Coonelly Speaks on Alvarez

In the negotiations between the Pirates and Pedro Alvarez, it looks like the Pirates are blinking first by going forward with their frustrations with Alvarez and Scott Boras:

"I am frustrated that negotiations haven't concluded of yet," Coonelly said last night by phone from Pittsburgh. "We were very hopeful to have Pedro playing for one of the Pirates' affiliates by now. Other premier college players who signed early, like Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun and Evan Longoria, have used the additional year of development as a stepping stone to get into majors within 10-12 months of being drafted, and we tried to work Pedro into that situation."

This is the first time I've felt even vaguely concerned about signing Alvarez, and it's not for obvious reasons. The Pirates have the money to sign Pedro Alvarez. That's not the question. The money for Alvarez is there. The Pirates also have to sign Pedro. There's no real question there. Even if they knock the trade deadline out of the ballpark, failing to sign Alvarez is going to be a huge failure in the eyes of the fan. Boras and Alvarez have Coonelly and Huntington over the coals on this one. I know, you know it, Boras knows it, and Coonelly should know it. Playing these kinds of games isn't going to get anyone anywhere.