Tracy Quits Record Losing Rockies

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Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy resigned Sunday, stepping down after the team set a franchise record for losses.

The Rockies said a search for Tracy's replacement would begin immediately. Colorado finished last in the NL West this year while going 64-98.

Tracy was promoted from bench coach to manager in May 2009. He was voted the NL Manager of the Year that season after guiding Colorado into the playoffs.

The Rockies went 294-308 under Tracy.

"I was surprised," Bill Geivett, the team's director of major league operations, told The Associated Press. "I wanted Jim to come back. That's how we began our conversation on Friday, that he was the manager. But he called, informed me today he was resigning."

Tracy had said repeatedly over the past several weeks that he wanted to fulfil the final year on his contract in 2013, but he changed his mind after meeting with Geivett for several hours on Friday and then mulling those discussions over the weekend.

The Denver Post reported that Tracy felt uncomfortable with his role after changes were made to the front office Aug. 1.

Geivett said he had no timetable for hiring a new manager.

"Everything up to this point has been focused on bringing Jim Tracy back," he said.

Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez also believed Tracy would return, the Denver Post reported.

"Jim Tracy's resignation is something I truly regret since he gave me the (chance) to play in the major leagues and prove my talent," Gonzalez told the Post. "It has always been an honor to play for him. I always believed he would have a chance to be with us next year.

"He is truly respected inside our clubhouse and I hoped he would be with us so he could help us improve and have a better season in 2013. Sadly, we had one of the worst seasons in franchise history and when these things happen our jobs are at stake."

The Rockies will be the fourth team to change managers this year. Boston fired Bobby Valentine, Cleveland dismissed Manny Acta and Houston let go of Brad Mills.

Geivett said it was a difficult day because his friendship with Tracy goes back two decades. They also worked together with the old Montreal Expos and with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Things changed for Tracy on Aug. 1 when Geivett, the assistant general manager, was given an office in the clubhouse and began focusing on roster management, particularly as it related to the pitchers, and evaluating the coaching staff. Tracy's responsibilities were narrowed to game management and meeting with the media.

Geivett said that structure will remain in place next season, but he said he didn't think that would be an issue in his search for a new manager.

In addition to altering their front office, with general manager Dan O'Dowd refocusing his attention on the minor leagues and player development while Geivett focused on major league operations, the Rockies last summer adopted a radical four-man rotation and a 75-pitch limit for two months.

Geivett said the Rockies will return to a traditional five-man rotation next season with pitch limits determined on a case-by-case basis, "although I don't think we'll ever go back to the days of 120 pitches."

Tracy, the fifth manager in club history, was given an indefinite contract extension last spring but it guaranteed only his 2013 salary of $1.4 million as field manager and really just represented the organisation's desire to keep him in the organisation in some capacity.

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Harang Dodgers Work Rewarded

After the solid eight-inning stint Aaron Harang gave the Los Angeles Dodgers, his teammates wanted to see him get rewarded with a victory after he was lifted for a pinch-hitter with the score tied.

Up stepped Tony Gwynn Jr., who came through with an RBI single off Matt Belisle to help the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 on Saturday night and improved the best record in the majors to 22-11.

James Loney led off the eighth with an infield single against reliever Josh Outman (0-1), advanced on A.J. Ellis' sacrifice bunt and came home when Gwynn lined an 0-2 pitch to left field.

"I struggled against Belisle in the past," Gwynn said. "He's a short-armer, and the ball gets on you real quick, so I just tried to keep my swing short with two strikes and stay away from anything in the dirt. I was actually able to take a pretty good swing. Looking at it on tape, it looked like he threw the ball where he wanted to -- about chest-high -- and I was just able to get enough barrel on it."

Harang (2-2) allowed a run on four hits and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third, helping send the Rockies to their seventh loss in eight games and dropping them a season-worst 8 1-2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Harang has 15 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings over his last five starts, after fanning a career-high 13 against San Diego on April 13 -- including a franchise-record nine straight. But he realizes he'll be more successful getting groundballs and keeping his pitch count down.

"I felt good. I felt like I was locating the ball well and I was able to keep them off-balance," Harang said. "The defense was there to back me up, and these guys battled out there to the last inning and got us the victory."

The 6-foot-7 right-hander was 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA in his previous five starts against Colorado since August 22, 2008, when he pitched six scoreless innings for Cincinnati in an 8-5 win at Coors Field.

Kenley Jansen got three outs for his third save in four attempts. It was the hard-throwing right-hander's first save opportunity since manager Don Mattingly took Javy Guerra out of the closer's role last Monday and gave it to his setup man.

"It's nice to be able to see him go in there and be able to shut the door," Harang said. "He's got good stuff, and he's only going to get better with the more confidence he gets in that role."

Harang and Colorado right-hander Juan Nicasio dueled to a 1-1 tie through seven innings in a rematch of their April 30 encounter at Coors Field, when Nicasio threw a career-high 115 pitches over six innings and allowed two runs in a 6-2 win. Nicasio gave up five hits, struck out nine and walked none.

"Juan Nicasio was great," manager Jim Tracy said. "He pounded the strike zone with his fastball. And between his slider and change-up, he had enough going on to keep them at bay the entire time he was out there."

Nicasio, aided by a double play in the first, faced the minimum number of batters through four. But Andre Ethier led off the fifth with a double and scored on a one-out broken-bat bloop single to center by Juan Uribe -- one pitch after catcher Willin Rosario went to the mound to discuss with Nicasio what he should throw on the 0-2 count.

Rockies center fielder Tyler Colvin, making his ninth start of the season because Tracy wanted to get his bat in the lineup, tied it in the seventh with his third homer -- sending a 2-0 delivery deep into the right-field pavilion on a four-seamer that Harang tried to get inside on him but ran back over the plate. Right before the home run, Michael Cuddy ergrounded into a double play following a leadoff single by Todd Helton.

The Rockies wasted a great scoring chance in the third after Rosario led off with a double over the head of center fielder Matt Kemp. Rosario advanced on Nicasio's sacrifice, but was cut down at the plate after first baseman Loney made a diving stop on Marco Scutaro's grounder in the hole and threw a perfect strike to Ellis.

Jonathan Herrera followed with a double, but Troy Tulowitzki flied out with the bases loaded on a fastball down and away after an intentional walk to Carlos Gonzalez. Tulowitzki is 5 for 28 with runners in scoring position, after batting .309 with 144 RBIs in those situations over the previous two seasons. 

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Moyer Still Throwing His Share

Baseball's old man is still fending off Father Time.

Jamie Moyer showed there remains a place for a vintage lefty in a young man's game as the 49-year-old became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league contest.

He threw seven strong innings and Dexter Fowler hit a two-run homer to help the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 5-3 on Tuesday night.

"It's a great night for the Rockies, as far as winning a baseball game. But it's an historic night for one tremendous human being," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "It couldn't happen to a better guy. A more professional person I don't know I've been around."

Moyer (1-2) was sharp all evening as he picked up his 268th career win, tying him with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 34th on the career list.

Relying on a consistent cutter and mixing in a 78-mph fastball, the crafty pitcher gave up just six hits and two runs -- both unearned -- as he kept the Padres hitters at bay and off balance.

"Today, for me, just like it's been my previous two starts -- going out and trying to give my best effort," Moyer said.

That's been a winning recipe for Moyer over a career that's stretched nearly a quarter century and included 689 games.

Anthony Bass, a pitcher half Moyer's age, went five innings and gave up three runs. Bass (0-2) also had a career-high seven strikeouts.

Moyer earned that elusive win for the ages in his third start of the season. His age is 49 years, 150 days old.

That's important to note since before Moyer's effort the oldest pitcher to win a game in the majors was Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Dodgers on Sept. 13, 1932, when he was 49 years, 70 days old.

Not that Moyer knows much about Quinn.

"I wish I was a baseball historian," Moyer said. "I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. As players, we should know more about the game, the history of the game. You need to respect the game and the people that came before you."

He's definitely a part of baseball's history now.

However, he doesn't think this mark will stand the test of time.

"The way athletes are going in today's game, I think it could be broken," he said.

This game got a little dicey at the end.

Rafael Betancourt survived a rocky ninth as he surrendered a solo homer to Nick Hundley and put two more runners on before striking out Yonder Alonso to earn his third save in as many chances.

About the only blemish to the night were two more errors by smooth-fielding shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, giving him six already this season. The Gold Glove winner had six all of last year.

His fielding error in the seventh proved quite costly and nearly spoiled Moyer's place in the record books. With two on and one out, Tulowitzki had a routine double play ball go right through his legs, leading to a run. Jason Bartlett brought in another with a sacrifice fly to right to cut the lead to 3-2.

Moyer ended the threat by getting pinch hitter Jeremy Hermida to ground out to second on a 76-mph cutter.

The Rockies added two insurance runs in the eighth as Michael Cuddyer doubled in a run off former Rockies closer Huston Street and Wilin Rosario added a sacrifice fly.

Away from the mound, Moyer hardly looks like a kid anymore. He has gray streaks in his hair and frequently dons reading glasses that sit perched on the tip of his nose. This betrays his age too: He's on the verge of receiving his AARP card.

But once he steps on the mound that youthful exuberance returns.

He's transformed into a kid again, sprinting out to the mound after each inning. He looked more like a spry rookie than a veteran nearing retirement.

Moyer enticed the Padres to hit into three double plays, despite warnings before the game by Mark Kotsay -- the one player who's consistently hit Moyer -- to remain patient. Then again, it's difficult to lay off a pitch that looks so juicy.

The aged wonder used his wealth of experience to his advantage against the young Padres, six of whom weren't even born when Moyer made his major league debut in 1986. That included Bass, who has fond memories of Coors Field after winning his debut in the hitter friendly stadium last June.

Kotsay's first plate appearance of the season was a single in the opening inning. Kotsay was activated off the disabled list on Monday after missing the first 10 games with a strained right calf muscle.

That his first hit should be against Moyer hardly comes as a surprise since the 36-year-old Kotsay has a .583 lifetime average against Moyer. They even exchanged friendly grins after each of Kotsay's two singles.

"He wears me out. He knows it. I know it," Moyer said. "We joke in the offseason."

Kotsay also has a lot of respect for Moyer.

"It says something about how much he loves to compete and his willingness to work, and at 49, to go out and throw the ball and have success," said Kotsay, who faced the veteran for the first time since June 13, 2006, when Kotsay was with the Oakland A's and Moyer a member of the Seattle Mariners.

Before the game, Kotsay was giving pointers to his impressionable teammates on how to hit Moyer's methodical pitches.

"Be patiently aggressive," Andy Parrino recounted. "Make him come to us a little bit more. Oh, and make him stay in the strike zone."

Moyer doesn't have a blazing fastball, but he does have this -- pinpoint precision.

Padres manager Bud Black certainly appreciates the cleverness of Moyer, marveling from the dugout at the vintage pitcher who went to spring training without a guaranteed roster spot and performed his way onto the team. He missed all of 2011 as he recovered from a surgically repaired ligament in his elbow.

"It's a great story," Black said. "It's wonderful that he's continued to get the results needed to stay in the major leagues. This is a performance-driven game and the last 15 years of his career have been outstanding."

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