Not a Mirage

By Jonathan Bernhardt
http://www.sportsonearth.com
August 2, 2013



It's August now. Barring the mathematically nigh-unthinkable, the Pittsburgh Pirates will finish the season with at least a winning record, most likely with a playoff berth of some kind. They have an honest chance of winning not only the National League Central but finishing with the best record in baseball.

We won't congratulate the Pirates fans until the deed is done, of course. Any Pirate fan who's currently exulting in their team's slim lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and looking forward to the NLDS instead of waiting with baited breath for win 82 probably hasn't been following the team very long. There's nothing wrong with that -- everyone's fandom has to start somewhere, and at least some of yesterday's bandwagoners turn into tomorrow's diehards.

Now that the answer to the question "what needs to happen for the Pirates to finish under .500?" has been reduced to essentially Reds and Cards fan-fiction, it's time to start asking: "How far can the Pirates go?" Their floor at this point is third place in the Central with a record close to .500, missing the playoffs, while their ceiling is first place in the Central with the best record in the National League and home field advantage against the Wild Card winner in the NLDS. I think the most realistic expectation for the Pirates is right between the two: second place in the Central as the first Wild Card team, with home field advantage for the one-game Wild Card round against (barring a late season surge from the Washington Nationals) the Cincinnati Reds.

The Pirates are where they are right now -- top of the NL and a game behind Boston for the best record in baseball after Thursday's games -- mainly through extreme overperformance, which is not the same as luck. Pittsburgh is only playing three wins above their Pythagorean record, which is unremarkable in the grand scheme of things. That's about what you'd expect from a team that's had as good a bullpen as the Pirates have all year, and is excelling due to just about every pitcher on the active roster having a career year.

There are elements of luck hidden within this. For instance, the Pirates staff allowed a home run every 52 plate appearances last season at PNC Park, while this season they're only allowing one every 90 plate appearances -- every three home games or so. PNC Park has had by far the fewest home runs hit at it out of any stadium in baseball so far, and while the Pirates pitching better on the mound should lead to fewer home runs against them as a matter of course, there's no reason for the difference to be that outstanding outside of a variance in a relatively small sample size. Being lucky in that regard isn't a one-way ticket to the lowest ERA in baseball by a quarter of a run (3.04), however -- the Pirates are legitimately pitching out of their minds.

But guess who else is right down there with them? Cincinnati (3.30, 2nd in MLB) and St. Louis (3.44, 4thin MLB), their division rivals. And both of those teams are scoring more runs per game (St Louis: 4.76 runs per game, fourth in the majors; Cincinnati: 4.31 runs per game, 12th in the majors) than the Pirates are. In fact, the Pirates offense has been fairly woeful on the season: Pittsburgh is 23rd in the majors in runs scored per game at 3.93, and 21st in OPS at .701. Neither of Pittsburgh's two rivals can match their pitching this year, but both have clearly better players at the majority of the positions on the field. Second base and shortstop have been black holes for the Pirates all year with Clint Barmes, Jody Mercer, and Neil Walker's respective injury and consistency problems. And the team's attempts to upgrade in right field at the trade deadline were foiled by ridiculous demands from sellers -- Neil Huntington, the Pirates general manager, was quoted after the deadline Wednesday saying that the Pirates "were willing to do something stupid, but not insane" when asked why the team didn't want to meet other clubs' asking prices. The Pirates can still acquire a bat -- trades can still be made after the deadline, but all of the MLB players involved have to pass waivers to do so -- but it will be much more difficult now.

The Pirates also have a lot more games to go in the second half against Cincinnati and St. Louis, though they're off to a good and very important start, taking four out of five against the Cardinals this week. They will also play the Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the weirdly resurgent Miami Marlins before the season ends in one of the harder late season schedules. The good news is that they've played well inside the division so far, and so long as the pitching remains consistent, they should finish neck and neck with the Cardinals. That said, it's difficult to pick against St. Louis, a team with one of the majors' top five offenses and top five pitching staffs, regardless of what's happened this week.

It's taken awhile, and the Pirates have endured a lot, including some collapses over the past two years that on other teams might have cost people their jobs. But the team, at least for this season, is legitimate. They should make the postseason despite playing in a division with two other playoff teams. And as long as the team makes the right moves after the season ends -- doesn't extend its overperforming veterans into oblivion, for instance -- it doesn't have to be a one-time thing.

Because obviously what the rest of us needed was another successful pro sports franchise in Pittsburgh.

Photo: Getty Images

MORE FROM JONATHAN

Steelers linebackers look to regain snarl

By WILL GRAVES (AP Sports Writer)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/pit

August 1, 2013

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, left, gives linebacker Jarvis Jones a few pointers at practice during NFL football training camp at the team's training facility in Latrobe, Pa. on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 . (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- The chat wasn't exactly a pep talk or a wake-up call so much as Keith Butler providing one of his star pupils with a little perspective.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker coach spent two years watching LaMarr Woodley struggle to stay on the field and live up to the $61.5 million contract he signed two summers ago, Butler decided it was time to get real about the fiscal realities of the NFL.

''If you don't produce and you make a lot of money, they're going to find somebody else,'' Butler said. ''Coaches included.''

Don't misunderstand. Butler wasn't hinting in any way that Woodley was in danger of losing his job. Entering the prime of his career, the 28-year-old Woodley remains a force when healthy. Butler simply suggested it might be best for Woodley to do whatever he can to remain healthy more often.

Stay on the field, and the havoc Woodley created while averaging nearly 12 sacks a year between 2008-10 would return. If not, well, Butler couldn't make any guarantees.

''You see so many great players year to year on the waiver wire and you're saying 'Man, they cut that dude? How did they cut that dude? Why did they do that?''' Butler said. ''Because he wasn't playing up to the money he was making and that's just the hard fact of the National Football League.''

One longtime teammate James Harrison learned in painful fashion during the offseason. The Steelers cut the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year in March when Harrison declined to take a pay cut. Harrison eventually landed with Cincinnati, but finds himself adapting to a new system and a new surroundings in the twilight a once brilliant career.

It's a path Woodley would rather not travel. Hamstring and ankle issues have forced him to miss nine of Pittsburgh's last 24 games, a span that has seen Woodley reach the quarterback just four times. While Woodley points to greater responsibility in pass coverage as part of the reason for the decline, he's also aware he needed to change the way he prepares.

Though Woodley is reluctant to discuss his weight, Butler estimates Woodley played at around 295 pounds over the last two years. He appears slimmer during the first week of training camp at Saint Vincent College, even if he typically hides his wide 6-foot-2 frame underneath layers of sweatshirts and shorts.

He also switched up his offseason regimen, traveling to Arizona to work out alongside Harrison, safety Ryan Clark and others. Woodley remains vague on the specifics, pointing out the major difference is the heat. Still, he stressed he feels ''great'' and is ready to quiet some of the criticism while understanding he'll never be able to turn it completely off.

''I don't worry about that at all,'' Woodley said. ''When they pay you the big money, the spotlight is going to be on you no matter what. Sometimes injuries slow you down (but) ... you've got to keep moving.''

And, Woodley hopes, moving a little more quickly.

Having some help across the field wouldn't hurt either. Harrison and Woodley were one of the best bookend linebacker tandems in the NFL when they were able to stay out of the training room. Feeding off each other, they fueled Pittsburgh to two Super Bowl appearances in three years.

When one couldn't play, however, offensive lines would shift their focus to neutralizing the other. The result was a team sack total that dipped to just 37.5 in 2012, the franchise's lowest since Woodley joined the team as a second-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2007.

Pittsburgh believes it may found Harrison's eventual heir in rookie Jarvis Jones, who led the nation in sacks last year at Georgia. Like Harrison, Jones is an instinctive pass rusher. Even better, thanks to his background as an inside linebacker, Jones is quickly grasping the intricacies of his new responsibilities in defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's 3-4 scheme.

''It's not a big stretch for him to learn what to do,'' Butler said.

Yet the Steelers didn't make Jones the Steelers' highest drafted outside linebacker since Huey Richardson in 1991 to go chase tight ends and running backs. And they didn't pay Woodley all that money to do the same. To be honest, he's ready to get back to the fun part of his job.

''My game is predicated on sacks and this defense is predicated on getting after the quarterback,'' Woodley said.

Getting there - or getting close - can force opponents into mistakes. That didn't happen nearly enough in 2012. Though Pittsburgh finished No. 1 in total defense for the fourth time in nine years, the Steelers created just 20 turnovers, including four in a meaningless season finale against Cleveland.

The inability to flip the field or make the ''splash'' plays that Woodley made so regularly earlier in his career contributed to a dismal 8-8 finish. Woodley knows it won't be tolerated. So does his coach.

''It's a prove it year for all of us,'' Butler said. ''This league is like that. Every year if we don't do well, we all get fired. I wish America was like that, we'd all be more productive.''

--

NOTES: Free agent guard Nik Embernate left practice with a knee injury coach Mike Tomlin termed significant. Embernate, a rookie from San Diego State, needed to be taken off the field in a golf cart and was in obvious distress after getting hurt during a drill ... LB Jason Worilds was also limited in practice with what Tomlin called ''discomfort'' in a big toe ... CB Cortez Allen, slated to start across from Ike Taylor when the season opens, did not practice again due to knee soreness ... The Steelers practice again on Friday evening at Saint Vincent College. The team was forced to move its traditional ''Friday Night Lights'' practice at nearby Latrobe Memorial Stadium because of concerns about the grass on the high school field.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Ten greatest athletes in Pittsburgh sports history

By Jared Stonesifer | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Thu, Aug 1, 2013 7:34 AM EDT

Click on the link below and vote for your favorite:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ten-greatest-athletes-pittsburgh-sports-history-113400003.html




Special to Yahoo! Sports - Roberto Clemente, Franco Harris, Mario Lemieux. Yahoo! Sports photo illustration

Editor's note: YCN contributor Jared Stonesifer has compiled his list of the 10 greatest athletes for Pittsburgh. Readers will determine by poll who's No. 1. Results will be revealed Monday, Aug. 5.

[Vote for No. 1: Baltimore | L.A. | Philadelphia | San Francisco | Complete series]

Pittsburgh is a city with a deep allegiance and love for its sports teams, more so than most American cities. Sports are linked into the very fabric of the city, dating back to the days when the Pittsburgh Pirates played in the first modern World Series contest against Boston in 1903.

 Indeed, some of the very best athletes in professional sports spent time here in Pittsburgh, and many more (see Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas) are from the area.

To dwindle the list of the 10 best athletes in Pittsburgh sports history is a daunting task, one that will surely produce disagreement and argument. But isn't that a good thing, to have so many successful athletes from which to pick over the years?

To clarify, this list isn't about the best Pittsburgh-born athletes, nor is it about who won the most championships. It's about the best pure athletes to ever put on a uniform to represent the Steel City.

Without further adieu (in alphabetical order):

Barry Bonds (Pirates, 1986-1992)
With all of the home runs, walks, MVP awards and the controversy surrounding his accomplishments while with the San Francisco Giants, it's easy to forget that Bonds had emerged as a bonafide superstar in his seven years with the Pirates.

Though Pittsburgh couldn't get over the hump (Sid Bream, anyone?), Bonds did his part to put the Pirates in championship contention in the early '90s. He won the first two of his seven MVPs with the Pirates, while also nabbing three straight Gold Glove awards. And after Bonds headed to the City by the Bay, the fortunes of the Pirates went drastically south.

Terry Bradshaw (Steelers, 1970-83)
Terry Bradshaw (L) with 'Mean' Joe Greene in 1979. (Getty)Yes, there'll be bellyaching with Bradshaw's selection here over Mike Webster and Jack Lambert. Honestly, the only reason Bradshaw appears on this list is because he owns four Super Bowl rings, something only one other starting QB (Joe Montana) can say. He's a Hall of Famer, so it's not like he was a slouch. But at the same time, he quarterbacked a team that could have won with Tim Tebow at the helm, playing alongside the Steel Curtain with names like Harris and Bleier, Swann and Stallworth, Lambert and Greene.

Bradshaw owns a career 51.9 percent career completion percentage, which means he likely wouldn't even be a starting quarterback in today's NFL. He also has 212 career touchdown passes to 210 career interceptions. As much as it seemed appropriate, however, Bradshaw just couldn't be left off this list. [I wildly disagree with the author's assessment of Mr. Bradshaw's career.  Bradshaw's statistics were compiled under far different, and much more difficult, circumstances than those under which today's quarterbacks labor.  Bradshaw was a great quarterback and deserves to be on this list. - jtf]

Roberto Clemente (Pirates, 1955-72)
Nobody needs an explanation for what Clemente brought to baseball. A great humanitarian and warm soul outside of baseball, he finished with exactly 3,000 career hits, a number he achieved shortly before dying in a plane crash while delivering aid supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

 The numbers certainly don't lie: The man was a part of 15 All-Star teams, won two World Seriestitles, 12 Gold Glove Awards and four National League batting titles. He's easily the best outfielder in Pirates history and one of the all-time greats to ever play the game. Clemente finished with a career .317 batting average, was elected to the Hall of Fame posthumously, and was even given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

Sidney Crosby (Penguins, 2005-present)
Sidney Crosby has guided the Penguins to a Stanley Cup title and won league MVP honors. (USA TODAY Sports)Crosby, some would hope, is only about halfway finished with his career. But his athletic prowess is simply undeniable as he is indisputably the best hockey player in the world.

The facts don't lie: He's the youngest player and only teenager to win a scoring title in any of the major four North American sports leagues. He was the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2007, and he captained Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2010 with an overtime goal against the United States.

Joe Greene (Steelers, 1969-81)
You have to be a pretty bad dude to get a nickname that has become so popular it's almost synonymous with your first name. "Mean" Joe Greene anchored the Steel Curtain defense for the Steelers in the glory years of the 1970s, playing his way to four Super Bowl titles, 10 Pro Bowls and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

 During his time with the Steelers, he became one of the most popular players in the NFL. Indeed, in Super Bowl IX, Greene became the first player ever to intercept a pass, force a fumble and record a fumble recovery in a single Super Bowl. And who could forget his famous Coke commercial with the little boy and his jersey?

Franco Harris (Steelers, 1972-83)
Another staple of the 1970s Steelers, Harris is enshrined in football history with perhaps the most memorable play ever, the Immaculate Reception. But his stats go much farther than one play. Harris rushed for more than 12,000 yards in his career to go along with 100 touchdowns scored. He won four Super Bowls, made nine Pro Bowls, and finished with a 4.1 yards per carry average.

Ralph Kiner (Pirates, 1946-53)
 Perhaps one of the lesser-known heroes in Pittsburgh sports history, Kiner's relatively short tenure with the Pirates was full of prolific home runs and offensive production. He never won a World Seriestitle or MVP Award with the Pirates, but he did win or tie for the National League home run title seven years in a row from 1946-1952, his only full seasons spent with the Pirates.

 Kiner also blasted 54 home runs in 1949, which is still a team record for most in a season. It would be the most home runs hit by a player in the National League until 1997. His 301 career home runs with the Pirates ranks as second in team history. 

Mario Lemieux (Penguins, 1984-97, 2000-06)
What can you say about a man who literally saved the Penguins franchise on a number of occasions? Lemieux is easily the most beloved athlete in the city's history and still adds to his legacy today as an owner of the team.

He won two Stanley Cups, six scoring titles and three Hart Trophies during his career, which included a bout with cancer, several serious injuries and a comeback from retirement.

There's still (and likely always will be) a debate between the best hockey player ever between Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. But Lemieux did more than just distinguish himself on the ice. He bought the team out of bankruptcy in 1999, saved the team from relocating less than 10 years ago, and steered the Penguins to a Stanley Cup win in 2009.

Willie Stargell (Pirates, 1962-82)
 The man affectionately known as "Pops" was a fan-favorite during his playing years and still remains so even today. He played 21 seasons with the Pirates, winning two World Series titles and making seven All-Star teams in the process. His 475 home runs rank as most in team history, and he won both the National League and World Series MVP awards in 1979.

He died in 2001, the very same day of the opening of PNC Park.

Honus Wagner (Pirates, 1900-17)
The man might have played more than a hundred years ago, but he was also one of the very first players to be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1936. The Flying Dutchman finished with a career .327 batting average. Wagner won eight National League batting titles and also led the league in stolen bases five times. One of the game's best hitters, Wagner recorded a batting average higher than .300 in each of his first 14 seasons with the team.

Wagner, a shortstop, finished his career with 3,420 hits, one World Series title and a designation on Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. He also has the distinction of having the most valuable baseball card ever sold at $2.1 million.

Jared Stonesifer has covered the Pittsburgh Pirates for MLB.com on a freelance basis since 2010. He lives in Pittsburgh.

Can Pirates truly grasp what they’re doing for this city?

Fans greet Pirates left fielder Starling Marte as he takes the field for a game against the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday, August 1, 2013, at PNC Park.

About Dejan Kovacevic

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Sports Columnist Dejan Kovacevic can be reached via e-mail

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By Dejan Kovacevic 
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://triblive.com/sports
Published: Thursday, August 1, 2013, 11:15 p.m.

Do they even get it?

I wonder sometimes.

Do these precocious Pirates even begin to grasp what's going on around them, the effect that Major League Baseball's best team — and say that like you mean it, Pittsburgh — has had on our city, on our collective psyche?

Sure, we've been spoiled by the Steelers and Penguins for the better part of a decade, as well as some of those sports' brightest stars in Ben Roethlisberger to Troy Polamalu, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

But one hole remained in the heart, the one left by 20 years of losing from the franchise that's been here twice as long as any of them.

Remember in 2009, the year the Boulevard of the Allies was jammed with a half-million fans for not one parade but two?

Remember that fake “road sign” making the rounds on social media?

“WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH: CITY OF CHAMPIONS … and the Pirates”

Yeah, that one. Hilarious and, at the same time, clearly coated with angst.

Do these Pirates, flying high at 65-43 after taking four of five from the Cardinals despite a 13-0 anomaly of a loss Thursday at PNC Park, get that?

At least one of them does.

“It's special. I know, believe me,” Neil Walker, the local boy was saying a few hours before manning second base. “When you look around the stadium, hear the way they're cheering for us — even in the early innings — and everything else that you see around town …”

He paused.

“I always knew this could happen. I always believed it. But it's still special.”

And his teammates?

“Oh, they've got no idea. None. And honestly, it's probably better that way.”

Maybe it is. Ask a guy like Justin Wilson, the rookie lefty in the pen, and he'll just shrug: “It's really not something we're focused on. I mean, you notice it. The place is more full. The people are louder. But we're out there to play a game, to get the job done.”

Wilson's the norm, but there are exceptions beyond Walker.

Clint Hurdle, who set “rebonding a baseball team with its city” as a stated goal from the day of his hiring, walked into his local Starbucks to a standing ovation this week. He ran into another gentleman Thursday at the grocery store who pleaded for management to “lock up” Starling Marte to an extension.

“Amazing,” the manager called it.

Hurdle gets it. Don't doubt that for a second. He, more than anyone associated with the running the Pirates, understood that the city and team needed to be as one to succeed. He even reached out the Steelers and Penguins, befriended Mike Tomlin and Dan Bylsma, attended their games and wondered wistfully how he “could get those people to come to our games and be the same way.”

It's happened. Ask Matt Holliday how he felt being tormented by fans in left field after allowing Andrew McCutchen's home run to clank off his mitt the other night.

Might as well have been Ray Lewis or P.K. Subban hearing it.

Hurdle was asked Thursday to compare it to Colorado, where he managed previously.

“The tradition's not the same there. They don't have the history. This is, at its core, such a passionate town for baseball.”

Some of his other players are getting it, too.

When Mark Melancon's called third strike sealed the victory Wednesday, the 31,697 erupted in a collective roar unlike any I've heard at PNC Park. And I wasn't alone.

“Loudest moment for me, by far,” said Jeff Karstens, the Pirates' most tenured player. “A lot of guys were talking about it in the clubhouse right after the game. We couldn't remember anything like it.”

Melancon's assessment: “Goose bumps.”

It's a start.

But I don't know. There's part of me that, in a weird way, wishes all of these players could fully appreciate every last sliver of it all.

You know, the way Rege Gibson of Verona does. He's been watching the Pirates since a 1963 visit to Forbes Field, and Thursday marked his 43rd game this season.

“I feel like I've been on my honeymoon all week,” Gibson was saying on the main concourse. “I'm just numb.”

At least a little sour, too.

“You know, I'm not a fair-weather fan. I have one of those feelings where I love seeing this place filled, but I also hate it. We've been here.”

You go, Rege.

Dan Irvin of Wexford has been there, too, though not nearly as long. He and 80 others from a youth ministry showed up together with brooms in Section 302.

“My dad's had tickets forever. I remember crying myself to sleep as an 8-year-old when Sid Bream scored,” Irvin said, referring to, oh, you know. “To see this, though, feels like the first time in my life.”

Annie Shelton of Ross moved here from Connecticut five years ago. Call her a bandwagoner if you wish, but that offers her a powerful perspective of what makes this setting unique in sports at the moment.

“I've been to New York, to Boston … the happiness here, the thrill of what this team is doing is so much more real,” she said. “It's like everybody wants this so much, and it brings you into it.”

Annie's new, but she gets it.

The Guys Who Stand aren't new. They're a handful of beer-wielding fans — Gary Antosh, Bill Clark and Dale Raymond are the surviving originals, but they're more than a handful now — who have been standing at the back of a field-level section since Three Rivers Stadium's infancy. Still do. Every game without fail. The usher deliberately doesn't wipe their seats because he knows it's a waste of his time. (They tip him, anyway.)

David Riehl, the 25-year-old babe among them, inherited his standing place with pride: “I finally have a winning baseball team and am glad to cheer alongside guys who have been there for 40 years.”

They certainly won't be standing up the Pirates now.

Then there's my favorite: The Ultimate Fan.

I don't know the gentleman's name, and I'm not about to ask now. I'm actually kind of in awe of him. Been watching for years and years, going way back to Three Rivers, as he's shown up for every game, no matter how abominable the baseball. Same seat in the upper deck. Same arrival time safely before first pitch.

Stays through rain delays, too.

Sitting in the rain.

This summer has been incredible for so many, but imagine how cathartic it feels after 20 years of getting soaked.

Read more:http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/4447657-74/pirates-game-thursday?printerfriendly=true#ixzz2aoHy2mFg 
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Pirates have exposed Cardinals' flaws

By David Schoenfield | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot

August 1, 2013



Pittsburgh Pirates' Starling Marte scores from third on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen in the fifth inning of a baseball game as St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz (48) waits for the late relay throw, in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2013/07/31/2721806/pirates-slip-by-cardinals-5-4.html#storylink=cpy

Three days ago, the St. Louis Cardinals flew to Pittsburgh for a five-game series against the Pirates leading the NL Central by 1.5 games, with a chance to put those pesky Pirates down a notch or two. Win five games and they not only shake the spirit of the Pirates a bit but all but lock up the division, extending their lead to 6.5 games. 

Instead, the Pirates have won the first four games of the series, the home fans going crazy and going loud for nine innings, experiencing that rush of winning baseball in the middle of a heated pennant race. They won 5-4 on Wednesday in a game that exposed some of the recent problems with the Cardinals. On a day the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds all stood patat the trading deadline, the biggest news of the day in the NL Central may have been MVP candidate Yadier Molina landing on the DL, even if it's just a two-week stint to rest his sprained knee. Pirates fans may have wanted a right fielder, but Molina's injury could end up being just as big a factor in the division race. 

The Pirates fell behind 4-2 in the fourth inning as All-Star Jeff Locke got hit around and with ace Adam Wainwright on the mound, the Cardinals looked to be in good shape. But Clint Barmes, hitting in front of Locke, doubled in a run with two outs in the fourth, and then in the fifth, Starling Marte reached on a bunt single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Andrew McCutchen's sac fly. 

But the run of the game -- that type of run in a big game that fans of division-winning teams remember years later -- came in the bottom the eighth. Neil Walker led off with a line single to right off a Trevor Rosenthal four-seam fastball left over the middle of the plate. With one out, Pedro Alvarez flied out to Matt Holliday on the warning track in left, but Walker alertly advanced to second on the play and then scored on Russell Martin's two-out grounder up the middle. 

How often does that play happen? Only 10 times previously this season -- including once before by Walker, in a game where he scored the go-ahead run back in April against the Braves. 

What we've seen over the past three days and four games are two teams more evenly matched then their seasonal run differences may suggest -- the Cardinals are +119 and the Pirates are at +61, making the Cardinals appear, on paper, the superior team. But that run differential doesn't mean anything right now. What has it gotten the Cardinals? Second place. 

Walker's play highlighted one difference between the two teams -- the Cardinals don't do a lot on the bases. They're last in the NL in steals with 28 (although they did steal three bases on Wednesday) compared to Pittsburgh's 75. The Cardinals lead the NL in double plays grounded into with 103 while the Pirates have grounded into the fewest with 68. Some of that is a function of the Cardinals having more baserunners, but Holliday leads the league with 24 double plays hit into and could challenge Jim Rice's single-season record of 36. David Freese has grounded into 17. 

That team speed spread shows up in the defensive numbers as well. The Pirates are third in the majors with 48 Defensive Runs Saved (entering Wednesday's action) while the Cardinals rank 26th at minus-33. Holliday, who botched a fly ball into a home run on Tuesday, has been the biggest liability at -11 runs, but center fielder Jon Jay also grades poorly at -10. 

Offensively, Carlos Beltran has gone in the tank in July, hitting .250/.261/.345, with 19 strikeouts and two walks. The Cardinals rank just 13th in the NL in home runs, relying instead on their excellent approach with runners on base that has produced a major league-leading .333 average with runners in scoring position (the Tigers are second at .294). 

Maybe I'm digging too deep here to find some dirt on the Cardinals, but that's sort of the point: They aren't some unbeatable super team. Jake Westbrook and Joe Kelly are in the rotation. Remember, they won just 88 games last year and 90 in 2011. We're not talking about a team that has reeled off consecutive 100-win seasons. They're deep and talented and have a farm system that is the envy of most other teams. But they are beatable. 

The Pirates have a 2.5-game lead. It's Joe Kelly versus Charlie Morton on Thursday night and we have a pennant race. To the fans in Pittsburgh and St. Louis: Enjoy the ride. This is why we watch.

Pirates slip by Cardinals 5-4 for 4th straight win

By WILL GRAVES (AP Sports Writer)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/pit

August 1, 2013

Russell Martin brings in the game-winning run for the Pirates.(Photo: Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington spent the hours leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline searching for a way to upgrade the team with the best record in baseball.

The typically buttoned down Huntington even considered taking leave of his senses to do it.

''We talk a lot about, we don't want to do something stupid,'' Huntington said Wednesday after the deadline passed. ''We were willing to do something stupid. We just didn't want to do anything insane.''

At the moment, insanity might be defined as breaking up the chemistry the Pirates have spent the last four months cultivating.

Russell Martin drove home Neil Walker with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Pirates rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals5-4 to extend their lead in the NL Central to 2 1/2 games.

Pittsburgh (65-42) has its best record entering August since the 1972 Pirates ended July at 60-35.

Martin's sharp grounder off Trevor Rosenthal (1-2) rolled into left field, giving Walker time to score from second and propel Pittsburgh to its 25th comeback win in an increasingly special season. Pittsburgh is 23 games over .500 for the first time since 1992.

''We can win just about every way possible,'' manager Clint Hurdle said.

The Cardinals appeared in firm control of the division race two weeks ago but now find themselves staring up at the Pirates, who have taken the first four games of a five-game series.

St. Louis broke out of a slump to put together 13 hits, but the Cardinals left 11 runners on base and dropped their seventh straight. The Cardinals led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 but couldn't hold on.

''You always at some point during the season, every year, no matter what, go through a rough patch,'' St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright said after failing to earn his 14th victory. ''The good teams find a way to get out of that rough patch and find a way to get back to playing good quality baseball, and that's what we're going to do.''

Tony Watson (3-1) worked two shutout innings in relief of starterJeff Locke. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save. Melancon is 3 for 3 in save opportunities since All-Star closer Jason Grilli went down with a right forearm injury last week.

Matt Holliday had three hits and drove in two runs but St. Louis failed to score over the final five innings against Pittsburgh's bullpen.

''There's something we're not doing, and we know we're not doing it and fixing it,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Walker hit his seventh homer of the season off Wainwright in the first inning, starting a pattern that repeated itself throughout the night. The Cardinals found ways to score off starter Jeff Locke, but Pittsburgh kept chipping away.

''It's things we've done throughout the course of the season,'' Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen said. ''If we're down early, we just keep working.''

The teams with the two best records in the National League were mostly spectators before Wednesday's non-waiver trade deadline, though the Pirates acquired minor leaguer Robert Andino from Seattle.

The past two seasons, the Pirates made somewhat aggressive moves meant to bolster their playoff chances, but instead contributed in part to a second-half swoon.

This time, Huntington is keeping the group he called ''one of the tightest'' he's been around intact. When the 4 p.m. deadline passed, the Pirates were huddled around a TV in the clubhouse. They weren't anxiously waiting for news. Instead, they were watching Martin and first baseman Garrett Jones play video games.

''The trade deadline is like a gossip magazine,'' Watson said. ''You take it for what it's worth but it's in one ear and out the other.''

Pittsburgh needed to find a way after a rare off-night by Locke, whose rapid ascension from fifth starter to All-Star has fueled Pittsburgh's relentless pursuit of the Cardinals. But St. Louis spent four innings pecking away at the left-hander's usually deft mix of breaking balls.

The Cardinals came in hitting just .155 (30-194) during their late-July swoon but peppered Locke for 10 hits, the most he has given up in 31 career starts.

They came in various ways, from a hard-hit double by Beltran in the fourth to a swinging bunt by David Descalso that traveled 20 feet. Locke tied a season high by giving up four runs. He struck out six and walked one as his ERA rose from 2.15 to 2.36.

''He was fighting uphill all night,'' Hurdle said.

Wainwright, however, couldn't take advantage of the first signs of life by the St. Louis offense in a week. Every time the Cardinals would push in front, the Pirates would respond, eventually tying it on a sacrifice fly by McCutchen in the fifth. Wainwright left after seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking one.

''(They) gave me the lead three times and I blew the save three times,'' Wainwright said. ''I can be better than that, I will be better than that.''

NOTES: The Pirates placed reserve C Mike McKenry on the 15-day disabled after he underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Rookie Tony Sanchez, Pittsburgh's top pick in the 2009 draft, will serve as the primary backup to Martin for the rest of the season ... The series concludes Thursday with Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton (3-2, 3.59 ERA) facing Joe Kelly (1-3 3.44). The Pirates are 5-1 in Morton's last six starts.