ghing at a team that deserved to be in t | Forum

PITTSBURGH -- Make no mistake, Andrew McCutchen is happy to still be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jim McMahon Womens Jersey .But the All-Star centerfielder, who spoke Saturday for the first time since the team openly tried to trade him during the recently completed winter meetings, was bothered by the recent trade talks.I do want to be here, but Id be lying if I didnt tell you that none of this didnt bother me, that my name was out there, McCutchen said. Were all human. To have my name to be thinking about possibly being traded, I mean of course it got to me because we all have those dreams.My dream is to be a Pirate my whole career and to win multiple World Series, and sometimes when your name is popped up, it kind of makes you think well, those dreams could be altered a little.McCutchen agreed to a six-year, $51.5 million contract before the 2012 season. McCutchen, who is signed for the 2017 season at $14 million, plus a club option for 18 at $14.75 million, hoped to at least be able to play out his deal when he initially signed.If you have a contract, it doesnt mean much nowadays because you can still be traded, McCutchen said. If you wouldve asked me in 2012, that I would be in this position, or my name being thrown up in trades, I wouldve been like no youre crazy, but the game has changed and things have evolved over time, so its not a surprise.Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington -- eyeing glaring needs in the starting rotation and with a potential plan for replacing McCutchen in place -- sent out feelers to other teams ahead of the winter meetings, but nothing came to fruition with Washington going elsewhere for a centerfielder after talks with the Pirates broke down.McCutchen followed it all on Twitter.Everybody was asking me things and I was like look I dont know any more than what you guys know, McCutchen said. I was just kind of on edge, seeing what was going to happen.McCutchen admits hes surprised to still be in Pittsburgh. He had a chance to clear the air with Huntington after the winter meetings.I do understand he has a job, but I dont understand what he has to do, McCutchen said. I cant empathize with that, just like he cant empathize with what I could be going through. We had a good conversation and ended it on good terms.McCutchen said he hasnt been offered a new contract and isnt sure whether or not management will approach him about an extension. McCutchen said hes still open to a new contract with the team despite the tumultuous week, but isnt sure if that is going to happen.Ive always said that I want to be a Pirate and I want to retire a Pirate, McCutchen said. That hasnt changed just because my name is in on trades.There has been no player more pivotal to Pittsburghs turnaround than McCutchen, a former first-round pick who made his major league debut in 2009. He earned his first All-Star berth in 2011 and won the MVP in 2013, becoming the first Pirate to capture the award since Barry Bonds in 1992.McCutchen spent the last five seasons as a fixture in the middle of Pittsburghs lineup as the Pirates pulled themselves out of two decades of losing to reach the playoffs three straight years between 2013 and 2015.Last season marked the first significant bump in the road for McCutchen.He got off to one of his typical slow starts, but unlike previous years, he was unable to snap out of the funk. McCutchen hit a career-low .256 while setting a career-high with 173 strikeouts, as the Pirates sputtered to a 78-83 record, a distant third place in the NL Central behind the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.The 30-year-old McCutchen stressed repeatedly that injuries didnt affect his performance and said the same on Saturday as he vowed to have a bounce-back season in 2017.Youre going to have your off years, but its all about what you do and how you come back from that, McCutchen said. Im looking forward to this season. Im ready to go. Mitchell Trubisky Jersey . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Richard Dent Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. https://www.bearssportsgoods.com/Womens-Mike-Ditka-Inverted-Jersey/ . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. TORONTO -- Canada had no interest in playing Game 3 against Team Europe in the World Cup of Hockey finals.Pushed to the brink of possibly playing a decisive game, the Canadians picked it up a notch and there simply was nothing the Europeans could do about it.Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal with 43.1 seconds left after Patrice Bergeron tied it with 2:53 to go on a power play, giving Canada to a 2-1 victory over Europe on Thursday night and the World Cup of Hockey title.What was Sidney Crosby thinking in the final minutes?We dont want to go to Game 3, he said after winning the MVP award with a World Cup-high 10 points, helping Canada win the best-of-three series 2-0. Anything can happen in one game. Especially the last 10 minutes, we were really pressing.Here are some takeaways from the last game of the first World Cup of Hockey since 2004:OH, CANADA: Like the U.S. in Olympic basketball, the rest of the world is trying to catch Canada in hockey. Sure, a group of NHL players from eight European nations played better than the Canadians for much of Game 2. But when it mattered most, the Canadians flexed their muscle, used their speed and flashed their talent to take care of business. Canada has won 16 straight best-on-best hockey games and two Olympic gold medals since getting stunned by the U.S. early in the 2010 Olympics. During the dominating streak, the Canadians have won by an average of more than 2+ goals per game.The only way you get to celebrate being the best in the world is when you prove it, Canada coach Mike Babcock said.SUPER STREAK: Crosby , coming off his second Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh, has won 25 straight games with a maple leaf on his sweater. In addition to the 16-game, best-on-best streak, Crosby helped Canada win nine straight games at the 2015 world championships.In the biggest moments, he turns it up, Babcock said.PRICE IS NICE: Canada goaltender Carey Price has not played in an NHL game in more than 10 months because a knee injuury knocked him out of the Montreal Canadiens lineup last season. Jim McMahon Jersey. Rusty? Hardly. Price made 32 saves in the final game of the World Cup, lowering his goals-against average to 1.4 and improving his record to 5-0 in the tournament.We took a lot of risks in this game and Carey Price was, once again, was just amazing, Europe coach Ralph Krueger said.At the Sochi Games, Prices GAA was 0.59 and his record was 5-0 to help Canada win gold at the second straight Winter Olympics.MISSING IN ACTION: Anze Kopitar was arguably Europes best player, but he didnt score a goal and had just four points in six games. The Los Angeles Kings forward from Slovenia bristled when asked about Crosbys line following Game 1, saying he didnt match up with the trio. Kopitar did start Game 2 matched up with Crosby, Marchand and Bergeron. Given the last change as the home team, Krueger also put Kopitar in the game at other times when Crosby and Co. were in the game. Like a lot of players, even some of the worlds best, Kopitar came up short trying to slow down Canadas top line. And when Canada was attacking late in the game, Kopitar was called for holding and Canada took advantage with a game-tying goal.PARTING SHOT: Some chuckled at the concept of combining eight European nations, outside of the continents traditional powers, before the tournament began. By the end of it, though, no one was laughing at a team that deserved to be in the finals.This group just continued to surprise and beat the odds and beat the thoughts of everybody that was watching, Krueger said. Looking back, I know with some distance from today, we will do nothing but celebrate this month of September 2016 as a special month for this Team Europe group and what they did here.---Follow Larry Lage at www.twitter.com/larrylage and follow his work at www.bigstory.ap.org/content/larry-lage ' ' '