Ian Snell vs. Braden Looper, 8:15 PM.

-P- My, how things have changed in Pittsburgh, and this article by John Perrotto and especially this one by Wilbur Miller are a lot more positive than any I'm used to seeing. And they should be.

I haven't had a chance to write much in the last few days, and that's a shame, because these last few weeks have been the Pirates' finest in at least a decade. First came a couple of trades that were consistent with the goal of building for the future, and then came a draft in which the Pirates spent an amount of money consistent with the idea that they understand the magnitude of the problems with their farm system. They also did everything they said they would do (as WTM points out), and they looked great in refusing to cave to Scott Boras' demands. For the first time in a very long time, the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks bright. I don't want to make it seem like I don't appreciate the importance of these last few weeks just because I haven't written a lot of words. They're huge.

-P- By the way, in case anyone missed it, a lot of BD posters make lists of the top ten Pirates prospects here. Most of the lists look pretty reasonable. It's pretty amazing that three of the four best prospects in the Pirates' system are guys who weren't here in mid-July. And that's even before considering Andy LaRoche, who'd also be pretty high on most of these lists if he weren't already in the majors.

-P- The Yankees have to be pretty happy so far with their trade for Xavier Nady, who's now hitting .312/.391/.649 for them. But via Primer, one Yankees blog has a look at breakout seasons and what they mean. Basically--and if you want to skip some of the specific examples in the article, scroll down to the chart that's in bright green--history tells us that Nady will be able to maintain some of his gains next year, but that he's going to be more like his 2007 self than his 2008 self. That's just common sense, and it shows why most teams would have been unwilling to part with a Grade-A prospect for Nady. In fact, Nady's line with the Pirates in 2008 was almost identical to his 2007, except there were 50 extra points of batting average. Of course, since joining the Yankees, he's hit seven homers in 77 at bats. I'm not sure what that means, but I'd still bet that his 2009 season will be underwhelming, even if he's somewhat better than he was before this year.

-P- The Dodgers have acquired Greg Maddux from the Padres. What the Dodgers are giving up has not yet been revealed. Maddux has a 3.99 ERA overall, but a 5.75 ERA on the road, so it's doubtful he'll be able to help the Dodgers much.

-P- Doug Mientkiewicz has been placed on the bereavement list to allow him time to be with his wife, who had heart surgery yesterday. Nyjer Morgan will take his place. I wish all the best to the Mientkiewicz family.

-P- The Pirates spent much of Monday's game, which they won 5-2, getting played like a fiddle by John Maine and generally looking like they'd never seen a changeup before, but one thing they did well was to rack up a number of epic plate appearances, which ultimately allowed them four innings against the Mets' bad bullpen. Around the time Moneyball came out, people used to say that one benefit to having patient hitters was that they drove starting pitchers out of games early and allowed hitters to tee off against mediocre relief pitching. Nobody really talks about that anymore, and probably for good reason--the difference between the number of pitches a very patient lineup takes as compared to the average isn't so huge--but that's exactly what the Pirates did on Monday.

-P- Even though some of the comments from the Pirates' ownership and management are pretty ridiculous, I enjoyed this article. Here's a particularly interesting tidbit:

The Pirates spent a team-record $9,780,500 in signing 32 of 50 picks, five more than last year. That total included Alvarez's $6 million -- divided in payments of $3 million this year and next -- but not extras such as vouchers for college education. The total, as per MLB guidelines for computation, ranked second only to the Kansas City Royals. Baseball America reported that the Boston Red Sox will exceed $10 million in bonuses, which would be a record for any team, but there was no independent confirmation.

That the Pirates outspent nearly everyone may initially seem shocking, but it actually had to be this way. Pedro Alvarez's bonus accounts for well over half the Pirates' total expenditures, and the only way you have to pay six million dollars to a single player is if you pick really early in the draft. The way you pick early in the draft is to stink, and the most common ways you come to stink are to fail to spend your money or fail to spend it well.

If the Pirates hadn't spent a lot in this draft relative to other teams, it would've been a grotesque failure on their part--either they would have failed to sign Alvarez, or they would have skimped on late-round picks and thus failed to address the lack of prospect depth that has been such an important cause of their problems in the first place.

The Pirates' big spending this year is a result of a turning point: until late last year they didn't care about winning, and now they care. They'll spend big next year too, and perhaps the year after that, but after that they're probably going to start winning, and then they won't be paying six million dollar bonuses to first round draft picks anymore.

Paul Maholm vs. John Maine, 12:35. I actually get to go to Pittsburgh for this one. Hopefully, I'll have a substantial update later today. Thanks for your patience. Things are crazy here, but this week looks a bit less crazy.

Johan Santana vs. Jeff Karstens, 1:35 PM.

Pedro Martinez vs. Zach Duke, 7:05 PM.

For a $6 million minor league deal, apparently less than fifth pick Buster Posey. Nice work, Pirates.

Second round pick Tanner Scheppers did not sign, which I'm okay with. He was a gamble from the beginning, and he wasn't completely healthy when he worked out for the Bucs a few days ago. The Pirates will get a compensation pick for him.

I wonder if we're going to hear of any other picks being signed, but I'm thrilled to have Alvarez in the fold, and impressed with the Pirates' willingness to go way above slot for Robbie Grossman and Quinton Miller. Wesley Freeman looks like a good addition as well. Good draft, overall, and this is markedly different from any draft the previous administration had.

On a personal note, I'm hitting the road for a few shows with my band this weekend and may not update much this weekend. Gamethreads will post as usual. (I'll be in Buffalo, Harrisburg and DC; here are details if you want to come out.)

...And there's much to be done. Besides Pedro Alvarez, who I think will probably sign right before the deadline, the Pirates also want to sign second rounder Tanner Scheppers and two unknown others. With 10th rounder Drew Gagnon, a pitcher, saying he's going to Long Beach State, I hope that one of those unknowns is 20th rounder Quinton Miller, also a pitcher. Also look out for 26th-round third baseman Zachary Wilson, who probably isn't signing, and 19th-rounder and Georgia Tech catcher Jason Haniger. I did a writeup on the unsigned picks last week, so you can check that out, keeping in mind that fifth rounder Justin Wilson and sixth rounder Robbie Grossman have signed.

UPDATE 2:25: Scheppers wants big money and may not sign, the Post-Gazette reports. The P-G also says he couldn't even throw breaking balls. If he wants top-ten money, it may be wise to concentrate on other players.

UPDATE 8:37: The Pirates have signed Quinton Miller for $900,000. Nice! Now get Alvarez.

UPDATE 11:16: I've got nothing here, but I'll be hunting.

UPDATE 11:35: The Post-Gazette reports that Scheppers probably isn't going to sign.

UPDATE 11:59: Still nothing.

UDPATE 12:23: Still nothing. Several first round signings have emerged tonight--Buster Posey, Yonder Alonso, Allan Dykstra--but Alvarez isn't yet one of them.

UPDATE 12:32: Anyone else getting worried?

Mike Pelfrey vs. Jason Davis, 7:05 PM.

Johnny Cueto vs. Ian Snell, 7:05.