Rockies: Five things to know
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Cactus League bouncer up the middle. Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki glides over, fields it and shovels a backhanded flip -- from the glove -- to second base, starting a double play. His throwing hand never touches horsehide.
Even for the National League's newest magician, it was something.
But, perhaps ... a little too much razzle? Maybe extraneous dazzle?
Someone asked Rockies manager Clint Hurdle about it afterward.
"I said, 'Come on you guys, let an artist paint, let a musician play,'" Hurdle says, recounting the conversation.
Maybe you read these words and choke on your Cornflakes. Perhaps you read them and say, "Yeah, whatever, lay some more hyperbole on me, Clint."
|
|
| Defense, hitting, leadership ... shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has them all. (AP) |
Except, the Rockies were a prime-time team last October, advancing to the first World Series in club history, and suddenly Mountain Time was where it was at, and Colorado's secret finally started to be revealed.
"He's not about bling," Hurdle says of Tulowitzki. "He's about trying to get outs."
He's 23, signed a six-year, $31 million contract with a $15 million club option for a seventh year during the winter and finished second to Milwaukee's Ryan Braun in the closest Rookie of the Year voting in the NL since the current system started in 1980.
Hurdle told me last August that it was Tulowitzki's steadiness beginning around May 1 that had solidified Colorado's defense and had provided steadiness. Not long after, the Rockies ripped off their famous streak of 21 wins in 22 games, and now I'm seriously considering running major, personal life decisions by the Rockies skipper from here on out. I mean, if he's that prescient. ...
"He's taken a step forward in a lot of different areas this spring," Hurdle says of the shortstop. "The contract was very humbling for him. The sense of commitment he felt from the organization, and the sense of commitment we see him wanting to give back.
"He's taken ownership of the infield. He continues to grow. His attention to detail. ..."
Though you probably didn't see the Rockies much last summer until October unless you lived in Denver or paid a television or Internet subscription fee, Tulowitzki's play belied his youth. Between pulling rabbits out of the infield dirt, he batted .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBI, while compiling a .359 on-base percentage and a .479 slugging percentage.
He also turned an unassisted triple play and won over his teammates to the degree that they simply weren't disappointed when he finished second in the Rookie voting to Ryan Braun, and behind Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins for an NL Gold Glove.
"I thought it would upset me," Rockies reliever Matt Herges says. "I thought I'd be like, 'Oh, darn it.' But it actually made me mad when it happened. Taking nothing away from the other guys -- Jimmy Rollins is one of the best players in the game, but to give him the Gold Glove also ... it broke my heart.
"It upset me. I was like, 'Who do I call? Who do I write?'"
Instead of firing off a letter to the editor or placing a Curt Schilling-esque call to his local talk radio station, Herges just settled on texting Tulowitzki.
He wasn't alone. Tulowitzki's cell phone beeped overtime into the winter, with teammates texting from all over, telling him not to be upset.
He wasn't. Braun's numbers, he says, "were unbelievable." And as far as the Gold Glove, "In the end, I base my year on wins and losses."
So it was a splendid rookie season. At least, until the end, when Boston whitewashed the Rockies out of the World Series.
Besides, he was too busy preparing for 2008 to worry much about it. Among other things, Tulowitzki dropped 10 pounds, his 6-3 frame now even leaner at 205.
The thinking was, his range could be even greater that way and he could do more things on the basepaths. Which will be important because, with second baseman Kaz Matsui having signed with Houston, Hurdle intends to bat Tulowitzki second.
The Rockies gave him the heads up early this winter, and he immediately incorporated it into his preparation.
"I didn't lose any strength," Tulowitzki says of the weight loss. "Someone asked if I'd lose some power, and it was a dumb question, to me. I'm stronger than I've ever been.
"The biggest thing as a two hitter is to play the game the right way, move runners over, get on base, maybe even run more (he swiped seven bags last season)."
Hurdle is impressed not by the 10 pounds Tulowitzki dropped, but by the foresight.
"His forward thinking is really good," Hurdle says.
That helps explain how it can be that Tulowitzki, as his manager says, has taken a step forward this year. Those who somehow saw him regularly in the Mountain Time Zone -- yes, you had to be proactive, stay up late and search him out -- wonder how he could improve. Especially defensively.
"A year's experience, he knows the hitters better," Hurdle says. "He'll play some hitters in different spots this year. His arm, his touch-and-feel ..."
Though defense is where he'll amaze, Tulowitzki's offensive numbers from 2007 were memorable. Among them: most RBI from any rookie shortstop, second-most homers from a rookie shortstop (trailing Nomar Garciaparra's 30 in 1997), second-most RBI from an NL shortstop (Edgar Renteria had 100 in 2003).
Far as improving, well, he's a Rockie, which almost automatically means there will be those home/road splits to discuss: .326, 15 homers, 60 RBI in Coors Field; .256, nine and 39 on the road in 2007.
Then again, he was just getting his feet on the ground -- obviously, in stylish shoes.
"I think he looks a little more comfortable this spring," third baseman Garret Atkins says. "Last spring, he was fighting for a job. He hadn't played with anybody on our team because he was so young.
"Now, he's a little more vocal. He's not so worried about his job."
Uh, no ... not after that rookie season, and not armed with the six-year deal.
"This is where I want to be," says Tulowitzki, Colorado's first-round pick in the 2005 draft out of Cal State Long Beach. "This is the organization that signed me, they've been great to me ... it was a no-brainer. Obviously, it put me in a situation to help my family."
And, he put himself into position to maybe take a little ownership of both the team and clubhouse.
"I told them that if I do this deal, I want them to make a real good effort to keep some of my buddies and teammates I enjoy playing with," Tulowitzki says. "They said they'd do everything they can, and they weren't lying. They signed (closer Manny) Corpas, (starter Aaron) Cook and (outfielder Brad) Hawpe.
"It seems like a few more guys are in the mix, and hopefully it all comes together."
Look closely, you can almost see the torch being passed. What once clearly was Todd Helton's team is slowly transitioning to Tulowitzki.
"He's even better this year than he was last, if you can believe that," Herges says. "His defense is always there. And this whole sophomore jinx thing, it doesn't apply to him.
"The way he's hitting now, I don't even know what his average is right now, but he's more confident. He's, in my opinion, one of the elites. I believe he's there. I'm biased, of course, because he's my teammate.
"But he's as elite as anybody out there."
