His wide range of credentials tempered by a narrow view

The Pirates have announced that Frank Coonelly will serve as their new president today.

Friday, September 14, 2007
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There's a lot to like about Frank Coonelly, the Philadelphia lawyer who was formally introduced yesterday as president of the Pirates. For one thing, he's a smart guy. He graduated with "high distinction" from Penn State in 1983. At Catholic University law school in Washington, he graduated with the highest grade point average in his class. Intelligence cannot be overestimated.

For another, he's been at an excellent vantage point for much of the past decade while working for Major League Baseball. He was in frequent contact with all 30 teams, lending support, giving advice, discussing the issues of the day. He saw what worked and why it did. He saw which staffs got it and which did not. He learned which young executives might make good general managers and which would not.

More than that, he's a personable, well-spoken guy who has the rugged looks of someone who once played competitive athletics, which he did as captain of his high school hockey team. He's brimming with confidence and optimism that the job of turning around the worst franchise in MLB is not the daunting task so many believe it to be.

"To me, Pittsburgh was the ideal opportunity," he said. "I believe I can assist this club in getting over that hump and putting a winning product on the field. This is my dream job."'

In his job with MLB, Coonelly was the godfather of the slotting system for first-round picks in the June draft. Clubs were told what to pay their selections, and Coonelly was there to twist some arms to see that it happened. That makes his new stance all the more heartening.

He emphatically let it be known that the Pirates' concern will be drafting and signing the best player and not about adhering to the slotting system.

So what's not to like?

How about this, and here's something probably no one ever has said about Frank Coonelly: He's naive.

This bright lawyer who can easily command a room with his presence and his words is walking into a job he doesn't seem to fully understand. That's not good.

Coonelly said one of his most important tasks is to "change the entire culture' of the Pirates' steeped-in-defeat clubhouse. There's no question that is an important challenge, although one an observer might expect would fall to the manager.

"I'm going to ask [the players] directly: 'What do you need to succeed? What haven't you had that will allow you to succeed on the field?'

"Then I'm going provide them with the tools they need to succeed."

If that makes you think Coonelly intends to deliver a power-hitting third baseman or a top-of-the-line right-handed setup man or a defensively gifted center fielder who can lead off, you'd be wrong. Those were not the kind of tools he was talking about. The tools he cited were, and these were just examples he mentioned, a nutritionist and a chiropractor.

Sorry, those are not the tools the Pirates need. If Coonelly believes those are the answers to 15 years of losing, he's wrong.

He's taking the same approach Jim Tracy took when he replaced Lloyd McClendon after the 2005 season. Tracy acted as though McClendon didn't have a clue as to what he was doing, and Tracy and his staff would soon change that.

Turns out McClendon has a pretty good idea of what he was doing, but didn't have the players to do it. Neither does Tracy. Former general manager Dave Littlefield had a lot of shortcomings, but he gave the Pirates most of the tools they needed to win, except the only really important ones -- better players.

Coonelly also dismissed the popular belief that high payroll offers a better chance of winning.

"`I disagree with that premise," he said. "I think there are things more important than how much you spend."

That's when he cited "instilling the proper principles of winning," and talked about bringing in a nutritionist and a chiropractor.

High payroll does not guarantee victory. The Baltimore Orioles are a prime example, but hardly the only one. There is no denying, however, teams that spend more have a better chance of winning. That's just common sense.

Coonelly pointed out how long it has been since the New York Yankees have gone to the World Series, despite their enormous payroll. What he ignored is the Yankees' payroll has allowed them to become the winningest team in baseball and one that contends for the World Series every year.

To emphasize his point about payroll, with owner Bob Nutting sitting beside him, Coonelly said, "I'm convinced [the Pirates] can win with a payroll of $45 to $50 million."

He hedged that by saying the Pirates' youth would allow them to do that and most teams, which have players with more service time and are, therefore, eligible for higher salaries, could not. He also acknowledged that as the Pirates get older, payroll would have to be increased.

He talked about teamwork, leadership and passion. Those also are important attributes, just not as important as a guy who can deliver a three-run homer when the Pirates are down by two in the late innings.

Coonelly has been away from the competitive fires too long. He needs to settle into the job, understand what he can and cannot do, hire a good general manager and, possibly, a new manager, and give them the tools they need to win.

It can be done. You read it here first: The 2008 Pirates will have a winning record.

First published on September 14, 2007 at 12:00 am
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.