Pittsburgh Steelers

Friday Insider: Neil Walker going, going …

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Neil Walker takes his cuts in the cage earlier this week at Pirate City. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …

• Sure sounds like Neil Walker is on his way out of his hometown.

It might not happen soon or even this season, depending on how the Pirates fare, depending on how quickly Jung-Ho Kang and/or prospect Alen Hanson come along. But I’m more convinced than ever, via multiple conversations in the past week, of these three things:

1. The Pirates’ recent multiyear offer, one that Frank Coonelly spoke about publicly last month, was little more than a dressed-up attempt to buy out Walker’s two remaining arbitration years, this and next, plus one year of free agency. As anyone familiar with baseball finances can attest, this type of term is aimed at getting a discount on the arbitration process, nothing more.

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2. Had Walker signed such a deal, with an aim of staying in Pittsburgh, it would have come at a marked discount, and he’d have had no assurance he wouldn’t be traded.

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Polanco, Staal, Tuitt, Ferry

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Gregory Polanco smashes a ball high and just to the right of the big batter’s eye at Pirate City. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. Use the comments below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling.

UPDATE 9 a.m.: Away we go …

Radio Wave: DK, do you think most Pittsburgh fans are in favor of or against Major League Baseball’s new pace-of-game rules?

Tuesday12Qs

DK: I’ll sometimes praise or criticize fan behavior or sentiment, but I’ll never advise on what anyone does or should think. I’ve honestly got no clue, though I’d be interested to hear more of what some of you think beyond what I’ve already read in comments.

It was brought up with Clint Hurdle in Bradenton a couple days ago, and he bluntly told us he wouldn’t put much more thought into it than happily supporting any initiative MLB wants to take in this regard, adding, “We’re aware that we’re in the entertainment business, and I know that Joe Torre has done a lot of work on this.”

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Friday Insider: Pirates push pen competition

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Maximizing efficiency, two coaches hit infield practice while another tosses balls Thursday. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BRADENTON, Fla. — Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …

• No competition in spring training?

That’s undeniably true among the Pirates’ position players and starting pitchers, barring health issues, but management and the coaching staff have taken concrete, including behind-the-scenes, steps to ensure it doesn’t apply to the bullpen.

Yes, the picture looks almost as airtight there: Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Antonio Bastardo are locks. Jared Hughes and John Holdzkom are near-locks, and I separate those two mostly because both have options and could be demoted with a decisively discouraging spring. If they fare well, they’ll fly north.

That would appear to leave two more spots, but it’s really just one.

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As Neal Huntington laid out for me Thursday in stark detail, “We anticipate that the odd man out of our rotation, assuming Charlie Morton’s health, will be one of our multi-inning relievers.”

That’s a clear reference to Vance Worley and Jeff Locke, one of whom will be bumped to the pen if Morton recovers from hip surgery for opening day. More on that later.

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Kang, Kam, Cam, Christian

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The headquarters building at the Pirate City minor-league complex in Bradenton. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. Use the comments below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live.

UPDATE 9 a.m.: And off we go …

Tuesday12Qs

Doug Molhoek: What player are you most interested in seeing how he performs this spring training?

DK: From a pure performance standpoint, it’s impossible, I’d think, to not be tantalized by Jung-Ho Kang, given all that he’s accomplished in Korea and the fact that he’s blazing a trail for countrymen. Each pitch, each at-bat will be worth watching closely.

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Podcast: Full show hosted on 105.9 the X

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Here’s the podcast of my hosting a full show today on 105.9 the X, filling in for Mark Madden. Had a blast. Focused mostly on Evgeni Malkin being taken off the Penguins’ top power play, but there was some Steelers and Pirates in there, too.

These were the first, second and third hours of the show. Thanks to the subscribers, in particular, for calling in and hearing the little bell!

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Friday Insider: Steelers veering away from vets

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Troy Polamalu and his secondary mates share a moment late in the playoff loss to the Ravens. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …

• The Steelers have absolutely, positively not made up their minds about any of their four classic veterans — Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor — but that fact alone, coupled with what I’ve learned this week is their intention to keep other players at those same positions, is making a return look immensely unlikely.

And I mean for any of the four.

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Situations can change, of course, but the current defensive priority on the South Side, based on conversations I’ve had this week, is twofold:

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Morning Java: Home improvement

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BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

From someone who gets stuck watching way too much HGTV as background noise, here are three wholly unsolicited home improvement suggestions for our big-league sports facilities.

Column: Colbert calm amid Steelers’ storm

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Kansas City Chiefs v Pittsburgh Steelers

Kevin Colbert laughs on the Steelers’ sideline before a December game at Heinz Field. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

As steward of the Steelers, a franchise that’s founded not so much a following but a freakish Nation of fanatics, Kevin Colbert’s level of calm can come across as spectacularly ironic.

“It’s good,” the GM was telling me Tuesday from the team’s South Side headquarters. “We’re off to a good start, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re excited.”

Yep, all good. Got it.

Because all that was being described in that low-key, good-uncle voice was a summer’s challenge that includes, oh, signing the franchise quarterback to a multiyear extension, bolstering a secondary that’s sprung more leaks than the CIA, deciding the future of several iconic Steelers, building up to a 2015 schedule that will include both Super Bowl finalists and, just for good measure, all else that accompanies free agency and the draft.

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Borts, Big Mac, Brandon, baseball

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Robert Bortuzzo and the Canucks' Zack Kassian fight Saturday in Vancouver. -- GETTY

Robert Bortuzzo and the Canucks’ Zack Kassian fight Saturday in Vancouver. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. (Which undoubtedly is a great idea given how sensationally I’m recovering from seven flights in six days!)

Use the comments below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live.

Tuesday12Qs

UPDATE 9 a.m.: And away we go …

turk482: Everyone seems focused on a top-six winger, but watching the Pens in some recent struggles, it seems that they miss the physical presence of a Brooks Orpik-like defenseman more than another winger. Neither Robert Bortuzzo, Scott Harrington or Rob Scuderi seem to fill that need. Should this be their trade deadline focus?

DK: It is, actually, as I reported from Western Canada. And yes, it absolutely should be.

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Friday Insider: ‘Time running low’ for trade plan

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Calgary Flames v Pittsburgh Penguins

Blake Comeau scores in the Penguins’ Dec. 12 win over Calgary. He’s due back next week. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

CALGARY, Alberta — Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …

• The NHL trade deadline is March 2, which is almost a month away and, yet, far too close for the Penguins’ comfort, if one asks Jim Rutherford.

“Time’s running low,” the GM was telling me yesterday as part of a wide-ranging conversation we had on the state of the team. “If you think about it, we’ve really only got a couple of weeks.”

Couple of weeks rather than a month?

“We need to see what we’ve got.”

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That made immediate sense. Because as Rutherford went on to explain, management’s foremost priority as it relates to the deadline is to find out if they’ve already got the top-six wingers they need. And that, of course, means waiting on Blake Comeau, who should be back in action next week.

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