AFTER DISASTROUS 2019, DAVIS BACK AS CLOSER
The Rockies are putting a lot of faith in 34year-old reliever Wade Davis and his ability to bounce back from a disastrous 2019 season.
Never mind that Scott Oberg, who says he’s fully recovered from surgery to correct a blood clot problem in his right arm, is probably the best reliever in their bullpen. The Rockies believe that Davis, the hard-as-nails veteran who was instrumental in Kansas City’s march to the 2015 World Series title, can be trusted.
“In a perfect world Wade is our closer and Scotty (Oberg) pitches in front of him in some capacity,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s based on Wade’s great track record. That’s the perfect scenario.”
Davis is expressing confidence that his performance last season — 8.65 ERA, 11.10 ERA at Coors Field — was a blip.
“I’ve already forgotten about last year and it’s really irrelevant at this point,” Davis said Thursday. “It stinks when you aren’t doing anything well, but you just have to move past it. That’s when you learn to grow. I feel good about where I am now, in spite of what happened last year.”
Black and Davis better be right, because the Rockies will not come anywhere close to reaching the 94 wins predicted by owner Dick Monfort if they don’t have a reliable closer. Consider this: Four of the five times the Rockies
have qualified for the postseason, they ranked at or near the top of the National League in saves. They were first in 2018 (51 saves) and 2009 (45), second in 1995 (43 in a strike-shortened season), third in 2017 (47) and seventh in 2007 (39).
Last year, Colorado had 28 saves, second-fewest in the National League and the third-fewest in franchise history. It was painful to watch Davis get hammered, game after game.
Davis revealed Thursday that the strained left oblique that landed him on the injured list May 22 hampered him the rest of the season. He admitted that he probably returned too quickly and the injury messed up his delivery.
“It’s a big part of the (body) rotation and it’s a big part of the movement,” he said. “You know, if you can’t rotate your hips square to the home plate, you’re never gonna go to be able to execute your pitches. You will always be off-balance, (that’s) basically what it feels like.”
Asked if Davis’ physical and mechanical woes contributed to his terrible season, Black replied, “It was part of it, for sure.”
The numbers are revealing. In 17 appearances before the oblique injury, Davis converted all seven save opportunities, posted a 2.45 ERA and did not allow a home run. In his 33 appearances after coming off the injured list, he was 0-5, blew three saves in 11 chances, posted an 11.89 ERA and was tagged for seven home runs.
After the season, Davis said his body felt a little off-balance when he was doing squats and deadlifts, even when he was playing golf. He said that at times he felt like he had a big needle stabbing him, making him wonder if he had a hip injury.
Davis said he’s healthy now and he’s eager to reclaim his spot as one of the game’s better closers.
But huge questions remain. At age 34, what does Davis have left? Was his 2019 meltdown all the result of injury or has he regressed as a pitcher? If he struggles early in the season, will the Rockies do the smart thing and hand the ninth inning over to Oberg?