In a piece of news seemingly months in the making, Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy has resigned his job. Tracy had been manager of the club since the middle of the 2009 season, when he led the team to the NL Wild Card and was named National League Manager of the Year.
But since that 2009 season, which was deemed a miracle by many due to freakishly good seasons from Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, and a resurgent Todd Helton, Colorado has been on the fast track to nowhere. Tracy's winning percentage fell each year he served as manager of the Rockies, bottoming out at .395 this year, good for the third worst mark in the league.
What fans will perhaps remember most about Tracy is the 75 pitch limit enforced under his management this season. As a result of that, Jeff Francis was the only Colorado pitcher to throw over 100 innings this season despite three pitchers starting at least 20 games. With Colorado's pitching staff trending on the younger side, limiting their pitch count in the majors seems like a pretty crappy way to help them grow as pitchers, but what the hell do I know?
The Rockies now join the Red Sox as teams with vacant managerial positions. The Indians, who fired Manny Acta with a week to go in the regular season, are expected to announce former Boston manager and current ESPN analyst Terry Francona as their new manager on Monday.
