The Rockies are running out of scapegoats. After playing the worst baseball in the National League for more than a month, maybe it’s time for Colorado to admit the team’s three biggest problems:
1. Ubaldo Jimenez
2. Carlos Gonzalez
3. Troy Tulowitzki
The stars of the Rockies have stunk. Ubaldo. CarGo. Tulo. The Big O’s have been total zeroes far too often.
We don’t want to hear any more excuses about bad pitching mechanics, lack of hitting discipline or being disrespected by a home-plate umpire.
In New York, Philadelphia or any major-league town that takes baseball seriously enough to demand excellence, Ubaldo, CarGo and Tulo would be getting booed on a regular basis.
Everybody wants to blame Colorado’s 12-20 record since April 16 on easy targets. We’ve heard it all. And, frankly, it’s all avoiding the real issues.
Sure, Ian Stewart failed to reward the hype from a Colorado front office that bet too heavily on the third baseman. Franklin Morales didn’t grow up fast enough to be reliable in the bullpen. Jim Tracy manages with kid gloves. Hitting coach Carney Lansford couldn’t teach Paul Bunyan how to swing an ax. Next up: Dexter Fowler is ill-suited to lead off.
How convenient.
But what’s wrong with the Rockies is Tulowitzki, Gonzalez and Jimenez are being given a free pass from a team and a town that consistently acts as if anything more than mediocre baseball from this franchise should be praised as a miracle.
Baloney.
The coddling of Tulo, CarGo and Ubaldo needs to end.
Heaven forbid if Kyle Orton was giving such a pedestrian performance for the Broncos. Of course, this is a city where winning football is more essential than air, while baseball is an excuse to work on our tans.
If memory serves, wasn’t Orton booed by Broncomaniacs for throwing interceptions at his first scrimmage with the team, all because his name wasn’t Jay Cutler?
So let’s stop this nonsense of giving Jimenez a pat on the back for almost winning his first decision of 2011.
Your staff ace is supposed to stop losing streaks.
Staked to a 1-0 lead in Milwaukee, Jimenez immediately surrendered the lead to the Brewers, and the rally began by Ubaldo granting a walk to the first batter he faced in the inning.
That lack of focus, more than bad mechanics or a cut cuticle, is why Jimenez is saddled with a 0-4 record and 5.44 earned- run average.
Can he be the most dominant pitcher of the next decade? Forget that noise. During a long, hot summer, the Rockies must find out if Jimenez has the right stuff between the ears to be No. 1 on a team with serious championship aspirations.
After winning the NL batting championship with a .336 average in 2010, Gonzalez struck it rich with an $80 million contract extension from the Rockies and signed an endorsement deal from a razor-blade company.
But CarGo is striking out miserably when he takes his talent on the road, where his number of K’s (20) far overshadows his production of extra-base hits (five).
And you wonder why Colorado owns a 2-9 road record in May? It’s not the fault of Fowler that Gonzalez looks more and more like he’s only an offensive monster within the friendly confines of Coors Field.
While 11 home runs speak to the undeniable thump in Tulowitzki’s bat, it’s also a fact that the 26-year-old shortstop is hitting .204 with Colorado teammates in scoring position.
His job title is cleanup hitter. Tulo is not paid an annual salary of $5.5 million to get himself tossed for arguing with a rabbit-eared ump. It’s impossible to help your team win after getting ejected from the game.
And you wonder why the Rockies lose so many one-run games? While it’s easy to scapegoat Stewart, the real blame rests with the mess on the bases left by Tulo as a cleanup hitter.
The Rockies will go only as far in the playoff race as Ubaldo, CarGo and Tulo carry them.
They have dropped the ball.
Guess what. Michael Young, Texas Ranger, isn’t going to come walking through that clubhouse door to rescue the Rockies from their funk. Colorado doesn’t do blockbuster trades.
Somebody needs to light a fire under Tulowitzki, Gonzalez and Jimenez.
Need a match, Mr. Tracy?
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
