Rockies hit with costly injuries
| September 8, 2009 | 10:18 AM
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The Colorado Rockies’ 4-3 win Monday against the Cincinnati Reds may have come at a hefty price. Troy Tulowitkzi, who singled to drive in the tying run in the seventh inning, injured his back on the play and was pulled from the game. Anyone watching the game on TV or in the ballpark saw that one happen. But few knew this: Ubaldo Jimenez tweaked a hamstring in the game. The two guys the Rockies absolutely cannot lose hurt themselves in the same game.
The good news, or at least the slightly better news, is that neither injury appears particularly serious. Tulowitzki lobbied to stay in the game but manager Jim Tracy talked him out of it to avoid further injury. He likely will miss a handful of games, but unless the injury was significantly worse when Tulowitzki woke up Tuesday morning, he should avoid the disabled list. The Rockies can lose him for a couple games against the Reds and a few days of forced rest might do him overall good. But he needs to be back in the lineup by the weekend and certainly by the time the Rockies travel to San Francisco next week.
As for Jimenez, who injured himself scoring the Rockies’ first run on a Todd Helton single, he stayed in the game to pitch after the injury although he said later it bothered him when he tried to throw his fastball. In his next inning on the mound after the injury, Jimenez allowed three runs, including a two-run home run to Jonny Gomes. He settled in after that and pitched a solid fifth and sixth innings.
Tulowitzki and Jimenez are the two players the Rockies cannot lose. Tulowitzki has anchored the team through its turnaround, and while he has slumped a bit at the plate recently, his presence in the cleanup spot remains a complication for pitchers. Jimenez is simply the ace of the team, the one pitcher each time around the rotation you expect to win. Jose Contreras filled in admirably for Aaron Cook over the weekend. There’s no one who can fill in for Jimenez.
Which brings up this question: what other Rockies injuries would qualify as season killers? One strength of the team this season has been its depth. They have been able to withstand injuries to Dexter Fowler, Aaron Cook, Huston Street and Chris Iannetta by developing depth — or in the case of Cook’s replacement, acquiring depth in a trade. But that isn’t the case for all positions. Here’s a helpful cheat sheet for gauging the seriousness of potential Rockies injuries.
If he’s out, the Rockies are toast
Tulowitzki: No single player IS the team any longer, but Tulowitzki still stands at the center of the Rockies. He’s the guy you count on to be in the lineup every day and the guy fans want to see in the lineup above all others. He’s had an up-and-down season, but since early June he has been significantly more up. He’s the cleanup hitter, a clutch hitter, and the only right-handed power of significance in the middle of the order. But none of that is as important as his presence at shortstop. Clint Barmes is a very good shortstop and can handle the spot for a few games. Any longer, and you start to notice the difference.
Jimenez: He is to the pitching staff what Tulowitzki is to the lineup. He’s the guy fans want to see and the guy opponents hope they miss in the rotation. When Jimenez was lifted for a pinch-hitter Monday, it was the first since in more than a month he did not see the seventh inning. The last time he didn’t pitch at least six innings was April. He’s the most reliable starter the Rockies have ever had and his rubber arm gives the bullpen an inning or two of rest each time he pitches. The Rockies have a lot of live arms they could stick in the rotation if Jimenez were out — Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers, Samuel Deduno — but no one can replace his reliability.
If he’s out, the Rockies are in big trouble
Jason Marquis: He has tailed off considerably in the past couple weeks with rough outings in each of his past two starts and he has allowed five runs in three of his past six. But Marquis is still the Rockies winningest pitcher — although now tied with Jorge De La Rosa — and he’s a guy who has pitched in postseason runs before. As noted, the Rockies have live arms available, but among the pitchers on their staff only Jimenez and Jose Contreras have pitched in the sort of games the Rockies are playing now.
Huston Street: The Rockies have survived their first four save opportunities without Street thanks to Franklin Morales. But if Street is out much longer, eventually the Rockies will get burned in the seventh or eighth inning without Morales there to help lock those innings down. Street, too, would have been a significantly better match against the Reds in the ninth-inning Monday when the No. 4, 5 and 6 hitters — all right-handers — started the inning. Morales struggled to start the inning but got out of it with a little help from his defense and Reds baserunners.
Todd Helton: The Rockies have other options at first base — Garrett Atkins and Jason Giambi — and Helton’s offense isn’t carrying the team the way it once did. But this why he’s so valuable: in each of his past two games he has just one hit and two RBI. In neither case did both runs score on Helton’s single hit. He’s driving in runs when the Rockies need runs, whether it’s on a groundout or sacrifice fly with a runner on third or a clean base hit. He puts the ball in play to move runners over and works pitchers. He’s not the force in the lineup he once was, but he’s more of a problem for pitchers than he has been in the past couple seasons. More importantly, he is the stoic veteran on the team, and when he gets excited, the whole team feeds off it.
Carlos Gonzalez: When he’s in the lineup, anything can happen. He might beat you on a bunt or crush a 450-foot homer. He is a puzzle for pitchers and the sort of player who creates runs just by being on base. Watching him distract the Diamondbacks’ Dan Haren in the first inning Friday was a treat. He plays hard and has already suffered his share of minor injuries. If the Rockies lost him for an extended period of time, it would be a serious problem. That said, the team does have a lot of outfield depth now that Dexter Fowler is likely to rejoin the team.
Seth Smith: Even before he exploded on this homestand — 14-for-27 (.519), six doubles, four home runs, 10 runs scored and 10 RBI in the first seven games — Smith was the source of Rockies clutch hits. Almost no one outside of Denver knows who he is and not that many people in Denver are even aware of what he has meant to this team. He was quietly developed into the most reliable clutch hitter the Rockies have had in years. It will be interesting to see what happens when Dexter Fowler returns to the lineup. Even if Smith were back on the bench, losing him and his bat in the late innings would be devastating.
Jorge De La Rosa: With Cook already out, the Rockies can’t afford to lose another starting pitcher for an extended period of time. De La Rosa can be frustrating, as he was Sunday against the Diamondbacks, when he walked six and lasted just five innings. But he can also be unhittable at times. He was won 14 games since June 1 and without him, the Rockies do not have a left-handed option for the rotation.
Franklin Morales: Even when Street returns to the bullpen, a loss of Morales would be crushing. He has found his role, and there is no left-handed batter in baseball who would want to step in against him when all the Rockies need is one out. Morales is focused and firing, and that makes him perhaps the most dangerous lefty reliever in the game. The Rockies can lose Street for a few games because they have Morales. But if they lose Morales, Joe Beimel, even as good as he has been, is not the same thing.
Rafael Betancourt: Along with Morales, Betancourt has helped the Rockies shut down games after the seventh inning, which has had a direct effect on the team’s ability to come back in games, something they have had to do with frustrating regularity. If Betancourt’s not there in the eighth, the other options have been frighteningly inconsistent.
Ian Stewart: He’s hitting only .235, so maybe this is an odd choice. But Monday’s game is a good example of why Stewart is valuable: he struck out in his first three at-bats then delivered the game-winner with a monster shot to right-center. Even when he’s off, he’s still on. Many of his hits this season have come in key spots for the Rockies, and now he’s starting to heat up — he has home runs in four of his past five games. The Rockies need offense after Tulowitzki’s spot in the lineup, and Stewart is the best candidate.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
carlos gonzalez, colorado rockies, franklin morales, huston street, ian stewart, jason maqruis, jorge de la rosa, rafael betancourt, seth smith, todd helton, troy tulowitzki, ubaldo jimenez
