Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Danger zone has been home

Still confident, Rockies are used to uphill climbs

Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 27, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

Related Links

More Colorado Rockies

More stories »

OK, so the Rockies are in that dangerous territory again. They have lost the first two games of the World Series, putting themselves in a hole that few have climbed out of. Their offense has gone dormant.

So what's up with the Rockies?

"Business as usual," first baseman Todd Helton said.

Bottom line, there was no sense of panic Friday among the Rockies on the eve of Game 3 of the World Series at Coors Field, even though they are coming off losses to Boston in the first two games at Fenway Park.

Right-hander Josh Fogg, who has shown the ability to beat good teams, will start for the Rockies against right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka for the Red Sox, who will move designated hitter David Ortiz to first base and sit Kevin Youkilis.

The Rockies also are expected to juggle their lineup, most likely moving Troy Tulowitzki from seventh to second and Kazuo Matsui from second to leadoff. The question then is whether struggling Willy Taveras is dropped to eighth or manager Clint Hurdle decides to put the left-handed-hitting Cory Sullivan into center field in place of Taveras.

There's no question the Rockies need to win.

They already face a challenge: Of the 50 previous teams to lose the first two games of a World Series, only 11 have rebounded to win the World Series. None of the 22 teams that lost the first three World Series games has overcome that deficit.

"It's not the first time we've been in a tough spot," Helton said.

The Rockies reached the World Series by ignoring odds. They never paid much attention to predictions or history. And they have been successful in the process.

This is, after all, a team that had to win 14 of its final 15 regular-season games to get to the postseason, and managed to do just that, the strongest late-season surge in major league history. In the process, they jumped ahead of the Dodgers, Mets and Padres to claim the National League wild card.

They had to rally for a 9-8, 13-inning victory against the Padres by scoring three runs off Trevor Hoffman to win the National League wild-card tiebreaker.

They are only the seventh team to have rallied from being as many as nine games below .500 (18-27 in late May) to get to the World Series.

"We've had some challenges before during the season," Hurdle said. "This is the last challenge. But our focus is on Game 3. We need to win a ballgame, but a sense of urgency hasn't hurt this club. We've been outplayed the first two games and we understand that."

No whining about being unlucky. No crying about a lack of respect. The Rockies know what the problem has been and they know it can be corrected only one way - play better.

"What we believe is pretty special," Hurdle said. "We believe in one another. We don't worry about what other people say or feel because we can't control that. What we can control is how we approach each game, and we approach each game by looking forward to the opportunity to be on the field and play the game."

That doesn't mean the Rockies avoid self-evaluation.

Hurdle and his staff were busy with that task Friday.

While Boston manager Terry Francona was trying to figure out a way to fit as much offense as possible into his lineup in light of the loss of the designated hitter with the Series moving to the NL park, Hurdle was looking for a way to provide a spark.

Francona opted to put Ortiz at first base, knowing using him in the field will add to the challenge for a defense that also will have to cope with Manny Ramirez trying to patrol one of the bigger left fields in baseball in a park where the ball carries better than any other.

Hurdle, meanwhile, wants to find a way to ignite an offense that has hit .217 in its past seven postseason games but won't make anything official until today.

"I'm not afraid to throw the dice," Hurdle said. "I'm not afraid to gamble. Sometimes the biggest mistake in life is being afraid to make a mistake. We have a lot of viable options. We'll have something ready for the game."

Three reasons the Rockies can win

1 Ignorance is bliss. They don't know any better than to do what hasn't been done. This is one of only seven teams to be at least nine games below .500 and make it to the World Series. They had a season-ending 14-1 run - including a 9-8, 13-inning win against San Diego in the National League wild-card tiebreaker - to reach the postseason, the best stretch drive in history.

2 Home again. The Rockies get three games to get back in gear at Coors Field, where they went 39-15 after June 2, the best home record in baseball. Their 51-31 home record was second best in franchise history.

3 Secondary stuff. They'll face Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester in Games 3 and 4. Matsuzaka appears to be worn down. He is 1-1 in the postseason, but in three starts, he has worked only 14 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs, 19 hits and five walks. Lester is starting because Tim Wakefield was scratched. He has worked only 5 2/3 innings since Sept. 26.

Three reasons the Red Sox can win

1 Josh Beckett. He's the modern-day Bob Gibson when it comes to the postseason. He will start Game 5, if needed, and if he wins that, the Red Sox would only need to win one other game.

2 History. Of the 50 previous teams that have won the first two games of a World Series, 39 have gone on to win the title, including 11 of the last 12. Nineteen have swept the Series.

3 Saving grace. Left-hander Hideki Okajima and right-hander Jonathan Papelbon have been nails in the late innings during the postseason. Okajima, rejuvenated by a 12-day layoff, has allowed five hits in 9 2/3 innings. Papelbon has given up four hits in 7 2/3 innings. Neither has allowed a run.