Penguins score 4 in 2nd period in 7-2 win over Red Wings

By Larry Lage
https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/pit/
March 26, 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins' Trevor Daley (6) celebrates a goal by teammate Phil Kessel, right, as Detroit Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg (40), of Sweden, skates away during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

DETROIT (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins pounced on the Detroit Red Wings in the second period, scoring four goals and showed no mercy with three more scores in the third.

Three Stars

1. 
   1)Phil Kessel
   #81, Pittsburgh

   G:	1
   A:	4
   Pts:	5
   +/-:	3
   PPP:	2
   SOG:	6

2. 
   2)Carl Hagelin
   #62, Pittsburgh

   G:	2
   Pts:	2
   +/-:	3
   PPP:	0
   SOG:	5

3. 
   3)Nick Bonino
   #13, Pittsburgh

   G:	1
   A:	4
   Pts:	5
   +/-:	4
   PPP:	1
   SOG:	4

Detroit, meanwhile, moved a step closer to possibly missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Carl Hagelin scored twice, Phil Kessel had a goal and four assists and Nick Bonino's career-high five points helped Pittsburgh rout the Red Wings 7-2 Saturday.

''We knew this was a key game, and we played like it,'' Hagelin said. ''The Red Wings have been getting closer in the race, so it was big to get two points and keep them to none.''

The Penguins boosted their chances of earning a 10th straight trip to the playoffs and hurt Detroit's quest to extend its postseason streak to 25.

Pittsburgh has won seven of eight, staying ahead of the New York Islanders for the third guaranteed spot from the Metropolitan Division.

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The Penguins, already without injured forward Evgeni Malkin, lost two players to upper-body injuries during the game.

Forward Chris Kunitz scored early in the second and left the game late in the period after Pavel Datsyuk hit him without the puck and was called for interference. Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin was checked into the boards in the first period by Justin Abdelkader, leaving him with blood on his face and he did not return.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan ruled Dumoulin out of Sunday's game on the road against the New York Rangers, who are just ahead of Pittsburgh in the division.

''We'll re-evaluate (Kunitz) and he'll be a game-time decision,'' Sullivan said.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves, facing just four shots in the third period.

View gallery

Pittsburgh Penguins' Nick Bonino (13) skates towards the goal against Detroit Red Wings' Bre …

The Red Wings started the day a point behind Boston for third place in the Atlantic. Detroit is also in a closely contested race with the Islanders and Philadelphia to be the two wild-card teams that earn spots when the season ends in two weeks.

''We have to look forward,'' Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek said. ''We have seven games left.''

The Red Wings pulled Mrazek, for the second time this season against Pittsburgh, late in the second after he gave up four goals on 15 shots in the period.

''We have to play better obviously,'' he said. ''They have a good skilled team up front.''

Detroit's Jimmy Howard didn't fare much better, giving up three goals.

View gallery

Pittsburgh Penguins' Nick Bonino, left, celebrates his third period goal, scored against Detroit …

The Penguins scored a season-high in goals and Detroit gave up seven for the first time this season.

Andreas Athanasiou put Detroit up midway through the first period, but a fired-up crowd at Joe Louis Arena didn't have much to be happy about the rest of the afternoon. The fans who stuck around until the end booed as the Red Wings skated off the ice.

Kunitz tied the game 20 seconds into the second, then Kris Letang, Hagelin and Kessel followed with goals in the period to put the Penguins ahead 4-1.

Detroit pulled within two goals 5-plus minutes in the third, then Eric Fehr, Hagelin and Nick Bonino scored to restore the lopsided score in the final period. Bonino also had four assists.

''It was frustrating,'' Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. ''It was embarrassing.''

NOTES: Datsyuk made his 300th career assist and joined Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman as the players in franchise history with at least 600 goals and 300 points. ... The Penguins swept the season series 3-0, scoring 13 goals against Mrazek and getting him benched twice. ... Detroit, which had won three of four games, hosts Buffalo on Monday night. ... Penguins Ben Lovejoyplayed after missing 16 straight games with an upper-body injury.

Whether as a starter or reliever, Pirates' spring sensation Juan Nicasio thankful to be pitching

By John Perrotto

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

March 24, 2016

(Chris O'Meara/AP)

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Juan Nicasio may begin the season in the Pirates’ starting rotation or the right-hander might work out of the bullpen as a middle reliever.

Nicasio will learn his fate relatively soon because spring training is winding down. The Pirates beak camp April 1 then open the season two days later by hosting the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.

Nicasio isn’t sweating the decision.

“I’ve been a starter and I’ve been a reliever in my career,” Nicasio said. “I know I can do a job and help the team win however they want to use me. They have been a winning team here the last three years and I just want my new teammates to have confidence that I can help win games.”

The 29-year-old also has quite a bit of perspective on the game.

While pitching for the Colorado Rockies as a rookie in 2011, he was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Washington Nationals’ Ian Desmond. The impact of Nicasio’s fall after being knocked unconscious resulted in a broken C-1 vertebra, the type of traumatic injury usually associated with a severe automobile accident.

Doctors initially feared Nicasio would be paralyzed but he battled back to resume his career the next spring.

“I don’t really like to even talk about it,” Nicasio said politely. "I never think about it anymore. When I go to the mound, I think about the hitter and stopping him. I don't think about getting hit. You can’t think that way. I’m just thankful to God that I am still pitching.”

The Pirates signed Nicasio to a one-year, $3-million contract as a free agent in December with the idea that would serve as a middle reliever. However, the Pirates also decided to use him a starter in spring training to assure they had depth in case someone in their projected rotation suffered an injury during Grapefruit League play.

While the starters have stayed healthy except for right-hander Gerrit Cole’s delayed start to the spring because of a ribcage injury, Nicasio has forced his way into the rotation picture. He is now competing for two open spots with left-hander Jeff Locke and right-hander Ryan Vogelsong behind Liriano, Cole and lefty Jon Niese.

With the caveat that spring training statistics are often meaningless because of the varying levels of competition, Nicasio has not allowed a run in 15 innings over five appearances. If the Grapefruit League had a Cy Young Award, Nicasio would be a strong contender.

He was most impressive March 18 when he struck out 10 in just four innings while facing the Baltimore Orioles. No Pirates pitcher has recorded that many strikeouts in that few innings during a regular-season game since at least 1913, according to baseball-reference.com.

Nicasio has made 71 relief appearances and 70 starts during his five-year career with the Rockies (2011-14) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2015). His 3.74 ERA pitching out of the bullpen is more than a run lower than his 5.12 ERA while working in the rotation.

However, 37 of Nicasio’s starts came at the mile-high altitude of Coors Field when was with the Rockies He has a 5.23 career ERA in Denver and a 4.19 mark everywhere else.

Nicasio posted a 3.86 ERA in 53 games, including one start, last year in his lone season with the Dodgers. Most notably, he allowed only one home run in 58 1/3 innings after serving up 19 in 93 2/3 innings in 2014 during his final season with the Rockies.

"You look at a man's stats who pitched at Coors Field and somewhere else and it's almost like a disclaimer,” said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who held the same job with the Rockies for eight seasons from 2002-09.

“To be a starter in Colorado the numbers can be skewed. You have to look deeper."

Related:

http://espn.go.com/blog/jayson-stark/post/_/id/1567/juan-nicasio-the-pirates-latest-reclamation-project

Pirates' Melancon a model for career relievers

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

Pirates closer Mark Melancon delivers during a spring training game against the Orioles on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.

BY ROB BIERTEMPFEL

http://triblive.com/sports/

March 25, 2016

FORT MYERS, Fla. — If one of his college teammates had gotten better grades, Mark Melancon might never have become the National League's best closer.

In 2004, Melancon began his freshman season at the University of Arizona as a middle reliever. By the time the team went to the College World Series, Melancon had earned the closer's role.

The following season, coach Andy Lopez decided to move Melancon into the starting rotation.

“But the closer they'd brought in didn't make grades,” Melancon said. “So I just went back to that role.”

It was the first twist in a long road that led Melancon from a rerouted college career to the back end of the Pirates' bullpen.

Melancon has closed out games — often with happy endings, but sometimes not — for six minor league clubs, the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. Last year, he set a Pirates record by collecting 51 saves and won the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year award.

A two-time All-Star, Melancon will make $9.65 million this year and is poised to snare an even bigger paycheck this winter as a free agent.

How much different would things be if Melancon had become a back-of-the-rotation starter at Arizona more than a decade ago?

“Yeah, I've wondered about it,” Melancon said with a smile. “You are able to paint the picture a little bit longer as a starter. That would be fun. I'd like to see how it would work out. But I guess that's not in the cards for me.”

Many relievers are converted starters. Not Melancon. The Yankees drafted the right-hander in the ninth round in 2006, planning all along to groom him as a closer.

“We are all failed starters down there in the bullpen — except Mark,” setup man Tony Watson said in a respectful tone.

Melancon could have begged the Yankees to give him a shot as a starter, but that would have meant more time in the minor leagues.

“I kind of came through the ranks quickly, so I didn't want to take a step back,” Melancon said. “Everybody wants to take the quickest way to the big leagues.”

Melancon spent two seasons with the Yankees then was dealt to the Astros for slugger Lance Berkman. Melancon got 20 saves in 2011, then was dealt to the Red Sox.

“Everywhere I've been, every pitching coach has said, ‘Man, I think you could be a good starter, but …' ” Melancon said. “I'm OK with it.”

By the time Melancon was traded to the Pirates, he was firmly established as a reliever. He didn't become the full-time closer, though, until Jason Grilli faltered midway through the 2014 season.

Closers are a bullpen's high-wire performers; even a slight slip can lead to a fall. When Melancon endured a bumpy stretch last April, alarms went off.

Do failed closers end their days as No. 5 starters? Melancon can't provide that answer — he quickly righted himself, wound up an All-Star and put together a record-setting season.

An experienced evaluator from another team believes Melancon still has the stuff of an elite closer.

“You hate to compare anyone to Mariano Rivera, but Melancon's cutter is so good command-wise, it's unbelievable,” the scout said. “He can dot both sides of the plate with that cut fastball. His location is impeccable.”

Would Melancon's command be as good if he had to get 18 or more outs a game instead of three? Would his intensity be as sharp? Perhaps.

But Melancon also knows that taking the unusual path of being drafted and developed as a reliever helped him reach his full potential. In that sense, maybe he is a trailblazer.

“Given the way bullpens are shaping up now, I think guys will be drafted as specialized relievers more often,” Melancon said. “Half of the game is bullpen anymore. If you can draft a guy who know will be a good closer or a good late-inning guy, I can see how there's a lot of value in that.”

Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.

NHL needed to be bold in addressing Weber hit. It wasn’t

By: Ken Campbell on March 22, 2016

http://www.thehockeynews.com/

Filed under: News, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Suspensions,Washington Capitals

Many will react to the news that Mike Weber of the Washington Capitals did not receive supplementary discipline for boarding Bryan Rust of the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend with the same incredulity Hall of Fame coach Roger Neilson did so many years ago. “There are two things you don’t want to know in life,” Neilson once said. “What goes into hot dogs and what goes on in the NHL’s New York office.”

You watch the replay of Weber’s hit on Rust and it seems outrageous that there was nothing beyond the boarding major and misconduct that Weber received, which removed him from a game that was already decided with just 11:21 remaining. No hearing, no fine, no suspension. Nada.

In the absence of an explanation from the NHL’s department of player safety, we can only assume that those who examined the hit came to the conclusion that Rust bore the responsibility for it by placing himself in a vulnerable position. And Rule 41, which governs boarding, clearly backs them up. “There is an enormous amount of judgment involved in the application of this rule by the Referees,” Rule 41.1 reads. “The onus is on the player applying the check to ensure his opponent is not in a defenseless position and if so, he must avoid or minimize contact. However, in determining whether such contact could have been avoided, the circumstances of the check, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the check or whether the check was unavoidable can be considered. This balance must be considered by the Referees when applying this rule.”

Fair enough. If you accept the premise that Rust put himself in a vulnerable position “prior to or simultaneously with the check,” – and your trusty correspondent does not – then you should also accept the premise that, in the eyes of the NHL, Weber actually did nothing wrong. So if that’s the case, why was Weber’s boarding major and misconduct not rescinded by the league?

The people who handle these things for the NHL often talk of an incident, “rising to the level of supplementary discipline.” This is their way of saying they’re fine with the penalty on the ice, basically implying that time served is a harsh enough sentence for the offense. The fact that Rust was not hurt and returned to the game, and in fact had an assist on the Penguins sixth goal in a 6-2 rout, likely had something to do with that. But more likely was the fact that Rust was quoted after the game as saying, “I had a chance to really think about it. Maybe I turned at the wrong time and that was just bad timing.”

But what these rulings do, and what the NHL doesn’t seem to grasp here, is that these rulings provide fertile breeding ground for potentially far more serious and damaging incidents to occur. It’s true that Rust skated away unscathed and returned after a round of concussion protocol. But we all know how potentially dangerous these head-first-into-the-boards hits can be. By not suspending Weber or not rescinding his major, the league is essentially giving the players all kinds of mixed messages.

The first is to those taking a hit. That message is that if you’re chasing a puck in the corner and you want to get an opponent out of the game, it’s actually OK to turn at the last second because you’ll succeed in getting the player kicked out. And it’s telling those who make the hits that, when it comes down to it, the player being hit actually has a far more important onus on himself and that, while you might get a major and a game misconduct, you actually won’t be treated very harshly.

And so what is that going to do? Well, it’s going to encourage players to continue to turn their backs at the last second and hitters to drill them from behind on the numbers. And hey, what could possibly go wrong with that kind of thinking?

My view of the hit is that Weber had all sorts of time to realize what could potentially happen as the play unfolded and that Rust, despite his mea culpa, had no other option than to stop up and play the puck in a vulnerable position. I thought he deserved to be suspended.

But that’s beside the point. What matters here is what the NHL’s department of player safety thought and the message it’s sending. And that’s where the hot dog analogy Roger Neilson made decades ago still seems to apply today. The league’s failure to make a bold ruling one way or the other is going to lead to disastrous results one day.

A matter of Hart: Sidney Crosby has legit shot at MVP

BY ALLAN MUIR

http://www.si.com/nhl/

March 21, 2016

(Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire)

Sidney Crosby has twice captured the Hart Trophy.

He might be on the verge of making it three.

Crosby's candidacy for the league's top individual prize gained legitimacy over the weekend as he extended his point streak to 12 games with his third consecutive multi-point effort and moved into third place in the scoring race with 76 points.

Make no mistake: Patrick Kane, the NHL's leading scorer and most consistent offensive threat over the course of the season, is still the favorite to claim the award. If he does, he'll become the first American player to be so honored.

But heading down the home stretch, Kane is no sure thing. In fact, there's a case to be made that he's not even the most valuable player on his team—goaltender Corey Crawford has been championed by more than one Chicago writer as the player who makes the Blackhawks go.

There are no such questions about Crosby's importance to the Penguins. The 28-year-old center got off to the worst start of his career, hampered by the nervous coaching of Mike Johnston and a rotating crew of linemates who reduced his effectiveness in the offensive zone, and Pittsburgh struggled along with him. By the start of December Crosby had just five goals and 15 points with a –10 rating to show for his first 23 games. It was troubling enough that questions were raised about his roster spot on Team Canada for the upcoming World Cup.

But he soothed concerns with improved results in December and January, and then completely put them to bed with his play since the All-Star break. He's been the league's best player by any measure during that stretch, totaling 14 goals and 35 points since Feb. 1. Kane's numbers over that same span: nine goals and 19 points ... solid, but barely half of what Crosby's put on the board. For the season, Sid is outscoring Kane at five-on-five points per 60 minutes, 2.68 to 2.63.

And it's not just on the score sheet where Crosby is making his case. As a center, he has a larger responsibility for supporting the defense than a winger but he handles it so well that he's picking up steam as a viable Selke Trophy candidate—an award for which Kane won't earn consideration. Crosby consistently faces the opposition's top line and he often does it from his own zone. He starts just 52.7% of his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone, tied for 133rd among the league's forwards. Kane has a much easier time of things, starting 67.4% of the time in the attacking zone. He's tied for sixth-most among all players.

As Crosby has found his game, so have the Penguins. Pittsburgh is 16-7-1 since Feb. 1, including the current 5-0-0 run since losing Evgeni Malkin to injury. The Pens have rocketed from fourth in the Metropolitan Division and the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference to second place in the division. It's not inconceivable that they could finish the season with the second-best record in the East.

If that happens, and if Chicago continues to flounder in third place in the Central, it'll be hard to ignore Crosby's impact. In fact, it could come down not to the definition of what makes a player the most valuable, but when a player is the most valuable.

Kane's been a consistent threat, but his best play came earlier this season. Crosby, on the other hand, is delivering the goods at crunch time. That's not just better for the Pens as they cope with Malkin's loss, but it's more likely to make an impression on award voters, a group that's been swayed by strong finishes in the past.

Ultimately, the Hart remains Kane's to lose. But with three weeks to go, Crosby has a chance to turn this race into a photo finish.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby showing lots of Hart?

By Brian Metzer

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

March 22, 2016

The Penguins are coming off of one of their most impressive weekends of the season.

They picked up all-important victories against the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals and did so in dominant fashion. Those wins were just the latest during a current six-game winning streak that has jumped them into second place in the Metropolitan Division for the first time since Nov. 6, 2015.

Many players, coaches and circumstances have helped the Penguins get where they are, but it is safe to say that nothing and no one has had the impact of their captain, Sidney Crosby.

Crosby, like his team, has been flying as of late. He is riding a current 12-game scoring streak that has seen him collect six goals and 20 points. His four points during the aforementioned weekend victories also extended a scoring streak against the Metropolitan Division to 10 games. He has collected four goals and 15 points over that span.

This burst has helped him climb into third place in the leagues’ scoring race with 76 points. He is just four points behind the Dallas Stars’ Jamie Benn for second place and trails the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane by 16 for the top spot.

The 28-year-old was named the NHL’s First Star for the week ending March 20 on Monday afternoon after picking up two goals and seven points in four wins. That, along with his scoring streak, and his overall impact on what has become a fairly exciting Penguins’ season has some wondering if he could be a viable candidate for the Hart Trophy awarded to the leagues’ most valuable player.

It is easy to say that he shouldn’t be in the conversation.

His critics, even today, are pointing to this being an off-year for the superstar. He limped out of the gates, as did his team, and both faltered mightily until head coach Mike Johnston was replaced with Mike Sullivan.

Or so the narrative says.

It is also easy to anoint Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks as a slam dunk favorite for the Hart Trophy. He’s leading the league in scoring and had a much ballyhooed 26-game scoring streak earlier in the season that set a league record for an American born player, as well a franchise mark for the Blackhawks.

Kane is probably joined by players like Benn, Washington’s Evgeni Kuznetsov and Alexander Ovechkin, and even St. Louis Blues’ standout Vladimir Tarasenko, but is it crazy to include Crosby?

Narrative says yes, but it really isn’t crazy at all. Here are a number of facts that make Crosby almost the best candidate when trying to identify the leagues’ most valuable player.

The naysayers point to Crosby’s October, which was nothing short of wretched, as the main reason for holding him at bay in terms of Hart voting. He picked up just five points in his first 11 games, but in actuality had points in just two of them. The Penguins weathered that storm and entered November carrying a record of 7-4-0.

National media narratives point to the arrival of Mike Sullivan as the moment Crosby started playing hockey this season. That simply isn’t true. Yes, his totals have been outstanding since Sullivan arrived, but let’s look at things starting on Nov. 4 -- a 3-2 win in Vancouver -- that kicked off a run of four points in four games for Crosby.

Who do you think ranks second in the league in scoring from Nov. 4 through Sunday?

If you said Crosby, you’d be the big winner.

Crosby’s 71 points in 60 games over that span trail just Kane and his 76 points in 61 games. He also leads the San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton, who ranks third over that span, by eight. He ranks third in goals (30), is tied for sixth in assists (41) and is tied for the most game-winning-goals (7) over that span.

Don’t worry; we’re here to show the impact Sullivan has had on Crosby as well, since he has indeed been even better since Dec. 12, 2015, the day his new bench boss came on board.

Starting there, just over a third of the way through the season with the Penguins carrying a 15-10-3 record, Crosby took off.

The Penguins’ captain has played 43 games under Sullivan and leads the league in with 57 points over that span. He ranks second to only Ovechkin in goals with 25, is tied for fourth in assists with 32, is tied for fourth with a plus-21 rating and is tied for the best mark in the league with six game-winning goals.

We mentioned that the Penguins have climbed into second place in the Metropolitan Division a bit earlier. That effort has been boosted by their 15-7-2 record against their inter-division rivals. They have been even better over the past 18 games against the Metropolitan Division, going 14-3-1.

Crosby’s fingerprints are all over that dominance as well. He has played 23 games against his division and is averaging 1.13 points per game in those contests, rolling up 10 goals and 26 points. Three of his game winning goals have come in those outings.

He has also helped his team make headway in the Eastern Conference standings, as he is tied for third in scoring against the Atlantic Division, picking up nine goals and 24 points in 21 games against those foes. He’s been just as good in non-conference games, ranking fourth among all Eastern Conference scorers against the West, picking up 12 goals and 26 points in 27 games.

Crosby has also brandished his leadership on and off the ice throughout the season and more so lately to help offset the loss of Evgeni Malkin, picking up three assists and nine points in four games without his running mate.

It is also worth noting that Kane, though still leading the league in scoring, has fallen back to the pack in the second half of the season. A look at each player’s statistics since January 1, show Crosby leading Kane in scoring 49 to 36. Kane’s Blackhawks have also slipped into third place in the Central Division.

So yes, Crosby has been much improved under Sullivan and he’s been even better over his 12-game scoring streak, but he has shown for the better part of 60 games that he’s been leading the Penguins in every possible way.

He’s thrived against his division, against his conference and even against the west. He’s helped pick up the pieces when teammates have been out injured. He’s helped young players like Tom Kuhnhackl and Bryan Rust feel more comfortable, which has helped them thrive and he’s most definitely making a case to be included in the conversation when the voters choose the leagues’ most valuable player this season.

Hurdle juggles batting order -- an experiment or a sign of things to come?

• By Bill Allmann Times Sports Correspondent
• • 
    

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

March 20, 2016

(Chris O'Meara)

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Baseball, more than any other sport, honors its traditions and is most definitely not quick to change.

And one doesn’t have to be Goose Gossage to notice that.

So when Pirates manager Clint Hurdle started to juggle his lineup this past week, people noticed. Most notable among those was Hurdle himself.

“The challenge for me is that for 47 years, the baddest dude in the game hits third,” said Hurdle after moving 2013 Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen -- also a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner -- to the second spot in the order this past week in spring training action.

“That started to change a few years ago. It makes some sense, so I have to kind of rearrange my thinking. There are guys who have done their homework and dug into lineups, done the metrics and how you stack them. The upside is that it gets Andrew to the plate 20 or 30 more times and he hasn’t driven in 100 runs in the third spot.”

Moving McCutchen up a spot wasn’t the only tinkering Hurdle did this past week. First baseman John Jaso -- a former catcher to establish a standard for his speed -- batted first. Saturday, it was Jordy Mercer in the leadoff spot, with McCutchen hitting second and Josh Harrison third.

“We’re trying to do is manufacture something since we haven’t had a high on base percentage guy,” Hurdle said. “We haven’t won the division so who’s to say it’s not worth a look.

“We have to examine all the opportunities.”

One of those opportunities also involves catcher Francisco Cervelli. He will also be seeing different spots in the batting order during the second half of spring training, especially after recording a .370 on base percentage last season, his first season with over 266 at bats in the majors.

“Cervelli was the first guy we had with those numbers and we wanted to let him go for a year for a full year,” Hurdle said. “I’m not at all concerned if we go with batting Jaso (.380 on base percentage last year), Cervelli, then McCutchen. We’ll watch and see.

“Could there be a lack of speed? It’s not a perfect world. I think Jaso can go first to third, so he won’t clog the bases. That’s not a concern.”

It’s also not a concern about the players’ reactions as there was none. The question remains, though, as to whether any of these machinations tried in the second half of the spring training season at McKechnie Field will ever see the light of day at PNC Park. There, the stakes are definitely higher.

“The funny thing is that from the worst projection we could put out -- hitting the pitcher first or fourth -- to the best is only a swing of 50 to 60 runs,” Hurdle said. “It’s one of the things I want to take a look at in the second half of spring training.

“I’m going to wait and see how it works.”