by BY DERRICK GOOLD ¿ dgoold@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8285 , St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The clock strikes 61, and he would be looking elsewhere.

"Are these players better than I've been watching the first two months of the season? That's what I had to ask myself," Tracy said in the Rockies' dugout during the Cardinals' visit to Coors Field in late September. "That was for selfish reasons. ... Can I make them play a little bit better than we've seen up to this point? When I answered that question with a 'yes,' I called the man back and I told him I'd be in the office that afternoon to manage the ballclub for the rest of the season."

Marooned at the bottom of the National League West when O'Dowd made the call to replace manager Clint Hurdle with bench coach Tracy, the reanimated Rockies turned the league's best second-half record into the franchise's third postseason berth. As the Rockies open the National League Division Series today at Philadelphia in a first-round matchup of the previous two NL pennant winners, Tracy is the leading candidate for NL manager of the year, and his title is still interim.

After accepting the job, Tracy arrived at Coors Field to guide a team 10 games beneath .500. He refused to move into the manager's office, and instead continued working from his spot in the coaches' room. Hurdle had led a young team to the pennant in 2007. Hurdle had personally invited Tracy, who spent 2008 out of professional Baseball, to join his staff. Hurdle's unceremonious firing was going to be a delicate land mine to skirt.

Tracy did that with a team meeting that, several Rockies said, still resonated with them in late September as they secured a playoff berth.

"I talked to them about the way I wanted the game to be played," Tracy said. "I wanted to see the game played unselfishly ... but I also wanted them to play the game and not be afraid to fail. Don't play the game afraid to fail. I saw underachievement, and I saw at times players doing some things that suggest that they just wanted to be right. I stressed to them that they should play the game fearless."

Said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki: "He didn't see any reason with the players we had in the locker room why we were losing games. I think as a team we felt that same way. It was reassuring to hear somebody else say it."

The Rockies won that night against San Diego, they won that series against San Diego and started what would become an 11-game winning streak. In Tracy's first 24 games, the Rockies won 19. They went 28-11 and staked an early claim to the wild card that they resigned themselves to after a failed, late-September threat to Los Angeles for the NL West title.

There was more to the winning than playing "fearless."

There were also the players. Tracy reached or unleashed Rockies who had been minimized or struggling before May 29. Third baseman Ian Stewart started 25 of the Rockies' first 48 games. Under Tracy, he started 70 of 80 from June 3 to Sept. 7, responding with 16 homers, a .523 slugging percentage and 44 RBIs. Clint Barmes settled in at second, enhancing the team's defense, and hit 23 homers. Rookie Dexter Fowler continued as the team's leadoff hitter, raising his on-base percentage from .336 just before Hurdle was fired to .372 in Tracy's first 79 games.

Tulowitzki, a slow starter in his career, was hitting .227 on May 28. As much as Tracy managed the Rockies, Tulowitzki led them. From May 29 to Sunday, Tulowitzki hit .322, slugged .612 and had 27 homers and 77 RBIs.

"When Jim came in, a lot of the guys felt like this was a new beginning," said starting pitcher Jason Marquis. "Maybe the safety net wasn't there as much. They brought Jim in and gave him the reins to win. He turned a lot of talented tools-type players into talented Baseball players."

Tracy was no novice in the role.

In 2004, his fourth season with the Dodgers, Tracy led them to the playoffs and a first-round loss to the Cardinals . He handled a combustible situation that year as well - the day the first-place Dodgers sent starters Juan Encarnacion and Paul LoDuca to Florida at the trade deadline. Until May 29 of this season, Tracy said, that was his worst day in Baseball. But the Dodgers recovered. Tracy's last year in LA was 2005, and he surfaced in Pittsburgh as the Pirates manager, only to struggle there because, as he said, "we didn't have enough tools in the shed."

He spent 2008 with his family until Hurdle invited him to be his bench coach. That invite made O'Dowd's offer all the more difficult to take. And when he did, Tracy knew he would have to defuse potential turmoil in the clubhouse. He did, players said, not only with the meeting but with his demeanor.

Tracy kept his distance but remained a presence.

He lets players "police themselves" off the field, said one Rockie, even as he demands precision on the field. With outfielder Brad Hawpe struggling, Tracy wrestled with a decision to remove him for a pinch-hitter in late September. The next day, Hawpe was tagged with a tough strike call, and before he could voice displeasure, Tracy was there, hollering from the dugout, risking an ejection even as he intervened for his player. Hawpe stepped in and hit a home run.

It was Hawpe who saw a change coming for the team. On June 4, the last-place Rockies arrived at Busch Stadium for a four-game series against the Cardinals . Hawpe said the club had talent beyond its record; the talent just hadn't meshed. The Rockies swept that four-game series and then swept the next series in Milwaukee.

"We were in a huge feeling-out process on that road trip," Tracy said. "It was a road trip that could have had us playing Baseball (in September) taking a look at younger players. Which one of those games during the 11-game winning streak could have derailed the train just long enough to where we stumble?

"We got to St. Louis, and we played hard. We played correctly. We put ourselves in position to win," Tracy concluded. "All I asked them to do from there was go out and continue the process, see where it takes us."

And when they got home from that trip, riding a winning streak, Tracy moved into the manager's office.

THE SCHEDULE

Day Visitor - Pitcher Home - Pitcher Time, TV

Wed. Colorado - Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12) Philadelphia - Cliff Lee (7-4) 1:37 p.m., TBS

Thu. Colorado - Aaron Cook (11-6) Philadelphia Cole Hamels (10-11) 1:37 p.m., TBS

Sat. Philadelphia - Joe Blanton (12-8) Colorado - Jason Hammel (10-8) 8:37 p.m., TBS

Sun.* Philadelphia - Pedro Martinez (5-1) Colorado - Jason Marquis (15-13) TBA, TBS

Tue.* Colorado - Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12) Philadelphia - Cliff Lee (7-4). TBA, TBS

*If necessary.

THE SKINNY

Philadelphia won the season series 4-2 and has taken nine of the last 11 games against Colorado. Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has hit .415 with four homers, 17 RBIs and an .803 slugging percentage in that span.

The Phillies went 2-1 against the Clint Hurdle-managed Rockies and 2-1 against the Jim Tracy-managed Rockies. The biggest difference for the Rockies under Tracy is the pitching staff performed better. The Rockies were 18-28 with a 4.93 ERA for Hurdle and 74-42 with a 3.95 ERA for Tracy.

Philadelphia has pitching concerns. Cliff Lee, the key midsummer acquisition from Cleveland, went 2-4 with a 6.13 ERA in his final seven starts. Cole Hamels, the star of last year's postseason run, was 2-3 with a 4.58 ERA in his last six starts.

Philadelphia wins if - The offense, which led the NL with 5.06 runs a game, scores enough to keep the closer situation from being an issue. The Phillies lost 10 games when leading after eight innings, most in the majors, and manager Charlie Manuel has lost faith in Brad Lidge as the closer.

Colorado wins if - Righthander Aaron Cook can duplicate his last two starts. After missing one month because of a strained shoulder, Cook allowed one run in 13 innings and had opponents beating his power sinker into the ground.

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