Published: July 23, 2009 11:37 pm      

For now, just say it’s Bleaksburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, of course, has been accused of rape by a casino hostess, who claims in her civil suit the alleged attack took place one year ago in Roethlisberger’s room at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

Yesterday, making his first public comments since the news broke over the weekend, Roethlisberger read a statement at Steelers headquarters denying any wrongdoing, saying he will have no further comment on the matter as he fights the “reckless and false” allegations. Thus, given there has yet to be a criminal complaint filed, there is really nothing about these developments we wish to address here. Who knows? Maybe we’ll have something to say down the road when more information is known, or when and if all of this is settled.

In the meantime, the good people of Pittsburgh are dumbfounded, feeling a sense of bewilderment, perplexity and outrage all at the same time; more so now over the allegations against Roethlisberger, but until those allegations surfaced, just as much so over the nationwide garage sale known as the Pirates.

Some kind of direction for the current plan needs to come into the picture quickly, for even feelings of outrage determine some sort of interest. At the current pace of the bail-out Bucs, even more damaging feelings will soon emerge from the fanbase, if it hasn’t already: complete indifference.

A season after the Bucs traded Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth was sent to Atlanta after signing a multi-year contract extension. Nyjer Morgan was sent to Washington, and now the slumping Adam LaRoche will join his former teammate Bay in Boston.

On top of this, shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez are on the clock. This after the Pirates pulled back their contract extension offers to both players. All sides say they remain open to new negotiations, but there is no indication any are forthcoming.

Each player rejected the team's initial offer late last week, with Wilson's being for two years and $8 million, plus a club option for 2012; Sanchez's for two years and $10 million, plus the voiding of his existing 2010 vesting option that could pay him $8 million if he makes 600 plate appearances, which appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Wilson himself has a club option of $8.4 million for next season, meaning the Pirates could unilaterally keep both players another year at those prices if they choose. General manager Neil Huntington says they don’t.

Meanwhile, pitcher Ian Snell, who had been struggling all season in the majors, actually requested to be sent down to AAA Indianapolis last month and has been tearing up minor league hitting. Yet he has no desire to be called back to the Pirates because he is battling depression and says there is nothing in Pittsburgh that will help him overcome that.

Depression is no laughing matter, so here’s hoping Snell one day soon will be able overcome or at least find a way to deal with his.

Through it all, the Pirates have somehow managed to stay just 7 1/2 games out of first place, which, whether or not is an indictment on the National League Central, has many of the remaining Pirates fans wondering how much closer they would be had the club not traded off their best and most popular players. Yet there are some Pirates fans who look at these trades and say they understand why they’re being made. The Pirates need to build a farm system, and since they are among the smallest of the small-market big league teams they are trying to acquire as many young prospects as they can by dealing players with big league value whom they feel they can’t afford to pay.

Maybe the club would be a little closer to first place in the Central sans firesale, but likely not by much. So that puts Huntington directly behind the 8-ball. What other choice does he have? The Pirates simply cannot afford to maintain the status quo, yet they are walking the very fine line of running off what little revenue they are generating at PNC Park by trading fan favorites in droves.

I wouldn’t want Neil Huntington’s job; would you? For the foreseeable future he, being the guy who pulls the strings, is in a no-win situation, even though he is the one who inherited this haven’t-won-in-16-years-soon-to-be-17 situation.

On the whole, I would rather be in Indianapolis.

Mike Burke is sports editor of the Cumberland Times-News. Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.