Rockies' Latin American efforts pay dividends during run
09.10.2007 03:01
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
DENVER — People wearing Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox jerseys were a common sight when Ubaldo Jimenez was growing up in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
The Colorado Rockies? Not so much. "Nobody knew the Rockies then," says Jimenez, a rookie right-hander who signed with Colorado in 2001 and pitched one-run games in his last two starts, helping extend the club's stunning run. The Rockies' stretch of 17 wins in their last 18 games, which has taken them to the National League Championship Series, is not the only reason their name has begun to resonate in Latin American countries such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Panama. Jimenez, left-hander Franklin Morales and closer Manny Corpas, natives of those respective nations, have played significant roles in Colorado's unexpected success. They are the first wave of what general manager Dan O'Dowd expects to be a constant flow of talent to reach the majors after a renewed commitment to international scouting. Increasing the club's presence in Latin America was one of O'Dowd's points of emphasis when he took over as Rockies general manager in September 1999. To that point, shortstop Neifi Perez was the franchise's most prominent homegrown Latino. Even as Colorado was trimming its major league payroll and enduring six consecutive losing seasons, the club continued to invest in the Latin market. "The owners basically let me triple the budget from the time I came here, and it's still growing," O'Dowd said. "I don't think we're ever going to compete with some other organizations in the $2-3 million signings, but we feel like we do a good job with the niche we've established over there." The Rockies drafted the nucleus of their everyday lineup, including outfielders Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and third baseman Garrett Atkins. But they likely wouldn't have made their first playoff appearance since 1995 without their young Latin pitchers. Corpas, 24, replaced three-time All-Star Brian Fuentes as the closer in early July and went 19-for-20 in save chances. He then saved every game of the NL Division Series sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jimenez, 23, threw 61/3 stellar innings in the Sept. 30 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks that forced a one-game playoff for the wild card and also in Saturday's NLDS-clinching win against Philadelphia. In neither game did Jimenez let his nerves betray him, but he did notice the difference in atmosphere from, say, a mid-June start. "Every pitch counts, for fans and for everybody," said Jimenez, who went 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA after his July call-up. "In the regular-season, games get exciting from the seventh inning on. In the playoffs, from the very first pitch there is that heightened expectation." Morales, 21, went 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in eight starts after being promoted from Class AA Tulsa in August, following the season-ending injuries of Aaron Cook, Jason Hirsh and Rodrigo Lopez. At one point Morales pitched a franchise-record-tying 20 consecutive shutout innings. Morales got the ball in Game 2 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park, allowing three runs in three innings. He was the fourth pitcher since 1900 to start a postseason game with three or fewer career victories, but Morales at least had an idea of what to expect. He had pitched several games — including the playoffs — for Caracas against Magallanes in the most rabid rivalry in the Venezuelan winter league. In fact, he found the Phillies fans tame by comparison. "Winter ball can be harder because the fans are so intense and they yell such nasty stuff at you," Morales said. "Here the crowd is more sedate, more respectful. But of course, here you have better hitters."
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