Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The door to Jim Tracy's office was closed. The blinds on the rectangular window on that door were drawn. Nothing could be seen and nothing could be heard, not even by someone standing next to the door. Whatever was going inside the manager's office in the Pirates' clubhouse at PNC Park was nobody's business.
After about 40 minutes, shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday, the door opened and out walked what amounted to the Pirates' senior leadership council: Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Salomon Torres, Xavier Nady, Shawn Chacon and Adam LaRoche.
The players, among the best and most experienced on the team, had nothing to say. Conveniently, a fielding fundamental drill, highly unusual for this time of year, was taking place on the field and all rushed to join their teammates. LaRoche, normally the most convivial of fellows, so much as fled from approaching reporters.
Tracy remained alone in his office, the eighth person involved in this unusual meeting.
On losing teams, player meetings are almost common. So, too, are meetings where the manager addresses the entire team. But a meeting between the manager and the team's leaders is atypical. Tracy called the meeting in an attempt to reach out to the leadership core of the team. It might be viewed as a move of desperation. It should. These are desperate times for the Pirates.
The team's terrible play after the All-Star Game combined with an incident a night earlier no doubt caused Tracy to reach out.
In the sixth inning Monday, an error by Wilson, on a difficult but makable play, resulted in the Colorado Rockies scoring an unearned run. When Wilson returned to the dugout at the end of the inning, pitching coach Jim Colborn, a close lieutenant of Tracy's, began what appeared to be a harsh conversation with Wilson. The two went back and forth briefly before bench coach Jim Lett stepped in.
Heated exchanges in a major-league dugout are not unusual. What is unusual, though, is the exchange taking place between a pitching coach and an infielder. Which is to say, Colborn couldn't have been more out of line. He had no business getting involved. Jeff Cox coaches the infielders. Besides, in a game where one of his starting pitchers gave up nine runs in two innings, Colborn would appear to have enough problems of his own without reaching out for more.
We don't know and might never know the exact nature of the exchange between Wilson and Colborn. Wilson wouldn't comment and Colborn said, "I've got nothing to say about that. It wasn't newsworthy."
Oh, but it was newsworthy, and Colborn, who has been around, knew it. It was the talk of Pittsburgh sports yesterday.
This nasty situation easily could have been defused and possibly turned into a positive with a sharp jolt of the truth. What's wrong with either or both of the men saying that in the heat of the game, in the frustration of yet another defeat, they lost their cool, that it was over and they had put it behind them?
This team, this organization doesn't do things that way.
Some 18 hours later, the truth still hadn't surfaced. The exchange between Colborn and Wilson still was a subject that could not be discussed. Tracy waved off all questions on the matter. He would not even discuss how the play should have unfolded on the field. For example, should either left fielder Jason Bay or center fielder Nate McLouth called off Wilson. Both had an easier play on the ball. Of course, they should have, which is a large reason why Colborn was so out of line. Wilson made a physical error. One or both of the outfielders made a mental error. "It's over," Tracy said.
The fact the players met with Tracy, and Tracy alone, indicates it wasn't over when they arrived at the clubhouse yesterday. Clearly, something was festering. Perhaps it was a beneficial meeting. Perhaps both sides had their say and came away satisfied.
It was hardly reflected on the field where the Pirates continued their recent alarming trend of falling behind early by a large margin. They were down four runs after 2 1/2 innings to the Rockies and on their way to a fifth consecutive defeat, 6-2. Their old teammate, Josh Fogg, a marginally talented pitcher but a bulldog of a competitor, limited them to two runs and five hits in seven innings.
The defeat left the Pirates 13 games under .500. They're a half-game away from falling to fifth place. Last place looms.
Meetings won't solve what ails this team. The Pirates don't have enough good players. They have too many holes they can't fill. What's worse is the attitude is declining. The bravado of spring is turning into the reality of summer. The Pirates are a bad baseball team and the players know it. It's no fun to come to the ballpark any more. The season can't get over fast enough.
That the Steelers open practice Monday is proof that we live in a rational world.
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