Published: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 Scanning the Majors: 5/31/06 Edition

“It’s not my fault”

Imagine Joe Torre or Tony LaRussa uttering this after their team lost a game or were enduring a tough losing streak. Confronted with their worst start (15-33) since 1954, Pittsburgh Pirate manager Jim Tracy’s reaction to adversity was to make sure it was known publicly that he is not to blame. "I can't catch it, I can't throw it and I can't hit it," Tracy said last Friday. "That's not my job. I'm not allowed to do that. My job is to get them in a position to where the stage is set and the opportunity is there for them to carry it out, finish the job and win…I know as a manager there are only so many things I can do," Tracy added, "I try to go home and every night and look in the mirror and ask myself if I did everything I could to do to give us a chance to win.” Similarly, last season, Tracy blamed everyone but himself for the Dodgers’ woes as they had the second worst season since the franchise moved to L.A. He never looked at himself when he put Jason Phillips at 1B…and batted him in the cleanup spot. Nor did he do so when he chose to hit Oscar Robles in the 3rd spot on a number of occasions. He stubbornly kept Cesar Izturis in the leadoff spot, even though he’s didn’t have the ability to get on base that you look for from a leadoff man. Tracy had no problem taking the credit when the team or a particular player did well but wasn’t above throwing a player under the bus when they weren’t. Tracy maintains he has done everything he could do to help the Pirates win, but his actions have shown that he has done anything but that, as he is doing a lot of the same things that he did in Los Angeles. He’s playing inferior talent because they are “proven” veterans over younger, more talented players. The biggest example of this is Tracy regularly sitting arguably the team’s 2nd best hitter, Craig Wilson (.288/.369/.538) in favor of Jeromy Burnitz (.234/.283/.411). When 1B Sean Casey went down, it appeared Wilson would slide right in to take his spot. Not so fast, as Tracy chose to move catcher Ryan Doumit (.208/.278/.438) to 1B. When Doumit had difficulty handling first, Tracy, you guessed it, publicly criticized him. Doumit took it in stride, but as a young player, what other recourse did he have? In the spirit of Izturis, he stubbornly insisted on keeping rookie Chris Duffy in the leadoff spot, despite Duffy being allergic to taking ball four. Tracy tried to change Duffy’s approach, who hit .341/.385/.429 after being called up last season and certainly would have been useful in the lower part of the lineup. Trying Tracy’s way, Duffy started the season hitting .193/.254/.275 before being sent to the minors. Duffy, thus far, has refused to report, saying he shouldn’t be sent down. He feels Tracy set him up for failure by forcing him to change his approach at the plate in spring training. Duffy isn’t the only player Tracy and his staff has tried to force changes upon. Thinking his 8-2, 1.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP weren’t good enough last season, the decision was made to overhaul Duke’s mechanics. Despite the fact that Duke's delivery seemed to be near perfect a year ago, the left-hander said it was obvious his mechanics aren't the same as they were in 2005. "It's just not me out there," Duke said earlier this year, "I'm rushing through my mechanics.” Tracy’s statement, whether true or not, should never have been aired out publicly. A manager who knowingly takes a job with a team in a rebuilding position has to know that there will be ups and downs. Throwing blame at young players to protect yourself isn’t a way to develop players. It also points out the pitfalls of branding someone a winning manager because their team wins games. Bob Brenly won a World Series as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, but is he a winning manager for knowing that it was a pretty good idea to start Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling every five days? If a manager has talent and a little luck with team health, they’ll win in spite of whatever mistakes they make. The true ability of a manager is shown when having to overcome injuries or a lack of talent. Tracy hasn’t shown the ability to do either. There are three approaches to managing a team: Manage to the team’s strengths, work with what you have and go through the motions, or force your system down a team’s throat. Guess which one works best, Jimbo. Agree or disagree with John Scanlan? Let him know at scanman_33@sbcglobal.net.