Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pirates left fielder Jason Bay makes a diving attempt for a double hit by the Cubs? Carlos Zambrano in the fifth inning yesterday at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image. More Pirates News: Pirates Notebook: Fogg is lifted from starting corps Paul Meyer's Baseball Notebook: 'This guy is an absolute gamer Pirates game log, scoring highlights and box scores

The confines were anything but friendly at PNC Park yesterday afternoon.

A sizable chunk of the 22,909 in attendance clearly were Notre Dame football fans, biding the time until the kickoff against Pitt by cheering for the visiting Chicago Cubs.

And most of the rest, it seemed, had little use for the Pirates' plodding performance in a 9-5 loss, their seventh in a row at home, tying a stadium high.

There were boos, taunts, jeers and sarcastic applause throughout. One fan in the upper deck went so far as to change the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" by shouting out "1-2-3 strikes we're out," no doubt in homage to the Pirates' hitters whiffing 10 times.

As Rodney Dangerfield would say, tough crowd.

Tough enough that it prompted manager Lloyd McClendon to make a rare public plea for support for a team that, as he underscored, is the National League's youngest.

"I understand our fans are quite frustrated," he said. "We knew when we were taking this on, bringing these young players to the big leagues, that we were going to have some growing pains. And that, at times, it was going to be tough to watch. But there also are going to be some very positive moments with these young players. They need everybody's support. They need my support, the fans' support."

He paused.

"You guys want to boo somebody? Boo me. But give them a chance to be successful, a chance to continue to get better. That's the biggest hurdle young players have to overcome, the non-acceptance at home when you're not performing up to your capabilities. On the road, you have that us-against-the-world type of attitude. At home, it's added pressure. They want to do a little better so they don't hear those boos."

Two of the most notable young players denied being affected by the crowd for better or worse.

"I don't think anything of it," catcher Ryan Doumit said. "Fans can do what they want to do, and we're going to go about our business. No one wants to be booed, but that's part of the game, and it seems to happen a lot around here, so you've got to be able to tune it out."

Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon pleads his point to home plate umpire James Hoye, third base umpire Rick Reed and second base umpire Alfonso Marquez. McClendon was arguing a ball was fouled off by the Cubs' Ronny Cedeno in the fourth inning after Cedeno was ruled hit by a pitch. Click photo for larger image.

"I didn't even notice," first baseman Brad Eldred said. "Unless the crowd gets real loud for you, you don't even really pick up that stuff."

To be sure, there was ample reason for the fans' displeasure yesterday.

Starter Dave Williams lasted two innings as Chicago's first two batters scored to take a lead that was never threatened. Williams' counterpart with the Cubs, Carlos Zambrano, had two hits through five innings, as many as the Pirates. And miscues were made, again, at the plate, in the field and on the basepaths. The most glaring of the latter came when Jason Bay was doubled off first on a fly ball to left field in the third inning.

The Pirates have lost 11 of their past 13 games and have not come close to fulfilling general manager Dave Littlefield's stated goal of improvement down the stretch, for the team and individuals. The former certainly is not happening, and the latter is difficult to detect, which does not bode well for McClendon or his staff, all of whom are without contracts for next season.

Still, McClendon stressed the upbeat yesterday. He beamed, with cause, about the general promise of young players such as Zach Duke, Chris Duffy, Jose Castillo, Oliver Perez, Doumit, Bay and many others. He even cited the struggling Eldred, whose 0-for-4 day left him with one hit in his past 35 at-bats, including 20 strikeouts.

		Today's Game Game: Cubs (Jerome Williams 4-7, 5.20) at Pirates (Kip Wells 7-14, 4.60), 1:35 p.m. TV/Radio: WGN/KDKA-AM (1020) and the Pirates Radio Network.

"Every at-bat he gets is valuable to him because it will make him that much better going into next year," McClendon said. "Now, is it going to be ugly from time to time? Of course, it is. But we've got to support him, stick with him, make him better."

Asked if he was satisfied that players are progressing during the current slump, McClendon replied, "Is it showing up in the record? No. But are these players getting better? Yeah, they're getting better."

One player unquestionably not getting better is Williams.

Still the staff leader with a 10-11 record, he has lost three consecutive starts and was hammered in each. Management had him skip a start because of shoulder stiffness, but the rest had little tangible benefit. He was tagged for four runs on five hits and two walks in his two innings, the result of subpar velocity and command.

"Stuff-wise, Dave was very below average," McClendon said. "As of right now, we don't know the reason. We certainly don't want to speculate. His conversation with the pitching coach was that he was feeling fine. What I saw was different."

Williams, 26, is in his first full season after a two-year recovery from shoulder surgery. He was not available for comment.