Friday Rockpile: Jim Tracy Wants To Return In 2013

Rockies manager Jim Tracy says he wants to return in 2013 - The Denver Post

It's not terribly surprising. Team ownership likes Tracy, management likes Tracy, and we haven't really heard any indications that he has "lost the clubhouse". He has a contract for 2013 for $1.4M, yet we haven't heard anything from ownership suggesting that he won't be back next season.

Out of Tracy's 4 years with the Rockies, he has 2 winning seasons: 2009 and 2010. He also has managed arguably the most disappointing team in franchise history, the 2011 Rockies, and was at the helm for this debacle of a 2012 season.

To be fair, I still don't hold 2012 against Tracy. Casey Stengel himself couldn't have managed this team to a winning record. Injuries and youth/inexperience is what killed the 2012 Rockies.

That still doesn't excuse the collapse in 2011, nor the poor finish of the 2010 Rockies despite 3 simultaneous breakouts. I maintain 2009 was more the impact of changing managers and getting the "will Clint Hurdle be fired?" elephant out of the room, but that is purely my opinion.

My opinion tends to fall in with those who think that Tracy needs to be let go as part of a larger organizational change. I don't hate the guy himself, I just tend to think he plays favorites too often and won't be a good choice to work with a team that will be largely growing as a group of prospects surrounding Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Then again, there may be something to the fact that the Rockies haven't really said anything about Tracy himself (the players or anyone) in the "no news is good news" angle.

What do you think? Is the fact that 2012 wasn't Tracy's fault enough to warrant him managing the Rockies for 2013 and possibly beyond?

Off Topic

Indians fire manager Manny Acta with 6 games left - The Denver Post

"Manny's not the only one to blame," Antonetti said. "We need to really look hard organizationally at how we can get better, especially at the major league level because our performance was not what we expected and not what we hoped. We have higher expectations and we need to do a better job of identifying some of those solutions."

This right here is an approach the Rockies should probably take. I get that it's hard to fire a buddy, but this team needs to get better. I don't understand how so many other teams in baseball are willing to hold managers THIS accountable, but the Rockies can flounder and disappoint and yet we haven't heard anything openly yet about Tracy losing his job.

With my luck, by the time this publishes, he probably will have been fired, and this whole Rockpile will have been for naught.

Wilin Rosario: Catcher In Theory | FanGraphs Baseball
Perhaps more appropriate for Thursday's Rockpile, but Jeff Sullivan gives Rosario a bit of a breakdown.

LeMahieu reworks timing, impressing Rockies | ColoradoRockies.com: News
The Rockies have been impressed with the work that DJ LeMahieu has done this season, and it creates some interesting possibilites for how the infield is put together in 2013.

Rockies' David Dahl named top prospect in Pioneer League - SB Nation Denver
1.048 OPS in your first professional season will do that.

Colorado Rockies announcers play it straight - Denver Business Journal
Drew Goodman and George Frazier are being hailed as being very impartial announcers for Rockies games. I can agree with that.

By comparison, the announcers for the Chicago White Sox were unabashed boosters of the team, with 104 comments made in favor of the home team.

NO FOOLIN?!

Adam Greenberg Gets His Shot | FanGraphs Baseball
If you haven't seen this story yet, it's pretty awesome. Adam Greenberg, a callup back in 2005 for the Chicago Cubs, had his career ended by then-Florida Marlins pitcher Valerio De Los Santos (who you might remember from 8 fateful innings with the Rockies in 2008). DLS' first pitch just left the hand wrong and hit Greenberg in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off and giving Greenberg a major concussion. It was all over Sportscenter and probably any other news outlet that covers baseball in any form.

Well, the good news is that he's back, on a 1-day contract with the Marlins, and he will likely face Cy Young candidate RA Dickey with the Mets.