The unfailingly polite Neil Walker has been asked about his contract status for most of spring training, to the point where the second baseman thinks it's counterproductive to talk about it. ''It's time to think about the season,'' the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman said this week. ''That's the focus now.'' The Pirates open the season April 6 at Cincinnati against the Reds and it appears contract talks between the team and the popular Pittsburgh-area native who was their first-round draft pick in 2004 have been put on hold. The sides could not agree on a deal in the offseason and went to an arbitration hearing, which the Pirates won. More...