Etkin: Smith seeing clearly now after surgery, self examination

Published September 8, 2006 at midnight

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Double-A Tulsa right fielder Seth Smith went home to Brandon, Miss., during the Texas League all-star break. And for the better part of three days, Smith pondered his disappointing first half and thought long and hard about how to improve.

It turned out to be a very fruitful exercise for Smith, who finished the season with a .294 average, a league-leading 46 doubles, 15 homers and 71 RBI.

"The halfway point of the season is kind of where I’d like to start over," Smith said. "At the all-star break, I started playing really well. And one of the things I wanted to do is quit striking out as much and not try to do so much with two strikes and just barrel up the balls and get hits even with two strikes."

Before the break, Smith hit .248-6-27 with a .305 on-base percentage and an average of one strikeout every 5.6 at-bats. The improvement after the break was dramatic. He hit .338-9-41 with a .413 on-base percentage and one strikeout every 9.5 at-bats.

"Basically, I went back to what got me here," said Smith, the Rockies second-round pick in 2004 out of the University of Mississippi, "and pretty much went back to how I played in Casper. I put my leg kick back in, which I didn’t have last year and didn’t use the beginning of this year. It helped with my timing and picking up pitches."

At Rookie Casper, Smith began his career by hitting .369-9-61 in 56 games. He jumped to high Single-A Modesto last year and hit .300-9-72 in 129 games, finishing second in the California League with 45 doubles.

"I was successful without the leg kick to a certain degree," Smith said. "But over a long period of time I didn’t think I was comfortable enough, and I thought I was getting out in front of too many pitches. So the leg kick kind of helps me stay back and helps with my timing."

Smith said of his time at home during the all-star break, "It was kind of like a gut check, ‘Hey, you want to come back here next year and kind of stunt your growth as a baseball player? Or do you want to pick it up and make something out of this?’ "

Leg kick or no leg kick, the Rockies had little doubt Smith could hit. He has a classic left-handed swing — rhythmic, stylish and wonderfully aesthetic. What the Rockies wanted to see from Smith this year was better defense and a greater sense of urgency when it came to playing the game.

It’s not that Smith was a malcontent or rubbed anyone in the organization the wrong way with his personality. But on the field, he was known to lope or jog when he should be hustling out of the batter’s box.

Various members of the organization spoke to Smith about this situation, and last winter he vowed it would be corrected this season. He was right.

"I told them it wouldn’t be an issue," Smith said. "It hasn’t been. I’ve been running balls out, playing hard. It actually makes for a better season, makes you a better player, helps you enjoy the game even that much more."

After last season, Smith had laser-eye surgery, the benefits of which have shown up on both sides of the ball, but particularly on defense. Smith is much better at tracking balls off the bat, something that was a problem at times before this year.

"He’s the type of guy you don’t expect to be one of those burners in the outfield and run down a lot of balls, but he’ll surprise you," Tulsa manager Stu Cole said. "He’ll take good routes to get to some balls in the gaps and also balls that he comes in on. He makes a lot of sliding catches and doesn’t give up on too many balls, especially going to his left and right. He gives 100 percent effort and more times than not, he gets to the ball and he catches it."

Smith has an above average throwing arm, but his velocity sometimes suffers because of inconsistent throwing mechanics. Rockies outfield coach Dave Collins has worked wonders in this area with the likes of Brad Hawpe, Matt Holliday and Choo Freeman and likely can do the same for Smith.

But as Smith, his eyesight sharper, improved in the field, he initially scuffled at the plate, in part, he thinks, because of the corrective surgery.

"I think early in the season I was trying to make it work for me," Smith said. ‘OK, I had (laser-eye surgery). So I’m going to get up here and be able to pick balls up easy and see if it’s a strike or not really early.’

"But as the second half came around, I realized just let the game come to me and by doing that, just being able to see the ball better has helped me with my plate discipline tremendously."

Smith showed the ability to hit left- and right-handed pitchers with equal effectiveness this season. In 119 at-bats against lefties, Smith hit .286. He hit .296 in 405 at-bats against right-handers. Cole, who managed Smith at Modesto last year, said Smith worked diligently at going up the middle and the other way against left-handed pitchers, and it’s paid off.

The same could be said of Smith’s decision at the all-star break to look inward and see what he could do to get better in the second half, stop muddling along and make something of his season.

"I’m pretty pleased with the improvements that I’ve made," Smith said. "Plate discipline was a huge thing, not only not striking out (as much) but walking more. Defensively and baserunning I felt is where they wanted me to improve the most. Defensively I needed to show them I wasn’t a liability out there and could get the job done.

"That was my focus coming into the season. I think that even had something to do with my early season problems — just focusing on defense and hitting was kind of an afterthought, which had never been the case before."

Triple-A: Colorado Springs Sky Sox

Outfielder Sean Barker (.297-13-55) hit .373-8-28 from the start of August through the end of the season, going 44-for-118 in that stretch with six doubles and four triples ... The Sky Sox’s 66-77 record was the sixth worst in the 16-team Pacific Coast League in large part because their 32-39 home record was the second worst in the league ahead of only Omaha (31-41), which finished with the league’s worst record (53-91) ... Mike Esposito (6-13, 6.67) finished with the second-most losses and second-highest ERA in the league. But on the final day of the season Monday, Esposito gave up three hits in eight innings and won 6-3 against Sacramento for his first win since July 6 ... Left-hander Justin Hampson (8-4, 3.33) went 2-1, 2.84 in 18 relief appearances and 6-3, 3.61 in 13 starts before joining the Rockies on Thursday ... Right fielder Jeff Baker (.305-20-108) finished second in the league in RBI and went 40-for-116 (.345) with 11 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 25 RBI from the beginning August through the end of the season, a reason why he joined the Rockies on Thursday.

Double-AA: Tulsa Drillers

Juan Morillo (12-8, 4.62) was 97-101 mph with his fastball and 89 mph with his changeup while throwing seven scoreless innings and allowing three hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts Tuesday against Wichita in the first game of the playoffs. Morillo went 4-0, 3.24 in his final four regular-season starts with 13 walks, 14 hits allowed and 28 strikeouts in 25 innings ... First baseman Joe Koshansky (.284-31-109) fell one homer short of matching the Drillers’ franchise record but did set a franchise RBI record. Koshansky finished the season 6-for-38 and his .284 average was the lowest since he was at that exact level May 17. In the first two playoff losses against Wichita, Koshansky went 1-for-9 with five strikeouts ... Third baseman Ian Stewart (.268-10-71) was hitting .286 on Aug. 7, the day his 19-game hitting streak ended. But from Aug. 8 through the end of the season, Stewart went 14-for-77 (.182) with one homer and 10 RBI. During his 19-game hitting streak, Stewart hit .338 (27-for-80), and he hit .326 (15-for-46) during a 13-game hitting streak June 17 through July 6...Sewart homered Thursday and drove in two runs as Tulsa beat Wichita 6-0 in the best-of-five playoff series that the Drillers trail 2-1. Steven Register (4-10, 5.57) threw five scoreless innings and three relievers combined to complete the shutout.

High Single-A: Modesto Nuts

Left-hander Franklin Morales (10-9, 3.68) went 3-0, 2.25 in his final five starts, allowing 15 hits and 17 walks in 32 innings with 44 strikeouts. Morales led the California League in ERA and strikeouts (179), an average of 10.46 per nine innings and was second with 89 walks (5.20 per nine innings) ... Samuel Deduno (5-8, 4.80) finished second in the league in strikeouts (167) and led it in walks (92), averaging 10.27 strikeouts and 5.66 walks per nine innings. In his final five starts, Deduno, who won twice after May 31, went 1-1, 9.59, and allowed 27 hits and 23 walks in 25 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts ... After climbing back to .500 (27-27) in the second half by sweeping a doubleheader Aug. 17, the Nuts went 5-12 the balance of the season and lost five of their final six games. They scored more than four runs in one of the last eight games.

Low Single-A: Asheville

Left fielder Cole Garner (.302-19-88) led the South Atlantic League with 100 runs, was second in doubles (40), tied for third in RBI (88) and fifth in batting ... Eric Young Jr. (.295-5-49) led the minors and set an organizational record with 87 stolen bases — he was caught 31 times — and hit .349 with runners in scoring position ... Center fielder Dexter Fowler (.296-8-46) hit .324 (37-for-114) after the beginning of August with 10 doubles, one triple, three homers, 18 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He finished with 43 stolen bases in 66 attempts ... Shane Lindsay (2-1, 2.67) went 2-1, 1.40 in his final five starts, allowing 17 hits in 25 2/33 innings with 16 walks — eight in five innings in his last start Sept. 1 — and 35 strikeouts ... Andrew Johnston (0-3, 2.84 with 25 saves) finished second in the league in saves, one behind the leader. In his final 14 games, Johnston was scored on three times, allowing five runs, three earned, and 11 hits in 15 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. Overall, Johnston allowed five walks in 44 1/3 innings with 23 strikeouts ... David Patton (7-4, 1.95 with three saves) held opposing hitters to a .191 average and allowed one homer in 73 2/3 innings with 26 walks and 79 strikeouts ... Knuckleball pitcher Simon Ferrer, an infielder before this season, went 0-0, 0.00 over 10 innings with one save in three games for the Tourists after going 0-0, 2.25 in 15 games for Tri-City.

Short-season single-A: Tri-City Dust Devils

Left-hander Tommy Baumgardner (1-1, 1.04 with two saves) held opposing hitters to a .224 average overall, including .091 by lefties. He allowed one earned run in his final 16 games and didn’t allow a home run in 26 innings overall ... Eighteen-year-old Aneury Rodriguez (4-4, 4.14) rebounded in his final two starts after going 0-3, with a 20.25 ERA in a three-start stumble Aug. 6-22. He threw four scoreless innings with no walks and six strikeouts Aug. 27 — pulled at that point so he could take something positive from the outing — then threw a complete-game five-hitter Sunday with one walk and nine strikeouts at Boise and won 6-1. Boise’s 44-32 record was the best in the East Division and the second best in the Northwest League ... Andrew Kreidermacher (6-5, 3.48) finished the season Tuesday with his second complete game in three starts, allowing six hits and two runs, one earned, in a 9-2 win at Boise. Kreidermacher was second in the league in innings pitched (952/3) and pitched seven or more innings in his final six starts ... Andrew Graham (3-1, 2.65) struck out 12 in six innings and allowed three runs, two earned, in the Dust Devils’ last game of the season Wednesday but was not involved in the decision. After going 0-0, 7.94 in five relief appearances, Graham joined the rotation July 19 and went 2-1, 2.08 in 10 starts ... William Harris (2-3, 1.16 with six saves) didn’t allow a homer in 31 innings and limited opponents to a .182 average. Harris gave up three runs, one earned, in his final 11 games, covering 13 innings, with three walks and 22 strikeouts in that span ... The Dust Devils won their final two games to finish 38-38, avoiding consecutive losing seasons for the first time since they came into existence in 2001.

Rookie: Casper Rockies

The Rockies finished 27-49 (.355) overall, the worst record in the six-year history of the franchise. Casper went 28-48 (.368) in 2003. After starting the second half 4-0, the Rockies lost 26 of their remaining 34 games. They scored more than three runs in just three of their final 13 games ... Ronny Lopez (1-10, 9.46) had the highest ERA and most losses in the Pioneer League. His lone win came July 11 in his fifth start and was followed by a seven-game losing streak ... Yull Silano (4-6, 4.97) allowed one hit in six scoreless innings while winning 3-0 on Tuesday at Orem, and in his final two starts gave up four hits and two runs, one earned, in 11 innings with six walks and nine strikeouts. Silano allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven starts.

etkinj@RockyMountainNews.com

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