Pirates Mixed Bag: Judging the Pirates, Mike McKenry's Success, Carlos Beltran to the Burgh?

I have a huge bag of Pirates' goodies today and I'm sure more will be coming tomorrow. The trade deadline is heating up and rumors continue to swirl so there is quite a bit of information out there on that front. Then there's tons of great articles on the current Pirates as they stand right now. I wouldn't post them if they weren't good so if you're a fan, read them all.


1. Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette lays a huge wake-up call on Bucco fans. I very much agree with him, but putting a damper on the Carlos Beltran pursuit, illegitimate as it may be, is not cool. Let us enjoy this, we don't get to do it too often:
http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/29507-could-we-wait-until-july-31-before-pronouncing-judgment-on-pirates

2. Even after Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com guessed that Carlos Beltran will be traded to the Pirates, the news hasn't been promising. Here is probably the best assessment of where the Pirates stand in the Beltran sweepstakes. This comes from Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/07/20/carlos.beltran/index.html

3. Here is Smizik again with some fun tidbits about the Pirates. Actually this one is somewhat of wake-up call to Pirates' fans as well especially to those who dislike Jose Veras for whatever God forsaken reason...:
http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/29492-time-to-spend-some-money

4. This is my first Gene Collier repost, but it certainly won't be my last. As always, Collier, of the Post-Gazette, provides a fact-filled and humorous take on the success the Pirates have had with Michael McKenry behind the plate:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11202/1161894-150-0.stm

5. Last we have Joe Starkey of the Tribune-Review and an interesting article about "Moneyball." Especially the comparison of Neal Huntington to Billy Beane:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_747709.html

Bonus: The Trib's Dejan Kovacevic's weekly chat transcript. Always worth a view:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_747633.html


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