NATIONAL LEAGUE: INSIDE THE N.L.: BUCS VEER INTO REBUILDING PHASE.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer In less than three full seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates This article is about the baseball team. For the National Hockey League team, see Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL). For the National Football League team (1933–1940), see Pittsburgh Steelers. have transformed from potential contenders, playing in a sparkling new ballpark, into just another average team beset by questions about its front office. The Pirates, stuck in fourth place in the National League Central, are in the middle of a salary dump involving some of their best and most popular players, and are headed for a period of rebuilding just when they seemed on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of being consistent winners. Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967 in East Chicago, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball outfielder. He bats and throws left-handed. He currently plays left field for the Cleveland Indians, with whom he has spent 10 seasons during three separate stints. , Scott Sauerbeck Scott Sauerbeck (born November 9, 1971 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a left-handed relief pitcher who is on the Toronto Blue Jays. After attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Sauerbeck was drafted by the New York Mets in the 23rd round of the 1994 amateur draft. , Aramis Ramirez and Mike Williams already are gone, with the Pirates receiving only strikeout-prone Jose Hernandez and a handful of prospects in return. The Pirates could trade another big name, such as Brian Giles or Jason Kendall, or both. Why the fire sale? The Pirates' front office claims the team is on track to lose $30 million during its first three seasons at PNC Park, and although attendance numbers have dropped off significantly since the stadium opened, those numbers are far off the ones commissioner Bud Selig presented to Congress last year. But sources have told reporters in Pittsburgh that the Pirates stand to lose $12 million to $15 million this season if they don't dump another big salary, but Pittsburgh management is trying to paint the moves as a way of improving the long-term health of the team. ``We need more players,'' said general manager Dave Littlefield, who bristled bris·tle n. 1. A stiff hair. 2. A stiff hairlike structure: the bristles of a wire brush. v. bris·tled, bris·tling, bris·tles v.intr. at the suggestion the Chicago Cubs got the better end of a deal that sent Lofton and Ramirez to Chicago for Hernandez. ``We need more financial flexibility. We need to allocate our dollars to players who are performing.'' Giles is performing and, according to reports in Pittsburgh, has attracted the attention of all five NL West teams, as well as the Atlanta Braves. --Not done yet: A hot July run by Eric Karros means Cubs manager Dusty Baker has a tough decision to make. Hee Seop Choi, the Cubs' supposed first baseman of the future, has struggled since returning from a concussion, while Karros is hitting .429 this month. ``I have wrestled with that,'' Baker said. ``I'm going to make a decision there soon. It depends on how Choi does. He hasn't been the same since he has come back. ``Eric is one of our hottest hitters, and it's getting late (in the season). We have to win games. I might have to make a tough decision there.'' --Sigh of relief: Florida third baseman Mike Lowell, who overcame testicular cancer testicular cancer Malignant tumour of the testis, or testicle. Although relatively rare, testicular cancer is the most common malignancy for men between the ages of 20 and 34. It typically affects men between 15 and 39 years old. in 1999, received a scare last week when a strained groin led to an MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. that revealed a mass, which doctors thought might have been a tumor. Instead, Lowell was diagnosed with fibrousos dysplasia dysplasia Abnormal formation of a bodily structure or tissue, usually bone, that may occur in any part of the body. Several types are well-defined diseases in humans. , a non-cancerous condition, and was cleared to continue playing. ``I went from the depths of despair to the heights of joy,'' Lowell said Monday, the day he returned to the lineup. ``When (doctors) came back with that (diagnosis) ... we started jumping up and down like I won the lottery. Everyone was crying. ``I went from thinking I had to go through chemotherapy or radiation again to doing nothing, that I really have a normal (groin) strain. I don't care about the strain now. I'm the happiest person in the world right now.'' --Not forgotten: Flynn Kile, widow of St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. pitcher Darryl Kile, and her son Kannon visited Qualcomm Stadium this week when the Cardinals played the San Diego Padres. Kile and her children recently moved to nearby Rancho Santa Fe. The Cardinals presented Flynn Kile with five books containing letters, written by teammates and fans, in honor of her late husband. Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) AROUND THE HORN By Jeremy Littau (2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS - Matt McHale |
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