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A couple of belated acknowledgements before we open the floodgates to a whole lot of soup down below . . .

Thanks very much to the local chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research for inviting me to speak before their group at the History Center last weekend. My total career number of speaking engagements is now at exactly one, so I further thank them for asking a whole lot of questions to make it feel more like a live Q&A than, you know, an actual speech.

A nod here, also, to a certain MSNBC anchor for stopping by at the press box at Shea to talk Pirates for a good while the other afternoon. There are people who say they are passionate about all things baseball, and there are those who, from afar, can ask the beat guy questions like, "Is McCutchen starting to get his strike zone back?"

I enjoyed every minute of the conversation.

Now, to see which of you might be named worst person in the world for daring to mention one specific at-bat in that game Wednesday . . .

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Q: If Nate keeps producing like he is and hitting seven home runs a month, do you think the Pirates would consider putting him in the middle of the order?

Dan Gespass of Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh

KOVACEVIC: No question has come in more than this one, and I strongly suspect that my new SABR friends would take you to task for suggesting it. Maybe.

The numbers will illustrate, in a general sense, that the top on-base percentage hitters should be stacked at the top of the order, so start with that. This, obviously, includes the leadoff spot itself. No one has a better OBP on the Pirates than McLouth, and the key to the leadoff spot, plain and simple, is getting on base because it gives your team the best chance to push across a run.

But, as noted, there are exceptions. No one in their right mind would have a power bat such as Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols atop the order -- though Bonds spent a brief period there in Pittsburgh -- no matter their excellent OBP. Those players also are excellent run-producers, and that commodity, as the numbers also will illustrate, is no less valuable.

So, the question that arises next is this: Is McLouth's power legitimate?

He has played two full months now as an everyday player, last August and the one that just passed. As you mention, Dan, he had seven home runs in each of those, which would appear to be extremely encouraging, but, obviously, remains a small sample size.

Perhaps the more pertinent issue right now is this: Why is Xavier Nady not batting higher? Or even cleanup once in a while?

Say, for example, that Jason Bay, the Pirates' No. 2 OBP guy right now and someone clearly not driving in the runs he could, went to second in the order. Then Ryan Doumit. Then Nady. You still have your left-right alternation in place, and you manage to get your most effective players at reaching base atop the order.

Also, by having Bay take pitches at the No. 2 hole, one would give McLouth more chances to steal than he gets now with Freddy Sanchez so often going after the first pitch.

What of Sanchez?

Even when he won the batting title, he was not a great OBP guy, but he certainly excels at contact when on his game. So does Jack Wilson. If they are stacked up in those 6-7-8 spots somewhere -- and the Pirates finally can start getting some production out of Jose Bautista -- now there suddenly is a promising bottom of the order that could work its way back up to McLouth.

Just a thought.

At any rate, one reason, I think, that lineups like this do not occur is the old-baseball philosophy of base-clogging, meaning that the little, fast guys need to be at the top of the order just because they are little, fast guys. Never mind that, in Sanchez's case, he is not especially fast.

It is going to take time, as I mentioned to the SABR members, for baseball to come around to even try such concepts out. The book is the book.

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Q: Dejan, as I read through yesterday's Q&A concerning the club's trade pieces, I was wondering if you could expand on the point you made about the Pirates' front office talent evaluators being largely hold-overs from the previous regime. Do you have any insight as to why Neal Huntington chose to leave a large percentage of those scouts in place? Surely he had to know that he could be making wholesale changes to the system and that talent evaluation was going to be a VITAL component to his decision-making at a very early stage in his tenure here. Just wondering why NH chose to go this route.

Brian Yeager of Cranberry

KOVACEVIC: This was very much question No. 2 in terms of being most common and, even though we went over this once in the offseason, it probably bears a repeat now that actual baseball is being played ???

Most everyone in baseball operations has a contract that was extended the last time Dave Littlefield's was, meaning they run through 2008. So, new management's thinking was, the way I understand it, that they preferred to spend the past offseason establishing philosophies and plans, as well as trying to determine who under their current roof could best fit in to what they hope to do in the long term. Some good baseball people surely were in place, the thinking went, so why throw them out just to clean house?

This way, they avoided not only having to spend their entire winter on an eternal hiring process with uncertain results -- not all that many experienced baseball people are just floating around unemployed -- but they also could see what they have and which people could help them most.

That call was made not only by Huntington but also by Frank Coonelly, both of whom, by the way, have said they have been impressed with much of what they have in place.

We will see how that plays out. One can imagine there is a good bit of pressure among many to perform very well in their jobs this year.

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Q: Dejan, what are the prerequisites for a player to earn the title "great?"

The Great Dick Tarnstrom.

The Great Nate McLouth?

John McIntyre of Ross Township

KOVACEVIC: Too soon to go there, John. Besides, as you probably recall, the Tarnstrom thing never was intended to be taken all that seriously. He was a defenseman leading a very bad team in scoring.

Certainly, though, McLouth is gaining notice everywhere he goes now. Anyone not paying attention to what he is doing in baseball is simply not paying attention to baseball, whether he plays for the Pirates or not.

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Q: Dejan, are you attempting to flood your inbox with "When will the Pirates switch JVB to offense like the Cards did with Ankiel?" questions?

As an ardent reader and occasional submitter to the Q&A, I know there are those out there who always ask this. Rightfully so, they get a quick "No soup."

Yet, in today's Notebook, you write about JVB being the former NCAA homer champ.

It is almost as if you are trying to fill your inbox. What's next? Will I see a Graham Koonce reference in the minors update?

Kevin A. Van Asdalan of Coraopolis

KOVACEVIC: Oh, you will go so hungry for this one. But, since you and others got me on this one . . .

Amid the absurdity that was that game Wednesday in New York, I pretty much had my head buried in the laptop the last couple innings trying to get moving on the story because I had the flight to D.C. that night. But, when I heard Van Benschoten announced as the batter, I paused to watch because I had not seen him at the plate in a while. Then, seeing that Evan Meek had been up in the pen, it was clear Van Benschoten was batting just to bat.

Suffice it to say, and I am trying to be kind here, this is not Micah Owings, much less Ankiel. And I wish the whole lot of you soup-less types could have been there to see it. It looked very much like a pitcher at the plate, the bat almost relaxed on his shoulder, the swing very abbreviated and involving almost no leg drive.

So, I not only watched but also asked Van Benschoten, somewhat kiddingly, if he was going for the "extra point" there, given that the club already had 13. And he, very predictably, acknowledged that he was.

I fully understand this will not stop the theme, and I fully accept responsibility.

Moreover, I will forgo any liquid foods for an entire weekend here in the nation's capital.

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Thing No. 92 that makes Pittsburgh great, by John McCollister of Port Orange, Fla.: As a native Pittsburgher, I suggest that one of the unique things about the city is that its citizens historically have maintained what I call a "steel-mill mentality."

What, exactly, is that "steel mill mentality"?

It's a firm belief that a person should earn a salary only through an honest day's work, not by swindling someone through a slick, underhanded deal.

It's a willingness to reveal what's on your mind without couching your words in an obfuscation of politically correct language.

It's the awareness that you feel more at home with a close friend when you hoist a cold mug of Iron City than you would if you sip from a glass of expensive champagne.

It's rooting for a "dirty shirt" baseball player such as Jack Wilson who gives a 100-percent effort on every play. After watching him for an entire season, you conclude that he would catch a sharply hit ground ball with his teeth if that would be the only way to prevent it from reaching the outfield grass.

It's seeing a total stranger while you're walking through any airport in the country and notice that he's wearing a Pirates cap. You then take the time to approach the fellow passenger and ask: "What part of the Burgh yinz come from?"

It's embracing play-by-play announcers such as Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince, Lanny Frattare, Steve Blass and Greg Brown as though they were members of your own family.

Finally, it's the realization that you owe very much to your parents, neighbors, teachers and religious leaders simply because they implanted into your very being a solid sense of values that tells everyone you meet from henceforth that you are a true Pittsburgher.

Now, that's something that makes you a very rich person, indeed.

KOVACEVIC: For the few of you who might not already know, Mr. McCollister is the long-time author of several books about your franchise of choice, not the least of which is his new entry, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Pittsburgh Pirates," available at stores all over town.

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Until we chat Monday and, because I am off for the first game of the Giants series, the next Q&A will come Wednesday . . .