Pittsburgh

For all of the doubters, take a look at where the Pirates' overall organizational depth is right now compared to where it was at this point three seasons ago.

While it doesn't currently show at the major league level, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and staff have done a tremendous job of loading up the organization with young talent.

As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan myself, the last thing I want to do is throw a wet towel on a great week.

With the signings of Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Luis Heredia, the Pirates have added three power arms.

They signed the best American high school arm, arguably the second best American arm, and the top international arm of 2010.

For a team like the Pirates, this is a major step in the right direction. Every year they get slammed for not spending money at any level.

In a comment to my recent article article about Josh Lueke , someone commented that the public at large has a short memory when it comes to ballplayers’ past transgressions.  I was reminded of that fact today when I read about how Pirates’ rookie Jose Tabata’s estranged wife pleaded guilty to kidnapping today.

The Pittsburgh Pirates officially called up 3B prospect Pedro Alvarez from Triple-A. He was called up before Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox and batted sixth for the Pirates.

Alvarez, the second overall pick in the 2008 June Draft, was hitting .277/.363/.533 with 13 HRs and 15 doubles in 242 ABs in Triple-A. He will be the everyday third baseman moving forward and Andy LaRoche will move into a utility role for the Pirates.

Let’s face it—the Pirates are a bad team. Just look at the numbers of their pitching staff, and you cannot help but cringe.

A team ERA of 5.27 is awfully telling, as they have maybe two or three usable pitchers for fantasy owners.

Help may be on the way. Top prospect Brad Lincoln has been tearing up Triple-A, earning him a recall to start tonight against the Nationals. Just look at his production:

Six Wins
68.1 Innings
3.16 ERA
1.00 WHIP
55 Strikeouts (7.3 K/9)
14 Walks (1.9 BB/9)
.255 BABIP

Charlie Morton has not been exactly what you would call a "good pitcher" for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season.

In fact, Morton has been something you would call a "horrible pitcher that deserves to be sent to the minors" this season.

Morton, 26, was expected to become one of the Pirates' better pitchers this season after they acquired him in the Nate McLouth trade.

I was sitting on my couch on Tuesday night and turned on the Cincinnati Reds-Pittsburgh Pirates game, mainly to watch Mike Leake pitch. In the top of the eighth, Leake got into a little bit of trouble and Dusty Baker called on Arthur Rhodes to help bail out him out.

Here is the beautiful thing about writing: you start to watch a baseball game with a thought in mind about what or whom you are going to write and then something happens during the course of a game that completely changes your train of thought.

Expert handicapper ESPN rates the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 favorite over the Pirates in PNC Park tonight.

But the Pirates' Charlie Morton can beat the Cubs' Ted Lilly. Because Morton already has. Last year, in Chicago.

It won't be easy, of course. Recent history suggests that Lilly will go about six innings against the Pirates, giving up about three runs, more likely than not for a quality start.

Basically, the Pirates figure to score against him, but not run up the total. He is aged 34, which is to say that he figures to decline with each passing year.

Because they are against a tough, and often contending division rival, games against the Milwaukee Brewers are a reasonable "litmus test" of how the Pirates will fare in the National League Central.

And the only thing worse than being swept by the Milwaukee on the road is to be swept by them at home.

Worse, being all but shut out, scoring only one run in three games. While the Brewers scored 36 runs during the same stretch. Talk about a "kitchen sink."

Thanks to a walk-off single last night by Lastings Milledge that scored Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates have gotten off to a .500 start this season. Due to their losing ways, the Pirates don’t get much love here at The Ghost of Moonlight Graham .

But today is for the Pirates. Let’s see what is going on with the team from the Steel City.

Whatcha Gonna Do When the Pirates Run Wild on You?