LOS ANGELES -- There's an excellent chance, Josh Harrison undoubtedly grasps, that his time with the Pirates could be coming to a close. Same goes for several others in their clubhouse, most prominently those making the most money. He's at $10 million, Francisco Cervelli at a team-high $10.5 million, and they and three others already have been made available.
And yet, in an extensive interview with DKPittsburghSports.com this week at Dodger Stadium, it was J-Hay's baseball-first-last-always approach that shone through any speculation about his or the franchise's immediate future.
I asked what it would mean to him to stay with the Pirates, the team that acquired him from the Cubs' system in 2009 and raised him into the bigs.
"Well, No. 1, if I stay here, that would mean we're taking care of business on the field," J-Hay replied, referring to the Pirates' increasingly precarious place in the standings. They're a season-low six games under .500 entering their weekend series against the Phillies at PNC Park. "Ultimately, that's what I want to do. That's what we all want to do. But other things ..."
He hesitated a moment.
"I can't really control that. I can't. I know what it was like to have those great stretches in Pittsburgh, those three years with the playoffs. I mean, just the little taste we got from those three years, I think anyone who experienced that could envision what that would be like if we went even further. I still remember, so vividly, that first wild-card game."
The Blackout. Johnny Cueto dropping the ball. Russell Martin taking him deep. Dude jumping in the Allegheny.
"I didn't even play in that game," J-Hay continued. "But I vividly remember the energy in that stadium, all around the city, the buzz. Anybody who experienced that, I don't think you'll ever forget that feeling. And even though I didn't play, that feeling was something I wanted to continue to chase."
In Pittsburgh?
"In Pittsburgh."
So what does he see, I pressed, when he looks around the room now? He was, after all, the one who crushed the front office upon the dumping of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole in the offseason, challenging them to show him they were serious or he, too, would want out.
What's here now?
"We've got guys finding their way," he said. "Every team's got guys doing that. It's just a matter of ... we're counting on a lot of those people. Guys are getting good experience. A lot of that's positive. I don't really want to single guys out, but Meadows is a guy who's come up, gotten a chance to play and really made an impact."
Austin Meadows, of course. National League rookie of the month immediately upon arrival.
"At the beginning of the season, none of us knew how long he'd take or even if he'd be up. Same with a lot of the other younger guys. Various pitchers have been up and down. Learning curves for a lot of people. And that's how it goes. There's talent here. But this game doesn't come easily even for those of us who've been around. So we've got some guys plugging away in situations they haven't been in. But that's baseball."
As ever, his only focus.
"I can't worry about anything else. This game is just too much to deal with. I've got a wife, two kids ... hey, I try to keep things as simple as I can. I understand that anything can happen. I do. But the more you worry about that, the more you lose focus on the present."
MORE PIRATES
• Clint Hurdle's the same relentlessly upbeat human as ever, but I've also sensed a gradual hardening in recent years, less of a tolerance for nonsense around him. On this West Coast trip, in particular, I saw and/or heard him summon third base coach Joey Cora into his office in San Diego within minutes of Cora costing the Pirates a game, bench Starling Marte for a game, passionately stick up for some of the organization's more questionable practices such as drafting and developing and, on the final day in L.A., finally get a little rough with Tyler Glasnow for the latter's rather soft response toward beaning the Dodgers' Justin Turner. Hurdle's a little different. More of an edge to him. -- DK in Los Angeles
• Speaking of an edge, file Gregory Polanco in that same category. He called me over in the clubhouse Wednesday after belting another home run to let me know, "Things are different now. I don't care about my last at-bat. I don't care what anyone says around me. I'm going to be the best hitter I can be. Same approach. Every time." Wow. Didn't see that coming. He's always had a little bit of that, but feeding off the down batting average and now the exceptional results of the past five weeks appear to have combined for the better. -- DK in Los Angeles
• Not one person in that clubhouse expects David Freese to remain with the team through the deadline. He's the one everyone is sure will be gone. -- DK in Los Angeles
• Much has been made of Polanco moving further from the plate. After all, he has a 1.004 OPS with four home runs and 18 RBIs in the 25 games since making the change. That's not the only reason he's found comfort, though. Polanco's parents — a source of strength during his struggles earlier this season — have been staying with him for the past month. His mother, Apolonia, typically reads Bible verses to Polanco over the phone every day. He's credited their presence with helping him relax after a trying two months. -- Lance Lysowski
STEELERS
• One of the biggest questions surrounding the Steelers this offseason was how they will improve the run defense knowing that Ryan Shazier won't be available. Well, know this: With the retirement of Seattle's Kam Chancellor, no safety in the league has more run stops when playing in the box than Morgan Burnett, at least according to Pro Football Focus. Longtime followers of my work know I don't put a lot of stock in PFF's grades. They are arbitrary. But some of their other stats, such as this one, are solid. And Burnett and Chancellor were actually tied for the league lead in run stops with 93. He also missed just two tackles last season. So no, this thought of playing Burnett as a linebacker on passing downs -- which is what he did in Green Bay last season -- isn't far-fetched. -- Dale Lolley
• The movement taking place in the NBA and some of the big contracts being given out to mediocre players has spurred talk among NFL players of trying to get guaranteed deals like the other sports. But the NFLPA is probably the weakest of the major sports unions. The problem is that it's difficult to get 53 players on a roster to agree on what's best for them. After all, does anyone believe, for example, Ben Roethlisberger or Antonio Brown are in the same financial situation as L.J. Fort or Tyler Matakevich? Quite frankly, and I've discussed this privately with a number of players, 75 percent of an NFL roster is simply trying to hang on in the league for a couple of seasons. The stars, meanwhile, are the ones who get the big contracts. It's difficult to ask a marginal player who might only have two or three years of time to make his money in the NFL to forego one of those seasons -- or even a part of it -- to be part of a walkout so the stars can make more guaranteed money. One way to make it work would be to only allow players who are vested veterans -- a player with four or more years of experience -- to sign guaranteed deals. -- Lolley
• One third of the players selected in the first round of this year's draft remain unsigned, which is something that hasn't happened in recent years because of rookie slotting. Of those players, seven were selected in the top 10. Interestingly enough, the other unsigned first-round picks are picks 28 through 32, which includes Steelers' pick Terrell Edmunds. Everyone from picks 10 to 27 has been signed. The top guys being unsigned is not all that surprising. But the last five of the first round? That is strange. Even more strange is the fact four players selected outside the first round remain unsigned. But the deals will get done. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• After signing free agents Jack Johnson and Matt Cullen, Jim Rutherford said he liked the team he has assembled and is comfortable going into next season with it. Of course that was before talks between Erik Karlsson and the Lightning started heating up. As far as the Penguins are concerned, Karlsson landing in Tampa Bay is much different than him landing on a Western Conference team such as, say, the Golden Knights. Rutherford didn't rule out making further changes and predicted there would be more moves made around the league following the start of free agency. But nothing would spring Rutherford into action more than Karlsson landing in Tampa. On paper, the Lightning might be the only team deeper than the Penguins. -- Chris Bradford
• Just because Jamie Oleksiak has filed for arbitration doesn't mean he's going anywhere, or that he'll even have a hearing. Of the 30 restricted free agents who filed last season, 29 were settled before an arbitration hearing was required. The only player who did press his case was Vegas' Nate Schmidt, who was awarded a two-year, $4.45 million contract with the Knights. He had just been claimed from the Capitals in the expansion draft. Schmidt had been seeking a one-year, $2.75 million contract, while the Knights had been offering two years and $3.8 million. The independent arbitrator simply split the difference. Oleksiak, who made $964,688 last year, should receive a pay raise either way but no general manager wants to make a case against one of his own players on why he shouldn't get paid. It makes for an awkward, if not contentious, situation afterward. Schmidt's hearing last summer lasted four hours, which is about three hours and fifty-five minutes longer than most supplementary discipline hearings. -- Bradford
• If the surname weren’t enough, one look at Jack DeBoer and you realize quickly he is the son of San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. Jack DeBoer, one of the 38 participants in last week’s development camp at the Lemieux Sports Complex, is yet another Boston University commit who spent the last two seasons with the U.S. NTDP in Ann Arbor. Though DeBoer grew up around the NHL, he says his father always kept his career and family separate. He didn't hang out in locker rooms or serve as a stick boy. But there was one player he took an interest in during the family’s time in New Jersey: Jaromir Jagr. The former Penguins superstar left quite an impression on the younger DeBoer, who was then just 13 and 14. “Just the work ethic he put in every day at the rink and in the weight room,” he said. “It was really cool to watch and he’s a really good guy. Definitely, one of the coolest guys I met.” -- Bradford
• Somewhat predictably, Tobias Lindberg was a man among boys during last Friday's 3-on-3 tournament to conclude development camp. The soon-to-be 23-year-old with a half-dozen NHL games experience, stole the show while going up against younger players on tryouts. Lindberg, who was acquired from Vegas in the Ryan Reaves trade, hasn't been back to the NHL since the end of the 2016 season while with the Maple Leafs, but the talent is clearly there. -- Bradford
PITT
• With 2019 tight end commitments from JUCO product Travis Koontz and high schooler Jason Collier from New Jersey, it’s not terribly surprising that Pitt target Nikolas Ognenovic opted against joining the Panthers and committed to Kentucky this week. Ognenovic was considered a top target of the Panthers and is a teammate of Pitt running back commitment Vincent Davis at Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He is the third player who made an official visit to Pitt on Father’s Day weekend to commit elsewhere, but that does little to put a damper on the Panthers getting 10 players who gave verbal commitments on the weekend of June 15-17. -- Matt Grubba
DUQUESNE
• Duquesne football coach Jerry Schmitt talked with me about his team for the upcoming season, but he also talked about the most eye-catching game on their schedule, a Sept. 22 road trip to Hawaii. The longest trip in Dukes history comes with an off-week after they play the game on Oahu, and Schmitt wants his team to experience more than a game against an FBS opponent. “It’s a chance for some young men to see part of the country that probably all, or the majority, have never seen, and some might never get back there,” the coach said. “There will be an educational part to it. We’re going to visit Pearl Harbor and learn some history about that part of our country, and there’s also a chance to reconnect with some former players and alumni who are out there and we don’t get to see much.” -- Grubba