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Boras blasts Bucs
If the Pirates fan base wasn’t already fired up at Bob Nutting, Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington, they certainly have some more fuel to their fire after comments made by agent Scott Boras.
Boras, who represents the recently traded Gerrit Cole, had some very pointed comments directed to the Pirates organization recently.
He told the Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel the following:
“When I hear them say, ‘We’re the poor Pittsburgh Pirates,’ I go, ‘Whoa! Just a minute,’ ” Boras said. “This guy (Nutting) is sitting on an economic volcano. Where else can you increase the value of your franchise to $1 billion and not have to win anything?”
“They increased profits by $60 million (since 2012), and they’re saying they can’t retain their stars?” Boras said. “It’s clearly a matter of choice. They choose not to (retain players) because they want to make money.”
He finished by saying the fans deserve to know what the Pirates intentions sre:
“If the product on the field is irrelevant and all you have is a cash cow,” Boras said, “then the fans of Pittsburgh deserve notice of that.”
The Pirates don’t have many dealings with Boras as they often have to shy away from his clients simply due to the fact that a majority of them are out of the Pirates price range.
However Boras’ latest comments could mean that it could be a very long time before you see many Boras clients wearing Pirates uniforms.
With payroll likely to be in the $70 million range come Opening Day, these latest comments are likely to infuriate the fan base even more.
Four elected to Hall
There will be four new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer as the inductees were announced on Wednesday.
Entering the hall will be Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman.
The stories are always great on some of these guys. While Jones was the number one overall pick, Thome was a 13th rounder; Hoffman was a failed shortstop turned pitcher and Guerrero was a guy who showed up to his first workout without even having matching cleats. Just goes to show what hard work can do for guys.
It took 75 percent for election, or 317 votes, to be elected. Designated hitter Edgar Martinez came the closest, falling just 20 votes shy.
As for former Pirate Barry Bonds (56.4 percent), both he and Roger Clemens (57.3 percent) gained more votes from last year, but fell way short. An interesting fact is that Bonds’ career WAR is greater than Jones and Thome combined, but it could still be a long while, if ever, for Bonds to get the call from Cooperstown.
Jones, Thome, Guerrero and Hoffman will join veterans committee inductees Jack Morris and Alan Trammell in entering the hall on July 29.
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