The problem with dreams is that eventually you wake up.
Nobody pinched the Rockies. Reality, instead, clobbered them over the head. A season that began with aspirations of a National League West title, of a second consecutive World Series berth, sits in shambles. Now, the likelihood is closer Brian Fuentes will be dealt and vultures will circle all-star outfielder Matt Holliday.
Only the most forgiving division in baseball history prevents stamping this as the Rockies’ worst first half ever.
“We have been horrible for a long time and somehow we are still in it,” third baseman Garrett Atkins said. “We obviously know we have to play a lot better.”
Forget the 8 1/2-game deficit in the division. It camouflages just how badly things have gone. The Rockies are a statistical mess, with not even the forgiving Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers capable of saving them.
History suggests that one of those teams will get hot, even if it’s just for a few weeks, and finish with 83 wins. For the Rockies to reach that threshold, they would have to go 44-22 in the second half. Not even last year’s magical club managed that, posting a 46-29 record after the break.
We all saw last year’s team, and this club, folks, is nothing like that one. Many of the names are similar, but on most nights the only reminder of greatness is the NL Championship banner above the Coors Field Jumbo-Tron.
Power stripped
The Rockies used to be clutch. Now, they drop the transmission in the game’s most important moments.
They have been outscored 85-53 in the first inning, routinely starting in a hole that takes pressure off opposing starters and lines up the enemy bullpen perfectly. They are hitting .243 with runners in scoring position, receiving no boost from last season’s catalyst Troy Tulowitzki, who is out with a lacerated right palm, and little lift from an injured Todd Helton.
Their 4.30 bullpen ERA ranks 26th in baseball, the reflection of a team that demoted closer Manuel Corpas three weeks into the season.
“We have had some disappointing performances,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said.
Pitching is one of the most glaring deficiencies on this underwhelming club. The Rockies own a 4.93 ERA, which ranks 28th overall and well above the National League average (4.21). The Rockies finished their road trip with three veteran starters who have spent the bulk of this season in Triple-A.
“It’s not how we pictured it,” O’Dowd said.
This has brought focus on ineffectiveness, injuries (Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh) — and the offseason.
Francis, who has never won fewer than 13 games in a season, has three wins. While he denies it, last season’s career-high workload and high-stress innings appear to have exacted a heavy toll. He should return from the disabled list in approximately two weeks, but it’s tough to imagine him having a season to save at that point.
“I haven’t pitched anywhere near my capabilities,” Francis said.
Francis not alone
In hindsight, manager Clint Hurdle admitted, the Rockies overrated young pitcher Franklin Morales and, to a lesser degree, Ubaldo Jimenez. The team is 7-18 in their starts. Morales is stuck in Colorado Springs, his return nowhere in sight because of command problems. Jimenez has rebounded nicely but is too often the victim of scant run support. And Hirsh, the projected fourth starter, has yet to pitch an inning in the big leagues, slow to regain his control and velocity in Triple-A after a spring-training shoulder injury.
The Rockies didn’t have a lot of room to add starting pitching on their payroll, but O’Dowd missed with the money he did have. The trio of Mark Redman (banished from the rotation, only to return for a cameo the last two weeks), Kip Wells (blood clot injury, will rejoin rotation in second half) and Josh Towers (bust in Triple-A) has not delivered.
“It wasn’t a great market for starting pitching. Livan Hernandez (9-6, 5.44 ERA with Minnesota) was out there and performed well early but hasn’t done anything since. Kyle Lohse (11-2, 3.39 with St. Louis) has been the only one who was available and shown consistent performance all year,” O’Dowd said. “But he was looking for $30 to $40 million all winter.”
Lohse signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal March 14 after the Rockies had understandably committed their dollars elsewhere.
O’Dowd has said for weeks his team’s record will influence the July 31 trading deadline as much as the standings. By any measure, the Rockies aren’t a good team.
They should play out this month, trade Fuentes for starting pitching (the Yankees’ Ian Kennedy or Tampa Bay’s Double-A arm Wade Davis), move Matt Herges and Willy Taveras to contenders and keep Holliday at least until the winter, if not forever.
Come August, call up relievers Juan Morillo and Casey Weathers and center fielder Dexter Fowler. What’s to lose, at this point, besides more games in a season where playoff dreams have gone to die?
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Rockin’ hard place
The Rockies find themselves clinging to hope in the NL West, sabotaged by leaky pitching, poor at-bats in the clutch and injuries. Baseball writer Troy E. Renck lists the key failures:
•Record at break: 39-57. They were nine games better last year (44-44).
•Team batting .258 at break, 19 points lower than last season.
•Team ERA 4.93, compared with 4.71 in the first half last season.
•Rockies have been outscored 85-53 in the first inning, 51-23 on the road.
•Team 5-12 in starts by Jeff Francis.
Rockies’ midsummer scorecard
The defending National League champions broke spring training with high hopes and mile-high expectations. It hasn’t worked out that way. Heading into the all-star break, the Rockies are 39-57, 8 1/2 games out of first place in a weak NL West. Denver Post baseball writer Patrick Saunders breaks down the expectations and the reality of the 2008 season:
Starting pitching
Expectation: A talented, young pitching staff featuring 2007 ace Jeff Francis, sinkerballer Aaron Cook, fireballers Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales, and perhaps Jason Hirsh, would be a steady force this season.
Reality: Only Cook has shined. Francis has struggled mightily with fastball command; Jimenez flashes both talent and growing pains; Morales is in Triple-A searching for his lost stuff; and Hirsh has been hurt since spring training. The Rockies have been forced to rely on journeymen Jorge De La Rosa, Mark Redman and Glendon Rusch.
Relief pitching
Expectation: Closer Manuel Corpas, along with setup men Luis Vizcaino and Brian Fuentes, would anchor a bullpen that posted a 3.85 ERA in 2007, second-best in team history.
Reality: Corpas, who signed a new contract that guarantees him $7.825 million through 2011, struggled early and lost his closer job to Fuentes; Vizcaino, the highest-paid free-agent reliever in club history (two years, $7.5 million), was hurt early and has been a disaster ever since; Fuentes has regained his form of late; and Taylor Buchholz has emerged as a quality late-inning arm.
Offense
Expectation: The Rockies’ offense — ranked first in the NL in 2007 with a .280 average and second in runs scored — would be unstoppable.
Reality: Though production has picked up of late, the offense floundered well into June, especially in clutch situations. Missing from action has been Todd Helton. A career .332 hitter, Helton was batting just .266 with seven homers and 29 RBIs when he went on the disabled list July 4 because of his bad back.
Road wins
Expectation: In 2007, the Rockies finally proved they could win big, important games on the road. More was expected in 2008.
Reality: The Rockies head into the break with a 14-36 road record, the worst in Major League Baseball.
Troy Tulowitzki
Expectation: Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, last year’s runner-up for NL rookie of the year, would improve upon his .291 average, 24 homers and 99 RBIs.
Reality: After signing a six-year, $31 million contract, Tulo has struggled from the outset. On the disabled list for the second time this season, he’s hitting .166 with three home runs and 16 RBIs.
