Tracy

I'm listening to the Tracy clip from MLB radio on the Pirates' home page. Jim Tracy is a good talker.

A few quotes:

He and DePodesta had differences of philosophy that "could not be breached."

Starting around 2:40 into the clip: "Billy, I think that there's a lot of credence to what you are definitely saying, no question about it, I'm not going to avoid it."

The young stars in LA were "very special people."

Tracy, directed to speak about the difference of philosophy between himself and DePodesta: "I think what you're suggesting Billy I think it started to become very pronounced during the course of this past offseason (meaning the offseason of 2004 leading into 2005). And the way things played out this year, you know, I'm not saying there's anything wrong. But I feel very strongly as a manager that there's a philosophy that very definitely -- not only does it work, but it has worked, and it worked for four consecutive years. And some of the things that took place this past year weren't necessarily what i'm all about."

Tracy and Littlefield "know one another quite extensively" from their Montreal days. Both studied there under Felipe Alou.

Tracy compares the 2005 Pirates to the 2002 Dodgers. Beltre, Loduca, Izturis, Gagne: the initial reaction to these guys, he says, was "who are these guys"? The "ages are somewhat similar" with young nucleus in Pittsburgh.

I get the impression that he still has a lot to learn about our players. Which was to be expected. Here's how he defined the nucleus right off the top of his head: "Jason Bay, Jack Wilson, Craig Wilson, and some of the other kids you saw in the latter part of September, like McLouth and Duffy, and the pitching from the standpoint of an Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Kip Wells, Mike Gonzalez."

Any truly knowledgeable Pirate person would have named Tike Redman. Seriously, pretty soon I expect Jose Castillo will come to mind more quickly.

He talks us through his resume in the second half. He also gets philosophical about how your baseball career will be defined by your biggest mistakes. It's long and he drones a bit like a college professor, but it is full of interesting stuff at a time when he's naturally candid.