ST. LOUIS — Ivan Nova gave Richard Rodriguez the benefit of the doubt. After all, Rodriguez was in the bullpen at PNC Park, far away from home plate, one inning earlier when Anthony Rizzo knocked down Elias Diaz with an illegal slide to break up a double play Monday afternoon.
However, Nova, the leader of the Pirates’ pitching staff, thought Rodriguez should have taken action when Rizzo stepped to the plate in the ninth inning. Instead, Rodriguez, a right-handed reliever, uncorked a wild pitch before allowing a two-run single to Rizzo in a 7-0 loss to the Cubs.
Nova didn't want to speculate on how difficult the situation may have been for Rodriguez, but he, like Sean Rodriguez, thought it was a time when the Pirates should have supported Diaz.
“I’ll let him speak for himself,” Nova told DKPittsburghSports.com. “I don’t know what was going through his mind or what he was aware of. As a pitcher, you should have in mind you need to protect your teammate. …You need to have that mentality. I’ve seen it happen with other teams. It’s something you have to do.”
Richard Rodriguez declined comment on the incident, yet Nova, who was standing in the dugout when Rizzo used his left leg to make contact with Diaz, said it wasn’t an easy position for an inexperienced pitcher.
Although Rodriguez is 28 years old, he made his major-league debut with the Orioles last September. He has the least major league service time among the four pitchers in the Pirates’ bullpen. Additionally, Nova said even he didn’t see Rizzo’s slide at first. He and many other Pirates were focused on Diaz’s errant throw to first base and didn’t notice what happened until they saw Diaz lying on the ground in pain and watched the replay on the video board.
Home plate umpire Bill Welke ruled Rizzo did not commit interference, and his decision stood after replay review. Major League Baseball officially reviewed the play on Tuesday and determined Rizzo's slide was illegal. Joe Musgrove handed out a different form of retribution Wednesday night with his hard slide over the second-base bag; however, many players in the home clubhouse thought Rizzo’s slide required an immediate response.
That never came. Nova didn’t scold Rodriguez for the decision. Instead, he waited to speak to Rodriguez to hear his perspective on the slide and why he chose to pitch to Rizzo in the ninth inning.
“You don’t say it straight [that he should learn from it], but there is a conversation,” Nova said. “You have to talk to him to see what he was thinking, the mentality he had on the mound, if he was aware what happened on the play.”
• Despite the departure of George Kontos, the Pirates don't want Felipe Vazquez to take on a leadership role in the bullpen. Clint Hurdle made that clear inside the visiting manager's office Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Vazquez, still only 26 years old, was preparing himself for that task, though.
"I think it would be good for me since it's another responsibility," Vazquez said. "I'm not sure how it would work, though. I'm a fun guy, so you can do whatever you want. When you go out, though, it's all about work. You can joke around when we're not working. I'll worry about the whole bullpen, but it will be fun for me." -- Lysowski in St. Louis
• Corey Dickerson switches bats, batting gloves and even batting stances as he searches for a certain feel at the plate. He also chokes up on the bat handle, sometimes going seven inches up to simplify his approach. That approach was inspired by Todd Helton. Helton, the former Rockies first baseman, would shave his beard or change his socks whenever he encountered a minor slump. -- Lysowski in St. Louis
• Coincidentally, I tried to get to know Richard Rodriguez the day before the big mess, and it was easy to see he was apprehensive about being interviewed, even after I'd asked interpreter Mike Gonzalez to help us out:
I'm not sharing that to excuse his inaction. Baseball retribution is taught in the Dominican and all the way up through every minor-league system. Rather, just giving a bit of a glimpse. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• The more I hear, the less I'm inclined to believe Jung Ho Kang will play any meaningful role for the Pirates this season. He most certainly won't be bumping Colin Moran from third base, and his surgically repaired knee wouldn't allow him to play shortstop. Second is a possibility, but only if Josh Harrison is traded. And probably not even then. -- Kovacevic
STEELERS
• I'm told Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown missing from OTAs is by design. Mike Tomlin wants quarterbacks Landry Jones, Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs taking all of the snaps in order to get the most out of them. The same goes for not having Brown around. He wants the other receivers to get as many reps as possible to get everyone acclimated. So he told both players it was OK if they made other plans -- Brown, as would be expected, is working out on his own. It makes some sense, especially after seeing Jerald Hawkins and Jake McGee go down with injuries on Wednesday. Get the younger guys as much work as possible without exposing your veterans to possible injury. At the same time, it seems awfully silly for Brown to talk about Le'Veon Bell not being around and then not be there himself. -- Dale Lolley
• It's really a shame McGee was injured. He was a guy that had garnered a ton of respect from his teammates for how hard he practiced last year while on the scout team. In fact, the veteran defenders had a little thing they did every time McGee posterized another defender -- which seemed to happen at least once a week. How much respect does McGee get? Vance McDonald and Jesse James carried his helmet, cleats and pads to the locker room for him after he was carted off Wednesday. They could have allowed the equipment guys or ball boys to do it. But they made a point of doing it themselves. -- Lolley
• If you're looking for another sleeper heading into training camp, I'm told rookie defensive lineman Greg Gilmore has been a guy who has caught the eye of the coaching staff early on. The LSU product has great size at 6-4, 308 pounds, but was considered one of the biggest snubs at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. A true nose tackle, Gilmore still had 53 tackles and 7 1/2 sacks last season, the latter of which led LSU. -- Lolley
• One thing I've noticed about Terrell Edmunds is that he is literally the first guy to take the field before practice every day. Edmunds has been on the field a good 10 minutes before everyone else for every OTA session thus far. That's a good sign for the young man. He's here to work. -- Lolley
• A few of the Steelers, particularly those on the defensive front seven, are getting tired of answering Jacksonville questions at these OTAs. That's understandable. That's not film anyone would want on their resume. But the one guy who, at least in my talks there, seems to be taking it hardest is Stephon Tuitt. Even though the Jaguars' dominance was universal in that area. Even though he had a partially torn biceps. "I'll learn from it," the big man told me. "I'll be better." -- Kovacevic
PENGUINS
• Mario Lemieux’s testimony was among 31 video depositions obtained by TSN in connection with the NHL concussion lawsuit brought on by former players. He was interviewed in Pittsburgh on Dec. 17, 2015, five days after the team promoted Mike Sullivan to head coach.
Lemieux’s deposition is hardly the smoking gun in the case as nothing he says — at least in the excerpts provided — is explosive in nature, but it’s very interesting nonetheless. Most noteworthy, considering Tom Wilson’s hit to Zach Aston-Reese this spring, is that Lemieux said at the time that he doesn’t think “all hits to the head should be penalized or suspended.”
“I don’t think it would be a good rule,” he says. “I don’t think you have to punish every hit to the head. I mean, you have a guy like (Bruins defenseman Zdeno) Chara who is six-nine and, you know, you have a five-nine or five-ten player, I mean, it’s going to happen where somebody might get hit in the head.”
Dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, Lemieux comes across as polished and very much an owner, not a player. Unlike Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who claimed to know nothing about CTE, Lemieux was never asked about the degenerative brain disorder. But Lemieux was questioned about his relationship with Sidney Crosby, who suffered a career-threatening concussion on Jan. 1, 2011. -- Chris Bradford
• I reported before the Feb. 23 trade deadline that Max Domi could be an option for the Penguins. Obviously, that trade never materialized but the Coyotes center's name is once again being linked to Pittsburgh. Domi's pedigree (12th overall pick in 2013) and his father Tie Domi's relationship with Lemieux certainly adds some intrigue. I just don't see it happening at this point. Arizona got off to the worst start in franchise history but went 17-9-3 over its final 29 games, finishing as one of the hottest teams in the NHL under Rick Tocchet. Along with Clayton Keller, Domi would seem to be one of the building blocks in the desert. Domi had eight points (seven assists) in his final five games. -- Bradford
PITT
• Jeff Capel hit a number of basketball topics when I sat down with him Thursday for our big Q&A feature, but some of the best answers were when the chat strayed from the hardwood. One thing he has picked up on quickly as a newcomer to the city is Pittsburgh’s food scene. “I wouldn’t say I have a favorite, but I have found this place really has great restaurants. The people here are very accommodating, and it’s great that we haven’t lost a game yet,” he said with a laugh. He also added that it’s still hit or miss as to whether he gets recognized in public, but he hopes he can keep one food-related safe haven: “One of the things for me that’s maybe weird is I like going to the grocery store. I hope I’m able to still do that and not be bothered too much.” -- Matt Grubba
• Football recruiting for the Class of 2019 will heat up on the South Side this weekend when Pitt hosts its first day camps of the summer at Rooney Sports Complex. Saturday is the “Rising Star” day, but Sunday is when things really ramp up during the “Senior Elite” day designated for rising high school seniors. At the camps, coaches will get a look at dozens of prospects — many of them local, but some coming from out of state — to get a better idea of where they stack up on the field. Expect offers and, possibly, some commitments to start being announced after the weekend wraps up. -- Grubba