Empire State of Blog

The NFL made an out of character move yesterday, opting to have Super Bowl XLVIII played in New York City. Personally, I feel the decision is far overdue. For football purists, it has endless possibilities. This wasn’t a move that the NFL made to please Fortune 500 executives, it was a move for the casual fan.



Think of the prospect of watching the Steelers march on a Super Bowl winning drive in the midst of a heavy snowstorm. Epic images that would become NFL lore in an instant. It may be cold and miserable, but it could be beautiful. The NFL is in no danger of not selling out the Super Bowl. People watched Super Bowl XVI in the middle of a monsoon, they can watch it in colder weather. Doubtful it will damper the pomp and circumstance of the Super Bowl because it’s still in New York City, where there is an endless amount to see and do.

All in all, good move by the NFL. It’s a shame we have to wait 3 years to see it.


In other news, the Buccos showed up last night, posting an impressive 2-1 win over the Reds. Paul Maholm and Ryan Doumit must have read my last article while in the dugout (in which I said it made sense for Doumit to be traded and the starters were awful) because both had excellent games. Maholm threw 7 shutout innings, and Doumit blasted the game-winning home run in the top of the ninth.

Maybe before the game tonight, I’ll write a scathing article on Aki Iwamura just to see if I can wake him up.

Since we’re all still missing the Penguins, I’ll end with this video:

Top 5 Reasons that the Pirates Should Trade Ryan Doumit

I was on my way home from the office the other day, listening to 93.7 The Fan radio, when I heard a suggestion that piqued my curiosity. The hosts brought up the idea of trading Ryan Doumit. At first, I laughed at how preposterous it was. Is that what the Pirates need? Really? Trade away MORE established players? I got home and put the debate out of my head.

For a while at least.

As I thought more about it, I realized that it is actually a far smarter idea than I had first given it credit for. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the top 5 reasons that the Pirates should trade Ryan Doumit.

1. The Pirates are in dire need of starting pitching.

Our starters suck. They’ve sucked since I was 5 years old. Doumit can fetch either a star pitching prospect or a consistent veteran starter (circa Jeff Suppan in 2004-05). Both of which would be satisfying a need for this team. The young starters do have some talent, and a veteran presence could help to develop them into legit major league pitchers.

2. He’s going to be 30, and is often injured.

The first part of that statement will surprise a lot of people. Doumit has only come into his own the past few years, so most people tend to think of him as a younger guy. Now by no means is 30 ancient in baseball terms, but it’s not young either. Especially given the second part of my statement; Doumit’s injuries. It’s hard to hold injuries against a guy, but here is the amount of games Doumit has played in the last 3 years:

2007: 83
2008: 116
2009: 75

Doumit would be infinitely harder to give up if he gave us 120 games/year. Given his penchant for missing games, it’s hard to truly calculate his value to the team.

3. Tony Sanchez

The Pirates didn’t draft Tony Sanchez with their first pick in 2009 for nothing. Sanchez has a live bat, a live arm, and great tenacity. Truly, Sanchez looks to be their long-term solution at catcher. He won’t be up in 2010 or probably 2011, but many would bet he’ll be the Pirates catcher in 2012. That being said…

4. The Pirates have short-term solutions (until Sanchez is ready)

Jason Jaramillo has proven that he can play in the Bigs. He was very solid while Doumit was injured in 2009, and showed that he can be a clutch hitter and a decent defensive catcher. Also, don’t forget, we do have the luxury of Neil Walker, who is a catcher by trade. Not like we’re gearing for a 2010 playoff run anyhow.

5. Doumit’s value may not get much higher.

Doumit is having a pretty good 2010. Plus, there would be a lot of teams in the market for a switch-hitting catcher with a powerful bat. It’s not like Doumit is a defensive liability either. He is a smart catcher who knows how to call a game for a pitcher. He would be very helpful to a team with young starters. It may be advantageous to trade Doumit while he is healthy and ready to contribute.

This is not a plea to trade Doumit, simply a justification for it if the situation arose. Also, Doumit has a $7 million option the year after next (I believe). The Pirates won’t want to pay him that money, no doubt. If someone were to dangle a good offer to the Pirates over the summer, don’t be surprised if they took it.

Nightmare Stanley Cup Final, Pirates do Nothing to Ease the Pain

Nights like last night make you wish you would have just stayed at the office.

We’ve got about the worst Stanley Cup (from a Pittsburgh perspective) that we could have asked for. The Flyers finished off the Habs last night, beating them 4-2. The Flyers just have that look. They’re getting hot at the right time, and at this point, it’s probably more about momentum than talent. And who do our most hated rivals play? One of our most hated former Penguins, Marian Hossa. To be fair, we all know how fun it can be to watch Hossa play, the guy is a Datsyuk-like defensive forward. But he still sucks.



So as Pens fans, our choices are to root for Chicago and Marian Hossa or the Flyers. Pens fans wouldn’t root for the Flyers if they were playing the Taliban. Honestly, the choice is easy. Though nobody wants to see Marian Hossa lift the Cup, nobody wants to see 26 Philadelphia Flyers lift it either. So we become Blackhawks fans this week, which in perspective, is not difficult to do. They’ve got a great core group that is a lot of fun to watch (Kane, Toews, Byfuglien, Keith, etc). If nothing else, it should at least be an entertaining Stanley Cup Final.

Alright, so one game last night didn’t go our way, that’s alright, we’ve still got the Pirates. Sweet Jesus, did I just write that sentence?

The Buccos jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Ronny Cedeno home run, and Brian Burres was looking to be in control. Then, in the fourth, he decides to do his best Ryan Vogelsong impression; walk out to the mound, drop his drawers and just take a giant dump.



The look of utter defiance on his face makes it one of the greatest images ever.


Karstens comes in during the fourth to add his own creation to Burres’ pile.

The rest of the game consisted of the Pirates blue-balling their fans into thinking they could come back. False. Pittsburgh fans try to find something less painful to watch on tv, like The Hills.



Some notes:

-Delwyn Young was the best Pirate last night. He’s never really gotten consistent enough playing time to gain a lot of confidence, but the past two years, he’s shown flashes of brilliance.

-Aki Iwamura needs to be traded/deported. Don’t care which.

-Pirates are always going to have trouble winning a game when McCutchen and Garrett Jones combine to be 1 for 9.

-Should the Pirates trade Ryan Doumit? In a later post, I’ll tell you why it may not be the craziest thing.

-Bring on Pedro Alvarez.