Last Updated on August 25, 2010 3:56 pm by admin
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Major league home runs leader Jose Bautista says teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates should be forced to spend their significant revenue-sharing pay-outs each season to field better teams.
The former Pittsburgh third baseman now plays for Toronto. He believes the Pirates were ready to win several seasons ago, but management refused to spend the money to upgrade a too-young pitching staff. As a result, the Pirates kept losing and a productive everyday lineup was dismantled.
Bautista says the Pirates keep making money but keep losing games because baseball’s financial system doesn’t prevent teams from doing that. Pittsburgh is on pace to lose more than 100 games during a record 18th consecutive losing season.