Figureheads and baseball men

The P-G's Bob Smizik on Bob Nutting's upcoming hiring decision:

"The only way Nutting is going to get a respected baseball man to take charge of this franchise is to give him a large measure of control. Someone the stature of MacPhail, Alderson or Lucchino is not going to come aboard as a figurehead. Such a man will only come if he can make all the baseball calls. And that means having the power to fire the general manager, the manager or both.

Dave Littlefield and Jim Tracy have contracts that run through the 2008 season and their combined value is about $1.7 million. Unless Nutting is willing to buy out those contracts, and such a move does not fit the limited profile we have of his business practices, he's not going to get his man."

Littlefield could work in long relief.