Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Nate McLouth slides past the tag of Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in the first game yesterday at PNC Park.

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Adam LaRoche's chin dropped as he shook his head, a sight by now plenty familiar to patrons at PNC Park.

Only now, it was a half-hour after the game.

After another 0 for 4.

	Today Game: Pirates (LHP Tom Gorzelanny 3-1, 3.06) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Dave Bush 2-2, 6.23), 8:05 p.m., Miller Park. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: The Milwaukee gloves vs. the baseball. They booted and threw away the ball regularly in the teams' two games April 18-19, and their fielding percentage of .981 ranks 13th in the National League. Of note: The Pirates are 7-0 when out-hitting their opponents, 3-13 when being out-hit, 2-1 when hits are even. Related articles Pirates Notebook: Nady will try to play tonight Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic Collier: Pirates don't get into swing of things

After getting booed loudly by the 21,765 on hand.

And, most painful, it appeared, after contributing nothing to the Pirates' 7-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs yesterday afternoon.

"I'm not seeing it," LaRoche said, his voice as quiet as his bat had been in grounding out twice, striking out and flying to center for the final out. "It's the ball. I'm just ... not ... seeing the ball."

There was much else for the Pirates to dislike about how they finished this 5-4 homestand. Early in the afternoon, they lost the completion of the game suspended from Tuesday, 8-6, on another poor outing by reliever John Wasdin. And, in the regularly scheduled game, staff ace Ian Snell was uncommonly wild and ineffective.

But it still came down to offense, as always with this team. And, when it comes to what is ailing that offense, unfair as it might seem given so many low averages, the logical place to point is LaRoche.

He was the one who batted .285 with 32 home runs and 90 RBIs for the Atlanta Braves last season, the one added to the middle of the Pirates' order with such high hopes.

Instead ...

His .132 average is the lowest in Major League Baseball among those with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.

He has 12 hits, four more han the Pirates' pitchers. Only their cumulative average is .157, a little better.

He has had one multiple-hit game, none since April 7.

He has struck out 32 times, one fewer than major-league leader Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds.

Any of the few bright spots -- three home runs, 11 RBIs, a .280 average with runners in scoring position -- are becoming obliterated by the negatives. As is the concept that LaRoche always has been a slow starter.

It is no longer April, and no one is shrugging it off anymore.

"I feel like I'm taking a step forward and two steps back," LaRoche said. "It's getting old. It's frustrating."

Even manager Jim Tracy, careful all season to turn reporters' questions about LaRoche into general answers about the offense, answered directly after this game when asked if LaRoche might benefit from sitting for a day ...

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Starter Ian Snell gave up four runs on four hits in five innings against the Cubs yesterday at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image.

"We could get to that point and end up talking about it," Tracy said, then quickly added: "I know this: If you do that, you can't leave him sitting there forever. He's not going to figure it out watching. Going to home plate and seeing pitches is the way."

Tracy also allowed that LaRoche disappointed on a day when he was bumped back up to fifth in the order -- ahead of sizzling Ryan Doumit -- after two games at seventh. Tracy's thinking: Show some confidence.

"We've tried a lot of different things," Tracy said. "You see some at-bats where you think he's close to completely coming out of it and, then, you see a fallback. It's a tough situation right now. But it goes without saying we need that bat. It's that simple."

Correcting the problem, it appears, will not be simple.

Tracy and hitting coach Jeff Manto have focused, in studying video, on LaRoche's ability to pick up the ball late in its path rather than at the pitcher's release point, as he seems to be doing now. That is a key for any hitter at any level, but it is particularly important for LaRoche in that he has a long swing and, when effective, waits to read the pitch to get it started.

If he reads incorrectly ...

As Tracy put it, "If you see the ball in the pitcher's hand and you're guessing, that's not going to work out."

"That's exactly what's happening right now," LaRoche said. "I'm trying to stay back on it, and I'm able to read it to the point where, OK, it's a slider or a changeup. But I'm not seeing it late enough to get the good part of the bat on it."

As a result, LaRoche has gotten a first-pitch strike 48 times, more than half his at-bats. He has dug an 0-2 hole 21 times.

Sometimes, that is because he seeks an extra pitch to read but, most often, he is fouling the pitch back or flat-out missing.

Bat speed?

	SUB-MENDOZA LINE Nine players in Major League Baseball are batting below .200 with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title. None has an average lower than Adam LaRoche: Player, Team AB H Avg. Carlos Delgado, Mets 102 20 .196 Melky Cabrera, Yankees 79 15 .190 Mike Cameron, Padres 106 20 .189 Jay Gibbons, Orioles 81 15 .185 Jason Kendall, Athletics 94 17 .181 Josh Barfield, Indians 78 13 .167 Brandon Inge, Tigers 85 14 .165 Richie Sexson, Mariners 77 11 .143 Adam LaRoche, Pirates 91 12 .132

That clearly is not an issue, as evidenced by the force with which balls still travel when he strikes them well.

"It's not my swing, and it's not my stance," LaRoche said. "I've tried some different things, more mentally than physically. But I'm not about to change what's made me successful before this."

One factor on the mental side, he acknowledged for the first time, was the pressure inherent with his arrival in Pittsburgh. He was one in a long list of sluggers in Atlanta but was widely seen as a potential savior for the Pirates.

Now, as could be heard again yesterday, he has become the No. 1 target for the fans' displeasure.

Asked if it is more difficult to play at home, LaRoche replied, "I think it is, and it shouldn't be. Obviously, they have every right to be upset. I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, so I can't blame them. But that's something you've got to block out going to the plate. The only way to get their confidence back is to go out there and do the job."

What about his confidence?

"It's going to change eventually. I know what I'm capable of doing."

The offense as a whole was typically moribund -- poor approaches, lack of discipline, ugly swings -- against another ordinary starter, Chicago's Jason Marquis. The Pirates managed only Doumit's second-inning home run and three singles, resulting in the 15th time they have been held to three or fewer runs.

"It's hard to sit there and think of a way to win a game when you get one run and you only hit a few balls hard the entire day," Tracy said.

That greatly overshadowed Snell's first subpar outing. He gave up four runs over five innings, his lowlight coming in the fifth when he issued four walks, a wild pitch and a hit batsman -- but no hits -- to hand Chicago two runs and a 4-1 lead.

"I take the blame today," Snell said. "But I've forgotten about it already. You're allowed one bad outing. I had five good ones."

Snell is 2-2 despite a 2.31 ERA.