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Players on Jim Tracy: Eh

By Charlie Wilmoth

If one considers that the Pirates' players are talking about a manager who's still their boss, these remarks are pretty stunning, I think.

"If management feels a change needs to be made, there's nothing I can do to stop that," reliever Salomon Torres said. "It's a troubled organization any way you look at it, and they might feel like it's finally time to do something about it. "I told one of the coaches the other day that I feel for them because they've been here for two years trying to fix something that's been broken for 15. It's not an easy task."

Let's imagine you have a high-profile job, and a journalist asks you to talk about your boss on the record. Would you say anything like what Torres says here? Not a chance - you'd be ready with the compliments, knowing that your boss has an important role in your future.

Well, some players did have some compliments ready, but even those sound tepid.

"I would like for him to come back," first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "I like his style. I like the way he keeps an even keel, staying positive. That's been really stand-up on his end. He never snaps. He never gets moody. It's not that he doesn't care. He wants to win. He's just been put in a tough situation."

I appreciate LaRoche's effort, but really, he sounds like he couldn't care less. Anyone remember when Dennis Green was fired as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, and ESPN showed an interview of a player crying in his locker because he felt Green had gotten a raw deal? Well, after reading this article, can you imagine Tracy eliciting anything resembling that sort of passion? If not, what kind of leader has he been, and how can he continue to lead? I know your players don't have to like you to be a good coach, but, from these comments, it sounds as if the players don't like him much and don't think much of his abilities.

I can't imagine that Tracy won't be gone after this year. The fans hate him, and the players already seem to be treating his departure as a foregone conclusion.

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