“Turn off all the noise” to get better
Manager Black isn’t fretting about poor end to homestand
Back in the day, former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle used to pull out a favorite bromide when his team lost a tough game or played an ugly series.
“These guys shower well,” Hurdle said.
Translation: The Rockies were able to wash off the bad stuff.
Now, in the wake of an unsightly three-game home sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, will the cur- rent crop of Rockies be able to wash off the stink?
“This is a team that turns the page very well,” manager Bud Black said after the Rockies blew a 6-1 lead and lost 10-7 on Sunday. “We are going to be fine.”
Veteran catcher Chris Iannetta, who has become Colorado’s clubhouse defender, philosopher and most available player to the media, put it another way.
“We have to turn off all the noise,” he said. “Don’t listen to anyone who’s saying negative things and people making a big deal about one facet of the game or another. I think the mantra coming into this homestand was that the offense (couldn’t hit). Now they are going to say it’s the bullpen or the pitching. So, just don’t pay attention that and just keep going.
“You are going to go through stretches like this. It stinks. No one
thinks about it more than we do, but the key for us is focusing on the next game.”
Fair enough. But as the Rockies head to Cincinnati for a threegame series that begins Tuesday, troubling issues are not simply going to melt away. What’s more, a four-game home losing streak has the Rockies sitting just one game above .500 at 30-29.
The most pressing issue remains the bullpen. After closer Wade Davis gave up three runs on three hits with a walk and two wild pitches in the decisive ninth inning Sunday, Colorado’s bullpen ERA soared to 5.12, the second-highest in the National League. Rockies relievers have allowed 34 of 82 inherited runners to score, a 41.5 percent rate that is the worst in the NL and thirdworst in the majors.
Before Sunday’s game, Black said that hard-throwing righthander Antonio Senzatela, currently pitching at Triple-A Albuquerque, is a “possible option” to shore up the shaky ‘pen. After Sunday’s loss, Black said simply: “Our bullpen faltered in three games.” Adding, of course, that this is just one stretch of a long season.
But there’s more to chew on. The Rockies fell to 11-16 at Coors Field and have not had a winning homestand this season. The club’s overall ERA at home is 5.93, easily the worst in baseball.
Like Iannetta, steady second baseman D.J. LeMahieu said the sweep to the Dodgers is not cause for alarm.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “We didn’t play great this series, but we didn’t have any luck either. All of the bounces went (the Dodgers’) way. I have no doubt we’ll come out and play well on Tuesday in Cincinnati.”
As for the recent bullpen melter, downs, LeMahieu said: “We have a really good bullpen, it was just a tough series. I know if we go into Cincy and if we have the lead going into the sixth, seventh, eighth inning or whatever, we have a really good chance to win.” Footnotes. Right-handed starter Jon Gray was throwing in the bullpen and would have been used in relief if the Rockies needed him to pitch. It was Gray’s day for a side session, so Black was willing to use him for the overtaxed bullpen. “I knew going into the game that I might have to,” Gray said, but he quickly added that he is still a starter and remains on line to start Wednesday at Cincinnati. … Iannetta left the game in the ninth inning after catching a foul tip off his leg. “I’m fine, but my leg went numb there for a while and I couldn’t move right,” he said. “I didn’t want to stay in when I couldn’t move and the game was on the line.” … Right-handed reliever Carlos Estevez is getting closer to pitching off a mound. He threw long-toss from 140 feet Sunday and will travel with the Rockies to Cincinnati. … Charlie Blackmon batted 2-for-5 on Sunday and extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. He’s batting .375 (18-for-48) over the streak.