Byline: Tracy Ringolsby News Staff Writer
TUCSON -- The T-shirts hung in each locker in the Colorado Rockies clubhouse on Thursday afternoon in anticipation of pitchers and catchers participating in the first official spring training workout this morning.
No Excuses was inscribed on the front.
No Regrets was inscribed on the back.
No question, the Rockies have created high hopes - among fans and themselves - with their off-season spending splurge that added the left arms of Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle to their rotation.
``The fans should be excited,'' Hampton said. ``The expectations should be high. People should expect us to be in the hunt in September to win our division.''
Scoring runs never has been a problem for the Rockies.
In 2000, they led the National League in runs scored for the fourth time in six years and have finished second and tied for fourth the two other seasons in that stretch.
But they never have won a division title. They did make the playoffs as the NL wild card in 1995.
And they have compiled the highest earned-run average in the NL in six of their eight seasons of existence. They finished next to last the two other seasons.
``The more and more I'm around, the more and more I realize it's all about pitching,'' veteran catcher Brent Mayne said. ``There are so many variables to a successful season, injuries, the chemistry of the team, which is what makes baseball so great, but there is one given - you'd better have pitching.''
So adding Hampton, who compiled a 63-31 record the past four seasons, and Neagle, 89-47 in the past six seasons, to a group of returning starters that includes Pedro Astacio, who has gone 47-35 with the Rockies, and Brian Bohanon, 24-22 in two years with the Rockies, has added an anticipation of success.
``Thirty years (in baseball) and I've learned, to make any prediction, is tough to do, if for no other reason than I have a tremendous amount of respect for our opponents,'' manager Buddy Bell said. ``I do feel good about what we have done. I am anxious to see how the players fit, to see how things work out.''
The first glimpse is encouraging for Bell. While it's only pitchers and catchers who officially will work out today, position players are eagerly checking in. They weren't scheduled to join in until Wednesday.
As of Thursday afternoon, 46 of the 56 players on the Rockies spring roster had arrived. Left-hander Randy Dorame, who pitched during the winter in his native Mexico, was the only missing pitcher. The nine others - outfielders Larry Walker, Ron Gant, Roberto Kelly and Melvin Nieves, shortstop Neifi Perez, and infielders Brent Butler, Juan Uribe and Juan Sosa - aren't expected for five more days.
``I've never seen so many guys come in so early,'' Bell said. ``That's a good feeling, to have guys so anxious to be here.''
It's not like anybody thinks they need to make a special impression on Bell and his staff. As opposed to the massive makeover a year ago, there are only a handful of players missing from the 2000 season-ending roster. The only expected decisions of the spring will be a fifth outfielder, sixth infielder and how to reduce the right-handed bullpen arms to five. Relievers Jose Jimenez, Jerry Dipoto, Mike DeJean, Bobby Chouinard, Brian Rose and John Wasdin finished the 2000 season with the Rockies. And none of them have options, meaning they would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minor leagues.
Bell said he's undecided on the fifth starter. It most likely will be left-hander Ron Villone, but barring a trade, Masato Yoshii, Rose and Wasdin also will get a shot.
Many of the Rockies' problems were addressed during the middle of last season, when general manager Dan O'Dowd, watching the team fall apart in July, began remaking the roster. The result was the emergence of center fielder Juan Pierre, catcher Ben Petrick and reliever Chouinard from the farm system, and the addition of second baseman Todd Walker and left fielder Todd Hollandsworth in trades.
``It was disruptive at the time, but I have to give Danny credit for seeing farther down the line,'' Bell said. ``A lot of guys got a better feel because they were brought in here (last July instead of waiting until spring). All along, Danny had a vision of what he wanted to do with this team, and if he hadn't done those things, we couldn't have done what we did during the off-season.''
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The sky could be the limit for the Colorado Rockies this season, but they are at least hopeful the addition of left-handed pitcher Denny Neagle, who warmed up at Hi Corbett Field on Thursday, will help keep it from falling, as it did in July. By Barry Gutierrez / News Staff Photographer.
