Notes from the nosebleed seats. …
I almost had Todd Helton talked into it. A prediction on his July batting average, that is. But in the end, he wimped out.
“I’m going to hit better than I have hit,” Helton said. “I might even hit your weight.”
While I resemble that remark, Helton would do better to hit, say, Gerard Warren‘s weight. That would be .325. Says here he’ll do it, too.
Ever so slowly, Helton is feeling more comfortable at the plate. He has hit the ball harder in the past week than he did in the previous month. Add it all up and he isn’t about to tack on another sub-.300 month after going April, May and June in the .200s.
“A lot better,” said Helton, when asked if he felt better at the plate in recent days. “It seems like I’m having some good at-bats. I’m still giving away too many ABs, but I’ve had some good swings.” …
The most unbelievable of all the Rockies’ unbelievable stats: Helton, hours away from July, on pace for 18 ribbies on the road. …
So why are they still playing all these interleague games long after the novelty has worn off? Because it sells. Interleague games averaged 32,985 at the gate compared with 29,581 for intraleague games. …
It’s all but official. Brian Fuentes will be the Rockies’ by-default all-star representative. Not that he didn’t see it coming, but Fuentes doesn’t have a clause in his contract for making the all-star team. At $329,500, he’ll no doubt be the lowest-paid player in the game. …
The American League didn’t just win the interleague series 136-116. The boys from the Circuit Formerly Known as Junior also outhit the National Leaguers .274-.255, outhomered the NL 283-247 and outscored the NL 1,230-1,056. …
This whole notion that the Rockies can’t win because of the altitude? I’m sorry, but that’s ignoring a little matter called talent. This roster couldn’t win 20,000 leagues under the sea. …
Did you hear bleary-eyed Jeremy Roenick‘s R-rated rant during a break in the, um, festivities at Mario Lemieux‘s charity golf tournament? The next day, Roenick became the first athlete ever to claim his comments were taken out of cognac. …
Forget Julius Hodge. He’s going to play less than Nikoloz Tskitishvili did as a rookie. The most compelling news on the Nuggets’ front is yet to come. If they sign Michael Finley, they’d be, on a bad day, the third-best team in the West. …
Then there’s the Kiki Vandeweghe issue. Barring a surprising development, he’ll go into the final year of his contract without an extension, just as Jeff Bzdelik did. He could be back after next season, but at this point, I’d list the chances at less than 50-50. …
Of course, why does Stan Kroenke need a GM when he’s calling the shots? At least I don’t know anybody who believes Kroenke wasn’t behind the hiring of George Karl and the drafting of Linas Kleiza, a former teammate of Kroenke’s son at Mizzou. …
What, you think I’m kidding about Hodge playing less than Skita? Skita averaged 16 minutes a night as a rookie. If Hodge plays half that much, be surprised. …
So Max Baer Jr. is all bent out of shape about how his dad is depicted in Ron Howard‘s movie “Cinderella Man.” Not that Baer ranks as a boxing expert. As I recall, he used to get pummeled by Elly May Clampett. …
Clint Hurdle, the ex-Sports Illustrated cover boy, was 1-for-3 against Roger Clemens in Triple-A.
“I saw him coming up, and he was as advertised,” said Hurdle. “He was the Rocket. Tall, skinny and he brought it. I probably hit something off the knuckles and dropped it into short center field.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM, and on Fox Sports Net’s “Insider Edition.” He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
