Mondesi backs off threats about leaving Pirates if they don't pay

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Raul Mondesi threatened to leave the Pittsburgh Pirates if they don't pay him by the end of the month, then backed off his comments after meeting with team officials Sunday.
"If by April 30 they don't pay me, I'll pack up my things and come back to the Dominican Republic," Mondesi told The Associated Press by telephone before a game against the Cincinnati Reds.
A Dominican civil court ruled in February that Mondesi owed former major leaguer Mario Guerrero about $640,000 for helping him improve his baseball skills, a claim which Mondesi denies.
Mondesi appealed the ruling; he said the court ordered his accounts in nine Dominican banks frozen, and the Pirates are withholding his pay.
During a meeting with Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield and manager Lloyd McClendon after Sunday's 6-0 victory over the Reds, Mondesi told them he wasn't planning to leave the team.
"Raul's very happy to be a Pirate and he's going to be here May 1," McClendon said.
Mondesi did not talk to reporters after the game, but also told publicist Jim Trdinich that he wasn't leaving the team.
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