The hiring of Frank Coonelly as president of the Pirates was officially announced Thursday at PNC Park.

PITTSBURGH — Working in the commissioner's office and as a lawyer specializing in baseball labor, Frank Coonelly watched the premier franchises go about their business — developing players, acquiring talent and selling tickets.

He also watched how teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates did it.

The Pirates' inability to field a winner since 1992 didn't scare him off, though, and the Philadelphia native officially took over Thursday as the team's new president.

Coonelly, previously Major League Baseball's senior vice president and chief labor counsel, will be in charge of the Pirates' day-to-day operations, and hiring a new general manager will be his first priority.

"In Pirates history, it (Coonelly's hiring) is a critical, critical turning point," said Pirates chairman Bob Nutting. "I think it's going to be a positive one."

There are more important hirings to come, too. Former GM Dave Littlefield was fired Sept. 7 following six-plus seasons in which the Pirates never lost fewer than 87 games. They are currently one loss away from a 15th consecutive losing season and are on pace for 90 losses.

Once a new general manager is in place, a new manager is likely to come next.

Jim Tracy, who has a 132-176 record since taking over last year, is under contract for 2008. But a new general manager almost always brings in the manager he wants, and immediately.

While the 47-year-old Coonelly is known to be interested in Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. as a possible GM, Mets special assistant to the general manager Tony Bernazard also has emerged as a strong contender.

Whether that is an older-style general manager who relies on his instincts in adding talent or one who is more numbers-oriented is not important to Coonelly, the one-time captain of the William Tennent High School hockey team.

"What we need to do in Pittsburgh is to adopt a philosophy of winning, and adopt principles that allow us to win: a framework to develop talent and a commitment to that talent," he said. "We also expect commitment and dedication, loyalty and hard work from the players we're prepared to commit to."

The question is how much money he'll be given to do the job.

The Pirates' opening day payroll of $38.6 million was the majors' fourth smallest and was about $21 million less than Cincinnati and $33 million below Milwaukee, two comparably sized cities in the NL Central. The Cubs, who have led the division much of the last month, were slightly below $100 million.

But Coonelly, a Penn State and Catholic University Law School graduate, wouldn't have taken the job unless he was comfortable with Nutting's promise to pay what it takes to win.

"I have a commitment from Bob and I believe in the commitment from Bob that we're going to have a payroll and the resources to be competitive on a consistent basis," he said. "We can't be looking to hit a home run one year and then have three off cycles."

No one understands baseball's economics as well as Coonelly does, Nutting said. That quality will allow him to, in Coonelly's words, "understand how to best to allocate the (Pirates') limited and valuable resources to produce a winner."

Coonelly's primary job in the commissioner's office has been overseeing the arbitration process, negotiating labor contracts with the players and umpires and developing a bonus scale for draft picks.

Coonelly cautioned it will take time — or exactly what fans impatient for a winner again probably don't want to hear.

"I don't want to define what a while is, but there is no reason based on the roster we have right now that we can't be competitive now," he said. "It's going to take a little longer in order to build the core and foundation so we can be confident of fielding winning teams on a regular basis."