DENVER -- The Pirates, despite having some great teams over 122 years, never have been known for great pitching. None of the 13 Hall of Famers with five-plus seasons in Pittsburgh was a pitcher. Neither were any of the nine men whose numbers have been retired.

Think about it: Who was the greatest pitcher in franchise history?

Bob Friend? John Candelaria? Doug Drabek? One might have to go all the way back to Wilbur Cooper, roughly 90 years ago.

No clear choice.

Even so, it is entirely possible that the pitching never has been as bad as it has been this summer ...

The pitching statistic that has held up the best over time, regardless of dead balls, raised mounds, larger parks, falsely inflated muscles and the like, is ERA. And it is that statistic that is most damning to this 2008 staff, being that its 5.24 mark not only is the highest in Major League Baseball but also is a quarter of a run higher than the next-highest team, the Texas Rangers.

It gets even uglier in the context of precedent.

The highest ERA in franchise history was 5.97 and came, disturbingly enough, in the year before the Pirates became the Pirates. It was 1890, the city temporarily dropped the H from Pittsburg and the team nickname still was the Alleghenies. The pitching staff included golden monikers such as Crazy Schmit and Phenomenal Smith, but no one was phenomenal enough to have an ERA lower than Bill Sowders' 4.42.

But most of those guys had mill jobs on the side, as did the 1894 staff that had the next-highest ERA, at 5.60. So forget them and move ahead a bit.

Only three Pirates teams in baseball's modern era -- 1900 and on -- finished with a 5-plus ERA. Those came in 1930 (5.24), the Rickey Dinks of 1953 (5.22) and the 2001 group (5.05) that christened PNC Park with its first of many years of foul play. The latter was lowlighted by Jimmy Anderson losing 17 games with a rotation-worst 5.10 ERA.

Stick Anderson on the current rotation, by the way, and his ERA would be better than those of Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny and Matt Morris.

Want more?

The current Pirates have one complete game, putting them on pace for, um, two. That would match a low set in 2002 and again two years ago.

They are on pace for 1,694 hits allowed, which would break the franchise record of 1,627 set just last year.

They are on pace for 669 walks, which would be second-highest in franchise history. And it cannot be ruled out that they will match the 711 of the 2000 team that got 86 nibbling walks from Kris Benson.

One gets the idea.

On the brighter side ...

Few things are certain in life, let alone baseball, but it probably is a safe bet that there never will be a more accomplished shortstop wearing a Pirates uniform than Honus Wagner. Some still see the Dutchman as the best to play that position anywhere, as measured against his peers.

Arky Vaughan, another Hall of Famer, probably will hold runner-up to that mantle indefinitely, too.

But it might not be long before Jack Wilson works his way into bronze-medal discussions on this front ... and maybe gold on the defensive front.

Consider, first, his longevity: The only other players with 1,000 or more games at shortstop for the Pirates are Wagner, Vaughan, Dick Groat and Jay Bell, so stay within those parameters. Wilson's career fielding percentage of .977 is matched in Pirates history only by an identical figure from Rafael Belliard, who did not play here long enough to earn a spot in this group. Bell was close but could not match the range of Wilson or Belliard, and next are Tim Foli's .972 and Gene Alley's .971.

The huge-handed Wagner and Groat each was a fine shortstop with negligible fielding numbers, but they played when men were men and infields were rubble, so that should be weighed.

For now ...

"Jack's been tremendous," manager John Russell said. "He finds a way to get to the ball, finds a way to get it to first, and he gets it done again and again. Some of the plays he makes going to his right, in particular, are things you don't see other shortstops do. He's special."

They have Bixler's back

One area of recent concern for some in the Pirates' front office is a perception that Brian Bixler, because of his dubious debut when Wilson was hurt early this season, never will amount to much.

General manager Neal Huntington raised the matter unsolicited this week, saying, "There seems to be a lot of talk that Bixler isn't major league caliber, and that's just not how we feel. Brian struggled when he came up, as a lot of players will the first time, but he's made some adjustments and is very much a part of our future."

Bixler, 25, batted .175 in seven weeks with the Pirates-- six errors, too -- and struggled initially upon his return to Indianapolis. Now, his average is up to .274 with six home runs through 46 games, good enough to be chosen for the Class AAA All-Star Game this week.

"I'm sure Brian learned a lot during his seven-week stint in Pittsburgh," Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett said. "Players who have been to the big leagues once are usually hungry to go back. I'm sure that'll be the case with Brian."

Mientkiewicz the manager?

When Huntington meets with Doug Mientkiewicz sometime in the next few days to discuss his future in Pittsburgh, he might well broach the subject of that future being for the long term.

Just not how one might think.

Mientkiewicz is 34 and, while he surely still has the fire -- and ability -- to continue playing in the near term, that will not be indefinite. And the Pirates have been taken enough by his rich intangibles that they would welcome assuring that he stays in some capacity -- coach, development instructor, special assistant to Huntington, something -- and could make it part of their coming talks.

That would follow a clear pattern set by Huntington, who has said he wants to keep savvy players in the Pirates' family beyond their playing days. He has yet to nail one down, though: He approached pitchers Masumi Kuwata and Matt Morris with such offers, and each declined.

What are those two doing?

Kuwata, according to a Japanese journalist passing through town two weeks ago, mostly is relaxing with his family but could aspire to manage a professional team in his homeland. Morris has not been seen.