Mental errors are unforgivable in baseball. However, they are quickly forgotten if the player who committed that error delivers in the bottom of the 9th inning with the game on the line.
That is exactly what happened for Ben Paulsen. The first baseman stepped to the plate with one out in the 9th inning with the game tied. The Rockies had reached base in their first two at-bats, with two hard-hit singles from Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Paulsen drilled a pitch into the left-center to score Drew Stubbs, who was running for Tulo. The walk-off win erased what would have been a tough loss to deal with, as the Rockies blew a 7-0 lead, only to win 8-7.
Paulsen never smiled after the game-winner. He had a look of relief in his eyes. In the 5th inning with one out, Paulsen made a play at first base to give the Rockies their second out of the night. However, the rookie thought it was the third out and started to head into the dugout. The bone-headed move allowed the Rangers to score an additional run, getting them within two runs at the time.
The little-league type of play was something that looked like Paulsen was relieved to be able to put in his past. Had the Rockies gone on to lose the game, it may have gone down as the worst loss of the season and the blame could have landed squarely on Paulsen’s shoulders.
Instead, the Rockies headed to the clubhouse with a win, their fifth straight at Coors Field, and look to win a series on Tuesday night.
While the Rockies season is lost, there are things to watch for the future. Most of them come in the form of the type of play that the Rockies will exhibit down the stretch of the season. The only hope that is left is that the work that needs to be done, sewing up the loose ends and improving the brand of baseball that the Rockies play, will need to start soon.
The benefit of having wins and losses not be extremely important at this point is that it allows the team to focus on getting better. That starts with cleaning up the details of the game. It involves players without a ton of experience like Ben Paulsen to make the mistake of losing his focus and forgetting how many outs the team has. Those are things that the Rockies need to learn from and begin the process of holding themselves to higher standards. If that starts now instead of when the team reports to spring training in February, the building process might go quicker.
The good news for Monday night’s win was that the Rockies showed fight. When the Rangers came all the way back, they didn’t roll over and let themselves become the prey. They battled back in the 9th inning, led by the two guys on the roster who need to do the most leading, Tulo and CarGo.
Innings like the bottom of the 9th are moments that a team trying to figure out how to win can grow from. They can learn what it takes to win with the game on the line and figure out what needs to happen in 2016 to make that consistent.
Monday night could have been rock bottom for the Rockies. Instead, Ben Paulsen got to taste redemption. His walk-off hit erased what could have been the most embarrassing moment of his big league career.
