Jagr's Interest in Penguins Creating Buzz, Questions

For many Penguins fans, we can all remember the amazing play of the Czech born Jarimor Jagr, a man whose name could be arranged to say "MARIO JR." He dangled the puck and scored a goal to tie Chicago in the historical comeback in Game 1 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final. He became the leader of the Penguins after Mario Lemieux retired for the first time. We can all say that Jagr will be in the Hockey Hall of Fame and he is worthy of having his number 68 retired and raised to the rafters at Consol Energy Center along with Mario and Briere (66, 21). If Jagr's story with the Penguins was as simple as this, Hollywood would pass on the simple storyline. But Jarimor's story took him from being the town hero and became an outlaw a decade ago.

The story of Jarimor Jagr has been written and re-written by people based on their attitude toward the man who Pittsburgh once called a hero. Most of remember how his time ended in the Steel City and the rumors that spread about him. Of course, rumors are rumors and like my hockey coach always said "what is said in the locker room, stays in the locker room." Of course, the Pittsburgh and national media never wanted a sound bite after our junior varsity games. This has lead to divided feelings towards him.

Fans of the Penguins will acknowledge that Jagr was a big part of the success the Pens had in the 90's. That may be, but some fans remember how the break-up went and many would say that Jagr got the better of the divorce settlement. I have attended hundreds of Penguin games over the past 15 years. I have been to several games that Jagr has played in as a Capital and a Ranger. Boos seemed to outshine the cheers from the fans, especially during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2008, Jagr's then final games in the NHL.

Now onto the main part of this article. Everyone in Pittsburgh and the hockey world is buzzing about Jagr's interest in coming back to the NHL, and seems to be looking at Pittsburgh. It's been reported that he has talked to Mario and maybe even Ray Shero. The Penguins had extended an invite to a charity golf outing which would be a 20 year reunion for the 1991 Stanley Cup team.

When it comes to coming back to the NHL and possibly signing with the Pens, it should seem reasonable that fans have put aside their grudges with Jagr. They are now analyzing it based on how much he can contribute to this team that is still a Stanley Cup contender.

It's obvious that his age sticks out. He's 39. He is not the young Jagr that blew us all away in the 90's. Then again, the Penguins did bring back Alexei Kovalev halfway through this past season to add some reinforcement to a battered squad. In his three years in the KHL, Jagr had 82 goals and 102 assists. Not bad stats for a guy his age. The Penguins also need some help at Right Wing. Keep that in mind.

The Penguins also have to look at who they will resign and have to let go once July 1 rolls around. Shero should look at signing Tyler Kennedy to a 3 year contract, and will have to make a tough choice that may involve saying goodbye to fan favorite Max Talbot or Dupuis. The Penguins will have $5 Million added to their salary cap this year. If they are serious about Jagr, they need to negotiate a one year deal worth at most $2 million. Jagr may not get what he wants, but the Pens need to think about the core of their team.

One reason that I think Jagr could be resigned is to finish his career in the city where he became a star. By saying that, I would expect Jagr to play an important role in the Penguins lineup. He will have a chance to play with Malkin, who plays like a young Jagr and Crosby, the reincarnation of Mario Lemieux according to many. If he thinks he can coast through the season and just pick up his paycheck and call it quits, the fans will not tolerate that and will let him hear it.

Pirates in the American League? Good Idea, But No

The Pittsburgh Pirates are making their plea with Major League Baseball to escape the NL Central and move back into the East. Although one person I heard on Pittsburgh 93.7 FM The Fan had a different idea that involved ending a Pirates tradition that has been around for 125 years.

Joe Starkey, who co-hosts a radio show weekdays 2-6pm on WFAN in Pittsburgh, suggested that the Pirates make the dramatic move and leave the National League for the American League. For me this sounded surreal. I have to say I don't agree with Starkey, but I listened to his argument and saw that he did make a good one.

One reason was the idea of a fresh start for the Bucs. The Pirates have been terrible for almost 20 years, and especially since they were thrown into the NL Central in 1994. With a change in scenery in what would be the AL Central, with the Royals moving to the AL West, the Pirates could stretch their legs out in a whole new atmosphere. Starkey cited the Steelers move to the AFL after the NFL merged with its rival in the early 1970's and the success the Steelers had in the 1970's, and this Pirate team right now is playing .500 and above .500 ball right now.

The second argument was the drivable games for fans who wanna see the Bucs play. The Pirates could create a rival in the Cleveland Indians and even the Detroit Tigers, a team the Pirates played for the title 102 years ago. Even the Chicago White Sox could be a good weekend getaway for Pirates fans, and Minnesota is the exception with driving.  Better than Houston, St. Louis and Milwaukee though.

The third reason would be who the Pirates would see more of on their schedule. Names like the Yankees and Red Sox are bound to bring big crowds to PNC Park. The Bucs could see a spike in attendance, and the Indians rivalry would bring Tribe fans and Pirate fans out more.

Starkey, after hearing your argument I can say it is a well thought-out idea that would make sense. Although I think you would lose the argument for this one reason, TRADITION. The Pirates have been in the National League since they were established in 1887. To move a team like the Bucs from 125 years of National League baseball and start them in the American League might cause a backlash by Pirates fans and some may choose to separate themselves from the team due to the loss of tradition. I hope a move to the NL East comes in the future, but I don't see them being an AL Team. 

Pirates in the NL East? YES!

With Major League Baseball considering realignment for the 2012 season, some teams have been campaigning to make some moves. One team is the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As a Pirates fan, I would see why the team wants to move out of the NL Central. One: The division is a black hole for the Bucs. Four of their opponents play in the central time zone, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee. To go along with that, the Pirates have not created any close rivalries in that division. We try with Milwaukee, but that is weak compared to Philadelphia and the NY Mets. It might be their fault for mediocre baseball for the past two decades.

There was a time when the Pirates played good baseball and played teams who are now in the current NL East. The old NL East used to have the Pirates playing the Phillies, Mets, and Braves, creating rivalries fans could get excited about. If the Pirates move back into the East, they would not only have old rivalries renewed, but they would also be drivable. The closest team in the NL Central for a Pirates fan to drive and see the team on the road is the Cincinnati Reds. All the others make flying look appealing. Philly would be a five hour drive, the Mets 6, and the Nationals about 4. Of course Atlanta and Florida are the exceptions. But three out of five when it comes to driving distance, not bad! Only problem would be this. If the Houston Astros leave for the AL, and the Pirates get their wish and move to the NL East, that means a four team NL Central and a six team NL East. Do you possibly move the Marlins or Braves to the NL Central? Might not be a bad idea, especially since the Marlins have a small enough fanbase right now where nobody would care.

MLB Realignment Gets Complicated

As far back as I can remember, I always wondered why the National League had two more teams than the American League. Being a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team in the NL, I hated that we were stuck in the NL Central with 6 teams and the AL West only had four. Fast forward over a decade later and Major League Baseball is now considering it.

For a lot of people, it seemed very simple, much like the math you took in 1st grade. Move one NL team to the AL, and we would have 15 in each league. That would have worked in the early 1990's before the idea of Interleague play kicked in. Now Interleague makes realignment harder than AP Calculus. Let's just say the NHL will have an easier time realigning its divisions in 2012 with the new NHL team in Winnipeg.

The league is considering a few changes with realignment. The one everyone has been looking at is moving the Houston Astros to the American League West, which would be the most simple moved to even the leagues up and give the AL West a fifth team. But interleague then becomes a problem. A system that was first introduced in 1997 is now causing problems 14 years later. If this change happens, interleague would be played well into September almost every weekend.

Other ideas included throwing out the divisions with two 15 team leagues. This idea is dumb. I don't wanna go to a game where my team is in 15th place and has not shot at a playoff spot. Divisions make baseball interesting and gets people excited and creates new rivals. Another idea that would break the hearts of traditionalist baseball fans would be ending the National and American Leagues and create three divisions in one big league. MLB East, Central and West Divisions, which would end a century old tradition in baseball.   
Another move by baseball is adding a 5th team to each leagues playoffs. Good idea, but how would you handle that? Do you have a best of 3 between 4 and 5 to see who moves on?

The easiest way to solve the problem with both leagues having 15 teams and scheduling issues is this. Get rid of Interleague baseball. It is an option, one I think that people would be open to. Since the two leagues started playing one another for the World Series in 1903, you never saw the other leagues team unless you were playing for the World Series title. The tradition of the hate for each other has died off, mainly thanks to Interleague and television, which opened NL team cities to AL teams and vice versa. Why not go back to that? I love how Boston and the NY Yankees bring in good crowds for Pirates games, but if Interleague causes the problem, it's easy to pull the plug on it.