Pittsburgh Sports Article of the Week

This week's Pittsburgh Sports Article of the Week might be the last article featuring the Pirates. Given that training camp is approaching, and most have lost interest in the Pirates since the trade deadline, most press has been about them losing, their bad management, or their hiatus until 2011. But after last week's deadline, Jeremy Crasnick, writing for ESPN, featured the Pirates trade moves and movement this year. The article is titled "Pirates 'Clean House' in a very big way."

Crasnick really impressed me with this article-it's the first national article on the Pirates that i've come across that doesn't fully criticize or write them off. He is very much an analyst, rather than an opinion-disher, and he digs deep in his analysis. He goes back several years, reviews the current state of the team, and takes a look at the prospect pool-all with accuracy. It's extremely impressive and refreshing, that a national story on this rebuilding team doesn't have any negative tone or implication.

Check out more of Crasnick's writing here