i thought that article was surprising. i had heard of disputed
between EK and tracy but not between Grud and tracy. Mark seemd to
be holding back in some parts of the article too.

-Emily

--- In markgrudzielanekfanclub@yahoogroups.com, chewiesgurl
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
> I was just wondering if anyone has read the article in the LA Times
> by Ross Newhan, titled "Tracy and Dodgers Can Mark His Words"?
> If not, here it is:
> "Tracy and Dodgers Can Mark His Words
> Ross Newhan, LA Times
>
> MESA, Ariz. -- This was the first day of his new life in the
uniform
> of the Chicago Cubs -- darker blue replacing Dodger blue -- and
there
> was much that Mark Grudzielanek couldn't say with certainty.
>
> He couldn't say if he will play second base, return to shortstop or
> move to third base. He couldn't say if he will be playing all three
> positions at times or watching others play them.
>
> At 32, a veteran of eight major league seasons, Grudzielanek is
much
> like Eric Karros, who also came to the Cubs in a trade in which the
> Dodgers cleaned out the right side of the infield.
>
> They are both back to having to show what they can do in the
spring,
> trying to retain starting roles against younger competition.
>
> Amid that uncertainty, however, Grudzielanek believes he is certain
> about this: He believes he is justified in looking forward to
playing
> for Dusty Baker, the new Cub manager.
>
> "I'm looking forward to playing for a manager who understands
> players, knows how to deal with them and gets the best out of
them,"
> he said.
>
> "You never hear a player say a bad word about Dusty. It'll be great
> to be in a clubhouse where the manager has total respect and
> credibility."
>
> Are we to read between the lines? Are we to conclude that what
> Grudzielanek was saying is that Jim Tracy, the Dodger manager,
lacks
> total respect and credibility?
>
> Grudzielanek wouldn't answer that. He talked about having turned
the
> page on his four-plus years with the Dodgers, of holding no
> animosity, of having had a "great time playing in that stadium for
> those fans."
>
> He acknowledged, however, there were disagreements with Tracy and
> said he was "shocked and hurt" when the manager accused him of
being
> a selfish player in what became a late-season shouting match in
> Arizona that was heard throughout the clubhouse because the door to
> Tracy's office had remained opened.
>
> Despite that absence of privacy, the incident had not been reported
> until now, and Grudzielanek responded candidly when asked about it.
>
> "I go back a long way with Trace [to their years as player and
coach
> in Montreal] and I was thrown for a loop when he accused me of
being
> a selfish player," he said. "It was an unbelievably bad choice of
> words, and I believe he should have been smart enough not to use it
> in a situation that was already getting tense.
>
> "I mean, that was the first time in all the years I had played that
> someone called me selfish, and there was certainly no basis of it
> with the Dodgers.
>
> "I came off a great year at shortstop and agreed to change
positions
> to make room for a guy [Alex Cora] who was basically unproven. I
> played hurt. I never made an issue of it when they kept moving me
> around the batting order -- one minute at the top, the next at the
> bottom. Did Davey Johnson ever accuse me of being selfish?"
>
> In Vero Beach on Wednesday, Tracy told The Times' Jason Reid that
he
> would not discuss the incident because it would mar the freedom and
> comfort of players coming to him in private. He said he would never
> encourage General Manager Dan Evans to trade a player because of
what
> was said during a meeting.
>
> "Other than that," he said, appearing displeased that the incident
> had left the clubhouse, "I don't have anything to say about it.
> Period."
>
> A person who heard the exchange in Arizona disputed Tracy to a
degree
> and said, "It was pretty obvious that Grud was gone after that."
>
> To what extent their sometimes tenuous relationship with Tracy
played
> into the departure of Karros and Grudzielanek isn't clear. The
> Dodgers have maintained that they were seeking to find more power
at
> first base, which they believe they have in Fred McGriff, and
create
> a vacancy at second for Joe Thurston. The oft-cited payroll aspect
> became secondary considering the trade was basically a financial
wash
> for the Dodgers with the absorption of Todd Hundley's two remaining
> years.
>
> "Basically," said a person familiar with the background, "both
teams
> were looking to get rid of players they no longer wanted ... 'you
> take ours, we'll take yours.' It's that simple."
>
> Grudzielanek shook his head.
>
> "Eric and I may have disagreed sometimes with the way we were
used,"
> he said, "but it was done in private, behind closed doors, and it's
> nonsense for anyone to say we were traded because we caused
problems.
> I mean, if the Dodgers are saying that contributed to it ... well,
> that's their business, but it's nonsense. The fact is, I hated to
> leave. I had four great years there, but if it wasn't going to work
> out in L.A. anymore, the best thing for both sides is to move on.
I'm
> excited about the opportunity here."
>
> It's difficult to measure that opportunity. Grudzielanek will have
to
> beat out the touted Bobby Hill at second, the established Alex
> Gonzalez at short and has minimal experience at third. Karros, who
> has refused to be baited off the high road since the trade, must
beat
> out the touted Hee Seop Choi at first.
>
> Baker knows what he saw of Karros and Grudzielanek while managing
the
> San Francisco Giants but said he will base his evaluation on what
he
> sees in the spring.
>
> "Some of it depends on them, some of it depends on how the younger
> guys do," he said, "but I don't want Mark and Eric feeling they're
> only an insurance policy if the younger guys fail. They're going to
> play, everybody plays on my teams. I just don't know how much at
this
> point."
>
> The new manager has generated a new atmosphere in the Cub camp.
>
> Even Sammy Sosa shattered his tardy custom to report with the
> position players Wednesday and said it was out of respect for
Baker --
> "a proven winner," said Sosa -- and his desire to contribute to
and
> be part of the new and improved attitude.
>
> Grudzielanek shared Sosa's emotions. He can't be certain of what's
> ahead, but he knows what he left behind."
>
>
>
>
> I was just curious as to what you think about it.
>
> Lauren