Todd Helton doesn’t do days off. For the second consecutive season, he has spoiled spring training plans to provide him with a breather.
Helton took his forced vacation in one chunk, missing 14 games while recovering from a stomach virus. Since returning, the Rockies’ first baseman has started 45 consecutive games.
So much for easing back into the fold after a frightening illness. As it stands, the Rockies don’t even have a backup first baseman anymore, with Luis Gonzalez banished to the minor leagues and Eli Marrero shipped to the New York Mets.
“I feel fine,” said Helton, who said the weekly break in the schedule has provided him with adequate rest. “It’s not like I play center field. I play first base. I don’t need much rest.”
Within the past two weeks, Helton has regained some of the 10 pounds he lost while hospitalized. While his statistics lack thunder – he has only seven home runs – he’s getting more clutch hits, evidenced by his 18 RBIs this month.
Helton was asked if he should have delayed his return to allow his body to recovery.
“What, so I could go to the gym and work out? The only running I want to be doing is on the bases,” Helton said. “I needed to be playing baseball.”
His response offers insight into who Helton is – a player who feels an overwhelming obligation to his team. For the Rockies to get where they want to be – anything is possible in the NL West – Helton must regain his status as one of baseball’s most feared sluggers.
“We need him to be a No. 3 hitter,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. “You don’t see many teams have a magical season if they don’t have a No. 3 hitter. He’s starting to do it. It’s not something I want to talk about. I just want to let him hit.”
Orioles want Shealy
If the Rockies were to spell Helton, former first basemen Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe and outfielder Ryan Spil- borghs, who has taken some grounders there recently, could step forward in a pinch. The team’s best backup plays in Triple-A at Colorado Springs, where Ryan Shealy waits for an opportunity.
If his stiff back cooperates, Shealy will be called up to provide an extra bat in interleague play this week. His next stop could be joining an American League team permanently. The Baltimore Orioles want Shealy, but not at the Rockies’ current asking price of young pitcher Hayden Penn. Baltimore would like to trade veteran catcher Javy Lopez, but the Rockies have no interest.
Fuentes recovers
A blown save is baseball’s version of chucking a closer’s heart in a blender.
The role is not for those with weak minds or queasy stomachs.
After squandering his second home save of the season Wednesday, Brian Fuentes said he has moved on. “I was really (upset). But it’s the 24-hour rule. You can celebrate for 24 hours and be mad for 24 hours, then you let it go,” he said. “I just made one bad pitch.”
ROCKIES RECAP
Hawpe hurts Rangers with offense, defense
That Brad Hawpe started for the first time since last Tuesday had as much to do with his sore shoulder as his slumping bat. A week of several long throws from the outfield required ice and rest. It worked. On a sharp single to right field Saturday, Hawpe fired a bullet to third base, erasing Texas’ Mark DeRosa for his team-high 10th assist.
“I just needed a couple of days,” said Hawpe, who recorded hits in two of his first three at-bats as he works his way out of a month-long slump.
KING’S ROLE CHANGES: Ray King’s difficult June has dropped the reliever on the depth chart. Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said left-hander Tom Martin would be used in favor of King for late-inning outs. Apodaca will look to match King against left-handers earlier in games.
MATSUI HURTING: Colorado Springs Sky Sox infielder Kaz Matsui was back at Coors Field because of his aching back. An MRI revealed a disc problem the Rockies hope will be alleviated through stabilization exercises. Matsui hopes to return to playing in about a week.
