By Matt Snyder On the heels of losing three straight games in walk-off fashion -- and losing three straight series -- Rockies' manager Jim Tracy is not happy.
"We haven't played worth a [expletive] the last two-plus weeks," Tracy said Sunday, as his still first-place team prepared to face the second-place Giants. But simply clinging to first place isn't enough to set his mind at ease.
“We have long graduated from trying to just be good. We aren’t interested in that. And if guys want to stay around here, they have to look in the mirror and do better,” he said. (Denver Post )
Specifically, Tracy has an issue with Ian Stewart. The 26-year-old third baseman was once one of the top prospects in all of baseball, but has not developed as the Rockies hoped. In fact, he's regressed. In 2009, Stewart hit 25 home runs and drove home 70 in 425 at-bats. This season, Stewart is hitting .079 with an embarrassing .291 OPS. He's struck out 16 times while only collecting three hits and one RBI in 38 at-bats. He did hit well in a quick minor-league stint earlier this season, but 1-15 since his return to the majors.
“I don’t want Ian to hit eighth. But unfortunately he’s not giving me much choice,” Tracy said. “We are getting to the point with him that’s it time for him to fish or cut bait. He’s either going to play his way in or play his way off the team.”
Well, he's certainly doing the latter right now, that's for sure. As long as Tracy continues to put Stewart in the lineup, though, he's got a shot to turn things around.
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