Even with the Colorado Rockies in the middle of a pennant race, the closer has been afforded the luxury of time to rehab his biceps tendinitis.
For that, he credits Franklin Morales, who's saved five straight since stepping into Street's ninth-inning role.
"As long as he keeps doing what he's doing, it makes it easier on me to get right before I come back," said Street, who hasn't pitched since Sept. 1.
That's been the story for the Rockies lately -- someone goes down, someone steps in and picks up the slack.
It was the same thing again Thursday, when the Rockies finished off a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 5-1 win. Troy Tulowitzki and Ian Stewart sat out a third straight game with back stiffness.
No matter, the Rockies went with Clint Barmes at shortstop, Garrett Atkins at third and Eric Young Jr. at second.
Atkins came through with a two-run homer, and Young ignited a rally with a two-out bunt hit.
"When you get these bumps and bruises like we're dealing with over the last couple of weeks, you're creating an opportunity for somebody," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "They're responding to that."
Sure, Street is eager to return to his job. He's been highly dependable all season, converting 33-of-34 save opportunities.
But Street also doesn't want to risk aggravating his inflamed biceps tendon. That's why he and the Rockies are being so cautious.
With Morales pitching so effectively, the team can afford to be more conservative.
"We want to make sure that for the stretch run at the end of the season I'm going to be there," Street said. "That's the No. 1 goal. We're not trying to force anything."
Tracy is encouraged by Street's progress, especially since he reported feeling good after playing catch Wednesday.
"It's as if something 'let go' [in the arm] ... like something had broken up," Tracy said. "It made him feel very, very good. I don't know what that correlates to when he starts throwing the ball, but we'll find that out as we go along."
The Rockies lost starter Jose Contreras in the third inning Thursday when he strained his right quadriceps trying to beat out a grounder. He is listed as day to day.
Contreras was filling in for the injured Aaron Cook, who's out with a right elbow strain.
Now, the team has decided to push back the next start of Ubaldo Jimenez. The hard-throwing right-hander is hampered by a hamstring he tweaked while running the bases Monday.
Colorado is expected to call up righty Esmil Rogers from the minors to start Saturday at San Diego. Jimenez is slated to go Tuesday in San Francisco.
"Could he pitch on Saturday? Yeah, he could," Tracy said of Jimenez. "Would we be taking a little bit of a chance? Yes, I think so. His bullpen [Thursday] went fine. My concern is if you get a quick twitch situation where you have got to go over and cover first base or be involved in a 3-6-1 double play -- that burst off the mound.
"I would be feeling really, really bad if we pushed this and something happened and then we end up losing him for the season," he said.
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