"Leak of finances" had the Pirates playing the spin game on Sunday

A rare look into the Pittsburgh Pirates finances have finally come to the forefront. Documents detailing the Pirates finances from 2007 and 2008 were leaked to the Associated Press this week and when the Pirates got word of the story going public, it forced Pirates President Frank Coonelly to play the spin game on Sunday.

Team officials quickly held a press gathering this afternoon and all of a sudden the Pirates were talking openly about their finances. To no surprise, the Associated Press wasn't invited to the session, who owner Bob Nutting aimed at the leak.

The Pirates furious over the leak, released a lengthy press statement after it became public that the Pirates pulled in profits of $14,408,249 for 2008 and $15,008,032 for 2007. Pirates President Frank Coonelly claims the club only made a profit of $5.4 million in 2009. Financial details regarding the Pirates 2009 finances were not leaked to the Associated Press.

The revenue sharing the Pirates brought in for 2007 and 2008 was substantial. The Pirates received $39,046,312 in revenue sharing for 2008 and $30,302,652 in the 2007. Player salaries in 2008 was $51,040,233 and $50,871,186 in 2007.

One financial expert told the Associated Press that the numbers reveal what many fans have suspected.