Thoughts on Chad Tracy

[The Commish]

I'm beginning to wonder if Chad Tracy is really our third baseman of the future, or for that matter should be. There are certain positions on the field that have expectations as a hitter. Typically your corner infielders and corner outfielders should be providing the majority of your power in your lineup. All of our corner positions are significantly underpowered except for Quentin who has yet to play a full season. Chad has always hit for a nice average, but his power numbers are not what they should be (at least this year). This problem is firther magnified by Chad's lack of consistancy at third base, as seen by his 19 errors this year (only A-Rod has more with 21).

Ideally I see Chad as a left fielder because he has an average arm and lacks the speed to cover a lot of ground. However we are stacked with outfield prospects that appear to be the real deal (of course that always remains to be seen) Though he doesn't have the power, his average should keep him in any lineup. He has a very reasonable contract (will make $13.25mil over 3 years after this season) which makes him both a luxury to this team and an asset.

Around the trade deadline his name surfaced a couple of times. How true these rumors were we will never know. However I do think he garners interest from other clubs. I am not necessarily advocating trading him, but I am not opposed to it for various reasons. He's a nice player to have, but that mentality doesn't exactly bring you championships. How do you guys view Chad's role in the future of this organization?

And I'm not bringing this up to be negative, but I am curious because Chad has had somewhat of a down year and the front office has been giving mixed messages on how they feel about him. I just want to gauge your opinions as well.

 

[Ryanwb]

I wonder if Upton could have transitioned to 3B instead of the outfield.... Tracy had a lot of momentum going into the season but he didn't bring it

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The problem is Tracy is not a middle of the order guy and that's where he is being played because he's the best (relatively speaking) power hitter on the team. Put him back in the #2 hole with some protection behind him and he'll be fine.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

I agree with you Mao. It seems like he is trying to play a role that he is not suited for. And since its hard to play the fourth/fifth hitter and pretend to be a 2-hole hitter, he seems to be having an identity crisis. I think that long term he will be fine. It seems to me that he has really lengthened his swing lately to his detriment.

 

[AZZenny]

He also commented either tail end of last year or early this year that he was trying to .....

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be more aggressive.

That was what he was being encouraged to do -- that he never especially saw himself as a power hitter, but he was working on it.

 

[Nasser22]

It doesen't really matter to me if the 3rd baseman isn't a power hitter as long as we get it from other guys. What bugs me is his defense. He's a real liability there. He was good in the outfield and even better as a first baseman but I'm not so sure where they would put him with so many outfield prospects and Conor Jackson.

Tracy is one of my favorite players and I love him as a hitter. Once we gets some better hitters in the line-up and put him as 2nd or 5th in the batting order I think he'll go back to .310, 28, 100+ which is pretty good but they just have to see how good Conor Jackson will be. If CoJack doesen't improve and play like the big prospect he was they can put Tracy at first next season or the year after and find a 3rd baseman somewhere else(FA, trade, farm). I'd hate to trade Tracy but if he finishes off the season strong then they may get a good deal out of him. I have the same opinion on him getting traded as Marion. To me they are really important to the team but I'd trade them if the right offer comes up.

He's a strong doubles hitter who can get them over the wall when he makes contact. It's unfortunate we didn't have a better power hitter and had to force him to be "more agressive".

 

[TucsonDevil]

Is it too late to recall the trade of Lyle Overbay? It seems we made a poor move with that one... I remember what we gave to Milwaukee for that trade, but what did we get in return?

It seems to me that Chad's defense is decent, but his throws are bad... that is a mental mistake, a "lack of confidence" or "overthinking" error, not a lack of skill or arm strength. I fear mental weakness more than physical. I do think Chad will be fine. I also think Cojack will work through his mistakes through this year and Spring Training. I would hate to see us unload Tracy only to have him shine on another club - ala Overbay.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Is it too late to recall the trade of Lyle Overbay? It seems we made a poor move with that one... I remember what we gave to Milwaukee for that trade, but what did we get in return?

29 games of Richie Sexson.

 

[BC867]

Is it too late to recall the trade of Lyle Overbay? It seems we made a poor move with that one... I remember what we gave to Milwaukee for that trade, but what did we get in return?

The potential of having a power hitter like Richie Sexson hitting behind Gonzo in the batting order.

It's too bad it didn't last, but that's no reason for not making the trade.

You win some . . . you lose some . . . and some get rained out!

 

[ActingWild]

Didn't we also send Capuano, Counsell and Spivey in that trade?

 

[devilfan02]

Overbay
Capuano
Spivey
Counsell
Miller
And one other I can't recall

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Overbay, Capuano, Spivey, Counsell, Miller, De La Rosa for Sexson, Varner, Nance.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

29 games of Richie Sexson.

And one monster shot off of the scoreboard in center. In the end, too high a price.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Overbay, Capuano, Spivey, Counsell, Miller, De La Rosa for Sexson, Varner, Nance.

Were charges ever brought against the Brewers for "Highway robbery" of the D-Backs. HOLLY CRAP!

 

[The Commish]

Were charges ever brought against the Brewers for "Highway robbery" of the D-Backs. HOLLY CRAP!

The one guy I really didn't want included in that deal was Capuano. Everyone else I really wasn't bothered by.

 

[The Commish]

Promising year becomes a struggle for Tracy

Promising year becomes a struggle for Tracy

John Gambadoro
Special for azcentral.com
Aug. 28, 2006 11:14 AM


There was a time when I fully expected Chad Tracy to win a batting title in the major leagues. He had burst on to the scene in the big leagues in 2004 after tearing up the minor leagues, and he had such a sweet swing.

He reminded me in many ways of Bill Buckner, who should be remembered for being a great hitter over a 22-year major league career. Buckner wasn't much of a home-run hitter, never hitting more than 18 in any season. But seven times in his career he hit over .300, and in 1980 he won the National League batting crown with a .324 average. Buckner was mainly an outfielder/first baseman but he had that sweet left-handed swing and he rarely struck out, almost always putting the ball in play. In fact over his career, Buckner struck out just 453 times, never more than 39 in any season.

Tracy came up the majors as the same type of player. He hit for average and rarely struck out. In Double-A El Paso in 2002 he hit .344 with just 51 strikeouts in 514 at-bats. The next year in Triple-A Tucson he hit .324 with just 52 strikeouts in 522 at-bats. Tracy was on the fast track to the big leagues. He made it up the following season and as a rookie and hit a very respectable .285 with just 60 strikeouts in 481 at-bats. It seemed destined that Tracy was on the verge of being one of the better hitters in the game. He had just eight home runs that first season, but no one had ever considered him a home-run hitter. He lacked power but was a good line-drive gap-to-gap hitter. In fact the most home runs he had ever hit in the minor leagues were 10 with Tucson in 2003.

The Diamondbacks figured Tracy as a solid No. 2 hitter, a selective hitter who could wear a pitcher down and get a runner from first to third to set the tables for the 3-4-5 hitters. But last year Tracy had a power surge as he hit an unexpected 27 home runs. The best part about last season was that his average climbed from his rookie year. He hit .308 in a full season of 503 at-bats and struck out 78 times. The strikeout numbers were up a little bit but not an alarming rate, and when you factored in the power outburst it was well worth it.

Year three was supposed to be the breakout year for the Diamondbacks' rising star. He had finally been given a full-time position after being jerked around the last couple of years by having to play first base and the outfield - a la Buckner. He was back at his natural position of third base and he finally had to stop worrying about which glove to bring to the ballpark.

Flash forward to Saturday night. Arizona trails the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2, in the bottom of the 8th inning. Stephen Drew leads off with a single, advances to second on Eric Byrnes sacrifice and scores on a hit by Orlando Hudson. Luis Gonzalez walks to put runners on first and second with one out for Tracy. With a chance to give the Diamondbacks the lead with a base hit, Tracy strikes out on an inside pitch not even close to the plate. The Diamondbacks strand Hudson and Gonzalez and the Dodgers win the game with a run in the ninth.

That scenario has played out quite a few times for Tracy and Diamondbacks. And this season Tracy has taken a step back after two terrific years to start his career. Is it an aberration? Possibly. Tracy is too good of a hitter to be striking out as many times as he has. To date he has whiffed an alarming 113 times in 503 at-bats. That's 35 more strikeouts in the same number of at bats as last season. Plus his average is down a full 32 points from last year, sitting at .278 after Saturday's game. And the home-run numbers are down as well as he has 15 and is on pace to finish with 19.

Part of the reason for the Diamondbacks offensive struggles this season is Tracy's down year. He got off to a fast start, hitting .306 in April, but his average in the month of May was .287. In June he hit .243 and July's batting average was .258.

Making matters worse for Tracy is that the transition to full-time third base has not been smooth. Tracy leads the National League in errors by a third-baseman with 22. This a year after Troy Glaus led the league in errors while playing the same position for Arizona.

With Shawn Green now traded and Craig Counsell and Luis Gonzalez on the way out, Tracy will become one of the veterans next year along with Johnny Estrada and Eric Byrnes. He may not be a vocal leader in the clubhouse but he should be a guy that leads by example and on the field. Tracy is a special player with the ability to spray the ball to all fields

While many teams like to get power from their corner infield spots, the Diamondbacks would be more than happy to have Tracy be the player he was when he came up. The player they expected would be in the top 10 in batting every year. That player hits for average and doesn't strike out. It's only one year in what will be a long career, but when this season is over Tracy has to figure out what type of player he wants to be.

 

[BC867]

Promising year becomes a struggle for Tracy

John Gambadoro
Special for azcentral.com
Aug. 28, 2006 11:14 AM ... when this season is over Tracy has to figure out what type of player he wants to be.

How about putting the onus on the Manager, to use him effectively?

Chad Tracy doesn't impress me as a free spirit. I'm sure he does what he's told.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

• Buck Showalter looks like he still may have some power in Texas. Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix (not to mention Soriano), neither a Showalter favorites, are gone. And now Hank Blalock is on the block. So it would be surprising if Showalter paid for Texas' lack of a pennant push.

Anyone interested besides me?

 

[hafey]

can't see how blalock is an upgrade. him and tracy are pretty much the same player.

 

[The Commish]

I would take Blalock over Chad IMO.

 

[hafey]

OBP/SLG/OPS

Tracy is a career .348/.466/.814
Blalock has been .339/.464/.803 in his career.

It would appear that they are very even. Blalock is 6 months younger so no difference there and has generally played with better hitters. Another case of the grass not being greener.

 

[devilfan02]

OBP/SLG/OPS

Tracy is a career .348/.466/.814
Blalock has been .339/.464/.803 in his career.

It would appear that they are very even. Blalock is 6 months younger so no difference there and has generally played with better hitters. Another case of the grass not being greener.

How is Blalock defensively? Not sure if I'd hasle with that trade myself

 

[BC867]

It's about a week after the last post to this thread, and here's what AzCentral.com has to say about Tracy's role in yet another come-from-behind victory by the opponent. What's this, six in a row?

A key play came with two out, one run in and runners at first and second, when Josh Willingham hit a high-hopper to third baseman Chad Tracy. Uggla, running from second to third, dodged the grounder as he ran past Tracy, who hesitated before throwing late to first.

How would you like to be a Pitcher on a team that seems unequipped to provide a satisfactory starting and relieving staff, or how to provide leadership to them . . . and have weak fielding at the corners on top of that? It's got to be demoralizing.

Chad doesn't belong in the infield, either at 3B or 1B. Let's move him to a team looking for either a line-drive hitting (if a new Manager can convince him to go back to what he was before-Melvin) LF, RF or designated hitter.

 

[Nasser22]

I'd be fine with him at first. He wasn't that bad at all and that was his only season playing there. I'm still a Chad Tracy fan and I believe he can get his hitting back.

 

[devilfan02]

I'd be fine with him at first. He wasn't that bad at all and that was his only season playing there. I'm still a Chad Tracy fan and I believe he can get his hitting back.

Not at Connor Jacksons expense. Anyone who wants to give up on him after a year is crazy. I think Tracy can get his bat back but he has no position