Tracy's lifetime managerial appointment may not be as long-term as some seem to think
“Basically what I am saying is that I should never have this conversation with you again. To say it extends just beyond 2013 would not do justice to Jim. It could be until he’s using a cane and having trouble getting onto the field. Quite honestly, it can be for whatever number of years Jim wants it to be for.”
– Dan O’Dowd in a Denver Post article written by Troy Renck
On the face of it, this quote by the GM is somewhat alarming. After finishing 16 games below .500 and subsequently gutting a clubhouse that apparently couldn’t hold itself accountable, the Rockies have extended their manager indefinitely. To many, this is an outrage. After all, this is the guy that Keith Law consistently calls one of the worst tactical managers in baseball, something I agree with. Over the last season and a half, he’s been at the helm of a talented yet underachieving team. It’s been one curious move after another, and after last year, most fans didn’t want him back. In a BSB poll last fall, the overwhelming majority said exactly that — Fire Jim Tracy. So the collective freak-out that occurred when the Rox announced Tracy’s indefinite extension is understandable. However, even for the most adamant Tracy detractors, there is no reason to get overly worked up about this. The fact is, it basically changes nothing.
The first thing that needs to be pointed out here is that there was no actual extension. He didn’t get a raise. He didn’t get more years. All he got was a vote of confidence from the GM. In the world of sports, a handshake agreement is worth about as much as a Zimbabwe Dollar. All of this is a little weird and probably unnecessary, but firing Jim Tracy, if deemed necessary, will be just as easy as it was a week ago.
So, if this was all merely a symbolic gesture with little actual substance, why would DOD and the Rockies even waste their breath? Another aspect of this that can’t be ignored is the timing — right at the beginning of camp with the position players still a week away from officially reporting. If the Rockies truly wanted to give Tracy a strong vote of confidence, they would’ve done it last fall. The first sentence of the quote above says it all – I don’t want to spend all season having conversations about my manager’s job security. The rest is just lip service, something easy to say outside the pressures of the regular season.
The talk of canes and Tracy managing the Rox into perpetuity is not what most fans want to hear. However, I seriously doubt the franchise will abide another 73 win season. In that scenario, who is going to be the scapegoat? It won’t be the new high character clubhouse and we know for certain that it won’t be the GM. The truth is that the pressure on Tracy is the same just with less media scrutiny now. If they win around 80 games or more, he’ll be back in 2013. If the losses start piling up though, he’ll be gone.
I say we wait this out before getting all in a tizzy about it. Some fans are already irate, but in the end, don’t we want the Rockies to have a great year? If the team struggles to the point where the manager needs to be fired, that will be miserable. I’m no fan of Jim Tracy, but that doesn’t outweigh my desire to see the Rockies win in 2012. Let’s keep this in perspective. It was a vote of confidence at the most optimistic point in the season. Come October, if the Rox finish under .500, then I’ll put some stock in what the GM says about the manager’s job security. Until then, let’s just enjoy the fact that baseball is back.
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6 comments
1 ping
Ken
February 21, 2012 at 11:49 AM (UTC -6)
O’Dowd is just spewing the same hyperbole characteristic of Sports in general. Leave it to sports reporters and bloggers to cut the nonsense out. Thanks Blake-Street-Bulletin writers!
It’s going to be more than just the fans that notice if Tracy and O’Dowd cut the cheese again in Coors Field this season. I suggest that Tracy and O’Dowd’s fate are intertwined this year.
Logan Burdine
February 21, 2012 at 11:52 AM (UTC -6)
Thanks, Ken. I tend to agree with you on this. I think the undying loyalty will come to an end if they don’t get results this year.
Montana Steve
February 21, 2012 at 12:28 PM (UTC -6)
Well said, Logan. A little perspective goes a long way.
Brandon Cloud
February 21, 2012 at 1:36 PM (UTC -6)
Yeah, odd thing over all. In the offseason after guy wins 73 games the cane talk is like he is a Hall of Fame Coach who can do no wrong like John Wooden or something…
Perhaps we will come to see all of this odd stuff (Chacin’s weight talk, batting Alfonso higher than Iannetta last year, Matt Reynolds as LOOGY, etc) as some sort of evil genius no one saw coming and we will all laugh about this in 3 years when Jonah Keri’s book about the magical 2012 Rockies World Series win called “Creating a Culture of Value in a World of Performance- and Still Performing; the Dan O’Dowd Story”
Simone
February 22, 2012 at 5:47 PM (UTC -6)
So the question for me is…
Do I waste $140 on a yearly MLB TV membership to watch the Rockies end up under .500 again this year?
Logan Burdine
February 22, 2012 at 7:24 PM (UTC -6)
Yes. MLB.tv is worth every penny, in my opinion. It will allow you to watch someone else when the Rox are 15 under .500 in August. (My wife says that was a very negative comment. Damn you, Belgian beer.)
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