As well as things have gone for the Colorado Rockies this season, one thing has gone terribly, terribly wrong ...
Rockies’ Ian Stewart Struggling, Still Best Option At Third Base
Third base.
As a group, Colorado’s third baseman have “batted” .148/.212/.230 this season, with each figure ranking at the very bottom of the National League.
And it’s been a real team effort, with various players manning third base and various players failing.
Somebody has to take the fall, though. And it might be the incumbent, Ian Stewart.
As Jim Armstrong wrote last week, Stewart had a rough spring training:
Every major league team seems to have one player who can’t catch a break in spring training and begins the season not completely ready to play. Stewart is the Rockies’ version of that guy. He sustained a sprained MCL in his right knee in the first inning of the Rockies’ first Cactus League game, then battled through a cramp in his left hamstring as the season started.
Since then, Stewart’s hardly played, starting only five games. So it’s hard to take too seriously the fact that he’s batting just .077, with two measly singles in 26 at-bats. And it’s hard to be too surprised by the news that the Rockies have apparently optioned Stewart to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The only thing that I find mildly surprising is the quality of the players who have taken Stewart’s job.
When Jim Armstrong asked manager Jim Tracy if there was a challenge, finding playing time for Stewart, Tracy replied:
"It's not a challenge at all. The bottom line is this: Right now, how can you not play Jonathan Herrera? That's No. 1. Then you have a situation where you know you're going to get at-bats for Ty Wigginton because of his versatility. With Lopez and Stew, neither one of them are completely locked in. So moving forward, what I'm going to do is continue to create opportunity for both guys."
For the record, Jose Lopez is batting .188 and Ty Wiggington is batting .200.
Ian Stewart is the very definition of average. Average hitter. Average fielder. Average runner. But the kid’s been a Rockie for his whole career and when he’s healthy he’s better than Wigginton or Lopez.
Fine. Give him a week or two in C-Springs to get his swing and his confidence and his generally well-being back. But in the long term, the Rockies are better with Ian Stewart than without him.
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