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.

Here it is deadline day and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been mentioned in some possible deals to bolster their team. Yeah, it's nice to hear the Pirates as being buyers instead of sellers at this stage of the summer. It's a much-needed change. But, really, do you truly expect the Pirates to make a blockbuster deal to go all-in and try to win a title this year? I don't. Here's what I expect to come out of Pirates GM Neal Huntington after the deadline passes: "We wanted to add to our club, but the price was too high. We did not want to sacrifice our minor league system at the expense of a short-term gain." That's all nice, but the team is just a couple of games out of the lead in the division. Are all those minor league prospects going to pan out? They rarely do. And maybe it's also about the money too. Never underestimate the cheapness of the Nutting regime. The Pirates already missed out on John Lackey and Jon Lester. Now we're wait...

So, now where do Pirates fans stand when it comes to A.J. Burnett? Burnett reportedly will get $16 million for one season with the Phillies. Who's happy for him? Who still thinks the Pirates made the right choice? I disagreed with the Pirates not making a $14 million qualifying offer to Burnett after they passed on him. Now, after seeing him sign for $16 million, nothing has changed. The Pirates could have had Burnett for a discount, if you call $14 million a discount. If Burnett passed, the Pirates wouldn't have been on the hook. Now, they're out a first-round pick because of the Burnett Blunder. Yeah, go ahead and rave about the Pirates and their management team. They're still cheap. Nothing has changed my mind  that their decisions are primarily based on finances, not winning.

Why are so many people defending the Pirates with their decision to pass on making a qualifying offer to A.J. Burnett in the offseason? I don't get it. And maybe it's not 'so many.' Maybe it just seems that way with members of the media defending the cheap regime of the Buccos. But, again, I don't get it. The Pirates could have offered Burnett $14.1 million. Burnett could have passed. Nothing lost there. In fact, the Pirates could have looked much better by saying we're trying to spend money. On top of that, the Pirates could have received draft-pick compensation if Burnett signed with another team. Another plus for the team. And, these days, $14.1 million for Burnett is the going price, or even a discount for pitchers with a low ERA (3.30 for Burnett) and a high strikeout total (more than 1 per inning). And don't tell me the rotation is strong without him. I don't see how you can be comfortable with Charlie Morton, Wandy Rodriguez and Ed...

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.

The Pirates got some good news in their pennant chase Friday night. First, they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that's trying to be a wild-card contender. Second, the Cardinals lost to the Cubbies, giving the Pirates a three-game lead in the NL Central. Finally, the surging Reds blew a lead in the ninth and lost. That's a better feeling than after Starling Marte's dropped fly ball.

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.

Do you believe the Pirates are jinxed? That thought has to be going through Bucco fans' minds after Tuesday night's 4-3 loss in 14 innings to the Cardinals. That's the Pirates' fourth loss in a row. The Pirates had the game locked up when Starling Marte got lazy and dropped a lazy fly to left. It would have been the second out of the ninth inning. The Cardinals tied it, thanks to Marte's error, and won it in the 14th, thanks in part to the Pirates' inability to score Andrew McCutchen from third base with no outs. In the 14th, Clint Barmes couldn't handle a grounder by John Jay, who scored the winning run. The Cards are now just two games behind the Pirates in the National League Central. Let's get back to being jinxed. You have to think that after going through the last two seasons. It's hard to fathom the Pirates not getting to 82 wins this season. After what's happened so far, just a winning season won't cut it. The ...

Andrew Lambo will be in a Pirates uniform tonight. Will he start? He should. And if he does, what do you think he'll do against the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (13-7, 2.66 ERA). I'm guessing an 0-for-4 night with two strikeouts. Not better than what we've seen in the outfield. But then again, the Bucs will be facing Wainwright. At least Lambo, who strikes out a lot, offers a power threat that's been missing.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need an power-hitting outfielder. They didn't trade for one. Instead, they'll promote one. The long-awaited call-up of Andrew Lambo will happen Tuesday. Lambo has hit 31 home runs in Class AA and AAA this season. He also strikes out a lot and doesn't walk much, which probably is why it's taken so long for him to get his promotion. We'll see how he does. It can't be much worse than what they've been putting out there.

Every Pirates fan wants to see an end to the streak. But, after posting the second-best record in baseball in the first half, is simply finishing with a winning record enough? For me, the answer is no. For all the smoke-and-mirrors on offense, I won't be satisfied with a winning record. The Pirates have done too much in the first half where anything short of the playoffs will be a letdown. In fact, a wild-card berth isn't so hot either. In the revised playoff format, the wild card is simply a play-in game to the playoffs. Win, and you move on, lose or have a bad break or bad call, and the season's over. I want a division title.

Jose Contreras has the distinction of being cut by the Pirates twice this season. The relief pitcher was released by the Pirates last month. Pittsburgh picked him up again on a minor league deal. But the Bucs figured out what most teams already knew: He's toast. It was a win-win situation for the Pirates, signing him at little cost. I wish MLB teams would realize what serious fans already knew, Contreras was washed up. Maybe some other team will buy that lottery ticket. I'm glad the Pirates won't have him at PNC.

It had been more than two years since I had been to a baseball game. That ended Tuesday night. Gerrit Cole warming up. Pic courtesy of my lousy phone camera. And what a night to catch a game; it was a playoff-like atmosphere at PNC Park. Gerrit Cole had a smashing debut, striking out his first batter faced on three pitches. In his first at-bat, he drove in two runs. Starling Marte hit a homer, Pedro Alvarez hit one, too, and the Pirates beat the World Champion Giants 8-2. What more could you want? Burger featuring egg and bacon on a doughnut. Well, I guess the timing for the metal-detector wands, but the Pirates admitted their mistake on that one. That wouldn't have been much of a problem if there weren't 30,000 fans there. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to see Cole's first start. He hit the upper-90s, including 98 in the seventh inning. He only struck out two, but he had tremendous control -- he didn't walk a batter and had a three-ball count o...

Opening day used to be a holiday for me. I had quite a stretch of going to opening day games in Pittsburgh. In a 25-year stretch, I believe it was 24 opening days. The one I missed, I was living in Indiana and couldn't make the seven-hour drive to the opener. That's changed; I have a new streak going. I've missed three straight openers. And it looks like I didn't miss much Monday. It's just one game, but opening day gets all the attention. And that attention wasn't too good. The Bucs had their best pitcher, A.J. Burnett on the mound and they lost to the lowly Cubs. Jeff Samardzija improved his career ERA to 4.01 after his eight shutout innings. Go Bucs. Am I a bad fan? I think not. Is it a boycott? I don't think so, although some might interpret it that way. I just choose not to give Bob Nutting any of my money. Nutting is all about the money. I'll chose to do the same. I'll keep my hard-earned dollars and spend it somewhere e...

There's no question the Pittsburgh Pirates need a catcher next season. The rumor is the Bucs are prepared to offer Yankees catcher Russell Martin a three-year contract worth $25 million. That sounds about right for the Neal Huntington regime. They overpay for washed up veterans. It's like clockwork. I'm sure Erik Bedard, Clint Barmes, Nate McLouth and Rod Barajas are still fresh in your memories. Maybe Huntington has forgotten. He certainly hasn't learned from past mistakes. If reports have any validity to them, Huntington is pursuing a player in decline. Martin hit .211 last season, which follows a trend in falling batting average since 2007 (.293, .280, .250, .248, .237 and .211). He played for the Dodgers before his move to New York, where his power numbers improved (7 and 5 homers with the Dodgers before 18 and 21 for the Yankees). Maybe the rumors aren't true. Maybe the Yankees will decided to up the ante. Maybe someone like the Seattle ...

Wow. I was truly wrong about this year's Pittsburgh Pirates. A little more than two weeks ago, I though the Bucs were on the right track this season. It took me a little bit of time, but I was there . Again -- wow. I was wrong. Maybe I should have waited a little longer. Then I would have seen this epic collapse coming. The Pirates enter Monday night just two games over .500. I'm not thinking playoffs anymore. I'm not sure they finish with a winning record. Clint Hurdle doesn't have a magic touch. James McDonald isn't anywhere near the pitcher he was in the first half. He doesn't even look like a major league starter at this point. A.J. Burnett hasn't been the stopper either. There was a seven-error game, bad managerial moves (suicide squeeze?) and yesterday's meltdown by minor league pitchers called upon to protect a lead against the Cubs. This has been a complete and utter disaster. The joy of the first four months of the ...

There comes a time when a team believes in itself. Then there are times when a fan starts to believe in a team. For me, I think that happened last night after the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0. It took me 130 games, but I'm there. I admit it, I fully expected the Pirates to crack this series against the Cards. Nothing changed after the Bucs lost 4-3 Monday. Well, I thought they might get swept. Instead, the Pirates responded with back-to-back shutouts of one of the teams they're trying to chase down for a wild-card playoff berth. Today, before they enter a series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates are just one game away from that coveted spot. I'm not sure they'll reach it, but I have faith they won't utterly collapse either, which was a big fear before the Pirates bounced back and beat the Cardinals 9-0 Tuesday. Maybe Pedro Alvarez will stay hot through the end of the season. If he does, then I think the Bucs ha...

Badminton is an Olympic sport. Yet baseball isn't. On top of it all, eight athletes have been booted from the badminton competition. I'm still not sure what's more shocking -- badminton as an official sport or a scandal where eight athletes were tossed for intentionally losing. And they were doing a terrible job at losing, too. Maybe they should have been kicked out for being poor at losing. Either way, gimme some good ol' football. Or baseball -- the Pirates still are contenders. One final question: Did NBC have a channel dedicated to badminton?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have their power-hitting outfielder. The question is: Will it pay off this year for them? The Bucs picked up Travis Snider from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Brad Lincoln. On the surface, it appears the Pirates got a minor league player for a successful reliever. This trade should be better than that. Snider provides a power-hitting threat needed. He's also under control for at least three seasons, meaning the Bucs should have an outfield of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Snider for a few years. That should be a very good outfield. I'm not sold on Lincoln as a starting pitcher in the future. I think he could be a future closer, which always is appealing. However, relievers aren't as difficult to find. Plus, they can bottom out really fast. Remember Evan Meek, the former All-Star for the Pirates? This also reminds me of the deal that sent Ricardo Rincon to the Indians for Brian Giles. We'll find out soon en...

I took the family to a beach yesterday. On our way in, we needed to stop to pay admission. That's when I got a little surprise. The cost ($3) wasn't a problem; it was the person taking my money. "How 'bout them Bucs?" he asked. For a second, I was stunned. Why would he ask me about the Pirates? Then it hit me, I had on a Pirates T-shirt I got during a promotion a few years ago. It was old and worn, but perfect for a day in the water. "Heck of a first half," I said to the attendant. "Let's hope they keep it up." I never would have believed they would be in first place in the NL Central Division at the All-Star break. They've been a real treat to watch this last month, especially with the hitting coming around. And how about that Andrew McCutchen guy? His first half has been incredible. Not only does he lead the majors in hitting (.362), but he's among the NL leaders in homers (18) and RBIs (60). To no surprise...