It’s hanging there in Jason Giambi’s locker, all of its mystical powers intact.
OK, since it hasn’t been put to the test for a while, maybe all of its mystical powers aren’t intact. But at this point, given some of those Rockies batting averages, isn’t it worth a try?
The Golden Thong, that is.
On the off chance you’re not up on baseball lore, Giambi’s golden thong — truth be told, it’s more like leopard skin — snapped many a slump during his days with the Yankees. Derek Jeter was living an 0-for-32 nightmare before resorting to the thong. So what happens? He homers on the first pitch he sees.
Johnny Damon figured out the Power of the Thong as soon as he put it on.
“You’re not worried about your hands or your balance at the plate,” Damon told the New York Daily News back in the day. “You’re worried about the uncomfortable feeling you’re receiving.”
So how many slumping Rockies hitters have resorted to the thong this season? None. Yet. And Giambi isn’t about to offer.
“It’s always there,” Giambi said. “They have to come ask. I can’t do it. It won’t work that way. It loses its magic. I’ve mentioned it. When they get to that desperate stage, that’s when it works. I’ve seen some oh-for-30s and oh-for-40s where it’s ‘I don’t care, I’m wearing it.’ “
Fowl balls.
The wild ride of Dexter Fowler, leadoff hitter, continues.
Fowler was slumping so badly in 2010, he landed in Triple-A two months into the season. So what happens? He wound up leading the National League with 14 triples.
Three weeks into this season, he led the league with eight doubles. Not only that, he went into Saturday’s game with a career-best .373 on-base percentage.
But about those strikeouts . . .
Fowler struck out three times Friday night, bringing to 34 his major league-leading total. And in only 92 at-bats. Such is life for a young player trying to become a quality leadoff hitter.
“There’s a gestation period,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “That’s a high number. The unsettling part is the other dynamics to his game that he brings to the table — the speed factor and all that — that gets taken away.”
Just wondering.
Given the Rockies’ newly discovered love for their purple jerseys, shouldn’t they try to trade for Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney? OK, had to go there. Just once. Promise.
Footnotes.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Seth Smith has been more than solid since his permanent move to right field. Smith on Saturday night made a nice running catch of Andrew McCutchen’s drive before slamming into the wall. . . . How good is the Rockies’ bullpen? Good enough to keep Matt Daley in Triple-A. Daley, who would factor into any number of other big-league pens, has pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings in 10 appearances at Colorado Springs. . . . Then there’s coming-soon-to-a-LoDo-ballyard-near-you lefty Rex Brothers, who has 21 strikeouts in 12 innings with the Sky Sox.
