Left to right: Anita, Pete and Anne Peterson during the September 3 game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.(Anne Peterson)

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals are battling it out for the basement of the National League Central Division standings with just over a week remaining in the regular season.

As Pete Peterson explains in his latest commentary, this is a familiar position for his Pirates, but unfamiliar territory for the Cardinals, who haven’t had a losing season since 2007.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, co-author, with his son Stephen, of The Slide: Leyland, Bonds and the Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.