Things for you to click on

I've got some links for everyone to chew on while they watch some USA/Italy soccer and get ready for Paul Maholm and Boof Bonser tonight (because it takes time to prepare to face a guy named BOOF).

I have a piece up on Irate Fans entitled "The Illusion of Competition" that is culled from a couple of my Dave Littlefield is an Evil Genius posts from this past offseason (namely a post of the same name and the Wilson Conundrum), that are adapted to the entire organization, not just DL. If you've been around here for a while you've heard all of my long winded ranting on the subject, but if you're a new reader here you might want to check it out.

Azibuck's final report from Rochester on the Indy Indians is up.

This isn't Pirates related, but I find the medical explanation for why Bengals, Browns, and Ravens fans felt the need to trash talk Big Ben to be hilarious.

That Tom Gorzellany guy is really good. At the same link, Kip Wells may be back sooner than expected due to Victor Santos' cracked fingernail, and a bunch of Buccos get new numbers. They don't mention this, but a while back (at least two weeks ago) Jose Hernandez increased his torture of me by switching from 16 to 18, the number of two of my favorite Pirates while growing up, Kendall and (of course) Van Slyke. Damn you, Jose Hernandez.

Alright, that's all I got for now. I'll get a game thread up before I leave here for the game tonight.