ATLANTA — General manager Dan O’Dowd’s brutal honesty about the Rockies last week appeared equal parts assessment and message. Going forward, he wants a better offensive approach, more quality strikes and sounder fundamentals.
The players were disappointed by O’Dowd’s comments, viewing them as a concession speech at a time when they were still contenders.
Now, there’s no debate.
The Rockies are done, and not just because rookie center fielder Dexter Fowler was a starter Wednesday night. His inclusion in the lineup was meant to jump-start the offense, not wave a white flag, manager Clint Hurdle insisted. Reliever Luis Vizcaino’s appearance morphed into as much with three forgettable seventh-inning at-bats in a 9-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Rockies’ fourth consecutive defeat.
“When you make bad pitches, you pay,” Viz-caino said.
Vizcaino is symbolic of the Rockies’ season: high expectations, dismal results. Two minutes after the Rockies tied the score 4-4, the highest-paid, free-agent reliever in club history dissolved before their eyes again.
A solid stretch in early August seemed like years ago as Vizcaino allowed back-to-back home runs to left-handed hitters Kelly Johnson and Chipper Jones and a double to Brian McCann. It left an ugly statistical stain that demanded to know why he was in there in the first place.
Left-handers are hitting .385 against the veteran, going 30-for-78 with eight home runs. Vizcaino was summoned, Hurdle said, because left-hander Glendon Rusch had worked back-to-back days and Taylor Buchholz needed a mental breather, backing up Manuel Corpas to the eighth.
After Johnson’s towering home run to right field — his second of the night — the Coca-Cola bottle in the upper deck spit out fireworks. Plate umpire Paul Schrieber tossed a new baseball to Vizcaino, who swatted it away in disgust.
“That’s the perplexing part of it. This guy up to this year has pitched big innings and gotten big guys out,” Hurdle said.
The frustration was both visible and understandable, the sobering reality settling like cement. Forget the National League West race, the Rockies have to go 15-1 just to post a winning record.
Vizcaino could not get the ball down with any movement on any pitch. Johnson swatted a hanging slider and Jones, bucking for his first National League batting title, belted a fastball at his knees.
In a half-empty stadium, you could practically see the Rockies deflating, another spirited offensive rally — Ian Stewart’s home run and a two-run single by Jeff Baker — rendered meaningless.
“I am going to play as hard as I can over the remaining games and try to win. That’s all I am asked to do and all I am going to do,” said slugger Matt Holliday.
The night will ultimately be remembered because of Fowler. He made his first start with dramatic highs and lows. He struck out twice, but threw out Braves pitcher James Parr at third base on a deep flyball and recorded his first hit on an infield chopper.
Fowler is part of a future that now has intersected with the present.
“It was eventful, that’s for sure,” he said.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
TODAY: Rockies at Braves, 5 p.m., FSN
Ubaldo Jimenez (10-12, 4.20) has an opportunity to shrink his ERA lower than Aaron Cook’s, who was an all-star and, if only briefly, a Cy Young Award candidate. Jimenez posted a 5.79 ERA in August, but has shown progress in his last two starts. The Braves’ Jair Jurrjens (12-9, 3.54) represents a lamentable mistake by the Tigers. They gave him up for rapidly aging shortstop Edgar Renteria. Jurrjens is 1-1 against the Rockies this season, recording 10 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings pitched. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Friday:
Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley (14-10, 3.02) vs. Rockies’ Jeff Francis (4-9, 5.03), 7:05 p.m., FSN
Saturday:
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (3-5, 4.60) vs. Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (8-7, 5.30), 6:05 p.m., KTVD-20
Sunday:
Dodgers’ Greg Maddux (7-12, 4.24) vs. Rockies’ Aaron Cook (16-9, 4.16), 1:05 p.m., FSN
Monday:
Padres’ Wade LeBlanc (0-1, 5.40) vs. Rockies’ Livan Hernandez (1-3, 9.85), 6:35 p.m., FSN
