Troy Tulowitzki hobbled into the interview room at Coors Field on Friday and tried to stick a smiley face on a lousy situation.
The torn tendon in his left quadriceps is likely to keep him out of the lineup until the all-star break, so all he could do was watch as his team lost 11-6 on Friday to the Los Angeles Dodgers and fell to 11-18.
“Sometimes you ask yourself, ‘Why is this happening?’ ” Tulowitzki said. “It just goes to show, you can never get too high. Coming off my rookie year, and obviously signing the contract, it seemed like that was the highest point, as high as it could get and everything was going great. Then to start off slow and then have this injury, that’s tough. I think it’s all happening for a reason.”
In the wake of Tulowitzki’s injury and in an effort to jump-start a stalled offense, manager Clint Hurdle revamped the lineup. Todd Helton, who had been hitting in the No. 2 hole, was back in the cleanup spot. Matt Holliday was hitting third. Omar Quintanilla, called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs, started at second base Friday and hit from the two hole.
“I think we needed to find a way to level up the top with the bottom of the lineup,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We’ll just keep trying keys to unlock the offense.”
Tulowitzki injured his leg charging a first-inning groundball Tuesday night in San Francisco. He pulled up lame but stayed in the game. Later in the inning, he locked up trying to move after a grounder up the middle. At that point, it was clear he had suffered a serious injury.
Tulowitzki, however, insisted Friday that staying in the game did not make his injury worse. He also said he was properly warmed up, even though he was not originally scheduled to start the game.
“I know for a fact that I definitely did the damage on the first (grounder),” he said. “I tried to stay in there, but it was already pretty messed up.”
Tulowitzki didn’t rule out possible surgery, but said it’s not likely he will need it. He has been told to stay off his leg and ice it as much as possible. The injury will be re-evaluated in about a week.
In August 2005, Tulowitzki spent a month on the disabled list at High-A Modesto when he suffered a left quadriceps strain. However, he said there is no comparison between that injury and the current one.
“I was just running before and came up a little lame,” he said. “This time it was completely tore and it just gave out on me. . . . It was definitely different. It was something I had never felt and it definitely jolted me a little bit, or popped or tore. It was definitely different than something I’ve ever felt.”
During the offseason, the defending National League champions signed Tulowitzki to a six-year, $31 million contract, the largest contract ever signed by a player with fewer than two years of major-league service.
Now the Rockies will have to find a way to win without Tulowitzki on the field. His primary replacement at shortstop will be Clint Barmes, but Quintanilla and rookie Jonathan Herrera will also see time at short.
“It’s a challenge for Tulo, it’s a challenge for our club,” Hurdle said. “We might have to piece it together a little bit. We’re going to have to plug it up the middle, but we’ve got capable defenders.
Last year, Tulowitzki set an NL rookie record for home runs by a shortstop (24) and batted .291 with 99 RBIs, leading the Rockies to their first World Series. But he was off to a difficult start, hitting just .152. He said he was finally starting to find his groove at the plate, but now he’s been reduced to cheerleader and observer.
“I think it will be tougher mentally than it will be on my leg,” he said. “It will be tough going to the games every day and knowing that I won’t be able to play. That will be the toughest thing for me, keeping myself busy and trying to stay positive.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
