Pittsburgh – The Rockies are like the kid at senior prom with the shiny tuxedo, dazzling cummerbund, fragrant corsage and clay feet.
They know they belong at the dance but aren’t sure how to act. Their inexperience, a charming quality the past couple of years, has surfaced as a weakness in the past two weeks as their season spirals downward.
What changed? The conditions.
The Rockies, for the first time since August 2003, are playing under pressure. They expect to win the National League West, a view many outsiders shared when the second half began nine days ago.
But their response shows they aren’t ready to play under pressure, perhaps predictable for a team that includes only five players with postseason experience and a manager who has never guided a team to the playoffs.
“They are trying too hard,” said Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd, whose team begins a critical three-game series tonight at Arizona. “That’s when you get into trouble.”
Nine losses in 10 games have led to two known team meetings in recent days in an attempt to unclench fists: one with relievers last week and another among the hitters Tuesday.
The Rockies’ free-fall to last place in the NL West has been slowed only by a parachute strapped to their backs by the rest of the division. At this point, the division winner figures to be the team left standing after everybody else runs out of mulligans.
“I don’t sense anyone in here has lost confidence, but this hasn’t helped, obviously,” pitcher Jason Jennings said. “We have to get it going soon.”
Urgency is necessary, regardless of what the standings say. Four-and-a-half games out of first place in late July isn’t the number to focus on. Four games under .500 is. The Rockies can chat all they want about being within reach of the leaders, but it’s hollow bravado until they reach mediocrity, .500, again. As poor as the West is, the winner will have a winning record.
Oddly, what makes the Rockies easy to root for is the same quality that threatens to undermine them: effort. No one can accuse them of not playing hard. The problem is, when these players fail, they overreact. They try to do too much with their next pitch, or next at-bat.
The evidence is in the numbers in baseball’s white-knuckle moments. In their past nine losses, the Rockies are hitting .250 with runners in scoring position. Their relievers have gone 2-8 with an 8.12 ERA since June 21.
Manager Clint Hurdle finally shifted to a six-man bullpen this week, which should keep the relievers more active and, perhaps, let him regain trust in anyone not named Brian Fuentes, Jose Mesa or Tom Martin.
“We have starters keeping teams under three runs almost every night, and you’d like to think you are going win those games. But we have to swing the bats more consistently,” third baseman Garrett Atkins said. “We can’t have one run, then 13 the next night. It seems like we keep going through stretches like that, where we do great or don’t do well at all.”
This stretch has challenged Hurdle. He lacked consistency in handling starters Josh Fogg and Byung-Hyun Kim, pulling Fogg after seven innings Sunday but letting Kim start the eighth inning Monday. And with Todd Helton sitting on the bench Wednesday, Hurdle pinch-hit JD Closser and let Ryan Shealy hit with the bases loaded against Mike Gonzalez even though Helton is batting .321 against left-handers.
“That’s straight second guessing,” Hurdle said when asked why Helton didn’t pinch-hit.
That’s the point. The Rockies have reached that intersection where every move is analyzed, every mistake magnified. To move forward, they have to start handling the pressure better.
“I don’t know what it is, why it’s taking so long to get hot and stay, but it’s getting late,” Mesa said. “No more talk. No excuses. It’s time to do it.”
Taming the tension
If the Rockies are to snap out of their funk and make up ground in the National League West race, they need to do better in pressure situations. A look at specific areas:
Bullpen: 2-8, with an 8.12 ERA, since June 21.
Brian Fuentes: Has blown three of past six saves; ERA up to 4.46.
Todd Helton: Hitting .241 in July.
Record one-run games: 13-17, second-worst in the division.
Record vs. NL West: 15-21, worst in the division.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
