Wah, wah, wah, well whadda ya know. When the Pittsburgh Pirates brought third baseman Aramis Ramirez back to Pittsburgh, there was plenty of hemming and hawing to go around, but as I have said a few times before, I may not always totally agree with the personnel decisions of Pirates GM Neil Huntington or Skipper Clint Hurdle but it doesn’t matter what I think or anyone else thinks because in the end that is why both of these great baseball minds command a few decent paychecks.
This past Sunday the Pirates beat the rain soaked New York Mets 8-1. Aramis Ramirez got out of his “rocking chair” and almost beat the “junior” MLB team from Gotham City, singlehandedly. Ramirez had four hits and three RBI’s. The Pirates are described by some as resilient. That may be true but I define their personnel decisions as sometimes eclectic but consistent. Whatever chess pieces that the Neil Huntington provides Clint Hurdle with makes it fun to watch Hurdle maneuver throughout the ball game.
As of Sunday, if the Pirates were not competing in the “bloodthirsty” NL Central Division sporting a record of 69-46, 23 games above .500, they would be comfortably leading every MLB Division with the exception of both the American and National League Central Divisions. The Pirates are beginning to jell at the right time and if their pitching staff follows suit and the St. Louis Cardinals stumble briefly, it may just turn into a true dogfight to determine the champion of the NL Central Division.
A representative from the NL Central should win the 2015 MLB World Series because they beat up on almost every other division so they should be ready to face any other team with confidence the postseason roll around. The bottom feeders of the NL Central the Milwaukee Brewers, now know what the former perennial bottom dwellers of the division, the Pittsburgh Pirates used to feel like.
The Steelers and Mr. Jones
Remember the old Billy Paul love ballad “Me and Mrs. Jones?” The song depicted infidelity as sort of a “groovy” activity to engage in back in the day. Now hear this; the way that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones is performing, it appears that his romantic period with the city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers may soon be over because Mr. Jones seems to not quite be what the Steelers expected when Pittsburgh drafted him as the second of two selections that Pittsburgh had in the 4th round of the 2013 draft. Whatever their intentions were in drafting “Mr. Jones,” the love affair doesn’t seem to have worked out as planned.
The Steelers may be going back home. Okay, preseason games may not hit a nerve with some people but the “games that may not mean diddly” are the lifeblood of those players that are in danger of being handed a pink slip. If Ben Roethlisberger or Bruce Gradkowski goes down a friend of mine said recently that; “the Steelers might as well finish their 2015 season playing in the Arena Football League.” It is time to move on and get away from any athlete on offense or defense that may not now or ever “cut the mustard” as a Steeler or NFL player.
P.S: Since the voices have become amplified in regards to the Pirates divesting in infielder Pedro Alvarez he seems to be a bit more attentive, both offensively and defensively. Is this a coincidence or does the potential threat of job insecurity aid any athlete in becoming and remaining focused?
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741.)
