ST. LOUIS -- No, the Pirates didn't react prematurely when word got out that the Blue Jays were set to spend the summer at PNC Park.
And no, the Pirates weren't going to make a penny off the scenario, had it come to pass. Other way around, actually.
Upon picking up a lot of the local reaction following the news a couple days ago that Pennsylvania's Department of Health had nixed the arrangement by the two teams and Major League Baseball that they'd share Pittsburgh's stadium in this 60-game, pandemic-set season, I reached out to sources I've long trusted to try to find out what really went down, and here it comes with a barrage of bullets:
• Once Canada's government banned the Blue Jays from conducting their season in Toronto, a handful of other teams extended offers to help. The Pirates, with Ben Cherington and assistant GM Steve Sanders being fresh from that front office, were among them. This all occurred at the team level.
• The Pirates turned to Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh's mayor, and Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County's executive, for advice and support, as they'd done with all their recent processes at PNC Park related to safety. They received both advice and support.
• The Blue Jays originally targeted Sahlen Field, home of their Class AAA affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y., but Toronto's players made clear to management they preferred a big-league setting with big-league amenities. When PNC Park was brought up, all concerned approved.
• While the local politicians turned to Harrisburg for the approval that was ultimately needed at the commonwealth level, the Pirates, Blue Jays and MLB continued to work out details, fully aware the season was to open ... well, today. They didn't have the option to wait on a decision to begin logistics.
• Once the news broke in the Toronto Sun that the Pirates and Blue Jays were connecting on this, Travis Williams, the Pirates' CEO, put out a statement in response to several media requests to comment on the matter. Nowhere in that statement did he describe the deal as done or even close to done.
• Once Canada's Sportsnet broke that the Pirates and Blue Jays had reached a full agreement, there was no announcement of any kind from either team. No politicians reacted publicly in any way, either, unless one counts Peduto retweeting my tweet that day about a silly combo Jays/Steelers logo. (I don't count that, though a few of his critics did.)
• Williams and Dennis DaPra, PNC Park's only-ever general manager, and the Pirates' equipment staff began the significant tasks of planning what'd be needed for the Blue Jays, though they hadn't yet reached the stage of physically rearranging anything by the time the deal was nixed.
• The Pirates' motivation for doing this, which seems to have been the greatest cause of local speculation, was as simple as it was pure: They respected the Cherington/Sanders connection to the Blue Jays, and they wanted to do right by all concerned. I've heard that from far too many people I've known for far too long for it not to be true.
• As for any profit that might've been involved, that, too, wasn't the case. I'm told definitively that the Blue Jays had vowed to cover all 'hard costs,' per one source, and that the Pirates still weren't going to be reimbursed -- because they didn't ask -- for the significant amount of staff hours already invested. In fact, and here's the punchline to this whole piece: The Pirates likely would've lost a small amount of money by engaging in this endeavor.
• The only financial winners in the equation, I'm further told, would've been the part-time workers, emergency workers, security and others who'd have had nearly 30 additional dates to get paid, as well as the North Shore hotels serving the Blue Jays and the visiting teams for those games, as well as other businesses in the area that would've been permitted to participate in that same hospitality such as food preparation, delivery, cleaning, etc.
There isn't always a bogeyman in this narrative.
MORE PIRATES
• The Pirates were only able to have a few full group meetings during summer camp because of MLB's health and safety protocols and the Allegheny County Department of Health's order. The players were also separated, with position players being housed in the home clubhouse and pitchers in the visitors. That will change as the regular season starts, as the Pirates are adding lockers to the middle of the home clubhouse and moving the coaches to make sure all the players can stay in the same clubhouse whenever they are home. Some teams are adding an auxiliary visitors clubhouse site, so they might be broken up again on road trips, and they may need to continue to make adjustments as the season progresses. But for now, they are going to be able to spend more time together as a complete team while still socially distancing themselves and following the guidelines that are in place. -- Alex Stumpf at PNC Park
• Derek Shelton has said the Pirates will not have a traditional closer in Keone Kela's absence, instead using different relievers based on the leverage of the situation. That could include pitching them in earlier innings, as he and bullpen coach Justin Meccage expect to get "creative" this year. They almost have to, as none of their relievers have much experience pitching in the ninth. Of the 10 pitchers in the opening day bullpen, not counting Steven Brault or Chad Kuhl, they have a combined four saves: two from Kyle Crick in 2018, one by Richard Rodriguez in 2019 and one from Chris Stratton in 2017. That doesn't mean they don't have a reliever who could fill that role, just that they aren't experienced in the role. As far as leverage innings go, Crick, Rodriguez, Nick Burdi and potentially Michael Feliz are in the mix to pitch those meaningful innings. -- Stumpf
• The Pirates weren't originally planning on adding anyone from their alternate training site in Altoona, Pa. for their opening day roster, but Jason Martin got the nod over Socrates Brito Thursday. That's partially because their 40-man roster filled up with their other additions, such as Nik Turley and Phil Evans, but also because Martin could fill a niche role thanks to the expanded rosters: extra-inning pinch-runner. Martin is one of the best base runners on the roster, and teams will start extra innings with a runner at second base. The batter who made the final out of the inning will be the person in scoring position, and if it's a slower runner, Shelton could pinch-run Martin and then potentially replace him in the field with another player. Assistant hitting coach Mike Rabelo managed in Class AA last year, where they have this extra-inning rule, and he and Shelton had been having conversations about how to approach the scenario. It also doesn't hurt to have a fourth true outfielder on the roster in Gregory Polanco's absence, especially since Martin can play all three positions. -- Stumpf
PENGUINS
• Riley Barber, the Washington, Pa. native acquired from Montreal Feb. 20, didn't get a spot on the Penguins' postseason roster, but still might have a place in their future. Indeed, Jim Rutherford said that the Penguins want to re-sign Barber, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He had three goals and three assists in seven games with their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre after putting up 13 goals and 18 assists in 39 games with the Canadiens' farm team in Laval. "We liked what he did (in Wilkes-Barre)," Rutherford said. "We had a tough (postseason roster) decision to make on him. He was highly considered for bringing him into camp, but just based on how the positions shook down at camp and whatnot, it didn't work out. But we like him, and we like what he did, so hopefully, we can re-sign him." Barber, 26, does not have a point in 12 career NHL games, including nine with Montreal in 2019-20. He played this season on a two-way contract worth $700,000 when he was in the NHL, $300,000 when he was in the minors. -- Dave Molinari
• Mike Sullivan might have done his best coaching job during the 2019-20 regular season, leading the Penguins to a 40-23-6 record despite losing 302 man-games, many of them involving key personnel, because of injuries. That wasn't enough to get him a place among the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the NHL's top coach as chosen by the league's broadcasters, but that doesn't detract from the work he and his staff did. One of Sullivan's great strengths -- and one that might be easy to overlook -- is his ability to identify, then act on, details that easily could have gone undetected, but could pay off during games. At least two examples of that emerged during the Penguins' current training camp, which is preparing them for their qualifying-round series against Montreal that begins Aug. 1 in Toronto. Because each of the Penguins' first three games is scheduled for 8 p.m., which means they will be the last of three games contested at Scotiabank Arena on those days, Sullivan had the Penguins practice on ice that, under normal circumstances, would have been resurfaced, but he had his players work on it to prepare them for the possibility of sub-par playing surfaces in those evening games. Then, during the first two camp scrimmages, during which each squad had two lines and two defense pairings, he built in a 45-second break when a third line and pairing would have been on the ice during a conventional game, getting players acclimated to being on the ice for every third shift. Will any of that affect how the Canadiens series, or any that might follow it, will play out? Perhaps not. But having an eye for things that just might give his team an occasional edge is one of the qualities that makes Sullivan one of the game's premier coaches, whether he gets a trophy to show for it or not. -- Molinari
• While there still is no word on whether former Penn State center Nikita Pavlychev will accept an AHL contract offer from the Penguins, who made him a seventh-round draft choice in 2015, the chances of that seem to be fading, since they proposed the deal many weeks ago. "We'd like him to stay with us," said a Penguins source. "But being that it's taken this long, he may go a different route." Bill Guerin, entering his second year as GM in Minnesota, had a keen interest in Pavlychev during his stint as assistant GM with the Penguins, and might be a candidate to offer him an NHL contract. -- Molinari
• The Penguins have done a good job of coming up with team-building exercises for years, going back to the days when they were among the first clubs to spend time at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. They apparently won't be able to plan any activities for their players during their time in Toronto, however, because the league will organize and oversee all such events -- and only after teams have been in the hub-city "bubble" for 14 days. "(The league has) set things up," Rutherford said. "Of course, they have to be careful, keeping everybody protected and in the bubble. I don't know exactly what all they're going to do. The league does that. We can't do that. It's tight guidelines, as it should be." -- Molinari
STEELERS
• NFL teams could open training camps for their rookies last Tuesday. The Steelers chose not to do so. In fact, it doesn't appear any teams did so. Why? With negotiations still ongoing on how many players would be in training camp -- a number that was finally settled on at 80 -- teams knew some of those rookies they were bringing in weren't going to be around long. So why bring them in and risk a coronavirus infection? The Steelers only have 16 rookies on their 90-man roster, anyway. They signed a number of players from the XFL this year instead of going the undrafted rookie free agent route. That move turned out to be a prudent one considering the entire offseason program was canceled. They at least have tape of those guys playing in what is as close to a preseason game as we will see this year. The college players? They can only judge them from what they saw of them playing mostly against guys who didn't or won't ever make it into an NFL camp, especially players from smaller schools. -- Dale Lolley on the North Shore
• Don't think the Steelers weren't paying attention to the five-year, $125-million contract extension to which the Browns signed Myles Garrett. Garrett was the top pick in the 2017 draft, the same year the Steelers selected T.J. Watt in the first round. And both guys are considered edge rushers, even though Garrett is a true defensive end and Watt is an outside linebacker. In three seasons, Garrett has 31 sacks and five forced fumbles in 37 career games. In his first three years, Watt has 34.5 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and three interceptions in 47 games. Watt is going to want a contract that pays every bit of what Garrett received in a deal that included $50 million in guaranteed money. And the Steelers, who definitely want to keep Watt, will have to pay that. Currently, the Bears' Khalil Mack is the highest-paid outside linebacker in the league at an average of $23.5 million per season. Watt is, at the very least, going to top that deal. -- Lolley
• The Steelers informed their season ticket holders they would still like to have fans -- at least some -- in the stands this season. But fans also have to remember that the decision won't be up to them. That fact was driven home by the ridiculous decision by the state this week to not allow the Blue Jays to play their home games in Pittsburgh. The state is deciding whether or not fans will be permitted to attend games. Previous reports out of Philadelphia have said the governor has told the Eagles that they won't have fans in the seats for "the foreseeable future." And that report came out before the recent surge in coronavirus cases due to increased testing. It's hard to believe the governor would allow the Steelers to have fans in the stadium while telling the Eagles no, even though Pittsburgh's coronavirus numbers remain nowhere near those of Philadelphia. -- Lolley
