The MLB released its All-Star game rosters today, demonstrating yet again why the mid summer classic is virtually irrelevant to Bucs fans.

Despite having many candidates, the Pirates will only be fielding one representative, closer Joel Hanrahan, Hanrahan is certainly deserving; he has been utterly dominant this season, posting a stingy 1.41 ERA. While the relative importance of the closer position is often overstated by analysts, there can be little debate that Hanrahan is a big reason why the Pirates have been able to win games this year in spite of their sputtering offense.

The Pittsburgh faithful will likely be furious that their team’s brightest star, Andrew McCutchen, has been so flagrantly snubbed. McCutchen’s offensive numbers have certainly been impressive thus far, but what sets the young centerfielder apart is the way he combines his potent bat with game changing defense. Unfortunately, neither the league nor the public has noticed.

To pour salt in the wound Bruce Bochy selected former Pirate and poster-child for futility Ryan Vogelsong, who has somehow managed to put together a good first half.

There are just so many reasons for Pittsburgh fans not to care about this. Hopefully, you are one of those glass-is-half-full types who can sit through an entire game and feel happy that you got to see Joel Hanrahan pitch 2/3 of an inning. Since I am not, you can count me out of the festivities.

Adam Kaplan of FOX Sports released a set of hastily written draft grades this morning. In the wave of analysis that follows every draft, there is always a tendency to over emphasize the importance of drafting for need early. Sports analysts decide early on what positions they think a team needs to address early in the draft, then cling desperately to their early ideas no matter what. These writers often issue harsh, reactionary evaluations of smart teams, and that is exactly what Kaplan has done here to the New England Patriots. Kpalan also fails to fully appreciate the majesty of the Cleveland Browns' draft haul this year.

Kaplan gives the Patriots' draft a "D" grade for reasons that I find totally impossible to understand. According to Kaplan, the Patriots effort was a near failure merely because they did not select anyone who could help their pass rush. This is absolute foolishness. While I do not dispute that acquiring a pass rusher would've helped the Patriots, it is important to remember that the Patriots won 14 games last year. The Patriots did exactly what a good team should do: draft for value. With picks like Ras-I Dowling in the second, Ryan Mallett in the third, and Marcus Cannon in the fifth, I just can't see how anyone could call the Patriots' draft a near failure.

Kaplan was also lukewarm on the Cleveland Browns, who should obviously be regarded as one of the biggest winners of the draft. The Browns ridiculous trade with the Atlanta Falcons alone should seal this draft as an amazing success. The Browns got an enormous number of picks, some of which they used this year to land truly impressive talent. The Browns' first three selections, DT Phil Taylor, DE Jabaal Sheard, and WR Greg Little are all incredible picks that will contribute immediately, but the value does not stop there. The Browns also got several late round steals, including highly regarded CB Buster Skrine in the fifth round. This kid an athletic specimen whose 4.37 40 yard dash at the combine does not begin to approximate his explosive play. In the same round they also selected Pitt product Jason Pinkston, a future interior lineman to whom many scouts gave second and third round grades. How anyone could grade this draft with anything less than an "A" is beyond my understanding.

Sports fans, it's time to tune out the noise and look for some real analysis. Check out our in-depth grades for the AFC North round one and also rounds two and three.    

It just wouldn’t be an NFL Draft unless the Steelers took a pass-rushing OLB. That is a little bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. The Steelers have used 12 draft picks on linebackers from 2001 until 2010. That would be 15.2% of their total draft picks over that time. Linebackers are the heartbeat of Dick Lebeau’s fire zone scheme, so there is need for a near constant flow of talent at that position.

At 6-2, 240lbs, Carter is a vastly undersized DE by the standards of the NFL. The fact that Carter has little to no experience playing linebacker is not a concern for the Steelers because they have had such consistent success converting DEs like LaMarr Woodley into bulky 3-4 OLBs that populate the nightmares of quarterbacks everywhere.

For Carter to become the next successful member of this Steeler tradition, he will have to make sure he continues to play low, especially against offensive tackles who typically stand at 6-5 or larger. Carter needs to keep his body low so that he can steal leverage from those giant players, a trick which he can likely learn quickly form the master, James Harrison. Carter shows great burst at the line and will likely have time to figure out the nuances of the NFL level game while he waits his turn in the annual LB logjam in Pittsburgh.

Carter has been a productive player in college, notching 11 sacks in 2010, good for 7th in the NCAA. Hopefully those are numbers he can continue to build upon in Pittsburgh.

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The wait was long, but it was worth it. The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got a corner to insure against the possible departures of Ike Taylor and William Gay.

A late round run on cornerbacks amped up the pressure on the Steelers, who were widely expected to address the CB position within the first three rounds. The New Orleans Saints’ choice of Lousiville CB Johnny Patrick (88th overall) and the Philadelphia Eagles’ selection of Utah State CB Curtis Marsh (90th overall) were both tough to stomach, but by the time the Steelers took their turn, there were still a number of interesting corners available, including Texas CB Curtis Brown and Brandon Burton of Utah. The Steelers settled on Brown, which made this fan nearly throw his laptop on the ground in joy. Utter joy.

Brown is a lanky corner who can make big time plays for the Steelers on defense, an ability he showcased at the combine, where he made several amazing catches during drills. Brown has long arms which he uses effectively to break up lots of passes. The young corner is definitely a work in progress, but he has good speed and can be effective in both man and zone coverage.

Congratulations to the Steelers for being smart enough to take the best player available in Round 2 and wait on a 3rd round gem like Curtis Brown.

The Steelers’ need at CB was exposed last year by teams who like to spread the field like the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, and Green Bay Packers. When the opposition fields four or even five wide receivers, the Steelers struggled to stop them in 2010. Pittsburgh’s need at corner is so pronounced, in fact, that the Steelers may take another corner later in the draft. Watch out for sleepers like UTC CB Buster Skrine tomorrow.

The Cleveland Browns selected former running back and current WR Greg Little with one of the ridiculous number of picks they leveraged from the Atlanta Falcons in their day one trade.

Little is a WR with great size (6-3, 220lbs) and decent speed, so this could be a good pick for the Browns. Nevertheless, Little is a very raw route runner, so he has a lot to learn. It might be difficult for Browns fans to be patient with the young WR, as they have had to endure the spurty development of a number of wideouts over the years. Whether it is Braylon Edwards, Brian Robiskie, or Mohamed Massaquoi, the Browns have invested quite a few quality picks in their WR corps recently, but they have seen very little return from those investments. I am sure Cleveland fans are hoping that Little breaks this trend.

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought Greg Little in for a pre draft visit, but it is unlikely that they were ever planning to select the former Tarheel this early.

Potential Steelers draft picks on the offensive line are flying off of the board right now. First it was Villanova tackle Ben Ilalana going to the Indianapolis Colts, now the Kansas City Chiefs have grabbed Florida State Guard Rodney Hudson. Hudson had a pre-draft visit with the Steelers earlier this year, so Pittsburgh very well could’ve been targeting him.

At 282 pounds, Hudson is a little bit undersized for a guard, so there is a danger that the mammoth nose tackles of the NFL could push him around. Nevertheless, the Chiefs may be thinking that what Hudson lacks in brute strength, he may well make up for in agility.

There are two ways to look at this. On one hand, Steelers fans have got to start feeling uneasy about the loss of so many talented offensive lineman in this year’s draft. On the other hand, no one is really taking cornerbacks right now, which means that the Steelers might get great value at CB with the 63rd overall pick. Brandon Harris is still on the board, folks.

The Chicago Bears gave up a fourth round pick to trade up and select Oregon State DT Stephen Paea. This is a great pick for the Bears, who could make good use of Paea’s skills in their 4-3 defense.

Paea wowed fans and general managers alike by obliterating the NFL Combine record for bench reps. The former rugby player lifted the bar an absurd 49 times, demonstrating that he has the strength to play anywhere on the defensive line.

It is hard to imagine this pick affecting the Steelers very much. With the recent selections of Ohio State standout Cam Heyward, the Steelers are set at DE, and I don’t think that Paea looks like a 3-4 NT to me. Paea does not have very long arms that might enable him to cover two gaps in the running game like a good 3-4 NT should. Instead, Paea will probably be a very successful DT in a 4-3, as he can utilize his explosive jump off the line to collapse pockets throughout the NFC North.

The Indianapolis Colts tore my heart out just now, taking Villinova tackle Ben Ijalana in the second. I know that there will still be plenty of talent when the Steelers pick again at 63, but I really loved this guy. Really, I am taking this personally. The slap in the face factor is further amplified by the fact that the Colts already selected a tackle, Anthony Costonzo, in the first round.

Ijalana is a highly regarded talent who could’ve helped the Steelers solidify a rickety offensive line, but the Colts ruined that dream, and added some much needed talent to their calcifying offensive line. Ijalana will likely be the first stud left tackle Indianapolis has enjoyed since the departure of longtime stalwart Tarik Glenn. It won’t be long before Ijalana is protecting Peyton Manning’s blindside.

Watch him and cry, Steelers fans.

This pick only further solidifies the likelihood that the Steelers will select a cornerback in round two.

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With the (brilliant) selection of Cameron Heyward, the Steelers addressed a huge need at defensive end, but there is still much work to do. The Steelers still have needs at cornerback and tackle, and conventional wisdom says the Steelers will have both of those bases covered by the end of the day tomorrow.

There is certainly some merit to conventional wisdom, as round one came and went with tons of talent still on the board at both of Pittsburgh's primary needs.

There are still some top talents at cornerback, in particular. Once touted as near-surefire first round picks (and mentioned in near constant connection with the Steelers), Miami's Brandon Harris and Texas' Aaron Williams remain on the board. It seems pretty unlikely that either of those two will be realistic options for the Steelers unless they plan on a very unlikely blockbuster trade to the top of the second. Nevertheless, there is at least some chance that Williams in particular could slip all the way to the Steelers' next pick.

Another long shot could be Virginia's Ras-I Dowling, the mega-talented corner who has seen his value slip because of a rash of injuries. Again, this does not seem like a solid bet for the Steelers without a substantial trade up. There are simply too many teams, such as the Detroit Lions, that would be all too eager to snap Dowling up early in the second. What seems more likely is that another less-heralded corner, such as Texas' Curtis Brown, Utah State's Curtis Marsh, Louisville's Johnny Patrick, or Utah's Brandon Burton could still be an option for the Black & Gold at No. 63. The Steelers seemed to have anticipated this, as they scheduled pre-draft visits with a number of mid-round corner prospects, such as Dowling, Williams, Patrick, Brown, and Marsh. The fact that so many possibilities exist for the Steelers at this point is a very, very good thing.

The Steelers are in a similarly comfortable position when it comes to filling their other glaring need, offensive tackle. While the selection of Benjamin Ijalana would be absolutely glorious, that's unlikely. Ijalana is slated to be off the board by the middle of the second round at the latest, and it would require some serious luck to put on a Steelers helmet next year. The Steelers brass might more realistically target prospects like Marcus Gilbert or Orlando Franklin.

The problem with all this conventional wisdom, of course, is that the Steelers often ignore it. Don't be surprised at all if you see a wideout like Edmond Gates or an interior lineman like Jason Pinkston come off of the board when it is the Steelers' turn at the podium.

No matter what happens, the Steelers are in a prime position to take valuable players at positions of need.

Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Picture that for a little while.

The Detroit Lions added another stone to the foundation of what may become a dominant defense, selecting Auburn DL Nick Fairley with the 13th overall pick.

The Lions had been rumored to desire a trade down, but why step back when such tremendous value falls in your lap? Fairley is a very highly touted prospect that could abuse offensive lineman throughout the NFL.

Lions fans may still feel snake-bitten by their team’s prior history of loading up at one position in the first, but this is a new day. Detroit finally understand the value of big men.

The Lions are on their way up, folks.

The Vikings waited about as long as possible to make their current pick, presumably because they wanted to trade down. Since they didn’t receive any offers they liked, the Vikes selcted Christian Ponder of Florida State.

Ponder might be the guy they wanted, but this sure seems like a reach. Ponder could’ve been had much later in the first round, but I guess the Vikings just couldn’t get a deal done.

Hasn’t that happened before?

In a notable snub, the Vikings turned their nose up at talented DE DaQuan Bowers. Let’s see how far Bowers falls now.

All nine Jacksonville fans in Florida have had to suffer through bland quarterback play for years. With tonight’s selection of Blaine Gabbert, those days may soon be coming to a close. Gabbert may have a year or two to develop behind incumbent QB David Garrard, but the writing is on the wall: Gabbert is the future.

The Jaguars liked their man so much that they traded their first rounder (16th overall) and their 2nd rounder (49th overall) for the privilege of calling his name.

This may be a slightly disappointing trade for Redskins fans who might have been hoping for the glamor of a top ten pick, but Washington is a team with a lot of needs, so scoring an extra pick is a great move, so long as they still nab their target at 16.

One more QB off the board only improves the value of Pittsburgh’s 31st overall pick in a potential trade down.

This is terrible news for Steelers fans. The Cleveland Browns appear to be doing smart things. Very smart things.

The Brownies traded down from the sixth overall pick 27th overall pick—a big jump to be sure. The Browns got paid handsomely for their willingness to add value, as Cleveland acquired the Falcons’ 2nd round pick (59th overall) and fourth round pick (124th overall) this year, as well as their first and fourth round pick for next year.

This is a huge move for a team with a ton of needs. The Browns take one quality pick and turn it into five of them. Hopefully, they will take Brady Quinn with all of the picks they acquired.

For those Steelers fans who feel a strange sort of kinship with the Arizona Cardinals—I call them “Steelers Jr.”—it is a good feeling to see former Steelers coach Ken Wisenhunt snag athletic freak Patrick Peterson, CB of LSU, with the 5th overall pick. This is an enormous value for the Cardinals, who have not had a noteworthy corner since the great Aneas WIlliams left the desert in 2001.

Peterson is a virtual lock to be a lockdown corner. You will be watching him shutout your favorite receiver for years to come.

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Not a great start for the Steelers. After electing to receive, Pittsburgh's offense looked sluggish. On second down, the unit barely got to the line in time to avoid a delay of game penalty. Then, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was basically sacked on third down, although it went down as a one-yard rush in the stat sheet. Pittsburgh's patchwork offensive line protected Roethlisberger well, but Oakland's coverage downfield was snug.

Thanks to a dubious roughing the passer penalty on outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley and a nice completion over the middle to wide receiver Johnny Lee Higgins, Oakland found themselves in Steelers territory. However, the Raiders failed to keep the drive going - they're 33% on third down on the season - and had to settle for a 41-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal.

The Steelers went three-and-out on their second drive, as well. Roethlisberger's accuracy was really suspect; he missed Hines Ward deep on a trick play, then barely overthrew rookie Emmanuel Sanders on a third-down streak. On Oakland's next drive, safety Ryan Clark was shaken up after colliding with rookie Jacoby Ford on a first-down reception. To add insult to injury (literally), Clark was flagged for unnecessary roughness, even though he hit Ford in the back. Who knows if the refs have been advised by the league to be more aggressive in calling such penalties, but this was simply an injustice of a call. Halfway through the first quarter, the Steelers had already compiled 35 penalty yards. Fortunately, Oakland failed to maintain the drive after some excellent coverage from Pittsburgh's secondary.

Mike Wallace made a terrific catch in traffic, good for 27 yards and the Steelers' first first down of the day. He's really becoming Pittsburgh's best receiver. Then the wheels really started turning, as Roethlisberger converted on a 13-yarder to Sanders, then running back Rashard Mendenhall ripped off some nice inside runs. After a fake pitch, Ward caught his first ball of the afternoon. He was knocked out of last week's loss to the New England Patriots, ending a million-game-long streak of contests with at least receptions. Here's to Ward starting another!

After one quarter of action, the Raiders lead, 3-0, but Pittsburgh is in position to score. 

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Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting that the Steelers are likely to start Charlie Batch at QB for the team's September 12 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. If this report holds true, then it will mark a bewildering end to one of the most unorthodox quarterback controversies in the history of the NFL.

Though Batch has been an incredibly reliable backup for the Steelers (3-1 as a starter), it seemed likely that he would be cut until Byron Leftwich sprained his MCL in Pittsburgh's preseason contest against the Carolina Panthers. In a matter of days, Batch has gone from a near certain roster casualty to the probable starter in the team's opener.

This is bad news for the young and talented Dennis Dixon, who is likely to be utilized only in situational packages. 

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The Post Gazette reports that Pittsburgh acquired 30-year-old IF Akinori Iwamura in exchange for RHP Jesse Chavez..

Iwamura is coming off a season in which he posted a .745 OPS before tearing his ACL.  Chavez, 26, was one of the lone bright spots in the Pirate bullpen last year.

More from Charlie once he has better access to the internet.

UPDATE by Charlie: Iwamura seems like a perfectly reasonable answer at second base, but to give up a guy who was one of the team's only semi-reliable relievers and would have been under team control for several more years strikes me as a bit strange. Iwamura basically is Andy LaRoche but without the upside, and Pedro Alvarez will presumably be ready to play in early 2011 if not sometime in 2010, so this seems like a move aimed squarely at this year. Which seems like something everybody loves, but of course it doesn't make any sense at all for the Pirates to play for this year, since they just finished cleaning house a few months ago.

This isn't a huge deal, though, and Neal Huntington's stated explanation--basically, that relievers are fungible because their performance varies a lot--makes sense, to a degree. The odds are against Chavez developing into a consistently excellent reliever, especially since he wasn't all that impressive last year, even for a Pirate. I'd generally rather the Pirates didn't send off decent players with years of team control remaining, but I think I can live with it this time--second base was a big hole.

Charlie has been all over the country recently, staying primarily in places that have no internet.

Not to worry, though.  Charlie will be back in a day or two and will likely be flooding this forum with posts to make up for lost time.  Thank you for your patience!

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Zach Duke vs. Carlos Zambrano, 1:05 PM.

2:05 PM, FSH

Paul Maholm (10-14, 4.32) vs. Brandon Backe (0-1, 5.91).

If the Pirates played the Astros everyday, they might have a solid record this year.  Unfortunately, we play other teams as well.  After blowing a five run lead last night to the struggling Stros, the Bucos will look to bounce back and win for the 11th time out of the 15 meetings between these two baseball juggernauts.  This will be our last opportunity to face the Astros this season, so savor this one, folks!

Though it hurts me to even point this out, this game is actually sort of important for us.  With the goal of a decent season far out of reach, the Pirates can at least hope to best the Astros in the division standings for the first time in the team's history...

7:05 pm, FSPI, FSH

Matt Morris (7-8, 4.51) vs. Troy Patton (0-0, 0.00).

After a wild, 15 inning marathon in Houston last night, the Pirates will look to spoil the MLB debut of Troy Patton by winning their fourth straight game and clawing out of the NL Central basement.

-P- Xavier Nady did his best Kirk Gibson impression last night (I know that is an exaggeration, but just let me enjoy the moment) by drilling the game-tying HR while pinch hitting in the ninth. Despite the heroics, Nady is still being bothered by a partially torn hammy.  Even though putting Nady on the DL is clearly the right move, the Pirates will continue to deploy Nady as a pinch hitter until something changes.

8:05 pm, FSPI, FSH

Ian Snell (8-10, 3.93) vs. Matt Albers (3-6, 6.14).

Winners of 5 of their last six contests, the Pirates now head to Houston, where they hope to continue...um...winning.

-P- Chris Duffy may be on his way out of the organization.