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First Call: NFL commissioner supports Carl Nassib; Pirates prepare for AL Central elite, must ponder Jack Leiter | TribLIVE.com
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First Call: NFL commissioner supports Carl Nassib; Pirates prepare for AL Central elite, must ponder Jack Leiter

Tim Benz
Tim Benz
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AP
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 29, 2020, in Atlanta.

Tuesday’s “First Call” sees some NFL support for former Penn State star Carl Nassib. The Pirates have to face an old nemesis, and their MLB Draft Day decision may have just gotten more difficult.

Plus, former Buccos star Neil Walker has an entertaining flashback.

Full support

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is throwing the weight of the league behind Carl Nassib.

The Penn State product is the first actively rostered player in NFL history to come out as openly gay while still playing in the league.

The league also sent out a tweet in support of his announcement.

Nassib was drafted by the Cleveland Browns out of State College in 2016. He has since played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is now with the Las Vegas Raiders.

How times have changed

Back in 2020, when the Pirates were clearly en route to securing the 2021 top draft pick, it felt like the only question facing the franchise was going to be which Vanderbilt pitcher they would draft: Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter.

Now we have gotten to the “outthinking ourselves” portion of the draft process. Instead of taking either guy who could be in the big leagues within a year or two and at the front of the starting rotation, the Pirates are talking about taking high school shortstops Marcelo Mayer or Jordan Lawler. Or perhaps Brady House, or 18-year-old Kahlil Watson from Wake Forest (NC).

Why? Because it’s easier to sell hope — and not start the Major League clock — on an 18-year-old shortstop than it is a 21-year-old college pitcher who is probably better than anyone on your current staff right now.

So let someone else draft Leiter or Rocker. And we’ll wait for Lawler or Mayer to be the next Cole Tucker or Kevin Newman someday.

That’ll be huge. I can’t wait. Consider me quivering with anticipation.

Meanwhile, did anyone catch what Leiter did in the World Series for the Commodores? Vandy lost, but Leiter sparkled.

That’s OK. He’ll look great winning Cy Youngs in Detroit or Boston someday.

The future is coming, Pirates fans. Don’t worry. It’s always coming. There will never be a day without tomorrow. There will never be a “now” without a “horizon.” Yesterday doesn’t matter because tomorrow will be better.

Just let me know when you get to tomorrow. I’ll catch up then.

A story ‘fore’ Yoenis

During his radio show on 93.7 The Fan Monday, Neil Walker told a great story about golfing with legendary MLB free spirit Yoenis Cespedes.

“We went out and played a very nice course in Florida,” Walker said. “And this guy was one of the best golfers on the team. I couldn’t believe it. He picked up the sticks maybe three to four years earlier, he’s playing at probably a 4-handicap, he’s trying to bet on every single hole. He’s not wearing shoes, he’s got music absolutely blaring. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen.”

It was also revealed during Walker’s program that he is getting honored at PNC Park July 3. The former Buccos second baseman retired on April 20 after 11 seasons in the big leagues.

Waving the white flag

Credit the Pirates for one thing. They held their own against the Cleveland Indians last weekend, winning two of three games.

Even though they almost blew an 11-1 lead Friday night in an 11-10 win.

Now the Bucs get the Chicago White Sox Tuesday and Wednesday. They are two games in front of the Indians for first place in the American League Central. But the ChiSox have dropped four in a row.

That said, their 43 wins are in a three-way tie for the second most in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. Chicago’s plus-88 run differential is second best in the league. Their team on-base percentage of .355 is third-best in Major League Baseball. And their team ERA of 3.33 is fifth best in MLB.

Tuesday night’s pitching matchup is Tyler Anderson of the Pirates against Lucas Giolito of the White Sox. Giolito no-hit the Pirates in August 2020 during a 4–0 win at Guaranteed Rate Field. He struck out 13 batters and threw 74 of 101 pitches for strikes.

Chase De Jong pitches for the Pirates Wednesday afternoon versus Dylan Cease.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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Categories: NFL | Penn State | Pirates/MLB | Sports | Breakfast With Benz
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