It's a Pirates' life for Tracy

Article Last Updated: 10/11/2005 12:17 AM

Dodgers: It's a Pirates' life for former L.A. skipper

By Tony Jackson, Staff Writer

Inside SOCAL

Former Dodgers manager Jim Tracy is expected to be officially introduced today as the new manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move comes just eight days after Tracy and the Dodgers parted ways by what general manager Paul DePodesta said was a eneral manager Paul DePodesta said was a "mutual agreement."

Tracy was formally interviewed on Monday by Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield at the Houston office of Tracy's agents, Alan and Randy Hendricks. That meeting was in effect a second interview, because Tracy and Littlefield had a lengthy telephone conversation last week.

Tracy went 427-383 (.527) in five seasons at the Dodgers' helm, his only previous big-league managerial stint. He had winning records in four of those seasons and led the club to the National League West championship last year. But the Dodgers slumped to 71-91 in 2005, after which it was clear the respective philosophies of Tracy and DePodesta were too different to allow the two to peacefully co-exist much longer.

Meanwhile, DePodesta returned on Monday from Italy, where he was attending his sister's wedding, and is set to begin interviews with the five current candidates to replace Tracy. Jerry Royster, the manager of the Dodgers' Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate, will be interviewed today.

Royster will be followed by former Detroit manager Alan Trammell on Wednesday; San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus, who was revealed on Monday to be the mystery fifth candidate, on Thursday; Dodgers player development director Terry Collins on Friday; and Northridge's Torey Lovullo, the manager of Cleveland's Double-A Akron affiliate, on Saturday.

Wotus, 44, wasn't revealed as a candidate last week because while the Dodgers had secured permission from the Giants to interview him, they hadn't been able to reach him.

A New England native, Wotus played a total of 32 big-league games, all for Pittsburgh and all in 1983-84. The former infielder retired as a Giants minor-leaguer following the 1989 season, after which he immediately became a minor-league coach. He has been with the organization ever since, including the past eight seasons on the big-league staff and the past seven as bench coach under managers Dusty Baker and Felipe Alou.

Wotus interviewed for the Pirates managerial vacancy in 2000, as did Tracy.

Royster, an infielder, spent 16 seasons in the majors, including with the Dodgers from 1973-75. He also managed the Milwaukee Brewers on an interim basis after Davey Lopes was fired early in the 2002 season. Royster had been Lopes' bench coach.

Royster is African American, the only minority among the five candidates the Dodgers are considering. However, general manager Paul DePodesta said last week that the next manager won't necessarily be one of these five and that if none of the current candidates emerges as a clear choice to manage the club then another list of names will be compiled and interviewed.

The Dodgers' top minor-league affiliate has had five managers in the past five seasons, a trend Collins was hoping to stop when he assigned Royster to the job last winter. If Royster gets the big-league job - or even if Collins gets it and names Royster to his coaching staff - the 51s will be changing managers again in 2006.

Royster spent 2004 as the Dodgers' minor-league infield coordinator. He liked that job so much that Collins had to coax him back to managing when Collins decided after last season not to renew the contract of then-Las Vegas manager Terry Kennedy.

Logic would suggest Collins is the favorite because he has the most big-league managerial experience, having managed the Houston Astros (1994-96) and the Angels (1997-99).