Welcome to Paul Zeise’s weekly mailbag, where the Post-Gazette columnist and 93.7 The Fan radio host answers your questions about sports, life and everything in between. If you want to ask Paul a question, tweet him @paulzeise or email him at pzeise@post-gazette.com. Let’s get started:
Omar Snorcho, Pittsburgh: Do you think the Penguins will trade Phil Kessel or Derick Brassard? It seems like one of them will have to go in order to free up some money as well as a spot in the top three lines.
Zeise: I think Kessel will be a Penguin this upcoming season. I do not think Brassard will be, as he seems to be the odd man out. It’s nice to have five centers, but that still can be too many, and moving Brassard to wing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It seems like they will look to trade him, but with his contract and coming off a tough season, I’m not sure what his value actually will be.
John Carsasky, Aspinwall: You seem to have a problem with World Cup soccer but have you ever come to watch the Riverhounds play? They are an excellent team and they have a lot of younger, hungry players. I would invite you to come to a game with me and I would bet you will like it.
Zeise: I have no problem with the World Cup. I love it. I have a problem with deciding playoff games on penalty kicks. That’s nonsense.
There is no dumber way to decide a playoff/elimination game than penalty kicks. It is just dumb. Make a team win the game by scoring a sudden death goal.
— Paul Zeise (@PaulZeise) July 3, 2018
Same thing with hockey. I have no problem with regular-season shootouts, but the league would be silly to start deciding playoff games that way. Teams should play sudden death in elimination games, not get rewarded for winning a skills competition. As for the Riverhounds, I’ve been to games and they are fun, but thanks for the offer.
Marty Caridi, Lawrenceville: Is there any hope for the Pirates to be a playoff team within the next two or three years? This year is over but I fear that looking at this group of players it may be a while until this team is ready to win again.
Zeise: I think there is hope — provided they do some un-Pirates like things in the offseason. That means sign a few free agents, add to the payroll and stop trying to nickel-and-dime at every position. This pitching staff is too young (and has too many ham-and-eggers) to consistently win enough for a playoff team. They need to add a couple of veterans. They need to get a little better on the bench, as well. The team has a decent core, but they need to add. Of course, as you know, the Pirates front office doesn’t usually do that.
Greg Thomson, Altoona: Trace McSorley is getting some preseason Heisman hype. Do you think this is legitimate? I do think he will have a great season but the Heisman Trophy requires a player to put up a lot of big numbers and I don’t think he is that kind of quarterback.
Zeise: I agree that McSorley is going to have a big year. I also agree he probably won’t put up the silly numbers it takes to win a Heisman. I think Penn State will blow some teams out, which means he’ll be sitting out some second halves. I also think that Penn State will be more balanced than teams that have their quarterbacks chuck it every down. McSorley is a tough kid and a winner, though, and the kind of player who doesn’t always make it pretty.
Jim Laskey, Wexford: Who do you think will be a better NFL player — Saquon Barkley or Nick Chubb?
Zeise: Well, I am on the record as saying that Saquon Barkley was the best player in this year’s NFL draft and that won’t change now, that’s for sure. I think Barkley is a stud, a legitimate All-Pro player in his first year. I really do. I think he carried Penn State on offense, and that without him they’d have lots two or three more games. He is a special talent who can do it all. I expect him to have an excellent career. I like Chubb, too. Maybe I can’t get past the fact that he was drafted by the Browns. I think they both will be excellent NFL players, but the Browns missed a huge opportunity by passing on Barkley.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com
First Published: July 5, 2018, 4:50 p.m.
