He's the Juan

Rockies need leadoff man Pierre even more this season

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Juan Pierre became one of baseball's best leadoff hitters in 2001, a punch-hitting, base-stealing, run-scoring pitcher's pain in the neck.

It wasn't nearly enough.

The 2002 season starts in less than two weeks and, if there's one thing clear in Colorado, it's that the Rockies will need everything Pierre gave them last year and then some. They still have to deal with Coors Field, where there is no such thing as too many runs. Their pitching staff is still questionable, especially considering half of their games are played in Coors.

Scoring a lot -- more than last year, even, when they led baseball in scoring -- is the only chance the Rockies have if they are to be any kind of a factor in the National League West. No one knows that better than Pierre.

"With the bats in our lineup, I roll around a lot. Sometimes I get up six, seven times a game," Pierre says. "In our park, two or three runs probably won't do it. So, yeah, it's very important for me to get on base. I think I kind of set the tone for the inning, the beginning of the game, whenever I come up."

Juan Pierre had 202 hits and 46 stolen bases last season. Tom Hauck/Allsport

Pierre is the kind of a leadoff hitter that teams crave. He has no illusions of being a home run hitter (he had only two last season). He makes contact (striking out only 29 times in more than 650 times to the plate). And when he gets on, he drives pitchers bonkers. Last year, he tied for the NL lead (with Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins) in steals with 46 and scored 108 runs.

This season, though, the Rockies are hoping Pierre, just 24, can somehow do better. He walked only 41 times last season, so both he and the team are looking for a little more patience at the plate. Pierre is looking for a little more pull power, too, to keep pitchers from trying to bust him inside with fastballs. The left-handed hitter has learned to get the ball into right field with some authority, but he's more naturally an opposite field guy who likes to put the ball in play and use his speed to get on.

"The way I got up here was because of my legs," he said, "and that's how I'll stay up, because of my legs."

He had a .378 on-base percentage last year -- tied for 24th in the NL -- something else he'd like to improve on.

"If I can get it up around 4, that could mean 25 extra runs. That's a lot," he said. "So I'm working on my bunting, my patience, just anything that will help me get on. You care about batting average [he hit .327 in 2001]. But for me, on-base percentage is what does it."

The Rockies still have the big bats that will drive in Pierre. Right fielder Larry Walker hit .350 with 38 home runs and 123 RBIs last season. First baseman and cleanup hitter Todd Helton hit .336 with 49 homers and 146 RBIs.

But the Rockies lost 89 games in 2001 and finished fifth in the NL West with a pitching staff that struggled in and out of Coors Field. So comes the added pressure on the shoulders of Pierre, barely 6-feet tall and maybe -- maybe -- 170 pounds as it is.

"Now I kinda know what to expect," Pierre says. "I had a pretty good year last year, I think, but I couldn't really enjoy it. You can't enjoy it when the team doesn't win."

Pale hose problems

The Chicago White Sox figure to be a factor in a revamped American League Central, with the return of Frank Thomas and the return of the Cleveland Indians to the rest of the Central pack.

But they're going to have to figure out a pitching staff that, suddenly, is very shaky.

Manager Jerry Manuel has demoted setup man Bobby Howry. He has lost a noticeable amount of speed on his fastball, which has just about everybody in camp stumped and has Manuel wondering what to do with him.

"He says there's no pain, no setbacks [from a 2000 shoulder surgery], he hasn't missed a turn," Manuel says. "It's quite an enigma, really."

Keith Foulke, who hasn't thrown particularly well this exhibition season, either, remains as the team's closer. But now, most likely, he will be set up by Gary Glover. The 25-year-old Glover had a chance to make the rotation but now is needed more in the pen.

That, in turns, throws the starting rotation into a bit of a spin. Mark Buehrle and Todd Ritchie are Nos. 1 and 2, with Jon Garland, Jon Rauch and Danny Wright looking to have the edge right now for the final three spots. Jim Parque still is way behind on his rehabilitation and probably won't be in the rotation when the season starts.

"When a guy like Howry doesn't perform," Manuel says, "it puts a strain on us a little bit."

Camping out …

Manager Jimy Williams says the Astros have settled on rookie Morgan Ensberg at third. He had been battling with Chris Truby before the Astros traded Truby to the Expos for Geoff Blum earlier this spring. Blum will back up Ensberg … This can't be good: Indians pitcher Jaret Wright left a game Tuesday after facing only three hitters and looks certain to open the season on the disabled list. General manager Mark Shapiro is hoping to have Wright back, with his shoulder finally healed, by the middle of the season … Pittsburgh outfielder Derek Bell has threatened to put into action "Operation Shutdown" if he doesn't start for the Bucs. The guy played in only 46 games last season because of injuries. How could we tell if he shut down? … Dr. Charles Mahrer, the Indians' team psychologist, interviewed outfielder Ruben Rivera, the outfielder kicked off the Yankees for swiping stuff from Derek Jeter's locker. The Indians decided not to sign him, though. Still, at least a couple other teams are interested … Ryan Dempster will indeed pitch the opener for Florida. He had laid claim to the spot earlier this spring. Manager Jeff Torborg finally agreed with him this week … How can Texas manager Jerry Narron not give rookie Hank Blalock the job at third base, especially after a three-hit game (including a homer) on Wednesday? He's hitting .400 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 60 at-bats after Wednesday's game. Here's what's holding Narron up: Incumbent Mike Lamb is hitting .378 … Arizona's Luis Gonzalez hit 57 homers last season and is warming up for this one. He hit a homer in his fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night and now has six for the exhibition season.

John Donovan covers baseball for CNNSI.com. His Spring Training Buzz will run each Tuesday and Thursday until Opening Day.

 

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