His face emblazons posters in the streets sandwiching Coors Field. JD Closser entered the season as an integral piece of the Gen R marketing campaign. Problem is, it’s hard to be the catcher of the future when the present is going so poorly.
There’s no more compelling measure of Closser’s slump than the hard fact that, with July in arm’s reach, he has thrown out precisely as many runners as he has hit home runs – two.
The Houston Astros ran laps around the Rockies, cruise-controlling to a 7-1 victory Wednesday that included five stolen bases.
As the catcher, Closser was left naked in front of 23,494 fans, absorbing the blame for a Houston running game whose effectiveness symbolized an Astros mauling engineered by starter Roy Oswalt (10-7), who threw seven shutout innings. Closser knew what was coming afterward, arriving at his locker quickly to patiently answer questions about his fledgling career.
“This game is all about making adjustments,” Closser said calmly after the battery of reporters had retreated. “I know if I don’t improve, I won’t be here.”
Catching instructor Jamie Quirk admitted that “in a perfect world, it would probably be better if JD could (work through this in Triple-A).”
The Rockies, however, haven’t given up on the rookie for two reasons: They have no one else to team with current starter Danny Ardoin until Todd Greene’s right hamstring heals, and Closser continues to show improvement in practice.
“I believe I am making progress, but I have to be able to take it into the games,” Closser said. “It’s just such a weird game. I have my problems (with the stolen bases). Then the baseball gods smile down on me and I catch a popup, get a hit and wonder, ‘Why can’t it always be like this?”‘
Closser’s throwing issues, while difficult to fix, are easy to explain, according to Quirk. Closser, 25, continues to try to compensate for a runner’s good jump by rushing his delivery. This pitfall produced an airmailed throw into center field that led to a run.
Starter Byung-Hyun Kim pointed the finger at himself for not holding runners better, saying: “I was not good. I was focusing too much on the hitter.”
Nonetheless, Closser is strapped with a chilling statistic, having erased just 2-of-30 base-stealers.
“I don’t know if he would have been able to get any of the runners today, but his throws weren’t accurate,” Quirk said. “The percentage we have thrown out with Greenie and JD (3-for-54, or .056) is not acceptable.”
Nothing has gone as Closser had hoped, beginning with a spring training offensive funk. While his defense was a concern, the Rockies expected Closser to hit, which he has done at every level. Last year, he batted .319 in 113 at-bats. This year, he sits at .205 in 127 at-bats.
“One thing I have been successful at is dealing with failure,” Closser said. “I haven’t let one mistake get under my skin. It’s been a grind, though.”
Closser was hardly the only reason the Rockies lost and now trudge back onto the road, where they are a major league-worst 5-31.
Kim needed 109 pitches to navigate five innings, undermined by command issues and defensive missteps on bunts.
“I didn’t feel good out there. I wasn’t good,” Kim said. “I made some bad decisions.”
Oswalt, 5-0 with a 1.56 lifetime ERA against the Rockies, didn’t need any assistance. He spent the day soaking up sun and shaving corners with a 94 mph fastball made more devastating by a 68 mph curveball.
“The biggest thing about this park is that when you throw your curveball, you have to throw it a little bit farther out from your regular release point,” Oswalt said. “It was funny in the fifth inning; I actually hit my hand in the dirt trying to get the ball down, and I jammed my finger.”
ROCKIES RECAP
Biggio all-time hit man in taking one for team
Craig Biggio never knew baseball could hurt so good. The Astros second baseman was plunked for the 268th time Wednesday, breaking Don Baylor’s modern-day record. Byung-Hyun Kim nailed Biggio with an 85-mph fastball in the fourth inning. Cooperstown will get Biggio’s elbow pad, long an irritant to opponents, and the Astros great retrieved the record-aching, er, -breaking ball. How does such an accomplishment come to pass? “Fearlessness, stupidity, however you want to explain it. I credit it a lot to my catching days,” said Biggio, who nearly played for Baylor in 1996 before re-signing with the Astros. “People don’t understand how bad it is for those guys who go back there day in and day out, the foul tips. I think hit-by-pitches are the same thing.”
DeJean’s schedule
After a light bullpen session Sunday, the Rockies are expected to activate reliever Mike DeJean for the Dodgers series, which begins Monday.
All-star audition
The fact Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will choose all-star reserves heightens the pressure on Rockies candidates this weekend. “I better pitch well, huh?” front-runner Brian Fuentes said.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
