ESPN Keith Law Blog

The Pirates' latest reign of error is over.

The long-expected firing of general manager Dave Littlefield, who presided over six losing seasons in Pittsburgh, was based on many failings of the team's baseball operations department, including a poor track record in trades, some awful free agent signings, and the laughingstock move to acquire Matt Morris and the $13.5 million remaining on his contract this summer. But for a low-revenue franchise like the Pirates, the most important baseball responsibilities lie in scouting and in player development, and the team's track record in both areas under Littlefield was dismal.

The Pirates have long had an evaluation problem -- that is, they can't seem to evaluate players, whether we're talking about their own players, other teams' players, amateur players, or international players. The team has routinely overvalued its own guys, buying into Zach Duke's superficially impressive half-season in 2005, assuming that part-time players like Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth were everyday players, and asking for the sun and moon in trade discussions for minor veterans. But the Pirates' scouting woes under Littlefield are perhaps best defined by their problems in the amateur draft since he was hired. Their six first-round picks under Littlefield including Brian Bullington first overall in 2002 (over B.J. Upton, Prince Fielder and Jeff Francis), Paul Maholm in 2003, Neil Walker in 2004, Andrew McCutchen in 2005 and Brad Lincoln in 2006. Bullington has been a complete bust, Maholm is a marginal fifth starter, and Walker has shown some progress with the bat but has no position. McCutchen has promise but struggled for most of 2007, while Lincoln blew his elbow out and missed this entire season. And from those first three drafts under Littlefield, only three picks after the first round has reached the big leagues -- 2003 second-rounder Tom Gorzelanny, 2002 seventh-rounder Matt Capps and 2002 sixth-rounder Brad Eldred, the last of whom can be labeled a AAAA player.