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« White Sox May Shop Jon Garland | Main | Glaus Implicated For Steroid Use »
Pirates Fire Dave Littlefield
The reign of terror is over - the Pirates have fired GM Dave Littlefield. He'd been the team's GM since July 31st, 2001 and his contract actually runs through 2008. A partial list of his bad moves is below.
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- 1/2/02 - Agreed to terms with free-agent RHP Mike Williams on a two-year contract with a club option for 2004.
- 12/20/02 - Acquired RHP Matt Herges from the Montreal Expos in exchange for minor league pitchers Chris Young and Jon Searles.
- 1/31/03 - Designated RHP Bronson Arroyo for assignment.
- 7/22/03 - Acquired IF Jose Hernandez, minor league RHP Matt Bruback and a player to be named later from Chicago Cubs for 3B Aramis Ramirez, OF Kenny Lofton and cash considerations.
- 11/20/03 - Claimed off waivers: pitcher Matt Guerrier by Minnesota, pitcher Duaner Sanchez by Los Angeles.
- 12/16/04 - Acquired C Benito Santiago, along with cash considerations, from Kansas City in exchange for RHP Leo Nunez.
- 7/28/05 - Acquired Minor League INF J.J. Furmaniak from the San Diego Padres in exchange for C David Ross.
- 7/31/05 - Acquired OF Jody Gerut and cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for OF Matt Lawton.
- 1/4/06 - Signed OF Jeromy Burnitz to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2007.
- 2/28/06 - Agreed to terms with SS Jack Wilson on a three-year contract extension (through the 2009 season) with a club option for 2010.
- 7/31/06 - Acquired OF Xavier Nady from the New York Mets in exchange for RHP Roberto Hernandez and LHP Oliver Perez.
- 2/1/07 - Signed RHP Tony Armas Jr. to a one-year contract, with a club option for 2008.
- 7/31/07 - Acquired RHP Matt Morris from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for OF Rajai Davis and a player to be named.
Draft picks:
- 2002 - Bryan Bullington at #1 overall (over B.J. Upton, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida, Joe Saunders, Khalil Greene, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, James Loney, Jeremy Guthrie, Jeff Francoeur, Joe Blanton, and Matt Cain).
- 2006 - Brad Lincoln at #4 overall (over Andrew Miller, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain)
I admit that showing only this stuff is not fair, hindsight is 20/20, and the Pirates had certain financial constraints. Littlefield made good deals and good draft picks too. However, these are the reasons he was fired as far as I can tell.
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Good for them. I'm not a pirates fan, but it was depressing watching the organization make one bad move after another. In a division where a .500 team has hopes of playoff glory, the Pirates could make a run within the next two years.
Posted by: Hammondsbird | September 07, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Man, just looking at the list this dude was awful.
Posted by: Mike Simms | September 07, 2007 at 11:21 AM
Thanks for Aramis Dave!
Tim, if you decide to cover the Ankiel news please don't spin it like Deadspin has. The same excuses they dismissed in defense of Bonds (it wasn't illegeal at the time, other guys are doing it etc etc) they are using to absolve Ankiel.
Sorry for the OT.
Posted by: chicagobubbleblog | September 07, 2007 at 11:23 AM
I agree you never want to see an organization that poorly run. It'll be good to see them get a new GM who can turn things around slightly.
Posted by: Guitar Hero | September 07, 2007 at 11:37 AM
He did get Jason Bay and Oliver Perez for Brian Giles. I can't think of any other particularly useful moves. The Aramis Ramirez + Lofton trade was truly atrocious.
Posted by: mymrbig | September 07, 2007 at 11:38 AM
I really hope that someone does some deep digging and comes up with guys from the 60s and 70s that used PEDs. Maybe teams that gave their players stimulants that are presently banned either by MLB or the Olympics or something.
I just hate the "when baseball was pure" stuff that old people come up with.
Posted by: wihargo | September 07, 2007 at 11:39 AM
That silly OT post aside, I'd always thought that Pittsburgh was one of those teams with a hands on owner, and that was part of the explanation for some of their wonky decisions.
Posted by: wihargo | September 07, 2007 at 11:48 AM
Wow.
Those are some cheap rents in Pittsburgh.
Oh, and farewell, Dave Littlefield. You will be missed.
By the GMs who routinely fleeced you.
Posted by: ReflectionEphemeral | September 07, 2007 at 11:50 AM
I have my opinions on Ankiel but...I try to keep steroid-related stuff out of this site for the most part. I know I have strayed from that on rare occasion. But my reader surveys said people didn't want to read that type of stuff here, and I like to think it's refreshing to not see it on at least one baseball site.
Posted by: Tim Dierkes | September 07, 2007 at 11:53 AM
I'll keep my Ankiel thoughts to myself too...but you know Cubs fans (and I am one) are going to LOVE a reason to get on this guy, who has been the best hitter in the division since his arrival.
Anyway...that Ramirez + Lofton + Cash trade is one of the worst I have ever seen....it was bad then, and gets worse every time I see it. Wow...
Posted by: Aduncaroo | September 07, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Wow, Littlefield truly can lay claim to being the worst GM in baseball up until he was fired...
Anyway, about Ankiel, who really cares anymore? I'm sick of hearing about it. If football fans don't care about HGH then why should baseball fans? I hate how MLB is put at a much higher standard than all the other sports... I mean, the leader of a team that won 2 Super Bowls (with him leading the defense) just FAILED A DRUG TEST and it hardly made it on the back pages of sports news. Its such F'in hypocrasy it makes me want to scream...
Posted by: DonCoburleone | September 07, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Good riddance, he was f'n awful.
Posted by: ArodSucksAtLife | September 07, 2007 at 12:34 PM
Yeah that jose hernandez trade was like one of the worst ever right? How many years did Aramis Ramirez have left on his contract? Either freaking jose hernandez? for ramirez, lofton and cash? WTF?
Posted by: Guitar Hero | September 07, 2007 at 12:42 PM
...like you can't even spin that to make it look like it was okay.
And BTW Tim, it IS refreshing to not see the Ankiel steroids stuff on this site. Stick to it.
Posted by: Guitar Hero | September 07, 2007 at 12:43 PM
DL actually had one good deal, one of his first:
12/13/2001 - Traded RHP Todd Ritchie and minor league C Lee Evans to the White Sox for RHPs Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, and Sean Lowe.
It seemed to me, though, like he spent the entire rest of his tenure trying to get more hauls like that for his mediocre players without a plan B. Thus, he became desperate, and a desperate GM is a sucker GM.
Posted by: statsmonger | September 07, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Draft picks are SO hit or miss, you can't blaim him on his selection of 1 player. You can, however, get made over the consistantly bad drafts.
Posted by: Ripwa | September 07, 2007 at 12:54 PM
or the consistently bad trades.....
Posted by: Aduncaroo | September 07, 2007 at 01:28 PM
F' Troy Glaus.
Posted by: ArodSucksAtLife | September 07, 2007 at 02:08 PM
However I did decide to post something on the topic of Troy Glaus. Seems to cross over into our realm.
Posted by: Tim Dierkes | September 07, 2007 at 02:44 PM
Cheating is wrong in ever sport, but those of you who have said there is no difference between the players in MLB and NFL players using are simply ignorant. There is no other word to describe it. To me it is completely different for a baseball player to use PED's, to get more power to make more money, even though they would have made some very nice gaurunteed money anyway. In the NFL, these guys take much more of a beating on a weekly basis then any baseball player can even dream of. Being a catcher in a baseball game is probably easier then playing any position in a football game, atleast in terms of how it takes a toll on your body. Not to mention football players dont make nearly as much money, and it is not gaurunteed. There is a huge difference. A lot of NFL players use to keep their jobs, or to recover quicker, again so they can keep their jobs. Baseball players use to get a a few extra mil come contract time, or because they simply dont have the power to keep them in the game without the PEDs, whereas I think in the NFL in most cases this is used as a drug to recover faster and return to play. I still think situations like Shawne Merriman going to the pro bowl is an absolute joke though.
Posted by: nrmax88 | September 07, 2007 at 03:28 PM
Let me just say its going to be HILARIOUS to hear the fans in the bleachers at Wrigley on monday giving it to Ankiel....
Posted by: Aduncaroo | September 07, 2007 at 03:48 PM
I picked up Ankiel on my fantasy team yesterday, on a one day shot kinda thing because I need to win this h2h matchup to secure a playoff spot, currently in 3rd out of 12, and I only had like 3 guys in my lineup. I picked up Ankiel and he may have singlehandedly gotten me into the playoffs yesterday, so I just want to say, keep sendin in the hgh if necesarry, but keep blastin those balls out ricky.
Posted by: nrmax88 | September 07, 2007 at 03:56 PM
Tim, I usually agree with you on most posts but to list 2006 already is appalling. Brad Lincoln was considered by some, including Jim Calis, as the best prospect in the draft.
His injury could not be predicted and it is only Tommy John surgery. The success rate is amazing for this procedure. Don't write him off just yet, this is a college pitcher who absolutely dominated wooden bats.
As for 2002, I'll agree whole heartedly. At the press conference they said they saw Bullington as a number 3 starter, not exactly what you take first overall. He'll never be a major league starter.
Is it really fair to blame him for Van Benschotten and Burnett on Littlefield? Burnett was lights out until he blew out his arm multiple times.
Yes, he was the worst GM in the league, but you can't label injury problems on him especially when there wasn't an injury risk on these players before.
Posted by: usctrojans31 | September 07, 2007 at 05:49 PM
Wow, nrmax I would love to argue with you but your rant about why it is okay for football players to use HGH or 'roids and not baseball players is absolutely ABSURD.
Posted by: DonCoburleone | September 07, 2007 at 06:00 PM
In fact, I think I figured it out... NRMAX are you Roger Goodell?
Posted by: DonCoburleone | September 07, 2007 at 06:01 PM
At not point did I say it was okay for football players to use PED's, but the absurd thing is you thinking that football players and baseball players bodies take the same amount of punishment. You have never came close to playing anything professionally. You dont know what these NFL players have to do to be healthy enough to play, if they dont play, they dont make any money, they just get cut and kicked to the curb. Baseball players bodies just dont take the abuse that the NFL guys do. Where do you draw the line? Is it okay for a guy to take some supplements you can buy over the counter? All kinds of medical treatment involve some sort of drugs. Rodney Harrison was using some kidn of stuff to speed up his recovery because he was too banged up to play. If youre gona tell me that this is the same thing as Barry Bonds starting on the juice at age 30 something because he was jealous of MCgwire then there is no reason to discuss this any further.
Posted by: nrmax88 | September 07, 2007 at 10:08 PM
You forgot to mention one of his worst signings: Jim Tracy. For a young team, a station-to-station manager seemes like the wrong way to go. Jim Tracy also can be very abusive when it comes to his starting pitchers. He just doesn't know when to give a guy the hook.
Posted by: jskohl | September 07, 2007 at 10:24 PM
rnmax you are a joke for saying that it is ok for football players to use illegal substance but not ok for baseball players.
Posted by: yoda | September 08, 2007 at 08:56 PM
I bet you would feel differently after playing in the NFL for a full season and seeing how beatup you are. Again, I never said it was okay. It is much more understandable for football players who are being hit by 300 pound guys and just being beatup. Neither situation is okay, but they are nowhere close to the same thing.
Posted by: nrmax88 | September 08, 2007 at 10:02 PM