The Pirates will wait until after this season to decide the futures of general manager Dave Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy, principal owner Bob Nutting said yesterday.

Littlefield and Tracy have contracts that run through 2008, meaning they will either enter a lame-duck year after this one -- a rarity in Major League Baseball -- or have their terms extended.

"Certainly not during this period," Nutting replied yesterday when asked when the team might decide about its top two baseball men. "That's something that would be addressed at the end of the season."

He declined to elaborate, saying he preferred not to have Littlefield, Tracy or the Pirates' players distracted.

"The one thing I do want to stress is that I really am supportive of and committed to the direction the team is headed," Nutting said. "I believe that the plan we have in place is a good one. And the last thing Dave or Jim Tracy or this team needs is speculation about what's going to happen. What they need is to be able to stay focused and turn in a great second half of baseball."

He expressed optimism that the team can have a turnaround.

"We haven't given up in any way on this season. We're going to push forward. So, I really don't want to create speculation about where we're going to go. I see that as purely hypothetical and negative."

Nutting declined to say if his new chief executive officer -- Kevin McClatchy announced yesterday that he will resign at season's end -- would be given authority to choose the people he wants to run the baseball operations.

"I don't want to prejudge any part of the process," Nutting said, referring to the search for a CEO.

Nutting and McClatchy, seated side by side during a 10-minute interview yesterday at PNC Park, each was asked to evaluate the work of Littlefield and Tracy.

Nutting politely declined, saying he preferred to limit the interview to McClatchy's resignation.

"Again, it's not at all productive to get into speculation," he said.

McClatchy addressed the topic from the standpoint of looking forward to the second half.

"When I announced my resignation as coming at the end of the season, that means I haven't given up on it," he said. "If I had given up, I would have walked out today. That's not the case. ... Look, we all know we haven't played as well as we would have liked so far this year. But you do have to peel back some layers."

He cited the team being 38-47 now, compared to 30-60 at the All-Star break last season.

"We were 30 games under .500, and we've improved a lot over that. You know, we're all frustrated. But we do have to step back. Here, lately, we're starting to see this team playing better in winning seven out of 10. You're seeing them play a little more up to their abilities. And I think everybody would say that, not just people from our side."

He singled out Adam LaRoche, now sizzling at the plate after a horrific start.

"When people are quick to judge, they sometimes say things that don't look good later on. I heard and read some things about our first baseman, but I think I've seen him do pretty well recently. So, I think it's a mistake to draw absolute judgment about where we are. Let's let this thing keep rolling and see where it ends up."

Regardless of how the Pirates perform in the second half, McClatchy's resignation surely clouds the futures of Littlefield and Tracy.

For one, the timing of McClatchy's announcement yesterday -- as McClatchy acknowledged -- affords the Pirates ample opportunity to find their new CEO in time so that he can have the full offseason to get acclimated. If that happens, of course, the new CEO also would be in place for the decision regarding his top baseball men.

For another, Littlefield was McClatchy's choice in 2001, the only general manager he hired in 11 years as principal owner and CEO. Littlefield's predecessor, Cam Bonifay, was hired under the previous ownership. McClatchy also authorized Littlefield's hiring of Tracy in late 2005. The new CEO will have no such ties.

Finally, there is this ...

Nutting is not the type, his acquaintances inside and outside the Pirates' organization say, to make business decisions without first-hand information or experience. Although he has been the Pirates' chairman of the board since 2003, it was not until January that he supplanted McClatchy as principal owner. And it is from that point alone that he considers himself to have been in charge.

Since then, in addition to a surprising trip to the Dominican Republic in May to examine why the Pirates have fared so poorly at producing Latin American talent in the past decade, some close to Nutting say he has become deeply -- albeit quietly -- engrossed in many aspects of the team's operations, asking questions and seeking accountability along the way.

Even when discussing the resignation of McClatchy, his good friend and richly trusted co-worker, Nutting did not diminish the potential benefits of a change at CEO.

"I fully understand Kevin's decision and appreciate everything he's done," Nutting said. "At the same time, I think it's important in any business that there be some fresh air, some fresh perspectives as we all try to make things better. It's important, I think, that we all look at this end of it as a positive, too."