While Troy Tulowitzki elected to take the high road in his postgame comments regarding the Ubaldo Jimenez incident.
Manager Jim Tracy elected to take the Jim Tracy road. A road that all too often leads to nowhere.
Here's what he said via the hard-working Rockies beat writers over at the Denver Post.
“It’s the most gutless act I have seen in 35 years of professional baseball. I have lost all respect for him. To do something like that and walk down off the mound, and if there’s any suggestion whatsoever that the ball got away, I don’t want to hear any of that (expletive). He intentionally threw at him. He should be suspended. I am going to be very disappointed if he doesn’t get suspended. He deserves to be,” Tracy said, his voice rising in anger.
Message received.
“Are you kidding me? Five days before opening day and you are going to take a potshot like that? It was the worst I have seen. I have lost respect for him and that’s a very difficult thing for me to say.”
Oh (expletive) he's just getting started.
“It’s (expletive). I watched exactly took place,” Tracy said. “I give our player all the credit in the world because he looked out at him and asked him what the (expletive) he was doing? And that’s exactly what I would have said to him. Now this guy starts marching down off the mound. And you don’t think there was some intent when we were warming up to pitch this afternoon’s game? That’s intent right there. That’s intent.”
You may have to repeat intent a dozen more times to convince Kevin Goldstein.
“Knowing what I know, knowing what took place last year, and where this team was at going into the second month of the season and doing what we did (in April) and he was nowhere to be found. I have lost all respect for him,” Tracy said.
Jim would know the behind the scenes story better than anyone, and obviously has every right to be angry and frustrated, but this may be going a little too deep.
Guess not. We're going deeper.
“Look at where we were at last spring. At what took place after the 2010 season and what we did in the beginning of the 2011 season without him. Waiting for him. Taking bullets for him. All the different things. And to pull that (expletive). Out of line. Out of character. As I have said, the most unprofessional thing I have ever seen since I started in professional baseball.”
Jim Tracy is a baseball guy. Jim Tracy is a passionate guy. He even seems like a nice guy — most of the time. But there are times when the skip would be best served to keep the old yapper shut if at all possible.
I believe after paragraph two would have been the proper time to exercise that silence... if not sooner.
Listen, I really do understand and share in Tracy's frustrations. What happened yesterday can be described as nothing less than the "gutless act" he called it. However, he has to know that all he's doing is making a big mess even messier when he speaks out so strongly against Ubaldo, especially when he spoke so highly of him on his way out the door eight months ago.
You can't have it both ways, Jim. At least not if you want to rebuild your almost non-existent credibility around the league. And besides that, some people thought Troy Tulowitzki went well over the line when he spoke out in defense of the organization (that may have been proven to be a valid point) so really all you're doing is encouraging some people (mostly stupid ones, but they're still people) to feel like maybe Ubaldo wasn't so out of line to do what he did.
*cough* Bud Selig *cough*
Ubaldo doesn't deserve the benefit of any doubt.
He doesn't deserve any one's sympathy.
You shouldn't sink to his level of immaturity just because you're mad. That makes you no better than he is. And then when you start labeling things as the worst you've seen in 35 years, 15 years, whatever it may be, people will be rolling their eyes at those over dramatic Rockies.
What Troy Tulowitzki said on Sunday was perfect. He didn't back down one bit, but he didn't continue to fan the flames either. He spoke honestly, which is always encouraged, but maintained control of his emotions. If you ask me, he should be applauded for the way he handled himself throughout this entire incident.
If Jim Tracy had followed with something similar, the Rockies would come out looking golden. He still could have made his point about how ridiculous and classless the whole thing was. He still could have indicated his desire for an investigation. It would have been fine. Instead, he was emotionally out of control and came across to the baseball world like the unstable mess we've witnessed far too many times since 2009.
But I guess that's just Jim Tracy being Jim Tracy.
Our manager.
And very likely our biggest problem now that the clubhouse malcontent is pitching in Jim's home state of Ohio.
More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813
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