U mad, bro?: Pirates fans are fed up with Oneil Cruz, Steelers fans miffed at coverage of T.J. Watt and Aaron Rodgers

It’s one thing to stink. It’s something else to stink and be lazy in the process.

Pittsburgh Pirates fans are fed up with Oneil Cruz, as he reinforced that notion this week.

Meanwhile, I seemed to agitate Steelers fans with my All-Quarter-Century team, my thoughts on Aaron Rodgers and my T.J. Watt column.

So, my week is going just about as well as Cruz’s.

Want proof? Here is this week’s “U mad, bro?”

We start with Dennis. He emailed with some complaints about Oneil Cruz. Pirates manager Don Kelly benched him for jogging up the first-base line Tuesday night. This was in the wake of failing to give chase on a ground ball that got away from him over the weekend.

“I was AMAZED he wasn’t benched IMMEDIATELY after missing that routine grounder and then just standing there like a guy waiting for his dry cleaning while the ball rolled to the wall. I have noticed his alarmingly nonchalant attitude in the field and at the plate, after all, he IS NUMBER ONE in striking out. Something is just not right about his demeanor.”

Cruz’s explanation is that he didn’t run hard because he lost track of the outs and thought the force out on the double play was the third out of the inning.

So, in other words, “It’s not that I’m lazy. It’s just that I’m not paying attention.”

That’s spectacular.

By the way, he was right back in the starting lineup the next day, so I’m sure he learned from this very, very harsh and valuable lesson.

A person named “nousernamer87” expressed disappointment in my recent column about T.J. Watt’s quest for a new contract.

“This was speculation about speculation. Not every article is a home run.”

This was not “speculation about speculation.” I know what speculation for the sake of speculation looks like. It looks like every NFL mock draft you see between late February and mid-April.

This column is about how the negotiating landscape has changed because of the timing and the market, with Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons playing a similar waiting game after Myles Garrett’s $160 million extension.

Just like it says in the column.

That’s not speculation. That’s a fact. It’s up to you whether you are willing to admit what that means for Watt.

Now, to your point about every column not being a home run, I agree with you there. But this one wasn’t a pop-out. It was at least a solid single up the middle.

You know, like the one that got under Cruz’s glove against Texas.

This guy is another satisfied customer. He was a big fan of my Steelers All-Quarter-Century team.

Seriously 2 super bowls in 46 years and this is what is topical

— GOP2024 (@Trumpqueen11) June 25, 2025

It’s late June, tough guy. Until we get a real MLB team in Pittsburgh or the Penguins decide to make another deep playoff run, nothing is going to be all that “topical” this time of year.

More sports

• Tim Benz: Aaron Rodgers' public acknowledgment about his future is exactly what the Steelers needed to hear
• Steelers A to Z: National title-winning QB Will Howard eager to learn pro game
• Mark Madden: West Mifflin's L.J. Mooney is small, yet skilled, and just what the Penguins need

Someone named @2hipop sent me a message concerning my recent Aaron Rodgers column.

“They are trying to make a run! That’s been clear since last year. Get in playoffs playing good, hope you are healthy and hope a few things break in your favor. Only 1 team wins it all.”

Thanks, coach! Could you have possibly squeezed in any other additional clichéd pearls of wisdom in a single message?

Finally, Tim chimes in on Rodgers’ announcement that he plans to retire at the end of the year.

Chuck Noll once said that once a football player starts thinking about retirement—he should retire. Rodgers should have retired at least three years ago.

— Tim Murphy (@twmurph1958) June 25, 2025

Well, here’s the problem. Ben Roethlisberger actually did retire. And the Steelers haven’t figured out a way to replace him yet. So Rodgers is the QB du jour, and we are just going to have to live with it.

By the way, what did Chuck Noll have to say about that topic with sportswriters? I mean … just curious.