Opening Day links

Opening Day is finally here. The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t 57-105 anymore, they’re 0-0. I’ve been waiting for this day since the 2010 season ended, if only to wash the ugly taste of last year out of my mouth. If you haven’t yet, check out the two posts directly below this one for my season preview, one rooted in practicality and the other much more abstract. If you have checked them out and you still need reading material on one of the best days of the year, I’ve got some links for you.

One of my absolute favorite baseball blog-related projects last year was Larry Granillo’s Tater Tot Tracker at Wezen Ball. He’s taken Wezen Ball and the Tracker to Baseball Prospectus this year and this piece to get you in the mood is just awesome.

I think Crying Baseball’s season preview is my favorite of the pre-season.

Dejan Kovacevic’s challenging questions to the front office makes for a must-read, even if you think you know the answers to the questions he’s asking. Of course, if Bob Nutting, Neal Huntington, or Frank Coonelly said the sky was blue there’s a huge portion of Pittsburgh that would disagree vehemently, but it’s still a great read.

I should’ve posted this sooner, but I went on the Three Rivers Burgh Blog podcast with Cory earlier this week and we talked about the Pirates. A lot. Hopefully the Pirates will be good enough to warrant a return. Cory also has a podcast up with Rocco DeMaro in which they talk about Rocco’s newest endeavour, Rocco DeMaro’s Life of Leisure podcast. So if you need something to listen to during your commute, you should be covered here.

Jim Shearer, who you may know from the web series Yinz Luv Da Stillers and Yinz Luv Da Guins, has a Yinz Luv Da Buccos exhibit featuring some sweet Pirate artwork at Wildcard in Lawrenceville. It’ll be there for all of April, but there’s an opening night party from 8-10 if you don’t have plans. You can read a bit more here in this interview with Pittsburgh Magazine. If you’re not familar with Jim’s other series, here’s a little taste:

I’ve also updated the Pirate blog links in the sidebar for Opening Day, so check that list out. If I haven’t included your blog, send me an e-mail. I’m trying to do better with this.

Finally, I was on my way home from work on Wednesday when I saw a copy of Wilfredo Santiago’s absolutely gorgeous “21 – The Story of Roberto Clemente” graphic novel and had to pick a copy up. If you think this might be your kind of thing (and let’s be clear: you’re reading this blog and so I feel pretty certain that a graphic novel about Roberto Clemente might be your thing) you should run to your local comic shop and ask them if they have it and then ask them to order it if they don’t. If my crappy cameraphone picture below can’t convince you, Deadspin has a bigger preview.