91 replies to this topic

[RedOctober3829]

2008 in Review
Coming off of a World Series appearance in 2007, the Rockies stumbled out of the gate and suffered injuries to key players such as 2007 sensation Troy Tulowitzki. Only 4 of their opening day starters played more than 130 games. Todd Helton only appeared in 83 while Tulo only played 101. They finished 3rd in the NL West with a record of 74-88. Another factor in their decline was pitching. They finished 15th in the NL in team ERA at 4.77. Jeff Francis struggled the entire year finishing with an ERA of 5.01 and only throwing 143.1 IP and ending up with an ERA+ of 92. Only 2 starters had an ERA+ of over 100(Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jiminez). Brian Fuentes had to be relieved of his closer duties in favor of Manny Corpas but their bullpen was not a weak spot. Taylor Buchholz and Jason Grilli were bright spots and established themselves as building blocks for the future.

At the plate, Matt Holliday maintained his level of success. His .321/.409/.538 line lead the team in all 3 categories. Holliday and Brad Hawpe tied for the team lead in HRs with 25 and Garret Atkins had a team-high 99 RBIs. Catcher Chris Iannetta, a Team USA selection for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, established himself as the catcher of the future. In his first full big league season behind the plate, Ianetta put up a .264/.390/.505 line while hitting 18 HRs and an 127 OPS+ in 104 games.

2009 Outlook

Key Losses
OF Matt Holliday(OAK)
P Brian Fuentes(LAA)
CF Wily Tavares(CIN)
RP Luis Vizcaino(CHC)
P Matt Herges(CLE)
P Livan Hernandez(NYM)

Key Additions
P Huston Street(1-year, $4.5 million)
P Greg Smith(1 year deal)
OF Carlos Gonzalez(1-year, $403,000)
P Alan Embree(1-year, $2.25 million plus 2010 option)
P Jason Marquis(3 years, $21 million)
OF Matt Murton(1-year, $430,000)

Projected Starters
C-Iannetta
1B-Helton
2B-Ian Stewart
SS-Tulowitzki
3B-Atkins
LF-Seth Smith
CF-Ryan Spilborghs
RF-Hawpe

Projected Rotation
Aaron Cook
Ubaldo Jiminez
Jorge De La Rosa
Jason Marquis
Greg Smith/Franklin Morales

Bullpen
Street
Corpas
Buchholz
Grilli
Embree
Ryan Speier

Prospects to Watch
P Frankin Morales
CF Dexter Fowler
P Jhoulys Chacin

DL
P Jeff Francis(arthroscopic shoulder surgery;out for the season)

Fearless Predictions
--Troy Tulowitzki will return to his 2007 form and be the emotional leader on and off the field.
--Todd Helton and his remaining contract will be traded to make room for Joe Koshanksy.
--Garret Atkins will be traded at the deadline.
--Carlos Gonzalez will be the everyday CF by the All-Star Break with Dexter Fowler seeing time as a September callup.
--20-year-old Jhoulys Chacin will be in the bullpen by June. His 98 MPH fastball and devastating circle change are too good to keep in the minors for very long.


Can the offense to sustain losing Matt Holliday from their lineup? I think with a healthy Tulowitzki and more of Ian Stewart and Chris Iannetta that the offense will have enough to compete in the NL West. The big question is whether the starting pitching can rebound and have a better year without Jeff Francis anchoring the rotation. Ubaldo Jiminez looks to be a star in the making. Jason Marquis is a good veteran presence in the rotation. Can Jorge De La Rosa establish himself? Huston Street and Manny Corpas form a good 1-2 punch at the back of the bullpen. Taylor Buchholz and Jason Grilli have to continue their success from last season as well. Clint Hurdle is also in the last year of his contract. I say they will win around 80 games.

Quick Links
Denver Post
Rox Head
Up in the Rockies

Edited by RedOctober3829, 21 March 2009 - 09:13 AM.

[mr guido]

Think you meant Greg Smith in that #5 rotation slot.

I am not optimistic about the Rockies this year. I'm not pleased that any time I head down to Coors, I have a 60% chance of seeing Marquis/De la Rosa/Smith/Morales (a group that combined for 4.6 BB/9 last year, and a 1.3 K/BB) pitching. And that's their rotation heading into the season, I can't wait to see it after a few injuries.

Buchholz is out for the rest of spring with a sprained elbow on the throwing arm, and was due for a big regression to the mean anyway. Grilli will regress as well. Alan Embree will be allowed to pitch important innings.

Helton, who won't be ready for opening day, still has 3 years & 57 million left on his deal (plus of course a no trade clause even if they did find a willing sucker). And it's a lock that O'Dowd & Hurdle will receive extensions before the season starts, which is a shame.

As of 3/14 there are still pairs available for Opening Day against the Phillies. They are not exactly generating a lot of buzz out here. The Rockies are going to need a lot of things breaking their way this year to make them watchable.

[RedOctober3829]

Notes on the end of the rotation battles

As it stands, in order, Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Marquis are locks for the rotation. De La Rosa was handed the fourth spot when Jeff Francis underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month. He has done everything to lose it since. Franklin Morales, Greg Reynolds, Greg Smith, Josh Fogg and Jason Hirsh are competing for the fifth spot, but two could break camp if De La Rosa doesn't get straightened out.

Denver Post

Garrett Atkins aggravates his hip injury

Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins has aggravated a right hip flexor injury he suffered earlier in spring training and will miss today's game against the Giants. He will likely miss a couple of more games as well.

"It's not a big deal, just sore again," Atkins said this morning. "We're just being smart."

Atkins took batting practice this morning, but the hip flexor bothers him when he runs and moves side to side.

Trainer Keith Dugger said the injury appeared to be completely healed up last week, but said Atkins tweaked it two days ago.

"He's getting treatment and we'll take it day by day," Dugger said. "He could be out for a few days."

Denver Post

A look at the closer battle between Huston Street and Manny Corpas

If Clint Hurdle has a favorite between Manuel Corpas and Huston Street for closer, he's not providing any hints.

"Nobody's got an edge," the Rockies manager said Friday. "You can ask me every day, and you are not going to get anything there."

Corpas threw a scoreless sixth inning Friday in the Rockies' 7-3, 10-inning loss to the Giants. He allowed a single, then coaxed an inning-ending double-play grounder out of left-handed batter Travis Ishikawa with a hard sinker.

"He's faced a whole handful of left-handers already and done a good job with it," Hurdle said.

Thursday, Street pitched one perfect inning against the Angels.

"I feel good about the way my spring has gone so far," Street said Friday. "But yesterday definitely was good. My rhythm, my timing and the execution of pitchers and all the results, it all kind of jelled."

Denver Post

[RedOctober3829]

Chacin in action today...

Hot prospect Jhoulys Chacin will start today against the Diamondbacks at Tucson Electric Park, with Aaron Cook starting a minor-league game. The Rockies want to see more of Chacin on the big stage.

Link

[Scoops Bolling]

-20-year-old Jhoulys Chacin will be in the bullpen by June. His 98 MPH fastball and devastating circle change are too good to keep in the minors for very long.

I'm not sure where you're getting the 98 mph figure from, but it's clearly inaccurate. Chacin gained velocity last year...but it was from sitting in the high 80s to sitting in the low 90s, and peaking at about 94 mph. The real reason people like his fastball is that its got a lot of sink to it, which leads to a lot of groundballs (GB% of 64% in 2008). I'd also hesitate to say that he's going to be ready so quickly, as there are two big hurdles in front of him:
1) His curveball is currently a below average pitch, which could hurt him against more advanced hitters.
2) He hasn't even cracked AA yet, which is the biggest test for a pitching prospect. Just to take an example from Colorado, Brandon Hynick was a fairily well regarded prospect after a strong 2007 in High-A, but bombed miserably in AA after his K-rate dropped. Chacin is a superior pitcher with superior stuff, but a similar drop in dominance could well occur.

[RedOctober3829]

I'm not sure where you're getting the 98 mph figure from, but it's clearly inaccurate. Chacin gained velocity last year...but it was from sitting in the high 80s to sitting in the low 90s, and peaking at about 94 mph. The real reason people like his fastball is that its got a lot of sink to it, which leads to a lot of groundballs (GB% of 64% in 2008). I'd also hesitate to say that he's going to be ready so quickly, as there are two big hurdles in front of him:
1) His curveball is currently a below average pitch, which could hurt him against more advanced hitters.
2) He hasn't even cracked AA yet, which is the biggest test for a pitching prospect. Just to take an example from Colorado, Brandon Hynick was a fairily well regarded prospect after a strong 2007 in High-A, but bombed miserably in AA after his K-rate dropped. Chacin is a superior pitcher with superior stuff, but a similar drop in dominance could well occur.

The Rockies are making a big push towards getting younger with the trade of Matt Holliday and could get more prospects for Garrett Atkins if they choose to deal him. Bringing up Chacin could be another step in that movement. I got that figure from a fan website because I couldn't find much information on his pitches. A dominant sinking fastball can get hitters out at any level which is why the Rockies want to find out if he can get it done at the highest level. I don't agree that he should come up now, but I'm not running their team. They could get him in the bullpen if Taylor Buchholz doesn't recover from his injuries.

[Sinistas]

Looks like Atkins has a new injury after all:

Garrett Atkins' straight path back to the lineup is on hold because of a right groin injury that is preventing him from moving laterally.

Atkins missed time earlier in camp with a right hip flexor problem. He told The Denver Post today that the injury has moved to groin. The injury occurred during agility drills, not during a game.

"It's frustrating more than anything else," Atkins said. "I am not sure how much longer it's going to be. I am not concerned, though, and I won't be until the training staff is concerned."

Link

[glennhoffmania]

Projected Starters
C-Iannetta
1B-Helton
2B-Ian Stewart
SS-Tulowitzki
3B-Atkins
LF-Seth Smith
CF-Ryan Spilborghs
RF-Hawpe

Everything I've read says that Barmes is the 2B. Are they really going to convert Stewart to a full-time 2B?

[Grubbery]

Everything I've read says that Barmes is the 2B. Are they really going to convert Stewart to a full-time 2B?

Same here. The Denver Post agrees.

Though Hurdle has also said he'd revisit things if needed during the season. They love Stewart, but most see him ending up in a corner infield spot. If Atkins' injury lingers, Stewart could find himself at 3B. If it doesn't linger, and ARod doesn't bounce back quickly, Atkins could be trade bait, particularly if the Rox start out of the gate really slowly.

I don't see Street doing well in Colorado. I think Jimenez could be a rock star.

[RedOctober3829]

I agree on Ubaldo. I think he has all the tools to be an ace for a long time. I also agree on Huston Street.

An update on the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation between Franklin Morales and Greg Smith. They are saying they don't need a 5th starter until later in April because they have 3 off days in the first 10 days of the season.

Franklin Morales maintained his slight edge Thursday for the fifth starter's spot — a role that might not exist when the Rockies break camp.

With three off-days in the season's first 10 days, manager Clint Hurdle said he could go with four starters and an extra long reliever, a decision that will be discussed Sunday. Carrying an extra bench player is not under consideration.

"We have never had to break with five starters. Are we better served adding another arm to the bullpen?" Hurdle said. "I think we need to be more pitching-focused than having an extra pinch-hitter. You would need to have multiple guys that could pitch multiple innings."

Having an extra reliever would directly benefit Josh Fogg or Matt Belisle, both of whom appear to be trailing Juan Morillo for the seventh and final bullpen spot. Neither pitched well against minor leaguers Wednesday, and Hurdle admitted that the window is narrowing for guys to make impressions. He wants to begin running out his regular lineup by next week, and start finalizing roles.

"We are starting to put a premium on guys who are making pitches, competing better, and more sharp than others," Hurdle said.

Link

If Morales can keep his walk total down, he should be able to stick as the 5th starter.

All the pre-season articles I read listed Ian Stewart as the 2nd baseman. Being 6'3" and 205 lbs., I would think that would be a bit big to play 2B. In his 2 stints in the majors, he has played 76 games at 3rd and 12 games at 2nd. With the albatross that is Todd Helton on the team, there is no way to move Atkins to 1B and stick Ian at 3B full-time as long as Helton is healthy.

Tom Stephenson, writer of the Up in the Rockies blog, gives his commentary on Stewart.

In an ideal world, Ian Stewart would be the starter at second base, Clint Barmes would be the utility man, and Omar Quintanilla would be in AAA in case anybody went down.

But we don't live in an ideal world. We live in one where, because Omar Quintanilla is out of options, we'd have to pass him through waivers to send him to AAA. And we live in one where, despite the fact that Garrett Atkins is pretty well entrenched at third and Stewart isn't going to play there any time soon, Clint Hurdle insists that Stewart will play there and in left, instead of at second.

I keep thinking that all this is going to turn Stewart into another Jeff Baker. Baker showed solid power and hit for a .300 average in the minors. A natural third baseman, Baker couldn't play there, but the Rockies probably could have used his bat. I suggested, all the way back before the 2006 season, that the Rockies should try Baker at second -- that was back after the Rockies had just traded Aaron Miles, and were set to go with Jamey Carroll and Luis Gonzalez at second. Why not give Baker a shot, because he could be the other bat the Rockies need?

Instead, the Rockies moved him to the outfield. Completely pointless, since Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe would hit 56 homers between them in 2006, and it was obvious Baker wasn't going to be a center fielder. So the next year... the Rockies continued to have Baker play in the outfield, but also played him at first some. Finally, in 2008, the Rockies finally opened their suggestion box and tried Baker at second, and he responded with a solid year, even if he couldn't crack 300 at bats.

The point, I guess, is that the Rockies jerked Baker around in the field and never allowed him to get regular at bats. For some bizarre reason, they appear to be doing the same thing to Stewart, instead of just finding a place for him to play and letting him get his at bats.

Up in the Rockies

[brs3]

Old Friend Mark Bellhorn is in a Spring Training game for the Rockies today! And he struck out!

[RedOctober3829]

Three-fifths of the Rockies' starting rotation has been shaky this spring, but the front end looks poised to deliver a solid one-two punch.

After ace Aaron Cook pitched an effective five innings Sunday, No. 2 man Ubaldo Jimenez was even better Monday. With his fastball spot on, Jimenez threw six shutout innings against Milwaukee in a 7-1 win. Eight broken bats and 12 groundball outs were testament to his effectiveness.

"That was my two-seam fastball," Jimenez said. "I was getting ahead of the hitters and pitching well inside."

Despite an inconsistent spring and a 9.28 ERA, veteran innings-eater Jason Marquis remains penciled in as the third starter. Mercurial Jorge De La Rosa
is slotted fourth. Earlier Monday, the Rockies optioned Greg Reynolds to the minors, leaving Franklin Morales and Greg Smith to battle for the fifth spot.
Reynolds "made improvement from last year," manager Clint Hurdle said. "But we needed to go with the guys we feel are in a more competitive spot."

The Rockies optioned first baseman Joe Koshansky to the minors and reassigned pitcher Jhoulys Chacin to the minor-league camp.

Troy Tulowitzki (tight lower back) is scheduled to play a minor-league game today in Tucson. Brad Hawpe (hamstring) remains a few days away. With only 14 at-bats under his belt — he missed two weeks because of a cut pinkie — he knows he needs to get back on the field soon. But he said it would be unwise to push too soon.

Link

[Sinistas]

Apparently Huston Street is now the front-runner for the closer slot:

Link

Huston Street is finally showing he might be the right choice for the Colorado Rockies closer job.

Street pitched a scoreless inning Thursday, his fifth in six games, but the Rockies lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6.

Colorado manager Clint Hurdle refuses to say if he favors Street or Manuel Corpas.

“He has been on a nice little roll. He had some pretty good put-away pitches,” Hurdle said of Street. “We have seen a marked improvement.”

Street, obtained in a trade in November with Oakland for Matt Holliday, had a quadriceps muscle problem that led to early spring troubles. But his last outings have impressed the coaching staff.

[RedOctober3829]

A solid camp wasn't enough for outfielder Matt Murton to make the Rockies' 25-man roster. The team also sent down left-hander Greg Smith.

Murton was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs today, making it more likely that center field prospect Dexter Fowler will make the team. Murton hit .302 in Cactus League games.

In other moves, the Rockies optioned left-hander Greg Smith and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to Triple-A. Both players were part of the trade that sent Matt Holliday to Oakland.

Link

[RedOctober3829]

Both Ian Stewart and Dexter Fowler will break camp with the big club. They also released Scott Podsednik because there was no room for him in the majors or in AAA. The Rockies got younger by keeping both Stewart and Fowler which is presumably what they should do.

Here is how the rotation will fill out for the first time around. The club will evaluate Morales' progress and make a decision on whether to keep him up or send him down.

Aaron Cook
Ubaldo Jiminez
Franklin Morales
Jason Marquis
Jorge de la Rosa

Renck also mentions that Clint Hurdle has picked his closer and it is rumored to be Huston Street.


Link

[RedOctober3829]

The Rockies acquired P Jason Hammel from Tampa Bay for AA pitcher Aneury Rodriguez. He will add bullpen depth. To make room on the 40-man, they moved Jeff Francis to the 60-day DL.

In a move designed to add bullpen depth, and a possibly another starter, the Rockies have acquired Tampa Bay right-hander Jason Hammel in exchange for Double-A pitcher Aneury Rodriguez. General general manager Dan O’Dowd confirmed the deal this afternoon as the Rockies held a workout to get ready for Monday’s season-opener vs. the Diamondbacks.

The deal, whose parameters were first reported by The Denver Post on Saturday, gives the Rockies another power, versatile arm in the bullpen. Hammel will be added to the 25-man roster at some point this week, which could spell the end for power right-hander Juan Morillo.

Link

[mr guido]

Well, that was ugly.

The Rockies are determined to take the one functional piece of their team, the offense, and ruin it. Hurdle has determined the Rockies are now a "small ball" team. They've already jumped out to an early lead in the Caught Stealing race after yesterday's 1 SB in 3 attempts performance. The newspapers are full of talk about productive outs and aggressive running.

The good news is that Tulo is still phenomenal with the leather at SS, and his bat seems more likely to be the 2007 model than 2008. A full season of him will help out the dreadful pitching staff somewhat.

The bad news is that when you give up 2 HRs apiece to Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark on opening day, there is really no point in bothering to show up to play out the next 161 games.

[RedOctober3829]

The Rockies opened up at home today against the defending World Series champion Phillies. Tulo is having a great start to the year(3 hits in 10 ABs with 2 HRs and 3 walks) and is his usual self with the glove. Ubaldo Jiminez had a great start against Arizona(7 IP 4 H 0 R 8 K 3 BB) and is showing his incredible potential while Franklin Morales had a strong first start as well(6 IP 4 H 1 R) but was optioned down to AAA to make room for Jason Hammel.

The bad: Aaron Cook had a terrible Opening Day start going 2.1 IP and giving up 6 runs including 2 homers. He needs to be a force on the top of the rotation with Jiminez in order for them to have a chance in that division.

Notes: Prized prospect OF Dexter Fowler hit his first major league HR off of Doug Davis in their win Wednesday over Arizona......Huston Street picked up his first save with the Rockies on Tuesday night pitching a scoreless inning....Manny Corpas is the 8th inning man and has pitched 2 strong innings in relief.....The Rockies play Philadelphia for 3 games this weekend but then embark on an 8 game road trip that takes them to Chicago for a quick 2 game set, then fly to LA for 3, and strangely enough back to Arizona for the second time in two weeks. What is MLB thinking with these schedules?

Edited by RedOctober3829, 10 April 2009 - 05:49 PM.

[JulE6]

Last night Dexter Fowler had five stolen bases. In one game. All five were off Chris Young/Nick Hundley. He now has nine on the season.

Also in that game Brad Hawpe took an attempted pickoff throw from Hundley in the neck. He may have a concussion and there is no timetable for his return as of now.

[RedOctober3829]

Chris Iannetta snapped out of his season-long slump and hit a go-ahead grand slam in the 7th inning off of Cla Meredith to spark a 9-6 win over San Diego. Despite the win, they sit at 10-14 and 7.5 GB of the Dodgers. The attendance was a staggering 14,717 which is the lowest in San Diego this season(SSS I know). The problem this year for Colorado is that they their core offensive players are getting off to terrible starts combined with terrible pitching. Tulowitzi is batting .213 with an awful .318 OBP. Chris Iannetta is batting .186 with 5 HRs and 10 RBI and Ian Stewart is struggling with a .231 average. Todd Helton is returning to form. He is batting .333 with his usual great OBP of .394.

Jason Marquis has been their best starter pitching to a 3.33 ERA with a 4-1 record. Ubaldo Jiminez has struggled since his strong opening start. He is 1-4 with a 6.58 ERA giving up 19 runs in 26 innings. Staff "ace" Aaron Cook has been just as bad. He is 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA giving up 20 runs in 25 innings. The entire staff has just 10 combined quality starts. Huston Street and Manny Corpas have really struggled as well. Street is the closer as of now but he has given up 13 hits and 7 runs in 11 1/3 innings. Corpas was rumored to go to Triple-A because of his slow start. He has given up an unreal amount of baserunners (WHIP of 1.88) and was taken out of his setup role.

They have one more tonight at San Diego then travel back to Denver to take on San Fransisco for a two-game set then welcome the Marlins to Coors Field for a weekend series.

[mr guido]

Not that anyone cares about the Rockies, but since I do occasionally need to suffer through one of their games on account of living a mile from Coors Field, I've been keeping tabs and am desperate for someone at the top to wake up & fire Clint Hurdle.

Here's his latest:

Manager Clint Hurdle continues to tighten the grip on his team, benching shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on Wednesday for impatience at the plate.
...
Citing last Friday's team meeting when offensive issues were discussed, Hurdle sat Tulowitzki for swinging at the first pitch in the eighth inning Tuesday when he grounded into a double play.

"I don't want to be a Little League manager. And I don't want to have to tell every guy up there to take a strike. But we need to be smarter with our at-bats," Hurdle said. "Maybe I need to get even more proactive. I have given more take signs in the last six weeks than I have in years. But I am going to do what's necessary to make sure we are doing what's necessary at the plate."

Tulowitzki respected the decision but didn't agree with it. He ranks 11th in the National League with a .471 average (8-for-17) when putting the first pitch in play. He believed the chest-high fastball was a good pitch.

"It just feels like I am the guy who has to wear it for everybody. Which is fine. I will do that," Tulowitzki said. "I keep saying he's the manager. And we have to do what he says if we want to play."

It would seem that Tulo agrees with me.

The Rockies are now 16-24 despite scoring only 2 fewer runs than they've allowed. Hurdle has used Alan Embree -- yes, Alan Embree -- as far & away his highest leverage reliever. I half expect O'Dowd to sign Timlin to bolster the pen, since apparently trading their MVP caliber left fielder for Huston Street wasn't enough.

Anyhow, the team isn't going anywhere this season but getting rid of those two douchebags would at least put them back on the path to respectability. Until then, the only reason to get excited about the Rockies is the $4 tickets to their upper bleacher seats.

[RedOctober3829]

The Rockies are absolutely terrible right now. Garrett Atkins and Ian Stewart are both batting below .200 and Troy Tulowitzki is batting .227. Chris Iannetta has battled back to get up to .231. They can't hit(team BA of .250) and can't pitch(opp BA of .282). The only bright spots on offense are Brad Hawpe(.333/.409/.598) and the resurgence of Todd Helton(.327/.379/.509). Pitching-wise, Ubaldo Jiminez sports a 2.38 ERA this month going into today's game and Huston Street has quietly put together a decent year (3.26 ERA, 7 SVs, and 22 K's in 19.1 IP).

They got to Clayton Kershaw this afternoon, but their bullpen led by Manny Corpas blew another lead and lost. GM Dan O'Dowd came out and gave Clint Hurdle the "benefit of the doubt" but the leash has to be getting shorter with each loss. Today's loss put them 13 games behind LA in the standings. They are 7-12 at home which is tied for worst in the major leagues. It won't be long before Street and others are on the trading block and Clint Hurdle will be out and replaced with Don Baylor.
Denver Post

[Yazdog8]

The Rockies are absolutely terrible right now. Garrett Atkins and Ian Stewart are both batting below .200 and Troy Tulowitzki is batting .227. Chris Iannetta has battled back to get up to .231. They can't hit(team BA of .250) and can't pitch(opp BA of .282). The only bright spots on offense are Brad Hawpe(.333/.409/.598) and the resurgence of Todd Helton(.327/.379/.509). Pitching-wise, Ubaldo Jiminez sports a 2.38 ERA this month going into today's game and Huston Street has quietly put together a decent year (3.26 ERA, 7 SVs, and 22 K's in 19.1 IP).

They got to Clayton Kershaw this afternoon, but their bullpen led by Manny Corpas blew another lead and lost. GM Dan O'Dowd came out and gave Clint Hurdle the "benefit of the doubt" but the leash has to be getting shorter with each loss. Today's loss put them 13 games behind LA in the standings. They are 7-12 at home which is tied for worst in the major leagues. It won't be long before Street and others are on the trading block and Clint Hurdle will be out and replaced with Don Baylor.
Denver Post

The Denver Post is reporting Hurdle is going to be fired today.

Jim Tracy is likely his replacement.

[RedOctober3829]

I'm on the blackberry in the car driving. I am listening to weei and on the sports flash it was said that Colorado is set to fire Clint Hurdle.

[mr guido]

Hooray, Hurdle is finally gone.

link

One down, one to go. Inexcusable that O'Dowd is still employed but I'll take what I can get.

[patinorange]

Good to see they went with a young, dynamic, manager with a record of success.

[RedOctober3829]

Troy Tulowitzki's season just keeps getting worse.

Troy Tulowitzki's season took another hit Tuesday night when he was removed from the game with a bruised left hand.

The Rockies' shortstop left in the middle of the fourth inning after flying out to center field. He was taken to an area hospital for X-rays, which were negative. His swollen hand was taped, and he's expected to miss at least a couple of days. Omar Quintanilla will replace Tulowitzki at shortstop.

"I'm not sure when I did it, but on that second at-bat, I could barely hold the bat," he said. "I wanted to stay in there, but it was swelling up too much."

Tulowitzki's left hand was wrapped in ice before the game. He took extensive early batting practice Tuesday afternoon.

Link


Other notes from the same link

--Chris Iannetta is on a rehab assignment right now and could return as early as Tuesday in Milwaukee.
--Franklin Morales is also on a rehab assignment and could return in the next 10 days.
--OF Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .348 and has a minor-league leading 59 RBIs heading into today's action. How long can he stay at AAA?

[SoxScout]

MLB continues to be flooded with more young talent..

HOUSTON — Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez's talent and numbers could not be denied. So it was no surprise that after feasting on Triple-A pitching while playing for Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Rockies called him up Thursday night. He'll join the Rockies in St. Louis on Friday.

To make room for Gonzalez, the Rockies optioned outfielder Matt Murton back to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Gonzalez, a key component of the Matt Holliday trade, hit .339 for the Sky Sox, belting 10 home runs, 12 doubles, seven triples and driving in 59 runs.

"We are not bringing him in to be a part-time player, I can tell you that. And we'll leave it at that," Tracy said.

http://www.denverpos...4568?source=rss

Edited by SoxScout, 05 June 2009 - 07:24 AM.

[phrenile]

Ventura County Star:

Colorado catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s 11-year-old son and brother-in-law were released by kidnappers a day after being abducted in Caracas, Venezuela.

The two were abducted while driving to the boy’s school along with a relative of the boy’s mother, Venezuelan authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

The kidnappers demanded $466,000 in ransom, but none was paid, said Wilmer Flores Trossel, head of Venezuela’s federal police.

[...]

The Rockies said Torrealba learned of the abduction on Tuesday and immediately flew to Venezuela, leaving the team in Houston.

[...]

Tracy did not know when Torrealba would rejoin the team. Colorado opens a four-game series at St. Louis on Friday.

“Our organization is relieved,” Rockies president Keli McGregor said in a statement. “Yorvit knows that he can take the time he needs and will rejoin the club when the time is right.”

[RedOctober3829]

Carlos Gonzalez to get his first start tonight in St. Louis against Todd Wellemeyer. Troy Tulowitzki will sit out tonight with a sore wrist, but is expected to start tomorrow.

[RedOctober3829]

Don't look now, but the Rockies have won 11 straight and have climbed to within a game of .500

Nothing — not the wail of tornado sirens near Coors Field nor the Seattle Mariners — can stop the Rockies these days.

What began as an innocent snowball with a 10-3 victory in Houston on June 4 has become an avalanche of victories that has transformed the Rockies' season. A short time ago, they were in danger of becoming an afterthought on the summer sports scene. Today, they are must-see baseball.

The Rockies cruised past the Mariners 7-1 on Sunday for their franchise record-tying 11th consecutive victory as a crowd of 38,614 watched them move within a game of .500. The winning streak ties the run from Sept. 16-27, 2007, that ignited the craziness that became Rocktober.

The best part about this is they are making Nick Cafardo look stupid for picking Jim Tracy as one of the worst managers in baseball. They are 13-4 since Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle.

In short, here is why the Rockies have played like they have been.

Rock 'n' rolling

Essential elements of the Rockies' 11-game winning streak:

Outscored opponents 73-28

Outhomered opponents 14-7

Outhit opponents .295 to .214

Rockies' starting pitchers: 10 victories, 2.49 ERA

Rockies' relief pitchers: one victory, five saves, 2.70 ERA

Notes
--In the last week, Troy Tulowitzki had batted .421 with a 1.571 OPS. He was 8-19 with 3 HR and 2 2B and 5 RBIs.

--Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe are continuing their hot starts and having great first halves. Hawpe and Helton are 5th(.337) and 12th(.318) in the NL in hitting while Hawpe is 5th in OPS at 1.012, 5th in RBI with 47, and 3rd in 2B with 21. Helton is 6th in RBI with 45.

--Taylor Buchholz will miss the rest of the season with Tommy John surgery.

--Yorvitt Torrealba tells the story of his son's kidnapping in Venezuela. This is some heavy stuff that makes me realize there is something much, much more important than the game of baseball. I recommend that everyone read this article.

[SoxScout]

Garrett Atkins

		G	AB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
25	2005	138	519	31	1	13	89	45	72	.287	.347	.426	.773
26	2006	157	602	48	1	29	120	79	76	.329	.409	.556	.965
27	2007	157	605	35	1	25	111	67	96	.301	.367	.486	.853
28	2008	155	611	32	3	21	99	40	100	.286	.328	.452	.780
29	2009	56	196	6	0	5	20	21	28	.204	.282	.311	.593

Talk about the ultimate tease heading into his super-prime 27-29 seasons...

[mr guido]

Spent a nice afternoon at the ballpark yesterday, watching the Rockies somehow take 2 out of 3 vs the Rays. I still worry that this run of success will prevent the real housecleaning that needs to happen at the end of the season... Tracy is a terrible manager, though at least the players are motivated to play even while the in-game strategy still sucks.

Got a kick out of seeing this quote above from June 9 referencing Carlos Gonzalez:

"We are not bringing him in to be a part-time player, I can tell you that. And we'll leave it at that," Tracy said.

He has started 4 of the 8 games since. Gotta love the Joe Girardi School of Management.

That said, if Marquis can continue his shocking run of good pitching despite his poor K rates, BB rates, and overall career track record, then maybe the Rockies have a shot at playing meaningful baseball this fall. They're currently only 2.5 games out of the wild card. Franklin Morales is off the DL (and in the minors) so there is even a little bit of depth in the rotation. The bullpen is still a major concern but at least since Hurdle's firing the team has put an end to the notion of Alan Embree, hi-lev pitcher. Hey, crazier things have happened, no? Like going from 2nd worst team in baseball to .500 ballclub within the 2 weeks after a manager was canned?

Oh, and Ubaldo Jimenez is a stud. He's tied with Verlander for best fastball velocity in the majors (http://www.fangraphs...on=2009&month=0) and when he can locate it, there aren't many people who can catch up. It's even more potent in the thin air of Coors. He's only given up 3 HR all year and his control has improved as the season's gone on: since May, 57 Ks, 21 walks, 62 hits in 70.1 innings, 2.65 ERA. He may have a slight case of Masterson/Arroyo disease in which he has problems with lefties, but overall the trends are pretty promising.

[mr guido]

Don't look now but the Rockies are .5 game up in the wild card standings. They currently have the 6th best record in baseball, tied with Tampa and Texas. They have a series vs San Fran in Denver this weekend, which could help them create a little bit of separation -- they'll get Cain but not Lincecum.

[SoxFanSince57]

The Rockies are casting a wide net in their search for relief help. They worked out free agent Mike Timlin on Monday at Coors Field and Tuesday they promoted Ryan Speier from Triple-A Colorado Springs to replace slumping Joel Peralta.

Timlin, 43, pitched for the Red Sox last season, posting a 5.66 ERA in 47 games. He makes his year-round home in Colorado and said during an earlier visit to Coors Field this season he would like to pitch again if a team called.

http://www.denverpos...ies/ci_12887560

[mr guido]

The Rockies are now 16-24 despite scoring only 2 fewer runs than they've allowed. Hurdle has used Alan Embree -- yes, Alan Embree -- as far & away his highest leverage reliever. I half expect O'Dowd to sign Timlin to bolster the pen, since apparently trading their MVP caliber left fielder for Huston Street wasn't enough.

The Rockies are casting a wide net in their search for relief help. They worked out free agent Mike Timlin on Monday at Coors Field and Tuesday they promoted Ryan Speier from Triple-A Colorado Springs to replace slumping Joel Peralta.

What can I say? I hate this damn team.

No word yet on whether or not O'Dowd has been in touch with Scott Williamson's agent.

[TheYellowDart5]

Jhoulys Chacin got pulled from his most recent start after only an inning. He wasn't hurt, so speculation is that he's getting dealt soon.

[mr guido]

Doubt they'll be trading him, rather they're probably adding him to the bullpen. Morales was recently promoted and added to the pen as well. Corpas is undergoing season ending surgery tomorrow.

[TheYellowDart5]

Doubt they'll be trading him, rather they're probably adding him to the bullpen. Morales was recently promoted and added to the pen as well. Corpas is undergoing season ending surgery tomorrow.

Rosenthal confirms: Chacin up to the 'pen.

[RedOctober3829]

Rockies acquired Rafael Betancourt from Indians according to Ed Price's Twitter. It is exactly what they need in the bullpen.

Source: #Rockies to acquire Rafael Betancourt from #Indians

Link

In other news, Todd Helton became the 50th player in MLB history to hit for 500 doubles.

[RedOctober3829]

Rockies trade pitching prospect Conor Graham to Cleveland for Rafael Betancourt.

@SI_JonHeyman

[RedOctober3829]

Rockies are looking to acquire a left-handed bat off the bench at the deadline.
Link

Quietly, Jorge De La Rosa is emerging as one of the NL's best pitchers of the 2nd half. He picked up the win yesterday in game 2 of a doubleheader with the Mets pitching 6.2 IP giving up 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 5.

[RedOctober3829]

Rockies have acquired P Joe Beimel from the Nationals for 2 minor league pitchers.

The acquisition price was lower Friday, with multiple players balancing out the finances. The Rockies will pay roughly $400,000 of Beimel's remaining $700,000. To get a rebate, the Rockies' shipped two players to Washington, Triple-A reliever Ryan Mattheus, who underwent elbow ligament transplant surgery recently, and pedestrian class-A pitcher Robinson Fabian. Beimel has $125,000 in contract incentives, triggering $25,000 in bonuses beginning at 60 appearances.

Link

[mr guido]

21 year old phenom Jhoulys Chacin makes his first major league start tonight, against the Pirates. He's only pitched 5 innings since his call up a few weeks ago, vs the Giants, Mets, Phillies & Cubs. But he's struck out 9 in those 5 innings, so tonight might be worth watching. Last year he was 18-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 160 Ks in 178 innings in A ball, this year 3.14 with 86 Ks / 35 BBs in AA.

The Rockies are 5.5 back of the Dodgers and 1 game ahead of the Giants for the wild card. They've played fewer games at home than any team in the majors, so there may even be a bit of further improvement. They just took 3 of 4 against the Cubs at home, and they're up to #11 in average attendance as well.

Also last night Tulo hit for the cycle with 7 RBIs, and was within an umpire's review of hitting a single, double, triple, home run, AND a grand slam.

Edited by mr guido, 11 August 2009 - 09:23 AM.

[ColoradoJack]

But he's struck out 9 in those 5 innings, so tonight might be worth watching.

yea, um, not so much....didn't help that the Rockies were absolute dogshit behind him either. the 3 errors matched their season high.

the good news, i suppose, is that because the giants can't beat the dodgers the rox remain a game up in the wildcard. small victories.

Edited by ColoradoJack, 12 August 2009 - 10:45 AM.

[ColoradoJack]

Last night's game with the Marlins was rained out which, combined with LA's late night choke job against Arizona and San Francisco's win against the Mets, left the Rockies a mere 4.5 games behind in the division race and 1 game up in the wild card respectively. The wash out also created a traditional, one ticket doubleheader for today's games.

from the Denver Post:

Aaron Cook (10-4, 3.93 ERA) will make his return to the rotation now on nine days' rest, starting in the opener opposite Chris Volstad (8-9, 4.71). Cook will wear a special cleat to protect his sprained big right toe. The Rockies beat Volstad 3-2 on May 10 at Coors Field. Jorge De La Rosa (10-8, 4.78), coming off a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Cubs, works the second game against Rick VandenHurk (2-1, 4.15). De La Rosa is 10-2 with a 4.12 ERA since June 1. Preventing the big hit from Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez, who are a combined 8-for-17 off De La Rosa, is critical.

Edited by ColoradoJack, 16 August 2009 - 08:58 AM.

[ColoradoJack]

Rockies sign their first pick which, according to many, was a bit of a surprise and other off day notes from the Denver Post.

[ColoradoJack]

Colorado stumbled all over themselves on the base paths last night yet managed to hold off the Nationals behind homers from the suddenly hot Clint Barmes and Carlos "Matt Who?" Gonzales.

The win, coupled with St Louis' victory over the Dodgers, brought the Rox to within 3.5 games of first place. In the Wild Card race the Giants held serve to remain one game back.

The Rockies close out their road trip against Washington tonight before heading home for the weekend "wrap around" series against the Giants.

Colorado is 3 and 2 on this road trip and 7 and 3 in their last ten games.

Denver Post game recap Box

Edited by ColoradoJack, 20 August 2009 - 12:15 PM.

[sibpin]

2008 Rockies OF: .290 / .356 / .452 = .809
2009 Rockies OF: .280 / .342 / .471 = .814

This comes after dumping Holliday ($9.5M in 2008, $13.5M in 2009) and Taveras ($1.98M in 2008) and replacing them with minimum-level salaries.

[ColoradoJack]

Big series. I fucking hate the Rockies. I wish they'd drown in a vat of Coors.

oh, it's on girl...