Los Angeles – Patience rules the Rockies.
They ask for it from a playoff-starved fan base, which witnessed the Rockies crumble in a 6-2 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
They demand it of their coaches, a staff responsible for developing the potential of baseball’s youngest team.
They exhibit it – careless opening-day playoff predictions aside – from ownership, with Charlie Monfort denying he’s upset and contemplating changes with manager Clint Hurdle or general manager Dan O’Dowd following the lowest win month in franchise history.
“Outside of the bullpen, we are very happy with the young guys we have and how they are performing,” Monfort wrote in an e-mail. “And we are happy with the job Clint and Dan have done. (Saying anything different) couldn’t be further from reality.”
At the root of patience is waiting. And for the Rockies, this season, that means waiting for something bad to happen. This is what it has come to for them – on back-to-back nights they were squashed by Hee-Seop Choi and Jason Repko, previously known by relatives and fantasy league owners.
On Fireworks Night, a spectacle that attracted a sellout crowd at rowdy Dodger Stadium, the Rockies’ fizzle began in the fifth inning with a simple warning.
His team hitless through four innings, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy appeared to appeal to plate umpire Jeff Nelson about starter ‘s positioning. The left-hander was beginning his windup with his feet barely touching the right side of the pitching rubber. Nelson told him he must make contact.
Whether that unnerved Kennedy is uncertain, but the results were damaging. Olmedo Saenz reached on a fielding error by third baseman , then Jason Phillips smoked a double down the left- field line. The fans tasted a rally and the music practically begged for one.
After hitting pitcher Brad Penny on the back foot, slick-fielding shortstop Cesar Izturis plated two runs with a floating double. That hit frustrated Kennedy, leaving him smacking his glove in disgust. But what happened next guaranteed him his third loss, a number he didn’t reach last year until May 30.
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ROCKIES WRAP
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Repko, a career minor-leaguer, stepped into the box. He crushed a fastball into the left-field seats, shoving the Dodgers ahead 5-0, a comfortable cushion for dominating starter Brad Penny. The home run was Repko’s fourth, tying him with the Rockies’ for the rookie lead.
Barmes, who finished the month with a .410 average, is the best thing to happen to the Rockies this season, one that is quickly being defined by individual progress more than results. But he isn’t the only Toddler to perform well. In the Rockies’ ninth loss in 10 road games, outfielder prevented a shutout with a seventh-inning home run and ninth-inning RBI single.
Rockies first baseman remains impressed with the team’s energy.
“Every time you go to the batting cage, there’s a line,” Helton said. “These guys work hard.”
On Saturday, persistence and patience collided with experience. Experience, again, won.
“We have to trust and harp on teamwork,” Hurdle said. “That’s the only way as a group that we are going to meet the challenge in front of us.”
Rockies recap
Dodgers apologize for incident
Major League Baseball is investigating a fan-interference incident Friday involving Rockies’ left fielder . After J.D. Drew’s seventh-inning home run bounced back onto the field, Holliday retrieved it, unsure if it cleared the short retaining wall. As he attempted to throw the ball back in, a fan grabbed Holliday’s jersey.
The fan was not ejected or arrested initially because stadium officials were unsure if contact was made. After the game, the Dodgers’ head of security apologized to manager Clint Hurdle for the incident, according to Rockies’ spokesman Jay Alves. On April 14, Yankees right fielder Gary Sheffield scuffled with a fan in Fenway Park, which led the Red Sox to revoke season-ticket privileges of one fan and ban another from buying tickets this season.
“I was surprised,” said Holliday, who told an umpire what happened. “I know the guy wasn’t ejected because I saw him out there.”
Holliday’s teammates want action, citing the Sheffield confrontation as precedent.
“It’s no different,” center fielder said. “They know who the guy was. He grabbed Matt and he’s high-fiving his friends. Come on.”
RELIEF HELP: The Rockies have discussed signing reliever Dan Miceli, who posted a 3.95 ERA in two stints with the team, to a minor-league contract.
HAWPE HITS: Outfielder has hit safely in nine of his past 10 games.
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
