Abusing Free Agency Again

Winston-Salem, NC -- The two headed, de-facto GM monster of Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato are at it again with fantasy football style splash, signing the manchild Albert Haynesworth to a whopping 7 year/$100M deal. While the free agent busts continue to pile high in Washington, history won't stop the two headed monster running the front office for the Redskins. I'm guessing that the rational behind the signing was pinned on the fact that they haven't tried signing a massive defensive tackle yet in free agency.

At 6'6" and 320 lbs., Haynesworth is a brick wall on the defensive line. He also has the ability to penetrate the blockers and get to the QB. While his gaudy sack total of 8.5 will likely decrease, Haynesworth will likely drawl offensive linemen to double team him, which should provide more rushing opportunities for the disappointing Jason Taylor. Haynesworth will be 28 by the fall, so he has a few good seasons left in the tank. At 34, we saw how ineffective Taylor has become on the defensive line.

While married to their hidebound methods of player personnel, Cerrato and Snyder continue the froward ways of salary cap management and player acquisition. True, the team has needed an effective pass rusher for years, but this ballyhooed signing will only further complicate the salary cap situation (which could be non-existent if the CBA expires after the 2010 season). $100M contracts should only be given to "special" players, who ooze with talent, plays a skill position (QB), and has the personality that fans of the team will love, a la the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys. 3 years ago, Haynesworth stomped on a player's face after a minor altercation occurred. Snyder probably turned the other cheek when reviewing his background since the victim of the cleat stomp was a Cowboy. Again, with very few picks in April's draft, the Skins again are avoiding the obvious; building the core of the team through the draft, and instead, constructing it by "fantasy football" style -- signing star players with megabuck offers that will have to be restructured (or cause other players' contracts to be restructured) again. Bistro's take: absurd.

The 2009 Baltimore Orioles

Winston-Salem, NC -- With the glossy ice covering the Greensboro streets this morning, it's difficult to comprehend playing baseball in the warm sunshine right now. It's time to review our third team in the B's Bistro season preview; the Baltimore Orioles. By hiring Andy MacPhail in June 2007 as the President of Baseball Operations, Peter Angelose could finally stop pressing the "Re-start" button on this rebuilding project that launched in 1998. Does Mike Flanagan even work for the Orioles anymore? After building two World Series winners with the Twins, and then having mediocre success with the Cubs in the mid-90's, MacPhail knows that being impatient and wasting your cash on mid-level free agents isn't the best route to build a winner. MacPhail has done what the Orioles should have implemented a decade ago; blow-up the old, non-effective core, and trade whatever chips for buckets of prospects. The deals that sent Federal liar Miguel Tejada and the cranky Erik Bedard to Houston and Seattle, respectively, were both winners. For once, the Orioles have some legitimate pitching prospects down on the farm, and I'm not talking about Matt Riley and Jimmy Haynes. Chris Tillman (Bedard trade), Brian Matusz ('08 1st round pick), and Troy Patton (Tejada trade) are promising prospects, but not major league ready. These trades, along with the "low-risk, high reward" deals for Rich Hill and Felix Pie, are exactly the type of trades that the Orioles need to be making. The procrastination to make the "take a step backwards in order to go forwards" trades has only prolonged the rebuilding project. One other point that needs to be made is that the Orioles have finally "tapped" into the Asian market with the signing on Kenji Uehara. He may not be the best pitcher in Japan, but the signing is more of a symbol of progress. For now, the Orioles will struggle with the stable of arms currently on the roster, but that will likely change in the upcoming years. Here's my stab at this year's unproven rotation:

• Jeremy Guthrie (R), 10-12, 3.63 ERA, 120 K's, 58 BB's, 190.2 IP (2008-BAL) -- The nicest guy in baseball.
• Koji Uehara (R), (2008-JPN) -- I heard this guy was just mediocre in Japan, and he's now passed his prime.
• Rich Hill (L), 1-0, 4.12 ERA, 15 K's, 18 BB's, 19.2 IP (2008-CHC)
• Mark Hendrickson (L), 7-8, 5.45 ERA, 81 K's, 48 BB's, 133.2 IP (2008-FLA)
• Brad Hennessey (R), 1-2, 7.81 ERA, 21 K's, 15 BB's, 40.1 IP (2008-SF)

The only part of the team that has plagued the Orioles more than the starting pitching has been the bullpen. However, with the emergence of George Sherrill as an All-Star closer, and with Chris Ray returning after a year-long stint on the DL, the back-end of the bullpen is suddenly a strength. Jamie Walker, who has been a colossal waste of money, provides very little relief from the left side. Speaking of the southpaws, I like the re-signing of John Parrish, who was very underrated IMO when he last pitched in Baltimore. Let's see if Jim Johnson can step-up and burnish the "set-up man" position this year, or he could be out of the league by season's end.

If you're going to hand-out "long term" contracts, be sure you sign the right player (see Belle, Albert). Another clear sign of progress under the MacPhail administration came this winter when the O's locked-up 4th year player Nick Markakis to a 6 year/$66M deal. This signing demonstrates that the Orioles are interested in winning and they'll lock-up the players that want to be here. For his many years of service and hopefully a few more All-Star seasons left in him, Brian Roberts signed a 4 year/$40M extension. In this market for a 31-year-old second basemen, I think the O's overpaid on this one. It looks silly when Orlando Hudson just signed a deal for $3.4M/year. Carrying on the homegrown talent trend, super prospect Matt Wieters looks primed to be a star in the making. He tore up minor league pitching last year and has a rocket of an arm behind the plate. Look for him to get called up in May (to delay his arbitration eligibility by 1 year) to take over for Gregg Zaun behind the plate full-time. Here's my projected lineup, and it finally has some homegrown talent sprinkled in there:

• Brian Roberts - 2B (S), 0.296, 9 HR, 57 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Adam Jones - CF (R), 0.270, 9 HR, 57 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Nick Markakis - RF (L), 0.306, 20 HR, 87 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Aubrey Huff - 1B (L), 0.304, 32 HR, 108 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Melvin Mora - 3B (R), 0.285, 23 HR, 104 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Luke Scott - DH (L), 0.257, 23 HR, 65 RBI (2008-BAL)
• Cesar Izturis - SS (S), 0.263, 1 HR, 24 RBI (2008-STL)
• Gregg Zaun - C (S), 0.237, 6 HR, 30 RBI (2008-TOR)
• Felix Pie - LF (L), 0.241, 1 HR, 10 RBI (2008-CHC)

The three new acquisitions are placed at the bottom of the order with their main purpose being to play defense. While sitting in the Arizona sun last Spring Training, watching the Cubs take on the Mariners, my good buddy turned to me and mentioned that Felix Pie will be a star someday. I told him that he's the next coming of Corey Patterson, and that he'll probably be traded to the Orioles in the next two or three years or so. I like the young outfield, but I'm not that high on Pie because of his lack of plate discipline. Zaun is merely keeping the catcher's seat warm for Wieters. It was a good move to end all catching rumors by trading away Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for utility man Ryan Freel. Ty Wigginton will supply further depth on the bench as well. As you can see above, I attempted to construct the lineup with the L-R-L alternating combination. However, the power drops considerably in the bottom third.

The Orioles are nowhere close to contending with the big boys in the AL East, but that could change with a Tampa Bay-like run in the next couple of seasons (2011 and beyond). The pitching needs to develop and mature under Rick Kranitz, and an impact bat needs to be added to supplement the excess of speedy batters. For the first time, the progress is measurable -- from the trades for prospects, wise drafting, locking up young stars, and tapping into the foreign markets, the Orioles appear to be on the right, albeit slow track, back to respectability. They are even listening to the fans, by changing the road uniforms to have "Baltimore" across them, and they even incorporated a little Maryland flair in the sleeve patch. Suffice it to say, the Orioles are ahead of the Nationals in their rebuilding project; who would have thought that a year or two ago?

Happy Birthday to avid B's Bistro reader and Baltimore resident Kevin Attridge!

Weekend Reading

Winston-Salem, NC -- I'll be returning to my "home away from home" this weekend, "The Big A," "The ATL," Atlanta. Before I depart, here's some reading materials that I read this week that you can enjoy.

Story I -- This New York Times piece was written by Moneyball and The Blind Side author, Michael Lewis, so you know it's a good read. Lewis takes a stab on NBA "Moneyball" pioneer, Daryl Morey, GM of the Houston Rockets. I wrote a blog on Morey last year, but I had no information on the metrics and statistics that Morey uses for his NBA roster construction approach. This article parallels Shane Battier to the likes of former Oakland A's first baseman Scott Hatterberg; a lesser talented player bringing out the best of his team.

Story II -- Here's another interesting article that I found on CNN yesterday on how the Arizona Diamondbacks are combating the economic downfall. The ownership group and management team appear to be real winners.

Finally, this clip right here might be the funniest video of a fan caught dancing at a sporting event ever. While the length of the video may indicate that it's staged, it's nevertheless downright hilarious. The Celtics' fans really are having fun these days.

The 2009 Washington Nationals

Winston-Salem, NC -- For the third consecutive year under the Lerner family ownership, the Nationals cannot place, in ink, the members of their starting rotation. Rather than use Spring Training to figure out who will be the fifth starter of the rotation, the Nats will use this time to determine the entire rotation. It's sort of like throwing a dozen balls of goo against a wall and see which ones stick. If I had to take stab at the rotation, I'd pencil in John Lannan as the Opening Day starter against the Marlins on April 6th. Against his former team and making an unusual 1-2 southpaw punch, Scott Olsen will be the number two starter on the following day against the Phish. Predicting the back-end of the rotation may be tougher than determining who the other 103 players who tested positive for taking steroids in 2003. For now, I believe that Daniel Cabrera, Collin Balester, and Shawn Hill will fill in those slots. If Jason Bergmann returns to his 2007 form, don't count him out just yet. If Odalis Perez continues to hold out for more cash in this belt-tightening market, I don't see the pitcher who tossed the first pitch ever at Nationals Park returning to DC. I'd also like to see under-the-radar acquisition Tyler Clippard be given a shot in the rotation. Clippard filled in nicely for the Yankees in 2007 when their rotation was in shambles. For now, here's the Bistro's projected rotation:

• John Lannan (L), 9-15, 3.91 ERA, 117 K's, 72 BB's, 182 IP (2008-WSH)
• Scott Olsen (L), 8-11, 4.20 ERA, 113 K's, 69 BB's, 201.2 IP (2008-FLA)
• Daniel Cabrera (R), 8-10, 5.25 ERA, 95 K's, 90 BB's, 180 IP (2008-BAL)
• Collin Balester (R), 3-7, 5.51 ERA, 50 K's, 28 BB's, 80 IP (2008-WSH)
• Shaun Hill (R), 1-5, 5.83 ERA, 39 K's, 23 BB's, 63.1 IP (2008-WSH)

The backbone of the small success that the Nationals have endured since they returned to DC in 2005 has been the bullpen. Up until this season, the Nats could always count on "The Chief," Chad Cordero, to close out games, with big Jon Rauch setting him up. Neither of these players are on the roster this year (Cordero, non-tendered; Rauch, traded to ARZ), which paves the road for Joel Hanrahan (9/13 saves) to be the closer in 2009. Hanrahan will have a bevy of right handed relievers in front of him from the reliable Saul Rivera to Steven Shell to Garrett Mock to Jason Bergmann. I suppose that starting pitching rejects Matt Chico, Mike O'Connor, and Mike Hinckley will supplement the bullpen corps from the left side. The bullpen, like the starting rotation, is about as proven as Barack Obama's political resume; we don't know what to expect.

Aside from the new road jerseys, the front office decided to open the team's checkbook on the most prolific free agent in Nationals' history, Adam Dunn (2 years/$20M). However, the front office must take into consideration that the 2007 season was the aberration, not the injury-riddled 2008 season. In 2007, the team was projected to contend with the 1962 Mets and 2003 Tigers as the worst team in MLB history. Instead, the team outperformed the critics and far exceeded expectations, but sunk like a rock in water in 2008, courtesy of unrealistic expectations and an abundance of injuries. Taking into consideration the glut of outfielders and first basemen, I'll project the Nats' 2009 lineup. However, I'm a huge proponent of the lefty-righty alternation in a lineup, which may not tailor to Manny Acta's mindset.

• Cristian Guzman - SS, (S), 0.316, 9 HR, 55 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Nick Johnson - 1B, (L), 0.220, 5 HR, 20 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Ryan Zimmerman - 3B, (R), 0.283, 14 HR, 51 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Adam Dunn - LF, (L), 0.236, 40 HR, 100 RBI (2008-CIN/ARZ)
• Josh Willingham - RF, (R), 0.251, 15 HR, 51 RBI (2008-FLA)
• Lastings Milledge - CF, (R), 14 HR, 61 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Anderson Hernandez - 2B, (S), 0.333, 0 HR, 17 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Jesus Flores - C, (R), 0.256, 8 HR, 59 RBI (2008-WSH)

I believe that the plan is to play Elijah Dukes in right field, shift Willingham to left, Dunn to first base, and have Nick Johnson on the bench. My proposed lineup incorporates the L-R-L alignment, and it produces the highest propensity to generate more runs. Put the on-base machine Johnson in the "2 spot" (where he batted when he was with the Yankees) and contact hitter Zimmerman in the three spot for the big bopper, Adam Dunn cleaning it up. With the acquisitions of Dunn and Willingham, it will allow Milledge and Flores to shift down in the order where they belong (not in the 2-3-4 spots where they were in 2008).

All of the steroids news has taken the glitter off of the Adam Dunn signing for me. I still think the Nats are looking at their lineup more positively than they should. And they continue to do such a bad job of promoting the team. Other than Zimmerman, they could get rid of every other player and no one would have an emotional reason to care. I'm still convinced that they have so many lousy characters that they can't promote them. I can't think of any other reason. Let's use 2009 as a building block for the future. 2008 was a lost year, not only because of the 59-102 record, but more importantly, the top-ranked prospects in the farm system regressed. The front office was $500K apart from signing top pick Aaron Crow (pitcher), yet it continued to dole out worhtless contracts, like the one to Guzman for 2 years/$16M. Blunders, such as extending contracts to Guzman, Dmitri Young (2 years/$5M), and Ronnie Belliard (2 years/$3M), are moves that will continue to take the franchise backwards. In order to move forward, sometimes you have to take a small step backwards -- play the young guys and pay the bonuses for pitchers that you draft. The Lerners must cough up whatever amount Scott Boras dictates they should pay (within legitimate reason) for Steven Strasburg in June's amateur draft. 2008 was not a stepping stone, rather it set the franchise back by two years with player regression and a fruitless draft. Hopefully, 2009 will prove otherwise both in the draft and a few extra wins as a result of some "longballs" along the Anacostia.

Remarks on the UNC-Duke Rivalry

Winston-Salem, NC -- This post has nothing to do with last night's 107-81 (second half) throttling of Duke by UNC. Rather, it's to shed some light on the great college baseketball rivalry between UNC and Duke, off-the-court. Before I moved to North Carolina, over two years ago, I associated the UNC-Duke rivalry along the lines of the Red Sox-Yankees, Redskins-Cowboys, Lakers-Celtics, Ohio State-Michigan, and Canadiens-Leafs. Yes, UNC-Duke is a big-time rivalry, but it's not the same type of rivalry as the aforementioned teams and schools.

• First, Duke has NO FANS. Everyone from North Carolina pulls for the Tar Heels. Why? Because it's the "public school" and everyone knows somebody or has a relative that went to UNC. Conversely, Duke is a small, private school. Most of the students attending Duke aren't from North Carolina. The fan base is equivalent to a match-up, such as Johns Hopkins-UMD, Vanderbilt-UTenn, or Emory-UGA.
• Second, the rivalry focuses on two schools located in one state. Everybody who I ran into yesterday asked if I was watching the game; it had a "state holiday" feel to it. When I lived elsewhere, say in Atlanta or Maryland, my reaction to the upcoming game was, "Oh, Dickie V. is calling the game tonight."
• Third, people not from NC, will usually pull for anybody playing UNC. The intimidating security guard at my office told me that she wished both teams could lose. She's from Tennessee.
• Fourth, girls who are ambivalent about sports will always choose UNC over Duke because of the school's COLORS. Yes, this bullet may be the most ludicrous item that I've ever blogged, but it's true. This fact only tips the rivalry scale more in UNC's overabundant favor.
• Fifth, upon UNC victory, everyone is measurably nicer and kinder on the following day. People who wouldn't normally wait to hold the door for you, will now wait the extra second.
• Finally, don't plan on going to a Carolina bar when the rivalry is played unless you're pulling for UNC, you love it when people yell on every possession, and girls scream at every UNC bucket.

I had no idea how many UNC fans there are compared to Duke fans. 15:1 ratio would be my guess.

A Fitting, New Cocktail

Winston-Salem, NC -- After much deserved praise and laudation for safely guiding his crippled plane into the Hudson River last month, there's a new toast out on the market for Capt. C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, pilot of the U.S. Airways jet. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the latest drink for you to purchase that beautiful girl/handsome guy across the bar:

"The Sully"

• 2 Shots of Grey Goose
• 1 Splash of Water

The Braves' Rough Offseason

Greensboro, NC -- This baseball offseason has been one of the most bizarre winters in recent memory. The depressed free agent market, the abundance of solid hitters still left on the market, the admission of guilt by AR*d for using steroids, and the absurd Manny Ramirez negotiations have all led to a winter that mirrors our nation's current economical situation. Some teams have not been affected by the economic recession -- the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, and Dodgers -- appear to be operating as "business as usual (BAU)." Other teams have not been allowed to spend, such as the Tigers, Astros, Padres, and Rockies. The Braves, in particular, have had a rough offseason -- not being able to agree on prospects in a deal for ace Jake Peavy and being jilted by Rafael Furcal, after reportedly agreeing to a 3 year-$30M deal -- these two sequence of events have ramrodded the front office's makeover plans.

Aside from a pressing need for another outfielder, the roster of position players is all but set. Behind the plate, there is All-Star catcher Brian McCann. At first base, the slick fielding Casey Kotchman, acquired in the Mark Teixeira deal, is adequate. Across the diamond at third base, there's the legendary Chipper Jones. The middle infielders were supposed to be important cogs in proposed trades. Yunel Escobar, when he is swinging the bat, is an above-average shortstop. He's still here after the failed Peavy talks. Kelly Johnson, the mediocre second baseman, was supposed to shift to left field to make room for Furcal at 2B. In the outfield, Frenchy returns to right field. After such a poor year, he has really fallen out of favor with the front office. If Frenchy struggles early, he will be demoted. After initially flirting with the idea of bringing back Andruw Jones to play center (a bad idea in my book), the Braves will have to hand the keys over to top prospect Jordan Schaefer sometime this year. For now though, look for fellow rookie Josh Anderson to patrol center. The left field situation is all but unsettled; do you go with Matt Diaz? I think the Braves could steal Bobby Abreu off the free agent market and plug him in here. Give him a 3 year-$30M deal, and if he wants more annual salary than $10M, lower the number of years to 2, and the make the total compensation package $24M ($12M AAV).

On paper, the rotation appears to be much improved. The cold separation between John Smoltz and the Braves will be hard to handle if Smoltz performs at a peak level for the Red Sox. The signing of Derek Lowe appeared to be out of desperation, after being spurned by Furcal. I think the Braves could have signed Lowe to a lower price (no pun intended) because their only competition appeared to be the Mets, who were set to re-sign Oliver Perez (overrated). Acquiring Javy Vazquez from the White Sox was an even trade. Vazquez is both durable and effective. Similar to Lowe, he keeps the ball down; a key to pitching at Turner Field. The Braves also dipped in the Asian market to pluck Kenshin Kawakami. These moves enable Jair Jurrjens, the one returning starter, to slot in the middle of the rotation. Further, the Braves can pencil in Jorge Campillo at the end. I like the rotation; however, aside from Campillo, and maybe Tom Glavine re-signing, it's dominated by right handers.

Manny Acosta and Mike Gonzalez comprise a very formidable righty-lefty punch in the bullpen. With the loss of Rafael Soriano, the Braves will need to build more depth in the 'pen.

I'm not sure what to expect from the Braves this season. They have underperformed during the last three seasons. With the Phillies returning the same team this year, and with the Mets finally constructing a bullpen, I'm not sure if the division is within grasp.

Redskins Offseason

Winston-Salem, NC -- Now that the dust has settled from that whirlwind fourth quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday, it's time to analyze the Steelers' secret formula to success and see what the Redskins can learn from them. I believe that the Steelers' year-by-year plan isn't a secret, nor do they execute it surreptitiously. Their teams are built through the draft. The Redskins approach free agency with several large paint brushes, eager to give the team a makeover or compose a new masterpiece each offseason. Conversely, the Steelers use pencils for it, merely to shade in small holes. The Steelers have two outstanding pass rushers on the defensive line, while the Skins have lavishly spent large amounts of dollars on free agent Andre Carter and traded two picks for the washed-up Jason Taylor. Simply put, if there is no pressure on the QB, the star CB's on your team are going to look foolish. The player personnel evaluation on the Redskins is atrocious. Ryan Clark is one of the many hard-hitting cogs on the Steelers #1 ranked defense. He was released by the Redskins after two superb season at strong safety to make room for free agent bust Adam Archuleta. When Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerratto, two people who have no business being in a war room on draft day, are the only ones calling the shots at your draft, here's what you get (Redskins 2008 draft): 3 WR busts, 1 punter, Colt Brennan, and a lucky 7th round pick (Horton). The appropriate front office step would be to hire a capable GM and let him pick the coach. The only front office moves that occur in DC are puzzling promotions for Vinny (Matt Millen Part II).

The Washington Post did an excellent appraisal of the team's offense in this article, specifically focusing on the offensive line. Buges' has coached this verteran line to its maximum potential. However, because the "front office" is composed of fantasy football managers, and not experienced, capable professionals, the line is overlooked with the paltry number of draft picks every year. In the article, the writers fixated on three moribund franchises in 2007 -- the Falcons, Dolphins, and Ravens (combined 8 wins) -- who made the playoffs in 2008 with very effective drafts. Rather than having a laconic front office full of maladroits, these teams took a step backwards in order to move forwards (except that they all achieved success earlier than expected).

Under Bill Belichick, the Patriots have built a "plug n' play" system which, by building depth at every position (including the coaching staff), allows them to plug in a capable player when a starter goes down to injury or ineffectiveness. Their team has never been built "fantasy football style" by loading up on star players at the skill positions. Instead, through shrewd scouting methods, brilliant trades, and solid annual drafts, the Patriots don't need to rely on free agency as a stopgap approach. In this "copycat" league, you would think the Redskins could look on someone else's paper.

XXVII

Greensboro, NC -- Twenty-seven is just a number. Some people consider it old; some people consider it young. It's on the wrong side of 20, but it's on the "right" side of 30. Is it considered to be "mid-20's" or "upper 20's?" In elementary school, when we were rounding by 10's, we'd round 27 up to 30... yikes! But if we're round by 5's, we'd round 27 back down to 25 (the definition of "mid-twenties").

Growing up, I attended a baseball game in DC -- DC was trying to woo MLB in 1990, but eventually lost out to the Florida and Colorado markets in 1993. The Orioles were playing the A's; starting for the Orioles was #27 Dave Johnson, who now does color analyzing for MASN (or did when I lived in Maryland). The year before the Cowboys beat the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, the Redskins took down that same Bills team, 37-24. Joe Girardi is wearing #27 because that would be the Yankees' total number of World Series championships should they win again, hopefully not when I'm 27. 27 is also the "peak" age of a professional baseball player, as determined through some complicated formula by Bill James (So why do I have so many injuries from frivolous games, such as dodgeball and kickball? You'd think I was 47 or something.) As far as sports go, 27 is not a very popular uniform number.

27 may not be a special number, but we can all conclude that it's still part of one's "mid-twenties."

Super Bowl Prediction

Greensboro, NC -- It's time to set aside all of the analyses, talk, and insight, and break out the crystal balls. While I am pulling for the Arizona Cardinals, I believe that the Pittsburgh Steelers will win tonight's contest, 24-17. While I was excited to view some of the Super Bowl set-up when I was in Tampa three weeks ago, I was hoping that an NFC East team would not make it. As the Giants fell to the Igles, and the Igles to the Cardinals, it wasn't surprising to see the Steelers survive the attrition war in the AFC. The Steelers, an immensely popular team, will have a huge "homefield" advantage in tonight's game. Is it just me, or are the Steelers becoming a "cult" just like the Boston Red Sox? All of sudden, everybody is a Steelers' fan! Dating back to 2004, when the Sox killed the Curse of the Bambino, everyone is now a Sox fan. I've asked several "Steelers' fans" their relation to Pittsburgh, and legitimate ties to the Pittsburgh area have come back in response. If everyone in this massive Steelers' following had legitimate ties to Pittsburgh, answer this question:

Why aren't there any Pittsburgh Pirates fans?

The Red Sox and Yankees' fans would be outnumbered if all of those Steelers fans' were Pirates' fans. Just a thought.

Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 17