Jim Tracy Leading Rockies Back from the Dead

Thankfully for the Colorado Rockies, the grave that they dug themselves through the first two months of 2009 was a shallow one. Now, as they shake the dirt from their jerseys, the team is making a charge up the standings and has turned this deceased season into a summer of the living dead. 

It is hard to fathom the Rockies' recent run, which has seen them win 17 of 18 games, when for much of the franchise's 17-year history, they have struggled and strained to even muster the strength to rap their knuckles on mediocrity's door. 

Even when the hits were falling and Coors Field was rocking, there was always an air of trepidation among fans as to when the other shoe was going to drop. 

Before Rocktober, the Rockies had only enjoyed four winning seasons in their franchise's history. Though the run to the World Series was more fairy tale than fair assessment of the talent the Rockies had compiled on their roster, it gave Rockies fans a taste of success that sweetly stuck in their collective palates.

If you are Charlie or Dick Monfort, the Rockies' Brothers Grimm-like owners, the World Series was the worst thing to happen to their pocketbooks. It forced them to try to make the team better during every offseason instead of signing castoffs and reclamation projects in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle.

The Brothers Monfort followed their World Series offseason by making journeyman reliever Kip Wells their most high-profile acquisition going into 2008. Needless to say, the season was over before it started.

Young players like Troy Tulowitzki and Manny Corpas regressed considerably, and Matt Holliday's looming free agency was enough to put a pallor across the faces of even the most ardent of Rockies supporters.

When Holliday was shipped to the Oakland A's last November for Huston Street, Greg Smith, and Carlos Gonzalez, the message was clear from Denver to Durango that 2009 would be a rebuilding year once again in the Rocky Mountains.

With Clint Hurdle seemingly untouchable when it came to making moves within the coaching staff—he came into the season with a career managerial record of 516-597 in seven seasons in Colorado—there did not look to be much change from 2008.

Hurdle's dugout demeanor and acumen as a manager had been thoroughly questioned from players and fans alike, but he was a very intelligent man with a knack for making the media feel welcome with his wit and wisdom, so he escaped the lion's share of criticism for his team's generally poor play.

His consistent lineup changes, hot-and-cold attitude toward players, and intimidating presence eventually wore down his guys to the point where the mere mention of Hurdle's job status during interviews made players bristle.

With the team sitting at 18-28 after a three-game shellacking at the hands of the hated Dodgers, change finally came to Colorado as the hammer came down on Hurdle, paving the way for bench coach Jim Tracy to take the helm of the Rockies' sinking ship.

Not only has Tracy righted the raft, he has also calmed the choppy seas and charted a course for smooth sailing ahead.

Tracy's mild-mannered coaching style has been a welcome addition to a clubhouse that is finally gelling for the first time all season. He has given guys set positions on both the field and the lineup, and they are responding with aplomb. 

According to Tulowitzki, as reported by Troy Renck in Tuesday's Denver Post, Tracy will let you know when you are not playing and explain to you his decision to give his players an off day, which is a far cry from Hurdle's constant lineup shuffling and lack of defined roles.

The proof is in the performance of the team since Tracy took over. With Hurdle, the team was tight and clammed up when the game was on the line en route to an 18-28 record. With Tracy, the team is loose, free, and having fun on the diamond, and their 19-5 record under their new manager can attest to that.

You can bet that the Rockies will (probably) not win 91 of their final 92 games in 2009, but at this point, just being in contention and seeing a confident and calm Rockies ball club is a welcome sight for fans accustomed to counting down the days to Broncos training camp by the time the calendar flips to July.

For now, the Rockies and their fans are just riding the wave.