You put your catcher in, you take your catcher out, you put your something something and you shake him all about

Clint Hurdle has avoided overreactive behavior in the 2005 season. With a team that's started more rookies than any other club by a gigantic margin, how could anyone do anything else? Everyone knows that the players are trying their best, so what's left to do other than steadfastly bouncing a ball against the concrete dugout floor?

There are some instances when Hurdle needs to shed the down-and-out mentality, and think like the manager of a contending team.

He finally got around to doing that recently when he gave Luis Gonzalez the starting nod over the light-hitting and mediocre-fielding second bagger Aaron Miles. His very high average with runners in scoring position notwithstanding, Aaron Miles' power statistics were virtually nonexistent, and his OBP was essentially the same as his batting average. Think what you will about the nerdy, number-crunching Sabermetricians and their theories, but even the most traditional baseball man will not hesitate to say that a leadoff hitter needs to work the count. A leadoff man that performs his duties will make the pitcher toss a few and get on base, providing his teammates with an opportunity to see the pitcher's stuff and setting the table for the hitters that follow him. While Gonzalez strikes out more and has a slightly worse average than Miles, he also has an OBP that dwarfs Miles' and power that intrigues everyone.

So Hurdle made the right call.

It's time for another.

Danny Ardoin, who absolutely tore up the PCL, has been exactly what everyone expected. A light-hitting catcher who can catch and throw with the best of them; he is the second coming of Henry Blanco. For a while, the change of pace was entirely appropriate. The pitching staff needed stability and experience behind the plate, and the Rockies had to start controlling the running game. Plus, the Rockies theoretical starting catcher, J.D. Closser, was hitting about .150 and runners were treating the bases like a track. It's time to let J.D. out of the doghouse. Danny Ardoin is not a long term solution, and Closser, despite his abysmal batting average, posted very respectable OBPs in almost every month except April. Especially during this hot streak that the Indiana native has been on, the skipper ought to give Closser the starting nod again. With his newfound power supply complementing his already good OBP, J.D. is better than ever. That unequivocal confidence Hurdle placed in the young backstop for the first few months of the season needs to be brought back; Closser deserves another shot.

***

~Jeff Pickler's stats are pretty darn impressive. He should get a big league audition, even if it means taking a bit of time away from Luis Gonzalez.

~The Rox will take on the D-Backs today. When the season was only an infant, Diamondback management looked like a bunch of geniuses. Their high priced acquisitions of Sean Green and Troy Glaus were producing like nobody would've thought(they still are doing pretty well), and pitching was great. Well, once the Snakes started taking on real teams (anyone outside of the N.L. West), their true worth was revealed. Yet another mediocre N.L. West team. Royce Clayton looks like he was a one-year wonder at Colorado, with little production in the "so damn hot" state. Even with the up-and-coming star Chad Tracy at third, there just isn't enough hitting to compensate for their lack of pitching. Russ Ortiz, handed a fat and pretty much consensually regarded (by everyone in the world except the Diamondbacks management squad) as stupid contract, has not performed up to his 7.3 million dollar salary. Rockies fans can address their letters of "Nyah-Nyah! Told'ya so! It's not just Coors that ruins pitchers!" to

Arizona Diamondbacks

401 East Jefferson Street

Phoenix, AZ 85001.