For any Colorado Rockies fans hoping there would be a change on the manager's bench in the offseason, put those thoughts out of mind. General Manager Dan O'Dowd told the Denver Post's Troy Renck that Tracy will be the club's manager in 2012. However, there are no plans to give him an extension yet:
"Jim is signed through next year, and we'd love to have him be manager here for much longer than that. But I have gone into the last year of my contract here more than you could imagine," general manager Dan O'Dowd told The Denver Post today.
Tracy's contract run out at the end of 2012, ending the three-year deal he signed in 2009 for having guided the Rockies to the NL Wild Card. Tracy will have full say over his coaching staff, Renck also reports.
This isn't surprising and it wouldn't be surprising if the team gave Tracy an extension at some point. In 2007, O'Dowd received a contract extension right before the start of the season and then gave one to Hurdle. The Rockies are an organization that likes to give its managers many chances despite years of failure. For Clint Hurdle that meant one magical, lucky run in 2007 before the reality of 2008 and early 2009 hit him.
Tracy guided the Rockies to the playoffs in 2009 after Hurdle was fired and has now overseen two straight years of his team flailing in the final weeks of the season.
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