Report: Jason Grilli Comes Right Out And Says The Pirates Suck

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently re-signed reliever Jason Grilli, locking him down for two more years at $6.75 million. Yesterday, during a press conference to announce the deal, Grilli said all the right things about wanting to win in Pittsburgh, about his admiration for Clint Hurdle, about all he's overcome to bounce back from elbow surgery and a knee injury even though he's in his mid-30s. But during a separate radio interview, Grilli was a wee bit more candid in explaining his decision to stay with the Bucs rather than play for a seventh team in 11 seasons. We haven't been able to find the audio, but Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Joe Starkey tweeted this tidbit:

Grilli, talking with 93.7 The Fan's John Phillips, spoke of his reasons for re-signing with the Pirates and perhaps sacrificing some cash in the process. He mentioned the ballpark, his teammates, the fans and how his family loves the city—and then he said this:

"All of that was a bigger factor than ... trying to go somewhere where I felt that, you know, you might even have a chance to win or to even take more money just for the sake of 'I'm at the last quarter turn of my career.' "

Somewhere where ... you might even have a chance to win. Because who needs that shit? Might as well stay in Pittsburgh, where losing is so ingrained it's now a selling point.

[ Twitter]