Upon further review, Jack Wilson is charging himself with an error.
The Pirates shortstop apologized Wednesday for his comments criticizing the team's most recent trades, including the dealing of popular outfielder Nyjer Morgan.
Wilson, the longest-tenured Pirate, said he "really didn't sleep" on Tuesday night and stressed the afternoon tirade was emotional and uncharacteristic.
"I've lost a lot of (friends), and at some point, it blows up in your face," he said. "I didn't handle it the right way."
The Pirates traded Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals and outfielder Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees in a four-hour span earlier that day. It came less than a month after center fielder Nate McLouth was dealt to the Atlanta Braves.
Wilson said the cumulative effect of losing Morgan, McLouth, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and so many other teammates unleashed his frustration. He said his outburst was a sign of his passion, not a denouncement of general manager Neal Huntington's plan to turn around a franchise careening toward its 17th consecutive losing season.
"Some of my comments were pretty harsh," Wilson said. "When you are in the moment, and everyone's bummed out, you tend to lose your head a little bit and vent. I definitely don't want to be that guy that's butting heads with the organization. I apologize for that. That's not the person or the player I want to be."
Here is some of what Wilson said Tuesday: "You hope that eventually some of these trades will work out. They haven't yet. The biggest question is, when do things start turning around?
"It's hard for guys who have seen these exact kinds of trades happen before and seen it do absolutely nothing. For nine years, I've seen these trades two or three times a year, every year, and we still haven't had a winning season."
Pirates manager John Russell understood why Wilson was so upset.
"When you lose a teammate or a friend, that's the first reaction of anybody," Russell said.
Wilson, 31, who, himself, has been the subject of many trade rumors over the years, said he wasn't asked by the front office to make the apology. Rather, he talked to his wife about his comments, and the decision to apologize was "pretty easy."
"It's just something, when you see what you said (in print), you think, 'Wow, that guy is kind of a jerk,'" Wilson said. "That's not me. I'm definitely passionate about winning and being a Pirate. I think sometimes it comes out in a negative way."
