Jim Tracy

So I just watched the end of the Pirates-Reds game, and Jim Tracy did something - or rather didn't do something - that was completely inexcusable.

It's the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates are down 9-8 after leading 6-0 in the first inning. The tying run is on third with one out. Craig Wilson has yet to appear in the game, despite the fact that he's clearly Pittsburgh's second-best hitter. Todd Coffey is trying to close it out with Jeromy Burnitz and someone named Ronny Paulino due up.

Does Craig Wilson pinch-hit? Of course not. Burnitz grounded out on the first pitch he saw, and Paulino grounded out on the second pitch he saw to end the game. Burnitz is left-handed, so I can see why you'd leave him in despite him being an incredible, .196-hitting waste of $6 million, but Paulino? That's just terrible, especially since the only other guy on your bench is your third catcher (Humberto Cota), who I assume you're carrying on your roster for reasons just like this.

Apparently, Tracy does stuff like this all the time, but I was still surprised.