In the last week, we've learned that the Pirates showed some interest in both Edwin Jackson (who they apparently offered a three-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $30 million and a one-year deal worth around $10 million) and Roy Oswalt (no word on the terms of an offer because they were rebuffed out of hand, but presumably it would've been in the $8 million neighborhood). They didn't land either player because Jackson wanted a one-year deal and the Nationals out-bid the Pirates by $1 million, while Oswalt has no interest in pitching for the Pirates. It's hard to know exactly what to make of either of these stories. On one hand, the Pirates won't ever sign a useful free agent without making an offer. It'd be extremely cynical to say that the Pirates made these offers for PR purposes. Remember that when the Pirates drafted Pedro Alvarez, a huge portion of the fan base expected the team to not pony up the money and let him walk. The Pirates not only signed ...
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