Mesa, Ariz. – Brad Hawpe believes with certainty that he will be ready for opening day.
But the possibility of the outfielder opening the season on the disabled list lingered after Hawpe required extensive treatment on his sprained left ankle today. Hawpe suffered the injury while fielding a ball in practice on Tuesday. He has not played the last two days, replaced against the Chicago Cubs by veteran Steve Finley.
“It’s a little bit sore, not real painful, but still a little bit sore,” Hawpe said today. “It’s going to be OK. I am sure I will be good to go (for Monday’s opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks).”
The Rockies grew concerned when the swelling increased on Tuesday night. Hawpe said he has never suffered a sprained ankle before. The right fielder enjoyed the best spring of his career, hitting .315 with a team-high five home runs. He also showed improvement against left-handed pitching.
The Rockies have alternatives if Hawpe can’t go. Jeff Baker would pick up some at-bats as well as Finley. Baker has shown more offensively, but Finley is a much more accomplished defensive player.
Oakland out on Kim
A’s assistant general manager David Forst confirmed to The Post today that Oakland has named Joe Kennedy its fifth starter, removing them from the Byung-Hyun Kim sweepstakes. Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd said he’s prepared to start the season with Kim in the bullpen. There is interest, he acknowledged, but the teams want the Rockies to eat Kim’s $2.5 million salary without giving up much in return.
By the numbers: 1
Errors for Cubs center fielder after Matt Holliday’s lined shot was ruled a double. Soriano misjudged three flyballs in the first five innings and failed to catch a flip throw from Cliff Floyd that led to the Rockies taking an extra base.
Footnotes
John Mabry made an outstanding defensive play at third base and appears to be the favorite to land the 25th spot on the roster. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Rockies have expressed interest in Sox knuckleballer Charlie Haeger.
