On Buccos and Bookstores

Was at PNC Park today to see the Pirates fail to sweep the Reds. Hey, that's OK, you can't win 'em all, and as someone (I think it might have been Beano Cook) once said, "the other guys get paid, too," and it was still a series sweep, and you'll take those every time, right?

Still, this three game series with the Reds showcased the best and the worst of the 2011 Pirates. On the plus side, the pitching staff gives up one earned run in 27 innings. On the minus side, the Pirates offense manages to score four runs in three games. Not easy to win 2 of 3 when that's all your bats are doing.

Without looking at the MLB standings as I write this, were the Pirates in any other division, we would be talking about their 51-46 record as a sort of gee-isn't-it-nice-that-they-are-over-.500. However, in the NL Central, they are in first place and have a real shot at winning this division. So, GM Neal has some decisions to make between now and July 31.

My own thoughts:

• Pedro Alvarez is hitting the cover off the ball in Indy. Get him up here and put him at third. He was the guy you drafted to be "the man" so let him have at it.


• The pending return of Steve Pearce does not excite me. Pearce has proven to be the proverbial "Quad-A" player over the years. He might be a better bat off the bench than Brandon Wood or Mike Diaz, but he is not the guy who will carry the team down the stretch.


• Ditto Ryan Doumit.


• Bloggin' Bob Smizik made a strong case today for acquiring Carlos Pena to play first base.


• The bullpen needs someone other than Jose "walk the first batter" Veras to get to Joel Hanrahan. Maybe Jason Grilli is that guy, but maybe that guy is Daniel McCutchen or Chris Resop.


• All the talk about Hunter Pence strikes me as nuts. Would I like to have Pence in the Pirates picket line? Damn right I would, but the cost would be way too steep, and I can't see Houston parting with him. He's the guy Houston needs to rebuild their team around. Of course, we Pirates fans said the same about Nate McLouth.


• Speaking of Daniel McCutchen, do you think the Yankees would like a do-over on that Xavier Nady trade?

*****

On the subject of bookstores, I note with sadness that Borders Bookstores will be going out of business within the next 60-90 days. That means that I will now have to leave the North Hills and drive to either Cranberry, Homestead, or Robinson the shop in a major bookstore, Barnes and Noble, and independently owned bookstores are rarer than hen's teeth.

Now I realize that as the owner of a Kindle, I am part of the problem that has contributed to the demise of Borders, but have you noted the irony that it was the jumbo chains such as Borders that killed the smaller independents? Hoisted on their own petard, as The Bard would have put it.