Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Four Reasons Jim Tracy Should Be Fired
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Pirate manager Jim Tracy must be let go. The manager accomplished nothing in two years in Pittsburgh outside of continuing a losing tradition and proving that Dave Littlefield was unnecessarily hesitant to fire people who were obviously round pegs in square holes. Tracy must go if Neal Huntington wants his own start and here are four other reasons why:
- Tracy lost the clubhouse. This became obvious after about two months this year, when the lack of effort was unbelievable. Whether it was Jason Bay taking his time in letting a soft liner drop in or Jose Castillo watching another fastball freeze him for strike three or Ronny Paulino not bothering to run very hard after a passed ball, the team just looked terrible at some points. They seemed to believe that their season was over from the beginning and bought into Tracy’s calm, collect-a-paycheck attitude instead of that of veterans such as Adam LaRoche and Xavier Nady, guys who had been used to playing for teams with winning pedigrees. The clubhouse takes its beat from the manager and Tracy does not have a pulse.
- Tracy is the single worst gameday manager ever. This is the offense that eventually broke Tracy’s back in Los Angeles and it continued in Pittsburgh, as Tracy foolishly used his bullpen and bench, calling on pinch hitters in odd situations, bringing in the wrong relievers due to “gut feelings,” and using way too many starting lineups for anyone to feel comfortable in his role. For instance, Tracy would use stud reliever Damaso Marte in one-out outings, therefore getting a crucial out but also leaving a lot of pressure on the rest of the bullpen, which usually wasn’t that good. Tracy is almost as bad as Lloyd McClendon and, considering McClendon is now a bullpen coach, that is saying something.
- Tracy does not stand up for his players. This certainly ties in with the first two, but if an ump blew a call, Tracy would calmly have a chat with him instead of blowing a gasket. This tells the players that he does not really care about them and that he does not support their cause, a feeling palpable in the stands. This is not the one that the manager wants to be giving his players.
- All vestiges of the Littlefield regime must be removed. The period was (still is?) such a time of false hope and fake promises for Pirate fans that any reminder of them will not be received positively. From saying that the team was expecting to be a contender and then seeing it not reach the 70 win plateau to trading for Matt Morris, the era was one of inexplicable decision making and apathy, both on and off the field. It is one that needs to come to a clear and distinct end and firing Tracy would accomplish this in a way that firing Mickey White will not.
Jim Tracy must, very simply, be fired in order for Neal Huntington to show that he is serious about winning and that the organization is not simply going to carry on with the idiotic decision-making of the past. If he does not fire Tracy, Huntington is simply carrying on the Littlefield legacy.
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