Troy Tulowitzki, A Quote and Context on Twitter

The Colorado Rockies are in the midst of another dreadful, rudderless season. Since the team reached the NLDS in 2009 the franchise record is 400-502, which rates out to a .443 winning percentage. That doesn’t seem quite as terrible considering twice during that span the team finished with less than 70 wins.

After Tuesday’s loss 9-0 loss to the Rangers, the Rockies’ $20-million shortstop Troy Tulowitski said (in part) the following quote, which Denver Post writer Nick Groke put onto Twitter.

That quote by itself jumps out at you, especially the “pretend” part. Fans latch onto that sort of thing and get mad because if a player admits to not giving 110 percent at every and all times they are angry fodder for talk radio.

In Tulowitzki’s defense, there is only so much of a quote you can add to Twitter with its 140 character restrictions. The origin of the quote came when another Post writer, Patrick Saunders, asked Tulowitzki about his 41-game consecutive streak of reaching base ended Tuesday night:

"“Routine probably sticks out. I was very into my routine. My focus was high. When you have a streak, you get to those third and fourth at-bats and the focus is still there, even in a blowout or things like that. “I think that’s part of the reason, too, why I felt myself playing a little bit better. I know it’s not right to say, because you shouldn’t lose focus. But I heard A-Rod once say that his goal for a season was to be into every single pitch. So for me. it was giving me that ability to be into every single pitch when I was at the plate. “People say, ‘Well, why don’t you do that?’ Well, it’s hard to do that. But the streak gave me something to shoot for, and this will make me a better player from it. “I think I was better, so hopefully I can be into every single pitch and pretend that something is on the line.”"

In that context the words from Tulowitzki don’t raise any eyebrows. What’s wrong with a player on a losing team challenging himself on a daily basis? The baseball season is long. When your team is 10 games out of a playoff spot in late July you’ll need to find motivation any way you can.

Context and Twitter rarely, if ever, intersect.

Meanwhile in other Tulowitzki news, there was another report on Tuesday that he wants to stay in Colorado.

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[Photo via USA Today Sports Images]