Links: Cardinals, Hurdle, attendance, Beckham

Some links:

-P- There were about 200 comments about it, but just in case you missed it, the Cardinals lost, so the Pirates are now one game back. The Cards, Pirates and Reds have all gone 6-4 in their last 10, so we're right where we were about a week and a half ago.

-P- David Todd had Clint Hurdle on his show today.

-P- Tony Sanchez is a funny guy.

-P- In the midst of pennant races, the A's, Rays and Indians all drew less than 14,000 fans today. A.J. Burnett should feel fortunate he's not playing for one of those teams. The Pirates haven't played before an announced crowd of less than 18,000 since May.

-P- Tim Beckham, the first overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, has finally made the big leagues. The Pirates took Pedro Alvarez one pick later. Remarkably, the 20 picks after Beckham have all made the majors, although the only superstar to come out of those first 21 picks was Buster Posey.

-P- You probably saw the New Yorker thing; it wound up in the Washington Post this evening too. Hype!