Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, struggling with a .167 batting average and stung by what manager Clint Hurdle called an “alarming number of strikeouts,” will take a seat on the bench tonight. The Rockies host the Padres at 6:40 p.m. at Coors Field.
And for the foreseeable future, until he can correct some glitches in his swing.
“It’s pretty obvious I haven’t been swinging the bat well,” Tulowitzki said before tonight’s Padres-Rockies game at Coors Field. “Defensively, I’m doing all right out there. But at the same time, the coaches always say that they are going to put the best lineup out to win, and I think this is our best lineup.”
Taking Tulo’s place at short is Clint Barmes, while Ian Stewart starts at second.
Hurdle said there is no timetable for Tulowitzki’s return to the starting lineup, saying only the Tulowitzki need a “work day.”
“We talked earlier today, Don (Baylor), Troy and myself, and we’ve all got to find a way for him to put a foot down on this thing,” Hurdle said. “He will get some extended work inside (in the batting cages) and we’ll get him back in sooner than later, to see where we are with it. The kid can hit, and he’s not hitting, and the strikeouts are alarming. He knows that.”
Tulowitzki said he’s seeing the ball well, but he’s struck out in one-third of the time (17 strikeouts in 54 at-bats). Hurdle said he believes Tulowitzki is swinging too hard and trying too hard to drive the ball to the opposite field.
“I think me having a day will help and get me headed in the right direction,” said Tulowitzki, who has just nine hits this season, three of them home runs. “I need to get out of this, but I’ve dealt with this before. It seems like I’ve always started off slow, and it’s tough to battle back from, but I know I can.”
Tulowitzki was runner-up for National League rookie of the year in 2007, hitting .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBIs. But in an injury-plagued 2008 season, he hit .263 with just eight homers and 46 RBIs.
“We are going to get our hands around this thing sooner rather than later and be proactive with it and get it right,” Hurdle said.
Asked how long Tulowitzki will be out of the starting lineup, Hurdle said, “I don’t know. We are going to take it one day at a time.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
