I was wrong about Jorge De La Rosa. I gladly admit it.
After watching him struggle during spring training, I figured he would be the weak link in the Rockies’ rotation. When he started out 0-6 with a 5.43 ERA, I concluded the lefty was a lost cause.
Sure, De La Rosa has a terrific fastball and a wicked slider that sends hitters searching for the nearest chiropractor. And, yes, he’s a nice, earnest young man full of good intentions.
But his shaky mound presence, tendency to melt down when runners reach base and suspect track record led me to conclude he was an incurable head case. Milwaukee and Kansas City failed to harness his immense talent; why should the Rockies succeed where others failed?
As it turns out, I was the one who needed his head examined.
De La Rosa has eight victories since June 1, the most in the majors. He’s earned a victory in six consecutive starts, matching the franchise record. Saturday night, he pitched 7 1/3 innings, struck out seven, allowed seven hits and walked zero. He threw 96 pitches — 72 for strikes.
Suddenly, the lost cause is looking like Johan Santana or Mark Buehrle.
De La Rosa has evolved from thrower into pitcher. He’s beginning to realize he doesn’t have to strike out everybody. He’s aware there’s a catcher behind the plate to help him. He knows he has seven fielders behind him to ease his burden.
“Jorge has a better understanding that less can be more,” manager Jim Tracy said Sunday.
Then Tracy trotted out an anecdote about De La Rosa’s game last Monday against Arizona. The story explained what the Rockies have been drilling into De La Rosa’s head during his growth spurt.
Mark Reynolds hit a leadoff homer off De La Rosa in the fourth, cutting the Rockies’ lead to 8-1. Tracy made a visit to the mound to give De La Rosa a swift kick in the psyche.
“I said, ‘You know something? Your teammates have already put eight runs on the board for you, so let’s just keep pitching. Let’s don’t take this as a personal thing and see how hard you can throw the ball,’ ” Tracy recalled. “From that point of the game, all the way through Saturday night’s game into the eighth inning, I have seen as smooth a delivery from him as I’ve seen all year long.”
Give the Rockies credit for sticking with De La Rosa. Credit pitching coach Bob Apodaca, mental skills coach Ronn Svetich and general manager Dan O’Dowd. They had the guts, foresight and patience to stick with De La Rosa.
That’s a lot more than can be said for a certain Rockies beat writer.
