Jumping Ship

The news came out over the weekend that Pittsburgh Pirates CEO Kevin McClatchy resigned his position, effective at the end of the season. McClatchy was the principal owner of the team for ten years, until team chairman Bob Nutting took over the gig this spring.

Of course, it's far too early to even guess who might take over as CEO. Nutting said that the search would begin immediately to ensure a smooth transition.

So what does this mean for the team? Probably nothing, in the short run. Dave Littlefield is still the GM, and if Nutting was going to use his ownership hammer to can him, one would think he'd have done so by now. Or perhaps Nutting gave Littlefield one more Friedman Unit to turn things around this year.

Long-time readers know Jim and I have scoffed at Littlefield for lo these many years. It seems unlikely the Pirates can get better with him in the GM chair. Perhaps Nutting and the new CEO will clean house and implement a serious rebuilding program. That could be a tough sell for a fan base that has already endured fourteen straight losing seasons (and half of what will probably be the fifteenth). Whoever takes over as CEO better hope for a long honeymoon period...