Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck posts his Rockies Mailbag every other week on Mondays during the 2007 MLB season on DenverPost.com. The next installment is slated for Oct. 8.
To drop a Rockies- or MLB-related question into the Rockies Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
With Todd Helton unlikely to be traded and Kaz Matsui’s future a mystery, should the Rockies consider moving Ian Stewart to second base – like Chase Utley, for example?
— Dan, Aurora
Dan – The Rockies are planning to try just that, with Stewart taking groundballs at second base before going to the instructional league for a crash course.
Stewart is a heck of an athlete, but I think moving him to second is a bit of a longshot. For starters, he would have to drop some weight, leaning down from 215 to around 205. It would require complete and utter devotion to a training program this winter. Sometimes he looks like he could do it, but other times I see him and just believe he’s too big.
Some close to Stewart aren’t crazy about the idea, but he’s agreeable. The other option is using him as a pinch-hitter to begin next season or keeping him at third base in Triple-A. “It’s sad that guys get stereotyped. He might be able play second,” the Dodgers’ Jeff Kent told me. Stewart, if the experiment worked, would pass Kent as the biggest second baseman in the major leagues.
There’s also the sneaking suspicion that floating the idea of Stewart switching gives the Rockies more leverage in trade discussions with Garrett Atkins. It’s telling teams they have no urgency to deal their third baseman, possibly sweetening the pot. Again, as I have said before, I would be very reluctant to take Atkins’ bat out of this lineup.
I just looked at the defensive stats after a member of a message board picked Matt Holliday for his Gold Glove left fielder. I was shocked to find that Holliday’s defensive stats were so good after watching him the first three years of his career. What do you think Holliday’s chances are this year for a Gold Glove?
— Walter Jones, Littleton
Walter – I don’t see a Gold Glove happening this year for a strange reason: Players usually get noticed the year after a good year. You rarely see breakthrough Gold Glove candidates. If you did, then there would have been a rookie shortstop who had won a Gold Glove before.
Troy Tulowitzki should get it at shortstop, but my bet is that Omar Vizquel or Jose Reyes captures the trophy. That said, Holliday has improved dramatically. It wasn’t an accident. He devoted much of his offseason workouts to taking better routes on flyballs. He also worked with coach Glenallen Hill on his positioning. He plays more shallow, leaving him to be more aggressive chasing down that flyball over his head.
Troy – Where do you think Todd Helton will hit next year? Do you think he will stay in the cleanup spot or be moved maybe to the No. 2 spot? Where do you think he fits best?
— Thomas Fioriglio, Levittown, N.Y.
Thomas – A month ago I didn’t think there was any chance that Helton would return as the cleanup hitter. But he’s been hot for six weeks, providing a compelling argument that he should stay. He gets on base frequently and is showing more power. The best spot for him would be second, if he was a quicker runner. He could still end up there, though I like Troy Tulowitzki better in that spot. If manager Clint Hurdle is not worried about the right-left-right, then Helton could slip to fifth behind Atkins and Holliday.
Why does Clint Hurdle continue to use Jorge Julio? It sure is disheartening as a fan to watch Julio come in and blow games like he did Sept. 10 in Philadelphia.
— Jim P., Westminster
Jim – Hurdle uses him because, in many ways, he has to. Even with 14 relievers, the Rockies rely primarily on four or five. Julio was a key component before a terrible stretch of seven appearances. The key with Julio is being less macho. When he throws his slider and changeup more, it makes his fastball effective. At the end of the day, Julio is streaky. When on, he’s very good. When he’s off, not so much.
In the Sept. 10 game against the Phillies, Ubaldo Jimenez is pitching a great game through six innings. We have the lead. Whatever happened to the idea of letting a pitcher throw a complete game, or at least until the ninth? Is there a pitch-count number that managers won’t allow a young flamethrower to surpass? They have a shot at the playoffs, he’s almost unhittable, why not let him finish his game?
— Kevin Knott, Boulder
Kevin – There is no firm pitch count, though once a guy gets over 100, managers watch him like CIA officers on a stakeout. It’s really a touch-and-feel game for a manager. Does he think the kid has more, or will pushing him through the lineup again expose him to damage. Hurdle also has been leaning heavily on his bullpen’s experience, and he sometimes will surprisingly pull a pitcher to give a reliever a clean inning with no runners on base.
Will Franklin Morales have a spot in the starting rotation in 2008?
— Howard, Denver
Howard – He’s certainly making a strong case. He has thrown 17 consecutive scoreless innings, three shy of Denny Neagle’s club record. Even more encouraging, he maintained his velocity better in Friday’s win than any of his previous starts. For a 21-year-old kid, he shows good composure and has amazing confidence in his changeup for someone who can throw 97 miles per hour. I thought he would need some Triple-A seasoning to start next year, but after watching him this month I am not sure it will be necessary. Morales is still trying weighing whether to play a month of winter ball. If he comes into spring training sharp, he could easily break camp in the rotation.
Troy – I really appreciate the quality of your writing and the witticisms/references that you manage to sneak in to nearly every column. How do you manage to churn out so many columns while keeping readability at a high level? I suppose that you spend a lot of time writing on airplanes, in order to complete the daily game summaries along with weekend wrapup columns. Inquiring minds want to know how it’s done. Thanks.
— Gene, Fort Collins
Gene – Thanks for noticing. The reality is that this job has changed dramatically even since I began covering pro sports in 1996. Because everything is available online or on TV, I try to provide analysis and entertainment. In other words, take the reader where he can’t go and tell him what he doesn’t know. Obviously, I don’t pull it off all the time – as my hate mail suggests – but I relish taking chances in writing. As for the references and creativity, it’s pretty simple: I am a pop-culture junkie and love music. That helps free the mind. Or in my case, on a long trip, helps me lose my mind.
Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck is in his 12th season of covering the Colorado Rockies, his sixth for The Denver Post. To drop a question into his Rockies Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
