SPORTS “Positive vibe” vital
Rockies trying to balance “relaxed and loose” with “focused and intense”
SAN DIEGO» At the nucleus of a National League wild-card chase, in the square and congested visitors clubhouse at Petco Park on Thursday, the swelling pressure hid in the corners. The Rockies, a team on the brink, tried to reject scrutiny.
“We’re just trying to keep the atmosphere relaxed,” Colorado catcher Tony Wolters said.
But even three hours before the start of a make-or-break, fourgame road series against the Padres, some negativity crept in. Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” the wistful song of a jilted lover, blared from a portable stereo.
“Of course, it’s getting more intense. But all we can control is how we’re playing,” Wolters said. “Keeping the vibe positive. We can control that. There are a lot of things we can’t control. Our attitude, how hard we play, we can control that.”
The Rockies entered Thursday with a one-game lead over the Brewers for the second wild-card playoff berth. The Brewers began a four-game series against the Cubs in Milwaukee.
The Rockies were in prime position less than a week ago, after a 16-0 blowout of the Padres in Denver and having won 10 of their last 13 games. But a three-game skid, including a two-game sweep by the Giants in San Francisco, brought the Brewers and Cardinals closer.
“Because of the magnitude of these games and the scrutiny on the players, not just internally at the ballpark but externally too, players can get out of their own element,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “So you try to keep them as loose as possible and keep them focused on just the game. You have to be relaxed and loose, but yet be focused and intense. It’s a skill. And a lot of times, experience helps create that skill.”
The duty of applying a looseness to a tightening clubhouse unfolded on a plane ride down the West Coast. The Rockies’ rookies, in an annual tradition, performed in costume for the veterans, this year dressing in full football pads and Broncos uniforms.
“We had some guys who looked ● • like (NFL) players,” Black said through a smile. “Raimel Tapia looked like a wide receiver. Carlos Estevez looked like a defensive end. Pat Valaika looked like a strong safety. Tom Murphy looked like an outside linebacker. They looked good, man.”
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado’s star center fielder and an NL MVP candidate, will not change his routine just to fit a prescribed postseason attitude. He entered Thursday leading the league with a .331 batting average and 131 runs scored.
If the pressure of a postseason chase creeps into Colorado’s clubhouse, it will be Blackmon who stares it away.
“To me, this feels the same,” Blackmon said. “Other people put that extra pressure on it. I’m trying hard every time I’m up there. It doesn’t matter if we’re 20 games below .500 or 20 games above it. That’s the best place for a player to be mentally.
“If I were to play every day and then all of a sudden because of where we are I have to do something differently, then that means I was doing it wrong all along.”
Netting decisions.
The Rockies confirmed they are actively looking at ways to install additional netting around the field to help protect fans from foul balls at Coors Field.
Wednesday, a young girl was carried out of Yankee Stadium after she was hit by a foul ball off the bat of New York’s Todd Frazier.
“Ensuring the safety of our fans has always been our number one priority,” the Rockies said in a news release. “We felt it was important to let our fans know that we have been in discussions with vendors for the past several months with regard to expanded netting for the 2018 season at Coors Field.”
That netting would likely extend to the end of each dugout.
The Padres, Reds and Mariners have decided to extend their netting. Changes at Coors Field will not happen before next season, the Rockies said, because of engineering challenges.