Shawon Dunston gained 13 games in the National League Central standings when the Cubs traded him to Pittsburgh last Sunday.
He went from one of the worst teams in baseball to being in the thick of a division race. Instead of playing out the string in an unfamiliar position such as left field, Dunston was back at shortstop, hitting three home runs in his first three games with the Pirates.
Even the idea of postseason play can’t make Dunston comfortable with the trade.
“I was part of the losing in Chicago this year and I just feel I should still be there to finish it out,” Dunston said upon his arrival in Pittsburgh. “This isn’t my team. I don’t belong here. Kevin Elster was the shortstop here at the beginning of the season. Then the rookie (Kevin Polcovich) took over when Elster got hurt and did a good job. It’s their team, not my team.
“Hopefully, they’ll go on and win the division and I can help them out. But it’s really tough. I don’t think I’m going to feel like I’m really a part of it. In my heart, I’m a Cub.
“I’m still hurting over the trade and it’s going to take a while,” Dunston said. “When a team like the Cubs has given you and your family so much over the years, it’s hard to say goodbye.

”
Dunston is 9-for-20 with four homers and nine RBI in five games with the Pirates.
Top Canadian: Colorado’s Larry Walker hit his 42d homer this season and became the most prolific Canadian home run hitter with his 195th career blast. It put him ahead of Jeff Heath, who played from 1936-49.
Big Red machine: It was a throwback for Cincinnati Reds fans: Rose to Perez for the out.
For the first time since his major-league call-up, Pete Rose Jr. got to play third base with boyhood friend Eduardo Perez at first base.
Rose Jr., the son of baseball’s all-time hits leader and former Red Pete Rose, pinch hit in the fourth inning of a 13-4 loss yesterday to Pittsburgh and stayed in the game at third base for four innings. Perez, the son of former Reds first baseman and manager Tony Perez, was already at first.
It was the first time that a Rose and a Perez were on the field defensively for Cincinnati since the fourth and final game of the 1976 World Series win over the Yankees.