Bob Nutting owns the Pirates now, and he's going to continue owning for the foreseeable future. I've had countless people in the know, from the man himself to those close to him to those who've approached him about buying, confirm that emphatically.
Not. For. Sale.
I offer this for one reason alone here: If anyone's idea of a solution for what ails the franchise is to change the owner, that's a non-starter. It won't happen and, thus, suggesting it won't solve anything.
OK, we good so far?
Because if not, in all candor, maybe this isn't the team for you. I don't offer that lightly, and I never presume to tell people who to support or not support. But this owner's going to be here. And any success this team has will come with Nutting as the owner. So that's the context. That's the prism through which any potential future needs to be viewed.
So, to that end, what could he be thinking right now?
What could he be thinking with these Pirates now out of the playoff picture, headed toward a seventh losing season out of 10 under this management, looking at little help on the way due to dismal drafting and, maybe most ominously, with both attendance and TV ratings plunging?
Oh, and his GM, manager and generational superstar all entering club-option years in 2018?
I have lots of conversations with lots of people on this and related subjects, as one might imagine, so I'll try to share some of the stronger sentiments -- meaning those that are most commonly shared by many people -- in bullet form here for you:
• He isn't selling. It's important to repeat this yet again. I know of two parties who've asked -- and I know them firsthand -- and who'd give a whole lot to buy the Pirates. And this team is not for sale. Not. For. Sale.
• Nutting doesn't believe in deficit spending, not even for a single year. That was demonstrated most powerfully after the 98-win season in 2015, and it's not going to change. He also doesn't believe that the franchise's rapidly ascending value is a factor for the simple reason that he doesn't intend to sell.
(I know that's the only bullet point that some readers will allow to resonate, but there's legitimately more here, I promise.)
• He isn't diverting money, at least not to the best of my ability to discern. It's important to mention this, too, though I know it'll convince absolutely no one who believes otherwise. Not all of the minority owners are Nutting's friends, to put it mildly. As soon as anything nefarious would happen in that regard, they'd blow the whistle. And there'd be legal trouble. And Major League Baseball and the Players Association would pounce. None of which is happening, of course.
If you want to mimic social media and radio talk-shows and talk about new ski lifts for Seven Springs, go nuts. That stuff can be fun. But there isn't a demonstrable shred of truth to it. The minority owners see all the books, all the transactions, and they'd blow this up sky-high if there were.
• Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington are basically a single entity at this point. They're inseparable. If one goes, both go. Please don't ask me to elaborate on that.
• Huntington similarly has been joined at each hip with Kyle Stark and Greg Smith, his assistant GMs who never have and never will get a call from any other team in baseball for a GM opening. But that union of these three doesn't make them anywhere near as inexorably linked to those above them, especially given the decade of failed drafting.
• The plan for several months has been to extend the contracts of both Huntington and Clint Hurdle -- meaning for longer than their 2018 club options -- and I confirmed earlier this week that remains the plan. There's no appetite for a change as this is being typed. But I've also heard since then that the plan is not set in stone. This surprised me.
• Coonelly will have virtually zero say in either scenario. Nutting makes the big calls like these.
• There's a very real awareness inside 115 Federal that two colossal contracts are coming up, meaning the TV rights deal with AT&T SportsNet that expires after next year and the PNC Park naming rights deal that expires after 2020. There's a similar awareness that having a substandard product and subpar public perception doesn't exactly help.
• The above is my own No. 1 reason for believing that Andrew McCutchen and most of the core will be brought back for 2018. A rebuild of any scope would be a disaster financially, for years to come.
• One American League executive recently texted me to laugh at some of the Pirates' recent moves: "These guys are guessing. They're just guessing." For full context, this was before the Juan Nicasio fiasco but after the Joaquin Benoit trade, though it wasn't aimed specifically at the Benoit trade.
Imagine what it'll be like if, someday, we can all get back to talking about actual baseball, right?
FROM JOSH YOHE IN PITTSBURUGH
• The Minnesota Wild announced on Friday that Ryan Malone will be attempting an NHL comeback in a training camp tryout.
Malone, 37, hasn't played in the NHL since the 2014-15 season. He was arrested while playing for the Lightning in 2014 and charged with a DUI and possession of cocaine after being pulled over with one game remaining in the 2013-14 regular season.
Let me say this about Malone: The love for him in the Penguins locker room remains strong. In particular, he remains close with Sidney Crosby.
In the year following Malone's arrest, Crosby frequently asked reporters about Malone and how he was doing. Crosby realized Malone was the first Pittsburgh born-and-trained player to reach the NHL and that local reporters kept up with his whereabouts.
"Bugsy," Crosby often said, "is the greatest guy. I hope he's OK."
From what I've been told, Malone is doing well and obviously still has the itch to play hockey. It will be interesting to see how he handles the upcoming training camp.
I spoke with Malone on Thursday night and he told me that he's willing to be interviewed next week about this opportunity. So, I will have more on his situation then.
• Jim Rutherford still wants to make a deal for a third-line center as soon as possible. As of late this week, he still wasn't especially close to making it happen. He's been saying all summer that he won't rush into a deal that isn't ready, and, as Labor Day weekend has arrived, he's standing firm. When a trade is ready, it will be ready. It's simply not there yet.
FROM MARK KABOLY IN CHARLOTTE
• From what I could gather, the Steelers are absolutely giddy that they were able to land a player like Joe Haden this late in the process. I am sure the only ones who are not happy are Ross Cockrell and Coty Sensabaugh, but oh well, right?
There was a sense of confidence from many of the defensive starters as I worked my way around the locker room on Thursday in Bank of America Stadium. It's hard to explain, but just getting a name like Joe Haden might make everybody around him better.
• William Gay isn't getting cut.
• And what a coup by Omar Khan in structuring Haden's contract. Sure, the numbers are big over the final two years -- $10 million each. But to get Haden signed at a cap number just over $3 million this year and be on the hook for only $7 million if they cut him after the season is a steal. To get that done, the player has to want to play here very badly.
• From what I am hearing, the Haden deal will have no bearing on what the Steelers plan to do with Stephon Tuitt. Now, that might mean a surprising cut over the weekend to free up some money, but that's the way it goes. The Steelers have a little more than a week to get things worked out.
• Vance McDonald sure had a whirlwind couple of days.
Get this: The 49ers played a Sunday night game in Minnesota and didn't get back to the Bay Area until 4 a.m. The next day, he was told he was traded so he hopped another plane and was in Pittsburgh by 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning just to get on another plane at 3 p.m. to travel to Charlotte for Thursday's preseason game.
"I have one suitcase," McDonald said.
McDonald isn't heading back to San Francisco anytime soon. He's letting his wife deal with all the logistics.
"I am going to stick around the facility and get a head start on Week 1," McDonald said.
