Here's the dilemma: The Pirates need a veteran pitcher to anchor a 2017 rotation that will probably be short on experience.
Ivan Nova, who might be the prize of the limited free agent market this winter, is already here.
Reports say he's looking for a five-year deal worth $70 million. Is that kind of investment justified for a pitcher who will be 30 next season, and who has a spotty record of accomplishment prior to a string of fine starts for the Pirates?
Nova is a ground ball pitcher and a strike thrower. Does that merit a five-year commitment that will eat a big chunk of the payroll?
Highly unlikely. Nova's agent says the Pirates have made a couple of offers, but it's doubtful any of them are near five years and $70 million.
It also makes no sense for Nova to commit to a deal before shopping the free agent market. There may be an offer even crazier than the one he wants.
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--NO PANIC
NFL TV ratings were down after the first two weeks of the season.
Some have attributed this to a backlash to the national anthem protests. More likely it's two factors -- the absence of some big names and the nice weather that has lingered in the Midwest and northeast.
A Super Bowl rematch is always a good season opener, but maybe not so much with Peyton Manning retired to a full-time career in commercials.
We get confined to quarters for so much of the season, when the NFL is a welcome distraction. But if the weather is still warm and the sun is shining, camping in front of the TV is a less appealing option.
If the ratings are still down after eight weeks, it's a story. Not now.
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--WASTE OF TIME
These are stressful times for Penguins manager Jim Rutherford, who is just three months removed from kissing the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins have opened training camp, but more than $20 million worth of Rutherford's players are participating in the meaningless World Cup tournament.
Blame it on Canada. Canadians are wonderful people. The brew excellent beer, their bacon is superb and you have to love the colourful way they insert an extra "u' in certain words, eh?
But they're paranoid about hockey, and they take every challenge personally. Thus you get make-believe tournaments like the World Cup.
So Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who played into mid-June, are expending energy playing in a tournament that proves nothing. Then they'll come to Pittsburgh to begin an 82-game season, followed by playoffs that may last for two months.
Oh, Canada. Stop being so touchy about international hockey. Let the players devote their effort to the teams that pay them.
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--NO THOUGHT
You watch MLB games and wonder what's going through the players' heads, aside from an occasional gentle breeze.
Maybe they're so busy socializing with players from the other team that they forget the basics of playing the game.
Case in point: Friday night's game between Washington and the Pirates. Pedro Florimon had come into the game as a pinch runner and was on first base with two outs
Sean Rodriguez lined a ball that sailed over the center fielder's head. Replay cameras caught Florimon going at less than full speed toward second while his head was turned toward the outfield, watching the play.
The rule is the same if you're in Class A or the major leagues: Two outs, you take off on contact and run hard. If the ball is caught, it doesn't matter. At least you've had the workout of a sprint.
Florimon scored, but had to slide. A better throw may have gotten him, and added a new entry to the endless list of heartbreaking ways the Pirates have lost games this season.
Pedro Florimon, taking it easy? What's wrong with that picture?
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