PITTSBURGH -- Make no mistake, Andrew McCutchen is happy to still be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.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.Hank Aaron Brewers Jersey . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Bobby Wahl Jersey . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/399y-manny-pina-jersey-brewers.html . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Eric Thames Jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Manny Pina Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals.MELBOURNE, Australia -- Denmarks Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen launched an astonishing sub-par blitz on Friday to power into the lead after the second round of the World Cup of Golf.Astonishing because the 12-under par 60 was crafted in southwesterly winds that were even stronger than the opening day at Kingston Heath.The Danes took turns to chip in for eagle in a brilliant front nine of 29, six under par, as they combined superbly in the best-ball format. They reeled off five consecutive birdies on the homeward nine before Kjeldsen holed another birdie putt on the 18th green to put the stamp on the sensational round.Denmarks taming of the wind-swept 6503-meter (7111-yard) layout handed them a three-stroke lead ahead of China, with Spain one further back at the halfway mark of the tournament.Olesen said an eagle and a round of 59 was on his mind when he bombed a 369-meter drive down the 418-meter final hole. And yet it was Kjeldsens touch on the fast green that delivered the last birdie.Im like a train, I arrive on time. Hes the flashy one with an amazing game, Kjeldsen said.This is my favorite type of golf. Youve got to control the ball and look at the angles. You dont just get up and whack it, youve got to think your way around.United States pair Ricky Fowler and Jimmy Walker shot a five-under 67 to be in a four-nation tie for fourth, five shots behind the Danes heading into Saturdays foursomes.The American pair underlined the teamwork required in the fourball -- the best score counts for each hole -- with vastly contrasting efforts at the par-four eighth into the face of the strong wind.Walkers tee shot found a fairway bunker, he barely advanced the ball buried in long grass and promptly picked it up after the fourth shot scurried across the green. He had the luxury of standing back and applauding when Fowlers 15-meter birdie putt disappeared into the cup to pick up another shot for the team.A measure of the quality of the players were the clutch of low scores in such cold and blustery conditions -- a 60, two 64s, four 65s and seven 66s in the 28-nations field.ddddddddddddNew Zealand and the Netherlands, the third group on to the course, went birdie for birdie in a low-scoring shootout, each team posting eight-under 64s to be five-under for the tournament and in contention for the weekend.The Dutch strategy was typical of most teams; the less experienced Darius Van Driel teeing off first to put the ball safely in play, allowing Joost Luiten to bomb his drives to try to set up shorter approach shots to the quickening greens.That worked out really well. Darius hit great off the tee all day, so we didnt really get into any trouble. After that, we just tried to find the green and hole the putt and we did that pretty good today, Luiten said.New Zealands Ryan Fox and Danny Lee snared 10 birdies against two bogeys as all players in the group fed off each other in the four-pronged attack. Joost looked like he was going to hole everything he looked at. It was a fun day all round, Fox said.Host nation Australias representatives Adam Scott and Marc Leishman must go low in Saturdays foursomes to get close enough to the lead to challenge for the win on Sunday. The pair shared six birdies, but gave two shots back mid-round, for their 68 to be two-under and 10 strokes off the pace.Our best stuff needs to be on the weekend now, Scott said. You never know, its a tough format. Doesnt mean the leaders are going to play any good over the weekend, so, hopefully, we can close the gap.Scots Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart, embarrassed to sit bottom of the leaderboard after an eight-over 78 on the opening day, set about restoring temporarily tarnished reputations. Out in the first group, they grabbed an early birdie before Stewart eagled the par-five eighth hole. And three birdies on the back nine produced a seven-under 65; a 13-shot improvement. ' ' '
