HITTERS NEED TO GET PAST AN EARLY FUNK
Manager Bud Black finds the topic ludicrous, and it raises a skeptical eyebrow from Ian Desmond.
The subject is the relatively tepid start by the Rockies’ offense. Specifically, that of three key players whose 2017 seasons were colored by early-season funks that turned into major slumps: shortstop Trevor Story, right fielder Carlos Gonzalez and Desmond.
And although Black’s big-picture view of the season is valid, the Rockies can’t afford history to repeat itself if they’re going to compete for their first National League West title.
Entering Monday night’s game against San Diego, Story was batting .211 with a .286 on-base percentage and 14 strikeouts in 38 atbats (37 percent); Gonzalez was hitting .250 with 12 whiffs in 36 atbats (33 percent); and Desmond, after going 0-for-12 with five strikeouts in the weekend series vs. Atlanta, was batting .229 with a .229 on-base percentage and 11 strikeouts in 35 at-bats (31 percent).
“A full benchmark is usually more than 30 at-bats, and you need a bigger sample size to determine where a player really is at the beginning of the year,” Black said prior to Monday’s game.
Sure enough, Desmond hit a 384-foot homer to right-center in the second inning Monday night.
Still, the slow start by the trio warrants scrutiny because of their molasses-like April a year ago. Indeed, Story’s numbers through the first 10 games mirrors last season when he batted .129 (4-for-31) with 13 strikeouts, 0 homers and no RBIs. The difference is that that this spring, Story had two homers and four RBIs at the 10game mark.
Desmond, driving the ball with some power after some offseason tinkering, batted hit 8-for-23 (.348) with two homers and seven RBIs on Colorado’s seven-game road trip to begin the season before going 0-for vs. the Braves.
“Of course I’m happy with my adjustments,” said Desmond, who changed his approach at the plate by lowering his hands and then worked on the technique throughout spring training. “I got off the a pretty strong start, and then hit the skids here a little bit when we got back to Colorado. But I understand that it’s a process, and anytime you make changes, you have to trust the process. I do trust it, and I think over the course of 162 games, I think it’s going to be very fruitful.”
It would certainly be presumptuous to panic after just a handful of games. Except in New York, where Yankees fans lustily booed newcomer Giancarlo Stanton on Sunday, when, for the second time in a six-game homestand, Stanton struck out five times and went 0-for-7. That led the New York Post, a tabloid known for its flashy and infamous headlines, to print: “Stan the Fan.”
Black says he’s not concerned about the trio because:
• “With CarGo, we’ve seen some good swings that haven’t resulted in hits. We’ve seen some balls hit on the nose.”
• “With Ian, with just a few more hits, his average would look better and he’d have a better onbase percentage.”
• “There is no doubt that Trevor’s series in Arizona was a rough series, but since then he’s bounced back.”
Chuck’s back.
After sitting out Sunday’s game against Atlanta because of spasms in his lower back, center fielder Charlie Blackmon returned to the starting lineup.
“It was just a combination of things, but it’s better now,” said Blackmon, whose back was wrapped prior to the game. “It was general tightness, more like spasms. It was nothing acute.”
Blackmon, who last week signed a new contract worth $108 million, said the cold weather in Denver over the weekend might have contributed to his back problem, adding that he didn’t think the problem would linger. He also brushed away the idea that he might need more days off.
“I would rather not take days off unless I feel like I’m not going to be productive,” he said.