For Rockies, Huston Street Is Back to Sweeping

It wasn’t all that long ago that the eyes of Texas relaxed and the hearts of Austin calmed at the first sight of him.

Is that Huston Street jogging in? Oh, okay, it’s over. Inning over, game over, series over. And eventually, Omaha over.

That was the simple way of life, just a handful of years ago, when Street was living collegiate stardom as the best closer in the country.

If the Texas Longhorns had a lead in the eighth inning, you could fill out the rest of your scorecard in ink and head home. There were no surprises. It was a perch of fame and credibility that Street earned.

Street holds the career saves record at the University of Texas at Austin with 41. He was a four-time All American in burnt orange. Proudly named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2002 College World Series after Texas beat South Carolina in the finals.

But it wasn’t all about the high life for Street. He too, fell victim to the game and was humbled. It just so happened that his moment of truth came in the big leagues.

After closing for the Oakland A’s for three seasons and having success, it looked as if Street would enjoy the long, illustrious career that was so often predicted for him in college.

Make All Star Games, accumulate saves, and enjoy a couple late October wild rides. That was the blueprint for the guy that did everything right on and off the field.

But as Street struggled last summer, the A’s grew impatient and decided that they didn’t have the time to wait around for a guy to work out his mechanical kinks, and regain the command of his fastball while pitching in one-run games. And with Brad Ziegler in the bullpen, they had another option.

That Street lost his closing job with the A’s wasn’t the telltale sign that any of his college dominance had evaporated. For one, A’s GM Billy Beane comes from the school of thought that closers are like strawberries. Plant the seed, add water, sunlight, and time, and voila…fruition.

Beane’s “Moneyball” legacy will be remembered for his preference for high on-base percentage hitters, among other specifics, but he also shed light on his idea of running a bullpen.

If you have a good arm, you can close. Period.

So you can chalk Street’s demotion up to another quick hook on the part of management. But it wasn’t as if Street was some 34-year-old veteran who had grizzled through multiple arm injuries and couldn’t cut it any longer.

It was only Street’s fourth season in the big leagues, and given the fact that he was relatively healthy with the A’s, it’s practically impossible for his stuff to have left him overnight. It couldn’t. He was too good for that to happen.

Of course, that’s where the Colorado Rockies came in, just in time to sweep Street off Oakland’s dump truck and polish him up to be their guy.

When Beane became interested in acquiring then Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday, Colorado’s GM Dan O’Dowd knew he wanted Street to be part of the package. Colorado had its own reservations about Manny Corpas, and Beane was happy to oblige.

When Street came to Colorado, his welcome was accompanied by a request for change. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca asked Street if he wanted to try switching from his customary spot on the left edge of the pitching rubber over to the right side. Street’s gut reaction was, “What for?”

After all, Street had been pitching from the left side his entire life, and had had great success. He firmly believed that the rough stretch in Oakland was just that. A slump that everyone needs to work through over the course of a long career. Apodaca didn’t force anything, but he recommended.

Street resented the change and stuck to his usual ways. He pitched well in spring training, won the closing job with the Rockies, and proceeded to the regular season looking to return to his dominant ways.

But as fate would have it, Street got his clock cleaned over his first couple weeks with Colorado. He couldn’t command his fastball and didn’t have much feel for his secondary pitches. His hole was only growing deeper.

On a flight to Arizona, Apodaca dropped in next to Street and proposed the change once more. To Street’s credit, he committed to the idea and got to work. Most adjustments take time to get comfortable. For Street, moving to the other side of the rubber instantly became the most natural thing he has ever done.

By coming at the hitters from a slightly different angle, Street began to look like the guy who the A’s expected they would have for many years. His velocity increased, the hellacious movement on his fastball came back, and his slider swept violently. The only feeble thing about it was the hitters’ pathetic passes at the baseball.

That was about four months ago.

As we talk today, Colorado is leading the NL Wild Card race, while still trying to take aim at the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Street has 33 saves to go along with a 2.96 ERA and a 62-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Rockies’ record pace they have been on since Jim Tracy took over as manager isn’t all because of Street, not by any means.

The emergence of Jason Marquis as Mr. Dependable in the starting rotation has been huge. Ubaldo Jimenez has a 3.33 ERA and is pitching like you would expect a man with some of the best pure stuff in baseball to.

Troy Tulowitzki is back from a horrid 2008 and is playing like an elite shortstop again. Dexter Fowler has brought a speed element to the lineup that the charming Rockies of 2007 didn’t have. As a whole, the club ranks second in the N.L. in runs scored.

Like any good club, there’s been a lot of help. Street is just there to finish it all off.

With Brad Lidge’s struggles in Philadelphia and Francisco Rodriguez’s erratic ways in New York, the big name closers of the National League haven’t lived up to the billing. With all due respect to Ryan Franklin in St. Louis and Brian Wilson in San Francisco, that leaves Street as the premier stopper in the league heading into the regular season’s final month.

Oh sure, there are going to be some more rough outings. Street may even meet Chase Utley or Manny Ramirez up close and personal come October. But gone are the days of inconsistency and heartache.

High up in the bedroom of the Rocky Mountains, Street has traded in his burnt orange perch for a new one of pristine purple. One that says again, at first sight, it’s over.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at [e-mail].