The budding National League West rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies appears to be getting hotter, thanks to a Giants broadcaster who says that Troy Tulowitzki's phenomenal early season production at Coors Field is the result of Tulo "getting signs."

Mike Krukow, the Giants' color analyst for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and NBC Bay Area telecasts, as well as KNBR radio broadcasts, was asked Tuesday about Tulowitzki's .571 batting average at Coors Field.

"I swear he's getting signs," Krukow said on the KNBR morning show. "There is no way you can hit like that, for this long. I mean, if you hit .571, that's for a weekend or a week. But you don't do it for six weeks. That's insane."

Told about the comments, Tulowitzki said Wednesday morning, "I would rather not get involved in that. I don't want to comment."

Tulowitzki leads the National League in hitting with a .389 average and home runs with 13. He went 1-for-4 with a double against the Giants on Tuesday night in the Rockies' 5-4 win at Coors Field. Tulo is now hitting .552 at home.

Krukow, a major-league pitcher for 14 seasons, said he was amazed how Tulo approached Giants pitching during a three-game series in Denver on April 21-23. Tulowitzki went 4-for-11 with two home runs and four RBIs.


"When we saw him, he was never off his back leg, he was never fooled," Krukow said. "Not one time was he reaching out or going after something in the dirt. Whatever speed you threw at him, he was on it.

"That kind of gets you thinking. If you can get away with it, I guess it's legal. I'm not saying that he's doing anything, I'm not throwing it out there ... kind of, sort of, kind of."

Reached at his Denver hotel Wednesday morning, Krukow further explained his comments.

"I would like to add, that the nature of my mind, being an ex-player, is that you are suspectful of any player in any environment when you go into it," he said. "You are always suspectful of them giving signs. That's part of the game and I have seen it with my own eyes, with my own team. It has been going around baseball for years and years."

Krukow said Tulowitzki is a "great ballplayer," and said he wasn't targeting Tulo in a mean-spirited way.

"I don't want you to read anything malicious into my comments, because they weren't," he said. "They were tongue-in-cheek and we were having fun with it. I wasn't making a flat-out accusation, that's not what the intent of the conversation was. It was basically us talking about suspicions that all players have about the game, and I will stand by that."

Krukow, however, did not retract his comments about Tulowitzki.

"I'm looking at the numbers Tulowitzki has, and good God, there is only one reason you are putting up numbers like that," he said. "Do I have proof of it? Absolutely not. Have I ever seen it at that ballpark? Absolutely not. I'm just looking at the numbers. Really just standing back and seeing what's going on with the numbers. They are sensational and he's a (heck) of a player."

During the radio show, Krukow was asked if he was looking to create a headline. Krukow said: "They are going to jump on it. Yes, they will. It won't be the first time that we have had a headline going in there. We have accused them of jimmy-jacking with the balls ..."

In 2010, the Giants organization essentially accused the Rockies of cheating, calling Major League Baseball to express concerns about how the baseballs at Coors Field were being used, or stored in the humidor. Following San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean's discussion with MLB official Joe Garagiola Jr., procedures were changed on how the baseballs are removed from the humidor and put into play.

The Giants have alleged for the past four years that the Rockies switch in non-humidor-stored baseballs to help them when they are on offense.

During a game in September 2010, Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was caught on video saying "juiced ball" when thrown a ball from the umpire. That was followed by expletives, and Lincecum threw the baseball back to the umpire.

"There's speculation and I kind of verbalized it and that's it," Lincecum said the next day, admitting that the issue was in the back of his mind.

On Tuesday, Krukow was asked, "Is it possible that (Tulo) is getting signs or are you diminishing a great hitter's talent by saying that?"

"I think it's possible that anywhere you go on the road that the home team could be given signs," he said. "I think that's possible anywhere you go. And that's kind of how baseball players' minds think. When you put up numbers like that you kind of go, 'Hmmm.' Because they are not normal numbers.

"Because the last time the Giants were in there, he was unbelievable. And anytime there was a guy in scoring position, it was a bullet some place. It wasn't just a dead-bird bloop, it was a freakin' bullet. So you do think that way.

"Again, I'm not accusing anybody of anything ... kind of, sort of, but you know, the deal, kind of sort of."

Patrick Saunders: or