It didn't take long for the feelings about Andrew McCutchen to change radically.
In April, people were imploring the Pirates to extend his contract, which currently runs through the 2018 season.
Now it's the end of June, and people are recommending the Pirates trade him, preferably yesterday. What they might get for him is purely an afterthought. If he can be bartered to San Diego for a middle reliever and a truckload of guacamole, so be it.
There's no question McCutchen is struggling badly, the first prolonged slump of his career. If the pitching staff wasn't so bad, this would be even more of an issue. Somehow the offense has learned to function around McCutchen's sub-standard production.
What's wrong? That's a question Clint Hurdle and his coaches must spend 23 hours a day contemplating. Of all the questions the Pirates had coming into the season, McCutchen wasn't one of them.
He was the rock. Except now he's the kind of rock that causes something to sink the bottom of the lake.
That .239 average he took into Saturday's game was lower than the career averages of Clint Barmes (.245) and Jose Lind (.254).
We're long past the point where this can be dismissed as McCutchen's typical slow start. The Pirates have played 73 games.
So what's wrong? At 29, he's not over the hill. In fact, he's in his prime. He had a lousy September last year (.236 average, .743 OPS), but there was no reason to think that should carry over.
Batting second for much of this season shouldn't have mattered, either, just as returning to third spot hasn't made a difference.
The best guess is that the problem is physical. McCutchen's lingering thumb injury is an open secret, even if it's never discussed in detail. It could affect his grip on the bat. Remember the early season games when the announcers kept noticing that he had "just missed" making better contact?
The amount of swing-and-miss is unprecedented in McCutchen's career.
Here's something that might be telling:
On May 5 last year, another 0-for-4 game dropped McCutchen's average to .185 and his OPS to .574, McCutchen stood in front of his locker and defiantly promised better days were ahead.
"I know it's going to come," he said. "Get me while I'm down. Once I get going, I ain't stopping."
From that point, McCutchen hit .312 in his last 132 games with an OPS of .949.
Maybe this is telling: There has been no similar promise this season. Does that mean McCutchen isn't confident he can turn this tailspin around?
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--MOVING ON
The Penguins finally gave up on Beau Bennett, trading him to New Jersey on Saturday.
Bennett had the cool name, the unlikely southern California background and the worst luck with injuries of any hockey player.
He was always out with something. Last year he got hurt when he slammed himself into the glass to celebrate a rare goal.
Maybe a change of scenery will help him. Or maybe there will just be a different team logo on the injury list that includes his name.
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--PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Peyton Manning has listed six NFL teams he'll be rooting for this season.
The Steelers are not among them.
That settles it. No Primanti's for him. Ever.
Keep eating those chicken parm sandwiches, Omaha.
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--STATS OVERLOAD
Statistics are taking over baseball. Part of the challenge is determining which ones are relevant.
The Fox broadcast crew dropped this nugget of nothing via John Smoltz: Jeff Locke's numbers are so much better when he pitches into the sixth inning.
He's in the game in the sixth because he's pitching well.
Their version is like saying it feels so much colder when the temperature is below 30.
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