Watch CBS News

Nutting Address Team, Media About 2014 Expectations

BRADENTON, Fla. (93-7 The Fan) - Pirates Chairman of the Board, Bob Nutting addressed the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday and later spoke to the media.

"It's different this year as we talk about the level of expectation," Nutting said of the upcoming 2014 season.

A reflective Nutting also made it a point to reinforce an important "thank you" message to the players.

"I wanted to emphasize [to the team] the appreciation and the respect of the fans of the City of Pittsburgh," Nutting said. "The response the city had to the team and the players last summer really reemphasized to me our responsibility and the players' responsibility to perform every day, every at bat."

"We've achieved so much as an organization – we're in a stronger place than we've been," Nutting said.

Nutting covered a variety of topics, from new television money to not offering A.J. Burnett a $14.1 million qualifying offer to reinforce the team's preference on taking on salary as opposed to parting ways with prospects in the team's top-rated farm system.

Nutting's stance on the latter topic, "There's no question it's easier and more impactful - especially at the trade deadline - to write an extra check than give up prospects."

Nutting also was vague when asked about the contract statuses of Manager Clint Hurdle and General Manager Neal Huntington, saying only, "What they've done with the organization in good times and bad times has been tremendous. I hope they're in the organization for a long time."

Nutting responds to a question about his involvement in not extending a qualifying offer of $14.1 million to A.J. Burnett:

Bob Nutting

Nutting responds to a question as to what the team's philosophy is at the trade deadline:

Bob Nutting

Nutting responds to a question as to the team's willingness to spend over 100 million dollars on a player contract:

Bob Nutting

Dan Zangrilli is the Pirates pre-game and post-game show host and a former minor league play-by-play broadcaster that spent time calling games for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals farm teams. You can follow Dan on twitter @DanZangrilli

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.