Weiss praises Cuddyer's phenomenal year

DENVER -- Walt Weiss hopes others find the strong season being posted by veteran Michael Cuddyer as impressive as he does, but the Rockies manager fears that analysts will discard his accomplishments because of Coors Field.

Cuddyer had a 27-game hit streak earlier this season and entered Wednesday's game against the Cardinals leading the National League with a .331 batting average. He also has 20 home runs and 81 RBIs.

"I'm proof that not everybody can hit here," said Weiss, a shortstop for the Rockies in 1994-97. "I think that's a stigma that's going to be tough to break here. I think it was different early on. Much has been made of the humidor [where baseballs are stored to keep them from becoming slippery in the Rocky Mountain atmosphere], but I think it's been a factor.

"You look at the numbers, statistically it will show there's been a bit of a change. It's always going to be a great hitters' park, no doubt about it. There are other great hitters' parks in the NL that rarely get talked about."