Rockies camp report
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Five things to know about the Colorado Rockies:
1. Manager Clint Hurdle enters the final season of his contract, a situation that will be magnified immensely if the Rockies get off to a slow start. Tough thing for Hurdle is this: The organization thinks its core group of young players is ready for prime time, and odds are very high that it's a grand illusion. Part of this thinking is because Colorado's 12-game deficit last year was the smallest in eight seasons. Another reason the Rockies need a quick start: Their first 19 games are all against NL West opponents.
2. One new twist is that the Rockies expect to be more fleet this season with newly acquired center fielder Willy Taveras atop the lineup and second baseman Kaz Matsui batting second. Hurdle says that Taveras, who swiped 33 bases in Houston last season, will only see green lights. In other words, when he's on base, he's free to steal any time unless he gets a sign telling him to stay put. "I think he's got some instincts," Hurdle says. "He needs some experience to go with them."
3. Two rookies will crack the Rockies' starting lineup this season -- catcher Chris Iannetta and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Iannetta is getting early raves -- enough that Hurdle, who knows first-hand how it is to not live up to billing (he was a Sports Illustrated cover boy as a Kansas City prospect), is low-keying it. "He'll show us how good he can be," Hurdle says. "He's got good skills, he's a good listener and he's a good learner. He's also got passion for the game."
4. After a season of pain (he was disabled for a time with an intestinal ailment) that contributed to his career lows in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage, and after a winter of trade rumors, first baseman Todd Helton says his mind is clear this spring. "I'm healthy," he says. "I'm good. There's really nothing to deal with. When you get on the field, you're playing baseball -- you're not worried about any of those things." Though he had an off year comparatively speaking, an off year by Helton's standards is an excellent summer by anyone else's standards. His career-low .302 average still ranked seventh in the NL. "That's a good place to be," Helton says as everyone around him asks, "What's wrong?" "You'd rather have it that way than any other way. Put it this way: I don't worry about other people's expectations. My expectations are higher than that to begin with."
5. Parting shot from Hurdle: "There are always going to be skeptics until you play. We think we've done a lot of good things, moved things forward. But you don't know until you play." Maybe, but a rotation of Aaron Cook, lefty Jeff Francis, Rodrigo Lopez, Jason Hirsch and Josh Fogg seems awfully thin.
shelsm1978 