A matter of time

Chris Duffy knows his days in the Pirate organization are numbered.

''I can read between the lines,'' Duffy said Sunday in his return to the Curve after a five-day absence. ''I'm going to try to work on a trade ... show other teams that I'm healthy, and that will be it.''

Duffy, who had been on a major league rehab assignment with the Curve, was granted a leave of absence after being optioned to Double-A by the Pirates on Thursday. The organization and Curve manager Tim Leiper said all along the leave was approved, and Duffy confirmed that Sunday.

''Every player, when you get optioned, you have 72 hours; you can do whatever you want with it,'' Duffy said. ''I talked to Neal [Huntington, the general manager] about it. He was the one who actually brought it up and said, 'if you feel like you want to take a few days.' I said, 'sure.'''

Duffy went home for about a month two years ago when he was demoted from the Pirates to Triple-A. His competitive desire was questioned, and fair or not, this latest leave of absence undoubtedly raised further questions about his commitment.

Duffy, who's battling back from shoulder surgery, flatly said, ''no,'' when asked if he thought about walking away from the game the past few days. He also doesn't think it's fair for Pirates fans to criticize him and say things like, ''there he goes again.''

''No, I don't think so because right now I have nothing to do with Pittsburgh,'' Duffy said. ''I'm not there. I'm pretty far away. So I don't think with me I'm hurting myself or the team up there or the fans. I'm just doing what I can to get healthy and just kind of taking care of myself.''

That's what Duffy now must do - take care of himself - because him getting optioned to Double-A is a clear sign he's not in the organization's future plans.

The Pirates have All-Star Nate McLouth in the big leagues and prized prospect Andrew McCutchen in Triple-A, so there's no room in center field for Duffy.

''Right now it's more of the business side,'' Duffy said. ''I'm looking out for what's best for me.''

That may sound selfish, but it's not in this case.

Every professional player knows - and many of them say it frequently - that there are 29 other teams that may want their services.

The Pirates have little use anymore for the 28-year-old Duffy, their opening-day center fielder the past two seasons, so he must be honest with himself that it's time to think about moving on.

''There's still a lot of other teams out there,'' he said.

Surely one of them will want to see what Duffy has to offer. He's still a tremendous defensive player with blazing speed, so he will have suitors if he can prove his left shoulder is healthy.

''I'm pretty close [to 100 percent],'' he said.

One thing that could work against Duffy in the trade market is his desire. His going AWOL two years ago may not sit well with some clubs, and whether it was excused or not, last week's five-day absence doesn't exactly scream he's pumped up to play.

Duffy forever will be remembered in some ways as a player who walked away from the game, but he needed the time to himself and doesn't regret his actions in 2006.

''No, not at all,'' he said. ''Not a bit.''

As long as he's with the Curve - be it two days or two months - Duffy will be expected to be a key contributor. He's working on slowing the game down after missing so much time, and if/when he does start tearing it up, it won't be surprising to see a trade occur shortly thereafter.

Duffy believes he can get back to the big leagues - ''I wouldn't be playing if I didn't,'' he said - and there's no doubt here that he still can be a major asset to some club.

It just won't be the Pirates.

Cory Giger is at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.