Lo Duca: Tracy Not to Blame

Managers are put under the microscope when teams fail to meet expectations, and Jim Tracy understands the rules.

Players and officials said the Dodger manager has handled the club well in a disappointing 17-17 start, but fans and owners expect results.

“I don’t know how anyone could think that Trace is the problem. We just haven’t hit like we know we’re going to,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “We know the fans are frustrated, and we’re frustrated too, but Trace isn’t up there hitting for us, throwing it or fielding it.

“He puts the lineup up, and he’s done a fine job. Obviously, the manager is a big part, but he also doesn’t get you through slumps. You have to do that. The team has to do that. It falls on our shoulders. It has nothing to do with him.”

However, with News Corp. accelerating its efforts to sell the franchise, Tracy’s future, and that of the current regime, could hinge on whether the Dodgers qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1996.

“There is no bigger critic of me than myself,” Tracy said. “If I walk out [of his office] and feel like there was a stone that I left unturned that would have helped us win, or quite possibly helped us to get beat, that would keep me up every minute of the night. I can tell you that in the three years I’ve managed this club, there have been very few times that I walked out of this room and felt that way.”

General Manager Dan Evans is happy with Tracy.

“What has really impressed me about Jim is that he has not changed his style, whatsoever, or overreacted to this stretch of the schedule where we’re not hitting like we know we can,” Evans said. “That stability will pay off as the season goes on.”

Tracy is confident in his performance.

“Before I go home, I look at that mirror every night and say to myself, ‘I did everything that I could to give my team a chance to win,’ ” he said. “But there does come a point in time where it’s about the pitcher against the hitter.”

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Although some baseball officials believe News Corp. is close to completing a deal, possibly within the month, a spokesman for the commissioner’s office said it has not been informed of a definitive timetable.

Malcolm Glazer, owner of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, radio entrepreneur Jeffrey Smulyan, the former owner of the Seattle Mariners, and real estate mogul Alan Casden are considered the most aggressive bidders. News Corp. is in negotiations with representatives from each group.

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Catcher Todd Hundley, on the 15-day disabled list because of an irritated sciatic nerve, needs more rest before the club determines when he should begin a rehabilitation program, Tracy said. Surgery has not been ruled out.... Darren Dreifort plans to test his sore right knee in a bullpen session today.