Phoenix – Patience can be a virtue for a major-league hitter. Particularly one who bats second in the order.
Patience, however, doesn’t come without a struggle for Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes, a high-energy athlete likened to a giant puppy dog by manager Clint Hurdle during spring training.
But give Barmes credit. He has worked on his craft, and his patience, and now it’s paying off.
Barmes tied his career high with four hits Sunday in the Rockies’ 9-7 win over Arizona. He has hit safely in 11 straight games, one short of his career high set last year during his phenomenal rookie run. During his streak, he has hit .375 (21-for-56), lifting his average to .232.
“I’m laying off pitches that in the first part of the season, I wasn’t exactly laying off,” said Barmes, who hit .116 in May. “I was trying to hit every pitch they threw and trying to be in too big a hurry. Maybe I was trying to do too much.”
Hurdle and pitching coach Duane Espy harped on Barmes to be more selective at the plate.
Barmes listened, then practiced and watched tons of tape. Now it’s paying off.
“For the most part, I’ve slowed it down and I’m seeing the ball a lot better,” he said.
“I’m comfortable at the plate and I’ve got a plan. I’ve trusted it and gone with it. Bottom line, I’m putting the ball in play a lot harder than I was early on.”
Said Hurdle: “Quietly and slowly, Barmes is resurgent offensively. And his defensive play has been flat-out spectacular.”
Helton’s hit
It’s no secret that Todd Helton is struggling, which is one of the reasons he was dropped from the third to the fifth spot in the order this weekend. But Helton got good wood on the ball Sunday when he drove home Garrett Atkins with a ninth-inning single.
Helton was hitless in the first two games of the series against Arizona, but his single allowed him to escape his first three-game hitless streak since going without a hit in four straight games from May 25-28 last year. Helton is hitting .284. Last year at this time he was hitting .289. He finished the 2005 season hitting .319.
Numbers running
Before the season began, general manager Dan O’Dowd predicted the Rockies would need to score 850 to 900 runs to be a contender. The team is averaging 4.72 runs, meaning it is on pace to score 765 runs. But Hurdle, encouraged by his team’s starting pitching, is not sweating it.
“I’m not sure we will get there, and I’m not even sure we need to get there,” Hurdle said of O’Dowd’s preseason prediction. “I don’t think that’s an absolute by any means.”
However, Hurdle did say the team would have to score more than 765 runs to be a contender.
Footnote
Reliever Ray King had another good outing Sunday. He faced the minimum four batters in 1 1/3 innings, striking out one. He also retired all four batters he faced Friday night. Rookie Ramon Ramirez also has righted himself, throwing four shutout innings in his past five appearances.
Rockies recap
Right fielder Brad Hawpe’s mighty left arm was on display again Sunday. In the second inning, he nailed Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder at the plate to complete a double play to end the inning. It was the 23rd assist of Hawpe’s career, moving him past Ellis Burks for third place in Rockies history. Though Hawpe sits behind Larry Walker (94) and Dante Bichette (73), Hawpe’s assists have come at a faster pace. His 23rd assist came in just his 213th game as a Rockie. Walker didn’t get his 23rd assist until his 285th game in a Rockies uniform, while Bichette’s came in his 248th game. Hawpe’s 12 outfield assists this season rank second in the majors to Washington’s Alfonso Soriano.
UNHAPPY HOMECOMING: Sunday marked the 125th appearance at Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) by Rockies starter Byung-Hyun Kim, the most in stadium history. But Kim, a former Diamondbacks reliever, didn’t last long. He got the hook after giving up seven runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings. “I like it here, but I pitched bad today,” Kim said.
