MILWAUKEE -- The Pirates yesterday extended the contract of general manager Dave Littlefield by one year, through 2008, even though he has yet to oversee a winning season in four-plus years on the job.

Managing general partner Kevin McClatchy, who made the decision, credited Littlefield for what he described as improvement throughout the organization, especially in scouting and development.

"Dave has done a good job," McClatchy said. "His main objective was to improve the minor-league system and to have that carry to the major-league level, which we're all seeing now."

He also praised Littlefield's hiring of manager Jim Tracy and other transactions in the offseason, including the signings of key players Jason Bay and Jack Wilson to long-term contracts.

As of a week ago, there had been no talks between the team and Littlefield regarding an extension, even though his only previous extension came on opening day of 2004, his penultimate season at the time. But the parties met the past few days and signed last week.

"I'm very pleased," Littlefield said. "I think there's been a lot of hard work by a lot of people. This is not solely about one guy, but I certainly am appreciative."

Littlefield, 45, was hired July 13, 2001, and is the 12th-most tenured general manager in Major League Baseball. Heading into this season, the Pirates were 314-407 for a .436 winning percentage under his watch.

Of the 11 general managers with more tenure, all but three -- Kansas City's Allard Baird, San Diego's Kevin Towers and Colorado's Dan O'Dowd -- have winning records. All of them have had at least one winning season. That includes Baird, the only one with a lower winning percentage -- .408 -- than Littlefield.

McClatchy expressed optimism that Littlefield's first winning season would come soon.

"Winning is very important to all of us, and it's important to Dave," McClatchy said. "And believe me: We're getting there. We've made steps in that direction, and that's because of the good work Dave has done."

"There certainly has been the emphasis -- and has to be the emphasis -- on getting back on track," Littlefield said. "However, there's no doubt that, in this job, you're evaluated by wins and losses."

As he has in the past, Littlefield pointed to the many expensive contracts he inherited and had to eliminate.

"We certainly have had some significant challenges in dealing with those and getting value for them. Secondly, we needed to get our minor-league system churning out players at the big-league level. Those are two areas where we improved dramatically. Obviously, winning is the next step, and it's something we're well positioned to do now and for the next four or five years. But the goal is to win a World Series, so there's a lot of work left ahead."

Littlefield's previous extension was for two years, but this was for one year. The term, McClatchy said, was aimed at getting Littlefield's contract in line with that of Tracy, whose deal also expires in 2008. But McClatchy stressed that was not why an extension was issued.

"The timing is there with Jim Tracy's, but this was done because Dave has done a good job."