First Call: Lions snag reported Steelers trade target; Derek Shelton addresses booing from Pirates crowd
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Thursday’s “First Call” begins with a Pittsburgh Steelers trade that never happened. We also look at the Pirates’ trip to visit Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels.
Plus, Derek Shelton is getting heat, and there is Duquesne basketball news too.
Motor City Mims
The Detroit Lions have acquired New York Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims. That’s according to Connor Hughes of SNYtv. Late-round draft picks were also swapped in the deal.
The trade squashes any talk of Mims coming to Pittsburgh. There had been some discussion of that Wednesday.
Two teams that are in the mix on Denzel Mims are the #Steelers and #Patriots, according to league sources. | @HeavyOnSports — Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoNFL) July 19, 2023
Mims could’ve been another threat for Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. But he’ll head to Detroit to aid Jared Goff instead.
The fourth-year Baylor product has 42 career catches for 676 yards, but no touchdowns. In 2022, he caught 11 passes for 186 yards.
Shelling Shelton
Derek Shelton has built a reputation of being one of the nicer guys in baseball. That’s probably been easily identified by Pirates fans. So you’d figure a lot would have to happen before he’d ever get booed at PNC Park.
Unfortunately, though, a lot has happened. The Pirates have fallen from first place in the National League Central at 20-9 to last place at 42-54. In Shelton’s first three years, the club went a combined 142-242.
So fans are getting restless. To the degree that Shelton is starting to hear boos from the seats when he comes out to make pitching changes.
During his weekly radio appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Shelton owned the criticism.
“I’ve never shied away from anything or hid from anything,” Shelton said. “We have to be better. And we have to work to continue to be better, so the fact that fans are passionate and frustrated, I get that.
“There’s nobody more frustrated than I am. So, understand that they’re right in their decision because they’re frustrated, but I’m the most accountable person here. And we need to be better.”
With a .382 winning percentage, Shelton is tied for the ninth-worst mark of all time (via BaseballReference.com) with former Detroit and Arizona (interim) manager Alan Trammell.
If you want a comp, former Pirates manager John Russell went 186-299 from 2008-10 to finish with a .384 mark.
More sports
• Steelers agree to 5-year deal with outside linebacker Alex Highsmith
• 'He will serve his country,' but first, Pirates have high hopes for Paul Skenes
• 'Frustrated' by bothersome back, Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes denies report about trade
Hazy days
The Pirates managed just one win on their homestand following the All-Star break. That was Wednesday’s 7-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
Now the Pirates are heading west to play a Los Angeles Angels club that is so disappointing (49-48), it may trade one of the best players of all-time: Shohei Ohtani.
At least on Wednesday, their 7-3 victory capped a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees with Ohtani still on the roster. He walked four times in that game and has a .306 average with 36 home runs.
Since 2,000, only four other players — Barry Bonds, Luis Gonzalez, Chris Davis and Aaron Judge — have managed 35 homers in their club’s first 95 games as Ohtani has done so far with the Angels.
As a pitcher, Ohtani is 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 139 strikeouts. He is supposed to start Game 1 of the series between the clubs Friday. He’ll be opposed by Johan Oviedo.
Chewing on Charleston
During Tuesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Duquesne basketball coach Keith Dambrot bemoaned the difficulties of scheduling out-of-conference opponents.
Well, the Dukes were able to get at least one more on the board. Dambrot’s team will face College of Charleston in the Veterans Classic event on Nov. 10 in Annapolis, Md. That’s according to Pittsburgh Sports Now.
Last year, Pat Kelsey’s Cougars went 31-4 and made the NCAA Tournament, before losing to San Diego State. Navy versus Temple will be the other game. The CBS Sports Network will carry both contests.
The Dukes also had the likes of Nebraska, Rider, Santa Clara and Samford on the schedule. But that Samford game, which had also been slated for Nov. 10, has been canceled according to PSN.
Source: TribLIVE
