As if things weren’t bad enough in Colorado, the Rockies have gone and replaced the mediocre Clint Hurdle with the incompetent Jim Tracy.
Tracy’s resume includes a 562-572 record, which is exactly the kind of near-.500 record the Rockies have aspired to achieve in most of their years in existence. He got that record by taking the NL West’s most talented team in the Dodgers to the postseason once in five years. After being let go by Los Angeles, he quickly landed the job in Pittsburgh and went 135-189 in two seasons before being ousted.
Tracy plays favorites, as Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth can attest. He loves his smallball, regardless of the composition of this team. In 2003, his Dodgers got a combined .242/.300/.317 line out of their top two hitters, who combined to score 150 runs all season. When Hee Seop Choi thrived as a No. 2 hitter in 2005, Tracy refused to leave him there, going to such players as Oscar Robles, Jason Repko and Antonio Perez instead.
Bullpen management, at least, looked like a strength early in Tracy’s career. However, he never got a whole lot out of a Pittsburgh pen that featured Matt Capps, Salomon Torres, John Grabow, Damaso Marte and Mike Gonzalez for the first year.
If the Rockies fail to turn it around, Tracy’s stay could be a short one. GM Dan O’Dowd has to be on a short leash now, and if the Rockies make a change there over the winter, the new GM will likely want to bring in a manager of his own.