Tucson – Reliever LaTroy Hawkins was perusing the major leagues’ help-wanted ads during the offseason when something grabbed his attention.
It was, of all things, Colorado’s defense.
Two former Rockies, pitcher Jason Jennings and outfielder Choo Freeman, raved to Hawkins about it.
“The one thing they kept talking about was this team’s defense, how they always caught the ball,” said Hawkins, the Rockies’ setup man this season. “That was the No. 1 reason why I signed here. I’m not a pitcher who is going to get a lot of strikeouts, but if I can trust the defense behind me, it changes how I pitch to teams.”
Hawkins isn’t unique in that regard. Aside from closer Brian Fuentes, the Rockies don’t possess an established strikeout pitcher. That means they’ll need 24-karat gloves to be competitive this season.
“It’s imperative,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “We don’t have a ton of strikeout guys, but I think our defense has a chance to be even more consistent than last year.”
Lost in the dust of last season’s second-half collapse was the fact that, statistically at least, the Rockies had the National League’s second-best defense. Their .985 team fielding percentage trailed only Houston (.987).
Last spring, manager Clint Hurdle put special emphasis on defense, wanting every drill and every infield practice to be crisp and clean. The attention to detail paid off. In 2005, the Rockies’ defense ranked 27th in the majors. In 2006, it ranked sixth.
The Rockies also turned 190 double plays, most in the majors.
“We get a lot of grounders and that’s by design,” sinkerball starter Aaron Cook said. “I have a huge amount of confidence in the guys behind me and I know they’re going to make plays. If I get a couple of guys on, I have to know that I can go straight to that sinker and get a groundball out.”
Rockies pitchers and fielders work in concert, trying to dictate where the batter hits the ball. If Cook is on with his location, there is a good chance the infielders will be in the right spots, too.
“I know when Cookie is throwing that I will tend to shade the line a little bit,” third baseman Garrett Atkins said. “I know if he’s throwing it inside, down the line is the only place they’re going to be able to go with it. So I shift over with that. I think that’s key for our defense.”
The Rockies are counting on Atkins’ continued improvement as a fielder. In 2005, he ranked sixth among qualifying NL third baseman with a .950 fielding percentage (18 errors in 358 total chances). He ranked eighth last season, but his fielding percentage improved to .953 (19 in 403).
“I think we have a chance to be better this year,” O’Dowd said. “Our guys have a year more experience, and I think they’re more confident.”
But there are changes looming. Although second baseman Jamey Carroll turned in a Gold Glove-worthy performance last season, leading all NL second basemen with a .995 mark, he is penciled in as a utility man this season. That’s because the Rockies want to get Kaz Matsui’s bat and speed into the offense. That puts pressure on Matsui to be solid defensively at second base.
If strong-armed rookie Troy Tulowitzki supplants Clint Barmes as the starting shortstop, Tulowitzki must make more than spectacular plays. He must also display consistency.
“I know how important defense is to this team,” he said. “We have a responsibility to get outs when they come our way.”
Tulowitzki is studying pitchers’ tendencies and strategies so he will be prepared for active duty at short.
“I like it this way,” he said. “It’s kind of weird. When I was in college (at Long Beach State) we had a lot of strikeout pitchers. I mean when Jered Weaver pitched, it seemed like I would just stand around a lot. But with this team, there is a lot of action and you are moving a lot, and it keeps you on your toes. You’d better be ready to make a play.”
Support staff
Lacking strikeout pitchers, the Rockies must rely on solid defense this season. Here’s how Rockies fielders stacked up at their positions last year:
(Pos. Player E Pct. N.L. rank)
C Yorvit Torrealba 5 .987 DNQ
Chris Iannetta 0 1.000 DNQ
Javy Lopez 1 .996 DNQ
1B Todd Helton 4 .997 1st
2B Jamey Carroll 3 .995 1st
Kaz Matsui 2 .984 DNQ
3B Garrett Atkins 19 .953 8th
SS Clint Barmes 18 .969 9th
Troy Tulowitzki 2 .983 DNQ
LF Matt Holliday 6 .979 7th
CF Willy Taveras 5 .986 8th
Steve Finley 1 .997 2nd
Cory Sullivan 1 .996 4th
RF Brad Hawpe 4 .987 1st
Note: DNQ refers to players without enough chances to qualify to be ranked among league leaders.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
