DEFINITELY A HIT TRACY MANAGING TO TURN DODGERS INTO CONTENDERS.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

When the Dodgers hired Jim Tracy as manager in the fall, fans rightly asked: ``Jim Who?''

How about Jim Dandy?

Rookie manager Jim Tracy, holding mirrors in one hand and fanning the smoke with the other, is the leading candidate for National League Manager of the Year.

The surprising Dodgers (58-44 for the season and 15-7 in July going into action Thursday night) have overcome distraction with the ouster of General Manager Kevin Malone and a litany of injuries to key players to play their best baseball since Rupert Murdoch and the Fox Group paid $311 million for the team in 1997.

He has put the Dodgers in contention for first place in the National League West although the team has lost 418 man-games to injury.

The steadying influence of the unheralded Tracy, who played eight seasons in the minors, parts of two seasons with the Chicago Cubs and two years in Japan, gets a lot of the credit from players and fans alike.

``I don't think anybody knew how he would handle these situations,'' Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros said.

``Nobody could say that they honestly knew how things would work out. He's been dealt situations that managers in the game 20 years don't experience in their entire career, and he's had to deal with them in a matter of three or four months.

``If anybody could have predicted he was going to act and do as well as he's done in these first couple of months, then those same people should have hired him about 10 years ago as a manager.''

Tracy, 45, is giving credence to parallels drawn the day he was hired. Dodgers officials said they hoped he would become another Walter Alston, who like Tracy, was an Ohio native. Or a Tommy Lasorda.

Dodgers chairman Bob Daly wanted his manager to restore dignity and create stability for a floundering organization that was transformed by the Fox Group into a laughingstock.

It's happened, and quicker than anyone thought it could.

``Jim Tracy is an incredible human being with a huge heart and a tremendous mind for the game,'' Dodgers Senior Vice President Derrick Hall said.

``He has quickly earned the respect of every one of his players, everyone in the front office and seemingly everyone in the baseball industry. He is a major factor in the stabilization that has taken place within the organization and, more importantly, on the field.''

If you have an extra cup of water, bring it to him. With a simple touch he might turn it to gold. Consider:

-- Paul Lo Duca. The catcher had been relegated to backup status in the minors. Now, he's batting .342 with 16 home runs and 51 runs batted in.

-- Journeyman knuckleballer Dennis Springer. The pitcher has played with six teams in seven seasons, and the only reason he's in the majors is because of the rash of injuries to hit the pitching staff. And yet there he was Tuesday night, earning the win by allowing just one run in seven innings.

-- The Dodgers began the season with a National League record $110 million payroll, but the projected team hasn't played together because of injury. Ten of the 25 players on the current roster weren't on the club opening day.

-- No. 1 starter Kevin Brown has been on the disabled list three times and has made four starts since May 29. Andy Ashby and Darren Dreifort, two more big-contract starters making a combined $17.5 million, are out for the season after elbow surgeries.

-- Third baseman Adrian Beltre missed the first six weeks of the season because of abdominal surgery. Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, Karros and Lo Duca also have spent time on the disabled list.

Tracy consistently gives all the credit to his players and talks up their newfound team spirit and winning attitude.

``The first thing that we've done with this club is if we feel we have a potential answer in-house, we're looking there first,'' Tracy said. ``I think that sends a very good message to an organization and to a family- oriented type of environment you're trying to create.''

Tracy has also won the strategy game with other managers by manipulating his bench or bullpen to force other teams into precarious situations.

Oakland's Art Howe fell victim earlier this month, winding up with lefty Mark Guthrie facing right-handed batting Marquis Grissom in a crucial late-inning at-bat.

``He would be a tough guy to manage against,'' said Dodgers bench coach Jim Riggleman, a former manager with San Diego and the Chicago Cubs. ``He's not going to miss anything. He's always going to have his bullpen ready. He's always going to have his pinch-hitters ready, and have his infielders where they should be. You're not going to run on his pitchers, and that's an attention to detail.''

Maybe Tracy's biggest asset this season has been the way he's been able to make the Dodgers a cohesive unit. You need only look at his handling of one situation in spring training to see how valuable he's been.

Gary Sheffield torched the organization and provided daily updates of places he wanted to play other than Los Angeles during spring training.

But Tracy kept the team focused and insulated from the comments. In fact, the incident has all but been forgotten by Dodgers fans. Tracy has no doghouse, except for the one at his Claremont home for his beagle, Maggie.

Tracy is a communicator, willing to explain his thought process to any player not in the lineup or who thinks he's being misused.

He challenges players in closed-door meetings that rarely seep outside the clubhouse, like when he told Shawn Green more production was needed because Sheffield and Karros were ailing. Green has responded, leading the Dodgers with 28 homers and 78 RBI.

``It's gratifying (the players) have the confidence in me that I'm going to put any individual ego out there aside and do what I feel is best for this club in any situation or any given day, but I still throw most of it right back at them,'' Tracy said.

``I haven't thrown a pitch. I haven't gone to the plate and hit. I haven't fielded a fly ball or a ground ball. I haven't been asked to hit or bunt or hit-and-run. I've asked them to do it, but I haven't gone out there and done it.''

Tracy might be in his first season as a big-league manager, but seven years' experience as a minor-league manager and an additional six as a bench coach for Felipe Alou and Davey Johnson, two highly respected managers, taught Tracy plenty.

``When it came time to decide on it, I told (president) Bob Graziano, Bob Daly and Kevin Malone, This is your man,'' said Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager and Dodgers senior vice president.

``He had all the requirements to be a great manager. I was one of the guys in favor of him getting the job because I liked his style. I'm proud of him.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Despite a staff plagued by injuries, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy has kept the team contending in the NL West.

(2 -- color) Dodgers officials credit manager Jim Tracy with restoring dignity and creating stability for a floundering organization.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer