He is CarGo again, which might allow Carlos Gonzalez to escape another lost baseball season in Colorado.
Only a month ago, there was no trade market for the slumping Gonzalez, who couldn’t buy a hit with his $16 million salary. But as his team has become a dumpster fire in June, Gonzalez has risen from the ashes. The Rockies, with no reliable starting pitching and no real chance of making the playoffs, need to consider trading CarGo while his bat is hot.
“It’s a tough game, a tough league. In this game, I think you spend more time angry or unsatisfied than happy. That’s baseball,” Gonzalez said Thursday.
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With elbows on his knees, Gonzalez stared straight ahead, his somber voice perfectly in tune with a Colorado clubhouse that was as quiet as a morgue, appropriate because any hope for this season is already dead, with the autopsy to determine the causes of failure ready to begin.
“Everybody in here is trying to do something good for the team,” Gonzalez said. “And when it doesn’t happen, it’s frustrating. You just want to break things. … I don’t know what the hell you want to do, but it eats you alive.”
During the Rockies’ 8-4 loss to the Houston Astros, Gonzalez ripped a home run in his third consecutive game. The swings that a month ago resulted in four hops to the glove of a second baseman are now rattling a baseball joyfully among the seats beyond the right-field fence. At the plate, he looks like CarGo again. Gonzalez is hitting .306 in June.
“I can’t be negative. I’m raising my average and hitting the ball over the fence more often. But I believe I still can get better. I’m a better hitter than what I am right now. It’s good for me not to be comfortable with what’s happening,” said Gonzalez, whose season batting average has made the slow, steady climb to .243. “Now I have to get greedy and continue to work. I want more. I know I can hit .300 in this league. But it’s not there, so I’m not satisfied.”
With a record of 28-38, Colorado players know it would be unprofessional to give up so early in a major-league season with 3½ months remaining on the schedule. But look in the eyes of manager Walt Weiss or shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and no words are required. This is a ballclub caught between that rock and a hard place, where even a true pro’s proud desperation begins to grind against resignation to inevitable defeat.
We all know the problem with the Rockies. Too many pitches from this Colorado staff land on the wrong side of the outfield fence. Kyle Kendrick should be named to the All-Star Game to throw in the home run derby.
As the leader of a team, Weiss won’t say it, because he can’t say it. But part of what makes Gonzalez such a pleasure to watch play ball is how often he wears his heart on the sleeve of that Rockies uniform bearing the No. 5. After Colorado started an eight-game homestand with back-to-back losses against Houston, Gonzalez bluntly said: “I believe that we have a great team, but it’s not showing anything. We just need a little support from the pitchers. Everybody knows here, it’s not a secret, even if I don’t say it: Everybody knows if we don’t pitch, we’re not going to win games, as simple as that.”
The Rockies need starting pitching. And that forces general manager Jeff Bridich to make a tough decision for a franchise that has long been known for ignoring trouble today, even if a festering problem is doomed to get worse tomorrow.
Could trading Gonzalez return two young arms with strong potential? And would the Rockies know how to develop those arms into major-league starters?
As we all know, there’s no crying in baseball. So, for the Rockies, it’s all over except the whispers of trade rumors. Let the speculation begin. Anybody from the Big Apple mentioned Tulowitzki to the New York Mets during the last five minutes? How about relief pitcher John Axford to any contender that needs bullpen help?
“Giving up is not an option,” Gonzalez said.
As Gonzalez stared into space, trying to put a brave face on a grim situation, it was impossible not to wonder if a trade to a contender might bring back the smile the 29-year-old outfielder wears so well when he’s hitting and happy.
Somebody in this sad Colorado clubhouse deserves to play meaningful games in October. Gonzalez won’t do it here. Here’s hoping CarGo gets a chance in a city where baseball is more than a way to kill time before NFL training camp.
Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or
