Los Angeles – The evaluation extends beyond the coaching staff. As Clint Hurdle works through who will be mentoring his young charges, he is simultaneously analyzing the team he is going to manage next season.
That means getting a long look at shortstop Omar Quintanilla, who turned in a terrific defensive play Thursday night in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Choo Freeman? He’s accelerating toward a career crossroads, needing to show whether he’s worthy of a roster spot. His primary position of center field continues to look as if it will be addressed in free agency, where shopping off the clearance rack has proved fruitful in the past.
Is Scott Dohmann consistently capable of defusing late-inning rallies, like the sparks he doused in the series finale? What about Ryan Shealy, likely to be shopped in a trade this offseason, Eddy Garabito and Jeff Baker, all potential call-ups?
“There are a lot of questions around here,” second baseman Aaron Miles said.
Hurdle’s search for answers at Dodger Stadium was interrupted with Los Angeles’ questioning his team’s legitimacy. Before the series began, he said he heard a slight that has become common when the Rockies, baseball’s worst road team, arrive in town.
Addressing the subject with reporters, Hurdle wasn’t exactly Howard Dean with a mike in Iowa, plunging face-first into political oblivion, but he inched toward primal anger.
“Everywhere we go, the other team expects to sweep us. I heard that mumbling out of the Dodgers’ dugout,” Hurdle said. “The only way to shut them up is to win.”
The Rockies opened a four-run lead, then clung on with white knuckles, escaping to LAX with their first series triumph here since August 2001.
Only Todd Helton remains from that team, but he surrendered the stage to Miles and Matt Holliday. Even during the best stretch of his career, Holliday remains a work in progress, the team looking for improvement with his at-bats with runners in scoring position.
He has shown he can blister a mistake, but is still learning to work himself into a hitter’s count. Holliday refused to help Dodgers starter Brad Penny, showing patience, before hammering a 3-1 fastball well beyond the center-field fence for a three-run home run. That crush gave the Rockies a 4-1 cushion.
Miles answered with his second home run of the season, both of which have come on the road.
The Rockies managed just one hit after Miles’ fifth-inning homer, magnifying the shot’s significance. With pitcher Aaron Cook (3-1) lacking the crispness of his previous four outings – he allowed two runs in five innings, though he was hurt by two shaky outfield plays – Colorado became vulnerable.
Randy Williams dissolved in the sixth, leaving Dohmann, his horrific April becoming less memorable with each strong outing, to clean up the mess. Dohmann promptly walked the first two batters he faced. But in his best sequence of the season, Dohmann struck out Olmedo Saenz and Jayson Werth, showing off a slower breaking ball.
As Dohmann walked off the mound, he punched his first into the air. It might as well have been into the Dodgers’ gut, their remote playoff hopes left gasping for air.
“It’s not like anyone in this division is overpowering,” Cook said. “If teams take us for granted, we’re going to beat them.”
Rockies recap
Some of the coolest moments in the Little League World Series happen in the stands when proud parents acknowledge their kids. There’s nothing like having a big game in front of Mom and Dad. The Rockies can attest to the fact. Aaron Miles, on Thursday, and Jorge Piedra, on Tuesday, homered with their parents in the Dodger Stadium stands. Miles has two home runs this season, none at Coors Field. His last blast came on May 8, a grand slam off former Marlin Al Leiter.
OUTFIELD ISSUES: Matt Holliday and Cory Sullivan’s offensive contributions helped overshadow defensive miscues. Sullivan closed his glove too soon on Jose Valentin’s third-inning double and Valentin later scored. Holliday fumbled Jeff Kent’s single into a double. Jayson Werth drove in Kent moments later.
DOWN ON THE FARM: Wyoming isn’t just the home of a good college football team. The Casper Rockies had three players named to the Pioneer League all-star club, including right-handed pitcher Chaz Roe, Colorado’s second-round pick this past June.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
