I checked in on PBC and that doofus Nutting Hostage keeps harping on the fact that NH initially said they would sign 28…he demands to know why they didnt acheive their own stated goal. Of course he also thinks that STL signing the number they did (43 or something?) must be good prima facia.

WTM waded into the fray in an attempt to drop some sanity into the discussion but to no avail…It doesnt occur to these people that you have to place the draftees somewhere and there are only so many slots where they can get some playing time. I am sure that some of the deadwood currently in the system will get cut shortly but not enough to counter balance the 30-40 they think should have been signed.

As it is they are piggybacking starters in SC and WV so that players can get their work in.

The Pirates came close to signing three more players, who General Manager Neal Huntington declined to name, before the midnight Monday deadline for draft picks to sign but deals fell through. – John Perrotto, Tribune-Democrat

I wasn’t sure whether he was speculating or reporting, though. I mean, Luquette had his surgery well before the draft, and in fairly public fashion. If they weren’t willing to sign an injured player under any circumstances, they probably wouldn’t have drafted Luquette in the first place.