PHILADELPHIA — A few hours before each game, manager Jim Tracy fills out the Rockies’ lineup card. He has done it 61 times this season. Clint Barmes has been in his starting lineup 58 times.
To say Tracy has unbending faith in his second baseman would be an understatement.
To say Barmes is struggling at the plate also is an understatement. Going 0-for-5 in Tuesday night’s game left Barmes in a 2-for-40 slump. He entered Wednesday hitting just .118 (8-for-68) since the all-star break.
But Barmes started at second base against the Phillies again Wednesday night. Before the game, Tracy explained why.
“Pitching and defense is first and foremost, and it’s been that way since the game was invented,” Tracy said. “The interesting think about Barmes is that he’s one of the hardest workers in that clubhouse. He wants to do positive things each and every day.”
But there can be no denying Barmes has dropped into a deep offensive funk. His on- base percentage is .298, and just .187 since the all-star break.
Barmes says he’s not overly concerned.
“I don’t think it’s anything mechanical,” he said. “I’ve been hitting the ball hard.”
Tracy believes Barmes is on the cusp of busting out.
“Clint Barmes . . . is still trying to solve a couple of the final pieces that are going to make him a very, very special offensive player, in my opinion,” Tracy said. “He’s one swing away from being hot again, and he’s not going to get that one swing sitting here watching.”
Barmes is thrilled that his manager has his back.
“It’s been very important to have his support,” Barmes said. “I know I have been struggling at the plate, but I don’t feel like I am just giving bats away. I couldn’t be happier with all the support I’ve gotten from him, and all I want to do is go out and prove him right.”
Hardball.
When Jason Marquis drilled Reds third baseman Scott Rolen in the head Sunday, Marquis fell to his knees out of concern. Marquis was heartened to learn that a CT scan taken Monday showed that Rolen should be fine.
Still, in the tradition of hard- throwing former Cardinals star Bob Gibson, Marquis won’t let hitting a batter mess with his pitching.
“It doesn’t affect me one bit,” he said. “At the given moment? Yeah. But I don’t let it follow over into the next pitch. I still have work to do. Just like if a hitter hits the ball back toward my face. Should he be worried about hitting the ball up the middle?”
Footnotes.
The Major League Baseball Network will provide live television coverage at 11 a.m. of today’s Rockies-Phillies game. FSN Rocky Mountain is not carrying the game. The MLB Network is on DirecTV and Comcast’s Channel 420 — a digital cable outlet. . . . Entering Wednesday, the Rockies were 41-19 since Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle as manager. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Tracy is the first manager in major-league history to win at least 40 of his first 60 games after taking over a team that was at least 10 games below the .500 mark.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
