Byung-Hyun Kim lost his roster spot for 10 minutes, Shawn Chacon lost his rotation spot to the disabled list and Jamey Wright and Joe Kennedy could lose their jobs if they fail to demonstrate more consistency.
That was the message delivered by manager Clint Hurdle in an afternoon more chaotic than the weather. Hurdle pointed to the numbers when asked about shuffling a rotation that has failed to meet expectations.
“I talked to (the starters) early, but I don’t spend a lot of time talking about it now. It’s time for action,” Hurdle said. “If you are carrying a 6 or 7 (ERA) in June, you haven’t been effective. We aren’t going to just keep spinning our wheels.”
Hurdle’s less-than-subtle threat came moments after leaving Kim with his head spinning. Kim was called to the manager’s office shortly after arriving at the ballpark and was told he would no longer be used in the bullpen after Friday’s lousy outing.
With no open rotation slot and Kim having previously provided strong signals that he would exercise his right to refuse a Triple-A demotion, his Rockies career was essentially over. Then 10 minutes passed, Chacon landed on the disabled list and Kim returned to Hurdle’s office.
Welcome back, kid.
“He was fine with it,” Hurdle said when asked if the meeting was awkward. “I wasn’t asking his opinion.”
Chacon, 1-4 with a 3.83 ERA, couldn’t hide his frustration after suffering his third leg injury in three months. He missed a start with a sprained ankle and almost three weeks in spring training with a strained right hamstring. He said his left hamstring feels worse than his right did, leaving a month-long absence a possibility.
“I tried to hide it because I didn’t want to leave another game (with a leg problem),” said Chacon, who suffered the injury Thursday running the bases. “It’s really sore, but who knows where it will be in a week?”
Wright and Kennedy have remained healthy, but their statistics are hurting. Wright has been attempting to avoid a bullpen assignment since getting hit hard on the recent road trip. He surrendered four runs in six innings Saturday, backing up Monday’s strong outing.
Demoting Kennedy would carry more significance, since he began the season as the Rockies’ ace, starting on opening day.
“It’s frustrating because obviously I would have liked to pitch better,” said Kennedy, 3-5 with a 6.51 ERA. “But I believe I am close.”
Hurdle realizes his Triple-A options are limited – injured Rockies reliever Jose Acevedo is likely the only other option as a starter – but refused to back down from holding his rotation to a high standard.
“I don’t want to sell real estate that I can’t back up if we don’t have bodies,” Hurdle said. “But mediocrity will not be tolerated.”
Footnote
Reliever Bobby Seay was called up to fill Chacon’s roster spot. His left shoulder is healthy, but he will initially be eased in as he works on mechanical issues.
