Milwaukee – For the Rockies to be contenders instead of pretenders in the second half of the season, starting pitcher Aaron Cook must rebound.
Cook doesn’t need anybody to tell him that.
“I know how important our starting pitching’s going to be, and how good I have to be,” Cook said Saturday before the Rockies played the Brewers. “But I haven’t lost a bit of confidence in myself. I know if I pitch like I’m capable of, I’ll give us a lot of good innings.”
Trouble is, Cook (5-6, 4.68 ERA) is in a deep rut heading into today’s start against the Brewers. He has lost five of his past eight starts, a stretch in which his record was 1-5 and his ERA was 5.47. In his most recent appearance – six rocky innings in Colorado’s 8-4 loss to Philadelphia before the all-star break – he tied a career high by surrendering 12 hits. Most maddening, four of the five runs he allowed came with two outs.
Theories abound as to why the pitcher tabbed as the staff ace during spring training has failed to meet high expectations. One scout said Cook is overthrowing, making his two- seam fastball float instead of sink. Manager Clint Hurdle said Cook’s struggles stem from a combination of things.
“We’re trying to re-establish his identity, what he does best,” Hurdle said. “I’ve spoken to him at length about it.”
Cook has been out of sync with runners on base. Forced to pitch from the stretch and keep tabs on baserunners, Cook has sped up his delivery and lost focus. Hurdle wants him to slow down.
“He wants the shutdown innings, he wants to pitch past the sixth inning,” Hurdle said. “I don’t know if it’s anxiousness or what, but he needs to slow down. … Simplify. Make one good pitch, then make the next good pitch. If somebody gets on base, all Aaron needs is a groundball and he might get a double play. We’ve seen him do that over and over.”
Cook has heard all the theories. But for him, self-improvement boils down to one thing.
“It’s all about consistency,” Cook said. “Whether it’s slowing down my mechanics and letting the ball sink, or just executing all my pitches better, I’ve got to be more consistent.”
Footnotes
Willy Taveras ran some sprints Saturday and showed some improvement. The club likely will decide today whether to put the center fielder on the disabled list because of his strained right quadriceps. … Reliever Brian Fuentes, who has 20 saves this year, threw a side session and is on pace to come off the disabled list Thursday. Fuentes faces a rehab assignment before then, possibly with Single-A Asheville (N.C.) or Double-A Tulsa (Okla.).
