His struggles this season have all but guaranteed him no future with the Rockies, but at least Garrett Atkins had the present Thursday afternoon.
“All happy,” said Atkins, when asked if he had mixed emotions. “Obviously, I don’t think I’ve got too many more games in a Rockies uniform. I’m just trying to enjoy it with these guys. I’m glad to be a part of it today and help the team clinch. Hopefully we’ll have a long stretch in October.”
Beer and champagne weren’t all that cut through the air in the Rockies’ clubhouse after their National League playoff-clinching victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. There was no small amount of irony, too. In their final home game of the season, it was Atkins, the run-producer-turned-spare-part, who stepped up and delivered three hits and three RBIs.
This was the same Atkins whose season crashed and burned in May, when he hit .148, the first of three months in which he hit below .200. How long was his summer? Consider this: He averaged 105 RBIs over the previous three seasons, but the three runs he drove in Thursday gave him 48 in 2009.
“It hasn’t been fun,” Atkins said. “It hasn’t been the way you draw up the season coming out of spring training. But going into the playoffs right here makes it a little bit better. I know I wasn’t playing well, but the team was, so it’s hard to complain about taking a back seat to guys who are playing well. This is all that matters right now.”
That could change soon enough. Atkins could well find himself at the plate with a game, if not the Rockies’ season, on the line. Particularly if the Rockies’ opponent is Philadelphia, given the Phillies’ glut of left-handers.
“We need this guy,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “I tried to get that message out there: We’ve got to have you. So it wasn’t a matter of completely unplugging him. I kept trying to find a place to plug him in and keep him involved. We don’t know just yet, but if it’s Philadelphia, there’s a strong chance they’ll throw three left-handed starters at us.
“That’s when the importance of Garrett Atkins starts to come into play. This guy could be huge for us.”
