The nightmare at the ballpark is keeping Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki awake at night. He can’t hit. He can’t win. He can’t sleep.
“I’m the first one to blame myself. I’m not getting it done. And there are some other guys who are good players who aren’t getting it done,” Tulowitzki said Thursday after a 6-3 loss to Arizona dropped the Rockies’ record to 7-17 during the miserable month of May.
“I’m as hard on myself as anybody is on me. I go home, and I’m the one not sleeping, thinking about the game, thinking about how we can improve our team and win. It definitely bothers me.”
Sure, there remains much baseball to be played. But it is win-or- else time for Colorado.
“We have to start recovering quick. Otherwise, this isn’t going to be the same team,” said Tulo- witzki, realizing that losing streaks cause players to lose jobs. “They are going to do some things to change it up. And that’s the tough part of the game.”
Either the Rockies come out of this funk, or you can forget any notion of trading for a left-handed starting pitcher or a right-handed power bat at the trade deadline.
This team will be a seller at the 2011 swap meet.
And there are players in the Rockies’ clubhouse in danger of losing their happy home in Colorado.
The frustration and anger got Jose Lopez, hyped as a major offseason acquisition, broomed from his locker immediately after losing this home series to the Diamondbacks. The veteran infielder, hitting a lousy .208, was designated for assignment.
The upheaval won’t stop there if these current Colorado players fail to halt this sickening slide.
How much more patience can the Rockies exhibit with Dexter Fowler, whose 5 mph over the speed limit quickness in the outfield does not translate into any offensive traction when he grabs a bat?
If closer Huston Street, who surrendered yet another disheartening home run late in the game, can’t push Colorado back toward the top of the division, then his $7.3 million salary makes little economic sense for a midmarket, cost-conscious franchise.
Ryan Spilborghs might have a history of stealing scenes in the team’s television commercials, but he isn’t nearly so funny when batting .247. A club that has fallen below .500 might be tempted to give young outfielder prospect Charlie Blackmon a chance to prove himself in the big leagues.
The offense of the Rockies has crumbled. Tulowitzki’s batting average is mired at .245. Carlos Gonzalez chases too many bad pitches. The lineup reduces a nine-inning game into one tense opportunity to grab the lead.
“That’s why we’re struggling. We’re only giving ourselves one chance to break through,” Tulowitzki said.
When left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, the most effective starting pitcher on the staff, tore up his throwing elbow so badly he will be gone for at least 12 months, there was a legitimate reason for the Rockies to feel cursed.
But was that piece of bad luck really any worse than Philadelphia having to deal with the loss of all-star second baseman Chase Utley for more than 40 games, or St. Louis doing without 20-game winner Adam Wainwright or San Francisco watching the leg of catcher Buster Posey get broken in a collision at home plate?
Those teams all believe they are still playoff contenders.
Hey, stuff happens.
“People say this team is going to win or that team is going to win. But one little thing. It takes one pitch or one play for it to happen. Now, all of a sudden, the complete perspective of the entire division changes,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
“You have to deal with it. Injuries are part of the game.”
You know what could give the Rockies a case of chronic insomnia? The creeping realization that this team just isn’t nearly as good as it believed.
“The bottom line,” Tulowitzki said, “is we’re not playing good baseball.”
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
