Folks, if you haven’t checked out the NHL playoffs yet, you’re missing greatness in action. Two powerful teams are on a collision course, set to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals: The Detroit Red Wings, now 11-2 in the playoffs, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, now 11-1! We’ll review both teams and take a look at the Pirates as the baseball season hits the quarter pole.
For the third consecutive series, the Pittsburgh Penguins lead their opponent three games to none. Game 3 last night was a masterpiece of defense, as the Penguins held the Philadelphia Flyers to only 18 shots on net, and only three in the second period. Pittsburgh has outscored Philly 12-5 in the series, and sucked all the life out of them. This series should end Thursday, I don’t see Philly having enough left in the tank to force a Game 5 – and certainly nothing beyond 5 games seems reasonable.
Pittsburgh continues to get solid play from every skater on the ice. In Game Two Max Talbot returned from a broken foot to net the game winner; last night much-maligned Ryan Whitney got the first goal, and Marian Hossa added two and now has 8 in 12 playoff games. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury looked shaky at times last night, getting out of position several times and allowing several bad rebounds, but the defense was always there to clean up after him. No team has started the playoffs 11-1 since the Gretzky – led Edmonton Oilers 25 years ago. This Penguin team is on the edge of true greatness, and watching them this postseason has been a rare treat. Game Four is Thursday at 7:30 on Versus, and the Finals should begin on or around the 24th.
The Penguins’ presumptive finals opponent, Detroit, also is enjoying a standout playoff run. Since losing Game Four to Nashville in the opening round, Detroit has won nine straight games, most in dominant fashion. Like Pittsburgh, Detroit is supremely skilled at forward, and they try to possess the puck for long stretches and force a defensive mistake. I thought entering the postseason that their goalie situation would be their downfall, but since taking over against Nashville Chris Osgood is 9-0 and has answered every challenge. Dallas has proved to be inferior in every category – their staunch defense has given up too many great scoring chances, goalie Marty Turco has allowed Detroit to frustrate him and get him off his game, and their offense has gone AWOL. Like the Flyers, I think the Stars’ improbable run ends tonight in Game Four, and certainly no later than Game Five. We’ll take a very in-depth look at the Finals matchup next week.
In baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the quarter pole of the season tonight in St. Louis, looking to reach .500. The Bucs stood at 12-19 a week ago, but a 6-game win streak and a gutty, 10-inning win last night have them at 19-20. In the Eye’s preseason preview we predicted that the Pirates would have a decent starting rotation, but that the bullpen and offense would be well below average. Well, not so much. The rotation before last week was abysmal, after a bad opening week the bullpen has been fantastic, and in the most improbable development of the young season the Pirates are 4th in the NL in runs scored, with 194, almost 5 per game. This is unsustainable, as their underlying statistics (batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging) are all in the bottom half of the league. There have been some notable individual performances, however: Nate McLouth has indeed broken out, even more so than I expected, with 10 HRs, 31 RBI, and a .305 batting average. Xavier Nady is batting .338 with 34 RBI, and Jason Bay has rebounded well from a poor 2007 season with a .270 average, 30 walks, and 7 HRs. Nady and McLouth will cool somewhat, and I fully expect Nady to be traded, but his value has certainly risen this year and he should fetch a legitimate prospect or two in a deal.
The pitching has underperformed, but the good news is there’s hope for improvement here, possibly enough to offset the expected decline from the offense. Matt Morris was an automatic loss every time he took the mound, and he’s been released. Since that time, the other starters have picked it up. Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny, the presumptive staff leaders, have both struggled this season but assuming neither is injured a rebound can be expected from both. Zach Duke has begun to find his form after disastrous 2006 and 2007 seasons, and Paul Maholm has done about what anyone can expect: league – average innings. The bullpen has really surprised me, as John Grabow, Matt Capps, Tyler Yates, and Damaso Marte have been dominant the past month. The worry here is Yates: in 18 innings he’s walked 16 batters and struck out only 8, which bodes ill for the rest of the season if he doesn’t reverse those numbers. Marte will almost certainly be dealt, but there’s still a solid bullpen core here to build on.
The last issue has been the infield defense: frankly, it’s been awful, and it’s given me a whole new appreciation for Jack Wilson. I’ve been down on Jack Flash in the past for his hot-and-cold bat, but I’ve taken his defense for granted and now I see just how valuable he is. The Pirates have tried three different players at SS and none of them have been solid on routine plays, much less the difficult ones Jack makes look routine. 2B Freddy Sanchez’ arm is still bothering him, which has turned the Bucs’ middle infield defense from a strength to a weakness. Wilson is expected to return near the end of May, and that should give the pitchers’ numbers and confidence a boost as well.
In the final analysis, the Pirates have done better than I expected lately, and to be near .500 on May 15 is unexpected, but I see no way they get above .500 and I still fully expect many of the players to be traded as the front office tries to rebuild the farm system and give the team a strong foundation for years. Don’t expect a winning season, and 90 losses is still the smart bet.
GO PENS!
Dave Glass lives in Clearfield with his wife, Suzanne, and their six children. He can be reached at buggyracer@verizon.net