Pirates GM Sends Letter To Fans Explaining McLouth Trade

Huntington Continues To Defend McLouth Trade As A Pure Baseball Decision

Pirates GM Neal Huntington Saturday penned an e-mail to season-ticket holders "explaining his rationale" for last week's trade of CF Nate McLouth to the Braves, according to Dejan Kovecevic of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Huntington in the e-mail said, "I understand why some people, at first glance, may believe this move was financially motivated, but I can assure you that this was strictly a baseball decision. In fact, our owner, Bob Nutting, was as surprised as some of our fans when we sought his approval for this trade. I am grateful that he has the faith in me, our baseball operations staff and the processes we have in place to approve a move like this, despite the risk of public backlash on him personally and the organization as a whole" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/7). Huntington in the e-mail also said, "Obviously this was a very difficult decision as Nate is a quality player and person. We knew this move was not going to be popular in the clubhouse with our players or among our fan base who have suffered through a long stretch of losing seasons. Despite recognizing the probable unpopularity of this trade, we believed it to be the right step for our organization and made a sound baseball decision" (Pirates). The POST-GAZETTE's Kovecevic noted most fans "will not believe that the Pirates are doing -- or spending -- all that they can to win until they see evidence at the major league level." Every time a player such as McLouth leaves, the "charge will be cheapness." As long as the Brewers, "based in a market two-thirds the size of Pittsburgh," spend $80M on major league payroll while the Pirates spend about $51M, the "Pirates' front office will not be able to firmly defend the charge" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/7).

Glavine Considering Filing Grievance Against Braves Over His Release

CHARGING THE MOUND? FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal reported P Tom Glavine is "considering filing a grievance" against the Braves over his release last week. An MLB source said that Glavine's attorney, Gregg Clifton, has "spoken with a labor attorney" and the MLBPA about a possible grievance. Glavine was due to receive a $1M bonus if he made the Braves major league roster. However, Rosenthal noted if "history is any indicator, Glavine would not have much of a chance should he file the grievance." Teams generally "have the upper hand in such cases and don't need a significant performance based reason to release a player" (FOXSPORTS.com, 6/6). SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote contrary to public opinion, the Braves "do care how things look" regarding the Glavine situation. Heyman: "Otherwise, why bring back Glavine in the first place? And why ask Glavine to retire before releasing him, as they did?" However, it "doesn't look good" for the Braves after Glavine "underwent two separate arm surgeries this winter, [and] diligently worked his way back." Braves officials claim that Glavine's "stuff was short, that they had no choice," but "couldn't the very same thing have been said about Glavine for the past half-decade?" (SI.com, 6/5).