Too early to gauge

Pittsburgh Pirates fans were enthusiastic a few months ago about that trade that brought power-hitting first baseman Adam LaRoche from Atlanta for reliever Mike Gonzalez.

LaRoche, who still is in his 20s and had a monster second half of the season for the Braves, seemed like a welcome change of pace from the usual suspects the Pirates have brought in the past several years, over-the-hill veterans like Jeromy Burnitz and Derek Bell, or obviously short-time solutions like Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders.

With the short right-field porch at PNC Park, LaRoche seemed like a natural to belt some balls into the Allegheny River.

It's just the start of the season, but after Tuesday night's game, plenty of Pirates fans already are second-guessing the trade.

LaRoche went hitless again in the 3-2, 12-inning loss to St. Louis, dropping his batting average to .097. And Salomon Torres, who inherited Gonzalez' job as closer, gave up a pair of runs in the ninth inning to allow the Cardinals to tie the game (and to negate a stellar pitching effort by starter Tom Gorzelanny).

Might the result have been different if Gonzalez finished the game and, say, Brad Eldred were playing first base?

Before Pirates fans turn on LaRoche after he's played exactly two home games, consider that he has a history as a slow starter. Last year, as of May 1, he was hitting .195 with four home runs. His 2006 power surge didn't really start until July 7, when he whacked a pair of homers in San Diego.

As for Torres, I watched him pitched enough the past few years in middle relief to start cringing when he walked toward the mound. He may be what they call a crafty veteran, and he was off to a hot start this year, earning saves in the Pirates' first four victories.

But I suspect there will be plenty of blown saves as the year progresses. Visions of Mike Williams and Jose Mesa might be haunting Pirates fans.

Tuesday's loss also featured a mental lapse by Jason Bay, who threw to the wrong base and allowed the tying run to advance to second before scoring on a single. Bay has established himself as someone who is going to have a stellar stat line at the end of each season, but for anyone who has watched him in clutch situations, his performance often leaves a lot to be desired.

Gorzelanny's performance, on the other hand, marks six decent starts in six tries for the top three pitchers in the Pirates' rotation: Zach Duke, Ian Snell and Gorzelanny. That's very encouraging, even if Snell has nothing to show so far but an 0-1 record.

At this point, the team needs a lot more run support. And the fans' expectations have a lot of that riding on LaRoche.

Give him a break for now. Would you rather see Jeromy Burnitz out there again?

Trivia question 13: Adam LaRoche's father, Dave, pitched in the majors for 14 years, on five teams. For which team did he make the most appearances?