The Philly Inquirer writes about the Bucs, and not for positive reasons. One very interesting quote (italics mine):
"We'll pay attention to the slot, but we'll take the best available player that we believe we have a chance to sign," Coonelly said. "If we think a player's value is over the slot, we'd certainly consider it."
No. No no no no no. I'm calling you out on this one, Coonelly. In late January you said this at PirateFest:
Stressing each syllable when asked if the Pirates "honestly" will draft the best available player at No. 2 overall in June: "I'll say it again: We are going to select the best player. This organization has been criticized in the past for not doing that. We are going to do it."
That's it. You said it, with no qualifiers and no ambiguity. No BS about the slotting system. Anyone will sign with the Pirates if they pay enough. So which is it, Mr. Coonelly? Are you going to pony up for some real baseball players, or aren't you?