San Diego – It was all going to be so easy when they left spring training. Cory Sullivan would get on base, Clint Barmes would move him over, the duo serving as a catalytic force in the lineup.
Two months into the season, the baseball gods have pinched them. The dream has become a grind.
Sullivan didn’t start for a third consecutive game Monday. He was correcting his offensive flaws in the batting cage and will return to the lineup soon. Barmes sits in a deeper funk, needing to continue building on Sunday’s improved at-bats to save his roster spot.
“During the course of 162 games, there are going to be times I stink,” Sullivan said. “I need to do better at maximizing the highs and minimizing the lows. But being out of the lineup really allows me to focus on my swing.”
Sullivan, the team’s best defensive outfielder, is hitting .192 in May. Barmes has suffered an even more chilling statistical nosedive, batting .100 this month (8-for-80). He knows he would have already been sent back to Triple-A in favor of Omar Quintanilla if not for a steady glove.
“I feel like I am close to getting it back,” Barmes said.
The Rockies continue to discuss the issue, and manager Clint Hurdle said Monday if Quintanilla was promoted, Barmes would not stay on the roster as a utility player, instead going to Colorado Springs to rediscover his swing.
“But I think (Barmes’) at-bats have gotten better,” Hurdle said. “Everybody is obviously looking for results. That’s the only thing that hasn’t happened.”
Ryan and roster construction
Ryan Spilborghs remained in center field for the second consecutive game and hit second, including his first big-league home run in the seventh. His ability continues to grow on Hurdle, who admitted Spilborghs “does everything a little bit better than you expect.”
Spilborghs is starting to make a case to stick as a reserve player because of his versatility.
“It’s been a whirlwind from getting scratched from Triple-A batting practice to flying to San Francisco to seeing (Barry) Bonds’ home run,” said Spilborghs, who grew up surfing and skateboarding in California. “I am just trying to make the most of the opportunities I get.”
That the Rockies are contending figures to shape their roster construction this week. Counting Quintanilla, as many as three players could be added. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba, getting his timing back on a rehab assignment, likely will join the team Friday, at the expense of Miguel Ojeda or JD Closser.
Given reserve Jason Smith’s struggles, Jorge Piedra is another strong candidate to return to the big leagues, with Hurdle acknowledging the team needs more from its pinch-hitters (15-for-58). Piedra led baseball with a .455 average in a pinch last season.
Smith has just three hits in May, and reserve outfielder Eli Marerro is 0-for-10 as a pinch-hitter.
Rockies recap
Giant flu bug takes bite out of team’s personnel
The Rockies were sick and tired of San Francisco. Now in San Diego, they are tired of being sick. No fewer than eight members of the organization, including five players, came down with the flu since arriving Sunday night. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca and bullpen coach Rick Mathews were too ill to attend the game, leaving manager Clint Hurdle in charge of the pitchers and bullpen catcher Mark Strittmatter manning the relievers.
The Cardinals experienced a similar problem after leaving San Francisco, reporting 18 illnesses and leaving both clubs investigating a common denominator such as contaminated food. Only one Giants player, Ray Durham, became sick over the weekend.
NO BARRY MEMENTOS: Byung-Hyun Kim has no plans to ask Barry Bonds to sign a baseball or send him a bat as a keepsake after he allowed the slugger’s 715th home run. “I don’t collect stuff,” Kim said. “I don’t have anything like from my first save or first win.”
Kim said the steroids controversy surrounding Bonds doesn’t affect his view of the accomplishment, adding: “Steroids, no steroids. No one is sure who’s taking them. They don’t hit home runs. He’s a great hitter.”
