If the Rockies weren’t so fixated on next year, they might still be playing baseball this year.
During an abrupt exit from the playoffs, Colorado prematurely kicked its two all-star players from 2009 to the curb. Veterans Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis got done wrong. It proved to be a major mistake.
The bright future the Rockies want to sell us now?
Don’t count on Marquis being part of it. Boxes were packed in front of his locker, and the veteran pitcher looked prepared to move on down the road 30 minutes after Philadelphia dumped the Rockies from the postseason.
But before we can regard Colorado as a serious World Series contender in 2010, general manager Dan O’Dowd better think very carefully before trading Hawpe and removing the power in his bat from this team.
“It was the toughest thing for me,” said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, when he admitted the benching of Hawpe against the Phillies was pure agony. It was done, because Tracy looked at Hawpe’s failure to square up the bat on a fastball and decided: “That’s not the same guy who made the all-star team.”
Here’s the deal now: Unless the all-star shine returns to Hawpe, the Rockies will be lucky to make the playoffs in 2010.
Trade Hawpe? Are you absolutely sure the Kid Rocks are ready for life without this 30-year-old outfielder?
Before the National League division series began, Tracy erased Hawpe from his No. 5 spot in the Colorado batting order. Any way you rationalize it, the move was a disaster by a manager who had possessed a Midas touch. The five hole became a black hole for the Rockies, whether it was Garrett Atkins or Yorvit Torrealba failing at the job.
Read the production Colorado got from its No. 5 hitter in the NLDS and weep: an anemic .133 batting average and not so much as one lousy RBI until Tracy used Jason Giambi in a pinch-hitting role during Game 4.
Tell me: How could have Hawpe done any worse?
But Hawpe was condemned to be a ghost in his own dugout after a loss in the series opener.
That was dumb. Trading Hawpe and his $7.5 million salary for 2010 without getting a proven major-league run producer in return would be dumber.
Before Tracy banished Hawpe to the bench to be a spectator against the Phillies, I advised against a quick hook on a veteran whose slugging percentage was .519 during the regular season. Why? If Hawpe did not hit, the Rockies lacked the firepower to exchange shots with the defending World Series champions.
My suggestion was the Colorado outfielder who needed to take a seat against the Phils was Dexter Fowler. At age 23, Fowler is ripe with potential, but did not appear ready for prime time in the playoffs. For the series, Fowler batted .214 with no extra base hits, no steals, one run scored and generally looked clueless at the plate.
The players Tracy used to replace Hawpe in right field were almost as inept with a bat as Fowler, with Ryan Spilborghs and Seth Smith combining for two hits, one RBI and three strikeouts in 10 at-bats.
It remains a head-scratcher why the Rockies went with Jason Hammel, who bombed as the starting pitcher in Game 3 of the NLDS, rather than Marquis. Despite his well-documented decline from all-star form during the back half of this season, Marquis does own 94 major-league victories compared to Hammel’s 17.
No GM in the majors did a more masterful job than O’Dowd in 2009, especially when you consider Rockies ownership remains more concerned with fattening the bottom line than winning championship rings.
Why should you expect to see Hammel back in Colorado next season, while Marquis will be throwing strikes for the New York Mets or some other team that signs him as a free agent? Care to guess which Rockies pitcher was paid a base salary of $422,000 in 2009 and which one earned $9.875 million?
Hawpe, who did not complain a peep about getting benched, is the player of character that Rockies management professes to prize.
We all see the flaws in Hawpe. His swing has more moving parts than a Ferris wheel. He pummels right- handed pitching but doesn’t scare lefties. Nobody has sweet flashbacks of Roberto Clemente when Hawpe patrols the outfield.
But, right now, you can pencil in 25 home runs, a .285 batting average and 85-90 RBIs for Hawpe in 2010 and have no worries. Those are the numbers of a serious professional hitter.
How does a smart baseball man make decisions on personnel?
“When you allow your emotions to get too overly involved, it doesn’t ever end up being very good,” Tracy said. “I remember Sparky Anderson telling me years ago, if you get to the point where you sit in the dugout and allow yourself to manage with your heart rather than your eyes and head, it’s not going to work out too good.”
Here’s the cold-hearted truth:
If the Rockies are going to trade Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe in successive seasons for monetary reasons, this team better acquire a powerful new bat that doesn’t go cold in October.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
