In the current issue of Sports Illustrated, in a story that was linked on this blog Friday, came
the most astonishing quote made in the recent history of Pirates upper management.
Yes, more astonishing than owner Bob Nutting's infamous, ``It's the single best management team in all of baseball, maybe in all of sports.’’
More astonishing than president Frank Coonelly’s use of the word ``dynasty,’’ in describing the current Pirates.
What general manager Neal Huntington told Sports Illustrated leaves those comments behind for two reasons:
* At last, a member of Pirates management was leveling with the public about what the future holds for the franchise.
* And that truth is the Pirates have virtually no chance of keeping good players, which means the franchise has virtually no chance of ever competing for a championship and perhaps never having a winning season.
Here's what Huntington told SI: ``If a player wants to chase every last dollar, he’s probably not going to be here. If he buys into what we’re doing, he’ll leave some money on the table and he’ll stay.’’
Do you believe that?
Huntington thinks MLB players are going to give the Pirates a hometown discount. He thinks players are going to sign for less money to stay with a franchise that hasn’t won in 17 going on 18, going on 19 years.
That’s enough to make you laugh and enough to make you cry.
Has Huntington followed the recent history of MLB? Players almost never sign for less to stay with their current team. And in the rare instance that does happen, it’s usually an older player wishing to stay with a team that has a chance for a title.
If Huntington think Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez are going to sign long-term deals with the Pirates because they ``buy in’’ to what the team is doing, he is not qualified to be an MLB general manager. He's living in a dream world. He's confusing baseball players with hockey players.
Inadvertently or on purpose, Huntington told SI writer Jon Wertheim what reporters have been trying to get out of Nutting since the day he officially took over the franchise. But instead of answers, Nutting made vague promises. He never gave a straight answer.
Huntington did nothing of the kind. He did what Pirate management almost never does: He told the truth. And the truth is the small-market Pirates with a small-pockets owner can’t keep their best players.
It’s been five days since the magazine has been available to the public and no one from the Pirates have stepped forward to say Huntington was misquoted or what he said was incorrect.
That can only mean the Pirates truly are counting on hometown discounts to pave their way to success. That, as anyone who follows the sport knows, is not going to happen. Apparently, upper management of the Pirates doesn't follow the sport.
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Originally Posted by steelerdude15
