SAN FRANCISCO — The Rockies need a right-handed bat, someone like Michael Cuddyer to hit fifth in the lineup. Third base and second base must flash “No Vacancy” signs. But if the Rockies are to crawl out of their dark cave back into the light of relevance, they need better pitching.
“You can’t win without it,” manager Jim Tracy said Wednesday. “Show me a team where the manager is going to get the starters in the fifth inning that is winning? Once in a while, maybe, but not much. We’ve got to realize that where we play, in AT&T Park, Petco (Park), Dodger Stadium, you aren’t going to throw 7-8 runs out there. You have to win 4-3 and 3-2. You have to pitch.”
The Rockies’ progress next season will be measured by the growth of their young arms, Jhoulys Chacin, Drew Pomeranz and Alex White. Pomeranz finished with an encouraging outing, rebounding from last weekend’s pounding to beat the Giants, 6-3, in the season finale.
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of the Pomeranz to the Rockies’ future. He was the jewel that pushed the Rockies to sign off on the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. A left-handed, power arm under team control for five more seasons is intriguing.
Despite inactivity from being shelved by his player-to-be-named status, despite an emergency appendectomy that robbed him of some of his velocity, Pomeranz showed he can compete.
He finished the season 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA for the Rockies, a number bloated by his two-inning disaster at Houston over the weekend. Pomeranz made no excuses for that failure, blaming himself for poor pitches. While the zoom-zoom on his fastball won’t return until spring training, Pomeranz demonstrated better command. He surrendered six hits and three runs in 5-1/3 innings. Matt Lindstrom allowed two inherited runners to score, clouding Pomeranz’s final statistics.
“Both he and Alex White have an immense amount of confidence in themselves. They aren’t afraid of the fire,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “They have both been burned a little bit. Drew finished on a good note. We haven’t seen the best of either one yet.”
In a lineup that Rockies’ fans are certain to never see again because of roster tweaks, Colorado posted 13 hits. The Rockies scored two runs in three separate innings. Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jordan Pacheco, catching for the first time in the big leagues, each had two RBIs.
Rafael Betancourt recorded the final out for his eighth save. The possibility exists that he will enter spring training as the closer as the team explores trades for Huston Street.
“Whatever they want me to do, I will,” Betancourt said. “The year hasn’t gone like we expected. All I want is to help this team win. That’s all that matters.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
