Chad Tracy could have gone another way.
But the Red Sox's interim manager chose the right approach. The one that proved to perfectly complement a night of big steps forward for a team desperately needing to not drift any further back.
"I thought it was weak," Tracy said after his team's 10-3 win over the Tigers on Tuesday. "And I thought everybody saw it -- their side, our side. I think everybody saw it and, yeah, it was weak."
The words were in response to Detroit pitcher Framber Valdez seemingly obviously intentionally hitting Trevor Story with a four-seam fastball (a pitch the lefty hadn't thrown all season) immediately after back-to-back home runs by Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu.
It was matter-of-fact. It was pointed. It was necessary.
Tracy struck the right tone for a team that desperately needs to get back in tune. It was a moment that, through all the chaos and uncertainty, the 40-year-old has been doing a pretty good job in a not-so-easy situation.
Replacing someone as well-respected as Alex Cora is a challenge at any point in the calendar year, but to do it before May hits while trying to manage not only a new team but a new coaching staff is anything but ordinary. Throw in some uncomfortable on- and off-the-field instances, an offense that couldn't score before coming to Comerica Park, and, now, this Valdez-induced discomfort, and it's clear nothing about this assignment is cookie-cutter.
But Tracy has kept a low heart rate through these first nine games as a big-league manager, going 5-4 with a plus-2 run differential.
It's a start, which is exactly what the Red Sox needed ... a start.
"It takes a lot to be in the position he's in right now," said new Worcester manager Iggy Suarez. "Aside from being the baseball guy with the pedigree, I think that the kind of person he is, to be able to connect with people, connect with guys on the team ...
"That what's he done here. That's what I've seen. He's a guy that's very low motor at times. To see him go through it at this level ... He's calm, cool and collected with everything. When everything went down, everything was so fast. I think things were spinning for him. But then I think about a conversation we had quickly in his office. I was like, 'You know, there's no better person right now. You have the ability to slow it down.' I have only been around him for two years, but I felt that, just being around him."
Maybe when the Red Sox decided to move on from Cora and half of his coaching staff, Tracy was ultimately the perfect piece of the puzzle. His father, Jim, certainly was back in 2009, when he took over for a Colorado team that was 18-28, and he went on to finish that regular season with a 74-42 mark on the way to winning the National League Manager of the Year Award.
Chad was just a 24-year-old minor leaguer in the Rangers organization, trying to carve out his place in professional baseball, when his Dad went on that heater. But he has undoubtedly siphoned off some of Jim's experience in Colorado while navigating these past couple of weeks.
It was understood that Red Sox's world wasn't going to be turned inside-out just because Tracy was not at the helm. There were subtle changes, such as dropping Roman Anthony to the No. 3 spot while prioritizing playing time for Jarren Duran. But, ultimately, success was going be predicated on hitting the ball over the fence on a more consistent basis.
The Red Sox did that against Valdez and the Tigers, hitting three home runs for just the second time this season. And while they were doing that, Tracy was passing another test - making sure his new players knew this wasn't an outsider looking in. He was one of them.
Tracy has understood the assignment, and for the past few days, the same can finally be said for the Red Sox.
"They didn't hesitate; they were out there. Nothing escalated; they weren't happy about it, obviously," Tracy said of the kerfuffle involving Valdez. "But they were there, which was important."
"We’re putting at-bats together as a team," Ceddanne Rafaela told reporters after managing three hits, including a first-inning, three-run homer. “That’s what we’re capable of, and if we continue to do this, we’re going to be in a great spot at the end of September. I believe in this group. We’re going to be in a great spot."
