The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller

The Pirates have a historic offense but the pitching is struggling, especially the bullpen and we’re only a couple of weeks from the start of Steelers camp in Latrobe!

PM Team FULL Show 7-10-26

Steelers correspondent Mark Kaboly from The Pat McAfee Show joined the show. Mark now just tweets “Buccos” any time something goes wrong for the Pirates. Poni thinks that this is to get under the skin of Pirate fans. Mark says that he has never been reprimanded by the Tomlin regime for anything journalism related, all though it happened a couple of times with the Cowher regime. More w/ Mark – Harry Callas is on a trip to Ireland right now, and he is currently bowling. Mark was shocked to see this, as bowling is something that you can do in Pittsburgh. Mark thinks that he was a better little league baseball player than JJ Wetherholt, citing that Wetherholt played in an era with bigger barrel bats and such. More w/ Mark – Ray Fittipaldo said that the backup QB job is Will Howard’s to lose. Mark vehemently disagrees with this, saying that it is Aaron Rodgers 1 and Mason Rudolph 2 unless Will Howard forces the Steelers hand.

The Pirates have reinforcements coming to the bullpen, but don’t get too excited. Tom Harrington is lugging his 7 ERA in Triple A to the majors and Antwone Kelly will join him. The guys going back down? Neither one of them is Dennis Santana, who deserves it more than anyone. Are we past the drama with Carmen Mlodzinski or is that still a cloud over this pitching staff? The MLB Draft starts tomorrow – should the Pirates consider trading their comp pick at 34 overall? Donny Football Debrief – Somehow, Terrion Arnold will likely play for an NFL team next season. This turned into a conversation about The Longest Yard. Steelers reporter Nick Farabaugh from Penn Live dot com joined the show. Nick agreed with another Steelers reporter in saying the backup QB job is for ‘Will Howard to lose.’ Nick isn’t sold that we see Aaron Rodgers play at all in the preseason, so we should also see plenty of Mason Rudolph in the 3 games. Nick expects to see ‘a ton’ of Drew Allar late next month. Nick thinks the coaching staff absolutely misused Pat Freiermuth last season. Nick thinks we will see Freiermuth used more in this offense because Mike McCarthy has worked with similar TEs in recent seasons. Is TJ Watt definitely on the decline? Nick told fans to not worry about the team having any interest in signing Terrion Arnold. Nick believes we will see Joey Porter Jr. sign his new deal before the start of the regular season. Has Nick ever been in a fight?

MLB analyst Matt Clement joined the show. Antwone Kelly and Thomas Harrington are coming back up to Pittsburgh, and Cam Sanders and Hunter Stratton have been sent back down to Triple-A Indianapolis. Matt thinks that the way the Pirates basically waved the white flag yesterday was strange. He wanted to see Montgomery pitch the ninth in a one-run game. Matt also brings up that we have no idea how relievers feel on any given day, and that is something that mangers have to consider when making pitching changes. Clement says that he agreed with Kelly’s decision to pull Keller after 3 innings. More w/ Matt – The Cardinals just signed JJ Wetherholt, a Pittsburgh native, to a 9-year deal, cutting off multiple years of free agency. Matt says that he knows that Wetherholt is a great guy, and it is nice to see him get rewarded with a big deal. More w/ Matt – Jason Mackey said on the show yesterday that the Pirates are not taking advantage of what they have in Carmen Mlodzinski. Matt thinks that it is possible that the Pirates trade Carmen Mlodzinski before the deadline this year, even if they are trying to compete.

Steelers reporter Nick Farabaugh from Penn Live dot com joined the show. Nick agreed with another Steelers reporter in saying the backup QB job is for ‘Will Howard to lose.’ Nick isn’t sold that we see Aaron Rodgers play at all in the preseason, so we should also see plenty of Mason Rudolph in the 3 games. Nick expects to see ‘a ton’ of Drew Allar late next month. Nick thinks the coaching staff absolutely misused Pat Freiermuth last season. Nick thinks we will see Freiermuth used more in this offense because Mike McCarthy has worked with similar TEs in recent seasons. Is TJ Watt definitely on the decline? Nick told fans to not worry about the team having any interest in signing Terrion Arnold. Nick believes we will see Joey Porter Jr. sign his new deal before the start of the regular season. Has Nick ever been in a fight?

The Pirates have reinforcements coming to the bullpen, but don’t get too excited. Tom Harrington is lugging his 7 ERA in Triple A to the majors and Antwone Kelly will join him. The guys going back down? Neither one of them is Dennis Santana, who deserves it more than anyone. Are we past the drama with Carmen Mlodzinski or is that still a cloud over this pitching staff? The MLB Draft starts tomorrow – should the Pirates consider trading their comp pick at 34 overall?

PM Team FULL Show 7-9-26

Phone lines were stocked full of callers reacting to another disheartening Pirates loss, which had them dropping 2 of 3 in the series against the Braves. Pirates insider Jason Mackey joined the show. Mackey doesn’t think Dennis Santana will get DFA’d tonight or tomorrow. He expects them to ‘ride it out a little bit longer’ despite every performance being a dumpster fire. Don Kelly told reporters he wanted to make sure Mason Montgomery fresh for tomorrow instead of trying to close out the game today. Is Mitch Keller on thin ice after another bad start today? The guys tried figuring out what the usage of Carmen Mlodzinksi is and if it will ever make sense. How much fault goes on Kelly versus the team’s front office when it comes to pitching decisions? Manager’s Minute – What did Don Kelly say to the media after today’s game?

Cam Heyward was not ranked as a top 10 defensive tackle by NFL.com. Poni thinks that this is ridiculous, and Cam should feel very disrespected. Cam was a second team all-pro last year, meaning the voters only viewed two or three defensive tackles as better than Cam. Poni and Mueller both think that Cam is one of the most underrated Steelers of all time, just because he never ended up winning anything with the team. Dennis Santana just gave up a grand slam in the 9th inning to make it 10-5 Braves. Dennis Santana, who has an ERA around 6.00, is for some reason still getting opportunities to pitch in high leverage. Angry callers share their thoughts on today’s game. Another wave of angry callers chimed in on today’s brutal loss.

NHL writer Sean Gentille from The Athletic joined the show. Elliot Friedman said the other week that the Penguins have had serious talks with Jason Robertson, but nothing has happened yet. Sean thinks that it is possible that Robertson ends up getting traded, and that the most important thing to Jason Robertson is maximizing his contract. Sean also says that there are parts of Robertson’s game that teams don’t love, and are the reason why teams are hesitant to give Robertson 15 million dollars a season. Sean says the Penguins should also be hesitant on Elias Pettersson. KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani joined the show. NFL.com listed off three storylines for the Steelers going into the season, and number one was that a winning record isn’t guaranteed with Mike McCarthy. Bob disagrees, and thinks the Steelers will finish above .500. PM Team Power Rankings: Greatest sporting events on the world.

Do the Penguins have their eyes on Elias Pettersson? That could be their new target if the Jason Robertson sweepstakes fall through. One problem… the Poni scuttlebutt isn’t good. He got a message from someone around the Canucks that gave a pretty horrid review of Pettersson and his overall attitude. This sounds like a situation the Penguins should just stay away from. Donny Football Debrief – Yahoo Sports is creating a Fantasy College Football league. Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo from the PG joined the show. Did Cam Heyward get respected by ESPN today after he was left off their list of Top 10 DT? Will we see a more motivated TJ Watt this season as he faces a new challenge in a new defense? At what point will Derrick Harmon take over as the Steelers best defensive lineman? Ray dove into what the Steelers have along their defensive front. Ray thinks it’s a little bit of a pipe dream that the Steelers could land Baker Mayfield next offseason. When will Joey Porter Jr. get his payday? What did Ray think of former Steelers talking down on Mike Tomlin and his defense?

Pirates insider Jason Mackey joined the show. Mackey doesn’t think Dennis Santana will get DFA’d tonight or tomorrow. He expects them to ‘ride it out a little bit longer’ despite every performance being a dumpster fire. Don Kelly told reporters he wanted to make sure Mason Montgomery fresh for tomorrow instead of trying to close out the game today. Is Mitch Keller on thin ice after another bad start today? The guys tried figuring out what the usage of Carmen Mlodzinksi is and if it will ever make sense. How much fault goes on Kelly versus the team’s front office when it comes to pitching decisions?

Another wave of angry callers chime in on today’s brutal loss.

Cam Heyward was not ranked as a top 10 defensive tackle by NFL.com. Poni thinks that this is ridiculous, and Cam should feel very disrespected. Cam was a second team all-pro last year, meaning the voters only viewed two or three defensive tackles as better than Cam. Poni and Mueller both think that Cam is one of the most underrated Steelers of all time, just because he never ended up winning anything with the team.

KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani joined the show. NFL.com listed off three storylines for the Steelers going into the season, and number one was that a winning record isn’t guaranteed with Mike McCarthy. Bob disagrees, and thinks the Steelers will finish above .500.

Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo from the PG joined the show. Did Cam Heyward get respected by ESPN today after he was left off their list of Top 10 DT? Will we see a more motivated TJ Watt this season as he faces a new challenge in a new defense? At what point will Derrick Harmon take over as the Steelers best defensive lineman? Ray dove into what the Steelers have along their defensive front. Ray thinks it’s a little bit of a pipe dream that the Steelers could land Baker Mayfield next offseason. When will Joey Porter Jr. get his payday? What did Ray think of former Steelers talking down on Mike Tomlin and his defense?

Do the Penguins have their eyes on Elias Pettersson? That could be their new target if the Jason Robertson sweepstakes fall through. One problem… the Poni scuttlebutt isn’t good. He got a message from someone around the Canucks that gave a pretty horrid review of Pettersson and his overall attitude. This sounds like a situation the Penguins should just stay away from.

PM Team FULL Show 7-8-26

The Pirates lineup is out for tonight. Marcell Ozuna is in it, against a righty, showing that the injuries have really started to stack up. What are their options dwindling down to with the amount of injuries they are currently dealing with? We heard from Konnor Griffin, one day after being placed on the IL that will keep him out 8-10 weeks. ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi thinks the TJ Watt ranking among the NFL executives is pretty fair considering the dip in numbers he had in 2025. Aditi said she didn’t put Watt on her All Pro ballot last year. How much would it help Watt to move around a little bit? Donny Football Debrief – Will people have easy access to Steelers preseason games? What about Xfinity users who are currently without NFL Network?

NFL executives voted TJ Watt as a top 10 edge rusher in football recently, having him at number 7. Is this reasonable? Mullsy does not think that TJ is the 7th best edge rusher in football, and says that he was surprised to see so many Steeler fans agree with him. Mullsy also says that you can make the argument that TJ isn’t the best edge rusher on his own team. Endy Rodriguez has been placed on the IL with a left glute strain. The Pirates are getting killed by the injury bug right now. Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Aaron Donald commented with the eyes emoji on a post about him and Myles Garrett potentially teaming up in Los Angeles. Mike says that it would be almost impossible for NFL teams to stop both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald on the same defensive line, even if Donald is only like 80% of the player the last time we watched him play. Mike says that Brandon Aiyuk needs to file a petition to the league to get reinstated and placed on the 49ers roster. Today is Jack Lambert’s birthday. Mike was a huge fan of his.

A historic night at PNC Park and for Ryan O’Hearn as the Bucco joined the rare 10 RBI Club in the 12-4 win over the Braves. O’Hearn started his night with a Grand Slam followed by a pair of 3-run home runs. It is, at worst, on the medal stand of single-game performances in Pirates history. Where does it rank? We heard from Ryan O’Hearn after last night’s game that is among the greatest single-game performances in team history. He said his helmet will be going to Cooperstown. Is the ‘Green Weenie’ going to make a comeback? Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. Jason Robertson reportedly wants to play with his brother, who the Penguins traded for and signed last week. But just because the Penguins have Nicholas Robertson that doesn’t guarantee them to get Jason. At this stage, it will require a trade and the Stars could be looking for a massive haul. If the move requires Ben Kindel going back, should that be a hold up? The Pens have been linked to Elias Pettersson, who has a few 30-goal seasons under his belt. Is Pittsburgh still an attractive place to play thanks to Sidney Crosby?

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. The guys asked Jeff about the big injury news surrounding the Pirates, which includes Konnor Griffin and Endy Rodriguez. Why were the Pirates being so secretive about this stuff? Marcell Ozuna is in the lineup tonight – could he be down to his final days in the Pirates lineup? Is there a chance Griffin heals a little quicker since he is so young? Why did Carmen Mlodzinski get used last night with the Pirates up big? The guys got Jeff’s reaction to what Ryan O’Hearn did last night and where it ranks among single-game performances in Pirates history.

ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi thinks the TJ Watt ranking among the NFL executives is pretty fair considering the dip in numbers he had in 2025. Aditi said she didn’t put Watt on her All Pro ballot last year. How much would it help Watt to move around a little bit?

The Pirates lineup is out for tonight. Marcell Ozuna is in it, against a righty, showing that the injuries have really started to stack up. What are their options dwindling down to with the amount of injuries they are currently dealing with?

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Aaron Donald commented with the eyes emoji on a post about him and Myles Garrett potentially teaming up in Los Angeles. Mike says that it would be almost impossible for NFL teams to stop both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald on the same defensive line, even if Donald is only like 80% of the player the last time we watched him play. Mike says that Brandon Aiyuk needs to file a petition to the league to get reinstated and placed on the 49ers roster. Today is Jack Lambert’s birthday. Mike was a huge fan of his.

NFL executives voted TJ Watt as a top 10 edge rusher in football recently, having him at number 7. Is this reasonable? Mullsy does not think that TJ is the 7th best edge rusher in football, and says that he was surprised to see so many Steeler fans agree with him. Mullsy also says that you can make the argument that TJ isn’t the best edge rusher on his own team.

Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. Jason Robertson reportedly wants to play with his brother, who the Penguins traded for and signed last week. But just because the Penguins have Nicholas Robertson that doesn’t guarantee them to get Jason. At this stage, it will require a trade and the Stars could be looking for a massive haul. If the move requires Ben Kindel going back, should that be a hold up? The Pens have been linked to Elias Pettersson, who has a few 30-goal seasons under his belt. Is Pittsburgh still an attractive place to play thanks to Sidney Crosby?

A historic night at PNC Park and for Ryan O’Hearn as the Bucco joined the rare 10 RBI Club in the 12-4 win over the Braves. O’Hearn started his night with a Grand Slam followed by a pair of 3-run home runs. It is, at worst, on the medal stand of single-game performances in Pirates history. Where does it rank?

PM Team FULL Show 7-7-26

Manager’s Minute – We heard what Don Kelly had to say after the news broke of Konnor Griffin being out 8-10 weeks with an injury to his left ring finger. Poni was amazed to find out Clint Eastwood was alive to watch Babe Ruth play. Jared Triolo is going to see majority of the time at SS in the absence of Konnor Griffin. Should the Pirates call the Red Sox about old friend Isiah Kiner-Falefa? We tried to cheer ourselves up by listening to some funny Pirates highlights calls. Donny Football Debrief – Interesting story tells us how Bill Belichick could have become the winningest coach in NFL history, all thanks to Sean Payton.

The Pirates have a tough month ahead of them, in addition to the Konnor Griffin injury news coming down today, which could change their mindset heading into the MLB Trade Deadline. Could we be seeing the final month of Brandon Lowe in a Pirates uniform? Where do they have to be in the standings to turn into a seller in 2026? If it doesn’t look like they won’t sign Lowe to an extension, what kind of return would be fair coming back? What teams would be in the market for Lowe on an expiring deal? Which Pirates can we expect to be better in the second half? BREAKING: Konnor Griffin will be placed on the IL later today with a timetable of 8-10 weeks due to the injury on his left ring finger. 10 weeks from now is mid-September. The Steelers will be playing real games before we see Griffin in the Pirates lineup again. The Pirates have had a Top 5 offense through the halfway point of the season, but can they keep it up? Fans react to the Konnor Griffin news as the rookie SS will be sidelined for the next 8-10 weeks.

Since Pirates fans can’t have nice things for too long, we found out today Konnor Griffin is hurt and could be out for 4-6 weeks. The injury is reportedly a torn ligament in his non-throwing hand. What does this mean for the Pirates offense? It was also reported that Griffin ‘could’ play through the injury if need be, but it may be smarter to protect your investment for the long run. We got more details on the Konnor Griffin injury and it sounds like he could be out until ‘the playoff push in September.’ What happened the last time a prominent player dealt with this injury? The guys found it interesting that nobody in the Pittsburgh market put the news out there even though the top insider in MLB put it out there over 2 hours ago. World Cup Minute – Belgium made easy work of the United States last night, ending the American’s run in the Round of 16. Poni said it reminded him of Pitt football losing a big game. At what point will soccer mean more in the US?

BREAKING: Konnor Griffin will be placed on the IL later today with a timetable of 8-10 weeks due to the injury on his left ring finger. 10 weeks from now is mid-September. The Steelers will be playing real games before we see Griffin in the Pirates lineup again. The Pirates have had a Top 5 offense through the halfway point of the season, but can they keep it up?

The Pirates have a tough month ahead of them, in addition to the Konnor Griffin injury news coming down today, which could change their mindset heading into the MLB Trade Deadline. Could we be seeing the final month of Brandon Lowe in a Pirates uniform? Where do they have to be in the standings to turn into a seller in 2026? If it doesn’t look like they won’t sign Lowe to an extension, what kind of return would be fair coming back? What teams would be in the market for Lowe on an expiring deal? Which Pirates can we expect to be better in the second half?

We got more details on the Konnor Griffin injury and it sounds like he could be out until ‘the playoff push in September.’ What happened the last time a prominent player dealt with this injury? The guys found it interesting that nobody in the Pittsburgh market put the news out there even though the top insider in MLB put it out there over 2 hours ago.

Since Pirates fans can’t have nice things for too long, we found out today Konnor Griffin is hurt and could be out for 4-6 weeks. The injury is reportedly a torn ligament in his non-throwing hand. What does this mean for the Pirates offense? It was also reported that Griffin ‘could’ play through the injury if need be, but it may be smarter to protect your investment for the long run.

PM Team FULL Show 7-6-26

Team USA takes on Belgium tonight with a chance to go to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2002. The United States will benefit from Flo Balogun being OK’d to play tonight after receiving a red card in the win over Bosnia last week. Donald Trump claimed to take over the situation and get Balogun the green light to play tonight. Does that muddy the waters of international play? Is there a precedent set for this? The guys said FIFA is so corrupt, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see this happen. Chris said he will have trouble swallowing the victory of Balogun scores the game-winner. Pirates pre/post game host Dan Zangrilli joined the show. Dan thinks the future of Brandon Lowe is in question if the Pirates fall apart ahead of the trade deadline, but acknowledged that he doesn’t think that will happen. Is the starting pitching better than what they have shown the last month or two? Dan wants to see the Pirates acquire multiple arms at the deadline if they are still in the race. How much would it take to reunite with Aroldis Chapman? Dan talked about the change in coaching and philosophy that may have impacted the pitching staff. How much more time does Marcell Ozuna have in a Pirates uniform and could they actually find a trade partner for him? ‘Did he play here?’

Rich Gannon, a former NFL MVP, said that if he had Mike McCarthy for the first half of his career, it would’ve been different because McCarthy made him a better player. Does this give you confidence that McCarthy can turn Allar into a good QB? Baseball writer John Perrotto joined the show. John believes that the Mets fire sale is real and that they actually will try to trade all their relievers on expiring deals. He is not sure if the Mets will trade Luke Weaver due to the fact that he is under contract for another year after this one. John thinks that the Pirates might be hanging onto Marcell Ozuna because they don’t want to make Oneil Cruz upset by releasing him. Donny Football Debrief – The guest list for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding has been revealed.

Joe Block was very excited after Brandon Lowe’s homer to make it 9-4 Pirates yesterday. Poni is very fired up about Lowe getting snubbed from the All-Star game, and admits that he is not sure why that is. Poni also mentions that none of the 4 guys on the show today actually placed an all-star vote for Lowe, so we can’t really complain. PG columnist Noah Hiles joined the show. Jim Bowden wrote that the Pirates are a great fit for Mets setup man Luke Weaver, who is having an outstanding year. Noah says that this is something that he could see happening, but doesn’t know if going all-in on one reliever is a good idea. He thinks that the Pirates are better suited for two above-average arms. Noah thinks that barring a complete collapse, Brandon Lowe will be here for the remainder of the season. He doesn’t think that Lowe will get retained after this season, however. Bucco Auction House – Bids on Konnor Griffin, Brandon Lowe, and Pirates’ wins ensue.

Mullsy is back. Will Paul Skenes join him? The Pirates ace has struggled in his last few starts and has an ERA of 5.36 in his last 9 outings. We know the Pirates are winless in that stretch. He told local reporters that he feels like he’s better this year than last. How? He was named to the All Star Game again. Did he deserve it? The Pirates had 3-4 other guys jobbed of a spot on the team. Skenes isn’t expected to pitch in the game as it stands. The guys took a few calls – including one from the man that currently owns a vehicle once owned by Joe Namath. A trade rumor that would net the Pirates a setup man. Riverhounds head coach Rob Vincent joined the show. Rob said he was surprised to find that FIFA overturned the red card/suspension handed down to Flo Balogun, which allows him to play in tonight’s game for Team USA against Belgium. Rob thinks this could set a bad precedent going forward. Rob helped the guys breakdown the play that was in question from the other night. Rob talked about a few other key calls from other games in the World Cup. Rob fancies the US to win, 2-1 tonight against Belgium. Rob, a man of English descent, told the guys what it was like watching the England-Mexico game from last night that kept him on the edge of his seat.

Pirates pre/post game host Dan Zangrilli joined the show. Dan thinks the future of Brandon Lowe is in question if the Pirates fall apart ahead of the trade deadline, but acknowledged that he doesn’t think that will happen. Is the starting pitching better than what they have shown the last month or two? Dan wants to see the Pirates acquire multiple arms at the deadline if they are still in the race. How much would it take to reunite with Aroldis Chapman? Dan talked about the change in coaching and philosophy that may have impacted the pitching staff. How much more time does Marcell Ozuna have in a Pirates uniform and could they actually find a trade partner for him?

Donny Football Debrief – The guest list for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding has been revealed.

Baseball writer John Perrotto joined the show. John believes that the Mets fire sale is real and that they actually will try to trade all their relievers on expiring deals. He is not sure if the Mets will trade Luke Weaver due to the fact that he is under contract for another year after this one. John thinks that the Pirates might be hanging onto Marcell Ozuna because they don’t want to make Oneil Cruz upset by releasing him.

Bucco Auction House – Bids on Konnor Griffin, Brandon Lowe, and Pirates’ wins ensue.

PG columnist Noah Hiles joined the show. Jim Bowden wrote that the Pirates are a great fit for Mets setup man Luke Weaver, who is having an outstanding year. Noah says that this is something that he could see happening, but doesn’t know if going all-in on one reliever is a good idea. He thinks that the Pirates are better suited for two above-average arms. Noah thinks that barring a complete collapse, Brandon Lowe will be here for the remainder of the season. He doesn’t think that Lowe will get retained after this season, however.

Riverhounds head coach Rob Vincent joined the show. Rob said he was surprised to find that FIFA overturned the red card/suspension handed down to Flo Balogun, which allows him to play in tonight’s game for Team USA against Belgium. Rob thinks this could set a bad precedent going forward. Rob helped the guys breakdown the play that was in question from the other night. Rob talked about a few other key calls from other games in the World Cup. Rob fancies the US to win, 2-1 tonight against Belgium. Rob, a man of English descent, told the guys what it was like watching the England-Mexico game from last night that kept him on the edge of his seat.

Mullsy is back. Will Paul Skenes join him? The Pirates ace has struggled in his last few starts and has an ERA of 5.36 in his last 9 outings. We know the Pirates are winless in that stretch. He told local reporters that he feels like he’s better this year than last. How? He was named to the All Star Game again. Did he deserve it? The Pirates had 3-4 other guys jobbed of a spot on the team. Skenes isn’t expected to pitch in the game as it stands.

We take a look at the worst start in Paul Skenes’ career, Pirates continuing to tread water and Penguins moves.