BRADENTON, Fla. -- Sure, there's been a bunch of grumbling at the Pirates' spring training, from the moment the first of the pitchers and catchers reported. One after another, it seemed, Josh Harrison, David Freese, Sean Rodriguez would pipe up complaints about the front office, soon followed by some kind of comeback from the front office.
Well, forget that now.
Thursday marked my first day down here this spring and, coincidentally, it might have marked the end of the drama. Tony Clark arrived in the morning for his annual meeting, took questions from the players regarding the union's recent grievance against the front office's failure to properly spend revenue-sharing monies, then made some pretty powerful remarks afterward. But when I later surveyed some of the above veterans -- and several others -- there was just nada. Not on the record. Not off the record.
One of those veterans told me, "There's nothing we can do. We can just come together and play good baseball."
That was everywhere. Part of the reason, I was told, is that it's all been discussed, all been played out. Another part is that Jameson Taillon, the newly anointed union rep -- he formally replaced Gerrit Cole in that role at that same meeting Thursday morning -- is far more the cerebral type than the pop-off type.
Taillon even downplayed the very term 'grievance,' saying, "I'm not sure what I'd call it," before adding, "We're all just focused on what we need to do."
MORE PIRATES
Austin Meadows won't be on the Pirates' opening day roster, no matter how he performs in spring training. Surely Clint Hurdle and the front office are pleased with Meadows' 5-for-8 start, and yes, there is a need for a fourth outfielder. However, the plan is for Meadows to head back to Triple-A to prove he can stay on the field and perform well consistently when he's on it. They also don't think he'd benefit from a role off the bench. -- Lance Lysowski
• That said, the Pirates face a predicament now that Daniel Nava is out 10-12 weeks. Hurdle and Neal Huntington want the club's fourth outfielder to be an experienced player who could excel as a pinch-hitter. After all, the Pirates got a .193 batting average from players coming off the bench last season. So, the club will look at free-agent options rather than handing the job to a young player such as Meadows. Jayson Werth, Jon Jay and Seth Smith are names to watch. -- Lysowski
• Elias Diaz won't be used as a typical backup catcher this season. The Pirates plan on being creative with getting Francisco Cervelli more days off, although management is aware that this plan will likely irk their starting catcher. They are willing to do whatever it takes to keep Cervelli healthy, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with it. -- Lysowski
PENGUINS
• The week after the NHL trade deadline is kind of like the day after Christmas, minus all the 50-percent-off sales and, oh, there are no returns. For good or bad, the Penguins are basically who they will be when the postseason comes around in about 45 days time. That said, there will almost certainly be call-ups from Wilkes-Barre as injuries are part of doing business. Could Daniel Sprong be one of those? Couldn't hurt, but I wouldn't hold my breath either. When Olli Maatta went back to the dressing room during the first period Thursday night it cast a pall over the Penguins. They are very thin on the back end and can ill afford any injury. -- Chris Bradford in Boston
• The decision to go with Casey DeSmith over Tristan Jarry in Boston last night certainly raised a few eyebrows given the magnitude of the game and the opponent. Don't read into it that the organization is somehow down on Jarry or that he's in some kind of doghouse. For one, Mike Sullivan doesn't have a doghouse, he bristles at the term. The Penguins simply want to get a look at DeSmith at the NHL level before making any decision on who the long-term (i.e. playoff) backup to Matt Murray will be. DeSmith was making just his seventh career start. No matter what happened against the Bruins, it's not much to go on. The money is still on Jarry to win that job. -- Bradford
• Kevin Stevens was in the press box Thursday night to take in two of his former teams. Big Artie looks great as he faces a long road to recovery. -- Bradford
• Jim Rutherford tried harder to add a defenseman at the deadline than he publicly conceded, but the one who was most available -- Johnny Oduya on waivers, eventually claimed by the Flyers -- wasn't of interest. -- Kovacevic
• I've seen Olli Maatta down. He's been through a lot, obviously, in his still-brief NHL career. But I'm certain I've never seen him as upset with himself as in the days following his practice shot striking Matt Murray in the face Monday. I tried to bring it up with him at one point this week, and he could barely speak. There's a reason for that. Practice and skate protocols are a huge part of the hockey culture, and events like that can be taken seriously from within. -- Kovacevic
STEELERS
• Kevin Colbert paid some lip service to the possibility of drafting a quarterback this year. But it largely was just that. While the Steelers had some legitimate interest in Deshaun Watson last year and might have taken him if he had fallen to them in the first round, with Ben Roethlisberger saying he would like to play at least three more years and the Steelers needing to fill some holes, there's little doubt the team's first-round draft pick will be spent on an inside linebacker or a safety. They can talk "best player available" all they want, but it sure seems the "best player available" always happens to be at a position of need. -- Dale Lolley in Indianapolis
• Though they remain adamant they want to get a long-term deal done with Le'Veon Bell before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, it's unlikely to happen. And the Steelers will place the franchise tag on Bell once again. They will continue to try to work out a long-term deal, but that could be unlikely, as well, once that $14.5 million guarantee is out there. Bell is unlikely to accept a multi-year deal that pays him less than $14.5 million per season or even the $12.1 million he made last year unless the Steelers include a lot of guaranteed money. And they're not going to do that. -- Lolley
• One name I keep hearing come up when talking to people in regard to the Steelers and replacing Ryan Shazier is Ohio State's Jerome Baker. Though nobody expects Baker to run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash as Shazier did here a few years ago, the 6-1, 225-pound Baker could turn in something in the 4.5 or 4.6 range. -- Lolley
• The Steelers are interested in bringing back J.J. Wilcox, but not at the $3.8 million he'll count against the salary cap. If Wilcox will agree to take a pay cut, he'll be back in Pittsburgh, despite struggling in 2017. The Steelers feel he'll be better in 2018 if he gets a full offseason and training camp with the team, something he didn't get last year after being acquired at the end of the preseason. -- Lolley
PITT
• Don't think of this as more than a collection of hunches based on a collection of info, but Kevin Stallings might not want to be back next season. I was told at the Pete in the past week that the environment that's closest to the basketball program -- meaning the fans, alumni and all else -- is such that he'd basically be swimming upstream even within what, theoretically, should be his greatest support base. Not exactly sure how to take that, but sharing nonetheless. -- Kovacevic
• Much is being made of Pat Narduzzi hiring Paris Johnson — whose son, Paris Jr., is a four-star sophomore offensive tackle prospect with offers from Ohio State, Michigan State and Notre Dame, among others — as Pitt's assistant director of player personnel. But I was told by multiple sources that Pitt still isn't among Paris Jr.'s top choices. It's important to remember that there isn't typically longevity with player personnel positions. -- Lysowski
• The turnover on Narduzzi's staff has to be a cause for concern. Only four assistants from his original staff in 2015 are still at Pitt. For what it's worth, I've heard he's not easy to work for. -- Lysowski
PENN STATE
• Will the Nittany Lions have all of their defending National Champions on the mat this weekend for the Big Ten Championships? Well, after spending time in the wrestling room this week it's clear that Penn State isn't saying much about the injured Jason Nolf, who hasn't wrestled in the past month while recovering from a knee injury. Just how close are they playing it to the vest? Nolf said he was unaware he'd been cleared and that he'd take the mat this weekend while Cael Sanderson said minutes prior that Nolf would be good to go. It left everyone in the room puzzled as the media was whisked out the door without any clarity. I've never covered anything as odd as the exchanges that were polar opposites from wrestler and coach. So, I wouldn't rule out a Nolf forfeit this weekend since his ticket to NCAAs is already punched. If he does step on the mat, look for the staff to keep a watchful eye on him. If he's not 100 percent they could pull him early. -- Audrey Snyder in State College, Pa.
• Penn State's biggest surprise with linebacker Micah Parsons has been his positive attitude. While the strength coach said he didn't expect anything else, that fact that his attitude was mentioned a couple times during a brief media session tells me all I need to know about just how much they were holding their breath with their prized 5-star signee. They weren't alone in that regard. That had been the case for his entire recruitment, but Penn State accepted the risk with open arms despite his sometimes immature behavior scaring other teams off. -- Snyder