Tracy’s Move to Pirates Began With an Ultimatum in L.A.

The Dodgers have begun interviewing managerial candidates, but the selection process actually started more than a month ago when Jim Tracy gave them an ultimatum.

Tracy, armed with the knowledge that he would be a strong candidate for the Pittsburgh Pirate opening he filled Tuesday, told Dodger owner Frank McCourt and General Manager Paul DePodesta during a Sept. 8 meeting that he wanted a two-year extension and a raise, giving him security through 2008.

He told the Dodgers that if his demands weren’t met, he would exercise a clause in his contract that allowed him to opt out within one week of the season’s end, multiple sources said.

The Dodgers were crumbling on the field, headed toward a 71-91 record, their second-worst since coming to L.A. in 1958, and they regarded Tracy’s request as the height of chutzpah.

Tracy, however, had his own reasons to be resentful. The team he had led to the 2004 National League West title was barely recognizable by spring training because of DePodesta’s myriad moves.

The season was excruciating for Tracy, to whom loyalty and familiarity are essential. He publicly yearned for the leadership of departed Dodgers Shawn Green, Paul Lo Duca and Dave Roberts, and privately lamented that the new roster lacked chemistry.

He believed it would take more than the 2006 season for the team to become cohesive enough to win.

“A lot of it had to do with things that basically evolved in the restructuring of the club,” Tracy said Oct. 3, the day he and the Dodgers parted ways.

“I would be remiss if I said there were not philosophical differences as far as the club and how we put it together, what would work and not work. The disruption and focus loss with players is not good for anyone. That’s where I felt strongly that it was important to wipe the slate clean.”

He will get a fresh start in Pittsburgh. He agreed to a three-year deal worth about $3.2 million with incentives -- a considerable raise from the $700,000 a year he made with the Dodgers.

The deal helps clarify why Tracy made such a bold extension request. Two days before Tracy met with DePodesta and McCourt, Lloyd McClendon was fired as manager of the Pirates. Tracy’s relationship with Pirate General Manager Dave Littlefield goes back to the early 1990s, when both men were with the Montreal Expos.

Although Littlefield and Tracy say they never discussed the opening face to face, Tracy understood he had an opportunity outside Chavez Ravine.

Tracy’s ultimatum came four days after the Dodgers returned from a trip to Colorado, where he and DePodesta had a long discussion about their disparate visions of the team’s future. DePodesta was adamant that Tracy not be awarded an extension on the heels of a disastrous season. McCourt agreed, leaving the Dodgers with a decision -- sit tight and see whether Tracy indeed exercised the opt-out clause, which would relieve them of any financial obligation, or dismiss him right after the season and be obligated to pay him the $700,000 for the last year on his contract if he didn’t get another job.

They opted for the latter, effectively firing Tracy about 24 hours after the last out was recorded in the season finale at San Diego. Another option, that of Tracy returning in 2006 under the terms of his existing contract, was not seriously considered by either side because of the ultimatum.

“It wasn’t a ploy, it was heartfelt and something I felt that from a continuity standpoint, I have strong ideas on what is necessary,” Tracy said. “Familiarity and continuity are certainly two intangibles that are absolute musts for a club to be successful.”

Said DePodesta: “Both of us wanted to deal with this quickly. Jim didn’t want to wonder about his status. We both dealt with it head on.”

By the last week of the season Tracy knew his days as Dodger manager were dwindling.

“I was made aware of the fact that an extension was not something that would be a possibility,” Tracy said.

The Pirates were aware as well. Coincidentally, they played a series at Dodger Stadium from Sept. 23-26. Littlefield and assistant GM Doug Strange made the trip, which sources said was out of the ordinary.

Their courtship with Tracy accelerated when he parted ways with the Dodgers. Littlefield interviewed him over the phone last week and chose him over former Oakland manager Ken Macha and Atlanta third base coach Fredi Gonzalez. On Monday at the Houston office of Tracy’s agents Alan and Randy Hendricks, Pirate owner Kevin McClatchy and Tracy worked out contract details.

Tracy’s new roster will have a significantly lower payroll than the Dodgers’. And the Pirates have had 13 consecutive losing seasons, three short of the major league record, including a 67-95 mark in 2005.

But they have a core of young players that could remain for several years. Tracy might just regain the close-knit clubhouse he lost with the Dodgers.

And when his first Pirate team takes the field at PNC Park for its home opener April 10, the opposing team also will have a new manager.

That team will be the Dodgers.

The manager could be one of five candidates DePodesta will interview this week. He began Tuesday with Dodger triple-A manager Jerry Royster. Over the next four days he will meet with recently fired Detroit Tiger manager Alan Trammell, San Francisco Giant bench coach Ron Wotus, Dodger farm director Terry Collins and Cleveland Indian minor league manager Torey Lovullo.

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Managerial changes

Teams that have changed managers since the beginning of the 2005 season, with former manager and replacement:

*--* Team Former Manager Replacement Dodgers Jim Tracy TBA Baltimore Lee Mazzilli Sam Perlozzo (interim) Cincinnati Dave Miley Jerry Narron (interim) Detroit Alan Trammell Jim Leyland Florida Jack McKeon TBA Kansas City Tony Pena, Bob Schaeffer Buddy Bell (interim) Oakland Ken Macha TBA Pittsburgh Lloyd McClendon, Pete Mackanin Jim Tracy (interim) Tampa Bay Lou Piniella TBA

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Source: Associated Press