N.L. West

Sporting News, The, June 28, 1999

A good month ... maybe two

June has been good to the Rockies. And July offers promise, too.

That's great news for a team that stumbled in April-Colorado endured one stretch of five defeats in six games and later had a four-game losing streak-and then failed to mount a winning streak of more than two games in May.

The lurching start was enough to make fans question the Rockies' ability to contend in the N.L. West and new manager Jim Leyland's capacity to get his charges to play at such a level.

But the Rockies, spurred by an offensive awakening, caught fire beginning June 2 and won 11-of-15 games. The spurt lifted them to .500 after they had fallen seven games below the breakeven mark on June 1.

Robust hitting fueled the surge. After scoring only 16 runs in its last eight games in May, the club scored 31 in three games against the Brewers, got 16 in a game against Seattle, had a 15-run outburst against the Giants and broke loose for 11 and 10 runs against the Marlins.

First baseman Todd Helton went on a remarkable tear, getting 17 RBIs over a seven-game stretch and going 13-for-26. He hit for the cycle last Saturday. And outfielder Larry Walker lifted his average to .370 with a 9-for-16 spree.

Some unlikely sources were helping, too:

* Terry Shumpert. Summoned from the minors to fill in at second base for the injured Mike Lansing, Shumpert, a journeyman, hit safely in his first eight games, going 11-for-29 (.379).

* Kurt Abbott. Getting more playing lime, Abbott, an infielder/outfielder, went 11-for-27 with 10 RBIs after starting the year 3-for-28 with two RBIs.

* Henry Blanco. Called up in May, Blanco, a catcher, collected hits in 20 of his first 31 games.

* Angel Echevarria. After bidding for more action with three pinch homers early in the season, Echevarria, an outfielder/first baseman, went 12-for-23 in the first half of June.

The Rockies could set off more fireworks in July. They play 17-of-28 games at Coors Field, highlighted by a 10-game homestand preceding the All-Star break.

Arizona

41-27: 1st

Bell takes advantage of spot in the batting order

2B Jay Bell leads the N.L. in runs scored and has 21 home runs, equaling his career-best. With more than 95 games remaining, it's a safe bet Bell will reach a new standard for homers. Bell did more weightlifting during the offseason than ever. But the biggest reason for Bell's muscle-flexing has to do with leadoff hitter Tony Womack. Womack, the two-time N.L. stolen base king, forces pitchers to throw more fastballs to the next hitter, Bell, than they would like. Bell has taken advantage. In addition, Luis Gonzalez's monster season has benefited Bell. Because Bell is sandwiched 'between Womack and Gonzalez in the order, he gets better pitches to hit. Bell has made pitchers pay the price when they focus more on Womack and Gonzalez and let their guard down against him.

SPECIALIST AT SHORT: Hanley Frias' role becomes more important now that Tony Batista has been traded. With Andy Fox assuming everyday shortstop duties, Frias has become his primary backup. Frias is well-known as a slick fielder with above-average range, something Fox doesn't have. But Frias is not nearly the offensive player Fox is. Still, Frias' role will take on greater importance now that he is the only player on the roster who is a defensive specialist at shortstop.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: LHP Brian Anderson knew he faced a possible demotion when he took the mound last week. He had not pitched well since replacing Todd Stottlemyre in the rotation, and talk had begun of other options for the spot in the rotation. Before he took the field, Anderson watched Pedro Martinez on television. Anderson noticed how Martinez takes a short step toward the plate and opens his body to deliver pitches from in front of his torso rather than from behind his shoulder. Anderson decided to take the same approach and wound up pitching into the eighth inning, a season-best effort "I decided to take it into the game, and my pitches were definitely lower in the zone," Anderson says. -Pedro Gomez

GRADING OUT

OFFENSE B

Matt Williams blasting away home runs is one thing, but Bell is up to a career-high 21.

PITCHING A

If Anderson, Andy Benes can mimic other's consistency, this bunch can be scary.

DEFENSE B

String of 73 straight innings without an error snapped. Then committed two in five innings.

DIAMOND BACKS
              AVG     G    AB    R    H    HR   RBI

(*)Diaz       1.000    1     1    0    1    0     1
Dellucci( )    .368   38    57   16   21    0     8
Gonzalez( )    .367   62   251   47   92   13    43
Williams       .339   67   280   54   95   19    64
Colbrunn       .311   27    45    4   14    2     4
Miller         .299   41   144   17   43    4    25
Gilkey         .293   39    92   13   27    4    12
Bell           .292   65   264   63   77   21    52
Fox( )         .286   37   105   12   30    3    18
Finley( )      .276   67   257   42   71   15    52
Womack( )      .273   56   245   44   67    1    18
Lee( )         .269   65   238   47   64    9    41
Stinnett       .212   36   118   13   25    6    14
(*)Frias(#)    .143   15    14    3    2    0     1

              OBP     SLG     SB   K    BB   E

(*)Diaz       1.000   2.000    0    0    0    0
Dellucci( )    .455    .474    0    9    6    0
Gonzalez( )    .427    .610    5   25   26    2
Williams       .367    .621    2   35   13    6
Colbrunn       .354    .467    0   11    3    0
Miller         .333    .465    0   38    8    2
Gilkey         .380    .500    0   16   13    2
Bell           .368    .591    3   55   31   10
Fox( )         .382    .448    2   19   13    6
Finley( )      .338    .525    4   43   22    1
Womack( )      .321    .359   29   22   19    2
Lee( )         .361    .437   14   31   36    3
Stinnett       .268    .390    1   34    7    3
(*)Frias(#)    .368    .143    0    4    5    1