There is an optimism to Don Kelly. A buoyancy. A lightness. How could there not be? The Pittsburgh-area native has spent the last two-plus decades authoring an unlikely success story that has carried him from a downtown liberal arts college to nearly a decade in the big leagues as a utility player who got by more on intelligence

The Pirates announced Thursday that Derek Shelton has been relieved of his duties as manager, a shake-up that had become expected in recent weeks as the team fell further back in the National League Central.