Is Anyone Safe?

I never liked you, Captain. Pack your bags. You're next! If any other trades go down (I'm looking at you Capps), check out the blogs to the right. Later...

Freddy Sanchez Traded to the Giants for Tim Alderson

Another bobblehead traded. Freddy Sanchez was traded to the Giants for Tim Alderson. I said earlier today that Huntington pulled off his best trade with Wilson and Snell. I stand corrected. Alderson was the 22nd player taking in the 2007 draft. He is already in AA ball. The kid can pitch. In 2+ years in the minors he has a 20-6 record with a 3.07 ERA with 202 K's in 249 innings. Again, a great return for the Pirates. I may need a program Friday night. Go Bucs!

Game 101 Pirates @ Giants Liveblog

Oh yeah, there's a game today. The Pirates will try to avoid a sweep by the Giants. Good pitching match-up. Join us in the liveblog below

Pirates Trade Jack Wilson, Ian Snell to Seattle

Another bobblehead traded. The Pirates traded Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Seattle for C/1B Jeff Clement, SS Ronny Cedeno, and RHPs Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock. This may be GM Neal Huntington's best trade to date. Clement was batting .288, with 14 homers and 68 RBIs at Triple-A Tacoma and most likely will be headed to Indianapolis. Cedeno will be the only player to join Pittsburgh. As you may or may not know, I am not a big Jack Wilson fan. I will, however, miss his nightly web gems. I just always thought he was a bit overpaid for a weak hitting shortstop with a great glove. I know Wilson was one of the more popular players but this team is in last place. I'm sure the Bucs can stay there without him. As for Snell, GOOD RIDDANCE! Snell is a punk and would have never pitched for the Pirates again anyway. I just have a feeling that he will now start to show his potential with Seattle. Who cares? I never would have thought the Pirates would get this kind of return for a shortstop with 2 months remaining on his contract and a head case in Snell. Good things are happening. I know some fans think its the annual fire sale but this team was not going to win with Wilson. Huntington continues to build for the future and Clement is the main player in all this. Just makes you wonder if Ryan Doumit is next? (Well, after Sanchez)

Penn State Night at PNC Park This Friday

I had no idea that this was going on. This Friday is Penn State night at PNC Park. I picked the right game for my first visit of the season. Looks like I will be wearing my Penn State cap instead of my Pirates cap. For more details and to support a good cause, head over to Onward State for more info.

Game 98- Pirates @ Diamondbacks Liveblog

A chance for a 4 game split on the road, hell yeah I'll take it. Virgil Vasquez takes the hill for the Pirates and even though he has lost his last 4 starts, the Pirates only totaled 4 runs in those games. Last Tuesday he pitched well enough to win, 6 2-3 innings, 2 runs and no walks, the Bucs lost to the Brewers 2-0. He does have an ERA over 11 on the road. Still, I'm hopeful. Game time is 4:10 and is on FSN. Go Bucs!

Game 97- Pirates @ Diamondbacks Liveblog

Game time is 8:10 tonight which means I will get to watch this one. The first thing that jumped out at me was Doug Davis' record and ERA. Talk about not giving the guy run support. The Pirates have been looking good lately. I can get used to that. Go Bucs!

Game 96- Pirates @ Diamondbacks Liveblog

Link Dump

Happy Friday (Wednesday for me). The Pirates play late again so I wont see much for the second straight night. 4am comes early. Sometimes it doesn't. Wednesday morning I forgot to set the alarm and woke up at 6:30. I had no idea if it was am or pm. It was light outside and I was confused for a few minutes. I don't think my boss even noticed. We are so going under. Mail something people! Not email either. Anyhoo, check out these links.

Click On This

Meeting People Is Easy [OFTOT]

This Miguel Angel Sano story is starting to make my head hurt [PBC Blog]

McLouth vs. McCutchen [The "Mc" Effect]

LaRoche trade already paying off? [North Side Notch]

That's all folks. Drink and be merry. Go Bucs!

Game 95- Pirates @ Diamondbacks

Good pitching match-up tonight in the desert. Game time is at 9:40 which means I wont get to see most of this. Check back later for a liveblog of the game or if I'm not around click on over to Raise The Jolly Roger, B.U.C.C.O. Fans, North Side Notch or The "Mc" Effect. You should probably be going to all those sites for your Pirates news anyway. They all do a great job following our Buccos. Go Bucs!

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from Amazing Baby. I really got into this album at work yesterday. The song is called Headdress (the video has it as two words but the CD has it as one). If you want to see a really good band in person, Amazing Baby will be playing at the Brillobox in Pittsburgh on August 5th. Tickets are only $7 and can be purchased here.

Free Music!!!

Looking for something for the ipod? Check out a new EP from Matt Pond PA called The Freeep (get it, free ep). The album can be downloaded here. If you are not familiar with Matt Pond PA, check out one of his older videos here

Album Review- The Scene Aesthetic- A Type & A Shadow

After taking a few years off, The Scene Aesthetic is back with a new EP A Type & A Shadow.

The Pros- A Type is what you would expect from The Scene Aesthetic. Ballads and catchy pop tunes. That stuff I can take in small doses and that's what we have here. The EP is only 22 minutes long and after several listens I wanted more. Most of the tracks are better than anything you are hearing on Top 40 radio. Solid record.

The Cons- The Scenes' music is more for 14 year old girls and that's their calling. I did catch myself singing along at one point. I just hope nobody heard me. If you are into to Pop music with lyrics like "So I wrote you this song, I hope that you like it. Cause you light up my life, and I know you can fight this. You're the most beautiful girl in the world, and I wanted you to know", then this is right up your alley. If that's a little cheesy for your taste, then this is not for you.

TIGO's Grade B

Download- Humans, Come What May



If you are looking for more stuff from The Scene Aesthetic, check out the compilation Rockin' Romance. They do a cover of Taylor Swift's Love Story and its the highlight of the CD. You can buy it here.

Adam LaRoche Traded To Boston

Another bobblehead traded. The Pirates traded Adam LaRoche to the Red Sox today for Double-A shortstop Argenis Diaz and Class A right-hander Hunter Strickland. Lets not get into who the Bucs got in return. I'm assuming those two guys have a pulse so I'll take it. I would have taken a couple of hot dogs on dollar dog night. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein must have been high this afternoon. No sir, you did not get another Jason Bay type player. Pirates fans should be ecstatic about LaRoche being shown the door. This was not a fire sale. This was getting a team to take a career .269 hitter with a huge salary and an expiring contract off their hands. Steve Pearce was recalled from Indianapolis and will be the everyday first baseman. Lets see what he has because the Pirates really never gave him a chance. As I was writing this, Brandon Moss just hit a walk-off home run in the 9th to give the Buccos the win, 8-7. Suck it Braun! Good things are starting to happen my friends!

Remember When We Liked Jason Kendall?

"The Kid" was an All-Star for the Pirates 3 times. He is the Pirates all-time leader in games caught. He has been hit by a pitch more times than anyone in Pittsburgh history. Maybe, hopefully, he gets plunked tonight for being an asshole. Maybe its the shaved head but Kendall was the instigator in last nights bench clearing discussions. By letting Karstens bat yesterday the Bucs had to know something was going to happen. It did, kind of. After reading some of the quotes from last night, its hard to believe this is over. From the Post-Gazette


Kendall-

"I told him to go to first base or go get the pitcher, one or the other and I was fine until Dave Kurwin started yelling at me. I can take a lot, but when Dave Kurwin started yelling at me..."

Kendall was referring to the Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan but, even upon being corrected, continued calling him by the fictitious name.

"Yeah, Dave Kurwin, whatever his name is."

Kendall was asked if he knew why Kerrigan was so upset.

"Dave Kurwin? I have no idea."

Dave Kurwin? That's just too funny.

Delwyn Young-

As Karstens was being interviewed, Young yelled to him from across the clubhouse, "Call him a coward!"

Matt Capps-

"It's cheap. Very cheap. We all know Karstens had no intention of hitting Braun in Milwaukee. The whole thing was blown way out of proportion by one guy, and it's ridiculous. Their whole team is going to let one guy run the morale of their whole team? Hey, that's their prerogative."

So stay tuned. I have a feeling this isn't over. By the looks of things, I was once a huge Kendall fan. Yes, I even have two of him with the A's.

The Stanley Cup Is Coming To Wilkes-Barre

The Stanley Cup will make a visit to Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, September 17. The Cup will be at the Wachovia Arena prior to the Black and Gold game that features the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens. If you thought tickets were going to be tough to get for that game, now they will be nearly impossible unless you are a season ticket holder. See ya there!

Game 90- Giants vs Pirates Live Blog

Garrett Jones has five homers in his last four games. That is enough reason to watch tonight. He is in the line-up. Game time is 7:05 and is on FSN.

What Ever Happened To...

Each week we will have a new feature on TIGO called What Ever Happened To... It will most likely be a former Pirate, Penguin, Nittany Lion or whoever pops in my head while I'm at work that day. It's simple. Do a quick google search and presto... a new post. What Ever Happened To Jermaine Allensworth?



Allensworth played center field for the Pirates from 1996-1998. He was the Opening Day starter in 1997. The thing I remember most about Allensworth was a SNL skit when he was played by Tracy Morgan. Allensworth played in 238 games for the Pirates. He was a first round (34th overall) pick in the 1993 amateur draft. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1998 for Manuel Bernal (who?). He last played in the majors for the Mets in 1999. He was playing for the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League until he was placed on irrevocable waivers on May 12, 2009. So up until May, he unbelievably was still playing ball. He was a career .260 hitter in the majors with average speed and little power. That's probably why he spent 4 seasons in the bigs and 13 in the minors. That's the story of Jermaine Allensworth.

Freddy and Jack

Sanchez- "We want to play together. He's my double-play partner"
Wilson- "We both want to stay together"

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from The Dead Weather. Another Supergroup with vocalist Alison Mosshart (The Kills), drummer and vocalist Jack White (The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), guitarist Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and bassist Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes). All great bands. This is "Treat Me Like Your Mother".

The MLB All-Star Game Sucks!

I remember when I was a kid I loved watching the All-Star game. Now? Well now it just sucks. The players don't look like they are having fun anymore. Its probably because the game means something now. Why on earth would MLB have the winner of an exhibition game get home field advantage in the World Series? It should go to the team with the best record, not an all-star game. I got through about 6 really quick innings last night and then I had enough. When I read the paper this morning I saw that both Sanchez and Duke didn't play. See, that's the problem. Everyone chosen to be a member of the team should play. Like Tee-Ball. The outcome of the game should not mean anything. I'm sure if you ask Sanchez or Duke they would say all the right things. I say we hook them up to a lie detector test and see if they would've rather stayed home for four days rather than sit on the bench the whole game. Way too many players are taken for the All-Star teams anymore. I think there was about 150 pitchers for each team. I did like the opening ceremonies, especially when Sanchez and Duke were announced to the St. Louis crowd. I believe I heard a pin drop. I would have liked to see Barack Obama throw out the first pitch but Fox messed that up. Well, it was Fox. If it was McCain then Fox would've had that ball-flight thing ESPN used for the Home Run Derby. The All-Star game used to make my jaw drop as a kid. Now I'm watching The Office reruns on TBS until I fall asleep. Much more exciting.

Good Luck Freddy and Zach!

Freddy Sanchez and Zach Duke will represent the Pirates in tomorrows All-Star game. Congrats to both! Well deserving. How long they will remain with Pittsburgh is yet to be seen. The bobbleheads were given away during the 2006 season. Sanchez with the Lowell Spinners and Duke with the Lynchburg Hillcats.

Game 86- Pirates @ Phillies Live Blog

The Pirates are in Philadelphia tonight to take on the World Champion Phillies. Remember when this was a rivalry? I still hate that the Bucs are not in the NL East. It's too bad the teams from the Keystone state only play a home and home series every year. We do get to play the Brewers 18 times. That's a way bigger rivalry. I say we put 6 teams in the East and 5 in the Central. Makes sense to me. It would probably add 10 or so more losses a year but who cares at this point. Are you still reading this crap? I don't even know what I'm talking about. It's Friday. My mind is on other things. To read more of my incoherent ramblings, join us in the live blog.

My New Favorite Song This Week

From Brooklyn New York, indie rockers White Rabbits second album It's Frightening is fantastic. Here is the first video from their new disc. The song is Percussion Gun and is this weeks pick for song of the week.

It's Tempting...But No

I got this in the mail today. The Pittsburgh Pirates championship pin collection. The first pin is only $2.95 then every other pin is $14.95. I'll pass. Thanks anyway. If you look a little closer...


They even saved room to add future pins to your collection. Thanks for the thought. Are these people serious? Future championships for the Pirates. What good would that extra room do for me when I'm dead?

Game 83- Pirates @ Astros Liveblog

Mike Hampton sure likes pitching against the Bucs. Game time is at 8:05 and can be seen on FSN. Join us in the liveblog below. Go Bucs!

Who Is Freddy Gonzalez?

According to the AP, the Pirates second baseball is Freddy Gonzalez. C'mon people, I know you don't watch the Pirates but Freddy Sanchez is a former batting champion and two time all-star (soon to be 3 time). Even casual baseball fans know who Sanchez is. But not sportswriters. Jokes.

Have a Safe 4th of July

Don't blow your fingers off. If you do, why the hell would I care? I never met you. Stumpy. Be careful out there. Peace.

Invitation to Penguins DVD Signing! Meet Letang and Kennedy!

Here is all the info you need. Next Tuesday, July 7th, the Official Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Champions DVD will hit stores for $24.98 SRP. Coinciding with the DVD release, Penguin players Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy will be signing copies of the DVD around Pittsburgh that day.

Kris Letang
Donaldsons Crossroads Giant Eagle
4007 Washington Road
McMurray, PA 15317-2520
Signing will take place from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

Tyler Kennedy
Dick’s Sporting Goods
The Mall at Robinson
5000 Robinson Centre Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Signing will take place from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from Ida Maria. Here is I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked. I can see this song crossing music genres and landing on a pop station near you.