[hmmm...as opposed to playing like the Pirates for the last 13 years...let's see...Pirates or Cardinals?....Pirates or Cardinals?....well, OK...Cardinals it is...way to go out on a limb, Mr. Tracy...actually, I really hope the Bucs play like the 1998 Yankees...record-setting win total and World Series Champs...that sounds a heck of a lot better than playing like the Cards. - jtf]
New manager wants team to play like the Cardinals
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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If the Pirates begin to play even a little bit like the St. Louis Cardinals in the next couple of seasons, don't be surprised.
That's exactly who Jim Tracy wants them to play like.
"The Cardinals are a tremendous model," Tracy said. "They're interesting for this reason -- they can kill you with the long ball. But what takes place with that club in between that long one being hit is what's most damaging about them."
Tracy yesterday repeatedly cited the Cardinals as a model for the Pirates to follow during his introduction as the Pirates' new manager and in other sessions with the media.
"It's the intangibles they have," Tracy said. "They do the little things. Sure, they can thunder you in a heartbeat. But where they really beat you down is when Albert Pujols hits the ball through the hole on a hit-and-run and it's first and third and nobody out.
"Then they chip away and get two or three runs doing the little things. Then late in the game somebody pops one and now they have six runs and you need seven to win. That can be very difficult to do on any kind of a regular basis.
"It's so intriguing to watch how [the Cardinals] go about their business. It's baseball the way it's supposed to be played. It's such a methodical beatdown if you allow it to happen.
"But, hey, open your eyes and look at them. Once you ingrain that into a group of people, you're going to get somewhere."
Maybe even somewhere other than 13 consecutive losing seasons, a Pirates streak Tracy inherited yesterday.
General manager Dave Littlefield handpicked Tracy, 49, to lead the Pirates out of that morass, citing the former Los Angeles Dodgers manager's knowledge of the National League and his ability to work with young players, educate them, communicate with them and prepare them for games.
"I'm comfortable he'll get us back to winning ways," Littlefield said.
The bond between Littlefield and Tracy formed during their years of working together with the Montreal Expos.
Tracy managed in Montreal's minor-league system for two seasons, beginning in 1993, then was manager Felipe Alou's bench coach for four years before serving as the Dodgers' bench coach for two years (1999-2000).
Littlefield, who joined the Expos as a scout in 1991, became Montreal's director of player development, a position he held from 1995-97.
"People have a tendency to hire people they know and have worked with and are comfortable with," said former Pirates manager Jim Leyland, who last week was named the Detroit Tigers' new manager. "It's common sense. That's one reason I'm [with Detroit], and I think the same thing about Jim Tracy. There's some history there [between Tracy and Littlefield].
"Jim is a great guy, and I think it's a tremendous, tremendous choice."
"A lot of people outside our organization speak very highly of [Tracy]," Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy said, "and feel he is the right fit for what we need here as far as teaching our younger players and having the ability to work with younger players to get them to take the next step forward.
"We do have some talent here, but we can't let this talent take a step backward. I think he's the right guy to help us there."
McClatchy accompanied Littlefield to Houston Monday to meet with Tracy and Tracy's agent, Alan Hendricks, and get a contract finalized. Tracy, who was to receive a guaranteed $700,000 next season to manage the Dodgers, has a three-year deal with the Pirates that's believed worth about $3.2 million.
Tracy wasn't specific yesterday about the makeup of his coaching staff. However, last night Jim Colborn, who was his pitching coach in Los Angeles, agreed to be the Pirates' pitching coach.
"[Jim] and I feel we have unfinished business," Colborn told the Los Angeles Daily News. "Jim and I work together very well, and pitchers look good sometimes because a manager agrees with his pitching coach on how to use them.
"He allows me to have my own program and supports me and makes me feel like I am appreciated and respected."
In addition to Colborn, Jim Lett, who was Tracy's bench coach in Los Angeles, will be the Pirates' bench coach.
It's thought that first base coach John Shelby also will be a member of Tracy's staff.
Tracy did say that some members of the 2005 Pirates coaching staff will get consideration for jobs with him.
Tracy, from Hamilton, Ohio, was a three-sport standout at Hamilton Badin High School, also the alma mater of former Pirates closer Kent Tekulve. And like Tekulve, Tracy attended Marietta College in Ohio.
Tracy was a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1977 and played two seasons (1980-81) in the major leagues with the Cubs.
Tracy began his managerial career in the Cubs' minor-league system in 1987.
"There's one [point] I've made since I started to manage and I say it every spring," Tracy said. "Effort is not an option. Everything else we can talk about."
Tracy yesterday made that point while lauding the job Lloyd McClendon, fired as the Pirates' manager Sept. 6, and his coaching staff did.
"What I've been very impressed with -- and I think you need to give a tip of the cap to Lloyd McClendon and [his] staff here -- is that they played the game every time for 27 outs," Tracy said. "They played with energy. They played hard. There's no question about that. That's a hell of a starting point."
Still, Tracy could have a long road to traverse before these Pirates get on the other side of .500, let alone win a division championship. Or even a wild card.
"It can start to happen as quickly as [the players] want it to because they're going to hear it every day," Tracy said. "How quickly [do] they want to get on the wagon and ride in the direction we're headed in? That's a choice you make.
"Our interest will be that this group of players get to the point where they understand themselves and they understand what their capabilities are in the framework of a team concept.
"When the whole bunch of them know how to play, then it starts to get very dangerous. And it becomes a very fun thing to be a part of. Does it take a little time? Sure it does."
Tracy, though, believes the Pirates have what he called "a very interesting nucleus" in Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Mike Gonzalez, Jason Bay, Jose Castillo, Rob Mackowiak, Chris Duffy, Nate McLouth and Jack and Craig Wilson.
He also cited Kip Wells, a right-handed starter who's maddeningly inconsistent.
"Kip Wells is a very interesting project, in my opinion," Tracy said. "His stuff is way too good. He's experienced success, but he's capable of much more by just making some adjustments."
And yet there's this, too. The Pirates in 2005 finished 67-95.
"I wouldn't have been interested in this job if I didn't feel very strongly that we can make a difference and can move forward," Tracy said. "The youth and potential of this ballclub is something that is really intriguing to me.
"I like challenges. I like it when people say, 'You don't have a chance to succeed there.' "
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