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Part of what makes this time of year fun on the job is being inside these stadiums where every pitch, every play matters to the people watching.

And be very, very sure that this is true no place more than St. Louis.

Everyone talks about these being the best fans in baseball, though arriving at such a conclusion is subjective under any circumstance. But one thing I could not imagine anyone disputing is how deeply emotional their reactions are to the Cardinals' fate. In New York, you see fists pumping when the team does well. Here, you see these sappy smiles, like they just set eyes on their old high school sweetheart. In New York, you see and hear anger when the team does poorly. Here, they just get ... well, sad. Really sad. Like silent, despondent sad.

The other night, when the Pirates beat up on Kip Wells and won, 11-0, you could not find a person in the stadium or in a nearby restaurant who looked happy. Not one. I saw a family of four, all clad in red, moping without saying a word as they headed back to their hotel.

Never mind baseball. Is there another fan base this emotionally attached to their team in any sport?

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Q: What's your take on Nyjer Morgan starting over Nate McLouth in center field lately? I know it's just been a few games, and I know Jim Tracy is letting him get his feet wet, but why at McLouth's expense? Especially if the Pirates think Andrew McCutchen will be there in a few years, anyway. I think McLouth has earned his spot out there. I'd hate to see him relegated to bench duty again as he is obviously someone who needs to be out there every day to be productive.

Matt Slaba of Wagner, S.D.

KOVACEVIC: As I mentioned in this space last week, the Pirates' view on McLouth is that, while they are delighted by the great August he had, they do not -- yet -- see him as a starter. That can be easily detected through some descriptions of McLouth as "playing within himself" and "knows who he is" and that sort of thing that strongly suggests limitations.

McLouth, without question, has earned a look there. Never mind his steady fielding, good baserunning and decent average. Consider just this: He had the second-most extra-base hits of any center fielder in baseball in August. That alone, I think, is enough to offset him from the usual string of Tike/Adrian/Duffy second-half comparisons. None of those guys hit doubles or home runs with that frequency for any significant stretch, and a power-hitting center fielder is quite the precious commodity.

That said, never underestimate Tracy's indelible blueprint for what a lineup should look like. Dave Roberts is his prototype leadoff man, and there can be no question he would love to have someone like that. It is way too soon to say he sees Morgan as being the answer there, but it is not too soon to say he is interested in finding out.

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Q: With the recall of Bryan Bullington and John Van Benschoten, is there any reason outside of injury to have Tony Armas start another game this season?

Jeremy Watt of Forest Hills

KOVACEVIC: From the standpoint of the Pirates' future, there really can be none, Jeremy. The team benefits more from sending Shane Youman out there to get rocked more than it does from Armas' best outing, simply from the standpoint that it finds out something about a pitcher who will be around beyond this season.

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Q: Dejan, do the Pirates consider Matt Peterson a potential part of the major-league bullpen?

He was named Altoona's pitcher of the year after being converted from a starter to the Curve's closer. Granted, Peterson was converted to relief part way in 2006, but the right-hand side of the Pirates' bullpen was shaky this year.

Is Peterson worth a look next season?

Todd Vanadilok of Evanston, Ill.

KOVACEVIC: If the Pirates paid any heed to what Peterson did in Altoona, it was hard to detect, Todd. As you note, the right-handed relief was shaky not just in Pittsburgh but in Indianapolis, too, and Peterson had no more than a cup of coffee -- three games, two runs, five walks -- in Class AAA.

For those who did not follow the Curve, Peterson, 25, was 28 of 33 in saves, stranded 24 of 29 inherited runners, had a 1.98 ERA and, perhaps most impressive for a guy long accused of nibbling too much, had a decent ratio of 56 strikeouts to 27 walks in 64 innings. None of those figures rates as dominant, but it was his first year in the role, and he seemed to handle it quite well.

That said, he can declare free agency this offseason as a six-year minor-league guy, and my understanding is that he plans to do so.

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Thing No. 55 that makes Pittsburgh great: We have lots of songs about us.

Somebody somewhere thought to illustrate our city's history in this manner.

It is very much considered cheating to not click on the audio link to hear the kids singing.

I will wait here will you click.

OK, done?

Now, I could not find a full audio file for this, but I was riding in a cab in Denver a couple weeks ago to the airport there, and I mentioned to the driver that I was from Pittsburgh. (I am not making this next part up, I swear.) The guy reaches down by his right leg and pulls up a trumpet and begins playing this song I had never heard, then acts surprised when I tell him so. He tells me it is a Guy Mitchell tune called "Pittsburgh Pennsylvania" from the 1950s. Here is a piece of it I found on the Amazon sampler page.

That is way, way before my time. But I am quite proud to say that the Clash mentioned Pittsburgh in "Clampdown," a union song on the best album ever made. And Talking Heads, who had half of their four members from our city, mention Pittsburgh in "Life During Wartime." And, quite recently, Morissey ... well, he wished death upon everyone in our fair city in "On the Streets I ran" on the disc he put out last year. I heard something really rotten happened to him the last couple times he toured here.

Still, the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest, from now until the sun burns out, will be the Charlie Daniels Band's "You just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and I think you're finally gonna understand" from the classic "In America." Nothing that I write here could do that verse justice quite like this.

And hey, while on the subject, is anyone aware of a site that lists all the songs that mention Pittsburgh in them? I seem to recall stumbling across one a few years back, but I could not find it for this entry.

[Ed. note: You can't forget "Living in America" by James Brown; Bruce Springsteen has a song that was only released on the Tracks boxed set called "A Good Man is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)" a song which the Boss has only performed live once; Bruce helped his buddy and local rock icon Joe Grushecky co-author the excellent paean to the Mon Valley, "Homestead"; the Lemonheads have a song called "Pittsburgh" though the city is never mentioned; if you wanna go hip-hop A Tribe Called Quest had the the immortal line "I'll skate on your crew, like Mario Lemieux," as well as CamRon with the equally good "I know some stealers but they ain't from Pittsburgh," and just about everything from the very up-and-coming hometown boyWiz Khalifa whose album is excellent.]

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Until tomorrow ...