jack wilson signs extension

[mbuser]

2 years and $8M. kind of disheartening that the club, not wilson, declined a longer deal

http://post-gazette.com/pg/05006/438246.stm

[Mercer Boy]

If the owners and management want to wonder why they can't compete, they have no one to look at but themselves.

Obviously they don't have much faith in the guy because they figure last year was a total fluke and hope to only eat 8 million if he busts instead of 12 million or more. While I understand he's never done what he did last year before, why can't a young player improve?

What happens if he gets even better? There's little chance he sticks around after year two because the Pirates didn't believe in him, and he would know that many other clubs that will spend money and can win the Series will be looking for him.

In my view, there are three guys that the Pirates need to lock down as a core group - Bay, Perez, and Jack Wilson. They are all young guys that can still improve and have shown that they can help lead the team. Littlefield and McClatchy needed to realize this and get them signed for longer term deals before their market value went up too high. Otherwise, we'll be back in the cycle again of being a AAAA affiliate of the big-spending teams in MLB.

This deal is not a good sign.

[mbuser]

man it seems like every post i make regarding the pirates is a rant similar to what you posted.

i don't think they wonder why they can't compete, because i don't think that is their main concern. of course they have a PR department to help them try to say otherwise, but i think it is painfully obvious at this point that pirate ownership is in place because they hoped that owning a major league baseball team would be profitable endeavor, and care little about the product they put on the field other than trying to find the cheapest way to actually field a major-league team.

the pirates are becoming an incredibly difficult franchise to root for, despite having blossoming young talent like bay and perez (it isn't because of the players). do you have any hope of the pirates retaining bay or perez past their first few arbitration years (or wilson in 2 yrs)? and i mean any?? i am truly saddened to say it, but i really wonder if there is any hope for this franchise with the front office that is currently in place.


**oh and just an fyi -- not trying to spam on this board, but if you want a somewhat active pirate fan board with knowledgeable people anyway (where a lot of ranting is going on) check out:

http://mb1.scout.com/fpiratesfrm1

[Mercer Boy]

Oops, didn't mean to turn it into a negative so easily. Unfortunately, it's pretty easy to do so when the team won't give it's best players a deal that they want.

It's very good that he'll be here for 2 more years (because he's my favorite Pirate), but if he does improve and the rest of the team doesn't, he'll most likely be gone (with Perez). Everyone on the team needs to get better for this to happen.

Management had good intentions by keeping the team here, but without taking a page out of the book of Minnesota (build a team through the minors and players that have been playing together for a while as opposed to teams who can spend and get an all-star team and be good because of super talent), we won't go anywhere. Switching to a "Major League" version of the team every year won't turn out like the movie did.

Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill!