DENVER -- So, the Pirates are now bound to be buyers, right?
Sure looks that way. Sweeping the Brewers is precisely what Neal Huntington had publicly set as the bar in that regard, and that was achieved with gusto, as we all witnessed this week.
But here's something else to know, and I'm told from a richly reliable and well-placed team source that it's been known inside 115 Federal Street for weeks: They were never going to be sellers.
Not on any significant scale, anyway, meaning something on the order of trading Andrew McCutchen or Gerrit Cole.
What I was told is that there was "no appetite" for the backlash that surely would have resulted. And believe it or not, the backlash in question, according to the source, wasn't related to the public, even with attendance having plummeted by 400,000 fans since last season. Rather, it was the potential for backlash from those taking the field everyday, meaning players, coaches, the manager, everyone wearing a uniform.
And it was Huntington, I'm further told, who deemed that potential scenario unacceptable.
That's it. That's all I know on that front.
However, I'll stress this point for clarity: No one with whom I've spoken ever said or suggested that this scenario actually played out. Again, it was Huntington's call based on the potential for it happening. He apparently was in tune enough with those on the field to get the sense that he did and act on it accordingly.
Read into that what you will.
My own take, and it's strictly my viewpoint rather than something firm from the inside like the stuff above: The selling off of McCutchen and/or Cole could have been received so badly that, had the season continued going sideways as it was before this recent run, it easily could have morphed into an all-out collapse. And with both Huntington and Clint Hurdle in the final year of their contracts, one or both might not have survived it.
• I asked Gregory Polanco if he'd ever seen footage of Dave Parker, referring mostly to the Cobra's long swing and uncanny resemblance with Polanco on the follow-through.
"Oh, for sure," El Coffee replied. "I see a lot of him."
There's a reason for that: Hurdle and Jeff Branson will occasionally show footage of Pirates greats to their players when applicable. That's Hurdle's brainchild. It teaches lessons about both baseball and the franchise's history.
• Tony Watson and Juan Nicasio have both settled big-time since their recent rough spells.
Their secret?
"Nothing, really," Watson told me.
"Just pitch," Nicasio fairly echoed. "Sometimes things don't work for you. So you just pitch."
That might actually be the most Insider-y thing I've ever contributed to this feature. Because more often than not, the solutions genuinely are that simple.
FROM DUSTIN DOPIRAK IN PITTSBURGH
• Since I got started on the Pirates beat, and especially since the season started, I've been getting questions about the mood in the dugout, how they take wins and how they take losses. And in the middle of a conversation at the Lunatic Bash last week, I came up with a good way to describe the actual tenor of the Pirates clubhouse.
The guys don't have swagger. Maybe McCutchen and Cole do, but not the group as a whole. By that I mean they don't go into every game certain that they will win because they believe they are better than everyone else. I'm not even sure I'd go so far as to say they have confidence. But what they do have — and I don't mean this in a religious sense — is faith. When things go wrong, they don't ever seem to have the sense that they are losing their grip or that things are starting to unravel. They believe if they keep showing up, keep working hard and keep taking the field, things will get better. And they don't seem to be overly concerned about what that means in terms of their record. There's a lot of trusting the process with this group.
It's cliché, because every team tells you that they don't get too high and they don't get too low. And the Pirates have been saying that all year. But this might actually be one of those teams that is telling the truth.
• That being said, DK's above post shows a good taking of the temperature from Huntington. I can't imagine how this team would handle anything even close to a fire sale. Forget McCutchen and Cole, I'm not sure how they'd handle a trade of, say, Josh Harrison or David Freese, John Jaso or Watson. I'm sure they'd get over it, but I think it would be an issue.
• Since DK mentioned the bullpen, I'm planning on addressing that in a story tomorrow, but I think a not-small part of the improvement is that the other guys actually draw confidence from Felipe Rivero and the fact that he's got the ninth inning. I always found Hurdle's rationale for not immediately naming him the closer when Watson was unplugged to be perfectly reasonable considering no one else was performing well enough to trust them to get Rivero the ball, but once Watson and Daniel Hudson settled in and found a groove, it made sense to define the roles, and there seems to have been a rise in everyone's confidence level.
• McCutchen found out this week that he and his wife's baby, due in December, will be a boy. This made for some joking angling in the clubhouse to have a hand in the boy's name.
Francisco Cervelli suggested "Francisco Starling McCutchen." Outfield coach Kimera Bartee made sure McCutchen knew his name was spelled K-I-M-E-R-A.
FROM MARK KABOLY IN PITTSBURGH
• The Steelers put the offer that they felt was fair on the table and Le'Veon Bell said no. That's fine. Nobody should have a problem with that.
But when Bell came up with some crazy idea that he wants to be paid like a No. 1 running back and a No. 2 receiver, it should be concerning about Mr. Bell's employment with the Steelers over the long term.
If that is his view, although it's a goofy view -- what's next, quarterbacks being paid for running and linebackers being paid as defensive backs as well? -- that's fine, but that signifies to me that next year's going to be much the same.
It's hard to imagine a situation where the Steelers would offer Bell enough under his parameters to get a long-term deal done next year as well. So, it appears it might be a two-year leaser: $12 million this year, $14 million next year, and then turn it in.
• I wonder what the offensive line thinks about Bell pounding his chest about being the No. 1 running back in the league? Sure he is, but those five guys up front have just a little to do with it.
• I would imagine Alejandro Villanueva will sign his exclusive-right free agent tender and show up to camp on time. That will buy him six more weeks to hammer out an extension.
• If Villanueva doesn't show up, it could really damage his ability to get that long-term deal done. The Steelers really like Jerald Hawkins -- their fourth-rounder last year who missed the entire season with a shoulder injury.
If Villanueva isn't there, it will give Hawkins an opportunity to showcase himself to the staff. If they confirm what they think they know, then there's no need for Villanueva.
That's just how things work.
• Don't be surprised if Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert get extensions this week.