ST. LOUIS - Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Jim Tracy slapped Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez during a visit to a mobile Pirates field hospital last night, accusing Perez of cowardice, and cursing him in a loud voice that caused Perez to dissolve into tears.Supreme Commander of Major League Baseball Donald Selig announced this morning that Tracy had been immediately relieved of his command of the beleaguered Pirates, pending an investigation.
According to witnesses, Tracy had just completed an emotional visit to the bedside of injured first baseman Sean Casey, pausing to plant a kiss on his forehead and place a bobblehead likeness of himself on Casey’s nightstand. As he left, he saw Perez sitting in a corner, trembling. Tracy asked Perez about the nature of his condition. Perez allegedly replied “It’s my nerves, sir. I can’t take it anymore.” Tracy flew into a rage. “Your nerves?” he snarled. “Why you’re nothing but a g**damn coward!” He then slapped Perez twice across the face with his glove, ordering Pirate medical personnel to “send this yellow bastard back to the front of the pitching rotation.” Tracy insisted he wouldn’t allow “this yellow bastard” to “stink up a place of honor!”
A spokesman for the volatile Tracy, nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts and Cliches” by his men, later said Tracy that was “contrite.” He also said Tracy would do “whatever Selig wanted to get back in the game.” It is believed that Selig will insist that Tracy make a formal apology to the men serving in the Major League Baseball Players Association before he is reinstated. A decision on Tracy’s status is expected before the All-Star Game.
