Two unfortunate jammed thumbs in the same game have sent Trevor Story to the operating room to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and ended his rookie season.
View the sad video here.
Story had just eclipsed the home run record for rookie shortstops with his 27th when he lost his battles with the second base bag and the ground.
It's a shame for Story, for the surging Rockies and for all baseball
fans, who were robbed on one of the greatest years by a first year
middle infielder.
So to soften the blow, for at least those of us without a rooting interest, let's extrapolate his whole season and see what we get.
The 23-year-old Texan was batting .272 with 67 runs, 21 doubles, four triples, 27
home runs, 72 RBIs, 35 walks and eight stolen bases in 97 games (of 105) as a
rookie. Entering Tuesday, his 27 home runs led the National League and
his 72 RBIs were fifth in the NL.
So for the mythical full season, Trevor Story, as a 23-year-old rookie shortstop who flashed leather at that key position, batted .272/.341/.567, 20% better than the average NL batter.
He contributed:
- 42 home runs,
- 32 doubles,
- six triples,
- 103 runs scored,
- 111 RBIs,
- 54 walks and
- 325 total bases.
He's rated at 4.6 WAR by Baseball Reference, a number dampened by his home park.
Trevor Story won't win the Rookie of the Year award and he won't make the playoffs. And some rookie shortstop in the near future is going to crush his home run record. Baseball is a cruel game.
The talk is already starting.
The Rockies (12-19) are already in the basement, despite a hot start. The Phillies (13-23) claimed their rightful place almost immediately. The Brewers (12-23, 12.5 games out) have the worst record in baseball and the most ground to make up.
So who are they trading?
This is crazy talk, right?
In a word, no.
It's not like we're writing off the Indians or A's, whose early season performances have been similarly distressing. Colorado, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are simply ratifying their woebegone expectations.
All three teams employ aging, overpaid stars who will not be contributors by the time the rosters might conceivably inspire dreams of contention. The faster they convert what's left of those assets into prospects, the less the transition will hurt.
Take the Phillies. Please. By waiting to trade him, the returns on Chase Utley have cratered. In March he was an aging second baseman with some speed, defense and on-base skills. By May he's a decrepit has-been batting .118 and fumbling afield with utterly no trade value.
Ryan Howard has at least socked seven homers to go with his .293 OBP. But with his inability to move laterally or avoid the training table, he's already a $25 million sunk cost.
Still, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang and Jonathan Papelbon might fetch something around the trade deadline. There's not much point in keeping any of them, particularly not Pop, whose whining, when mixed with a 100-loss season, is a recipe for indigestion.
In Denver, speculating upon Troy Tulowitzki's next uniform is a favorite activity, along with ski jumping and mountain climbing. Tulo is only 30 and remains a great player during those fleeting interludes between DL stints, but he's signed for $100 million for the next five years (including this one). They need to flip him before his value divots, knowing that whatever the Rocks get for him will be tempered by injury fears.
The only other Colorado teammates over 30 of any note are catcher Nick Hundley and reliever John Axford. Ax might appeal to a contender with an ugly bullpen but there's not much of a market for a backstop worth six wins in eight years -- three of them in 2011.
The Brewers are suds of a different color. Most of their players exude the bloom of youth and the joy of skills. Two of their stars -- catcher Jonathan Lucroy and shortstop Jean Segura -- are on the shelf with injuries. With their return and the addition of one top starter Milwaukee could play meaningful September baseball. They might ultimately be buyers, not sellers.
If they had to unload, the best candidates are: Adam Lind, now producing his third consecutive TAv above .300 and at 31, signed for just one more season; Matt Garza, a 31-year-old third starter with three more years on his contract; and Kyle Lohse, another third starter entering free agency.
But I don't see any of that. Not only will brass need more convincing that they can't contend, they just picked up Lind and Garza in the last year, so bouncing them would amount to admissions of defeat. Unlike Philly and Colorado, the Brewers might be wise to ride out the wave.
On the flip side, there are the Astros and Yankees. Neither should print playoff tickets just yet...
The great baseball writer Joe Sheehan once said that the best thing baseball writers could do to illuminate the game for their readers during April was to put away their keyboards.
But because we know better and are immune to the charms of early season over-reaction, we're going to have some fun with the Colorado Rockies.
No one outside southern Colorado thinks the Denver nine has even a puncher's chance at .500. A list of their weaknesses would include hitting, pitching, fielding, bullpen and bench.
But as of this writing, they have triumphed in 77% of their games, outscoring the vanquished by a 45-25 count.
They have three regulars hitting twice as well as league average: Keystoner DJ LeMahieu, batting .514, cornerman Nolan Arenado, who has poked an extra base hit every fourth at bat, and left fielder Corey Dickerson, batting .361. That doesn't even include Troy Tulowitzki who is simply doing what he does.
Nor does it include backup catcher Wilin Rosario and his double and home run in seven at bats. Or pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who is three for five. Sandy Koufax didn't collect his third hit until his fourth year in the Majors, by which time he had come to the plate more than 60 times.
And that's nothing compared to the vaunted Rockie hurlers. Two of the four starters boast ERAs below two, and at 2.25, Jordan Lyles has no reason for shame. All the members of the bullpen not named LaTroy Hawkins have allowed two runs in 33 frames. (Hawkins has surrendered five runs in three and two thirds.)
So the Rocks are 7-2 in first place in the NL West and Rockieing home field in the playoffs. And I predict they will win the pennant if they keep this up. The only thing preventing them is 153 more games...and reality.
After a nice start, the Rockies have dropped 36 of their last 50 contests. That's the worst 50-game stretch in team history.
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The Dodgers' Dee Gordon has stolen more bases (41) so far in 2014 than eight whole teams. The Red Sox have swiped just 27, and run into outs twice as many times (18) as Gordon.
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The bold A's-Cubs trade featuring Chicago's top two pitchers and Oakland's top two prospects tells us two things: Oakland is all in to win the World Series in 2014 and the Cubs have no intention of contending in 2015. Billy Beane has accomplished everything but a championship run in his career and the window is the widest open it will ever be, particularly with New York, Boston, Tampa Bay and Texas all shadows of their former selves.
In Chicago, it's the third straight year they've swapped their top two starters
(remember Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Scott Feldman and Matt Garza) for a
minor league traffic jam that has already yielded Jake Arrieta. But Jed Hoyer & Theo Epstein know that when the Cubs are ready to compete they'll need some reliable veterans as bulwark for the roster, so the fact that they've moved Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammels means next year isn't "when."
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In 13 starts, Clayton Kershaw has walked 12 batters and fanned 115. And pitched a perfect game. And saved money on razors. In case you're wondering if he's any good.
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The
Padres lag the Majors in runs scored with 259, but have tallied eight or
more five times. Those five games account for more than one-sixth of
their season's scoring.
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More
on Padre batting futility: six of their starters are hitting below .220
and their top slugger (Seth Smith) is on pace for 17 homers and 50
RBI.
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Baltimore's Chris Davis busted out to 53 jacks and 1.004 OPS last year. So far in 2014, he's at 13 and .705, weighed down by a .201 batting average. Credit the popularity of the shift. On balls the lefty slugger pulled last season, he batted .468 and slugged .937. This season: .271/.608. On balls up the middle: last year, .416/.964; this year, .348/.609. (He's batting and slugging zero on his strikeouts, which are numerous.) Shifts can be beaten but evidently not by him, at least not yet.
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The last time neither the Yankees nor Red Sox was above .500 on Independence Day, the Dow stood at 3,000, Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated, and Euro Disney opened in Paris. And the Blue Jays won the World Series.
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Nelson Cruz is the best visiting hitter in Fenway Park's 102-year history, slugging .400/.457/.726 in 105 plate appearances. Imagine how good he'd be if he were still taking drugs.
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The Royals have hit 50 home runs, on pace for 91. The Blue Jays have already crushed 113. That explains why Toronto is five games over .500 and Kansas City just four.
