stink and Will Howard to show he's not ready. I don't think that's going to happen, Jim. But it would require just a complete collapse at QB.
Aces High
12:38
Hello Jason. How have the Tigers turned thing around so nicely while the Pirates seem to be in a rebuild yet again. Is in mainly the GM? Lack of development? Or the usual blame on the worst owner in sports?
Jason Mackey
12:39
I think it's a little of everything, Aces. Yeah, Tigers have drafted better. They've developed -- not perfectly but better. And they've grown payroll because of it. I don't see it as being any one thing.
Cullen
12:39
Am I crazy for wishing the Steelers would have rolled with Rudolph and Howard and not picked up Rogers? Baring the unexpected that likely would have led us to a high draft pick and we could have used our numerous picks next year as leverage to trade up (if need be) for a franchise altering guy like Arch Manning. We need to solve the QB issues that we've had since Ben left and this to me was our shot to do it...
Jason Mackey
12:40
I don't know, man. I've watched all three throw, run and move around. Aaron Rodgers looks different than the other two. I don't know if he stays healthy. I don't know if it changes when the pads come on. But I know that he looks different than the other guys.
Big B
12:40
Thanks Jason. You do a great job and if anyone can get that penny pincher to talk, it’s you. Although, I’m sure he’s very intimidated because it’s clear that you know a helluva lot more about baseball than he does. Switching gears, any recommendations for our trip to AMI in July?
Jason Mackey
12:42
He's not intimidated. Nutting and I have a fine professional relationship. It's funny. The Q&A I did with him involved stuff I've asked before. I've just never presented it as a Q&A. And I'll continue to ask him that stuff and more.

Yeah, I have about a hundred. Ha. It's my favorite place on Earth. My favorite restaurants, in order: Starfish, Tide Tables, Ugly Grouper, Pier 22, Island Time, Bridge Tender In, Oak & Stone.
12:44
Alright, gang. Anybody else have anything before I sign off? Can't wait to watch this Pirates lineup against Tarik Skubal. I'll bet it goes great.
Mark
12:45
Hi Jason.  Appreciate your time, knowledge, and effort.  I'm sorry, but the Pirates are the only team in town playing real games right now.  Mr. Cruz is on pace for 200 strikeouts.  Why in the world is he batting leadoff?  I guess the job description has changed.  It used to be contact hitter that draws walks and takes a lot of pitches.  Thanks.
Jason Mackey
12:47
It has changed, Mark. You've seen Ronald Acuna Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, etc. ... they've all led off recently. Maybe not all the time. But it has changed. I'm OK with Cruz there because I know he likes it. They also don't have a better option, which is an indictment of Cherington but also true. If I get the best version of Cruz, I'm OK with that. They have far bigger problems.
62 Stack Monster
1:02
Hi Jason, Why keep Tommy Pham around?  A couple years back, I pressed the same issue with Austin Hedges who could  only "frame a pitch" and not hit a lick alot like Tommy.  What is Tommy Pham framing other than keeping $4 of Nutting's money?
Jason Mackey
1:03
Hi, 62. Got to this not long ago. Short answer: They're paying him. They're hoping he does something, and they can trade him. He won't, and they won't be able to do. But it's not the first time we've seen this movie.
Guest
1:04
Who decides first. Home or away team as to starting pitcher for which games of doubleheader
Jason Mackey
1:06
I'm honestly not sure. It's worth looking into. But I believe the Tigers were pretty quick with their pitching info. In which case, the Pirates should have sent Skenes out there. There's also a process by when it's submitted to the league, then it's incumbent on announcing. Easier for the home team to do that, I'd imagine. I wish there was something MLB could do, though obviously the league isn't gonna tell teams how to construct lineups.
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