Tempe, Ariz. – Scott Elarton is a human Space Mountain, his ride back to Tucson a dizzying series of spins and delightful twists.
Banished by the Rockies because of ineffectiveness, Elarton faces his old team today in what is likely his first step in becoming the Kansas City Royals’ opening-day starter.
“They said they would change my schedule, but I wanted to go,” Elarton said. “I still have friends there, and my parents and my wife’s parents will be there to watch.”
Elarton is the same in name only since leaving the Rockies. When released in 2004, he was 0-6 with a 9.80 ERA. Last season, he emerged in Cleveland as baseball’s best fifth starter, parlaying an 11-9 record into a two-year, $8-million contract with the Royals.
“I have come a long way. In Colorado, I had miserable results,” Elarton said. “But it made me mentally tougher. I wouldn’t change anything.”
A single element resuscitated Elarton’s career. After leaving Colorado, he regained confidence in his curveball, giving him an out pitch. Elarton, a former prep star at Lamar High School, will start opposite Jason Jennings.
“He kept searching for answers in Colorado, and I am happy he found them,” Jennings said. “He’s a good guy.”
No travelin’ man
Todd Helton was absent from Saturday’s lineup. And there’s a good chance he won’t appear in Phoenix this spring, according to manager Clint Hurdle.
“There’s no real reason to put him on the bus,” Hurdle said.
Asked about his travel schedule last week, Helton, who made oone trip last year, said: “It’s up to the manager.”
Rocky start
Pitchers Zach Day and Josh Fogg, both in the mix for the fifth spot in the rotation, were roughed up in their first spring game Saturday as the Rockies lost 5-3 to the Angels.
Although the race has just begun and is minus a top contender – Sunny Kim will start for Korea today against Japan in the World Baseball Classic – Fogg wanted a more impressive debut.
“It’s time to start getting people out and try to win a job,” said Fogg, who allowed three runs in three innings. “You start getting graded from here on out.” Added Day, who gave up two runs on four hits in three innings, “I felt good and felt strong, but I just got the ball up.”
Footnotes
Jeff Francis threw two scoreless innings for Canada in Saturday’s exhibition. Francis was hit by a comebacker on his pitching hand but remained in the game. … Rockies advance scout Chris Warren is expected to travel this year, expanding his role beyond the video work, that position’s sole domain the past few seasons. … Brad Hawpe erased Adam Kennedy at the plate in the third inning with a perfect one-hop throw. Hawpe, who tied for fifth in the league with 10 assists last season, wants teams to test him. “I can’t wait for some runner to get waved around,” he said. … Byung-Hyun Kim threw 22-of- 29 strikes in his WBC debut as a reliever. … Catcher Yorvit Torrealba didn’t make the trip to Tempe, and he’s getting antsy. The club is being extra cautious with his sore throwing shoulder, and he might not play until Tuesday. “I am not frustrated, I just want to play,” he said. … Catcher Danny Ardoin continues to pound the ball. He had a two-out RBI single. … Third baseman Ian Stewart, raised in Anaheim, on playing the Angels: “That was great, seeing all that red. I used to go to Angels’ games all the time and we had our Little League days there. I watched Tim Salmon all the time growing up, so being out there on the field with him was pretty cool.”
