No Talk About Tracy Deal Now

Many baseball officials consider the hiring of Manager Jim Tracy to be Chairman Bob Daly’s best move.

General managers and player-personnel executives from other teams have applauded the first-year manager’s performance, saying the Dodgers have responded to Tracy’s consistent approach.

“It looks like he’s a really good fit for them,” San Diego Padre General Manager Kevin Towers said in a recent interview. “They’ve been in it despite some injuries, and it just seems like they’ve really responded to him well.”

But will management reward Tracy for his efforts?

The club’s former bench coach was given only a two-year contract--which included three club option years. The guaranteed portion of the package ends after next season.

It appeared that some in the organization had reservations about Tracy succeeding in the high-pressure role, and a two-year contract would be less expensive to buy out if he flopped.

Because the Dodgers acknowledge Tracy has performed better than they could have expected, would they consider exercising one of the options in the off-season?

“As we’ve said all along, we will not focus on any contracts right now--player, coach, manager or front office,” said Derrick Hall, senior vice president, speaking on behalf of the organization. “We absolutely love Jim Tracy, and we hope he’s our manager for a long time, but we’re focused on the pennant race.

“Jim Tracy’s contract is not an issue. He’s signed through next season. Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda worked under one-year contracts, and those seasons were never labeled as lame-duck seasons.”

However, Alston and Lasorda managed in different eras, and Davey Johnson was given a three-year deal, which the club is paying off this season.

Tracy declined comment on his contract situation, preferring to focus on the team, but acknowledged he’s proud of what the Dodgers have accomplished despite a rash of injuries and off-field distractions.

“I’ve dealt with some things that ... maybe it would have taken some guys five years, or more, to experience all the things that I’ve experienced this year,” he said. “And I’m very grateful for the fact that I have been given the opportunity to prove myself, one way or another.”

Players said Tracy has nothing left to prove.

“You couldn’t put a first-year manager in a more difficult situation than he was in, with all the injuries and the stuff that went on in spring training,” right fielder Shawn Green said. “There has been more turmoil this year, and he’s been able to keep things under control. He’s done a tremendous job.”

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The commissioner’s office accepts the Dodgers’ decision not to stop tonight’s game if Barry Bonds breaks the single-season home run record with his 71st, but sources said the club might be forced to have an on-field, postgame ceremony.

Citing the playoff races and the clubs’ history, the Dodgers rejected baseball’s request to consider stopping games in the three-game series if Bonds hit the record-breaking homer.

It is extremely unlikely that Bonds, who needs four homers to accomplish the feat, would establish the record in the final game of the series, but the commissioner’s office would want something to be worked out if he did.

“There’s a real sensitivity factor,” said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for the commissioner’s office. “It kind of goes back to, a little bit, like what we go through in the postseason as well, if you were to clinch on an opponents’ field.

“For instance, if the Dodgers were to go to the World Series, and [clinched the NL pennant] in San Francisco, we’d wind up doing [a trophy presentation] in the clubhouse for sensitivity reasons.”