Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Jim Tracy Click photo for larger image.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jim Tracy is planted next to the pitching machine, hands on knees, bill down, eyes focused intently on the batter.

At the plate is Matt Capps, a reliever in the Pirates' system who spent most of last year with Class AA Altoona.

The machine releases the ball, and Capps squares to bunt.

A bloop back to the cage.

"Keep that bat still!" Tracy shouts.

A squibber at the plate.

"Back foot up! Keep your lower half athletic! Soften that bat!"

Capps puts down a beauty that dies just inside the third-base dirt.

"OK!"

Then, another.

And another.

Tracy stops the session, strides to the box and places his arm around Capps.

"Let me ask you a question, Matt Capps," he says, loud enough for the dozen or so pitchers nearby to hear. "Were you that good yesterday?"

Capps shakes his head.

"I thought not. But you'll be even better tomorrow. Who's next?"

First lesson

The Pirates' annual minicamp that ended yesterday, Tracy's first on-field experience as the team's manager, left no doubt as to who will call the shots. And the passion with which he will insist that his teachings be taken seriously.

"As small an aspect of the game as bunting might appear to be to a lot of people, it's really important to me," Tracy said later. "The complexion of a game can change because you have the ability to advance a runner 90 feet. It's huge."

From bunting drills to nearly every aspect of the five days of workouts spread across the Pirate City complex, even those involving injured players, it all appeared to operate with the efficiency of the German train system.

Players talked among themselves starting early in the morning about a meeting scheduled for 9:50 a.m. sharp, as well as where they needed to be 15 minutes after that. Coaches were given specific assignments, too, each knowing precisely what to stress and when to raise a red flag. Even the path that the three groups of pitchers took in shifting from one mound to the next was mapped out.

And somehow, despite the regimen, Tracy helped to keep the general mood incessantly upbeat, from roaring approval or cracking jokes to the unusual drill conducted Saturday in which he swatted liners and grounders at pitchers with their backs to a fence less than 50 feet away. It was a test of their reflexes that had the group chattering and laughing throughout.

The coaches were involved in all this, too.

Players' drills -- even the pitching sessions -- frequently were interrupted, making for the most visible difference between this camp and the one last year under Lloyd McClendon and his staff. And it did not matter who that player was. Pitching coach Jim Colborn climbed the mound several times to stop Oliver Perez and Kip Wells when he detected something amiss, and he did likewise for the journeymen.

That approach, the coaches say, starts with Tracy.

"He's not leaving one stone unturned," hitting coach Jeff Manto said. "Just because these are major-league players, he's not taking for granted that they know how to do things the way he expects them to be done."

First impression

Tracy seemed to make quite the positive impact on the players.

"I'm very impressed," starter Zach Duke said. "They're very professional. They have a plan, and they know how to make it work. It's definitely a good atmosphere to be in."

Asked if that was different than last year, Duke replied, "A little bit, yeah. There's a mood now where you can have fun and get better at the same time. I think that breeds success. That's how it was in the minor leagues in this organization. I really like the direction we're headed."

"It looks like we've got a great staff," catcher Humberto Cota said. "Nothing against the old one, but these are some experienced guys, a manager and coaches that have been there in October. That makes a difference. You can see guys out there listening to every word they say."

Pitcher Terry Adams, who spent 2001 under Tracy while with the Los Angeles Dodgers, expressed no surprise at what he saw in the past week.

"Jim's a worker, and he knows what he wants his work to accomplish," Adams said. "All you have to do in return is work hard for him. If you do that, he'll be in your corner all the way."

Adams described being touched by Tracy's greeting when the two bumped into each other upon arriving at Sarasota's airport early in the week.

"He sat and talked with me for nearly a half-hour, like I was a relative. You know, I was telling some players at dinner the other night that what means the most to you is how he treats you as a person. Everybody gets dealt with fairly. If you have a bad game, he's not going to turn his back on you. He's going to try to help you as a ballplayer and as a person."

The personal touch was a struggle at times for Tracy, but only because of his undying desire to memorize the name of every person he meets.

On the first day, he yelled out congratulations on a successful drill to Matt Peterson by mistakenly addressing him as Josh Sharpless, another 6-foot-5 Class AA pitching prospect.

Still, before anyone could correct him, Tracy sagged his head and shook it twice before yelling out, "Aw, jeez, I'm sorry, Matt. Won't happen again."

Peterson, who said nothing initially and simply took his place in line, laughed.

First priority

Tracy ranked getting to see some of his players atop his list of achievements at this minicamp. Not far behind, he added, was getting to introduce his style of baseball.

They called it "Tracyball" in Los Angeles, where four of his five seasons ended with winning records, and it stresses fundamentals and a team focus in all aspects. Especially when the other team is batting.

"Pitching and defense has been the name of the game in baseball forever. I don't care what level you're playing at," Tracy said. "My philosophy since I started managing has been that, before you can look at any other phases, you've got to feel fairly comfortable that you've got some people who can pitch and you've got to be able to catch the ball. If you can't do either one, your chances of being very good are slim."

He also stressed that all players are treated equally, whether they are in the majors or minors, starters or bench help, young or old. He seemed especially sensitive to the issue of youth, which the Pirates still have in abundance despite an offseason influx of veterans.

"You will never, ever hear the complaining about being young from me. Hey, fine, you're young, so what are you saying? You can't be successful when you're young? You've got to be old before you can become successful? How old you are or how much you make does not play into the success or failure of the team. That comes from how you execute and do the fundamentals."

His message will only amplify, Tracy said, once spring training begins.

"We're hoping they've had a chance to become familiar with us to the point that, in a month, some of this is not new for them. It's a great jump-start, I feel, to what we're going to be all about come February. And what I am very encouraged by is watching this group do things better one day than they did the day before."

With that statement, he removed his cap, rolled his eyes playfully and smiled, adding typical drama to what -- to others, anyway -- might have seemed a rather mundane event.

"This was a tremendous experience. Just tremendous."

Notes

The Pirates' next gathering will come when pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton for spring training Feb. 16. ... Minor-league starter Ron Chiavacci could add his name to the list of Pirates competing in the World Baseball Classic. He is eligible to play for Italy because his grandfather was born in Florence, and that team's management has contacted him about participating. Chiavacci, 27, said he is uncertain if he will go because of the time he could miss in spring training.