The Pirates' rotation troubles and how to fix them

The Pirates has had some, let's say, less-than-staler starting pitching to begin 2016. Gerrit Cole (1-2, 2.70 ERA) and Francisco Liriano (1-1, 4.11 ERA) should be fine, but Jon Niese (3-0, 4.24 ERA), Jeff Locke (0-2, 7.24 ERA) and Juan Nicasio (2-1, 4.80 ERA) all might end up being big question marks.

Niese's job is probably the safest out of the three, as he seems to be the most consistent and have the most upside. Locke has always been inconsistent and somewhat ineffective at times and I think he might be gone by season's end. Nicasio will probably end up in the bullpen, as he has trouble sustaining success throughout his starts.

Reinforcements are on the way for the rotation in terms of top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon, but neither of them are expected to be promoted to the majors until mid-summer. So until Glasnow and Taillon make it to Pittsburgh, what are the Pirates to do?

I think the first step should be moving Nicasio to the pen and moving Ryan Vogelsong into the rotation. Nicasio will be more valuable than Vogelsong in the bullpen and Vogelsong put up good numbers as a starter last year with the Giants.

From there I think it just turns into a waiting game. They're better off just waiting for Glasnow and Taillon than try to make a trade or sign some guy. Like I said, Niese will probably be fine and Locke isn't the worst  pitcher in the world. So barring an injury I think the Pirates need to just put up with the starting pitching they have right now and hope that Glasnow and Taillon will be here soon.

Youth movement responsible for Penguins inspired play

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers 6-3 today to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Penguins really got hot at the end of the season and turned their year around, storming into the playoffs on an impressive hot streak.

What is responsible for this change? Youth. The Penguins have brought up a bunch of young, talented players this year that have contributed a lot in the bottom lineup, as opposed to years past when every depth player on the Pens' roster was 30-something.

Conor Sheary (23), Bryan Rust (23), Tom Kuhnhackl (24), Olli Maatta (21), Brian Dumoulin (24) and Matt Murray (21) all played huge parts in this series win over the Rangers and look to be consistent contributors for years to come.

With actually competent bottom-six forwards and three solid defense lines the Penguins are a scary team in this year's playoffs and the young guys have played a huge part in that.