CINCINNATI — You knew Brad Hawpe wasn’t going to make his major-league debut at first base without catching some grief from his Rockies teammates.
“Hey, Hawper,” Todd Helton said. “You nervous?”
“Nope.”
“Well, I’m nervous.”
Helton’s humor was as dry as ever Saturday night. But there are serious issues involving him just over the horizon. Such as: Does he believe he will be ready to play Tuesday in Miami when he’s eligible to be activated off the 15-day disabled list?
“I have no idea,” Helton said. “If I could hit, like, 14 home runs in that game, that would be good too. It would be good just to get back out there and play and hopefully help us win ballgames.”
Helton will take batting practice for the next few days, but there’s no indication of when he will be activated. Meanwhile, manager Jim Tracy is preparing for life without him, having worked Hawpe into a first baseman-by-committee rotation that includes Jason Giambi, Melvin Mora, Brad Eldred and Chris Iannetta.
“I have no idea what they’re thinking,” Helton said. “You probably know more than I do at this point.”
Helton, who’s hitting .246 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 248 at-bats, said a recent epidural injection relieved his discomfort, enabling him to take batting practice. But beyond that, there are more questions than answers.
“I’m going to take BP and talk to the trainer and see what he says,” said Helton, a career .325 hitter. “But I feel good.”
Tracy said any plans for Helton were on hold until he and his staff get a chance to see him in action.
Asked when Helton might be activated, Tracy said: “I can’t answer that question, and I’m not trying to avoid the question. You want to see where he’s at. . . . He can get out of bed and do a lot of things, believe me, so I wouldn’t put anything past him. . . . We have our fingers crossed that the Todd Helton we had last year is going to show up for a spurt here at a very, very important time in our season.”
