St. Louis – Sift through the rubble of the reconstructed bullpen and the uneven starting rotation and there’s a sliver of light in the Rockies’ start: Todd Helton is hitting. And walking.
He reached base a major-league best 72 times in his first 139 plate appearances. He ranked second to Barry Bonds in OBP (.518). On cue, Helton crushed his third home run of the season to lead off the second inning Monday, a 402-foot blast to right field.
“His (OBP) is amazing,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “But I am not surprised. I really felt like he was going to have a big season.”
Part of appreciating Helton is redefining his parameters. He’s probably never again going to hit 40-plus home runs, as he did in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. But 83 extra-base hits – his average until the past two years – seem within reach given his power trip the past few weeks.
“I can’t do everything,” Helton said with a smirk when asked about not hitting more home runs. “I am hitting (.389). That’s not enough for you? I would probably have three or four more at (Coors Field), but no one’s hitting them out there. As it gets warmer, the ball will travel better.”
The gnarly beard isn’t the only thing different about Helton. His once pronounced front leg kick is much smaller, though Helton insists that’s not behind his resurgence.
“It’s not something I think about. It comes and goes,” Helton said. “I am in a good place right now.”
Working on a short leash
Taylor Buchholz’s 8.04 ERA eloquently explains the importance of tonight’s outing. There are growing signs he will be replaced in the rotation if he has another poor start, or perhaps two. Josh Fogg is also operating with a small margin for error, considering his slump.
The club has been closely monitoring prospect Ubaldo Jimenez, who allowed just four hits Sunday, but walked five in 5 2/3 innings. The Rockies would like him to make at least one more Triple-A start to improve command of his fastball.
Mulling alcohol policy
O’Dowd has met with team president Keli McGregor and in-house counsel Hal Roth as the team decides whether to ban alcohol in the Rockies’ clubhouse. A decision is expected Thursday before the Rockies’ home game against the Giants. Eight teams don’t provide alcohol in the home clubhouse, including the A’s and Cardinals, who changed their policy after the drunken-driving death of St. Louis pitcher Josh Hancock.
Footnotes
Byung-Hyun Kim increased his trade value with a strong Triple-A outing Monday, striking out eight. … Until one of the catchers gets hot offensively, manager Clint Hurdle will rotate Yorvit Torrealba and Chris Iannetta.
