The Pomp And Joe Show

Matt Clement thinks the Marlins and Nationals are not a part of the wild card race after selling. He doesn't believe in the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs and Padres did a great job at the trade deadline. Austin is going to his huge wiffleball tournament this weekend and his team has raised over $10,000 for Type 1 Diabetes.

Is this season finally going to turn for Paul Skenes? If the Pirates are going to be in the playoff race, Skenes needs to dominate again. Matt wonders if Skenes can currently throw harder than he is right now. "I think it's a tired arm." Matt thinks the WBC hurt Skenes.

MLB analyst Matt Clement joined the show. Marcell Ozuna has been released and Matt thinks the Pirates pulled the plug on him twice, once to take him out of the lineup and the other to be released. Ozuna was the Pirates backup plan after missing on Eugenio Suarez. Matt doesn't think Andrew McCutchen is being considered an option.

Mark Kaboly said Max Iheanachor is having a nice start to training camp. Asante Samuel has been a surprise. Mark is skeptical about Roman Wilson because he is great in practice and preseason, but not the game. Mark thinks there's a 98% chance Mason Rudolph is the backup. Mark thinks Rico Dowdle is going to get at least 60% of the snaps.

Mason Rudolph is having a solid training camp. Mark still wants the Steelers to keep four quarterbacks. Mark thinks Drew Allar has been better than expected but hasn't been consistent. Mark thinks fans in the stands are posting a lot of positive clips of some players and not negative, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. Allar has been better than Will Howard. Mark thinks Aaron Rodgers can still make plays on the run and Mark thinks Rodgers still has a little bit left.

Alex Stumpf and Colin Beazley have both confirmed the Pirates have released Marcell Ozuna. How would you grade how Ben Cherington has done? The Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn additions have been significant. Signing Ozuna was a bad decision and Joe thinks Cherington's drafts the last few years saved his job. Is Ozuna the worst free agent signing in Pittsburgh sports history?

The Pirates offense is struggling. Injuries are an issue, but guys you are counting on are hitting the wall. Esmerlyn Valdez is 0-12 in August with eight strikeouts. Ronnie Simon has been recalled from Triple-A. Could this be the end of the road for Marcell Ozuna? There are a lot of moving parts. Asante Samuel Jr. and Roman Wilson are both having great training camps. What do you make of Drew Allar's camp?

It was huge for perception sake that the Pirates won last night. It took too long, but Cherington got his man. Most of the other competitors did more. Joe will grade the Buccos from here on out with a clean slate. The return of Cruz should be massive. There's still concerns about the rotation. Skenes is still the key to the rest of the season. Cherington gets a B. We listen to the drive-thru call with Dan Zan and then we hear from that caller. There's still some criticism that Cherington didn't have more money with which to work. Don Kelly had a good night last night. The fans went from ready to throw in the towel after Sunday to excitement after last night. Nick Farabaugh is live from camp to discuss IMAX and if he will start this season, Asante Samuel Jr, how the QB reps have been split, Drew Allar's ups and downs, who is in the lead for backup QB, a positive development with Kaleb Johnson, Roman Wilson vs Bernard, his perspective on the fans fight over an autograph. Dan Zangrilli was at his best last night. We hear his greatest hits from 2026. John Perotto joins to give his impression of the Pirates trade deadline, what's going on with Paul Skenes, how he'd deploy the bullpen, how this trade deadline felt different than past years, and if the Pirates will make the playoffs. Callers weigh in and give their Pirates' deadline grades. Fort McKenry jumps on to discuss the bullpen additions, Bubba Chandler, Skenes' velocity and changing his arsenal, how catchers acclimate to new pitchers, what strategy he'd use in extra innings, is Jared Jones will start going deeper, if the PIrates should've done more by adding a SP or a bat. Joe's mailbag - the Steelers cap outlook, Joe's dream job. Austin finally calls in at the last second and talks about trying to meet Drew Allar.

It was huge for perception sake that the Pirates won last night. It took too long, but Cherington got his man. Most of the other competitors did more. Joe will grade the Buccos from here on out with a clean slate. The return of Cruz should be massive. There's still concerns about the rotation. Skenes is still the key to the rest of the season. Cherington gets a B. We listen to the drive-thru call with Dan Zan and then we hear from that caller. There's still some criticism that Cherington didn't have more money with which to work. Don Kelly had a good night last night. The fans went from ready to throw in the towel after Sunday to excitement after last night.

Nick Farabaugh is live from camp to discuss IMAX and if he will start this season, Asante Samuel Jr, how the QB reps have been split, Drew Allar's ups and downs, who is in the lead for backup QB, a positive development with Kaleb Johnson, Roman Wilson vs Bernard, his perspective on the fans fight over an autograph. Dan Zangrilli was at his best last night. We hear his greatest hits from 2026.