U mad, bro?: Pirates fans vent; Steelers fans deflect criticism; Penguins fans reject concerns about Jeff Carter

Apr. 15—Want a real reason to be mad, Pittsburgh sports fans? Here's one for you. There will be no "U mad, bro?" next week.

I know. I know. I can feel the anger welling up inside of you already. But it's time for a vacation.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't enjoy combing through all of your bile-filled emails, animus-laced Facebook posts and angst-driven tweets 52 weeks a year. I need a little break now and then to breathe the fresh air that exists beyond my Twitter feed and the comments section of my columns.

Ahhh! Smells like ... sanity.

So while I'm gone, we are running a week-long NFL Draft preview series. And "U mad, bro?" will be taking a week off.

You know, kind of like the Steelers did when they went to Cincinnati this year.

Oops. Sorry, was that out loud? Oh well, that should get us started for this column's return in two weeks.

Until then, here are a few parting shots from prickly Penguins fans, agitated Pirates fans and defensive Steelers fans.

In other words, plenty to fill you up while I'm away.

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Michael ripped me for my recent column pointing out all the holes on the Steelers roster.

"We started 11-0 before the defense was decimated by injury. Ben was fresh off of major surgery. Yes, we need to improve on the run game on both sides of the ball, but what team doesn't have weak areas that need addressed in the off-season? You sound like you should be doing high school sports in Cleveland."

Hmm. Interesting idea. Do any of those Cleveland area high school teams average better than 85 yards rushing per game?

Because, if so, that might be a refreshing change.

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Bob left a long response in the comments section of my column reacting to the Penguins trade for Jeff Carter. Here's a portion of it.

"Carter, while getting older, is still contributing on a regular basis. Putting points on the board, contributing on the PK and PP. Still can skate. Yes, not the player he was five years ago ... He is being brought in as a complementary piece, especially to solidify the third line. He should do that. Carter has been contributing on a bad team. He should be able to contribute on a significantly better team."

Bob, you can make the argument that Carter still has something left in the tank, and that his drive will be on better display now that he has been traded to a contender. You can even advance that diminished offensive skills will be less of a concern now that he is being brought to Pittsburgh as a bottom-six player.

But don't lie to the readers, or yourself, about his "contributions on a regular basis" or how he is "contributing on the power play."

The guy has had one multi-point game since Game 2 of the season. Eight goals in 40 games does little to impress me. By comparison, Zach Aston-Reese has eight goals in 31 games. We've been critical of Jason Zucker bringing little to the table since he was acquired from Minnesota. He's got six goals in 24 games.

Carter's shooting percentage of 6.8 is the second lowest of his career. And this power-play production you speak of, what are you talking about? Carter has one power-play goal on the season and four total points.

Like I said in the column, if people like you stop trying to make this trade into something more than it is, I'll stop feeling the need to constantly tell you what it isn't.

Why don't you help me to do my part by doing your own part?

Now, that said, I predict he'll have a goal and two assists in his debut game on Thursday because that's what happens whenever an NHL player gets traded. It's like clockwork.

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This response appeared in the comments section of my column about the importance — or lack thereof — of the Penguins potentially winning the regular-season East Division crown.

"Home ice gives you last change and the ability to match up. So I would suggest, given the Pens home ice record, that home ice might be significantly good."

If getting the last change was as important as you point out, the Penguins wouldn't have lost all those playoff series with home-ice advantage every year between 2010 and 2014. The Capitals would've beaten the Penguins at least once in either 2016 or 2017. And the Penguins would've at least won one game before getting swept by the Islanders in 2019.

That's not as impactful of a variable as you are suggesting.

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This reader on Twitter responded to my column about PNC Park's 20th anniversary.

I'm sorry, Joe, did you say... "almost"?

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Via the comments section, Doug chimed in on that story, too.

"The taxpayers did not approve the stadium funding for PNC Park. Should not have happened. The local and state taxpayers make the Nuttings billionaires. Look at the team right now. This is on the politicians that did not listen to voters."

Doug, you're missing the point. As so many do on this topic. Let's forget, for a moment, that Kevin McClatchy was still the principal owner at the time the stadium was built, not Bob Nutting.

Beyond that, though, the taxpayers weren't voting for or against the team being publicly operated. I mean, there wasn't a ballot measure on the table to allow public control of the roster and the payroll. Voting down of the Regional Renaissance Initiative in 1997 was regarding funding that included the park itself. It had nothing to do with the notion of John Q. Yinzer to serve as team general manager.

But, seriously, is the city better for having the park itself or not? Is the city better for still having Major League Baseball games here 81 nights a year or not? Would the development of the North Shore be what it is without the stadium or not?

And here's a question that no one ... no one ... who still maintains this stance of "the park never should've been built" has ever adequately answered. What would the money used to build the stadium otherwise have funded if the park was never built?

Oh, you don't think our city's politicians would've eventually found a way to tax you for something else? Really? Are you new around here, Doug?

So you think the politicians were crooked in their efforts to backdoor funding for PNC Park, but you would've otherwise trusted them to better allocate those funds? And you assume they never would've milked more money out of you for something else you didn't want?

OK. Got it. That's a good one. Tell me another.

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Lastly, after the Pirates' 8-4 slog of a win against the San Diego Padres Tuesday night, I sent out a tweet about the drudgery of the game. And a guy named Brad replied.

Brad, I might do that. Being a Pirates fan for 46 years, I feel like I've been watching Little League most of my life anyway. Time to broaden my horizons, I guess.

After all, the first guy already told me to go cover high school sports in Cleveland. Maybe he's right.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.