PITTSBURGH -- Of all the numbers that the Milwaukee Brewers put up in the Whuppin’ on  the Allegheny earlier this week, the one that floored me wasn’t the 36 runs that they scored in the three-game series or even the 20 runs in one game.

The number was zero.

That’s the number of times that Brewers batters had to dust themselves off in the series.

Zippo.

I’ve covered hundreds of games and watched hundreds more over the years, and I don’t recall a team that was more comfortable, more cocksure of themselves than the Brewers were for three days. Really, they were so deeply entrenched in the batter’s box that it would have taken a Roto-Rooter to budge them.

Or a few dozen purpose pitches, anyway.

This isn’t to suggest that the Pirates should have stuck somebody in his earhole. How many times have you seen a peeved-off pitcher throw a high, hard one after a home run? C’mon, that’s weak. The idea is to throw inside before somebody launches one into the upper deck, not after he jogs around the bases.

And what if you happen to plunk somebody on the arm or the leg or in the rear end while you do it? As pitcher Evan Meek said, “That’s baseball.”

Well, it used to be baseball, anyway. The unwritten rules are different now. You don’t jeopardize my career, and I won’t mess with yours, and we’ll have a better chance play a long, long time.”

Or as another Pirates pitcher told after the game, “How many guys back anyone off the plate in the major leagues now? Not many.”

The funny thing is, the guys that come inside the most also seem to win the most. Of the top 100 pitchers on the all-time hit batter list, only 18 have or had earned run averages that are higher than 4.00 in their careers.

Check out the list. Walter Johnson. Randy Johnson. Cy Young. Jim  Bunning. Roger Clemens. Nolan Ryan. Bert Blyleven. Don Drysdale. Pedro Martinez. Greg Maddux (yeah, even mean, old Greg Maddux). Jim Kaat. Orel Hershiser. Gaylord Perry. Bob Gibson . . .

I swear, if Bob Gibson had been at PNC Park the other day, then he would have come out of the stands to buzz somebody.

In 2008, the Pirates ranked 12th in hit basemen in the league.  Last season they were 12th out of 16 teams again. In spring training, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan emphasized the importance of both sides of the plate, and they’re in the middle of the pack now.

What the numbers tell me is, if the Pirates want to be successful let alone earn some respect, then have to pitch inside more consistently. A good time to place to start would be in Milwaukee on Monday night, when they face the Brewers in the opener of a three-game series.