The Sports Monitor

OK, here's something positive about the Pittsburgh Pirates. They made the right moves with qualifying offers to catcher Russell Martin and pitcher Francisco Liriano. Both players rejected the $15.3 million, one-year deal by Monday's deadline. Martin's choice was a no-brainer. He'll get some serious coin real soon. Liriano? Can't blame him. He could have taken the money and hoped for a big offer next season. But I'm guessing he'll do better. The Pirates will get a draft pick as compensation if Liriano and Martin sign. So the Bucs have covered their bases, so to speak. It's better this year, than, say, last year when they passed on A.J. Burett and got nothing when he signed with the Phils.

I'm seeing positive comments about the Pirates' signing of Edinson Volquez to a $5 million contract. Generally, it's a no-lose deal with plenty of upside? Is it? I don't think so. For the Pirates, $5 million is a big deal. Yes, the Pirates had success with A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano. Will it happen a third time? Did it work with Erik Bedard? Did it work with Jose Contreras? Did it work for Jonathan Sanchez? There's no guarantee. And now, $5 million from the Pirates' limited budget is tied up for us to find out. Their money could have been better spent.

Pirates Nation can breathe a sigh of relief. Francisco Liriano erased the bad memories of Tuesday night's loss to the Cardinals with a complete-game gem Wednesday night. Liriano needed just 94 pitches to turn back the Cards in a 5-1 win. It was enough to forget Starling Marte's blunder in the ninth last night. Marte furthered his redemption with a two-run double to give the Pirates a 5-0 lead. The Pirates got a boost before Marte with homers from Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez. It's a big win to ease worries about any potential collapse. It was another superb start from Liriano. The Bucs now lead the Cards by three games in the NL Central and the Reds by 3.5 games.