NOTEBOOK: FIRST HALF WAS THE PITTS FOR TRACY.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH -- Jim Tracy's office in the home clubhouse at PNC Park was occupied by someone else Tuesday.

Two someone elses, in fact, both of them big-league managers who long ago achieved a status Tracy is years away from claiming.

Steel City icons.

Sitting behind the desk was Houston's Phil Garner, the scrappy second baseman and fan favorite for the Pirates' last world championship team in 1979, who was about to manage the National League squad in the All-Star Game. Sitting on a nearby couch was Chuck Tanner, the man who managed the Pirates to that title and whom Garner got permission to bring to this event as an honorary coach.

Meanwhile, Tracy dressed down the hall, in the coaches' room. And if the first-year Pirates skipper was concerned about what kind of reception he would get from the hometown fans during formal, pregame introductions, he wasn't about to show it.

``Our fans are terrific here,'' said Tracy, who took the Pirates' job barely a week after he was fired by the Dodgers last October. ``Let's face it, it has been a frustrating thing for a number of years. If you could accelerate everything and make (the rebuilding process) much, much faster, you would love to do it. But you can't.''

As his club was stumbling to a 30-60 first-half mark, Tracy drew criticism from the local media for what was perceived as a tendency to self-promote -- manifested in his frequent citing of his fairly successful, five-year run with the Dodgers -- and blame his players for the club's failures, something Tracy says is part of his effort to change the culture for a franchise that will finish below .500 for the 14th consecutive season.

But Tracy said he and his staff have no regrets about the way they have handled things.

``There isn't anything you can do differently,'' he said. ``When mistakes are made, you have to talk to the guy and show him that a different path might have led to success.''

No trade: Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti denied a claim by newly acquired catcher Toby Hall, reported in Sunday's editions of the Riverside Press Enterprise and today's editions of the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, that Hall's agents have requested that the Dodgers trade him.

Hall's agents are Sam and Seth Levinson.

``My agents talked to the GM and asked for a trade,'' Hall told the Tribune on Monday. ``They were told, `We asked for Toby, we got Toby, and we're not trading Toby.' ''

But Colletti denied that any such conversation took place.

``I haven't talked to Sam Levinson since the day of the trade (June 26),'' said Colletti, adding that the subject of another trade didn't come up in that conversation.

Hall was an everyday catcher for Tampa Bay, but after the trade was relegated to backup duty behind Russell Martin. He has started two games for the Dodgers. He also entered for the final two innings of a third game after pinch hitting with the Dodgers leading by eight runs, an assignment that further rankled Hall.

``I need more respect than that,'' he said.

Hall, who is eligible for arbitration after the season, told the Tribune he expects the Dodgers to non-tender him and make him a free agent if he isn't traded.

Fitting sendoff: Commissioner Bud Selig said the announcement of a site selection for the 2008 All-Star Game is coming ``shortly.'' Don't be surprised if it's Yankee Stadium, which last hosted the game in 1977 and will be replaced by a new park in 2009.

Asked specifically if the game will be at the historic park in the Bronx, Selig said, ``It's a very intriguing possibility.''

San Francisco's AT&T Park will host next year's All-Star Game.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1) Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels gives the American League All-Stars a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning with his home run off Brad Penny.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

(2) HOFFMAN

Box:

(1) GOAT

(2) MVPS 

(3) AMERIAN 3, NATIONAL 2