Pittsburgh’s pro sports see action during summer months

The Pirates chased a pennant. The Steelers stayed the course. The Penguins shook it up. The…The Pirates chased a pennant. The Steelers stayed the course. The Penguins shook it up. The Power disappointed.

For Pitt students who were not in Pittsburgh this summer — or were and didn’t pay attention — that basically explains what recently occurred in the Pittsburgh sports realm. It’s been an exciting few months for the fanatical sports city that is Pittsburgh, and with the Pirates currently making the most headlines, it’s only fair to start this summer review with them.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Although the Pirates chased a playoff berth about this same time last season, this year’s team is different. Just look at the offense, which scored the most runs in the major leagues between June and July.

In addition, the pitching staff this year has been just as phenomenal. They received a huge boost when general manager Neal Huntington dealt a package of minor-leaguers for Houston Astros left-handed ace Wandy Rodriguez in late July. Rodriguez, Houston’s franchise leader in strikeouts among left-handers, provides depth to a pitching rotation whose back end had shown signs of wearing, and he will likely become the Bucco’s third starter.

Pirates fans should look forward to a potential playoff series in which James McDonald, A.J. Burnett and Rodriguez can go toe-to-toe with the rotations of postseason opponents — Cincinnati, Washington or Los Angeles — and come out on top.

The arrival of rookie outfielder Starling Marte has boosted the Pirate’s offense this season. Marte became the 28th player to begin his major-league career with a home run when he hit his first pitch in the big leagues over the left field fence in a victory at Houston.

Unlike last season’s, this year’s Pirates team is for real. For the first time in 20 years, the Pirates will be playing some meaningful baseball as Pitt students arrive back on campus.

Pittsburgh Steelers

As per usual with the Steelers, the summer was pretty quiet for the six-time Super Bowl champs, as they regrouped following an embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos during last year’s playoffs.

The major news of the summer came on the coaching front, with head coach Mike Tomlin signing an extension that will keep him on the sidelines at Heinz Field through the 2016 season. Management also fired offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and tabbed former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley to fill the role.

In addition to the coaching change, the Steelers added a number of young, talented players to their roster in April’s NFL Draft. Most notably, first-round selection David DeCastro — a guard out of Stanford — should contribute immediately on the offensive line.

Other draft picks who figure to see time on the field this season are offensive tackle Mike Adams from Ohio State, former Miami (Fla.) linebacker Sean Spence and speedy running back Chris Rainey. While the acquisitions of DeCastro and Adams will help protect star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, there is still concern about the impending loss of wide receiver Mike Wallace, Roethlisberger’s favorite target. Wallace, widely regarded as the fastest receiver in the game, could not come to an agreement on a contract extension before training camp began on July 25.

But even if the Steelers do not retain Wallace past this season, history has shown that the Steelers’ front office is more than capable of finding and developing replacements.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Everyone in the hockey world already knows that team captain Sidney Crosby signed a 12-year mega-deal with the Penguins, keeping him in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career at an average salary of $8.7 million per year.

While Penguins fans should be excited to have Crosby in Pittsburgh for that long, they should be skeptical about guaranteeing such a long contract to a player who has only appeared in 63 games in the last two seasons due to concussions.

If Crosby suffers another concussion, his hockey career will be in jeopardy and the Penguins would be stuck with the $100 million contract they just signed with him.

But the biggest — and smartest — move made by general manager Ray Shero this summer was to send Pittsburgh fan-favorite Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for 23-year-old center Brandon Sutter and 20-year-old defenseman Brian Dumoulin. A first-round pick also came with the trade, which freed up salary cap space for the Pens while strengthening the team’s defensive depth.

Although fans were sad to see Staal go, they can take solace knowing Shero got a great amount of value and young talent in exchange for him. Hopefully the Penguins will have a more well-rounded team in future years because of it.

Pittsburgh Power

The Power, Pittsburgh’s Arena Football League team, were the biggest disappointment in Pittsburgh sports this year.

Hopes were high for the Power coming into the team’s 2012 campaign after finishing 9-9 and ranking second in the East Division in their first season. Unfortunately, this season, the Power lost a number of late leads and finished the year only 5-13, falling in at last place in the East. The poor play resulted in the firing of head coach Chris Siegfried after a 2-8 start, and replacing him with defensive coordinator Derek Stingley. Stingley coached the Power to a 3-5 record in his interim tenure before management announced, after the season, that Stingley will become the team’s new head coach for the 2013 season.

Despite the Power’s struggles, there is certainly plenty for Pittsburgh professional sports fans to look forward to in the coming months as the surprising Pirates, the consistent Steelers and the talented Penguins are all set to challenge competitors for championship titles this year.