NewsCoors has not been home sweet home
Rox have uncharacteristic trouble winning in Denver
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
05/28/09 8:32 PM ET
DENVER -- It used to be that even when the Rockies were at their worst, they succeeded at Coors Field. Colorado has posted winning records in all but three of the 15 seasons the park has been open.Often, that has been because the Rockies were two different teams -- one that took advantage of an extreme hitter's park, the other that was lost at sea level. The addition of an atmosphere-controlled chamber for storing baseballs reduced that disparity.
Which brings us to 2009 and a harsh conclusion: the Rockies are the same no matter where they play. Being swept by the Dodgers dropped them to 7-12 at home, with a five-game losing streak and a 1-5-1 record in series this season. Colorado is slightly better on the road, at 11-15. It adds up to a whopping 14-game deficit in the National League West.
"We're bad everywhere right now, home and away," first baseman Todd Helton said. "I don't look at it like that, every year is new. Different challenges arise every year. Different personnel. Different philosophies. The way we've been playing, we don't have a home-field advantage."
This is a year where the dramatic imbalance would have been welcome. The Rockies haven't had a homestand of more than six games. After the three-game set with the Padres that starts Friday night, Colorado will embark on its second straight 10-game road trip.
"It's tough to explain it," Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart said. "It seems like we're on the road for a long time, then we're only home for a couple of days, then we're on the road again. We definitely need to get more wins at home."
The schedule will balance. The Rockies have a nine-game homestand June 12-21. In July, they're home for 16 of their 26 games.
"We've got a home-field advantage here," Stewart said. "We can get used to the altitude better than teams coming in. We've got a strong fan base, and we just love being at home. It's something we need to turn around, and do it quickly."
The fan base has not abandoned the Rockies. The club entered Thursday's play ranked 13th in the Majors in paid attendance, even though it was tied with the Athletics and Astros for the second-fewest victories. There were boos during Monday afternoon's 16-6 loss to the Dodgers, but players feel the crowd hasn't turned surly.
"Our support, with the way we've played, has been unbelievable," Rockies second baseman Clint Barmes said. "The other day's game was embarrassing. We played badly in every aspect. I definitely understand where the fans were coming from."
It's easy to point to the pitching. The Rockies' 5.70 home ERA is worst in the NL. But from 1995-2001, Colorado never finished a year with an ERA lower than that. This year, unlike many in the past, the starters have generally pitched well.
But the offense is a huge issue. Colorado's .270 home batting average ranks fifth in the NL. But the only time the Rockies batted below .280 over a season at Coors was last year's .278, and that was good enough for a 74-88 mess -- when they were coming off a World Series trip.
No look at the Rockies' home struggles is complete without noting that they've dropped five of six to the Dodgers at Coors. Colorado is also 1-8 overall against Los Angeles this season.
"The baseball we're playing is not good enough to win games, especially against one of the best ballclubs in the National League," said third baseman Garrett Atkins, himself struggling at .195 in a season he began as cleanup man. "They're doing what good teams do to win games. It's what we're not doing."
Manager Clint Hurdle, who hopes to outlast the speculation about his job status and be a part of a turnaround, prefers not to zero in on the poor home record.
"You look at the game," Hurdle said. "You look at what you need to do in the game. You need to play 27 outs. You need to have good at-bats. you need to have good pitches. You go anywhere else than that, you're missing the whole context of what you're trying to accomplish. We haven't done that with consistency at home, nor on the road."
That's why Helton is working on his teammates' heads.
During the second half of Colorado's collapse last season, Helton was out with a back injury and admitted he didn't have the clout to speak up about what was going wrong. But coming back from back surgery better than even the staunchest Rockies loyalist could have expected has given Helton (.327, 6 HRs, 32 RBIs) that type of clout. Before a players-only meeting prior to Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Dodgers, he said as much.
Helton is looking for change that has nothing to do with the speculation about Hurdle.
"We have to change the whole mental attitude," Helton said. "A lot needs to change if we're going to get better. It takes 28 guys, 30 guys. Obviously, we'll be using people from down in Triple-A, and we need every one of them.
"We need to change the way we look at the game, and that's all we need to talk about."
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
