After chopping off hair so long it could make Samson feel weak and Rapunzel feel jealous, Rockies pitcher checked out his newly sheared ’do for the first time. He did not recognize the dude in the mirror.
“I about punched him,” said Gray, laughing.
Well, here’s what I really want to know: With his long, goldilocks gone, does Gray still feel strong as a bull?
“Yeah, I think so,” Gray told me Wednesday. “I feel pretty strong.”
Standing in the Rockies clubhouse, packed and ready to go on a business trip, Gray wore a suit as bluebird as the Colorado sky on a spring afternoon that was perfect in every way, except for a 6-0 loss to San Diego.
After 10 games under new manager Bud Black, the team’s record is 6-4. In terms an NFL-crazy town should appreciate, the Rockies have won the first round of a 16-round fight. Overcoming injuries to key players such as first baseman Ian Desmond and the cancer that has sidelined pitcher , this long-suffering franchise is building on the crazy belief it can indeed contend for the playoffs.
But the real work has only just begun for a team that has yet to earn respect in the National League. And the pressure is squarely on Gray. After only 40 major-league starts and 10 career victories, he’s expected to be the ace of the starting rotation at age 25.
It hasn’t taken long to see what a challenge it can be to be the stopper on the Colorado staff. Gray took the ball on opening day in Milwaukee. His first start at home was against Clayton Kershaw of the , a three-time winner of the Cy Young award. And up next? Gray takes the mound in San Francisco on Thursday, against Madison Bumgarner, who might be the only pitcher on the planet tougher to beat than Kershaw.
“We go into San Francisco and do well, it makes a statement,” said Gray, who earlier this week cut 8 inches of his hair and donated the tail to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to children, many of them fighting cancer.
The Rockies want to sit at the big kids’ table in the NL West. Are they worthy? We’re going to find out, beginning with six games on the road against the Giants and Dodgers. With too many Rockies hitters over-swinging and under-producing, itap up to Gray to post multiple innings of zeros on the scoreboard in San Francisco.
“Itap exciting going to San Francisco, because this is a team you have to beat in the division. This is a great chance for us to make it a solid opening month. Go on the road and win series. I think thatap what really matters,” said outfielder , whose .200 batting average puts him squarely in the category of Colorado hitters scuffling at the plate.
Colorado’s bats will come to life at 5,280 above sea level. If the Rockies are to win on the road, where they had a 33-48 record a year ago, it will because the pitching travels well.
Is Gray up for the job as a Giant slayer?
“Itap an honor for the opportunity. I’m blessed to be in that position,” said Gray, itching for a chance to match Bumgarner pitch for pitch.
“But I’m just going to have as much fun as I can out there. Baseball’s got to be fun.”
Baseball? Fun? In Colorado? All summer long?
What a concept.
Where do I sign up?
