Pirates sign Alvarez for $6M

It became official at 11:59pm last night, immediately making Alvarez the Bucs top prospect. Give credit to Huntington, who has gone down a very different path than Littlefield, with help from Nutting, and has signed 30 of the picks this year. Combine that with the 8 players brought in by trade and he has done a very good job of restocking a depleted farm system with talent including some very high level talent.

Here are the links:
Perrotto at the Beaver County Times
DK on the PBC Blog
The Trib

In case you don't know what all the excitement is about, Wilbur Miller has already updated his page on Alvarez.

And let's not forget to give credit where it's due: Rocco was calling the signing all night and despite a little hedging, stuck with his guns, though his source was wrong on Scheppers.

But the first place to call the signing was TIOPS, who despite some who think it isn't reliable, has proven that it has high level sources. They called it and got the money almost exactly right at 12:26:

12:26 a.m. $6.35 signing bonus for Alvarez? stay tuned.

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Theinsideronpittsburgh.com is repoirting that the signing is a done deal:

10:30 p.m. Done deal - MLB contract. working for confirmation on the numbers

If so, and if Scheppers signs or not, that would cap a very impressive draft and signings for the Bucs.

11:03 - DK says definitely NO deal yet.

Rocco Demaio on 104.7 on the Bucs post game is saying that the deal is done and will be announced shortly before midnight.

2 More Years

For all the excitement that comes with a new arena, and groundbreaking is a sure sign that it's on its way, I for one will be sad to see the old Igloo go. Just as seeing Three Rivers brought down was a passing of an era, not seeing the big steel dome in any shots of downtown, particularly aerial shots, will be jarring.

I've spent many nights in the Igloo, enjoyable and heartbreaking, but that's a list for a future time.

For now, let's focus on the one thing that the Igloo hasn't had but needs before it's gone to make it a truly legendary arena: the passing of the Cup from one Penguin to another.

The two Cup wins were on the road and this spring we saw the chalice skated around the Igloo in the hands of the Red Wings. So while the Igloo will always be able to claim at least one Cup celebration, to truly be an unforgettable barn, the home team needs to be the team celebrating.

There are two seasons left to make it happen and given the state and prospects of the Pens currently, it is very possible that it could happen. And maybe not once, but twice. There is nothing else I'd rather see in the next 2 years.

Let's Go Pens!!

From the Pens website:
Government Officials, Penguins Break Ground on New Multi-Purpose Arena

The ceremonial groundbreaking took place on the future site of “center ice” in t he new state-of-the-art facility, which is being built across the street from Mellon Arena between Centre and Fifth avenues.

“This facility will not only be home to the Pittsburgh Penguins for years to come, but it will also serve as an entertainment centerpiece and economic generator for our entire region,” said Onorato. “We expect the multi-purpose arena to attract world-class concerts, family shows and other events to Southwestern Pennsylvania year round.”