First, they’ll have an excuse to watch honest-to-goodness football after the high school, college and NFL seasons have concluded for the year. It’ll be nice to scratch that itch, even if the on-field product isn’t Steelers-quality pigskin.

Second, “where are they now?” will finally have an answer. Given western Pennsylvania’s pool of talent, it’s inevitable that the Power will work to roster a few local heroes. Former Panthers, Mountaineers, Nittany Lions and small college and high school standouts not currently thriving in organized ball may have an opportunity to come back home and wear the local colors.

If I were the general manager in charge, these players would be on my wish list for the Pittsburgh Power’s inaugural year roster. Who’s on yours?

Anthony Morelli
QB, Penn Hills High School and Pennsylvania State University

Coming out of high school, Morelli was was rated the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country and Pennsylvania’s No. 1 overall prospect. After flirting with Pitt, he ended up committing to Penn State. As a Nittany Lion, he spent two years behind Zach Mills and Michael Robinson before starting as a junior. He became the only Nit to pass for 2,000 yards in two seasons. Still, Morelli never quite lived up to the hype, and signed with the Cardinals as a free agent after not being drafted. He didn’t make the 53-man roster, and signed with teams in the Arena Football League (prior to its folding), and the UFL. At 25, Morelli still has time to eke out a living playing professionally, and he’d be a recognizable name in a run-and-gun offense.

Andrew Johnson
RB, North Hills High School and University of Akron

Fast. So very, very fast. Andrew Johnson starred in football and track in the WPIAL, playing his high school ball at North Hills and Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Back then, he was ranked by Rivals as the nation’s No. 9 running back. Johnson began his college career at Miami, but never really saw the field. (He did run on the Hurricanes’ track team.) Finally, after three wasted seasons, he transferred to Akron. As a Zip, he rushed 56 times for 278 yards (a 5.0 average), and caught 11 passes for 64 yards. That was just enough to earn an invite to Cleveland Browns camp in 2009, but unfortunately, Johnson didn’t stick. He’s not in the game right now, but maybe a return to the limelight in Pittsburgh would interest him.

Tommie Campbell
DB/LB, Aliquippa High School and University of Pittsburgh

In the AFL, speed kills. Campbell was a star on the track as a Quip, winning the PIAA title in the 100-meter dash. He played in the Big 33, and was a top football prospect who was recruited to play for the Panthers. As happens far too often, Campbell had all the tools, but never stuck to a position. Dave Wannstedt tried him as a linebacker, but Campbell preferred to play in the defensive backfield, and was released from his scholarship in 2007. I’m not sure what happened to him from there, but assuming he still has his wheels, he’d fit fine with a Powerful defense.

Tyler Palko
QB, West Allegheny High School and University of Pittsburgh

Game checks of $400 might not interest Palko, who’s currently in camp as the Kansas City Chiefs’ third-string quarterback. Then again, no one’s ever won the starting job from the bench, and as Tommy Maddox and Kurt Warner can attest, small circuit leagues can provide opportunities to players to showcase their skills. What if Palko treated the AFL as pro baseball players do winter ball — a chance to get better in the offseason, and potentially catch the eye of another GM?

Neal Huntington turned over the 40-man roster he inherited from Dave Littlefield with no change in results at PNC Park. While the Pirates remain a last-place team, their minor league affiliates are stocked with legitimate prospects. There is hope for the future, allegedly.

Huntington’s work has the Pirates positioned well for a turnaround circa 2012 or so, but his evaluation of players in certain trades seems inaccurate in hindsight. Huntington is known for selling high on his own assets, and buying low on prospects out of favor with their current clubs. Unfortunately, along with his celebrated wins at the exchange came these four losses.

Room for improvement

John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Josh Harrison: It made sense for the Pirates to move Grabow at the 2009 trade deadline, as he was set to be a free agent after the season. He served in an important bullpen role, but in no way was he irreplaceable. The head-scratcher came when Huntington also threw in Gorzelanny at minimum value.

The 2010 Bucs need starting pitching in the worst way, and Gorzelanny has put up a 118 ERA+ in Chicago, going 7-7 with 110 strikeouts in 119 innings. Meanwhile, Hart and Ascanio are rotting on the disabled list. Harrison is a catalyst for the Altoona Curve’s offense, but he hasn’t hit for much power, and his speed isn’t a plus tool. An empty .300 average might fit at second base, but he’s played more at third—he probably projects as a utility guy at the MLB level, if he makes it there. Not bad, just not worth a 27-year-old lefty who was once pitcher of the year for your organization.

Jose Bautista for Robinzon Diaz: When Huntington shipped out Bautista, the move appeared to be motivated by a factor other than on-field performance. He wasn’t going to be a 40-homer masher in Pittsburgh, but Bautista wasn’t a complete dud, and he had some value as a multi-position bench player. The Orioles, Rays, Royals and Mets all gave up on Bautista’s talent, too, but Huntington had the last shot at the late bloomer prior to his blossoming into a four-win outfielder and third baseman in 2010.

Diaz was worth taking a look at, but ultimately didn’t hit in Indianapolis, didn’t hit in Pittsburgh, and didn’t hit in Toledo in 2010 after the Tigers signed him off the scrap heap. Right now, he’d be behind Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit, Erik Kratz, Jason Jaramillo, and even Jeff Clement on the list of players I’d rather see behind home plate. In an extremely unfair comparison to an alternate reality, Bautista’s .258/.370/.600 line would fit fantastically into a lackluster Pirates batting order, no matter the defensive position.

Salomon Torres for Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts: Torres pitched just one season for the Brewers, going 7-5 with 28 saves and a 3.49 ERA in 80 innings in 2008. Salas and Roberts were out of the Pirates organization after one season each, and neither had any upside at the time of acquisition. Huntington’s hand may have been forced by Torres’ relations with the organization, but given the premium that’s placed on pitchers with ninth-inning experience, it’s a shame Sully didn’t fetch more.

Adam LaRoche for Argenis Diaz and Hunter Strickland: LaRoche was never the cleanup bat Pirates fans expected when Littlefield sent Mike Gonzalez to Atlanta, but he also wasn’t appreciated for the contributions he did make. Garrett Jones has been worth half a win for the Pirates in 2010 and Clement can’t stay healthy long enough to prove himself as more than a Quad-A type, and so first base is still up in the air for the short and long term.

I wonder if Andy LaRoche’s performance might’ve been steadied by having his big brother in the clubhouse on a daily basis. I know the 2010 lineup—and 2011’s—would’ve been more palatable with the elder LaRoche’s veteran presence. At a minimum, a trade return could’ve been improved. Strickland’s 5.53 ERA in 57 innings this year buries him on the prospect depth chart, and Diaz doesn’t seem likely to get a fair shake at a starting job.

If Huntington were to commit to a Diaz/Pedro Ciriaco platoon for 2011 in an attempt to unearth a poor man’s Omar Vizquel at shortstop, my opinion on this trade could change. As it stands, it was LaRoche for two bit parts at best, and that’s a waste.

Notable exclusions

Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson: Alderson’s work for the Pirates has been horrific, but Sanchez was a broken player when he was dealt and isn’t earning his salary in San Francisco. Neil Walker might not have broken out if Sanchez’s services had been retained, and acquiring Alderson was a move with positive expected value. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Jason Bay for Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen and Bryan Morris: The jury is still out. Bay did well in Boston, but is showing in New York that he’s an injury risk. The Pirates can’t afford to have a franchise player who won’t stay on the field, and so it was best to part ways. LaRoche and Moss may still pan out (though in all likelihood, that would in other uniforms). If Morris develops into a No. 3 starter, he alone makes the trade worthwhile.

Jesse Chavez for Akinori Iwamura: You get what you give. “Iwamura” must be Japanese for disaster, but Chavez’s career ERA in MLB is 5.11. He’s shown no improvement in 2010, posting a FIP of 4.98 this year, compared to 4.85 in 2009 and 4.53 in 2008. A sideways move isn’t necessarily a bad one.

With the first overall pick in the 2011 Major League Baseball first-year player draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates select Anthony Rendon, third baseman, from Rice University.

Possessors of baseball’s worst record, the Pirates would make the top pick in next year’s draft if the season were to end today. Not since taking Bryan Bullington in 2002 has the team had such an opportunity.

Of course, when opportunity knocked eight years ago, general manager Dave Littlefield didn’t answer. He went the signability route instead, opting for a starter with No. 3 upside over more highly regarded talents. He bricked on the pick, allowing Tampa Bay to gobble up B.J. Upton.

Thankfully, Neal Huntington’s draft record is virtually spotless, and so the best player on the board in 2011 would be the player donning a black and gold uniform. Rendon’s would be the name called. He has franchise-changing ability. Superstar potential.

Current Pirates Pedro Alvarez, Tony Sanchez and Jameson Taillon are top-notch prospects. First-round talents all, they give hope to fans for the future. If there’s a gripe to make, though, it’s that they’re more likely to be all-star players, not MVPs or Cooperstown bound. Jim Thome, Yadier Molina, Josh Beckett … I’ll take ‘em all. Huntington’s picks should be great, but not the greatest.

Anthony Rendon, though, is worthy of superlatives. A cross between Mark Teixeira and Evan Longoria — or, from a Pittsburgh perspective, Alvarez’s bat with premium defense at third — could finally make the rebuilding stop.

Winning hockey returned to Mellon Arena when Pittsburgh’s hockey team was able to cash in on a winning draft lottery ticket. Losing out in 2010 could ensure the Pirates’ future follows a similar path.

How the Penguins went from worst to first

Being perennially awful but not the absolute worst team in baseball cost the Pirates Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper in 2009 and 2010.

The Penguins turned themselves around by sniping Sidney Crosby first overall in 2005. How would the franchise look with Bobby Ryan rather than Sid the Kid? The difference between 1-1 and 1-2 can be staggering. In 2004, the Washington Capitals drafted Alex Ovechkin, and the Pens wound up with Evgeni Malkin second.

Just as Huntington wouldn’t throw Taillon back after missing out on Harper, the Pens are certainly happy with Malkin.

Simply put, teams building through the draft should have a handful of stars — but the chance to find a face of the franchise is much more rare.

Alvarez, Sanchez, Taillon, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker … they’re the Malkins, Staals, Fleurys and Orpiks of the Pirates. But to be pushed over the top, the core of talent needs something that every other contending team doesn’t already have.

If Rendon really can hit .300 with 30 homers and play Gold Glove defense at third, the Pirates might have their Sidney Crosby. And just as when Crosby arrived the Pens still had work to do, Huntington’s job wouldn’t be complete. Signing key free agents, cultivating role players and locking up stars for the long term would be a new challenge.

But wouldn’t it be fun to have a different problem to solve for once?

July 31 was supposed to be a quiet day for Pirates fans, as the team had already dealt away most of its tradable assets in seasons past. Generally, the non-waiver trade deadline is overhyped, and rumor mongers get more play than transactions analysts. There’s a lot of talk, but not a lot of action.

Neal Huntington surprised me, though, and did about all he could as far as retooling the Pirates’ roster is concerned. He shipped out a handful of older role players — D.J. Carrasco, Bobby Crosby, Ryan Church, Octavio Dotel and Javier Lopez — and replaced them with younger role players and prospects.

In doing so, Huntington made it relatively clear that 2011 will be another year for evaluation only. If the Pirates are ever going to play competitive baseball again, it likely won’t be until 2012 at the earliest.

I’m not upset by that: 2011 will still be a very important year for the franchise. The team’s talent core will need to continue to develop, and players on the fringe will need to win future roster spots.

Here’s my take on an Opening Day lineup for next year, and on what needs to happen with the current Pirates who don’t fit into medium-term plans.

Hitters

C: Chris Snyder, Erik Kratz
1B: John Bowker/Jeff Clement, Andy LaRoche
2B: Neil Walker
3B: Pedro Alvarez
SS: Pedro Ciriaco, Argenis Diaz
LF: Jose Tabata
CF: Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Moss
RF: Lastings Milledge, Delwyn Young

Pitchers

SP: Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Brad Lincoln, James McDonald, free agent
RP: Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, free-for-all

Playing time

My roster would include two strict platoons and one timeshare.

One of Bowker or Clement can make the roster, but not both. Whichever left-handed bat contains the most life will start against righties at first base and see the majority of playing time. Andy LaRoche would start against lefties, and serve as Alvarez’s caddy at third.

Milledge and Moss would platoon in right. Moss (or Bowker, with Clement at first?) would start against tough righties, and Milledge would start against lefties and the Jeff Suppans of the world. Moss would serve as McCutchen’s occasional backup in center, with Tabata earning starts there in the event of any prolonged absence from Cutch. Young would be listed as a right fielder, but his real position is switch-hitting versatile bench guy.

Ciriaco and Diaz would split shortshop time in an attempt to determine if either possesses the elite glove needed to compensate for a lack of offense. A Gold Glove-caliber infielder would do wonders for the pitching staff.

The starting rotation might not be awful. I wanted Huntington to go after a Rich Harden or Ben Sheets-type free agent this past offseason to eat some of the innings that inevitably were thrown by Brian Burres, Jeff Karstens, et al. Signing a Jeff Francis, Erik Bedard or Chris Young for 2011 will still allow for plenty of mop-up time for pitchers like Charlie Morton, especially if the free agent is dealt at the deadline.

The bullpen will need some TLC, but we can hope Huntington works magic on the scrap heap again. Hanrahan and Meek have jobs locked down; five other spots are open, and there are internal candidates to fill them. Maybe two free agent relievers will be necessary.

The 40-man roster

There’s still roster fluff, but these five are recognizable names that I don’t need to see more of next year.

Trade: Zach Duke, Ryan Doumit, Garrett Jones
Non-tender: Ronny Cedeno
Waive: Steve Pearce

Doumit and Jones are fine players, just not ones a team like the Pirates should build around. Look at the NL Central’s first basemen: Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Prince Fielder, Derrek Lee and top prospect Brett Wallace. Jones will struggle to be league average at first or in right. Trade him near his peak value and donate his at-bats to the evaluation project. Bowker won’t be a star, but he might build up enough value to be usable (ditto Clement); the Pirates’ future first baseman currently mans the hot corner (Alvarez, or Anthony Rendon?). Doumit has value in the American League.

Duke should’ve been traded a year ago.

Cedeno is due a raise in arbitration; in a vacuum, there’s nothing wrong with giving that to him, but I’d rather see what the flashy gloves have. Maybe Ciriaco is a sleeper. The prospect mavens had better reports on him than I expected to hear when he was acquired.

Pearce would make for a solid right-handed option of a platoon, but his balky knee is trouble, and all else equal, LaRoche probably has more upside. I’d like to see Andy take another 200 at-bats or so to prove once and for all that he’s not an MLB starter. If he can make it through waivers to Indianapolis, then Pearce can stay in the organization.

Verified reports have former Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield scouting Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, today. Sources who once visited the state of Indiana believe that the only logical conclusion involves the Pirates and Littlefield’s current club, the Chicago Cubs, consummating a deadline deal.

Littlefield was sent by Cubs GM Jim Hendry to Indianapolis to scout players he’d formerly acquired, namely outfielder Alex Presley and left-handed reliever Daniel Moskos. Presley, drafted in the eighth round in 2006, had proven to be an organizational role player prior to 2010. Now, the diminutive prospect is experiencing a career year, hitting .350/.397/.546 in 91 games across two levels. Moskos, famously selected by Littlefield one pick ahead of supposed franchise savior Matt Wieters, had a similarly rocky start to his professional career before logging a 1.74 ERA and 17 saves this season.

Littlefield, known for buying high and selling low, has reportedly advised the Cubs to acquire Presley and Moskos at any cost. Neal Huntington, who stepped into his first general manager’s gig in Pittsburgh and was left to clean up Littlefield’s mess, was not immediately interested in trading prospects in order to boost his major league roster, but eventually gave in to Hendry’s advances.

In exchange for Presley and Moskos, the Pirates will receive infield prospect Ryan Flaherty, right-handed pitcher Carlos Zambrano, and $30 million in cash.

Flaherty, soon to be 24, was a teammate of Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez at Vanderbilt University. Flaherty has struggled in 2010, hitting a combined .258/.323/.379 across two levels. He has played primarily second base and shortstop, and has also spent time at the hot corner. It is expected the Pirates will leave Flaherty in the middle infield, and hope that reuniting the left-handed pull hitter with Alvarez will turn the youngster’s career around.

Zambrano, a veteran of 10 major league seasons, signed a five-year, $91.5 million extension with Chicago in August of 2007. He had never logged an ERA over 3.95 in a year prior to 2010, when reported behavioral issues caused the Cubs to place their ace on the restricted list. With the amount of money remaining on his contract, Hendry agreed to pay the freight in shipping Big Z out. Despite concerns over how Zambrano will fit into the Pirates’ clubhouse, Huntington agreed to move forward with the swap given how awful the team’s rotation has been.

Sources say what began as minor dealings between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates over bench depth has turned into a larger, three-team trade totaling seven players. The Detroit Tigers became involved when the Yankees made starting pitcher Sergio Mitre available, which may be a signal that New York is working on a more significant trade for rotation help.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman started the action by inquiring as to the availability of Pirates utilityman Delwyn Young, a switch-hitting outfielder also capable of playing third base and second base. Multiple reports had Cashman actively searching for a bench player capable of spelling Alex Rodriguez occasionally at the hot corner. Young has compiled lines of .293/.353/.386 in 155 career plate appearances as a pinch hitter and .273/.318/.476 in high leverage situations, but a strong bench presence isn’t a necessity for the also-ran Pirates, who agreed to part ways with the 28-year-old.

Cashman had dealt with Neal Huntington of the Pirates previously, notably in a 2008 deadline deal that sent four young players to Pittsburgh in exchange for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. An early iteration of that transaction had included minor league right-handed pitcher George Kontos, but later the teams settled on a different package. Huntington coveted the hard-throwing righty at the time, and still wanted to add Kontos, even after he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Cashman and Huntington disagreed over balancing the deal, and that’s when negotiations turned to the Tigers.

The Pirates have agreed to send Delwyn Young to the Yankees and third baseman Andy LaRoche to the Tigers. The Yankees will send Mitre to the Tigers and Kontos to the Pirates. The Tigers will send prospects Daniel Fields and Brayan Villareal to the Pirates and reliever Billy Buckner to the Yankees.

News reports out of New York originally had Mitre set to fill a void in the Yankees’ rotation left by an injury to Andy Pettitte. However, the latest rumblings have Cashman working feverishly to add an ace-caliber arm, likely Dan Haren of the Diamondbacks or Roy Oswalt of the Astros.

The Tigers took aim at Mitre and LaRoche, two players who have shown flashes of star talent, but whose professional results have been disappointing. LaRoche will start at third for the injured Brandon Inge. Mitre will join the Tigers’ rotation as the team tries to catch the Central-division leading Chicago White Sox, currently 3.5 games ahead in the standings.

Huntington continues to stock his farm system, adding Fields and Villareal, both of whom had been playing for the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Fields was a 2009 draftee, and the 19-year-old shortstop’s assignment to Lakeland could be considered aggressive. Baseball America rated Fields as the Tigers’ No. 9 prospect entering 2010, and had expected his pro career to begin in low Class A.

Villareal, 23, was considered a sleeper by prospect analyst John Sickels this offseason, and has put together a 7-4 record in 16 starts in his first taste of the Florida State League. In 85.2 innings, he has struck out 90 batters and walked 23. Scouting reports have his velocity peaking at 97 miles per hour. The Tigers’ No. 18 prospect was signed out of Venezuela in 2005.

Buckner was sent to the Yankees in an effort to clear a spot 40-man roster.

Earlier this afternoon, reports surfaced that the Los Angeles Dodgers have interest in acquiring Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm. Other sources refute these unsubstantiated trade rumors, instead citing knowledge of team meetings that suggest Neal Huntington is actively negotiating with the New York Mets on a trade involving Maholm.

The Mets currently sit 5.5 games back in the National League East, and are chasing the Cincinnati Reds in the wild card race. Their 49-44 records matches that of the Dodgers, who are six back in the NL West. Omar Minaya, general manager of the Mets, reportedly refused to comment on the team’s starting rotation, but it is known that he is searching for an upgrade over the likes of R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahasi, who have experienced modest success in 2010 but aren’t as battle-tested in Major League Baseball as Maholm is.

Maholm, 28, is a six-year big league veteran. In 19 starts for the Pirates this season, he is 6-7 with a 4.03 ERA. He is the definition of an innings eater, as for his career, he averages 34 starts, 212 innings and a 99 ERA+ per 162-game season. Maholm is signed through 2011 with a club option for 2012.

Sources say in return for Maholm, the Mets will ship second base prospect Reese Havens, troubled starting pitcher Oliver Perez and cash to Pittsburgh.

Havens, 23, was the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 June amateur draft. Originally selected as a shortstop, Havens has been shifted to second base in New York. After beginning the 2010 season in St. Lucie, he was promoted to Binghamton of the Eastern League. In 18 games for the Binghamton Mets, Havens has hit .338/.400/.662 with six home runs and 12 RBI. Finally healthy, Havens has outperformed his preseason ranking as the Mets’ No. 7 prospect. Sources were unable to determine if Huntington prefers to use Havens at short, or at second.

In order to convince Minaya to part with Havens, Huntington agreed to reacquire Perez. The former Pirate’s stock has plummeted from its peak in 2004, a year that saw the southpaw go 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA in 196 innings. He pitched capably for the Metropolitans in 2007 and 2008, but has been a disaster since, going 3-7 with a 6.62 ERA in 25 games split over 2009 and 2010. Perez, 28, is owed approximately $18 million through 2011, and it is believed that the Mets will include a significant amount of cash in the deal. Perez will assume Maholm’s spot in Pittsburgh’s rotation. According to a fake team source, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan said no starter Huntington gives him can possibly be any worse than Charlie Morton.

Members of the Posse de Perez did not immediately return messages left at group headquarters.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are close to a deal that would send closer Octavio Dotel to the Florida Marlins, sources say.

Dotel, 36, has saved 19 games for the Pirates in 2010 after being signed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract in the offseason. The deal contains a $4.5 million club option for 2011 that becomes a mutual option if Dotel is traded. There is a $500,000 buyout in the event the option would not be exercised.

Despite a sparkling strikeout ratio and improved control over last year, Dotel has seen his earned run average rise as a Pirate. His year-to-year ERA has jumped nearly a run and a half from 3.32 in 2009 to 4.75. Still, the veteran of 12 major league seasons will be a valuable commodity as the trade deadline approaches, as he is one of a handful of experienced relievers available on the open market.

The Marlins, currently nine games back in the National League East and six back in the wild card race, could use another elite arm at the back end of their bullpen. The team can’t afford to lose any winnable games, and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest is willing to deal from the farm in order to make a playoff push.

In exchange for Dotel and $2 million in cash, the Marlins have agreed to send left-handed pitcher Jose Alvarez and minor league infielder Jake Smolinski to the Pirates.

Alvarez, 21, was recognized by Baseball America as a sleeper within the Marlins organization entering 2010. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a November deal for Jeremy Hermida, Alvarez has shown good potential while pitching in the South Atlantic League. He is 7-3 this season with a 3.22 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 92.1 innings. Alvarez led the New York-Penn League in earned run average while pitching for the Lowell Spinners last season.

Smolinski, 21, is playing in his first season with the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads. He was acquired by the Marlins in a trade that sent Scott Olsen to the Washington Nationals in 2008. The Nationals’ No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft has been hampered by injuries in his career, and is suffering through a down year offensively. The right-handed hitter has logged the bulk of his professional innings at third base, second base and left field, and is starting at the hot corner for the Hammerheads. Baseball America considered Smolinski to be the Marlins’ 16th best prospect prior to Opening Day.

The deal is expected to be announced publicly never.

Statistics are an important part of baseball, and so players are constantly being evaluated, judged, measured and scrutinized. In July, all the numbers are brought front and center by two events: the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the trade deadline. Today, Cory and Alan consider the Pirates’ roster in that context: Who has the star power necessary to serve as the foundation of a winning team, and who would be better off in another uniform? You can play episode No. 7 of Pirate Revolution above or download the show here.

Neil Walker filled a gaping hole when he was promoted from Indianapolis. The entire Pirates organization is weak at second base, and it was a relief when Walker showed up in Pittsburgh. He’s hit enough and played solid defense, and he’s being lumped in with Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata as puzzle pieces for a contending team. But is that expectation fair? What are the chances Walker will be starting for the Pirates in 2012?

Andy LaRoche has fizzled; his big league performance has paled in comparison to his minor league pedigree, and he can only be characterized as a disappointment. How can the Pirates give LaRoche an opportunity to recover some of his lost value?

An outfield of McCutchen, Tabata and Lastings Milledge sounds impressive, but so far, it seems woefully short in the power category. Would Garrett Jones be better suited as a right fielder? Can the Pirates squeeze enough production out of their existing outfielders, or do they need to look outside the organization for more help?

On the mound, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm stand out as assets. Does either pitcher have what it takes to help a contender in a playoff push? Should the Pirates hope the lefties will rebound, or are their roles set as nothing more than innings eaters?

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ship began to sink shortly after the last recording of Pirate Revolution, a Titletahn podcast. Hosts Cory Humes and Alan Smodic return to their microphones today, and in doing so, hope to bail out a team that’s struggled through their early schedule in 2010. You can play episode No. 6 of Pirate Revolution above or download the show here.

A lot has changed since the guys last spoke, as the active roster now boasts a handful of the organization’s top prospects. The show starts out with a discussion of Pedro Alvarez’s arrival at the hot corner: Was the timing right, are our expectations reasonable, and what ever happened with Andy LaRoche entrenching himself at third?

From there, it’s on to Neil Walker and Jose Tabata, two players who didn’t figure to be huge factors heading into the 2010 season. All of a sudden, more seasoned vets are underperforming, and Neal Huntington makes the decision to turn to the farm. Why now?

Brad Lincoln’s career has gotten off to a forgettable start, but Alan holds out hope that he’ll be a solid pro. Meanwhile, Cory mentions another 2006 No. 1 pick, Bryan Morris, who’s now under the control of the black and gold and thriving in the minors. Is either pitcher the ace that the team so desperately needs?

Tony Sanchez’s bad luck, Brock Holt’s bum knee and trade possibilities also get attention. This episode runs approximately 43 minutes. Thanks for listening. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback.