Tony La Russa unlocked the mystery. Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe was left out of the All-Star Game because of his position, not his statistics.
St. Louis skipper La Russa, manager of the National League team, confirmed Tuesday that Hawpe made the final shortlist of reserves for serious consideration for next Tuesday’s game. In the end, La Russa chose Philadelphia’s Aaron Rowand over Hawpe and Arizona’s Eric Byrnes.
“In Hawpe’s case, we really only had one spot for an outfielder,” La Russa said.
“And with the San Francisco ballpark, when the starters come out of the game we felt we needed to pick a (true) center fielder. And it was Aaron Rowand.”
Hawpe, who is hitting .295 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs, was surprised by his near miss. It’s the second consecutive season he has been among the last cuts.
“It’s pretty cool that (La Russa) took the time to think about me like that while he’s busy trying to win games,” Hawpe said. “I will keep putting my name in the mix, and maybe someday it will happen.”
Hirsh out, Herges in
As expected, starter Jason Hirsh landed on the disabled list Tuesday with a sprained right ankle. An X-ray revealed no ligament damage or fracture, so he remains hopeful that he will make his next start after the all-star break. Aaron Cook will start Sunday in Hirsh’s spot.
“I freaked out (Monday) because that’s the first time I’ve ever had any kind of baseball injury,” Hirsh said.
The Rockies used Hirsh’s absence to bolster their relief corps, calling up veteran Matt Herges. He pitched briefly with the Rockies this season and thought he was going to be traded before the phone rang.
“I am glad it worked out here,” Herges said. “Pitching in the Colorado Springs ballpark helped me focus on forcing contact down in the zone.”
Footnotes
The league is having conversations about potential All-Star Home Run Derby contestants, but Matt Holliday is a longshot in a National League crew that could include Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds. … More than half of the Rockies’ players purchased iPhones last weekend. Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki had video of their at-bats placed on the gadgets by the team’s resident tech wizard, Brian Jones. … Former Rockie Vinny Castilla leaves Thursday to assume managerial duties of Mexico’s Pan Am team. Among Castilla’s players are Karim Garcia and Erubiel Durazo. “I am excited and nervous as well,” Castilla said. … Second baseman Jamey Carroll was scratched from the lineup with a wrist injury suffered while making a diving stop Monday.
