Clint Barmes is a shortstop at heart, but he has become a second baseman by trade. He has high hopes of plying that trade for the Rockies in 2009.
But will he get the chance? There are likely to be some excellent second basemen on the market this winter, Florida’s Dan Uggla and Oakland’s Mark Ellis chief among them.
“I think Clint’s established that he can be our guy at second base if we need him,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He’s done a lot of good things this year, but it depends (on how) the situation falls out, how personnel could play out.”
Barmes entered spring training competing for the starting second base job, but it initially went to Jayson Nix. During the course of the season, however, Barmes has started a team-high 49 games at second, committing six errors with a .976 fielding percentage.
“Getting an opportunity to play every day at second was definitely what I was hoping for,” Barmes said. “I feel like I have settled in over there, and I feel like I can play solidly defensively.”
Offensively, Barmes said he’s in the best place of his career. He’s hitting .288 with nine homers and 38 RBIs.
“He’s more confident,” Hurdle said. “He never feels he’s out of an at-bat, even with two strikes. He knows he can battle and do some things. I think he’s one of the guys that has really developed some maturity and confidence through dealing with adversity head-on.”
Tulo time.
Troy Tulowitzki’s second- half resurgence is threefold. He’s rediscovered a more consistent swing (.317 average since the all-star break to lead all National League shortstops), fielded with confidence (two errors in his last 42 games) and re-established himself as a team leader.
“He’s found his edge again as far as I’m concerned,” Hurdle said. “He’s making plays, he’s swinging the bat. I have no doubt that this guy will come back and be the player we saw in ’07.”
Numbers game.
Catcher Chris Iannetta has 61 RBIs and needs four more to pass Brent Mayne (64, 2000) for the most by a Rockies catcher. . . . Garrett Atkins needs five RBIs to top the 100-RBI mark for the third straight season.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
TODAY: Rockies at Giants, 8:15 p.m., FSN
In terms of the standings, there’s not much riding on tonight’s matchup between Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (11-12, 4.12 ERA) and Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum (17-4, 2.46). But for those who appreciate a hard-throwing pitchers’ duel, tonight’s game is a must-see. Jimenez dearly wants to finish the season with a .500 record. Lincecum still has an outside shot at winning the NL Cy Young Award.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
