Dejan Kovacevic: Afternoon, all, on another spectacular day in Pittsburgh. Already a ton of questions in the log, so we'll get started in a couple minutes.

A reminder that there is discussion at all hours of the day and night with the lunatics who populate the PBC Blog.

Chris: Why does the management staff continue to throw Charlie Morton out there? Do they expect he'll miraculously find his touch?

Dejan Kovacevic: I don't get the impression the Pirates are expecting that to come by way of miracle, but, right or wrong, foolish or not, they are expecting it. They look back at the second half of last season and see a mostly steady pitcher, and they can -- very rightly -- look at Morton's performance Sunday and see some of those same signs.

Eventually, obviously, the results have to come. Given Morton's arm, he is going to get more chances than most. That's just how it is. Look at all the chances Kip Wells got, not just in Pittsburgh but even after his departure. Nobody knows their pitching like the Cardinals, and they gave Wells a chance, too.

James_Taiwan: Who do the Pirates have to pitch other than Morton?

Dejan Kovacevic: Their options in that sense are really, really limited, to be kind, James, which is another reason why they probably feel OK in using this time to see Morton.

SeanE: Can you see Duke being non tendered in the offseason? Can't imagine paying him the kind of money arbitration would award.

Dejan Kovacevic: As I've written, especially on the blog, yes, I can see a scenario where Duke is non-tendered if he does not agree to a contract independent of the arbitration process. There been no -- repeat, no -- discussions to that effect between the team and the player, but those are very much the vibes I get from the team.

davedigspgplus: Do you feel it's a foregone conclusion that John Russell is fired at the end of the season? Who do you feel will be top candidates to replace him?

Dejan Kovacevic: Given the team's record and some recent comments to the Post-Gazette by Frank Coonelly regarding the team not playing up to management's perceived talent level, or "under-performing," I would not interpret that as advice for anyone in Coonelly's employ to go house-hunting, as I wrote in the long piece last week.

Those comments also have the sound of absolving Neal Huntington while blaming more of the losing on the field, including Russell, though that is only my own interpretation.

Attendance: How are Pittsburgh fans still attending games better than the majority of teams around the league, given their poor results on the field?

Dejan Kovacevic: The Pirates rank 27th in attendance, hardly better than the majority, though they surely are doing very well under the circumstances to be averaging more than 20,000. To be very, very sure, what has happened to this franchise is not the fault of the city.

I keep going back to that second game this year that drew 31,000 right after the Pirates won the opener. Sure, it was buck night, but 31,000 people decided to go to the game, with a huge walk-up that afternoon, in part because the Pirates offered a sliver of hope by winning a solitary game.

Jim in VT: Does the front office view D'Arnaud as a possible contributor for next year's team?

Dejan Kovacevic: If they do, they are not saying so, Jim. D'Arnaud has taken a step backward this year offensively, and now he mostly plays second base while Jordy Mercer takes time at short. Not at all what the Pirates were hoping to see in 2010 from d'Arnaud.

SeanE: Does it put you in an awkward spot with a player or manager if you predict something bad will happen i.e. Duke non tendered or JR fired?

Dejan Kovacevic: Why would it do that? Not following you there, Sean.

Fat Jimmy: What % chance would you put on Andy LaRoche being a Pirate in 2011? Less than 20%? That would put an end to one of the more inglorious chapters of Pirate lore.

Dejan Kovacevic: That would appear to be minimal, at best. LaRoche can be arbitration-eligible after this season, and there would appear to be no chance of his coming back, especially after how poorly he has performed off the bench this year. If he's not a bench guy for the Pirates, then he would have no purpose.

Mike: Neil Walker is really playing well lately. What do you think his ROY chances are?

Dejan Kovacevic: The game story today tackled a few of the comparables, and you can see that he stacks up very well against the best rookies from either league, in terms of average, OBP, slugging, you name it.

Thing is, Buster Posey and Jason Heyward are in pennant races, and that always is going to take precedence, fair or not.

And no, it's not about playing in Pittsburgh. Our football and hockey players get global attention just fine. It's about the Pirates.

znc1: So that's quite a mess at 1B and RF isn't it? How do you see the playing time doled out there for the rest of the year? And might Milledge be on his way out?

Dejan Kovacevic: Really, I can't even begin to imagine what Russell is going to do. Because part of this equation is that Garrett Jones needs to keep playing first base to best gauge his full-season production and give him a chance to finish well after a mostly down second half. There are tons of bodies, all mostly similar, and only one spot to play them, really.

davedigspgplus: Rudy Owens pitched consistently well all season -- 12-6 record, 2.46 ERA -- but did not earn a promotion. What held him back?

Dejan Kovacevic: By the time Owens would have been set for a promotion to Indianapolis -- and no one with the Pirates will deny he deserved it -- he was about to have his innings cut back. In part to have Owens pitch in the playoffs, which he will do tomorrow night in the Curve's opener against Harrisburg, the decision was made to leave Owens there.

It should not affect even remotely where he starts next year.

SeanE: Would it make it less likely for them to speak with you for example. I mean they are people who have feelings. Would your analysis of their potential future employment prospects with the team have an effect on them?

Dejan Kovacevic: Sounds like you missed the "Nothing personal" blog entry from the other day.

Chris: How great would your job be if you got to cover a team in a pennant race?

Dejan Kovacevic: Very little about it would change, Chris. There might be more smiling faces around, and there definitely would be more compelling fodder for the game stories, but the approach to the job would be exactly the same.

One down side is that I could not book my offseason travel plans months in advance, as I did this year with the flight my family has planned for Paris in the first week of October.

Juniatakid: Any chance to have the Curve's home playoff games at PNC Park? Just to get some playoff baseball in town...

Dejan Kovacevic: Actually, I was just thinking about this the other day. It's not true that there never has been postseason -- or even relevant -- baseball played at PNC Park, as the WPIAL and City League finals have been there at times.

znc1: Has Karstens done enough to earn at least a roster spot next season? Although the numbers don't reflect it, he was the best Pirates starter for a good portion of the season. And does management appear upset over his recent arm issues?

Dejan Kovacevic: No, nobody is upset with Karstens. If anything, Karstens -- like Neil Walker -- went against management's preconceived notion of his ability and performed above expectations.

That said, Huntington said on Sunday that Karstens' inability to do much beyond the fifth inning most of the year, as well as his getting tired now, underscores that he might not have the frame to handle an extensive workload. I would expect him back on the staff, for sure, but I also would expect it to be as the de facto No. 6 starter/long relief guy.

Juniatakid: This trip to Paris... is it part of a French prospect story?

Dejan Kovacevic: Ha! No, not this time. Just part of a personal neverending search for great coffee.

Razzgospel: Which pitchers do you see getting the starts for the rest of year, with Ohlendorf, Karstens and Lincoln (seemingly) out of the picture

Dejan Kovacevic: The rotation probably will remain a five-man, with Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, James McDonald, Charlie Morton and Brian Burres.

SeanE: Sorry I was on vacation! I did miss it.

Dejan Kovacevic: And I'll be able to say the same in a few weeks! But still plenty of ball and storylines in the interim.

Ryan C: DK, is Pedro Ciriaco considered a legit replacement for Cedeno or is he just a body to fill in at AAA?

Dejan Kovacevic: Ciriaco has a reputation of a really good glove, as well as very good speed. He hit a little better than expected with Indianapolis, so he was able to play his way up.

In terms of talent, neither Ciriaco nor Argenis Diaz matches up with Ronny Cedeno. But Cedeno has to produce consistently for that to matter.

PhillyJake: You did it! You typed the word "Playoffs"! I knew you could do it!

Dejan Kovacevic: No, I didn't. I wrote "postseason." Where do you see it?

Jeffrey: Has Luis Heredia arrived in Bradenton yet?

Dejan Kovacevic: Heredia is there, and there really is not going to be much to say about him or Taillon and Allie for quite a while, as none will actually take a mound until Instructional League next month.

pghfaninstl: Why not Daniel McCutchen in the starting rotation as well? What does management see in him for the future?

Dejan Kovacevic: Management sees him as maybe being best suited for his current role, being able to come into the game cold and throw strikes. McCutchen also can rear back a little more and add something to the fastball that was getting hit hard in most of his starts.

PhillyJake: 1:19 - the reply on Rudy Owens!

Dejan Kovacevic: Oh. Couple more today ...

davedigspgplus: Pirates will probably take the pennant next year. But which team would you give the edge to this year in the NL?

Dejan Kovacevic: The Atlanta storyline, with Bobby Cox's last year and a ton of talent, is too compelling to ignore.

BenderHeel: I don't get the praise for Morton's start on Sunday. Still erratic as heck with control (missing wildly at times from the target), no real bite to his fastball (still mostly flat, little swing-and-misses), and still mediocre off-speed stuff. Sure, there were errors, but they were followed by hits.

Dejan Kovacevic: I'm not sure where you saw praise. Chris Snyder offered words of encouragement in the article I wrote, and John Russell described it as a little better. That's not really praise.

One thing to remember in situations like this: The Pirates, or any team, can win some momentary brownie points by coming out and ripping any individual player, but their concern has to be internal and the effect on the player. That's why you're almost always going to read quotes that lean in that direction. They want to help Morton, not hurt him.

All right, last one ...

ccarter: You mentioned the neverending quest for good coffee----Where is the best coffee in Pittsburgh?

Dejan Kovacevic: La Prima Espresso in the Strip. And I'm not just talking about the main store on 21st, but the actual production plant on Smallman. Just walking in there is one of the great experiences in Pittsburgh.

Two more games with the Braves, beginning tonight. The Pirates have been historically bad, but they already sent the Cardinals careening out of contention and ... well, we'll see. Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe are next.

Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.