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Jason Mackey's sports chat: 12.05.24
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Jason Mackey
11:44
Hello, everyone, and welcome to my weekly chat. You know the drill. Feel free to fire away now. I'll be back at noon to answer your questions.
11:58
And away we go ...
YinzerTom
11:58
Jason, who are the realistic FA we can expect for the Buccos? Same for trade candidates? Final question- would MLB clubs give a solid return for a Falter vs a Harrington? Proven vs unproven at MLB level?
Jason Mackey
12:00
Oh, no. It's that time of year, isn't it? Tom, I respect the question and the passion. Here's where I'm at on that topic:
*I've been doing this (with the Pirates) since '19. Pretty sure I've yet to see them sign someone anyone on the outside has predicted. There are reasons for that.
*One is the market. If players have a better option, till this point anyway, they often take it. Perhaps the Pirates are thought of differently now with Paul Skenes. But I can't imagine it completely changes the plan.
*They don't spend much in FA period. We know this.
*I wrote they should look at O'Neill, Kepler or Conforto. Those guys, in my opinion, are realistic FA options. I doubt they agree.
12:03
Trade candidates -- and this is probably more reasonable -- I really like Yandy Diaz and Ryan Mountcastle. There was smoke around both at the deadline. Plus, salaries aren't out of the Pirates' range. Last, Harrington would command more -- maybe significantly so -- than Falter. Let's be careful on calling him established, too. He had a good year last year. But in the three prior seasons he had an ERA close to 5 and totaled fewer than 200 IP.
Les Ismore
12:03
Most painful part of your sports chat (actually all of the PG sport chats) is that it now takes me twice as long to read comments as I spend the majority of the time looking up bad grammer and acronyms on google!  Show some professional courtesy!  Force them to actually present a coherent statement!  P.I.C.N.I.C....
Jason Mackey
12:06
You're free to spend an hour somewhere else. Also, I don't know if you're talking about other chatters or me. If it's other chatters, don't be a writing snob. Nobody likes those people, trust me. This isn't English class; it's a sports chat. If it's me,  that's fine. I put a ton of effort into these things and all of my work. If that doesn't work for you, again, nobody is forcing you to be here.
Cullen
12:06
Do you expect the Pirates to make any moves during the Winter Meetings?
Jason Mackey
12:07
Absolutely. Would imagine they acquire breakfast, lunch and dinner every day they're in Dallas. I'll bet they also have interest in a daily shower and workout routine. I may go as far as saying that they're focused on getting better and trying to improve incrementally each day they're there.
Oh, actual players and baseball moves? No, not much, sadly.
Cullen
12:08
If you were a betting man, would you say 2 of Mountcastle, Casas, Oneill, Kepler, Hays + Cutch and 2 backend bullpen guys is a reasonable expectation for the Pirates this offseason?
Jason Mackey
12:08
I think you're on the high end of what they'll do. Might be a double meaning in there, too.
Greg from Johnstown
12:08
Hi Jason, I am putting you on the CFP committee for a day ! Let's say Penn State loses to Oregon by 3 touchdowns. On selection Sunday are you dropping Penn State below Notre Dame and Ohio State or are you not punishing a team for losing in their conference championship ? Thanks !
Jason Mackey
12:11
Hi Greg. Thank you for the promotion. I'm honored. Three touchdowns is tough. If it's close, absolutely not. They stay above Notre Dame and Ohio State. Beyond that, man. That's tough. I think if it's close for much of it, I'd like to avoid punishing a team for losing its conference championship. My only concern is if it's like a five-score game with a couple late ones. At that point, I'm keeping a team that's only there because another team that beat it was upset by their big-time rival? That might force me to reconsider.
Guest
12:12
In football, does the offense have to have 11 players line up?  The reason I ask, during a two minute offense, if the offense wants to clock the ball, instead of waiting for down field receivers to sprint back to the line, can they simply just run to the nearest sideline, thus not being on the field?
Jason Mackey
12:13
I'm not officiating expert -- maybe someone else here cares to weigh in -- but I don't believe you can get penalized for having too few players on the field.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:13
Jarry seems to be playing better since his call up, but he and the defense are still giving up late goals which almost got them beat against the Panthers the other night. Do you see a positive change that will propel the Pens in the playoffs, or do you see a late season flameout?
Jason Mackey
12:15
I think it's too early to tell. They've been better of late. The late goals ... not sure there's one magic thing to fix. The Panthers are good. Let's not forget that. Jarry can be better. Habits vs. Vancouver trailed off. Anyway, the team that showed up against the Canucks, Bruins, Flames and partly vs. Panthers, yeah, I think that group can get back into this thing. I just don't know if it can show up consistently enough to do that.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:15
How do the Steelers teach Porter to be less handsy on his coverage techniques? He will cost the Steelers a game down the stretch if he continues the same approach that he used on Sunday.
Jason Mackey
12:16
I'm not a DBs coach, but I'd imagine it's some of what you said: be less handsy. Would come down to leg/hip movements, pre-snap adjustments, anticipation, etc. Some hand involvement is obviously OK. I think JPJ is also trying extra hard. Maybe a little too hard. That can be scaled back.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:17
Did the Bucs ever consider resigning Chapman as he was their best reliever by far last year or was his salary too much for a team that will not make the playoffs anytime soon? I think I'd rather have Chapman over Bednar right now because of Chapman's consistency over the years.
Jason Mackey
12:17
They might've placed a call or had some interest. But I never got the sense that either side was particularly interested in running it back.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:17
What is the explanation of why Williams has not been targeted the last few weeks? Is it because he is still learning the offense or is he just not getting open? If it is the latter, then the trade was a waste of a draft pick.
Jason Mackey
12:18
There hasn't been an explanation. It has been a series of odd answers about him learning, getting more comfortable and almost acting like he's getting the ball -- which, I'm aware, he's not. Agree it's the waste of a pick if they don't target him. But still 5 regular-season games and playoffs to go. I'm gonna reserve judgement for now.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:18
How will the Steelers rotate their OLB's now that Highsmith is coming back? Will Herbig and Smith spell both Watt and Highsmith or just Highsmith? Do you keep Herbig on the right end or move him around?
Jason Mackey
12:20
I think we saw a version of what they'll do in Cincy. You don't overplay Highsmith, one. Keep Herbig and Smith involved. But I think we'll see plenty of three OLB sets, giving them the ability to move Watt around and try to hunt one-on-ones. I liked what they did against the Bengals. I don't know how that breaks down snap-wise, but it should be, in descending order, Watt, Highsmith, Herbig and Smith.
Guest
12:20
Good morning Jason … Do you agree with the heat being turned up on Pat Narduzzi’s seat ?  I think Pitt fans need to be realistic about the current  state of college athletics and realize that Pitt is sadly no longer a top tier program   They may catch lightning in a bottle once in awhile but the days of being a perennial top 10 team are over.i think  Narduzzi does well with the card he’s  dealt
Jason Mackey
12:21
Good morning. I think both can be true. I like Pat and think he's a solid coach. It's also concerning how his team just died on the vine. If I'm Allen Green, I'm absolutely asking a bunch of critical questions. I wouldn't call this year a failure or a success, honestly. It's better than 2023, but what does that get you? Pitt needs to improve a lot when it comes to NIL, funding/donations and how that manifests within football. The coach is obviously part of that.
YinzerTom
12:22
Jason, great column today on Penn State. T.J. Watt? Best overall player in NFL?
Jason Mackey
12:24
Thanks, Tom. This is tough. Unique talent-wise, maybe Lamar Jackson? Most successful -- and probably my No. 1, honestly -- has to be Patrick Mahomes, right? I also think about Saquon Barkley if we're putting this in an MVP context. Where would the Eagles be without him? Where does Derrick Henry, who's an absolute freak when it comes to production, age, speed and durability, fit? I don't know.
Joe
12:24
Prediction on Pirates opening day payroll? Not asking for a sourced budget or anything like that, just a prediction of what you think they might get to if you had to guess.
Jason Mackey
12:24
I think it'll fall between $85 million and $90 million. A slight uptick over last year.
Alec
12:24
Hi Jason, do you know if the Pirates have intentions on moving Reynolds to 1st? It was talked about last year but Ive seen a lot of the buzz about the 1st Basemen that the Pirates should acquire (IE a Casas or a Walker)
Jason Mackey
12:25
They're open to it. Intentions is probably the wrong word. I also don't know if they're willing to do it 100%. Meaning I'd be really surprised if he played 150+ games over there. But they might consider it if OF becomes easier to improve this offseason.
(Would love if they acquired Walker, believe me)
Carl Hagelin
12:27
Hey Jason, do you think Vancouver would have interest in a potential Nils Hoglander/Drew O’Connor swap? I understand trading Petey will have happen around the deadline if that gets there but it seems like Pittsburgh has significant interest.
Jason Mackey
12:28
Hoglander certainly fits the high-pedigree, some production blueprint Kyle Dubas has followed. He's also available. But it depends on what else I'm getting. If it's Pettersson and O'Connor for Hoglander, heck no. But if you're throwing in additional VAN picks and prospects, then it would depend on what that package looked like.
Buccos03
12:28
is Charlie Morton a possible candidate?
Jason Mackey
12:29
I doubt it. Look at their SP possibilities: Skenes, Jones, Keller, Ortiz, Falter, Burrows, Oviedo, Chandler, Harrington and Ashcraft. I'd rather give those innings to younger guys and spend on offense or bullpen.
New Guy
12:29
Solid hire for Assistant Pitching Coach. Wonder how he's gonna feel when Bob Nutting has Skenes and Jones traded this off-season
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