Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy wants to set the record straight on a variety of subjects. He understands that I am one of those people reluctant to accept the team’s decision to do nothing with the status of manager Lloyd McClendon, in effect leaving him the proverbial lame duck — a manager working the final year of his contract and subject to a mutiny from players willing to challenge his authority. McClatchy has no problem with the two of us agreeing to disagree. I have no problem with admitting that my position of “either fire McClendon or extend his contract” may be incorrect. As for who made the McClendon decision, McClatchy told me this, “Contrary to written accounts this was (general manager) Dave Littlefield’s decision. I gave Dave full range on it. I happen to agree with his decision, but it was his decision.” As for McClatchy’s thinking, “When a manager improves by ten and a half games over the previous season, it’s tough to say he should be fired. At the same time, when he’s managed for two years, and you haven’t had a winning record in those two years it’s tough to justify a contract extension. I think you were looking at a situation where the right thing to do was to let him manage the final year of his contract. “Knowing Lloyd McClendon, he’s going to work his tail off. We’ve put some good coaches around him, and I think he’s going to be successful. I think the idea that the team is somehow going to give up in spring training because Lloyd McClendon doesn’t have a contract extension is just not realistic. Dusty Baker is a friend of mine. Dusty didn’t have a contract extension this year. He seemed to do all right working through the final year of his contract (with the Giants).” But what of proverbial club house lawyers• Jason Kendall and Brian Giles rightly or wrongly are perceived as sometimes disruptive forces in the Pirates clubhouse. They have generally been supportive of the manager but have periodically taken shots at ownership. McClatchy addressed that issue in the following manner. “A couple things were said during the labor situation, but sometimes people say things in the heat of battle that they don’t necessarily mean. Both Brian and Jason are competitors. They want to win as much as anybody, but I think the time for talk is done from my standpoint. “I really enjoyed watching the California Angels play in the World Series. You could see a team that really came together and worked hard and didn’t look for excuses. I think that is something we have to get away from-trying to blame things on other people. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and be accountable. My hope is those sorts of statements are a thing of the past because I think everybody knows what their mission is. We’ve got to go out and win. Again, some things are said in the heat of battle and don’t necessarily mean that much. At the same time they are wasted energy.” McClatchy is spending his energy on trying to win sooner rather than later. “Without winning, any organization is not going to be in great shape, and we have to win. The bottom line is that we have to put a winner on the field; we have to increase our attendance. We are not going to do it through any cute marketing gimmick. Fans are not naïve. They know what they want, and they want a winner.” McClatchy wants to win not by dramatically increasing his payroll (about 50 million give or take), but by using his assets more wisely. “We’ve got to go out and add some bats to our lineup this offseason. I think if we do that, and we improve (win) another 10 to 15 games, then games start to become more meaningful in August and September. It just depends on how we do this offseason.” McClatchy knows he won’t compete for the expensive free agents, but he believes there will be a market correction — that some solid free agents will be available at the right price to address the Pirates’ needs. He is also hopeful that Littlefield will be able to make a trade or two. And, McClatchy is not opposed to giving up some of his young prospects if it means getting a player who can help the big league club right now. McClatchy is quick to add that it has to be the right deal, though. He knows he has a nice of crop of players in the minors, and he is aware that he must concentrate on augmenting that rather than depleting it for the long term. McClatchy still insists the general manager has to make the final call. “You either have the right guy who is going to make the right decisions or you need to get a new guy in. It’s not my job to say specifically that we need this player from a particular team. I’m not in there telling him (Littlefield) we’ve got to trade for a specific player.” Does McClatchy feel the need to acquire a player/players by free-agent signing or trade in order to excite the fans• “We need to sign a player or make a trade in order to improve the team,” McClatchy said. “If we are successful at becoming a better team, the fans are going to come out. You don’t do a transaction just to get them excited. You do it so you can win. If you win, the fans are going to be supportive.” Here’s hoping McClatchy is right and that the players will be as supportive of the manager as they can be in 2003.

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