Tulo might be out until July

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Photo by Eric Risberg/Associated Press

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is helped off the field by manager Clint Hurdle after being injured in the first inning of Tuesday's game at San Francisco.

First, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki dealt with the mental frustrations of an early-season struggle.

Now, he is facing the physical pains of a torn tendon in his left quadriceps, an injury that could keep him out until the All-Star break.

“With the help of God he will be back in two months,” agent Paul Cohen told the Rocky Mountain News. “Maybe by the weekend or early next week we will have a better idea of how long this will be.”

Tulowitzki is expected to be placed on the disabled list Friday, opening up a roster spot for left-handed pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, acquired from Kansas City this week to complete the spring training trade of Ramon Ramirez. De La Rosa is scheduled to make his Rockies debut as the starting pitcher against the Dodgers on Saturday at Coors Field.

With Tulowitzki sidelined, Clint Barmes will take over at the position where he was in the Rockies Opening Day lineups in 2005 and 2006 with Jeff Baker and Omar Quintanilla most likely sharing the second base job, although there also is a possibility that top prospect Ian Stewart could be called up and given a look. Stewart, a third baseman, was among six candidates for the second base job in spring training.

Baker suffered a ruptured vessel in the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday and had to be scratched from the lineup, but was examined on Thursday and is progressing well enough that he isn’t expected to be sidelined.

More than what he does on the field, however, Tulowitzki is considered a force in the Rockies clubhouse with his all-business approach to the game, which will be missed. He emerged late last season, his rookie year, as a key leader on the club.

Tulowitzki was injured on Tuesday night, a game he wasn’t originally scheduled to start, but got the nod after Baker’s injury. Then in the bottom of the first inning he suffered the injury. Tulowitzki also strained his left quad three years ago, shortly after the Rockies signed him as a first-round draft pick and sent him to Single-A Modesto.

Tulowitzki, however, said he did not know if the injuries were related.

“If I knew the answers it would be easier to deal with it,” Tulowitzki said. “It’s very frustrating.”

But then the regular season has been generally frustrating for Tulowitzki, who had reason to celebrate in the offseason when he signed a six-year, $31 million contract with the Rockies, who consider him a fixture for their long-term building plan, and he then enjoyed a strong effort in spring training.

Then the regular season opened and the slump began. Tulowitzki is hitting .152, and the Rockies are 11-17, nine games back of NL West-leading Arizona, a bigger deficit than the Rockies faced at any time in winning the first NL pennant in franchise history a year ago.

Tulowitzki said in San Francisco that he felt fine when he went out to play in the field in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday, even though with short notice he did not go through his normally lengthy process of loosening up for a game.

On the second play of the inning, however, he appeared to initially injured the quad with an off-balance throw to first, and three batters later, when he broke toward second for a ground ball he had to pull up because of the pain in his quadriceps, and allow the ball to roll into the outfield for a run-scoring base hit.

Tulowitzki flew home early on Wednesday, and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam, which showed the left quadriceps tendon near the hip had pulled away from the bone. Surgery is not likely, but a better feel for the healing process won’t be known until the inflammation and blood in the area of the injury subside.

“The feeling is it will heal itself,” Cohen said. “That surgery won’t be necessary.”

With the disappointment for Tulowitzki and the Rockies comes opportunity for Barmes and Baker, who opened the season as utility infielders. Last weekend, the decision was made to send out Jayson Nix, who won the second base job in spring training, and let Barmes take over because he had played so well coming off the bench.

Now, Barmes will be at shortstop, but if he shows offensive life it will allow him to make a stronger claim for the second base job. Baker, however, could also build a case for himself by finally getting extended playing time to see if the offensive potential develops with his bat. In a backup role as a rookie last year, Baker had only 144 at-bats.