The greatest player in franchise history is hitting .266. He has been battling a back problem for the last six years. Worse yet, earlier this week, what was thought to be, well, another back problem, turned out to be a leg problem. Not just any leg problem, however. It has been reported Todd Helton has felt numbness in his leg.
The cycnics in the baseball intelligentsia would say a little of that numbness has spread to his bat and maybe into the psyche of the team's manager also. Helton has lost enough power in his swing that he was dropped from cleanup up to second in the batting order. Clint Hurdle isn't out to hurt feelings or particularly win them over. He is paid to win baseball games. Safe to say, he may not be doing any of the above this season.
There has been no better person to represent the Rockies than Todd Helton. Drafted by the team, he has only donned one color in his career-purple. After a quick look into a possible trade last season, Helton, throughout his tenure in Colorado------good times and the bad----has never asked to be traded. Even last season, Helton said he would be open to a trade but never did demand one. He has been the quintessential loyal company man. Of course, when you have $56 million left on your deal, the idea of being loyal seems easy for anyone.
That, in an unfortunate way, has been become the issue. The Rockies, as it now stands, must pay Helton that exorbinant salary for not so exorbinant statistics. That is unless, someone else wants to do so. Then again, is diminishing power and a frail body worth $56 million to anyone?
Here is the reality of the Helton quandary. He is a lifetime .328 hitter which is tremendous. However, that means this season he is batting 62 points below his career average-------a big decline. He has seven home runs and 29 RBI which begs the obvious: How could Hurdle have not pulled him from the fourth spot in the batting order earlier?
The true power, both on the diamond and in the dugout, belongs to Matt Holliday. With Helton slipping and Troy Tulowitzki injured, the quiet and steely confidence of Holliday is this team's palpable ingredient for potential long term success. That seems slightly ironic because Holliday is so low-key, he often goes unnoticed------that is-----until you look at his numbers.
His career averages consist of .322, 23 home runs and 117 RBI. This year in 73 games he has a .345 average, has hit 14 home runs and has 51 RBI. To me, hs most telling statistic might be his 100 hits. Yes, I understand that Holliday is 28 and Helton is six years his senior, so his production won't be up to that of the crown jewel of the 2009 free agent class. However, in sports, fair or not, we live in the here and now. What is current is what matters. I am not saying that is right or fair, though, it is reality.
Mentioned this in my blog earlier this week. The Rockies took care of Helton, they gave Tulowitzki the richest deal for a player with less than two years of Major League experience, and they even took care of Aaron Cook and Manny Corpas. When are they going to placate Holliday? I know, his deal dwarfs that of what they gave to Tulowitzki, Cook, and Corpas, though, each day they wait, the price just keeps going up and when is the last time the Rockies were victorious in a bidding war for a player?
Hope to see you on Wednesday, everyone.
-"z"
