Lloyd McClendon has been fired in Pittsburgh, Ken Macha’s hometown.

The door is open now, either for Macha to walk out the door, or for Billy Beane to gently guide him that way, as he did with Art Howe. I guess we’ll soon find out how much mutual love there really is in that relationship.

The Pirates may want him. CEO Kevin McClatchy said he wanted an experienced major-league manager.

FoxSports’ Ken Rosenthal suggests Jim Leyland and Art Howe are other candidates for the job, but thinks the Pirates should go in another direction.

Frankly, I don’t think it matters too much if Macha stays or goes. Whoever Beane hires after Macha will be just like Macha, implementing the philosophy that Beane wants implemented. It would be interesting, as a point of curiosity, to see what kind of philosophy Macha would play with in Pittsburgh, where he’d probably be left to his own devices.