Helton goes on DL with ailing back
Baker, Koshansky will team to fill void at first base
By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News
Published July 4, 2008 at 4:09 p.m.
David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Rockies first baseman Todd Helton has been battling an inflammation of his lower back for the past three weeks.
For nearly three weeks, Rockies first baseman Todd Helton tried to play through a lower-back inflammation. It wasn't working.
Helton was placed on the disabled list Friday. Joe Koshansky, who is leading the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with 78 RBI, was called up from Colorado Springs and will combine with Jeff Baker to fill the void at first base.
Helton, meanwhile, will see if several days of complete rest will calm down the flare-up of a back problem that he has battled for at least five years. His situation will be re-evaluated next week, but the hope is he can return to the roster at the end of the All-Star break.
"We don't think it is too serious," trainer Keith Dugger said. "We just want the area to calm down."
Helton has been battling the injury since the Rockies' trip to Chicago to play the White Sox three weeks ago. He initially tried to play through it, in part because the team was facing the loss of catcher Yorvit Torrealba to a two-game suspension, while left fielder Matt Holliday, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and second baseman Clint Barmes were already on the disabled list.
Helton finally had two full days to rest his back - the Rockies were off June 26 and he sat out a game in Detroit the next day. But after a big swing of the bat Wednesday, Helton had to come out of that game early, didn't play Thursday and, according to Dugger, when he showed up Friday, he "felt a little worse. That made our decision easier."
Helton suffered through a slump that coincided with the time frame of the injury. Hitting .297 when the Rockies arrived in Chicago on June 13, he had gone 8-for-56 since as his average fell to .268.
"This gives him a chance to heal rather than try and push his way through it, which I don't think he was capable of doing," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
This is the third time in Helton's career he has been placed on the disabled list.
Featured
-
2008 Voter’s Guide
Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.
-
A Dozen on Denver
Sandra Dallas wrote 'Lennie's tavern' for our ongoing fiction series. Check it out!
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased pregame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.
-
Presidential Elections
See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.
-
County election profiles
A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.
-
A dream fulfilled
A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production
-
Latest from Dove Valley
Click for more broncos videos.
-
Sam Adams' Open Mic
No. 44 means a lot to Floyd Little




Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.