Starkey & Mueller

The Pirates lost 2 of 3 to the Reds this weekend further showing they are an average ballclub. Should we be expecting more than this? We haven’t seen many .500 or better seasons in the last 3 decades, but a team with this much offensive firepower, and alleged good starting pitching, should be better than 42-42. The Pirates start a scary stretch tonight when they play the first of four in Philadelphia. Esmerlyn Valdez hit a 461-foot home run yesterday, only 20ish feet shy of the record-long set by Sammy Sosa in the early 2000’s. We reminisced about big blasts at PNC Park over the last 25 years. David Pagnotta from the NHL Network joined the show. We are just a few days away from the start of NHL Free Agency. David expects the Penguins to be among the teams making an offer sheet for Jason Robertson, who is coming off a 45-goal campaign. The price tag on a contract could be north of $14M/year as the Stars also explore trade options for their restricted free agent. It could also cost up to 4 1st round picks g

Donny Football Debrief – Former NFL running back Chris Johnson announced that he has been diagnosed with ALS.

Veteran baseball writer John Perrotto joined the show. John says that it males sense that there aren’t a lot of teams that are ready to sell players yet, citing how the Red Sox just swept the Yankees and have to think twice about shipping off their bullpen arms. Perrotto disagrees with Cherington saying their bullpen is actually good, but does think that some of the Pirates’ bullpen arms are good. John thinks that Aroldis Chapman would make sense for the Pirates if the Red Sox do decide to sell him.

Bucco Auction House – Bids on Esmerlyn Valdez, Ryan O’Hearn, and Dennis Santana.

The Pirates have now lost 8 straight Paul Skenes starts. Ben Cherington said that Skenes’ dip in velocity is not a cause for concern. Poni compares Skenes’ year to Scottie Scheffler’s year, in the sense that both are still very good, but neither one looks like himself this year. Are the Pirates letting Paul Skenes dictate organizational decisions? Should they let him?

David Pagnotta from the NHL Network joined the show. We are just a few days away from the start of NHL Free Agency. David expects the Penguins to be among the teams making an offer sheet for Jason Robertson, who is coming off a 45-goal campaign. The price tag on a contract could be north of $14M/year as the Stars also explore trade options for their restricted free agent. It could also cost up to 4 1st round picks going back to Dallas. How many teams can afford Robertson’s services? David suggested Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell being one of the players going back to the Stars if the Penguins make the move for Robertson. David believes Robertson will end up somewhere in the Eastern Conference if he doesn’t return to Dallas for the 2026-2027 season. Is Darnell Nurse a name to keep in mind for the Penguins? Who else does Kyle Dubas have eyes on entering free agency?

The Pirates lost 2 of 3 to the Reds this weekend further showing they are an average ballclub. Should we be expecting more than this? We haven’t seen many .500 or better seasons in the last 3 decades, but a team with this much offensive firepower, and alleged good starting pitching, should be better than 42-42. The Pirates start a scary stretch tonight when they play the first of four in Philadelphia.

Half of the Pirates season has come and gone. What have they done right and what do they need to improve to have a shot at the playoffs. Also, the Hoffmann Family has officially purchased the Penguins and plan to keep the team in Pittsburgh for good.

PM Team FULL Show 6-25-26

Was this one of the best series wins of the year for the Pirates? Do the Pirates have any chance of catching the Brewers or should the focus be on a wild card spot? Poni points out a move he thinks the Pirates should have made. The Pirates are on-pace to have 5 players w/ 20+ HR. That has never happened in their history. Power Rankings – Pirates that need a big second half of the season.

The Pirates are 41-40 through 81 games – the first time they are above .500 halfway through the year since 2015. Can they make it to the playoffs? Poni was surprised Pomp gave the Pirates a C for their season, so he gave them a B- after 81 games. What will they look like through this next stretch? The schedule going into the All Star break is brutal. Is Brandon Lowe the Pirates MVP through the first half of the season? He’s on-pace for 38 HR after the team acquired him in the offseason. For as great as he’s been, it’s hard to go against Bryan Reynolds and what he has done. He has Lowe topped in every category besides home runs. The Pirates haven’t had 2 players with 100+ RBI in the same season since 1999 (Brian Giles and Kevin Young). Lowe and Reynolds are currently on-pace to do that. Manger’s Minute – What did Don Kelly say to the media after the game? Today was his 100th win as Pirates manager.

Steve Palazzolo from the 33rd Team joined the show. Can the Steelers sneak Will Howard onto their practice squad if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster? Steve said he doesn’t care much for a player’s special teams’ ability, but it is more important than it was 5-10 years ago. Steve thinks it makes sense for the Steelers to hold on to all 4 QBs, but he knows it’s tough for teams to justify that move. What would the Steelers fetch for Mason Rudolph in a trade? Steve thinks Rudolph is a fringe Top 10 backup in the league right now. Is a team’s pass rush more important than pass coverage? Steve isn’t sure if Joey Porter Jr. is in the range to be paid like a Top 5 CB, so he suggested a franchise tag. What are the options for Brendan Sorsby after the NFL nixed the supplemental draft? Poni wanted Steve to weigh in on his question pitting Lamar Jackson against Ben Roethlisberger. KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani joined the show. Bob reacted to the Pirates series win over the Mariners. Bob said it could have been a sweep, but i

We were introduced to the Hoffmann family today as they spoke for the first time to the media since becoming the official owners of the Penguins. What were our thoughts hearing from the new leaders of the Penguins? It sounds like this group is going to give Kyle Dubas a lot of power. When will he make his next big move? A small one was made earlier today. Another positive point for the new Penguins owners – they want Mario Lemieux to be involved. Donny Football Debrief – What is going on at McKeesport?

Was this one of the best series wins of the year for the Pirates? Do the Pirates have any chance of catching the Brewers or should the focus be on a wild card spot? Poni points out a move he thinks the Pirates should have made.

Is Brandon Lowe the Pirates MVP through the first half of the season? He’s on-pace for 38 HR after the team acquired him in the offseason. For as great as he’s been, it’s hard to go against Bryan Reynolds and what he has done. He has Lowe topped in every category besides home runs. The Pirates haven’t had 2 players with 100+ RBI in the same season since 1999 (Brian Giles and Kevin Young). Lowe and Reynolds are currently on-pace to do that.

KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani joined the show. Bob reacted to the Pirates series win over the Mariners. Bob said it could have been a sweep, but it was nice to see them rebound and win the final 2 games of the set. Pomp is hoping we see Konnor Griffin this weekend against the Reds. Is Brandon Lowe the team’s MVP? Poni said it’s hard to go against Bryan Reynolds for how great he has been in June especially. Pomp lauded Braxton Ashcraft for his work. Are the Pirates going to give Marcell Ozuna more of a runway in the second half?

Steve Palazzolo from the 33rd Team joined the show. Can the Steelers sneak Will Howard onto their practice squad if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster? Steve said he doesn’t care much for a player’s special teams’ ability, but it is more important than it was 5-10 years ago. Steve thinks it makes sense for the Steelers to hold on to all 4 QBs, but he knows it’s tough for teams to justify that move. What would the Steelers fetch for Mason Rudolph in a trade? Steve thinks Rudolph is a fringe Top 10 backup in the league right now. Is a team’s pass rush more important than pass coverage? Steve isn’t sure if Joey Porter Jr. is in the range to be paid like a Top 5 CB, so he suggested a franchise tag. What are the options for Brendan Sorsby after the NFL nixed the supplemental draft? Poni wanted Steve to weigh in on his question pitting Lamar Jackson against Ben Roethlisberger.

Donny Football Debrief – What is going on at McKeesport?

We were introduced to the Hoffmann family today as they spoke for the first time to the media since becoming the official owners of the Penguins. What were our thoughts hearing from the new leaders of the Penguins? It sounds like this group is going to give Kyle Dubas a lot of power. When will he make his next big move? A small one was made earlier today.

Hour 1: Poni thinks he found proof in last night’s Pirates game that Don Kelly is not a good manager. Should Paul Skenes not be an All-Star this year? And Tyler Kennedy joins the show to preview the Penguins’ upcoming offseason moves. Hour 2: Poni and Dom argue over Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw’s all-time quarterback rank. Is it possible the Steelers don’t extend Joey Porter Jr.? And Mike Florio joins the show to break down the Brendan Sorsby situation. Hour 3: Aditi Kinkhabwala joins the show to weigh in on the Brendan Sorsby situation. Is there going to be an alien invasion at a World Cup game tonight? And Dianna Russini’s salary at The Athletic has been released, and Dom has thoughts. Hour 4: Poni and Dom debate who the greatest quarterback in Steelers history is. Dom has a trip to Cedar Point on Friday, but wonders if he’ll be allowed in the park. And an ESPN analyst was involved in a car crash earlier this week.