THE PIRATES DEMAND OUR ATTENTION

Yes, I'm aware that Steeler training camp started today, and as I reported earlier, I'm tremendously excited. Just look at that schedule: New England, Dallas, San Diego, Phildelphia, the Giants, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington...and we haven't even broached the subject of their AFC North rivals. It's going to be interesting.

Usually, the start of training camp marks the unofficial end of the Pirate season around these parts. Bay, Sanchez, and Wilson gets replaced by Ben, Santonio, and Willie in the daily headlines.

But the Pirates are doing their best to retain fan interest at least for a short while longer, despite the start of Camp Tomlin.

Friday night was a wild ride of rumors that finally ended up in the trade of OF Xavier Nady and LHP Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees. The return on the trade was originally reported as OF Jose Tabata, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, LHP George Kontos, and LHP Phil Coke.

Pirates Nation quickly broke out their Management Disapproval Rubber Stamp throughout the internet, comparing the new regime to the Littlefields and Bonifays that preceeded them. But there was one problem: that wasn't the actual trade.

No, the Pirates actually received Tabata, Ohlendorf, and pitchers Daniel McCutchen and Jeff Karstens as compensation for their part in trying to help the Yankees get to the 2008 World Series. Predictably, statements were revised (by most) who felt that this trade was an improvement over the previously-reported haul. Although Joe Buck and Buster Olney still think the Yankees ripped us off, for what that's worth.

What do I think? Well, this is kind of like evaluating the NFL draft the morning after. It's pretty much just a guess on anyone's part, because no one can see into the future and know how a player will pan out, with the possible exception of Billy Beane.

I'm not going to lie: I do not scour minor-league sites and message boards and have very little knowledge of these prospects outside of what I've recently read. As the proprietor of a website whose audience takes nearly as much satisfaction from bizarre off-the-field news as on-the-field reports, I can say that a player like Tabata could be absolutely fascinating. A high-upside player with a Manny Ramirez-esque mentality? Where do I sign up? The Pirates haven't seen a personality like this in a long time. We're more conditioned to the bland personas and lack of ego that result in 68-win seasons. It's nice to have a potential sign of life down the road.

And tell me the possibility of a lineup populated by Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, and Andrew McCutchen doesn't intrigue you at least somewhat?

In addition to Tabata, the Pirates are receiving not one, not two, but three potential major league starting pitchers. For a team that was trotting John Van Benschoten out every fifth day, that's a step in the right direction.

Tabata is like a high-risk, high-reward stock. He might have a screw loose and he's had some injury issues, but he was considered untouchable for a long time by the Yankee braintrust. It's a different take on the usual high-risk, no-reward players the Pirates targeted, and I think a step in the right direction for at least trying something different.

The three pitchers will probably never be confused with Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, but I'm hoping they won't be confused with Van Benschoten, Bryan Bullington, and Bobby Bradley either.

So life goes on for the Pirates and their fans. It was a bit surreal watching Nady and Marte immediately thrust into the heat of a Yankee-Red Sox matchup right off the bat on Saturday, but I guess that's something we'll get used to. We'll also be getting used to watching young OF Steve Pearce on a regular basis, which might be fun. And yes, with this move and others that may come, we'll be getting used to another losing season in pursuit of a winner sometime down the road.

More Pirate news:

--Despite the absence of Nady and Marte, the show must go on. Unfortunately, the Padres took another one with a 3-1 victory over Paul Maholm and the Pirates on Sunday. Jake Peavy struck out 10 and limited the Pirates to just four hits; Maholm pitched an equally strong seven innings, allowing four hits and one run while whiffing nine. Unfortunately, John Grabow offered up two gopherballs [Scott Hairston and Josh Bard], which left the Pirates at 48-57.

--I said it Friday, and I'll say it again: if you haven't checked out Dejan Kovacevic's new blog, you're doing yourself a great disservice. He's been all over the trade and everything else Pirate since its inception.

--Barney Dreyfuss, former owner of the Pirates who paid for the construction of Forbes Field out of his own pocket at a cost of $2 million, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Dreyfuss ran the Buccos from 1900-1932 and oversaw six NL pennants, two World Series titles, and just five losing seasons. If you ask me, his legacy has been greatly overshadowed in Pittsburgh sports history.

--Could Bay, Grabow, or Wilson be the next to go? As Branch Rickey would say, "You can finish last without them."

--The Pirates rank 20th in Paul Meyer's latest Power Rankings.

--The Pirates Charities auction on Saturday night was a huge success and will assist in the building of the region's first Miracle League Field, a baseball field designed to accommodate children with special needs.

SEND YOUR TIPS, LINKS & FEEDBACK: mondesishouse@gmail.com

NEWS AND NOTES

--That John Van Benschoten-Runelvys Hernandez pitching matchup wasn't quite as bad as advertised, at least by their standards. Both pitchers allowed 10 baserunners out of the 25 batters they faced, but allowed just three and two runs, respectively, in a 9-3 Pirates win over the Houston Astros.

Down 3-2 entering the 9th, the Buccos exploded for seven runs and three home runs, including an inside-the-park variety from Freddy Sanchez, giving a one-night hiatus to the "blow up the Pirates" theories that have surfaced the past week.

Tonight's matchup: LHP Paul Maholm (6-6, 4.10) vs. RHP Jack Cassel (1-0, 6.28), 8:05 p.m., Minute Maid Park. I'm sure you'll be watching.

--USA Today ranked the NFL's best quarterbacks, and Big Ben came in at #8, behind Manning/Brady, McNabb, Hasselbeck, Brees, Palmer, and Romo. And when I thought we were making progress in this department last year.

--The Steelers Super Bowl rings sold for $66,000 on eBay, but an uncorrected error was discovered....30+ years after they were produced.

--Check out this charity raffle and try to win a signed Geno Malkin hockey stick. Benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

--I somehow missed this on Sunday, but Bob Smizik said that Penguin fans who boo Marian Hossa are "knuckleheads".

--Here's some great moments in demolition derby history.

--Stealing an idea from Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno posed as a reporter at his NBC exit press conference.

Send your interesting links to mondesishouse@gmail.com for these fun little buffers between "real" posts.

ON TO HOUSTON...

At the risk of alienating more readers who I can hear clicking out with any mere mention of the Pirates, the comedic value of the early second half must be acknowledged. Thank you, Awkward Ryan Doumit Picture, for reassuring me that I need to talk some Pirates this morning.

The Battlin' Bucs are coming off of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies in which they were outscored 28-9, a Bronco-esque total with no assistance from John Elway.

The Rockies sported a record of 39-57 before the series, proving that the Pirates were just the elixir that the schedule doctors ordered. I guess this is that "weak 2nd half schedule" Pirate fans were talking about a few weeks ago.

Usually, I would think John Van Beethoven's presence on the mound in this situation would guarantee the post-All-Star-Game losing streak to five, but check out his opponent tonight: Houston's Runelvys Hernandez. That's an ERA of 9.77 (JVB) and 10.29 (Hernandez) as your starting pitchers in a "Major League" game; it's not exactly Koufax vs. Gibson. There may be more balls leaving the yard tonight than last week's Home Run Derby. And yes, to answer your question, Hernandez was Pirate property as recently as last year. You don't forget when your team acquires a guy named "Runelvys".

THE PIRATES WERE WHITE HOT

PIRATES 5, BRAVES 0

BRAVES 8, PIRATES 1

Leave it to the Pirates to have a six-game winning streak (their longest in nearly four years, pathetic as that sounds) when next to no one in the city is paying attention. Proof? Even John Smoltz is more interested in the Penguins and their fans.

Yes, the rain sent Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones to the luxury box confines of Mellon Arena on Sunday, but the schedule-makers said they eventually had to make up their lost work today. So the Buccos and Tomahawk Choppers took to the PNC Park diamond for a doubleheader on Monday.

In Game One, Zach Duke, Damaso Marte, and Sean Burnett combined on an eight-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory that pulled the Pirates to 18-19, just one off of the hallowed ground of .500. Freddy Sanchez doubled and knocked in three, raising his average to .255, and Adam LaRoche hit his fourth homer of the season, driving in two. On the flip side, hockey fan Chipper Jones had three more hits, raising his 2008 average to a Ted Williams-esque .410 in the process.

Before the nightcap, the Pirates had a team meeting and decided that their reaching .500 while the Penguins were simultaneously blowing the doors off of the rest of the NHL would be simply too much for the city to handle. So for the good of Pittsburgh, they dropped the second game by an 8-1 count.

The Pirates were brought back down to Earth by two men: Atlanta's Tim Hudson, who limited the Buccos to two hits and one run over seven innings, and their own John Van Benschoten, who allowed nine hits and seven runs in four innings, good enough for a postgame demotion to Indianapolis.

The Pirate offense wasn't nearly as prevalent in the second nine-inning affair, as the limited output came from a Doug Mientkiewicz double and an assortment platter of four singles. They whiffed a total of nine times. The Bravos broke it open with a three run ding-dong from catcher Brian McCann in the fifth, which was more than enough offense on this day.

So the 18-20 Pirates take to the field once again on Tuesday night at St. Louis (23-16). It's Paul Maholm (2-3, 4.79) against Kyle Lohse (3-2, 4.87), which, at least on paper, looks like a pretty even matchup. Unfortunately, there's the minor detail of a little thing called "Game Three", so I doubt many people will notice.

BREAK UP THE PIRATES!

A trip to Shea Stadium resulted in an exhilarating 13-1 thrashing of Oliver Perez and the Fets (as in the circa-late 80's "Muck the Fets") on Wednesday for YOUR Pittsburgh Pirates.

Perez surrendered two hits, five walks, and seven runs over an inning and 2/3, conjuring up painful memories of his days as a Bucco. Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady led the charge at the plate with three hits each and a combined five runs and six RBI. The sub-Mendoza Line Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista were a combined 1-for-8, with three strikeouts and eight runners left on...and the Pirates still blew them out.

The Pirates got two-hit ball from the law firm of Gorzelanny, Van Benschoten, and Meek, to go along with eight Ks (and nine walks, but who's counting?) For one afternoon, all wheels were turning.

Of course, there had to be a negative, and here it is: Gorzo left the game after five innings because of tightness in his back, but said he doesn't expect to miss his next start.

The Buccos close April at 11-16, "good" for last place in the NL Central and 2 games behind Texas for the worst record in the majors. Their team batting average is 25th, their ERA 29th (next to last), and their fielding is 30th (last). But other than that, everything's great.

The Pirates open May with a much-anticipated grudge matchup against the 11-17 Washington Nationals on Thursday night at 7:05. The pitching matchup features Zach Duke (0-2) against Odalis Perez (0-3). I'm sure most of you will completely ignore the Penguins' potential clinch game in order to catch this one.

Tuesday Bullet Points

It's a Tuesday, and I'm feeling like trying something new, so let's catch up on things with a Bob Smizik-style column filled with bullet points:

• First, some exciting news: I was once again approached to write the Steelers season preview for Deadspin.com, and I happily accepted their offer. I'm not sure exactly what day it will run, but it is in the works and should be complete soon. Last year's "50 Reasons Why I Love the Steelers" was very well received, as was this year's "79 Reasons Why It's Hard to be a Pirate Fan". Given that there are so many great Steeler blogs, I am honored to be asked once again. I can only hope that you enjoy what I have up my sleeve for this season.
• Many thanks to the readers who've made the last seven days the most-read in site history. Mondesi's House has had over 40,000 views in the past week alone. The site was mentioned on SI.com, ESPN.com, and led off the Washington Post's Blog Show TV program. And Mondesi's House finally cracked the top-20 of Ballhype's sports blog rankings, which I think puts me on the cusp of a BCS appearance. Fun times, indeed.
• Best of luck to my friend Dave Dameshek, who has decided to leave 93.7 The Zone and return to a career in Hollywood with Jimmy Kimmel. I always enjoyed my appearances on Dave's show and wish him the best of luck.
• What an enjoyable Pirate game last night. It started off with John Van Benschoten drilling Willy Taveras with the first pitch and snowballed from there. JVB's line: 2 innings, 6 hits, 9 earned runs, 2 walks, and 1 HBP. Of course, he would've only given up seven runs, but Tony Armas immediately allowed his two inherited runners to score, so nine it is for Van Benschoten. You can bet that the Pirate Spin Doctors will immediately bring up the fact that Armas threw three scoreless innings and conveniently brush those other two runs under the table (which they already have, in the postgame show).
• I enjoyed the anecdote during the game about how confident Armas is feeling about himself these days, blaming poor mechanics for his failures up to this point in the season. Nice story. But I don't see him giving back any money for said "poor mechanics".
• Pirate announcers said that J-Bay is the worst batter in the majors since June 1. So that means we have the most-hit pitcher (Duke) in the league and the worst batter for the last month and a half. How about plastering that on a WE WILL banner?
• Nice play by Willie Mays Wilson pretending in the 7th inning that it was the 1954 World Series and trying to recreate The Catch. Even better: the two outfielders (Bay and McLouth) who failed to open their mouths to call him off. A-Rod makes more noise when a ball's in the air. Even better than the botched pop up was Wilson's subsequent argument with Jim Colborn. You could almost feel a pulse in the Pirate dugout. Almost.
• That scrub, Matt Herges, who sports an ERA of 7.36 and gave up 2 runs in an inning of work for the Rockies tonight? Yeah, he's the guy the Pirates traded Chris Young for. You know Chris "8-3, 1.97 ERA" Young, don't you?
• The sign of a bad team: the Pirate announcers tried to hype the upcoming Josh Fogg start for the Rockies by building him up as "one of the best pitchers the Pirates had" for several years. With ERAs of 4.35, 5.26, 4.64, and 5.05 during his time as a We Willer, that paints a picture as bleak as you would imagine.
• Anyone catch the Ronnie Florian commercial tonight about the "Pirates Generation" song? And here I thought the Florian campaign was losing steam!
• On the topic of Pirates commercials: yes, I enjoy the retrospective, through-the-years style piece they have running now, even though there's a giant gap between 1992 and 2007 (the commercial goes from Doug Drabek to Ian Snell). But one thing I noticed: if it were up to the Pirates, people would never know that Barry Bonds was a part of the organization, and that goes beyond his exclusion in this commercial. I think this is a true injustice and a re-writing of history. Am I a Bonds fan? No. But I don't think the Pirates have anything to be embarrassed about when it comes to The Barry Era in Pittsburgh. The guy won 2 MVPs, led the team to three playoff appearances, and even the most cynical of baseball fans would say that it was probably done cleanly. I know many are disappointed with the Pirates' playoff finishes during Bonds' time as a Pirate, but the team wouldn't have advanced that far without him. What happened from 1993 on regarding Bonds is a different topic. It's time to recognize Barry's excellence as a Pirate.
• OK, that's enough Pirates. I'm having an internal debate: am I more excited for the upcoming Steelers season or the Penguins season?
• 15 two-a-days (or as Mark Madden suggested, "two 15-a-days") has the makings of great drama at Latrobe. Even if Mike Tomlin doesn't follow through with all 15, I love his "players have to adjust to me" attitude.
• I must admit, when I heard Peter King had his preseason Power Rankings, I was fully prepared to be disappointed. Why I would be upset with what another man thinks about a football team might be a deeper issue of mine, but we'll save that for another time. Anyway, his ranking of 12th was more than fair for the Steelers. I was pleasantly surprised. Also in this article, Pete becomes the 356,789th person to write about how he dislikes ESPN's Who's Now? segment. Might be time to take that idea into the shop for a tune-up.
• I was thrilled after reading AOL's excerpt from a recent Willie Parker interview where he compared the Steelers' 2007 offense to the San Diego Chargers'. As I constantly point out, Parker had 1,716 yards of offense and 16 TDs last year behind a below-average offensive line. If the Steelers open it up this year, his numbers could get even more interesting. I know one thing: I wouldn't hesitate taking him high in my fantasy league.
• Big Ben isn't cool with Matt Leinart? Who knew?
• Can Ray Shero win the NHL Executive of the Year before the season is played? Is there any precedent for that? Is there any chance he knows anything about running a baseball team too?
• What's the over/under on the number of trophies the Penguins will be carrying out of next year's NHL Awards ceremony?
• I'm kinda liking this bullet-point thing. I can see why Smizik goes to it so often.

The News

A recap of your favorite links, named in honor of Mike Tomlin
"I'm not telling a story. I'm reporting the news."

--How do you spell "MVP"?

S-I-D-N-E-Y C-R-O-S-B-Y

Mario's going to have to install a new trophy case

--The always-dangerous Nick Dougherty leads after one round at Oakmont. Tiger Woods shot a one-over 71 and was not involved in any Mayoral controversies.

Tiger Woods tees off at the first hole. Not shown: Luke Ravenstahl, lurking in the gallery.

--First, the Pirates bench Jack Wilson. Then, they bring up John Van Benschoten. Is it just me, or does that look like two logical moves in a row? Maybe, but it didn't help on Thursday night, as they were shut out by the Texas Rangers and Kameron Loe, he of the 1-6 record, 7.40 ERA and .314 opponents' batting average.

--How should Daunte Culpepper boost his trade value? I don't know...how about not get in a car accident?

--The New York Islanders are creating a seperate press box-type area for bloggers. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Pirates probably won't go this route.

--The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA championship last night, finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in a four-game sweep. And since this is a Pittsburgh-based blog, I'll understand if you leave my site right now for the mere mention of NBA basketball.

--If I mentioned the letters "NBA" and you're still here, I give you an Aaron Gray sighting: he's currently projected for the 37th pick, by the Portland Trail Blazers. Nothing like getting drafted as a center on the same team as Greg Oden to kick-start a career.

--50 Cent just got paid, so I'm guessing he'll have to change his name to $100 Million.

--How much is Wal-Mart projecting to lose from theft this year? If you guessed $3 billion, you win today's prize of getting to see an old man dressed only in a Wal-Mart bag.

--We close the morning with Cracked.com responding to a Bill Simmons column and coming up with a list of 13 Movie Plots Rendered Completely Ridiculous by Their Stars’ Behavior