Torrealba at home with Rockies

With place to hang his hat, Torrealba opens up toolbox

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 21, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Photo by Barry Gutierrez / Rock Mountain News

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba played in 113 games last season despite shoulder problems. "It was a big year for me, but I think I can be even better," said Torrealba, who nearly went to the Mets.

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Finally, after 13 professional seasons, Yorvit Torrealba feels like he has a baseball home with the Rockies.

He was the catcher of the future for nearly a decade in San Francisco, then went to Seattle, where the Mariners billed him as their eventual everyday catcher.

But it wasn't until last year, his second with the Rockies, that Torrealba's future faded into the present.

And truth be told, Torrealba said, what the Rockies got from him a year ago, when they won their first National League pennant, was only a tease of what he is capable of doing.

"It was frustrating for me last year because the Rockies gave me a chance, nobody else had done that, and I was not 100 percent," Torrealba said. "It was a big year for me, but I think I can be even better."

The Rockies are counting on it.

After top catching prospect Chris Iannetta had his development slowed last year by spending the bulk of the season backing up Torrealba, the expectation is Torrealba will be the starting catcher again this year and Iannetta will be sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs so he gets a chance to play regularly.

If something goes wrong with Torrealba, Iannetta would be game-ready for a promotion. If nothing happens this year, the hope is Iannetta would be ready to step in next season.

For now, the focus is on Torrealba and what he can do to help the Rockies repeat as NL champions.

A year ago, despite a nagging problem with his right shoulder, Torrealba played in 113 games - 47 more than in any previous major league season.

He hit .255, with a career-best eight home runs and 47 RBI. He also consistently was praised for the way he handled the Rockies' young pitching staff, which compiled the lowest ERA in the NL after the All-Star break.

But Torrealba struggled throwing out runners, something that had been a strength for him throughout his career before he managed to throw out only 13 of 74 runners attempting to steal when he was behind the plate - and only two of the final 32.

There is an emphasis this spring training on Rockies pitchers holding runners better, but Torrealba admits his problems were as much self-induced as anything else.

"My shoulder didn't hurt me, but the strength was not there," he said. "One day, it would be good, but the next day, it was tight. This winter, I worked a lot, playing a lot of long toss, to get my shoulder strength back. It's something I know needs to be better."

But at least Torrealba knows he is going to get a chance to prove he's better with the Rockies, a team he came close to leaving as a free agent in the fall.

With the Rockies unwilling to give him more than a two-year deal, he was headed to the Mets with a three-year guarantee. Before it was finalized, New York withdrew the offer, saying it was one year longer than it wanted.

Torrealba didn't hesitate. He told his agent to call back the Rockies and get a deal done before anything else happened.

"It worked out for me because this is where I always wanted to stay," Torrealba said. "I never thought about any other team until the Mets came up with the three-year deal. Inside, I knew this is where I needed to play. This is where I was given a chance. It's where I knew they wanted me and liked the way I play."

And while the one concern about Torrealba is he has been known to display his emotions, which irritates umpires, Torrealba said that's not something he expects to change.

"It is something I have to work on, but I have to speak up for my pitcher and do what I can to help him," Torrealba said. "If I feel I need to say something, I will. I don't want a bad reputation with the umpires, but my concern is the pitcher."

NUMBERS GAME

20-pound weight drop for infielder Jeff Baker, who is down to 205 pounds in his bid to show he can play second base. Baker, originally signed as a third baseman, played first base and right field in addition to third base last year. He's a sleeper in the spring training battle for second base.

SLAMMED

Second baseman Marcus Giles, in spring training as a nonroster invitee, was a key part of the unraveling of Mike Hampton with the Rockies. Giles, a rookie second baseman in Atlanta in 2001, hit a winning grand slam at Atlanta on May 15, 2001.

Hampton was 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his first seven starts with the Rockies, but beginning with the game in Atlanta, he went 16-28 with a 7.14 ERA in his final 55 starts.

Giles and Hampton were teammates in Atlanta in 2003 and 2004.

"I had grounded back to him on that sinker the first two times up," Giles said. "I just wanted to wait back and drive it. I hit it out to right-center. It was one of the highlights of my career. When he would get on me about something, that's the only comeback I had for him."

SEEING RED

Right-handed pitcher Josh Fogg agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Reds on a $1 million contract, according to sources close to the situation, considerably less than the $5 million deal the Rockies indicated they would give him as late as December.

But at that time, Fogg's agents were expecting him to get a multiyear deal. None came, and with pitchers having reported to spring training a week ago, Fogg knew he needed to get to camp.

"We have not signed anything," Reds general manager Wayne Kirvsky said when asked about Fogg's situation.

HE SAID IT

"We don't want to be a one-hit wonder. We plan to be around awhile."

Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager, on last year's National League pennant, the first in franchise history.

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