TUCSON — Everything appears set up for Colorado to win its first National League West crown. And so, of course, a sport built on humility has spent the past few weeks poking its finger into the Rockies’ chests.
You think you are tough? How about we tie one of your favorite right arms behind your back? Paging Mr. Huston Street.
Not concerned? OK, Mr. Aaron Cook, no sinker gravitational pull for you.
“Nobody said it was going to be easy,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki admitted last week.
Despite progress from several players, and a pleasant surprise — hello, Greg Smith, where have you been? — the Rockies have some issues to deal with 15 days from their season opener. The major topic as camp winds down is the bullpen. This group has a chance to be the best in franchise history, but that’s going to be tough without Street as the closer. With Street out with a bad shoulder, the best guess is he doesn’t pitch until the end of April, at the earliest. And even then, there’s no guarantee he will pitch well. Upon returning from biceps tendinitis last season, he was a different pitcher, not nearly as sharp.
Multiple scouts and executives indicate the Rockies are actively looking to add another left-handed reliever. Free agent Joe Beimel is a possibility, but his price would have to drop.
Manager Jim Tracy’s genius is making sense of chaos, seeing answers before problems surface. His ideal solution is to keep everyone in their normal roles, including top setupman Rafael Betancourt, and just move Manuel Corpas to the ninth inning. That would create the smallest disruption and make the transition back to Street easy.
Corpas is definitely motivated by Street’s absence. Corpas’ stuff, however, must match his desire. He has been inconsistent, struggling to keep his sinker and slider low in the strike zone. If he can’t do it, the closer’s job goes to Franklin Morales, and the Rockies will likely add Beimel or another lefty to pair with Randy Flores — and cross their fingers that Betancourt’s shoulder is fine.
Offensive safety net
Remember how last year’s Phillies survived their bullpen blowing more saves than the entire cast of “Baywatch”? The Rockies might need to pull off a similar feat, at least in April. The schedule is set up to deliver a smackdown against mediocre pitching. Five of the Rockies’ eight April opponents combined to go 102 games under .500 last season.
“We have a great offense. That’s definitely going to help us get through this,” first baseman Jason Giambi said.
The Rockies have shown a physical difference in their hitting approach this spring. They are shortening their swings with two strikes and focusing on hitting the ball back up the middle. Clint Barmes, Ian Stewart and Chris Iannetta have shown marked improvement. Spring training statistics mean nothing, but their mind-set at least suggests the trio will cut down on their strikeouts, and that could be nitromethane for the offense.
Didn’t see that coming
For all the understandable hand-wringing over Street, there also is reason to be concerned about Cook, who has been less than sharp. The good news is, he has been through this roller-coaster ride before. His track record suggests he will figure it out. And Jeff Francis, while far from consistent in his return from shoulder surgery, has had his velocity return. He’s going to have some ebbs and flows the first month, but there’s no reason to think he can’t be an effective back-of-the-rotation pitcher.
The guy who has caught folks off-guard is Jason Hammel. Along with Jorge De La Rosa, Hammel has been the Rockies’ best starter this spring.
Given job security for the first time in his career, Hammel has responded with confidence and dominance. He could be the caulking in the rotation, plugging in the wins lost from Francis or Cook.
“If he’s a No. 5 in the rotation, that says a lot about the staff,” Iannetta said.
The rotation likely sets up as Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, Cook, Francis and Hammel. Special assistant Vinny Castilla has predicted Jimenez and De La Rosa could someday be the Rockies’ version of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. They are crazy talented, with 35 wins between them realistic.
At their core, however, the Rockies’ strength is in numbers. They don’t have all-stars at position. They must win by getting contributions from everyone. Losing Street hurts. But nothing that has happened this spring suggests they can’t navigate the detour.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
