Know the coolest thing about the Rockies’ April?
They haven’t hit. Their team batting average sits at .236. Not on the road. Anywhere. They sit perched atop the National League West, and their bats have been in hibernation.
Know what the scariest thing about the Rockies’ April?
They haven’t hit. Entering Saturday, they ranked 12th in the National League and 25th overall. The other day they ran out a lineup that featured four hitters who needed a stool to see the Mendoza Line.
The Up With Purple crowd looks at the Rockies’ offense and smiles. And there’s reason for optimism beyond fanaticism. No Rockies team has batted poorly over a full season. Not the 1993 crew. Not the Todd and Toddlers outfit of six years ago. At some point, it stands to reason that Colorado will start raking, especially at Coors Field. The overall numbers are skewed because of Carlos Gonzalez’s forgettable April. He broke an 0-for-25 skid Friday night with a bunt single. He has one home run. And none at home. File that under statistical anomaly. Gonzalez belted a league- best 26 home runs in Denver last season.
He’s going to get hot. His talent screams as much. And when he simmers, pitchers’ eyebrows get singed. With CarGo, Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton humming at the same time, that’s enough to win many games the way the Rockies have pitched.
So they’re fine, right?
Let’s just say it’s time to keep the Pepto- Bismol within arm’s reach. New hitting instructor Carney Lansford has preached the right things — go foul line to foul line, put the ball in play (especially with runners on base) and be aggressive when the right pitch shows up. He hasn’t been afraid to get his hands dirty, telling hitters when they are veering off track. That’s a great sign. The chilling question is this: Does he have the hitters to pull it off?
It’s easy to argue that CarGo will get it going. He’s the reigning NL batting champion. But what about Chris Iannetta? He started fast and has tailed off. He’s in a difficult position, literally, hitting from the eighth spot. Pitchers bait him, try to get him to expand his zone. He’s getting his walks. But the Rockies need a little less patience at times. Iannetta hits the ball as hard as anyone on the team; ambushing a fastball early in the count once in a while wouldn’t hurt.
How about Jose Lopez? He gets a little grace period because of his adjustment to the NL. Still, he’s struggling to gain traction. You could sacrifice average for power, but he’s not producing either right now. That he’s coming off a season when he hit .239, well, that makes you wonder if he’s trending downward. Dexter Fowler shows flashes of progress. But it’s hard to see his season ending up where he wants it to go if he continues leading the majors in strikeouts.
The Rockies have had three consistent offensive performers: Tulo, Helton and Jonathan Herrera.
It’s worked for a month. But this is baseball. At altitude. The pitchers are going to have an inevitable hiccup. If the Rockies don’t want first place to become a rumor in May, they need to hit.
Footnotes.
Tampa Bay’s Sam Fuld, part Roy Hobbs, part Eddie Gaedel, has been a breath of fresh air following polluted Manny Ramirez. . . . White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on Omar Vizquel’s longevity: “When you’re 45 and you’re still playing, it’s because you’re still married. You don’t want to be home.” . . . St. Louis’ Matt Holliday hasn’t stopped hitting. Appendix, no appendix. It doesn’t matter. He went into the weekend leading the majors in average. . . . Astros announcer Milo Hamilton criticized Lance Berkman last week, suggesting that he didn’t make an effort to get in top shape for the Astros in recent years. Berkman proceeded to thrash Houston in his return home. Forget the fries, Milo, how about them healthy apples? . . . Dodgers owner Frank McCourt called commissioner Bud Selig’s seizure of his team “un-American.” And that wasn’t the funniest thing he said last week. He accused the commissioner of ducking him. The reason, as suggested by a reader: “Bud doesn’t take collect calls.” . . . There’s talk that Joe Mauer’s future as a catcher is in jeopardy. He’s been on the Twins’ disabled list with weakness in his legs. Mauer is a great athlete who could play right field. Without power, he doesn’t have the same value as he would playing Gold Glove defense behind the plate.
EYE ON
Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Background: Lost in Daily Double Divorce Court proceedings — Frank vs. Jamie, Frank vs. Bud — Andre Ethier is having a terrific season. It certainly didn’t set up this way. Ethier created his own mini-drama in spring training, suggesting that his days with the Dodgers would end because of the team’s lack of interest in keeping him. His agent then admitted that there had been contract talks, but both sides had agreed to keep them secret. OK. So the Dodgers want him, they just don’t want anyone to know it. Whatever the case, the price goes up with each swing.
What’s up: Ethier entered Saturday with a 25-game hitting streak, second only to the late Willie Davis in team history. Davis hit in 31 consecutive games in 1969. Ethier is a terrific player. Last season he was creating Triple Crown talk before suffering a hand injury. He was never the same after that. Considered a bango hitter in the minors, Ethier has developed power and is better in the clutch than Pep Boys.
Renck’s take: There’s a noticeable difference in Ethier this season: He’s smiling. His previous tantrums are the stuff of legend, showing passion but also immaturity. Helmets and bats have quivered at the mere sight of him. This season Ethier is appreciating his success rather than lamenting every failure. “I’m reminding myself to enjoy this,” Ethier told reporters Friday. “You don’t know if something like this will ever happen again.” Troy Tulowitzki took a similar stance last September, absorbing every moment of his Ruthian home run terror. Baseball is big business. Contracts and employment are tied to stats. Still, the season is too long, too much of a grind, not to have a little fun. Ethier is hitting as well as anyone for a team that needs a daily disinfectant. It’s OK to show your teeth, Andre. You’ve earned it.
AT ISSUE
Charge an error to MLB regarding discipline
What: Tweeting is worse than drunken driving — at least based on Major League Baseball’s discipline.
When: Last week, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was suspended for two games for tweeting 10 minutes after he was ejected while a game was still in progress. A few days later, Braves pitcher Derek Lowe was charged with drunken driving after racing another car down a street in Atlanta. He was given a field sobriety test, which resulted in his arrest. Lowe is scheduled to start today against the Cardinals at Turner Field.
Background: These are apples and oranges, to be sure. That they fell on the same week illustrates the need for major-league players and team owners to agree on a personal-conduct policy in the next collective bargaining agreement. Does the NFL take it too far? No question. But it eliminates the perception that inappropriate and illegal behavior goes unpunished. Guillen was disciplined because he broke a rule — uniformed personnel are not permitted to tweet during games. Guillen was tossed by plate umpire Todd Tichenor, then tweeted: “This one is going to cost me a lot of money. This is pathetic. Tough guy showed up at Yankee Stadium today.” Guillen knew he was in trouble, though he didn’t expect a two-game ban. Lowe joins a group of baseball players who have been charged with DUI over the last two months, among them Miguel Cabrera, Adam Ken- nedy and Coco Crisp. None were disciplined.
Renck’s take: That players don’t miss games for these transgressions sends a terrible message. I understand wanting to let the legal drama play out. But for embarrassment alone, a team should sit a player. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunken driver in a hit-and-run accident in April 2009. That moment should serve as a benchmark for all clubs. If a player is arrested for DUI, sit him down for at least two games. Drinking and driving has to be a worse crime than tweeting, even if it’s left up to the clubs to mete out the justice until a change in the CBA.
THREE UP
1. Mariners: Jason Vargas, another Long Beach State Dirtbag, cleaning up in bigs.
2. Marlins: The question is not if Josh Johnson will throw a no-hitter this season.
3. Rays: Ben Zobrist had more RBIs (10) in one day than Carl Crawford has all year.
THREE DOWN
1. Padres: Have been shut out seven times. Yo, Adrian, come back home.
2. Royals: At home, Ozzie and Harriet. On the road, Ozzy Osbourne.
3. White Sox: Adam Dunn, feel free to start hitting.
