Statistics are an important part of baseball, and so players are constantly being evaluated, judged, measured and scrutinized. In July, all the numbers are brought front and center by two events: the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the trade deadline. Cory and Alan consider the Pirates’ roster in that context.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ship began to sink shortly after the last recording of Pirate Revolution, a Titletahn podcast. Hosts Cory Humes and Alan Smodic return to their microphones today, and in doing so, hope to bail out a team that’s struggled through their early schedule in 2010.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are slated to pick 18th overall in the NFL draft, and only the top minds in their war room know which names are on the team’s wish list. The rest of us are left to speculate … and that’s exactly what Cory and Alan are here to do.

Hosts Cory Humes and Alan Smodic go around the diamond and discuss players’ performances and managerial tendencies through the Pirates’ opening series against the Dodgers. And, as is often the case, the focus turns toward the future, as the 2010 season will be spent as an extended tryout for what’s certain to be a competitive 2011 team.

Opening Day is less than three weeks away, and hosts Cory Humes and Alan Smodic begin to wonder who’ll take the hill for the Pirates against the Dodgers on April 5. In this episode of Pirate Revolution, starting pitchers at the major and minor-league levels are reviewed.

Last offseason, the Steelers were typically quiet in free agency. The organization rarely makes a splash, unless it’s signing its own core players to keep them in town, such as Casey Hampton’s new contract. But this year was a different story.

The Penguins added defenseman Jordan Leopold and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky over the past two days; Alan Smodic and Matthew Rudzki chime in with their opinionated takes on Ray Shero’s acquisitions before the trade deadline.

Ryan Doumit enters 2010 as the go-to guy behind the dish, but how long will he remain in black and gold? If Doumit does get dealt, Jason Jaramillo will presumably inherit the starting catcher’s job; will he be ready? Pittsburgh native Neil Walker is ready to don the tools of ignorance again, too.