U mad, bro? Pittsburgh fans jump on Hall of Fame voting, Penguins' trade talk, Pirates roster

If nothing else, our readers show their great emotional range in this week’s “U mad, bro?”

They are angry over Hall of Fame snubs.

They are angry over Hall of Fame snubbers.

They are angry at the idea of the Pirates trading away veteran talent.

They are angry at the Penguins making trades to get veteran talent.

Like I said, tremendous range.

And after 20 years of being told I’m not enough of a homer, suddenly I’m being told that I’ve gone “full Yinzer.”

You figure it out.

Wolftrainer09 is upset at NFL writer Peter King because he didn’t vote for Troy Polamalu for the NFL Hall of Fame.

Peter king has more important things to do then cast HOF votes, he has to make sure the sun rises everyday. It ain’t easy.

— @wolftrainer09 (@wolftrainer09) February 5, 2020

That’s great! Can he make the sun come up on a day when Alan Faneca gets into Canton and combine both his jobs?

M Q Cleckley sent me this succinct email.

“Terrible article.”

You didn’t even tell me what article ticked you off! I make people irate with articles everyday. Narrow the field. Be specific.

Help a guy out!

Until then “M Q,” to you I say: “Terrible email.”

Marvin is making fun of my column where I compared Patrick Mahomes to Sidney Crosby.

If only you would have finished the piece by saying " and the only defense that had a real shot to beat the Chiefs was the Pittsburgh Steelers".

— Marvin (@MarvinPgh) February 4, 2020

I dunno, Marvin. If I went “full Yinzer,” the column probably would’ve gone in the other direction, wouldn’t it?

“Full Yinzer” would’ve been outrage at the very thought of any athlete from another city even being mentioned in the same breath of Sidney Crosby!

How dare I!?

But, yes, the only defense that had a shot at stopping Mahomes was the Steelers defense.

THE STEELERS OF THE 70s, THAT IS!!!!

There. That’s “full Yinzer.”

When Alan Faneca was snubbed for the Hall of Fame — but fellow guard Steve Hutchinson got in — I sent out these tweets.

Happy for Hutchinson. He deserves it. But him getting in and Faneca failing to make it again is a joke. They were practically cross conference mirror images of each other. Whoever voted for one should have voted for the other. Period.

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 1, 2020

Oh, happy for polamalu too. Obviously an all time great but his election should’ve been a formality from the jump. The snub of Faneca (again) just gets me insane every year.

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 1, 2020

Jordan replied to me via Twitter. He disagrees with that stance. And says I’m blinded by Black and Gold.

Facts be damned.

Disagree. Hutch was an all timer, blocked for an NFL MVP and took a team to the SuperBowl, Faneca is nothing more than just another “football guy”. Typical hometown bias.

— Jordan Rodgers (@Jordan_R__) February 1, 2020

Welp, Jordan. You got me. Awesome tweet.

Except that Faneca had more All-Pros, more Pro Bowls, and blocked for a Hall of Famer (Jerome Bettis). It’ll be two when Ben Roethlisberger goes in.

Faneca actually won a Super Bowl ring, as opposed to just playing in one. And his team won it largely because of one of his blocks.

Plus, that win came against Hutchinson’s Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

But I’ve got “hometown bias” and Faneca is “just another football guy.”

Sure, Jordan. Whatever you say.

A guy named Scott (@sybco99) sent this tweet to a colleague of mine at another media outlet who had the gall to compliment the Super Bowl halftime show.

“Trash! Some family entertainment. Hard to imagine you would applaud this as a father”

That’s right!

As a parent, the first thing you should teach your kid is how to preen, virtue signal and shame others on social media.

That’s what a good father does!

I’m not sure if I should be more exasperated at those feigning outrage and clutching their pearls by attacking the halftime show. Or if I should be more fatigued with those pandering for likes and retweets by positioning it as some sort of historic moment in Super Bowl — nay, dare I say — entertainment history.

Both sides are driving me nuts.

There was lots of back and forth last week in “U mad, bro?” And most of it was about the Pirates trading Starling Marte.

Anthony is on my side. And he is ticked at the Pirates.

“You are spot on! Typical Pirates baseball year in and year out. Tired of this team being the major league farm club, giving away all of their good players for prospects that never amount to anything. They can’t keep good players on the team. I am surprised they kept McCutchen for so long. Until the Pirates can win a wild card game, keep posting A+ articles!!”

Well, it’s been six years since that has happened. And it’s been over a quarter century since they’ve won a division. And four decades since they won a championship.

So neither of us should hold our breath.

To your point about McCutchen, I’m more surprised he stayed for as long as he did as opposed to them keeping him.

But as for your bigger message? Yes. Absolutely. As I wrote, it’s business as it used to be for this new Pirates regime.

The middle management guys can change. But so long as the owner is still the owner, the trend of constant rebuilding will always continue.

Some fans scream, “Just give these new guys a chance!” I will. And I am. I’ll give their talent evaluation skills a chance.

But the business approach? The team “building” aspect? No. It’s just the same old dismantling process over and over.

Larry isn’t happy with Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and his apparent willingness to trade a first-round pick at the deadline.

“Giving up a 1st round pick at the trade deadline is a roll of the dice that hasn’t paid a lot of dividends in the past for the Penguins. The 1st round pick that Toronto got for Phil Kessel is the only successful one I can remember. The chemistry of the Penguins is a key factor in their success this season.

They should have kept Connor Sheary.”

The Pens made at least one first-round pick every year between 1981 and 2007. The 2008 pick was swapped for Marian Hossa. And, for what that deal was about, it worked out well. The Penguins got to the Stanley Cup Final and he was a big reason why.

Granted, since then, giving up first-round picks has been spotty. But maybe not as dreadful as some tend to color it.

First of all, to your point, the 2016 pick and Kasperi Kapanen helped yield two Cups via the return of Kessel. That was worthwhile.

The likes of Jarome Iginla, Ryan Reaves, David Perron and Derick Brassard coming back as full — or partial — return for first-round picks in 2013 and 2015-‘18 is underwhelming. No doubt.

But the loss of Jake Guenztel is a glaring hole to fill on a team that otherwise could make a Cup run. Plus, what if Bryan Rust gets hurt? Then what at wing?

The Penguins’ window to keep pushing for titles with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby is closing. So I‘m on board with dealing a No.1 if the right winger comes back in return.

And, at least, Perron turned into Carl Hagelin, Reaves brought back a second-round pick with the first rounder and Oskar Sundqvist going to St. Louis, and Brassard turned into Jared McCann.

I didn’t like getting Perron and Reaves for first rounders. I did like the idea of grabbing Iginla and Brassard. Those trades just didn’t work out.

But the logic was sound in both cases. Until they actually tried to fit in the lineup.

This year’s quest seems a lot more obvious. Put the new winger with Crosby. Keep Rust with Malkin. If that doesn’t work, swap it.

By the way, Sheary only has seven goals. Two of them came against the Penguins in the season opener. So let’s chill out there.

But I know, I know. He did do this.

That counts for something.