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No sooner did I step out of my cab on this sunsplashed afternoon, just across the street from the right-field entrance at new Busch Stadium, than I was overwhelmed by red, from the banners hanging from every street pole that say "World Series champions," to the clothing that seemingly everyone wears around here. One five-member family I passed on the sidewalk was dressed head to toe with Cardinals gear.

It is amazing, the passion for baseball here. It might be unrivaled in the country, at least on a per capita basis.

That said, to beat that familiar horse 7 feet into the ground, there is nothing here that could not be in Pittsburgh. The markets are virtually identical in every sense, from regional population to the new stadiums to local television contracts (yes, really) to the rich histories of the respective franchises.

The sole difference: The investment in the product here in St. Louis came first, and the fans followed.

Nowhere in professional sports has it worked in the reverse.

Q: With all of the injuries to the Yankees' starting pitchers, is there any chance the Pirates could leverage some of their starting pitching in the minors (not the untouchable four in the bigs) and pry loose a talented Yankees hitting prospect?

Joe Charnock of South Side, Pittsburgh

KOVACEVIC: Ordinarily, one might say yes. When a need exists like that, and it is accompanied by the omnipresent desperation in New York, it would seem a match is possible. And it might seem even more likely if anyone with the Yankees was paying attention in spring training when Shane Youman zipped right through their best lineup in Tampa. (Just one game, I know, but every first-hand impression counts.)

In this case, though, I would say no, mostly because hastily consummated trades are not exactly the Pirates' specialty, as was detailed in Sunday's Inside the Pirates feature. Things move with great caution and great deliberation.

Q: Jason Bay was quoted the other day as saying he knows he doesn't "have the best arm in the league." To me, that begs the question: Does he have the worst?

Eric DiBacco of Weirton, W.Va.

KOVACEVIC: The general consensus is that the worst arms belong to Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones. Bay will want to avoid more series like the one against St. Louis to stay out of such a category.

One point here: Bay had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder after the 2003 season. When he struggled to throw in 2004, the Pirates said he was still recovering and that he would get stronger. As the struggles continued since then, the shoulder no longer is raised, certainly not by Bay -- who is anything but an excuse-maker -- and one might wonder if it is the same as before.

Then again, his arm reputation was not all that strong before the surgery.

Thing No. 29 that makes Pittsburgh great: I apologize to the reader who, not that long ago, sent me an email detailing the one way you can actually see the fourth river rushing under Downtown. His email was lost in the crush of all the complaints about Bay's throw last week.

I will try to pass along his tale, anyway ...

He once worked in the Highmark Building (Fifth Avenue Place, whatever you want to call it), and said that, if you drive to the lowest level of that building's parking garage and ask the attendant to remove a certain manhole cover at the facility's lowest point, you can see a torrent of water going by. And this, according to him, is our beloved aquifer.

Well, this was just too good to be true, so I wanted to check it out before writing about it and drove there Sunday, my last day before this fine trip. But the garage was closed.

So, I am leaving it up to any among you. You have the directions. Take a look, and let me know what you find. I am way too impatient to wait until I get back to do it myself.

Until tomorrow ...