Pirates optimistic after taking 'leap' forward in 2018

By Will Graves, The Associated Press

http://www.ncnewsonline.com/sports/local_sports/pirates-optimistic-after-taking-leap-forward-in/article_ea500e50-d2ee-52a9-bbf1-041813b149a4.html

October 2, 2018

Jameson Taillon #50 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 29, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Kirk Irwin/Getty Images North America)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Neal Huntington raised eyebrows last winter when the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager said the club’s decision to trade franchise cornerstones Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole wouldn’t affect the team’s ability to win the World Series in 2018.

The message Huntington was trying to send was lost in his unwieldy delivery: that flipping Cole and McCutchen for younger major league talent would help the Pirates contend into 2019 and beyond.

While Huntington’s short-term version was spot on — the Pirates were out of the playoff picture by late August — whether his long-term vision pans out remains uncertain.

Yet he and manager Clint Hurdle are confident Pittsburgh took a significant step forward in 2018. The Pirates won 82 games — just the franchise’s fourth winning season in a quarter century — and head into 2019 with far fewer question marks than a year ago.

The starting rotation, led by breakout seasons by Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams and an uncharacteristically aggressive move at the trade deadline to acquire Chris Archer from Tampa Bay, morphed from a question mark into an exclamation point. The catching tandem of Francisco Cervelli and Elias Diaz was among the most offensively potent in the National League. Third baseman Colin Moran — part of the deal that sent Cole to Houston — was steady if not always spectacular in his first full season. Left fielder Corey Dickerson hit .300 and proved more than capable of playing above-average defense at spacious PNC Park. Closer Felipe Vazquez was an All-Star again and received help when the Pirates acquired reliever Keone Kela from Texas.

“We had ups and we had downs,” Taillon said. “I think you saw a lot of growth from young guys. I think this group is going to be together for a long time. That’s exciting to me.”

The key over the next six months is finding a way to carry that momentum forward. Having the front office splurge for some offensive help for a group that finished in the bottom half of the major leagues in runs, home runs, slugging and OPS would help. So would consistency. The team took a step toward addressing the problem yesterday, announcing that hitting coach Jeff Branson and assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey will not return next season.

The Pirates in 2018 were equal parts promising and problematic. How else to explain a year that included a 26-17 stretch, an 11-31 free fall, an 11-game winning streak, a 10-17 August and a 16-10 September?

“The best players, the best teams in our game find a way to keep the good stretches longer and the bad stretches shorter,” Huntington said. “We need to find a way to do that collectively and individually.”

A look back and forward at a team that believes it is poised to be a legitimate factor next summer.

YOUNG GUNS

Taillon looked every bit the staff ace Pittsburgh expected when it drafted him in the first round nearly a decade ago. The 26-year-old won 14 games overall and posted a 2.33 ERA after the All-Star break, a mark that was only good enough for second on the team after Williams shook off a bumpy stretch to go 7-3 with a 1.38 ERA in his final 12 starts.

The only real question mark for the rotation in 2019 is if Ivan Nova returns. The veteran turns 32 in January, is due $9.1 million and went 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA, making him an expensive luxury for a fourth starter.

MIDDLE MEN

The last links to Pittsburgh’s run of three straight playoff berths from 2013-15 could be moving on. Shortstop Jordy Mercer will become a free agent and the Pirates are unlikely to exercise their $10 million club option on second baseman Josh Harrison.

Adam Frazier showed he’s capable of taking over for Harrison after hitting .306 with seven home runs in the second half. Kevin Newman will be given an extended look in spring training to replacing Mercer.

POWER OUTAGE

First baseman Josh Bell hit just 12 home runs this season and Bell is well aware that total needs to go up in 2019.

“If I can do damage to the opposite gap and kind of put some pressure on the pitcher, especially in (PNC Park), pitchers will start making mistakes and I can start putting the balls in the seats,” Bell said. “That’s just for me personally. I have some growing to do this offseason.”

Who is Pablo Reyes?

By Noah Hiles
https://thesportsdaily.com/2018/09/20/pittsburgh-pirates-who-is-pablo-reyes-pbd11/
September 20, 2018

(Gene J. Puskar/AP)

With football season now in full swing and the Pittsburgh Pirates having to finish nearly perfect to even have a chance at the postseason, it is understandable why some fans have already checked out.

However, the Bucco fans who have yet to jump ship have been introduced to a player that exemplifies what September baseball is all about.

On September 4, the question, “Who the hell is Pablo Reyes?” could be heard echoing throughout the half empty walk ways PNC Park prior to the start of the Pirates game against the last place Cincinnati Reds. Due to the Bucs being a small market team, most of the players in Triple-A are well known prior to making their major league debut.

It is not very often that a player makes it to the major leagues completely under the radar. Yet, unless one was deeply invested in Pirates spring training or following the Indianapolis Indians this season, it would be completely understandable for them to not know who the hell Pablo Reyes was.

That is no longer the case.

After playing in just 10 major league games, fans are now beginning to have some interest in the life of Pablo (A big shout out to All the Kanye fans who get that reference). Standing at 5”8 and weighing in at 170 pounds, it is hard to picture a guy like Reyes as a professional athlete.

I myself thought he was just a family member of another player on the team the first time I saw him in the Pirates clubhouse in early September. However, ever since he has been given a shot to prove himself on the field, he has shown everyone that not only is he a ball player, but he might actually be a good one.

With just 10 games remaining in the 2018 season, it is safe to say that Reyes has been the most productive September call up for the Bucs not only this season, but for a long time. He has been a tough out at the plate, displayed great hustle on the bases and proved to be reliable at multiple positions in the field.

From his 1.060 OPS, to his impressive catches and throws, Reyes has made sure that anyone who is still watching Pirates baseball will remember his name for next year.

With that in mind, where does he fit into the 2019 picture?

Originally, the idea of Reyes making an opening day roster for a major league ball club sounds comical but there are a few factors in play that might allow Pablo to stay in the big leagues.

Unless Gregory Polanco recovers from his shoulder injury faster than the doctors expected him to, the Pirates will be without their starting right fielder to begin next season. Add in the departures of Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison and you have three open starting spots to fill. It is safe to assume that Adam Frazier will be in one of those three spots even if the Pirates do sign a few veterans in the offseason.

Frazier’s spot on the bench can and should easily be filled with Reyes.

Like Frazier, Reyes is versatile in the field, shows the ability to hit at the top of the order and is someone who will give you 100 percent effort any time his name is in the lineup.

The Pirates might have prospects who are bigger, stronger or a higher ceiling than Reyes but what they don’t have is a rookie that has come up from Triple-A this season and outperformed him.

We all now know who the hell Pablo Reyes is.

He is a major league ball player and he should be wearing a Pirates uniform on opening day, 2019.

For Pirates, shooting for a winning season only makes sense

By Kevin Gorman

https://triblive.com/sports/pirates/14093679-74/for-pirates-shooting-for-a-winning-season-only-makes-sense

September 18, 2018

Ryan Lavarnway (63) celebrates after his 11th-inning walk-off single that gave the Pirates a 2-1 win over the Royals on Tuesday night. It was their second consecutive walk-off win and pushed their record to 76-74. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

When the Pittsburgh Pirates won by walk-off Monday night against the Kansas City Royals, it marked their 75 th victory to match their win total from the 2017 season.

The Pirates are within striking distance of a winning season, something that might seem insignificant given that they are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture.

With the Pirates on the brink of being knocked out of contention for the NL Central title on Tuesday – either a loss to the Royals or a Chicago Cubs win would do the trick – I asked Pirates manager Clint Hurdle how important it was to finish with a winning record.

“It’s always important to have a winning season,” Hurdle said. “When things are taken off the table – to win the division is taken away – we are trying to win every game we play. We also are trying to improve our team daily, so there’s a methodology to that. Sometimes, it makes sense to other people; sometimes, it makes no sense to other people.

“There is a level of competition that you like to keep in place when you’re playing teams that are fighting – the Brewers, the Cubs, the Cardinals. Different storyline here (with the Pirates and Royals) – there were a lot of young players on the field last night, both sides.”

A winning season should be the goal, if only because the Pirates have had so few over the past three decades.

Consider that the Pirates have had only six winning seasons since 1990. All six of those teams advanced to the postseason, and only one finished with less than 94 victories (88-74 in 2014).

The winning campaigns, however, came in short stretches. The Pirates averaged 96.3 wins from 1990-92, but lost in the NLCS all three years. They averaged 93.3 wins from 2013-15, but lost in the NLDS once and in NL wild-card games at PNC Park twice.

Outside of those six winning seasons, the Pirates haven’t cracked the 80-win in a non-playoff campaign since 1988, when they went 85-75.

That’s an amazing all-or-nothing approach toward winning baseball.

Going into Tuesday’s game against the Royals at PNC Park, the Pirates needed to win seven of their 13 remaining games to finish above .500.

“You keep score for a reason. Winning matters,” said Hurdle, who was hired following a 105-loss season in 2010. “I think, within the context of the clubhouse, we talk about winning way more than you would even guess we talk about winning.

“However, we don’t need to get a shirt that says, ‘Let’s win’ or ‘We need to win 82.’ We had this conversation when I first got here. I get that. I think there’s always a sense of winning more games than you’re losing when you get to that point where it’s real. It’s real for us now. We want to win more than 82 games. However, our focus is to win more games than we lose right now because of where we are.”

The focus, however, seems to be more on evaluating the September call-ups than anything. Or, as Pirates broadcaster Steve Blass put it, for the young players to show their capabilities and what they’re capable of.

Pirates starting right-hander Joe Musgrove won Game 5 of the World Series last fall with the world champion Houston Astros, so it’s no surprise he wants a winning record.

“I think we’d like to finish above .500,” Musgrove said. “I think every team would, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the focus of our team. We’re trying to win as many games as we can. Regardless of whether we’re in it or out of it, you always want to try to go out and win.”

The Pirates had five winning seasons in the 1960s, including a World Series championship in ’60. They had nine winning seasons in the ‘70s, with World Series titles in ’71 and ’79.

To put this in perspective, the Pirates had more winning seasons (four) in the 1980s than in any decade since. And the ‘80s are considered one of the worst decades in modern franchise history, as the Pirates followed the ‘79 World Series championship with drug trials and a slow decline that reached its nadir with a 104-loss season in ‘85.

I would imagine that most, if not all of the Pirates players aren’t aware that the club has had only six winning seasons in three decades. They seem more concerned with trying to finish the season strong, knowing that playing .500 baseball would allow them to finish with 81 wins.

“Once you’re out of it, it takes the ultimate goal out of the picture of making it to the postseason and trying to win a championship,” Musgrove said. “It doesn’t make the season become a waste, and it doesn’t mean you burn your last 20-30 games just to get through the season.”

But there is importance in the experience and experiments that can occur in a stress-free September. The Pirates have tinkered with an all-homegrown lineup. They have started rookie infielders Kevin Kramer, Kevin Newman and Pablo Reyes, sometimes at positions they haven’t played much, so that they can make evaluations.

That can be invaluable to a team that has important decisions to make in the offseason, such as whether to pick up the option on Josh Harrison, re-sign free agent Jordy Mercer and go to arbitration with Corey Dickerson or to invest in stopgap measures at their respective positions.

But the goal should be a winning season, every season.

Even if the goal is only 82 wins, it’s better than 78 in ’16 and 75 last year. Not only would it exceed expectations for a club some predicted to lose 100 games after the Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole trades but also give incentive to the front office to invest for a playoff push.

“The goal was to make the playoffs but whatever we do this year sets the benchmark higher for next year,” Musgrove said. “The more wins we can pull out in these last two weeks, we’ll set the tone for next year. We always try to continue to grow and move up. If we get 82 wins this year, we’d like to exceed that next year.”

That was Musgrove’s way of saying winning breeds winning, a mentality missing from the Pirates for the better part of three decades.

When it comes to a winning season, the Pirates need to show their capabilities and what they’re capable of.

Does that make sense?

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news .

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

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If there's debate, Pirates can't retire Barry Bonds' number

By Tim Benz

https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/timbenz/breakfastwithbenz/13971300-74/tim-benz-if-theres-debate-pirates-cant-retire-barry-bonds-number

August 14, 2018

A lot of newspaper inches , TV and radio opinions and web space have been dedicated to a debate over whether the Pirates should retire Barry Bonds' No. 24.

This is occurring in the wake of the San Francisco Giants' retiring Barry Bonds' No. 25 last weekend while the Pirates were in San Francisco.

El Flaco

✔@bomani_jones

bonds might be the biggest factor in getting that ballpark built in san francisco. that’s way before the juice. say what you want about the hall of fame, but there is no justification for not retiring his number. and it’s insane that the pirates haven’t.

10:07 AM - Aug 12, 2018

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If there is so much debate, then it shouldn't happen.

Period.

After all, who would that jersey retirement be for? Bonds himself? Or the Pirate fans?

If it's for Bonds, do you think he'd really care? Bonds probably — probably — would show up for the ceremony. I wonder if he'd ever come back after it was over, though.

And if it's for the fans, if so many people are debating the merits of having the ceremony, what's the point? It's a self-defeating debate. If a large enough portion of the fan base is against it, don't bother.

It doesn't have to be a majority, mind you. But if one-third or 40 percent of the fan base — a group Bonds once accused of being racially biased — doesn't want a guy's number retired, maybe he shouldn't get the honor.

Wait for a while. Maybe old grudges still need to die. Maybe the Pirates need to get to a World Series first so people can forget the postseason failures of the early 1990s.

OK, that'll never happen. Or if it does, Bonds might be getting his number retired posthumously. And it may be at a renovated or replaced PNC Park by then. But you get the point.

To a large degree — in every sport — we've diluted our halls of fame to "Halls of Above Average." Maybe we are doing the same thing with the jersey retirement mentality.

Just because a player was great, that doesn't mean they get their jersey retired. If that was the case, Dave Parker would have his No. 39 up on the wall already.

He wasn't as good as Bonds, but by Pirates standards, he was good enough.

Parker falls into the same trap that Bonds did. Despite his greatness, a lot of the team's fan base disliked him on his way out the door and harbored ill will.

With an extra 10 years since he left, those wounds have healed. My guess is if Parker were to get his number retired tomorrow at PNC Park, you wouldn't hear any boos.

You certainly would if Bonds did. Not more than cheers. But you'd hear some.

That's the root of my point. A jersey retirement is the kind of event where everyone should be on the same page. It should be such an obvious call, the player being honored should be getting universal approval.

If there's a jersey retirement debate over a player as historically good as Bonds, then let's not have the debate. It simply shouldn't be done.

I've never heard anyone suggest that Bill Mazeroski was as good as Roberto Clemente, but the honor and applause when No. 9 got retired was unfettered because of what Mazeroski meant to the team's history.

I don't think Andrew McCutchen did enough to get his jersey retired here. He agrees. I'm sure some other Pirates fans do, too. But that doesn't mean that if the Pirates were to do it, people would be emotionally conflicted about McCutchen getting the honor.

They'd embrace the event, even if it was unnecessary.

Heck, I was emotionally conflicted every time Bonds came up to hit. I thought he was such an enormous jerk that I hated to see him succeed. But those Pirates teams he led would've been average, at best, without him.

This is not an argument about steroids. Bonds wasn't on steroids here. This isn't an argument about a lack of longevity as a Pirate or postseason failures. Ralph Kiner played roughly the same amount of years here and never got to the playoffs. His number is retired, and no one thinks twice about that.

This is an argument of practicality and tone. And if the tone from a significant portion of the fan base is to not retire the number, then it's impractical to even continue the argument.

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Giants’ Andrew McCutchen recalls Barry Bonds’ home run pursuits: ‘You got upset if he got a base hit’

By John Shea

https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Giants-Andrew-McCutchen-recalls-Barry-Bonds-13145777.php

August 9, 2018

Barry Bonds’ number-retirement party, set for Saturday, hits home for Andrew McCutchen. Like Bonds, McCutchen was a league MVP outfielder in Pittsburgh before joining the Giants.

Two differences, though: McCutchen was traded (Bonds signed as a free agent) and arrived at a more advanced age.

“To have that honor, I think it’s pretty cool for him,” McCutchen said Thursday. “I’m happy to be here and be a part of it.”

McCutchen, 31, was 6 when Bonds joined the Giants in 1993 — wearing No. 25, also his dad Bobby’s number — and vividly recalls Bonds’ path to the all-time home run record, set in 2007. When Bonds became the season homers king in 2001, McCutchen was 14.

“Growing up as a kid, I always sat down in front of the TV to watch him hit a home run,” McCutchen said. “That was it. I didn’t care about a single or walk or double or triple. I wanted to see a homer. I wasn’t the only kid or even adult who felt like that. He might’ve been the only person of that era who made a base hit seem pretty boring. You got upset if he got a base hit.”

Now that they’re both on the same payroll, McCutchen has gotten to know Bonds better, starting in spring training. Bonds is a Giants special adviser.

“He looks at the game through a different lens compared with a lot of people,” McCutchen said. “It’s one of the reasons he was the player he was. To pick his brain a little bit every now and then, it’s really neat. He’s a scholar in the game. You’ve got a question, he’s going to answer it in a different way than someone else may answer it.

“His brain is literally different. ... I might be thinking just hit the ball up the middle. He’s thinking in a totally different lens. He’s thinking about catching the ball with his bat. Little things like that.”

Asked about the Hall of Fame, which has been out of Bonds’ reach because of his link to performance-enhancing drugs, McCutchen said, “I don’t make those decisions. Nothing I could say about it. He has the numbers to be there.”

Pirates acquire Adeiny Hechavarria, cash from Rays

By Jerry DiPaola

https://triblive.com/sports/pirates/13944816-74/pirates-acquire-adeiny-hechavarria-cash-from-rays

August 6, 2018

With time running out on this season and the Pittsburgh Pirates in danger of falling out of wild-card contention, general manager Neal Huntington decided he wanted to continue tinkering with the roster.

Huntington made a deal Monday to add infield depth when he acquiredshortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed relief pitcher Matt Seelinger. The Pirates also received cash considerations in the deal, but they also must delete a player from the 25-man roster or place someone on the disabled list.

It appears to be a trade of a rental player, however. Hechavarria is not signed for the 2019 season, but the Pirates will be on the hook for 31 percent of his $5.9 million salary this year (approximately $1,829,000).

The Rays designated Hechavarria, 29, for assignment Wednesday after he hit .258 with three home runs and 26 RBIs in 61 games (57 starts) this season at shortstop. But he’s a reliable fielder who was one of MLB’s top triples hitters until this season.

He had a 94-game (319 chances) errorless streak that ended June 30 against the Houston Astros. Those were the longest such streaks in Rays history for a shortstop.Before this season, his 35 career triples since 2013 are tied for third in MLB behind Dee Gordon (40) and Charlie Blackmon (37).

He also ranks fifth in the majors in games played (734) since 2013. He was a National League Gold Glove finalist in 2014 and ‘15 when he was with Miami Marlins.

Hechavarria made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 before spending the next four years (2013-16) as the starting shortstop for the Marlins. He was traded to the Rays last year.

Seelinger, 23, is 1-3, with a 3.03 ERA for the Single-A West Virginia Power in the South Atlantic League. He recorded seven saves and allowed six home runs in 31 2 ⁄3 innings.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.

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As Pirates gear up for playoffs, Andrew McCutchen wonders why this season is different

By Bob Nightengale

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/giants/2018/08/06/andrew-mccutchen-giants-pirates-trades-playoffs/912047002/

August 6, 2018

PHOENIX -- San Francisco Giants right fielder Andrew McCutchen sat watching the moves, his mouth agape, trying to comprehend what was happening in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh. 

Where was this aggressive behavior during those dozen years McCutchen was in the Pirates’ organization? Why didn’t this happen when they were in the thick of the playoff race the past four years? And why in the world did they ever dump him and ace Gerrit Cole within a 48-hour span just seven months ago? 

This was the only team in baseball who failed to sign a major-league free agent last winter, a key component in the Major League Players Association’s grievance. The Pirates shaved $19 million in payroll with the McCutchen and Cole trades. 

Now, they’re one of the big boys on the block, acquiring starter Chris Archer and reliever Keone Kela and assuming more than $30 million in salary obligations.

There are so many questions, and McCutchen has so few answers. He simply shakes his head and grins in disbelief. If there are any ill feelings, he isn’t expressing them publicly. 

“It was definitely surprising to see because they’ve never done that before, at least when I was there,’’ McCutchen told USA TODAY Sports. “Yeah, they made trades when I was there, but nothing like getting an ace starter. 

“You either change with the times, or you get left behind. Maybe they were tired of getting left behind.’’ 

Maybe it was winning 15 of 19 games before the trade deadline? Maybe it was the drastic decline in attendance to the tune of 368,000 fans? Maybe, as McCutchen said, it was just learning from their past. 

“You’ve got to understand the fanbase, what we’ve been though the past few years, not winning, and having a window to win,’’ McCutchen said. “... Maybe, it comes with experience knowing that they need to act and get the pieces they need, as opposed to the past, where they said, “Hey, we’re good with what we got.’ ’’

The Pirates have gone decades without making a significant move at the trade deadline. They would make a slight modification, stand pat, or sell since they ended their 20-year losing drought in 2013.

Still, they passed at the trading deadline in 2013, making trades only after Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd cleared waivers in August. They didn’t do a thing in 2014. They grabbed Aramis Ramirez, J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton and Joakim Soria in 2015. And they gave up in 2016, trading closer Mark Melancon and starter Francisco Liriano. 

Now, here they are, acting like they’re the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers, with their World Series’ odds dramatically dropping from 250-1 to 40-1. 

Where was all this action back when they were smack in the middle of the National League Central race, winning 98 games in 2015, but watching everyone else make the big moves? 

“We felt we had a good team to compete,’’ McCutchen said, “but then you see other teams making those moves, getting the key pieces to their team to make them stronger, and you feel like, 'Dang, we’ve got to do something, too.’ 

“It just didn’t happen.’’ 

The Pirates, 7½ games out of first place and five games back for the second wild-card spot with a 57-55 record, were more aggressive than at any time before, despite having an inferior record and being further back in the standings than at this time in 2012-2015. 

“This is a clear statement that we have an opportunity we can seize,’’ Pirates president Frank Coonelly told Pittsburgh reporters, “and we have to take an aggressive position. We’ve taken a position that is probably more aggressive than we have in the past in that regard, in part because we think we have better depth than we’ve had in the past.” 

The shame is that McCutchen isn’t in Pittsburgh to enjoy this renaissance and celebrate the reawakening of an organization, perhaps going where no Pirates team has gone since the days of Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla.

Three weeks from now, who knows where McCutchen may be playing? 

The Giants aren’t in the thick of the NL West race, but they’re not out of it, either. They are hanging around, 5 games out of first place behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, and trailing the Colorado Rockies. 

McCutchen, a free agent after the season, likely will be placed through waivers this month and clear, considering his $14.75 million contract. The Giants will hang onto McCutchen if they believe they are in contention by the end of August. If not, they’ll trade him. 

“It should be a pretty interesting August,’’ says McCutchen, who’s hitting .265 with 12 homers and 46 RBI, after hitting 28 homers with 88 RBI a year ago. “We’re still in this thing, despite all of our injuries, and the front office still has the belief we can do this. 

“It’s so much better to be in this situation than when you’re out of it, and are selfish, just stacking up numbers.’’ 

If the Giants fall out of it and decide to trade McCutchen, wouldn’t it be cool if he winds up in Pittsburgh the final month, giving the team depth, leadership, and a link to their past? 

His No. 22 still is available. Archer changed uniform numbers and took No. 24 out of respect for McCutchen, saying it should be eventually retired. 

“I didn’t talk to him about it,’’ McCutchen said, “but it was nice of him, respectful. Who knows where I’ll end up. I try not to think about that. 

“I want to win, I really do, but I want to win right here.’

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