CUP OF JOE: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less.
Breakups are hurtful, in life and pro sports. Feelings are injured. Resentments are formed.
It wasn’t pretty when the Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger, who wanted to keep playing.
Feelings were injured. Resentments were formed. But those were correct decisions. The team’s job is to determine the right time, inform the party in question and forge ahead.
The Pirates don’t seem to know if it’s time with fan favorite Andrew McCutchen. Here’s some free advice: It is. Tell him so and move on.
The issue boiled over when GM Ben Cherington was asked about McCutchen’s whereabouts Saturday at PiratesFest and gave a vague answer, while intimating that the door remains open.
“Andrew has meant a ton to the team,” Cherington said. “It’s our desire to maintain a really good relationship with Andrew well into the future.”
The Fan’s Josh Rowntree then tweeted a comment, basically saying McCutchen’s time should be up. McCutchen subtweeted Rowntree, questioning if other teams had treated iconic players this way.
“If this is my last year,” he wrote, “it would have been nice to meet the fans one last time as a player.”
Actually, that would have been nice, even though McCutchen is not on the team. The invite could have been extended on the understanding that he would not be returning. The Pirates should have thought of it, but it’s too late now.
Now, their job is to respectfully inform McCutchen that he won’t be re-signed. His numbers (13 home runs, .367 slugging pct., .700 OPS) slipped last season. He’s 39. The Pirates have better options at designated hitter.
Nearly all National League DH’s outperformed McCutchen last season. Forget Christian Yelich, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber. I’m talking about the Cardinals’ primary DH, Ivan Herrera (19 home runs, .837 OPS), Washington’s Josh Bell (22 home runs, .747 OPS), San Diego’s Gavin Sheets (19 home runs, .429 slugging pct.) and others.
McCutchen is the most beloved Pirate since Willie Stargell. This was an unexpected, fruitful, three-year reunion. It’s time to move on.
Tell him.
