CarGo hopes return wakes up Rockies’ offense
CHICAGO » Carlos Gonzalez is nothing if not confident.
Asked why his return from the disabled list Monday might wake up Colorado’s slumbering offense, the right fielder flashed his famous smile and replied, “I’m a good hitter.”
Not that Gonzalez was tearing it up before he went on the DL on April 19 with a strained right hamstring. The 32-year-old, threetime all-star was batting .235 with three home runs and 11 RBIs before he got hurt. Gonzalez, a lefty, was not in the starting lineup Monday night against the Chicago Cubs because left-handed starter Jon Lester was on the mound.
Still, Gonzalez’s teammates are counting on his presence and experience in the three-game series at Wrigley Field.
“CarGo is a big-time power threat and he always seems to swing the bat well here at Wrigley,” said center fielder Charlie Blackmon, who’s been a bright spot during this dark age for Colorado’s offense. Blackmon entered Monday night’s game with nine home runs, eight of them coming on the road.
“CarGo’s a professional baseball player and he’s got experience under his belt, and you can’t say that about everybody on our roster, you really can’t,” Blackmon added. “Hopefully, someday you will be able to. But I think (Gonzalez’s return) gives people a little bit of comfort.”
Colorado’s offense has never opened a season hitting so poorly. It entered Monday’s game with a .222 batting average this month, on pace to be not only the worst April ever, but the worst full month in franchise history. Plus, the Rockies are coming off of a series in Miami where they lost two of three games, scored a total of
two runs, batted .167 (15for90), hit 2for17 with runners in scoring position and struck out 30 times.
Gonzalez intends to help turn that around when he gets back in the batter’s box.
“I bring experience, of course,” Gonzalez said. “I bring energy to my team and confidence to the lineup and a bunch of stuff. I think I can do a lot of things for the baseball team when I’m healthy, and hopefully that’s the case when I get back. I want to help this team get better every night, and reach our goals.”
Manager Bud Black expressed optimism that Gonzalez can do exactly that.
“The good version of CarGo is one of the better players in the game,” Black said. “That’s what we are hoping to find through him getting healthy, as we move forward into May and June. Just the good version of Carlos Gonzalez, which we think is going to be a big part of our success, with him right in the middle of our order.”
Black, Gonzalez and Blackmon all believe that absences of key players from the lineup have contributed, somewhat, to the slow start. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu missed his third consecutive game Monday because of a strained hamstring, and is now on the 10day disabled list. Allstar third baseman Nolan Arenado missed five games while serving his suspension for fighting, and outfielder Gerardo Parra was suspended four games for fighting.
“I think that’s part of it, for sure,” Black said. “But I just think the back half of the lineup has not been what we expected. If you look at all the guys in the back end of the lineup, and you put all of their numbers together, you might see the reason why the total team offense is not where it needs to be.”
LeMahieu, who was off to a strong start — batting .290 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and three stolen bases in 27 games — predicted that Colorado’s chilly bats will heat up.
“We haven’t all been in the lineup at the same time, and that’s been a little frustrating,” LeMahieu said. “But I’m not worried about our offense at all. We’ll get on roll, we’ll get there. And at the same time, we’re right around .500 (1514 entering Monday night’s game), and with the way we’ve hit, it could be worse. So I’m not worried about our offense.”