SAN DIEGO — An opposing left-hander on the mound on the road. It was enough to land Eric Young Jr. on the bench.
Young may become an efficient leadoff hitter in the major leagues, but it isn’t going to happen soon. There will be growing pains along the way.
“It’s baseball,” Young said. “It’s going to be ups and downs, learning curves, people making adjustments on you and you making adjustments on them.”
Young has had some memorable moments since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs three weeks ago, but he has encountered inevitable struggles too. Hitting from the right side for one. Hitting on the road for another.
Young went into Friday night hitting .243 — .284 from the left side of the plate, .175 from the right. And he was hitting .283 at home, .204 away from Coors Field.
It was no surprise, then, that he was out of the Rockies’ lineup. And there will be more days like Friday as he tries to establish himself as a presence at the top of the lineup.
“Just giving him a day off from the right side of the plate,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “You have to be proactive with it, knowing that it’s not going to be perfect for you every day. There are going to be times when you struggle a little bit, and you’ve got to walk out there and figure it out and get yourself in a position where you’re not struggling.”
Dexter Fowler, whose home-road splits — .310 at Coors Field, .192 on the road — are more dramatic than Young’s, joined Young in a meeting with Tracy on Thursday. Tracy’s message?
“He just wants us to relax and have fun out there playing the game,” Young said. “He told us we’re going to be out there. He said, ‘I’m going to give you guys a day here and there for a breather,’ and today’s my day.”
No go on video.
Watching video of the opposing pitcher is part of the daily ritual for most Rockies hitters. No such luck Friday, when they faced left-hander Cory Luebke in his major-league debut.
Luebke pitched in the Texas and Pacific Coast Leagues before being called up, so naturally he faced the Rockies’ Double-A and Triple-A clubs a handful of times. Or not. He pitched once against Tulsa and didn’t face Colorado Springs, so no Rockies hitter had faced him.
Said Brian Jones, the Rockies’ video coordinator: “We have like a four-minute clip of him, but it’s better than nothing.”
Footnotes.
Matt Daley was scheduled to pitch Friday night for Triple-A Colorado Springs. He’ll work again Sunday, as will Jeff Francis, who will pitch three innings before a likely return to the Rockies. . . . How tough is the Rockies’ task? Tracy believes they need 18 or 19 wins in September to have a chance to stay in the playoff mix. Their best month was May, when they finished 16-12. . . . Jhoulys Chacin’s 112 strikeouts have him on pace to break the Rockies’ rookie record of 134 by Shawn Chacon in 2001.
Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
