Nutting Brings in New (Old) Blood

Just days after Pirates' owner Bob Nutting announced that the Best Management Team in Baseball would once again avoid the guillotine, the Pittsburgh sports world was rocked to it's core as the team announced the hiring of long time Yankee staffer Bill Livesey.  Livesey, the 72 year old fossil who served most recently as a Yankees' scout, will be brought in to provide senior mentorship to GM Neal Huntington.

Perhaps after Livesey scolds Huntington for not cleaning his room or scrubbing behind his ears, he can actually help the embattled GM with critical baseball related stuff like talent acquisition and player development.  Maybe Livesey can also take the old hickory stick to player development extraordinaire Kyle Stark, the raving maniac who authored the Bucs' highly scrutinized Hell Week, as well as other forgettable training calamities. Hopefully Livesey can help jolt this system into reality, but conventional logic tells me that it is he, in fact, who will be in for the rude awaking, as he quickly learns that he's gone from Daddy Warbucks' stately mansion to the humble homestead of Mr. Al Bundy.  Say no to Josh Hamilton, say yes to Josh Harrison.  A fifteen million dollar corner outfielder?  Maybe over the life of the contract, sure.  Hell, Jason Bay just became affordable again.

My grandfather was great at fixing things, but the Bucs' issues run a little deeper that a crooked screen door or an air conditioner on the fritz.  Livesey's baseball resume is robust, if not stellar.  He's been involved on the ground level with multiple winning organizations.  His accomplishments in the sport probably outshine the Bucs' entire management team, but once again I have to wonder what he will be able to bring to a table that works with far less than he is accustomed to.

Perhaps this is how Livesey wishes to conclude his baseball career, but somehow I feel like this is no way for a man to spend his golden years.