ClutchORADO

For those of us who grew up watching sitcoms in the 80s, Growing Pains has to be one of those shows in the forefront of our memories.

Originally it was 5 Seavers: Mike, Carol, Ben, Jason and Maggie. Then, most likely to boost ratings, they brought in Luke Brower, the rough kid from the streets who added a bit of intrigue to the family dynamics.

Well, fast forward 15 years, and so goes the story line of the 2007 Colorado Rockies. Last year it was Helton. Holliday, Atkins, Francis and Fuentes. Then, most likely to boost the team’s wins, they brought in Troy Tulowitzki.

This fresh-faced kid out of Long Beach State had a pretty good reputation coming into pro ball. He was the 7th overall selection in the 2005 MLB Draft and his scouting report said he could field anything hit his way. His one question mark was at the plate. Could this kid, who lives and breathes baseball, hit major league pitching.

Looking solely at his batting average, you wouldn’t think he had caught one, hitting at the .250 mark. But it isn’t the first 8 innings that you need to look at when evaluating Tulowitski’s performance, it is the 9th inning.

Tulowitzki has ice in his veins. He get clutch hit after clutch hit. This is a guarantee, if Tulowitzki is up in a clutch situation, he will get you that hit. He has shown it time and time again this year, most recently in the extra innings game against KC (which they eventually lost) and then again 2 nights later in Arizona.

And it isn’t just late innings when Tulo shines. He is batting .333 with runners in scoring position. For a team that isn’t getting very much run support, that number glows even brighter.

With the return of Kaz Matsui, the batting order has shifted a little bit and Tulo is now in the 7th spot. Originally I had my qualms with this placement, but thinking about it, this may make sense in the interim.

Ahead of Tulo is now the meat of the lineup. If, and when they get on, Tulo is there to knock them in. Even though he isn’t anywhere near the top of the league in RBI, you have to consider that he was batting ahead of table-setters like Holliday and Helton for a month. His RBI will rise.

Knowing all this shows that Tulo is the real deal. What we need to get behind Tulo on is his at bats early on in the game and without runners in scoring position. He is obviously doing something right when the game is on the line, that he needs to do earlier on. Whether it is concentrating harder or moving his hands up the bat, we need to gt behind Tulo in the early inning so that he can hit .333 regardless of the situation.

Think about that for a moment. If Tulo was hitting above .300 and Atkins straightened his swing out, the Rox would have a heart of a line-up that would match any in the league.

So, think again back to Growing Pains. You liked the show and then they brought in Luke Brower, and you had some reservations. Then you watched a re-run and realized that Leo DiCaprio played Luke. You missed your chance to peg Leo as the next up and comer.

Don’t let that happen with Tulo. Hop on the bandwagon today.

- SEO, TEO