Los Angeles – Fans can savor it. Teammates can enjoy it. But perhaps no one can appreciate Troy Tulowitzki’s season more than the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra.
He’s the standard by which all rookie shortstops are measured, having hit a major-league record 30 home runs with 98 RBIs in 1997 with the Boston Red Sox. He’s the only player left for Tulowitzki to pass statistically. Garciaparra endorsed Tulowitzki’s rookie of the year candidacy when asked about the 22-year-old kid.
“What I notice from watching him is that you see how much he respects the game and how hard he plays,” Garciaparra said. “And what I like from watching him is that he has the ability to separate his offense and defense. That’s very difficult for young players.”
For Tulowitzki, having Garciaparra notice brings him full circle. He grew up idolizing Garciaparra and Derek Jeter.
“It means a lot when you get respect from your peers, especially him,” Tulowitzki said.
2008 opener in St. Louis
The Rockies will begin the 2008 season at St. Louis on March 31, with the home opener April 4, against the Arizona Diamondbacks for the fifth time.
Interleague play features a fresh face with the Minnesota Twins arriving at Coors Field from May 16-18. The Cleveland Indians come to Denver from June 16-18. The Rockies’ road interleague opponents include first-time visits to the Chicago White Sox (June 13-15) and the Kansas City Royals (June 23-25) and a return trip to Detroit (June 27-29).
Seconds, anyone?
Ian Stewart is not alone in his second base experiment. Jeff Baker will join him for a 10-day trial in the Arizona Instructional League in Tucson, working with roving instructor Rich Dauer. Baker played shortstop at Clemson, so the middle infield isn’t completely foreign to him. He said he would drop from 215 pounds to 206 to become lighter on his feet.
“I can get to that easy. I did it a few years ago when I first started playing the outfield,” said Baker, who is out of minor-league options.
Tiebreaker reminder
As determined by coin flips earlier this month, the Rockies sit in a good spot in the event of a two-team wild-card tiebreaker. They would host either San Diego or Philadelphia on Monday if one of the teams is knotted with the Rockies. If the two-team tiebreaker involved the NL West, the Rockies would be on the road to play either San Diego or Arizona.
