ANAHEIM, Calif. — It was no surprise to see a talented National League shortstop celebrating a breathless victory Monday.
Just figured it would be the Rockies’ Troy Tulowitzki, not Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins. Rollins’ walkoff double against the Dodgers has the Phillies on the verge of back-to-back World Series appearances.
Tulowitzki watched it play out at home in California, on television.
“Yeah, of course,” Tulowitzki, a baseball junkie, said Tuesday.
He’s not sulking, in case you’re wondering. Nine days after his team was eliminated, he has already returned to the gym.
“I have started to work out,” said Tulowitzki, who is expected to finish in the top five in the NL MVP race next month.
The Game 4 loss to the Phillies still stings. The Rockies had the defending champion by the nape of the neck when Huston Street dissolved before their eyes. Colorado was 45-0 when leading after the eighth inning at home. So the players had more than a gut feeling they were going to board a charter that night.
What Tulowitzki wanted is to see how his team would have responded in a winner-take-all cage match at Citizens Bank Park against Cole Hamels, whom the Rockies had previously beaten.
“I wish we would have played a Game 5 there,” Tulowitzki said.
Because the pressure would have been on them?
“Yeah,” he said.
Catching up with Fuentes.
The Rockies will discuss a multiyear contract with Street this offseason. A year ago, they were reluctant to do the same for Brian Fuentes. The main difference is the age. Fuentes, 34 compared with Street’s 26, ultimately signed with the Angels, and has no regrets despite his roller- coaster ride this season. He made the all-star team, but is used as much as a specialist as a true closer these days.
“I came here to be in the playoffs. There is an expectation to win,” Fuentes said. “They were just starting to develop that in Colorado when I left. It takes time, but obviously they are on the right track.”
Footnotes.
I talked to agent Scott Boras on Tuesday regarding free agent Matt Holliday. He expects eight to nine teams to make a play for the left fielder. Boras didn’t name names. But clubs where Holliday could fit include the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, Giants, Braves and Cardinals. . . . Boras also said Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez will likely briefly play winter ball in Venezuela. . . . I ran into former Padres general manager Kevin Towers, who attended the ALCS as a fan. Towers is looking to be a special assistant to a GM, but for now is attending concerts and paddleboarding. Towers is close friends with Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Boston’s Theo Epstein. . . . Yankees closer Mariano Rivera laughed off reports that he used a spitball Monday based on a YouTube video posted on the Internet. Major League Baseball investigated it and determined that Rivera didn’t commit a rules violation. Rivera offered to fly reporters to dinner anywhere in the world if he had cheated.
