ROCKIES- 6/08/02

LATEST TEAM INFO: 31-30, Fourth in National League West.

Let’s try to avoid the controversial “H” word for as long as possible, okay?

The bottom line is that the Colorado Rockies were 6-16 under former manager Buddy Bell, and they are 25-14 under current manager Clint Hurdle since the change that occurred prior to beginning a six-game homestand April 26th.

The Rockies responded by sweeping Philadelphia and Pittsburgh by a combined total of 39-11, including not only the first shutout by the Rockie staff this season, but the first back-to-back shutouts since April 18-19, 2001, by blanking the Pirates on April 30th, 10-0, and May 1st, 6-0. The winning pitchers both times? Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle.

But that’s where the comparisons end between the 2001 and 2002 Rockies, as Hampton and Neagle are a combined 4-9 with a 5.36 ERA and 1.63 WHIP, and the Rockies are 17-5 at home this season.

Rotation:

The trio of Jason Jennings, John Thomson and Denny Stark have combined for a 16-7 with an accumulated 4.39 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Jennings is the big surprise of the starting staff. The 24-year-old righthander had an August call-up and posted a respectable 4-1 record and 4.58 ERA, but struggled at Coors Field (0-1, 14.14).

Jennings started off with a strong 2-2 record, 3.67 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in April, but struggled with an 5.27 ERA and 1.42 WHIP since May 1st. However, Jennings is 5-1 in his last six decisions, and that’s the bottom line.

Thomason has been the go-to guy so far this season. After a mediocre start (3-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) in April, Thomason had a sparkling May, in which he went 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He struggled at San Francisco on June 2nd, in a 9-2 loss, but the Rockies are hoping that was an aberration.

Since getting the call-up from AAA on May 14th, Stark has been spectacular, with a 3-1 record in five starts, a 3.34 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Despite this start, Stark will go into the bullpen with the return to the rotation of Shawn Chacon this weekend.

Neagle’s season has been a bit of a roller-coaster experience. After a dismal April (2-1, 5.65, 1.43), Neagle was stellar in May (2-1, 2.57, 0.94) with five quality starts. June, however, has started off a bit rough (a no-decision on June 4th (7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K)) with his worst start since April 8th.

Hampton has been a huge disappointment, continuing his poor play from the second half of last season. His season has started out bad (1-3, 6.96, 2.10 in April) and has only slightly improved since (2-4, 6.27, 1.97 in May and June). His only strong outing was the 10-0 win against Pittsburgh on April 30th.

Bullpen:

The Rockie bullpen, however, has been the belle of the ball for the Coloradoans. As a team, the bullpen has maintained a solid 3.73 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

Leading the way is closer Jose Jimenez, who has converted 16-of-17 save opportunities. Jimenez was off to an awful start (4.15, 1.46) in April, but has been nearly flawless in May and June, having allowed just one earned run (0.52, 0.76) during the period.

Set-up man Todd Jones has had a similar season – with a rough start (3.68, 1.64) in April and lights out during May (0.00, 0.67 with 5 holds in 13 appearances). Jones has struggled suddenly and massively in his two June appearances, however (8 ER, 6 H, 2 BB in one IP).

The Rockies just lost lefthander Kent Mercker with a fractured finger, so they will be depending more on Brian Fuentes, Chris Nichting and Dennys Reyes to set up the game for Jones.

Infield:

Todd Helton is rounding out into Todd-Helton form as the season goes on. Helton began slowing (for Helton) as he barely crept his BA above .300 in April (.301, 4 HR, 20 RBI). But in May, the first baseman started hitting his stride (.347, 10 HR, 28 RBI), and won NL Player of the Month, and is hitting an even .500 thus far in June (with a homer and seven RBI).

During the first month of the season, Bell switched Jose Ortiz and Terry Shumpert willy-nilly at second base, smothering Ortiz with a .217 BA for the month. Since Hurdle came aboard, he gave Ortiz the majority of the playing time, and it’s slowly starting to pay off (.243 in May, .250 so far in June). He hit 13 HR in 53 games last season, so a lot was expected of Ortiz, who has only managed one dinger. Maybe it’s the, um, heavier ball. But as Ortiz appears to be starting to level off, don’t be surprised to see Shumpert start to share time again with him. Or, since Hurdle has told Ortiz it’s make-or-break time, expect Brent Butler to make a return trip from Colorado Springs.

Unlike a lot of the Rockie hitters, shortstop Jose Uribe and third baseman Todd Zeile got out of the gate very well. Uribe spent April hitting .373 with 3 doubles, four triples and a homer and drove in 11 runs. But since the first of May, Uribe is hitting a paltry .172 with three extra-base hits and nine RBI, dropping his BA by over 100 points. Following a 2001 campaign where Uribe had 35 extra-base hits, including eight HR, and hit .300 in 72 games, shortstop is another under-producing position. As a result, Uribe has been dropped from the No. 2 spot in the order to No. 8.

Zeile started out strong, hitting .282 with four HR and 14 RBI in April, and has built on that with a .307 average and 5 HR and 20 RBI in the last five weeks to rank third on the team in HR and RBI.

At the catcher spot, Gary Bennett and Bobby Estalella have shared duties. Bennett is hitting .226 with 2 HR and 10 RBI, while Estalella is hitting .246 with 6 HR and 18 RBI.

Outfield:

A gimpy elbow and trade talks linger around Larry Walker like the thin mountain air, but the rightfielder keeps marching on. Walker missed some time in April with that elbow and his results reflected that (.268, 5 HR, 15 RBI). But, for now, that is behind him as he has rebounded into form (.337, 6 HR, 25 RBI since May 1st) to trail only Helton in all three categories. And if Walker turned down chances to be traded to St Louis and Arizona last year, probably nothing short of another call by the D-Backs or by the Yankees will get him out of Denver.

Juan Pierre has been the speed demon for the Rockies, as well as Mr. Consistency. During April, Pierre hit .284 with nine SB. Over the last five weeks, Pierre has hit .276 with 12 SB and has added 10 extra-base hits and eight RBI from the lead-off spot.

The left-field spot was a train wreck in April, with Benny Agbayani (.236, 2 HR, 9 RBI), Todd Hollandsworth (.214, 0 HR, 6 RBI) and Greg Norton (.147, 1 HR, 5 RBI) sharing time. But, once again, with Hurdle on board, and with Agbayani on the DL, he went with Hollandsworth, who responded by hitting .314 with 7 HR and 23 RBI to solidify the position. Agbayani was activated from the DL on June 5th, and responded by going 2-for-3 with a grand slam, so the battle is on again in left.

INJURIES:

Shawn Chacon had been on the DL with a pectoral strain, but is expected to be activated to start against Toronto on Sunday.

Mercker had surgery on his injured pitching hand June 5th. He is out indefinitely.

Rick White threw off the mound on June 4 for only the second time since being placed on the DL (May 28th) because of muscle spasms in his right shoulder.

Pete Harnisch is scheduled for Tommy John surgery and his out for the season.

LOCAL PERSPECTIVE:

What to do about Hollandsworth is a big question for the Rockies. He will become a free agent at season’s end, and with players such as Helton and Walker also due for raises, the leftfielder may be the odd-man out. If the team falls out of contention, the remainder of his salary will likely to be moved to make room for AAA slugger Jack Cust. But if the Rockies remain in the hunt for the playoffs, they could let Hollandsworth play out the season and then try to re-sign him.

The Hampton situation has reached critical mass. Hurdle is considering moving the lefthander to the bullpen or skipping his turn in the rotation. Since last June 10, Hampton is 8-18 with a 6.16 ERA. Of course, mere suggestion of such a move has not run positive with Hampton, who has not received such a demotion since establishing himself in the majors. The Rockies are itching to get Stark back into the rotation (Chacon’s return led to Stark’s move to the bullpen. Hampton’s salary (with $106 million remaining) makes trade talks impossible. And the Rockies want to capitalize on their strong May – excluding Hampton’s stats, since April 26th, the Rockies’ starters are 17-6 with a 3.67 ERA (20-9, 4.02 including Hampton). For now, Hampton is scheduled to make his next start against Boston at Fenway. No promises have been made after that, though.

ON THE FARM:

Class AAA Colorado Springs:

Jack Cust (OF) – Cust is the top hitting prospect for the Rockies. The 23-year-old arrived via trade from Arizona in the Mike Myers deal. Cust’s BA isn’t great (.269), but in 197 AB, he has hit 15 2B, 14 HR and driven in 30 runs. Cust also has a .431 OBP and a .558 SLG. Cust’s path to the big leagues is blocked by the logjam in left field. If Colorado is out of the play-off chase before too long, expect Hollandsworth to be moved in favor of Cust. If the Rockies are still in the running, don’t expect to see him until closer to September. Cust has had a bad rap over the years of having a bad glove, but both Cust and his manager say that this claim is in the past and that he has improved.

John Barnes (OF) – Barnes has one of the best BA on the team (.314), thanks to a current 16-game streak. The 26-year-old is running out of time in a crowded outfield, but he continues to plug along, rapping out 16 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR and 18 RBI.

Class AA Carolina Mudcats:

The farm players the Rockies feel are ready for harvest are AA starting pitchers Jason Young and Aaron Cook.

Cook, a 23-year-old righthander, has a 6-2 record with a 1.57 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The 22-year-old Young, also a righthander, sports a 7-4 record with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Either one or both are in the Rockies plans to follow Chacon and Jennings to the big-league rotation. Just how soon is still up in the air.

QUICK VIEW:

HOT:

Jennings, Thomson, Jimenez, Helton, Walker, Hollandsworth

NOT:

Ortiz, Uribe, Hampton, Bennett