May 28, 2006 By John Mehno For The 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – As the Pittsburgh Pirates’ winning percentage strains to reach .333, we know this much: It isn’t Jim Tracy’s fault.

We know this because Tracy issued himself a full managerial pardon during a pre-game media session on Friday.

According to mlb.com, Tracy said, “But I do know this as a manager – there are so many things that I can do. I try to go home every night and look at myself in the mirror and feel like I did everything I could tonight to put this ballclub in a position and give it a chance to win.

“But I can’t catch it and I can’t throw it and I can’t hit it. That’s not my job. I’m not allowed to do that. But my job is to get them in a position where the stage is set and the opportunity for them to carry out the action that needs to be done, finish the job and win.”

The content of what Tracy said isn’t fundamentally wrong. The Pirates lack talent. A lot of the players can’t catch it, throw it or hit it, either.

But the tone of what he said is hopelessly wrong, because it sounds like he’s trying to distance himself from the team’s failure.

If Tracy thinks he is blameless for this mess, he needs to get his mirror checked. He was the one who didn’t like the hitting style that gave Chris Duffy a .341 average last season. He apparently signed off on changes in Zach Duke’s mechanics.

He wanted Jose Hernandez because of his versatility. Hernandez can play in a lot of different spots, but he hits .146 wherever you put him.

Tracy is the one who decided Jeromy Burnitz should start 44 of the first 48 games, even though his average hasn’t been above .250 since April 18. Burnitz batted either fourth or fifth in 35 of the 44 starts.

On April 17, Jim Leyland’s Detroit Tigers lost a home game 10-2 to Cleveland.

Leyland was steaming from the lackluster effort and blasted his players behind closed doors after the game.

When he met the media, Leyland said, “We stunk, period. I’m not talking about anybody in particular, I’m talking about the team. Myself, the coaches, and everybody. It’s my responsibility to have the team ready to play today. They weren’t ready to play.”

That’s how it’s done. Good managers make loyalty a two-way street.

Tracy apparently thinks the Pirates’ problems don’t include the manager. But they will if the players get the idea he’s burying them to absolve himself.

John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehno@lycos.com