Jul 30, 2016 4 min read

Mark Melancon’s not overrated but his job is.

Melancon is doing spectacularly well for the Pirates as a 21st century closer. Going into Saturday night’s game in Milwaukee, he had converted on 27 out of 28 save opportunities and had a 1.51 ERA in 41 2/3 innings.

Can’t ask for much better than that, but with the trading deadline Monday, his name was mentioned in trade rumors from coast to coast.

Closers ain’t what they used to be. They’re almost never called out of the bullpen in the middle of an inning with men on base.

They’re asked to start the last inning when their team has the lead. All they’re asked to do is not have a 9.00 ERA by giving up a run in the one inning that they’re asked to pitch.

It’s just not that tough.

And it shouldn’t be all that tough for the Pirates to find someone else on the roster who can do it. Melancon has been a big part of the Pirates’ recent success and would be valuable if they’re fighting to the end for a wild-card spot. Melancon, however, is a free agent after this season.

• Maybe the Pirates are okay with shaking up their bullpen because they know bullpens are about to become less important. Did you know that the Idiots Who Run Baseball are discussing putting a limit on the number of pitchers allowed in a game? The IWRB know that offense is down and the games are way too long and they’re looking at ways to fix both problems. Commissioner Rob Manfred said it out loud on ESPN Radio last week.

“You know the problem with relief pitchers is that they’re so good. I’ve got nothing against relief pitchers, but they do two things to the game; the pitching changes themselves slow the game down and our relief pitchers have become so dominant at the back end that they actually rob action out of the end of the game, the last few innings of the game. So relief pitchers is a topic that is under active consideration.”

As drastic and as unlikely as that might sound, that there are people among the IWRB openly talking about it shows they are more than a little worried about what having different pitchers assigned to each of the last three innings has done to the game.

Call me crazy, but I think most fans would give up the excitement of the seventh inning setup man for a few more runs in the late innings, not to mention fewer 3 1/2-hour games.

• Of course, Major League Baseball’s ridiculous economics played a role in what the Pirates did with Melancon. Overrated position or not, he has priced himself out of the nonmega TV markets and the Pirates wanted to get something for him before he walks.

• Chances are pretty good that you weren’t watching the Calgary Stampeders and the British Columbia Lions Friday night. I’m glad I was. I saw an exciting game, won by the Lions 44-41 in overtime. I also saw a great example of a CFL rule that I’d like to see in the NFL.

Calgary led 41-26 when BC scored with 2:11 left.

There was no onside kick. Because of the rule that stops the clock after every play in the last three minutes of each half, there was no kneeling down for the Stampeders after returning the kickoff. They had to try to move the football. Their quarterback, Jonathan Jennings, scrambled for 23 yards. But, despite an eight-point lead and only 1:32 left, Jennings was then intercepted at his own 42-yard line.

The Lions scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 1:06 left and sent it into overtime, where they won on a field goal.

The Stampeders had the ball last and Jennings was intercepted 18 yards deep in the end zone (20 yard end zones would be fun in the NFL) to end the game.

Would you take all of the above over a quarterback kneeling down two or three times?

I would.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.