CHICAGO — Being right never felt so wrong. Rockies owner Dick Monfort made a prediction May 24 just hours after Jorge De La Rosa was lost for the season with a torn elbow ligament.
“Four weeks from now, when I know it’s his turn in the rotation, I will wish he was taking the ball,” Monfort said.
As Monfort walked through the lonely clubhouse at Wrigley Field after the Rockies’ 7-3 loss Monday, he was reminded of those words. His smirk ached.
“You never think it’s going to hurt as much it as does, but we miss him,” Monfort admitted.
De La Rosa’s absence continues to impact the rotation because it has put the onus on Jhoulys Chacin to be an ace. Had De La Rosa been available, Chacin would fit snugly behind the left-hander and Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation. Instead, Chacin has become the epicenter of the pitching staff that features a struggling rookie (Juan Nicasio) and slumping veteran (Aaron Cook). So when Chacin clumsily falls on his face, as he did for the first time this season, it has a deeper psychological impact.
“We expect to win when he’s pitching now. He’s become that guy,” slugger Jason Giambi said.
Chacin bore no resemblance to an all-star Monday. His sinker was erratic, running rather than diving. Unable to get ahead in the count, the right- hander was punished for hanging sliders to Carlos Peña and Aramis Ramirez. The Cubs chased Chacin after a season-low five innings and a season-high six runs allowed.
Known for his slow pulse, Chacin struggled to maintain his composure, pounding his mitt in anger and kicking the ground in disgust multiple times.
“I was mad at myself because I wasn’t making my pitches,” Chacin said. “I just wasn’t myself today.”
Manager Jim Tracy appreciated the emotion. For him, it was evidence of Chacin’s growth. The Rockies needed him to be great, given the little resistance they provided Matt Garza. Cubs starter Garza began awkwardly, allowing a leadoff home run to Carlos Gonzalez, who added his 12th homer in the eighth inning.
“But he was tough. He was throwing a lot of strikes. And changing speeds,” Gonzalez said of Garza.
For the Rockies, the time has come to shift out of neutral. They’ve lost three in a row since a 7-2 stretch. The yo-yo routine has dropped them six games behind the division-leading Giants. The Rockies are exploring trades for a second baseman and continue to monitor the starting pitching market.
But none of that will matter if they don’t start performing better at Coors Field, where they resume interleague play with a six-game homestand tonight. The road has, for the most part, been encouraging (19-21). It’s the Rockies’ ordinary effort in Denver (19-19) that has thus far sabotaged them.
“Every time we go home now, we know we have to play better. That’s the Rockies everybody knows, and we haven’t done it yet,” Gonzalez said. “It needs to happen soon if this season is going to be special.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TUESDAY: White Sox at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., Root
Jason Hammel (4-7, 4.13 ERA) was thinking career year when he left spring training, and he had a lot of company within the Rockies organization. But he has struggled at inopportune times with command and has been given little run support. He has only one win in his last 10 starts. Gavin Floyd (6-7, 4.31), long a Rockies trade target, is a big guy (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) who throws a cutter, fastball, slider and change. It will be interesting to see how his trademark curveball does at high altitude, which, as Ubaldo Jimenez has discovered, isn’t always kind to breaking balls. Floyd in June: 1-2, 5.96. Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Wednesday: White Sox’s Mark Buehrle (6-5, 3.73 ERA) at Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7, 4.50), 6:40 p.m., Root
Thursday: White Sox’s Jake Peavy (4-1, 4.23) at Rockies’ Aaron Cook (0-3, 5.48), 1:10 p.m., Root
Friday: Royals’ Danny Duffy (1-2, 4.61) at Rockies’ Juan Nicasio (2-1, 5.08), 6:10 p.m., Root
Saturday: Royals’ Luke Hochevar (5-8, 4.96) at Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (8-5, 3.10), 6:10 p.m., Root
