Lloyd McClendon the Jello Man?

By Jake, on March 31, 2006, at 11:47 am | Comments are closed

Bounce here, wiggle there, turn different colors, then melt into water. McClendon, affectionately called Mac by Pirate fans, does all of that in his latest interview with Pirates beat writer Alan Robinson earlier this week.

"My fate was probably sealed when we traded away the franchise player," McClendon said."

Originally I was going to pass writing about it because poor Mac took the brunt of Littlefield’s incompetence. For years Mac had been told who to play, where to play them, and when to play them. He was like a robot or, as some fans have said, his was David’s Littlefield’s servant boy.

"Yes ser, Mr. Littlefield ser! We’s gots to do that, ser!"

Lloyd valued his job, he was a good corporate man, and a great company team player who always, and I mean always, got more productivity out of the trash Littlefield gave him to field as a baseball team than probably anyone else ever could. But Lloyd also had a failing – he did not run the clubhouse.

THAT is what sealed Lloyd’s fate.

Operation Shutdown was a phrase started by Derek Bell in 2001 when he lost his starting job ~~SS to Jack Wilson~~. Coincidentally, the initials OS were used by the players in 2004 and 2005 to describe Littlefield’s future tenure with the club. As the 2005 season wore on, it was obvious Lloyd no longer could control the clubhouse as the players did what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted to do it. Including playing poorly.

My guess is that the players thought their actions would get both McClendon and Littlefield jettisoned in one fast swoop but it didn’t work — McClatchy held on to ‘yes man’ Littlefield. The players are not found of Littlefield in my opinion, because he doesn’t have the balls to stand up to McClatchy and Nutting. But either did McClendon, who represented the players interests to the front office.

It wasn’t that or the Ramirez trade, the Benson trade, the Schmidt trade, or Littlefield’s annual blue-light specials in July that sealed McClendon’s fate.

It wasn’t because Lloyd is black, despite the fact many of the Pirates owners live in the holler in back woodsy Ku Klux Klan states like West Virginia and North Carolina and the Pirates were sued not too long ago over racial problems (and don’t bother sending me your West Virginia is not a Ku Klux state – think about Sen Byrd).

In fact, Alan Robinson asked Mac straight out in the interview ‘if some others in the Pirates organization were glad to see him fail and McClendon said, "Next question." The rumors are out there – we hear them as fans. Alan tried to get Mac to open up but he refused. After all, its not good for the game, of course.

It was because Littlefield had to point at something and say – ‘THAT is what’s wrong. NOT me.’

Some of the current players have openly dogged Mac and his past staff in the press recently. While I find the new found open communications refreshing, I note that they are talking about the past – something that is gone – not about Daddy Nutting who controls everything, or Daddy McClatchy that pays the bills, or Daddy Littlefield who determines the roster.

I don’t see Bay running his mouth like Giles did when Brian said it would be nice to see this organization get some real help. Even Kendall stood up and openly criticized the organization for not fielding the best team they could afford. Or Kris Benson who stood up to Littlefield. There used to be men on the roster.

No — instead they are talking about Lloyd McClendon and his staff who were the victims of their childish clubhouse antics. Lloyd McClendon, David Littlefield’s boy.

What a shame.

Because in reality, every single player on the Pirates roster who doesn’t stand up and speak their mind about the obvious payroll disparity the Pirates ownership force them to work under, is just as much Littlefield’s ‘boy’ as McClendon was.

But that’s my take –