McLouth = McAwesome

So much for being a fourth outfielder.

That's what former general manager Dave Littlefield and field manager Jim Tracy thought of Nate McLouth while they were in charge of the Pirates.

The only reason McLouth got any kind of shot last season was due to injury and he responded with an August similar too … well the streak he's on now. It showed then, just like now, that all McLouth needed was playing time to prove he belongs in the majors.

Saturday's game in Chicago was no exception. His two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning broke a 5-5 tie and helped the Pirates to an eventual 7-6 victory.

If you look at the National League leaders tomorrow you'll see that McLouth is fourth in the National League in home runs with 12 and tied for second – with teammate Xavier Nady – with 36 RBI. The guy is on pace for 46 home runs and 138 RBI.

Maybe he's more than a fourth outfielder after all.

Pirates-Cubs: Here's what to look for:

Here are some trends to keep an eye on this week during the Pirates series at Chicago against the Cubs (Hint: Could be a big weekend for Jason Bay):

Friday: Tom Gorzelanny (Pittsburgh) vs. Sean Gallagher (Chicago):
In his last start at Wrigley Field earlier this season, Gorzelanny allowed seven runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings. … Chicago's Derrek Lee is 7-for-12 with two home runs and five RBI vs. Gorzelanny while Geovany Soto is 6-for-9 with four RBI. … Gallagher is making his second major-league start.

Saturday: Zach Duke (Pittsburgh) vs. Carlos Zambrano (Chicago)
Duke is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA this month. … Lee and Aramis Ramirez are both 9-for-26 with a home run off Duke and Alfonso Soriano is 7-for-15 with a home run. … Zambrano is 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA at home this season. … In his last four starts he is also 5-for-10 batting with a home run and a double. … Bay is 12-for-34 with five home runs and 16 RBI vs. Zambrano while Xavier Nady is 8-for-20 with seven RBI.

Sunday: Phil Dumatrait (Pittsburgh) vs. Jason Marquis (Chicago):
Despite allowing a three-run homer in the sixth inning, Dumatrait pitched well and threw 88 pitches. … Ramirez is 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI vs. Dumatrait. … Bay is 14-for-37 with four home runs and nine RBI vs. Marquis. Nate McLouth is 5-for-13 with a home run and three RBI.

A small-town boy

Lonaconing is the type of town that you could miss if you blinked.

It's a small cluster of homes and a few businesses along Route 36 in the mountains of Maryland, about 7 miles from the nearest supermarkets and restaurants (Frostburg) and maybe 15 to the nearest marginally big city (Cumberland).

Lonaconing would be just another dot on the map, except for two occurrences in its history.

Back in the 1830s, the Georges Creek Coal and Iron Co. built a pioneering iron furnace that still stands in a park in the center of town as a testament to early American industry.

In front of the furnace, near the entrance to the park, is a plaque bearing the name of Lonaconing's most famous son, Robert Moses Grove.

Baseball fans will recognize Robert Moses as Lefty Grove, one of the greatest of pitchers. In fact, some call him the greatest: Statistical guru Bill James, in his original "Historical Baseball Abstract" (1985), gives Grove the accolade, citing the impressive numbers he compiled before he started pitching in the majors.

As it is, Lefty's big-league record is jaw-dropping. Pitching in the Lively Ball Era, the 1920s-'30s equivalent of the Steroid Era when it came to offensive statistics, Grove won an even 300 games and compiled an earned-run average of 3.06. During the period he pitched (1925-41), the American League's ERA was a cumulative 4.53, nearly a run and a half more than Grove's.

To put that in perspective, Sandy Koufax posted an impressive 2.76 lifetime ERA. But to equal Grove in comparison with the rest of his league, Koufax would have had to drop that number to around 2.15.

Grove led the league in ERA a record nine times, strikeouts eight times (his first eight seasons in the majors), wins four times, winning percentage four times and – believe it or not – saves once. In his era, the ace pitcher often was brought in to finish games whether or not he primarily was a starter. Think of Randy Johnson in the seventh game of the 2001 World Series, and multiply that by a dozen or more times during a season.

James gives the edge to Grove because of what he did before he joined the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925.

As a native of Maryland, it perhaps was inevitable that Grove first caught the eye of Jack Dunn, owner of the Baltimore Orioles (and the guy who also discovered a kid named George Herman Ruth). Back then, the Orioles were in the International League, which everyone considered a minor league … except for Dunn. He ran the team like his big-league counterparts, acquiring the best talent available in an effort to maximize local attendance.

Naturally, Dunn's Orioles absolutely dominated the IL in the early '20s, and Grove was a big part of the equation. After joining the team in mid-1920 at age 20, he compiled won-lost records of 12-2, 25-10, 18-8, 27-10 and 27-6.

These days, Grove would have stamped his ticket to the majors about a month or two into that second season. But the concept of the farm system was in its rudimentary stages back then, and Dunn was having none of it. So Lefty stayed in Baltimore, enjoying a good paycheck and lots of success … and costing himself, let's say, around 75 major-league victories.

With 375 big-league wins, Grove would have placed just ahead of the co-holders of the National League record, Christy Mathewson and Grover Cleveland Alexander (373). Keep in mind that Mathewson hurled his entire career and Alexander about half of his in the Dead Ball Era, which favored pitching statistics like no other period in baseball history.

The 375 total would have ranked Grove behind only Walter Johnson (417) and, of course, Cy Young (511). Johnson played the majority of his career in the Dead Ball Era, and Young's career started so early that for a time he pitched 50 feet from home plate, instead of 60 feet, 6 inches.

For Grove, scoring his 300th win wasn't the easiest of tasks. In 1941, pitching for the Boston Red Sox at age 41, he was the oldest player player in the league, and he'd struggled considerably compared with the past.

On July 25, he pitched at Fenway Park. According to an Associated Press account:

After staggering momentarily, Robert Moses Grove recovered today and trudged sturdily into the company of baseball's immortals, achieving the 300th victory of his fabulous major league career as the Boston Red Sox surged from behind to defeat Cleveland's Indians, 10 to 5.

Twice the Sox had rallied from four-run and two-run handicaps to tie, but it remained for Jimmy Foxx … to provide the pay-off clout in the eighth inning, a triple with two on.

From then on Old Mose just breezed to his well-earned triumph, which he had been twice denied in two previous attempts to gain the select circle.

Robert Moses Grove died May 22, 1975, in Norwalk, Ohio.

It was my honor to be photographed next to his plaque in the town of his birth.

Doumit on DL

The Pirates put catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday and recalled catcher Raul Chavez from Class AAA Indianapolis.

Doumit fractured his left thumb during the first inning of Tuesday's 8-4 Pirates win in St. Louis. He is batting .350 this season with five home runs and 15 RBI.

Chavez is 35 and has spent parts of nine major league season with four organizations - Montreal, Seattle, Houston and Baltimore. He was last in the majors with the Orioles in 2006, when he batted .179 in 16 games. Chavez is a career .212 hitter with four home runs and 40 RBI.

This season, Chavez is batting .306 with three home runs and 13 RBI with Class AAA Indianapolis. He is also a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Doumit's injury has on the Pirates' offense. Doumit has really responded to increased playing time this season. His power numbers are up and his average has not dipped below .311 the entire year, consistently staying around his present mark.

Ronny Paulino, who lost the starting job in spring training to Doumit, has fared well in spot duty especially recently. For the season, Paulino is batting .224 with no home runs and 13 RBI. He has drive in fve runs in his last three games, including the game-winner Tuesday in the 10th inning.

Paulino must raise his batting average and show consistency on both offense and defense to match Doumit's production. This injury, and it's not known yet how long Doumit will be out, could have a major impact on the Pirates' lineup.

End of an era?

Former Mets general manager Steve Phillips, now an ESPN baseball analyst, made some interesting statements today on the network's "Mike and Mike in the Morning."

Referencing the Mitchell Report, the result of the congressional investigation into performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, Phillips said its effects are being seen this season as players apparently have been "scared straight." At the current pace by which home runs are being hit, the major-league total for 2008 would be down by nearly 1,000 compared with 2006.

A look at the leader board helps tell the story. In the National League, Lance Berkman and Chase Utley are tied for the home-run lead with 13, and after a surge this week, Dan Uggla has 12. About a quarter of the way into the season, those project to some healthy final totals, in line with what we've been accustomed to seeing the past 15 years but nothing to rank in the Bonds-McGwire-Sosa realm.

Now, look at the American League. The home-run leader is a guy named Carlos Quentin, who didn't even have a starting job wrapped up for the White Sox coming out of spring training. Quentin has nine, trailed by established sluggers Manny Ramirez and Carlos Pena with eight each.

At that rate, the AL leader at year's end would have fewer than 40. For anyone who followed baseball closely in the 1970s and '80s, such league-leading totals were commonplace. But we haven't seen a fewer-than-40 American League home-run champ since Toronto's Fred McGriff in 1989, and that includes the 1994 strike season.

(McGriff, coincidentally, also is the last National Leaguer to accomplish the same feat, for San Diego in 1992).

Phillips pointed out that doubles and triples also are down in the majors, and he concluded his observations by stating that maybe this marks the beginning of the end of the so-called Steroid Era.

In that case, baseball historians can consider putting their own asterisks, if not official, on the period of 1995-2007, from the first post-strike season to the issuance of the Mitchell Report.

Goodbye, Barry. Welcome back, Henry and Roger!

Pirates-Cardinals: Here's what to look for

Here are some trends to keep an eye on this week during the Pirates series at St. Louis against the Cardinals (Hint: Could be another big week for Albert Pujols):


Tuesday: Phil Dumatrait (Pittsburgh) vs. Kyle Lohse (St. Louis)
Dumatrait is coming off his first major-league victory. ... St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina is 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run off Dumatrait. ... Rick Ankiel and Pujols are each 2-for-3. ... Lohse gave up seven runs and eight hits in four innings his last time out. ... Chris Gomez is 5-for-11 with three doubles while Ryan Doumit has homered in four at bats off Lohse.

Wednesday: Paul Maholm (Pittsburgh) v. Todd Wellemeyer (St. Louis):
Maholm has a 2.28 ERA in three starts vs. the Cardinals but only a 1-2 record. ... Pujols is 3-for-9 with a home run and two RBI while Jason LaRue is 3-for-8 with a home run off Maholm. ... Wellemeyer has quietly gone 3-1 this season. ... Jason Bay is 2-for-7 with a home run and three RBI and Ronny Paulino is 2-for-4 with two RBI lifetime vs. Wellemeyer.

Thursday: Ian Snell (Pittsburgh) vs. Joel Pineiro (St. Louis):
Snell deserved a win in his last start in which he allowed one run in seven innings but had to settle for a no decision. ... Pujols owns Snell. He is 11-for-19 with four home runs and seven RBI against Snell. Molina is also 6-for-15 with a home run. ... Bay is 4-for-8 with a home run off Pineiro. Xavier Nady has also homered off Pineiro and Gomez is 6-for-19 lifetime with two doubles.

J.V.B. is O.U.T.

The Pirates gave John Van Benschoten another chance to prove he could be a starting pitcher in the majors Monday, and again, Van Benschoten showed that he couldn't.

The Pirates optioned Van Benschoten back to Class AAA Indianapolis after Monday's game in which Van Benschoten allowed seven runs (six earned) in four-plus innings.

Van Benschoten was recalled April 27 and was 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA in four outings.

The Pirates will not make a move until Tuesday, but two names to keep in mind are right-handed relievers Jesse Chavez and Marino Salas.

Chavez, 23, came to the Pirates in 2006 from Texas in the Kip Wells trade. Chavez is 1-1 with a 1.61 ERA at Indianapolis. He has given up 10 hits, struck out 23 and walked only five in 22 1/3 innings.

Salas, 28, came to the Pirates this past offseason in the Salomon Torres deal from Milwaukee. Salas is 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA and has given up 17 hits and seven walks while striking out 20 in 23 1/3 innings.