PHOENIX — Todd Helton never saw it coming. He never knew his back would betray him and make him a shell of his former self at the plate.
What type of season did Helton envision for himself during spring training?
“Same as last year,” Helton said. “Do you see yourself getting sick? Do you expect to come down with the flu? Did I expect to get hurt? No. I dealt with it last year, so I expected to again.”
Helton’s back issues, which have flared up for the better part of a decade, finally caught up with him this season. Of all the unfortunate twists and turns the Rockies’ season has taken, Helton’s offensive free fall is at the top of the list.
But make no doubt, he isn’t the only reason the Rockies stand on the periphery of the National League wild-card race after Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Diamondbacks. The Rockies’ veteran core, a group that comprises more than 60 percent of the team’s $84.3 million payroll, has been plagued by injuries. To wit: Each of the six players who earn $5 million-plus has spent at least one stint on the disabled list.
Even when healthy, though, the Rockies’ big-money veterans have been alarmingly unproductive, witness the departure of right fielder Brad Hawpe and the eminent availability of pitcher Aaron Cook before the trading deadline. Both are 31 and each is a former all-star, but, for whatever reason, they didn’t live up to expectations.
The list also includes Huston Street, whose shoulder inflammation early in spring training wound up costing him nearly three months of the season, and Jorge De La Rosa, who had scouts buzzing during the spring but fell victim to a torn tendon in his left middle finger. Then there’s Jeff Francis, whose two trips to the disabled list were predictable after he missed 20 months because of labrum surgery.
While the reasons vary in each case, each of the six has experienced a subpar season, leaving young veterans (Ubaldo Jimenez, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki), would-be role players (Matt Belisle and Miguel Olivo) and players who weren’t on the opening-day roster (Joe Beimel and Jonathan Herrera) to shoulder much of the burden.
There’s no getting around it: Major League Baseball is an industry that pays for past performance, and the Rockies haven’t gotten much bang for their buck from their highest-paid players. It’s a touchy subject, given the enormous respect Helton and the others hold among their teammates.
Ask Rockies manager Jim Tracy about the lack of production from his would-be foundation players, and here’s his response: “That’s something I don’t have an answer for, but you can make a case for that (playing a big part in the Rockies’ season). That’s the safest and best way for me to answer that question.”
The vast majority of the Rockies’ issues have reared themselves on the road, where they’re 25-40 compared with 38-20 at Coors Field. Their lack of hitting has been the obvious culprit, with their six-game trip to Los Angeles and Arizona providing a microcosm of their season.
The Rockies were shut out twice and scored eight runs on the six-game trip. They hit .189, including .135 with runners in scoring position, and didn’t hit a home run. They’ll return home today with a .228 batting average on the road, 70 points below their average at Coors Field.
While their hitting malaise on the road has been a team effort, the Rockies clearly miss Helton more away from Coors Field than within its hitter-friendly confines. It sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, but Helton had a very good season in 2009, hitting .325 with 38 doubles, 86 runs batted in and a .416 on-base percentage.
The Rockies haven’t been able to replace the steady influence Helton provided in their lineup on the road, where he hit .302 with a .409 on-base percentage in 2009 compared with this season, when he’s hit .242 with a .333 on-base percentage.
Given their injury epidemic and lack of production from A-list players, the case could be made that the Rockies (63-60) have had an exceptional season just to be above .500. It’s a testament to three things, in no particular order: Tracy’s damage- control abilities, the depth of talent in the organization and the true grit that defines the team’s personality.
“I’ve seen these kinds of seasons before, and usually the team goes straight in the tank,” Beimel said. “We’ve been able to fight through it and hang on. If I said the injuries haven’t hurt our team, I’d be lying, but you’ve got to work through it. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re still battling.”
Said Tracy: “If they had told me the extent of it all — that some guys would struggle, that our shortstop would miss 33 games and our closer would miss three months — to still be in the mix says an awful lot. It describes the character and resiliency of this group to a T.
“All of those things that have happened could point to a complete disaster. I’m talking 12, 15, 20 games under .500. But we’re still in it, still plugging away.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
