Rockies Disaster Report

WHERE HAVE WE GONE?!

2005-08-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's been a crazy ride this year, and for added stability, Gabe and I shelled out the monies for a domain name and hosting (for the love of god click on adsense).

You can still see medium-notch commentary on your favorite/geographically mandated to follow baseball team at www.5280sports.com/rox , and there's also a column for the Avs and the Broncos. We're like the Jeffersons, people. Except with less hangin' in chow lines.

Stupid school

Losing Steam

2005-08-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

The Rockies just aren't that good. When they are good, it's usually for one game which is surrounded by two or three horrible horrible games. We saw that kind of thing over the homestand this week. In the first game, the Rox squandered a good pitching performance, losing 4-2, and then in the second game, the Rockies were out of it by the fifth. On Sunday, the Rox continued their suck-fest with another poor starting pitching performance and poor offensive production, doing nothing to damage the undeniable argument that they just aren't very good.

They replaced Corey Sulivan with Larry Bigbie in center field, and oddly enough, swapping one mediocre fourth outfielder for another didn't do much. Now I'm not saying that benching Corey Sullivan is a bad thing, it's just that when his replacement is bad too, well, what's the point.

The entire season has had an aura of futility that was lifted for about a week. The Rox won on the road consistently for the first time all year, and then they came back and swept a double-header against the Marlins. Then they were swept by the team that up until about a week ago had a starting short stop hitting .182.

Things are looking grim, folks. The rotation is bad, the starting lineup is full of slap hitters, and frankly, improvement hasn't happened as you'd expect. Sure we're winning more than once every nine days, but we aren't winning more than four games, max, every nine days. Things are looking mighty grim.

The Rockies are depressing beyond all belief.

Then again, football is back.

Boy

2005-08-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

What happened to the starting rotation?

At the beginning of this year, the Rockies thought that their starting pitching was going to be a major strength for the team. The bullpen was going to be the question mark.

Like so many other things over the past few years at Coors Field, that was a misconception.

Joe Kennedy, the Rockies' opening day starter, had complained to the manager to be the number one guy. Jason Jennings, who turned out to be the number two guy, said the same thing. Boy were they wrong about that whole "being good" thing.

In the first game of the year, Kennedy was chased out with his tail between his legs. He didn't get the W, a rare case of justice in the exceedingly strange world of starting pitcher won-lost records. It was a sign of things to come. Kennedy won four games over sixteen starts, never going to the bullpen or being demoted. His ERA was equal to the goal of a Bronco red zone trip: 7 points. The young Uncle Charlie specialist was dealt to the Oakland A's, and he now works in relief.

As for the other contender for the number one job, Jason Jennings was decent in the early-going, but then tanked in May and June. Just as he was getting into a groove, J.J. broke his finger trying to take out a would-be double play turner. After the All Star Break, his ERA was just 3.00.

The number three starter for the Rox is the highest-ranked remaining pitcher for the team. Jeff Francis has had a predictably up-and-down rookie season. As you'd expect with a rook, Francis has shown flashes of brilliance, and even has sustained them for two and three game stretches, but has also looked absolutely horrible when he can't locate his pitches. His lack of overwhelming stuff demands pinpoint control for him to be very effective, and on days when he can't keep the ball down, The Franchise struggles in a horribly ugly fashion.

This leads us to the former number 4 starter: Shawn Chacon. After one year of an ill-advised switch to the closing role, the Rox decided to do something odd; the starting pitcher would start. Chac was easily the Rockies' most effective starter for much of the year. He injured himself sliding into a bag (on the opposite limb that Jason Jennings did), but aside from the time he missed, the Greeley native was the closest thing the Rox had to an ace. His 4.09 ERA was the best on the Rockies starting pitchers by almost an entire run. Despite his age, his ability, and his home-grown nature, the Rockies dealt him to the Yankees for some prospects. Let's not forget that the Yankees don't have anything resembling a farm system, so these prospects will not pan out.

In the fifth slot is Jamey Wright. Wright has been consistently bad, with few exceptions. There have been abberant zero or one-run starts when The Big Handsome pitched very well, but really he's been just a little better than Joe Kennedy. His 5.85 ERA speaks for itself.

Spot starter turned every-fifth-day guy BK Kim has been the Rockies' second or third best pitcher since Chacon was dealt. Somehow, some way, the walk-happy native of Korea has wiggled his way out of jams en route to a very solid 4.68 ERA as a starter. His methods include, but are not limited to: Walking batters, hitting batters, striking batters out, poorly fielding bunted balls, and throwing wild pitches that bounce off of the backstop, immediately rebound back to the catcher, and allow him to get out of the inning unscathed. B.K., statistically, is the Rockies' best starting pitcher with the recent departure of Shawn Chacon.

Zach Day, Jose Acevedo, and Soo-Yun Kim are all vying for the fifth position in the rotation.

So, theoretically next year's rotation could be:

Jennings
Francis
Cook (could be ace, could be second or third)
Kim/Wright/Day/Acevedo/Kim/Young/Caravajal (pick two)

That's no good.

Whujumufujickle

2005-08-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Well after two nights of not watching the Rockies play, the Rockies are two games worse in terms of record. That's no good.

Seriously foks, if I'm not watching the Rockies, I'm gambling, or even more likely, playing madden. Oh Madden.

So I guess this is a post saying, "hey, I can not play madden for about five minutes or so."

Boy Balto is an incredible story...

Oh Slammina (baseball)

2005-08-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Rockies cranked out their third victory on the current homestand Wednesday evening. The win, which moved the Rockies to 3-1 since their return to Coors on Monday morning, was largely the product of recently activated starter Aaron Cook. The red-headed sinkerballer tossed six and a third innings of very solid ball, allowing three earned runs.

When Cook's effectiveness waned during the top of the seventh, the Rockies threw Scott Dohmann on the bump with Cookie's runner on first. The Dough Man walked the hulking pinch hitter Daryle Ward, setting up Tike Redman, who promptly smashed a triple to right center field.

From there on out, the bullpens took over, with DeJean, Fuentes, and Cortes each working a scoreless inning apiece and maintaining the tie through the tenth. Mike DeJean had absolutely electric stuff, with a diving slider that fooled all of the Pirates he faced, and Fuentes was his usual self. David Cortes performed admirably, not fooling around with batters, but rather tossing the ball into the zone with impressive velocity.

In the bottom of the tenth, Todd Helton went with a pitch and sent a gigantic double to right center. Following Helton was exactly the guy everyone wanted to see in a clutch situation: Matt Holliday. Holliday punched a single up the middle and Helton scored from second base, sore calf and all. Tike Redman booted the Holliday single to center field, perhaps rushing to cut down the potential game-winning run, which sealed the deal for the recently resurgent Rox.

Up next for the Rox is the series finale against the unremarkable Josh Fogg. The Franchise will take the mound, trying to shake off a bad performance in Arizona that was only saved by an offensive explosion.

Hoo-rah

2005-08-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Two wins on the same day? What did we do to deserve this? Oh right, months/years of dedication to the team. I'm feeling like Mike Jones after he hit the big time but before he got slapped with a 250,00 dollar phone bill. Word.

On the other hand, I've got a beef with Clint Hurdle right now. He started J.D. and Gonzo in the first game, so there's no issue therein, but pulling your starting pitcher in the fourth inning of the first game of a double header? That's just stupid. Again, the Rockies won both games, so I can't complain too much, but in my opinion it was just stupid. The reason Tony LaRussa can get away with pulling stunts like that is that he's got a track record and a solid/not horribly overworked bullpen. Hurdle the hurdle (that must be navigated/circumvented to win) used six pitchers in the first game of a double header. Say what you will about "playing one at a time," but the Rockies players knew not to go shake hands after the game, and Hurdle should've been more mindful of the pitching situation. Plus it was hot as hell. Add to the heat the fact that BK is the least economical of any pitcher I've seen this year and was starting the second game, and you've got a pretty sticky situation. Especially 'cause the ice cream was melting. Oh those chocolate dipped cones are freakin' delicious...

Well the Rockies won both games, BK carried the team into the eighth, something that never happens with Rockies starters, and Mark (again, not TGTBATB), Gabe, and I had to leave for a slew of reasons. Ok, Madden and affordable food (turned out to be free).

Oh yeah, I forgot to add in this conversation the co-bloggotronomator and I had during the second game in the car:

Jeff Kingery: And Miles leads off the inning with a double!
Me: Shut up, Gabe, it's just one hit.
Gabe: You didn't see Gonzalez hitting doubles, did you?
Me: Shut. Up.
Jeff Kingery: And Danny Ardoin hits a line drive over the fence!
Me: Just don't say anything.
Gabe: D--
Me: SHUT UP.
Gabe: Yeah but--
Me: WE'RE TURNING ON MIKE JONES.
Mike Jones: 231, 830, 8 zero zero fo', hit Mike Jones up on the low, 'cause Mike Jones about to blow...

Speaking of Mikes, Michael Strahan is a beast.

Speaking of Michael Strahan, I'm going to play Madden

Dear god

2005-08-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

Dear God it was hot today. Gabe, Mark (not of TGTBATB) and I met up with some good people at the Rockies game and had a nice time. Everything was expensive except for the tickets (rockpile tix, friendshipizing w/usher who clearly approved of youthful mischief allowed for closer viewing), and in the words of one of the good people we met up with, Coors Field "financially and emotionally raped us." Also, I drank a 2 liter of the official non-alcoholic Jew beverage seltzer and half a liter of Coke in less than three innings. Shade never came. Ever.

Gabe, Mark and I also left after the first game, sadly enough, due to Madden. We bailed on the Rox, having already seen a sweet extra-inning victory and hungry for Madden. Basically, we did the Dodger fan thing and left about halfway through the event, although we didn't arrive late nor did we steal our team from Brooklyn.

So we went to a Madden tournament which I did very poorly in due to a variety of factors including but not limited to: Sean King's fake 99 speed, a fictitious wideout for the opposing team that caught 200 yards worth of passes, bad controllers, jerk opponent, jerk host, small television, recent ban on performance-enhancing steroids, indefference of administrators to the various factual inaccuracies of the rosters i.e. sean king's 99 speed, the game being played on Pro instead of All-Madden, employee pricing on general motors vehicles, my ailing quadriceps, the game ending after the third quarter which nobody told me about until halfway through the third, and Trevor Price's ammended 99 speed which successfully eleminated any scrambling threat that Donnavan McNabb had in his brain.

Come to think of it, why am I writing instead of playing Madden?

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks...

2005-08-07T23:04:00.000-07:00

Well it's a big day in the news - aside from the Rockies losing, Peter Jennings died, the submarine dudes were rescued, and it's the anniversary of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. And in breaking news, myself and cohort Sam will be hitting the ballpark tomorrow with a couple other members of the gang for the two-fer deal included with this upcoming day/night doubleheader. I'm excited to see Kim/Kim pitch, especially the latter, who should put on quite a show given his late hottness.

And yet, I still have a few notes about tonight's game:

1. Carvajal just didn't seem to be in sync. After giving up back-to-back homeruns to thel ikes of Clarck and Glaus, you'd think he would realize that hanging sliders and various other pitches doesn't work.

2. Okay, I'm gonna be honest. I'm in the minority in the blogging world because I'm of the opinion that Miles should be starting ahead of Gonzales. But, going 2-4 with a double and a single does give him a pretty good day. The only knock I can put on him is the strikeout, but as Sam constantly reminds me, Miles has the same disease with a worse OBP. I'm beginning to turn a little on this issue

3. Atkins continues to hit well, but here's the best part (even though he missed an RBI opportunity): he had 1 BB, but 0 strikeouts. What I'm liking more and more about Atkins, is that he gets good wood on the ball. I've rarely seen him in bad at-bats, and his defensive play has been very good.

4. The basepaths are still looking like slip-n-slides with Closser behind the plate. He allowed 4, count'em, 4 stolen bases today, three from the speedy but aging Craig Counsell. Now I'm not saying that Counsell is a bad person to let steal, because he's a damned good runner, but Closser just does not seem to have the arm to play a good defensive catcher. And even though he's been on an offensive tear recently, he went 0-3 with a walk, and is still batting 2 points below defensive stud Danny Ardoin. Yes, his OBP and slugging are a little higher, but it's my opinion that (at least on the road), defense is worth more than offense. When the Rockies are scoring 4 runs, I'd much rather get Counsell out twice than have our 8-hole man reach base .24 more times out of every ten at-bats. I realize that JD is a better slugger, so maybe my argument doesn't hold up as nicely at Coors field, but Danny Ardoin should be given many more road starts, especially considering the fact that pitchers perform better when he's behind the plate. Now I know I've spent a lot of time ranting about this, but all said and done, I'm rather content with our catching situation. JD will only become a better hitter (as will Ardoin, for that matter), and Danny will only get better defensively. Some have called this our weakest position, but even with TG out, I don't see why - we've got a pretty solid core.

5. Despite the fact that we only scored 4 runs tonight/last night, I've really liked how this team has been scoring lately. We've been able to put together good smallball with a lot of clutch hits and some decent power. Get Helton/Barmes back in the mix, and I think we'll have a damned good offense, especially as this team starts to come together offensively even more. Over the last few series, I've really seen an improvement, and we haven't had a 2-run night in a long time, which is a good sign. That said, we could use a little bit more production out of the likes of Corey Sullivan and Garret Atkins (the latter in the power department), but I think that will come.

6. This brings me to six. As I believe my co-blogger mentioned, Francis is considered an RotY contender even though his numbers have been sketchy lately. The reason he's won 11? Run support. Francis has been getting stupendous run support all season long, and that's half the reason why he's been successful. If, as I've mentioned, our offense continues to produce, we can put a winning team on the field. It feels a lot better to a pitcher when he's got a 2-run cushion than when he's hanging on to a 0-1 deficit, and I think more than anything, that's the key to Coors Field pitching. Every pitcher is going to give up runs at Coors Field, but every pitcher also tends to tense up when he's in a tight ballgame, especially in Coors Field, which is a park known for some of the quickest lead-switches in the game. So what's the solution? Give them run support, let them relax and throw their stuff, instead of dreading the sound of the airstream in left-center (I made that up). If this seems obvious, tell it to Dan O'Down and Monfort & Co. They traded Chacon purely because of record, when he had a great Coors ERA, and was getting 0 run support. Francis, on the other hand, is the opposite story, and he's still wearing a Rox uniform.

That's it for tonight. It's late, and I've got a ballgame to attend tomorrow. In fact, all of you should come out and enjoy the deal. It would be very cool to show the team a little more support than usual. So that's it, I'm starting a movement. It's the Double-Day-Disaster Movement. All 30 people who visit this site daily, come out and join us. You can't pass up a 2-for-1 deal! You just can't!

-Gabe

Miscellany

2005-08-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon Lou From Littleton's comments on the Chac trade while looking for an example of Aaron J. Lopez' lame writing. You can find it here. It's alarming to me because Lou from Littleton is the most delusional Denver sports fan in the metro area, which is plenty obvious if you listened to him when he was on KOA or right now on KKFN. He's pretty pissed. Think about this: everyone thinks that Jeff Francis is a premier candidate for Rookie of the Year, but his ERA is 5.37. The reason everyone thinks he's the premier ROY guy is that he has 11 wins, due to top-of-the-league run support. If Chac got that kind of offense to support his outings, I'm damn near positive he'd still be on this team and would be plastered on the side of Coors with the GEN-R logo emblazoned below his face.

I just don't like Lopez' writing is all.

So Joe Sakic took a shot at Coors in the paper.

"I'm happy they didn't enlarge the nets. Making the goalie pads smaller is enough. I wouldn't want it to be like Coors Field where you have such high-scoring games."

I actually don't really care that much, just thought it was nice that the Rockies appeared on the second page of the paper for a change.

The game starts at...2:40 today...for some reason or another...

The reason i title things "Rawr" is that I become frustrated with coming up with a clever name.

2005-08-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well I missed most of this game with the exception of some of the scoring plays because I was gambling. Heavily. I'm proud to report that I posted a 120% gain on my initial buyin. Shut up. So what if that totals to eleven dollars from a five dollar starting bet. You've got to start somewhere. The best part is that I sat down to catch the ninth and the Rockies take the lead.

Anyhow, the highlights...back to them.

I'm becoming more and more optimistic about Garrett Atkins because of Matt Holliday. (Insert Matt Holliday nickname here) didn't hit for that much power last year, but this season he's been socking dingers and whatnot. His gap power turned into homer power. This is my hope for (insert Garrett Atkins nickname here. If I may at this juncture suggest the 1920s-gangster-esque nickname "meats," well, there's nothing you can to stop me)'s future. So far he's not hit too many homers, something that I think a Coors Field 3b ought to do, but his doubles total is tied for second on the team (Wooo Luis Gonzalez).

On the exact same topic, but in a new paragraph, that homer that Matt Holliday hit was reeeee-dicurous. Color man George Frasier said that the only player he'd seen do it other than Holliday was Jim Rice. Pretty good company.

Another ineffective performance by Randy Williams makes me doubt his worth. Plus, are the Rockies in a position where they can really carry a lefty specialist with Caravajal basically not playing? No...especially because they're way out of first.

Actually, Monfort could've been right about the division. I mean, if the Rockies go on a tear (not that likely) and the rest of the division stays crappy (likely), we could concievably pick up enough games to shift our spot in the standings by playing .600 ball for the rest of the year. I'm not making a prediction, but just saying it's not impossible.

Well JD, after I backed him with the undeniable force that is the Rockies Disaster Report, struck out twice and went 0-4. Oh well. Speaking of catchers, Chris Snyder, who looked really good against the Rockies at the beginning of the year has put up pretty bad offensive numbers since then, batting .218 with 5 dingers in 82 games. I'll refrain from making a comment about catchers that don't live up to expectations.

In the rare event that you're still reading this, could someone tell me where I can find a list of players that are going to be free agents at the end of the season? I will forever be in debt to you if you find it.

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

2005-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

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.

Again with the folks.

2005-08-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

So I forgot to post this on the blogotron for a while, but last week I saw a ESPN Classic deal on Kirk Gibson's famed dinger, and the best part about it was that you can see brakelights in the picture of the ball going over the right field fence. Oh Dodger fans with their early departures.

Rawr

2005-08-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I stumbled upon a forum while Alou was making one of his legendarily frequent pitching changes.

http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?p=357572#post357572

It's within the Rockies section of the forum, but it's basically a bunch of jerks bashing on Coors. None of them have ever watched a game played at Coors, even on TV, judging by their comments. I set one of them straight, but didn't dignify the a-hole who said that "Rox" was too cool of a nickname for such a lame team with a response. Jerks.

Edit: I caved when one of their responses to my challenge to some Cubs fan's ridiculous statement. I got angry and took a shot at the Dodgers. And the Gubernator.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER BACK TO BACK GAMES.

It's Like a Gigantic Tub of Jelly Beans

2005-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

According to Tracy Ringolsby, Luis Gonzalez is now the Rockies' starting second baseman. Sweet.

"SECOND THOUGHT: Luis Gonzalez has been the Rockies' super sub since joining the team a year ago. Now Hurdle wants to see if Gonzalez might even be better. Gonzalez is going to get a chance serve as the team's everyday second baseman the rest of this season. "Aaron (Miles) has done an admirable job, but we have to see if we have more of an upside with Luis," Hurdle said. "This is another one of the questions we want to answer before the end of the season."

In the wake of a series of trades which I didn't like, this mollifies my hatred for the team. Finally Gen-R is being implemented in the one spot that desperately needed it. In honor, I'll repost what was one of my first opinions posted on the blog. By the way, my draft entry took more work than any other one since. I think I was very right about trading Desi immediately, as he was theretofore a superb player. Should've traded him.

Sha-Zam!

With Clint Barmes' freak injury and Aaron Miles' less freaky injury, a player that has been deserving of playing time has begun to shine. If you don't know who I'm talking about, it's no. 4, Luis Gonzalez. This super-utility guy (he apparently carries something in the area of ten gloves on road trips) has shown that he has the ability to start in the bigs. He has performed admirably in the wake of the Miles injury and will get more playing time with Barmes out too. I personally believe that he should get the starting job at second base over Aaron Miles, given his power numbers. Gonzalez exceeds Miles' numbers in OBP, Slugging %, homers, and has legitimate power to the gaps. It seems to me that in Coors, a ballpark know for its inflated power numbers, every positional player for a team that plays 81 games there ought to have the ability to knock the ball out of the yard; thus, the Rockies should trade Miles or push him into a utility role (especially with Desi Relaford's revival, he should be starting every game too). Aaron Miles' hitting style would be ok in Coors if he drew more walks, but because he doesn't do that, his OBP is almost identical to his average, thereby decreasing his value. Many teams would be glad to have a contact hitting second baseman in Miles, so there would be some value in return. Keeping to the youth movement, Luis Gonzalez is the younger player as well, and thus should get the starting nod.Desi Relaford has shown something as of late as well, and the Rockies need to capitalize on that by trading him (if they are truly committed to the future). A team with two rising middle infield stars (Gonzalez, Barmes) has no room for a utility man that can hit .320. Normally the view would be that Relaford's stats are merely a reflection of Coors field, but he is hitting better on the road than in the thin aired hitter's paradise. Like Miles, Relaford is a contact hitter with little power, but in contrast to Miles, Relaford works the count and walks very often. This makes him acceptable in Coors, however, the Rox should exploit his rising value by trading him and consequently free up space in the infield while acquiring a good prospect.The following playoff-competitive teams are probably interested in a veteran middle infielder hitting .320 (some have players to give in return):Padres (Loretta down, Xavier Nady is a solid prospect)Marlins (Alex Gonzalez is hitting only .278)Mets (Kaz Matsui is no good)Brewers (loaded farm system, starting SS has .182 BA)MarinersTwins (Loaded farm system, may need a veteran to anchor the infield)Yankees (but who would they trade...)Orioles (badly need infield depth)Blue JaysDon't take this as hostility towards either player, I really like Desi Relaford as a player and Aaron Miles is pretty good too. That said, the Rockies, if they are to stick to their future first philosophy, need to trade Relaford and Miles.

Now some cogitations:

I just remembered the Rockies used to have Clint Barmes. I heard he was jogging and taking grounders. Sigh. The .400 season that never was. That's winning percentage, not batting average.

Brad Van Pelt is the number two QB now for the Broncos. Great. Another inaccurate QB that throws picks.

Does it make sense that in the "biggest trade in NBA history," I haven't heard of half the guys and none of them are stars? I think Shaq to the heat was the biggest one.

At the same link I gave for Gonzalez, you can see this thing where Jorge Piedra gives Palmiero some advice. I don't really care, I just want to say that Piedra is the most articulate baseball player since the doctor in Field of Dreams.

Movies like Field of Dreams make me very happy, despite my horribly persistent cynicism.

Oh vacancies.

2005-08-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

With the Rockies having an off day, this is a great opportunity to watch one of the best pitchers in the game do his thing. Tune your television to ESPN, 'cause you don't want to miss the A's-Twins game. Santana's pitching. In the event that you're getting the National League game, well, lame. The fact that ESPN "alternative" exists on DirecTV really makes me happy. Woo.

Recap-0-Tron

2005-08-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky to have my reduced blogging duties coincide with my newfangled eBay escapades, because now I can try to do a better job on both, although the eBay stuff is entirely new so there's no room for improvement/anything to compare my performance to. P.S. Shawn Chacon looks crazy different. I think that in the future, academia will no longer footnote things traditionally, but rather will hyperlink to e-text editions of their sources.

***

Over the past month, the Rockies have gone from a last place team to being a, well, last place team. The general manager Dan O'Dowd assured his loss-weary constituency that he would only make "good baseball moves," but proved to be as trustworthy as the city of Washington on the whole(and Peter Angelos, who's in that general area). In trying to pull the wool over the eyes over Rockies fans everywhere, O'Dowd and the Monforts seem to have accidentally blinded himself and then stubbed several of his toes.

The "baseball moves" were kicked off by trading Preston Wilson's salary (player now included!) to the Nationals for the oft-injured sinkerballer Zach Day and toolsy outfielder J.J. Davis. Day, still a young man at the age of 27 (hey isn't that how old Shawn Chacon is? Stay tuned!), has a good sinker; according to O'Dowd, sinkerball pitchers "profile" better at Coors than other types of pitchers. ZD, like the California vintage bearing his initials, most likely has a shelf life of a couple of years before he starts turning sour. J.J. Davis, once upon a time the eighth overall pick in the MLB draft, has not reached the level many thought he would achieve. His OBP numbers from the minors look like very good batting averages (.342 at AAA Nashville in 2003), but he has power (26 homers in that same PCL season) and is reasonably young at the age of 26. The P-Dub to Washington move was prudent and somewhat wise, and everybody knew it was going to happen.

The next trade was with the Oakland A's of Moneyball fame. The Rockies sent former-ace-turned-terrible-pitcher Joe Kennedy and the yang to his yin, former-washup-turned-super-eighth-inning-man Jay Witasick. Joe Kennedy and Jason Jennings battled for the top spot in what was supposed to be the strongest rotation the Rockies have seen since their humble beginnings at Mile High Stadium, and JK Kennedy (Haha, tricked you into giving me a fat contract. I'm not good! i wuz jk lolol) earned the opening day start. He never performed like a number one guy (even a Rockies number one guy) in his second tour of the Majors in a purple-striped uni. There were flashes of brilliance, and he pitched very well in many games save for the six run first/fourth/fifth/sixth inning that he would inevitably surrender in those JK-patented almost-great starts. His four spotless innings per start notwithstanding, Kennedy's ERA was above 7. He was probably doing some collar tugging around the trade deadline. Jay Witasick, the diamond in the inexplicably jewel-filled rough that is the bullpen scrap heap, had performed admirably for the Rockies in 2005. After the first month of the season when the home-grown bullpen deflated any hope of respectability (yes, NL West teams can be respectable), the Rox made some good moves and picked up enough veterans to restore the bullpen to decent, if not above-average status. The bridge from the starter or sixth and seventh inning guy to stellar closer Brian Fuentes was Jay Witasick. His presence in the eighth and extended scoreless stretches allowed the Rockies to hold onto their leads in the rare event that they had one, and kept the Rockies within striking distance if they were down by a couple of runs. The A's sent the Rockies minor league (now Major League) shortstop Omar Quintanilla and endearingly reckless outfielder Eric Byrnes. This is the only decent trade the Rockies made in the season, especially with Omar Quintanilla making some smart plays and looking good in his first game for the Rockies. The Byrnes half of the deal was good, but was later botched by Rockies management (more, actually, by Red Sox management with their backing out of the Byrnes-Bigbie-Shoppach deal).

This is where things got ugly. The Rockies sent standout starter Shawn Chacon to the New York Yankees for two AA pitchers with control problems. These pitchers are not good, contrary to what Mr. O'Dowd has declared. Rather than obtaining prospects from the BA top ten Yankees prospects (already an extremely weak list), the Rockies acquired two unknowns with "promising velocity." The other pitcher the Rockies brought in with promising velocity doesn't play for them anymore; Matt Anderson, like many overpowering young pitchers, didn't know where the ball is going whenhe let it go. The BB/9 rates for the two Yankees AA ptichers do not bode well for their future in baseball. The difference between these guys and Matt Anderson is that the Rockies didn't trade their only starter with a 4.something ERA for Anderson. Management decided that they didn't like Chacon's attitude and that they didn't like that he didn't "profile" for Coors and that they didn't like Chacon's awesome ERA. The knock on Chac? He has control problems, unlike the "prospects" they picked up. He's not part of the youth movement, unlike Zach Day, who is six months younger than Chac, unlike J.J. Davis, who is less than a year younger than Chacon. The trade was a salary dump, plain and simple. The Rockies decided that they weren't willing to pay their best starter (statistically) the money that arbitration would surely bring him. Nevermind the millions coming off the books from Preston Wilson, Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Charles Johnson, etc., the Rockies have no money to spare for a guy that's been pitching in Colorado since he first took the mound in Greeley Central High School. He and his 4.09 ERA don't profile well. They're looking for more of a 5.5 ERA type of guy. They profile really well.

Byrnes, after spending a little time at altitude, was traded to the O's for Larry Bigbie. Bigbie does the same thing as Byrnes except a little bit worse for less money, that is, he hits about .270 and hits a few home runs. The Rox tried to trade Bigbie to the Red Sox, and it looked like the deal was going to go through and the Rox would get minor league catcher Kelly Shoppach, who was/is currently stuck behind a gigantic cork in the bottle of Shoppach's future: Jason Varitek. Well it turns out that O'Dowd was talking to a bat boy or an intern or something, someone with no authority, so the deal didn't go through, and the Rox how have Larry Bigbie. Oh boy.

The Rockies look to be losers this trade season, but losing isn't a problem for them as long as it's not money. The chief objective was to unload salary, and they did that adeptly, in such a manner that they got as little as possible from every deal save the A's one.

Never has it been more apparent that the Monforts are unwilling put money into the team. It has been suggested that we "Deal Dan out," but he's probably got a budget that we don't know about. No baseball man would ever make these moves unless they had an expectation of lower payroll. No, it's about the Monforts, and while I don't have a clever slogan, they are the ones holding this team back.

***

That meaty section between the thumb and the index finger hurts now. Stupid Rockies.

Good Housekeeping

2005-07-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

With all of this stuff going on, I'm going to wait until later to do a less angry trade recap. For now, I'm just going to mention some things.

The Bigbie deal didn't go through, according to Tracy Ringolsby, who's on the Fan right now, because O'Dowd "thought the Red Sox's word was worth anything." The Sox backed out. The Byrnes trade that never was makes sense, despite its obvious salary dumping overtones, because Shop(p?)ach is a solid defensive catcher with decent power (wooooo). If the deal went through, it would've essentially been Kennedy and the best setup man we've seen since Brian Fuentes for Quintanilla, Shop(p?)ach, and Stern. Maybe, just maybe, I commented too rashly about this. Not about the Chacon deal, but the Byrnes saga (post Oakland). If this was their plan, then I guess their moves make some sense. Then again, JD was supposed to be good. I think JD should play winter ball this year, by the way. Go to Mexico, play every day, get your junk in line.

On the subject of the Red Sox, I hear that Tampa Bay's front office is the worst in baseball. They ask for far too much and want to give far too little. They also got Kazmir on the cheap when the Mets were on tilt, though. Maybe they just don't play the downanout club game and actually want a fair deal for their good players. My knowledge of this the consequence of listening to sports radio on the drive home at 11:30.

I don't like the fact that I have a reason to root for the Yankees. I really don't like that at all. Stupid Chacon with his endearing cap angle. If I could, I'd root for the Indians and CC Sabbathia (one of two pitchers I see that could concievably win 300 games in the modern era), but they're far away and I'm just not blue-collar enough. I should move to Buffalo.

I thank the lord every day for the return of hockey and football. There is going to be absolute pandemonium starting tomorrow with free agency. I'm not sure where I stand on Footer and Forsberg, but there's some question as to whether the Avs will be able to retain either one. If all of the qualifying offers they extended get accepted, they will only have 5 million under the cap, and I think Foppa and Footer will command max contract (aka 7 million) money. On the other hand, the Bruins offered Joe Thornton five million dollars a year. ridiculous. He is a max contract dude.

Do a Little Doublethink on Big Brother Dan

2005-07-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

Throughout all of the trade talk and rumors, all of the coverage of what most have called the awful Chacon move, I think we've all felt that something's just not right. And it's probably struck us all by now, the questions we've been dying to ask: Wait a minute, weren't the Rockies building a homemade, Colorado dugout? These kids, who have been pitching in Colorado all of their lives, are the only way to win, right Dan? Apparently not. In a stunning move, Dealin' Dan O'Dowd pulled one right out of Orwell's pocket and asked us all to do a bit of doublethink in a press conference yesterday. The Rocky's Dave Krieger puts it well:

And so the faces keep changing. One day you are part of the building process and the next day you're not. Remember when Chacon and Scott Elarton were part of the grow-'em-at-home plan? These were Colorado kids who had always pitched at altitude.

That was the secret.

For about a minute and a half.

Somebody asked general manager Dan O'Dowd about the homegrown thing and he immediately veered off into his rap about kids the Rockies have drafted. He didn't even remember the grow-'em-at-home plan. No wonder. There have been so many plans.

From Rockies' newest profile: Kiss hope goodbye in Saturday's Rocky

Quite frankly, this is an insult to the intelligence of Rockies fans everywhere. We remember when a slightly more chipper Dan told us that homegrown was the way to go, and asked us to stay the course for a few years as we built a bullpen that would know how to pitch in Coors Field. So we did. But now, it seems, all hope of building some kind of Colorado Dream Team has gone down the drain, because the GM doesn't even recognize the plan anymore. For years, we've been told that we're building and building, getting better and getting there, but every year since the Bichette and the rest of the bombers left, the team has been completely different. Hopefully, this is the last straw for Dealin' Dan. Too long, we've been asked to wait patiently as year after year of "rebuilding" goes by, with a completely different core in every "phase" of rebuilding.

The entire situation is beginning to show what it has always really been: not an effort to put together an attractive product, but an effort to cut salary and make as much money as possible. I wouldn't be this pissed if they had told me the truth from the outset - but year after year we've been told of the comittment and dedication to a good franchise, and year after year it's looked more and more like a pipe dream.

The Rockies have enjoyed a pretty decent following for their level of incompetence - the blog community proves that, but I'm thinking that's about to change. I'll continue to be a fan of the team, but I don't have to be a fan of the management. I hope you'll all join me in my campaign to Deal Dan Out. And while we're at it, let's fold with a pair of Monforts. When the day comes that we have real management in town, hopefully we can laugh at all of this - but right now, I can't wait to say "good riddance".

-Gabe

Long Winded, Angry Tirade.

2005-07-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

We've been had. We've been absolutely freaking had, folks. Duped, hoodwinked, conned, decieved, et cetera.

Ownership quite clearly has O'Dowd on an elaborate network of strings. Dan O'Dowd simply keeps payroll down, and in this manner he can keep his job. That wasn't the plan before, because there were lots of huge contracts handed out to players like Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton. The ideology changed, and now the Rockies ownership clearly has mandated that the club spend as little money as possible under the guise of fiscal responsibility and commitment to the farm system. When asked about what to do with the millions of dollars that would be freed up by the expiration of the contracts of Neagle, Hampton, Wilson, and Johnson, O'Dowd talked about "shoreing up the bullpen." This is absolutely ridiculous. As I said earlier, we've been had.

Reminiscent of a Simpsons episode when a taxcut is described as a "colossal salary grab" by a White House aide and is marketed as a "temporary refund adjustment," We're being decieved. The Rockies had (and I argue still have) the opportunity to be a big market team along the lines of the Cubs, Cardinals, and to some extent, the Mets. They sold out freaking Mile High Stadium regularly during the innagural year. Yet, when it comes to finances, the Rockies unequivocally declared that the Rockies are a mid-market franchise who should model themselves after the Twins. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but the Rockies have the resources to be like the Cubs or Cardinals; the only reason for the Rox to run their club like a mid-market franchise is to make truckloads of cash. That's not enough though. They were not content to have a reasonable payroll. The Rockies then decided to trade Preston Wilson, which was understandable. That's what struggling clubs do, they unload salary. Fine.

The Rox also decided to trade away a crucial plank of what little success they'd had in Jay Witasick to the A's for another marginal prospect and a decent outfielder.

A few weeks later, the Rockies trade away their best starter, their homegrown guy Shawn Chacon, to the Yankees. What do they trade him for? Money. I'm sorry, I meant, um, prospects. Prospects that make about zero dollars. These prospects are so far off the map that they aren't in the Yankees' BA top ten. THE FREAKING YANKEES. THE FARM SYSTEM SO DEPLETED BY TRADES THAT IT'S THE BUTT OF EVERY LETTERMAN JOKE. Moreover, the prospects have trouble with control Whoa now, what's the thing that the Rockies can't do? Oh right. Walk people. Gee. How can you explain this trade? HE IS 27 YEARS OLD.

Oh right

Chacon was making the UNGODLY SUM of 2.3 million dollars.

Then comes the Byrnes deal. Byrnes for Bigbie. A fan favorite all-out player goes to the Orioles, the Rockies get a fizzled out prospect with worse numbers, and, oh yeah, a much smaller salary. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS TRADE BEYOND SHEER GREED. THE MONEY IS GOING DIRECTLY INTO THE POCKETS OF THE OWNERS. GAAAAAAAAAH.

I quite honestly am going to write to the commissioner. The Monforts and their abettors need to be ousted from their oh-so-comfortable position.

A note from Gabe (not wanting to take the glory from Sam's tirade): Please check out the fine work Rox Girl over at Purple Row has been doing analyzing the Chac trade. Her Q&A list really puts the whole deal in perspective.

Humor to help us get through the Chacon trade, as posted in a comment in the last post

2005-07-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

In fact, I'm surprised that he hasn't traded Helton yet. I mean, he was just batting near .300 when he got injured, and he had tons of power behind him all season, he's seen all kinds of great pitching. Oh, and there's no way he'll ever fully recover from, gasp, a strained muscle. Not to mention the fact that he's never been seriously injured before, so this one will hit him hard...hrm, now seems like a perfect time to trade him. Why, I'll bet we could get three or four Yankees prospects for him!

-Gabe
P.S. This was sarcasm.

Stuff and Junk

2005-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, then. If you read my earlier post, you know how I feel about trading Shawn Chacon. I said if they trade him, I lose respect for the Rockies organization and their so-called "plan." There is no concievable reason to trade your number one starter of the year for two YANKEES prospects. WE'RE TALKING THE FREAKING YANKEES HERE, PEOPLE. Not exactly the deepest minor league talent pool in the world. I don't understand. I flat out don't understand. I'm normally hesitant to admit that, but I have absolutely no idea why they would do this. Ohhh wait. I just saw this on the intertron:
Chacon, who earns $2.35 million, will be arbitration-eligible for the third time after the season.

I get it now. They've been lying to us this whole time. Who'd've expected that?

Everyone should be pissed. EVERYONE.

This is the most ridiculous Rockies trade since ever.

YANKEES PROSPECTS?!

All's well that ends well. Too bad, cause if it ended well, I wouldn't be so pissed.

I'm so desperate for baseball I'm probably not going boycott them.

Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

Welcome Back to D-Town

2005-07-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

So there I am, feeling like I need to check my e-mail, in the midst of a 1-1 ballgame. Jamie Wright is pitching well, and the Rockies offense is making solid contact, it's looking like a good game in the making. Then I come back, ask pop what happened, and learned (not to my surprise) that Jamie had given up back-to-back homers. But that's okay, it's just 3-1, and we're good at playing catchup. Plus, I'm hungry and a Quesadilla is calling to me.

Long story short, I get back from my Quesdilla-making only to see Byrnes make a stunning diving miss on an insideout liner (though props for trying), allowing in another run to make the game 7-1. Now it's 9-1, and Carvajal's just allowed a 2-run double by the backup catcher. I guess it's just the Rockies welcoming me back from a 5-week break from glorious Rockies baseball.

Thanks, guys, I missed you too.

-Gabe

P.S. I'd like to send a shoutout to my co-blogger Sam "The Brick" Handler for his excellent work during my hiatus. Wow, he's such a better blogger than I.

Black and Silver Like the Raiders

2005-07-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Rockies win on Monday evening came with a black lining. In the 5-3 victory over the Mets, superstar first baseman Todd Helton was running to third base from second, and the 6' 2" face of the Colorado Rockies looked to have tweaked something in his leg as he gingerly lumbered his oversized frame to third. Helton says he will only miss one or two games, but given the Rockies' current place in the standings (in the "IRRELEVANT" column next to the Reds and the D-Rays), the struggling club doesn't need to rehab Helton as quickly as possible; rushing players back from injury tends to breed more of the same troubles in the future.

The former Volunteer quarterback had been uncharacteristically streaky in the first several months of the season, consequently having a low average, before experiencing a resurgence of consistency in the month of July. Helton looked (and most likely looks) poised to vault his drooping average above the .300 mark for the first time in a long while until this setback occurred. A Rockies source says that the injury is similar to that of Dustan Mohr, sustained while jumping over the dugout fence to celebrate an opening day victory, suggesting that Helton could be out for roughly 20 games. Unfortunately, there's more bad news about Helton's return date in the form of Todd Greene. Green pulled a hamstring earlier in the year and wasn't supposed to be out for more than 15-25 days, yet the veteran catcher is still out after almost two months. Then again, Helton's tough, Helton has no history of injury, and Helton wants to play more than anyone to ever put on a Rockies uniform (my appologies to Neifi, Mr. Byrnes, and early Dante Bichette).

Depending on the length of the injury, the Rockies either will play super utility man extraordinaire Luis Gonzalez at first and start Miles and newcomer Anderson Machado up the middle, or call up the hulking 1B from Colorado Springs Ryan Shealy, who showed good power in interleague play as a DH.

Maybe that's the silver lining.

Neifi!

2005-07-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

No posts last weekend. Sorry about that. Looks like I didn't miss much, huh? I actually watched Sunday's game, and Chac looked pretty solid as usual. Why they're trying to trade him, I have no idea.

Neifi Perez hit a grand slam in the 10th inning on Sunday night, and who doesn't want an excuse to catch up with what he's doing?

(Old school Vlad Guerrero, old school Neifi)

Neifi Perez, once upon a time a Rockies shortstop, loves Colorado. According to numerous anecdotes by Drew Goodman and his cohort George Frasier, Perez speaks upon his time in Colorado as wonderful, euphoric, et cetera. This could be because Perez was a Rocky during the period when losses weren't in quartets and when wins weren't one by excruciating one. Also, maybe, just maybe, loyalty isn't dead. A very viable possibility as to the origin of this loyalty is that the Rockies signed Neifi out of the Dominican Republic in 1992. In the country where Sammy Sosa is rumored to have used a milk carton as a glove, the life preserver (Joe Posnanski has a stellar piece about Tony Pena's experience with this in The Best American Sports Writing 2004 (awesome series. They have it for all kinds of writing. Also recommended is the short story edition)) of Major League Baseball, in this case the Rockies, probably is memorable.

After being signed as an amateur free agent by the Rockies in 1992, Neifi Perez started his Rockies career. He debuted in the majors four years later on August 31, 1996 and stayed with the club for all of September, starting 17 games in that span. In '97, the then 23 year old short stop started 83 games and saw 313 official big league ABs. He didn't have great power numbers, he didn't have a great OBP, but he would play catcher if it meant seeing more playing time, and thusly he captured the hearts of Denver fans, something that hasn't been done for a long time since.

Three and a half years later, Neifi wasn't any more patient at the plate, and was dealt to the KC Royals for Jermaine Dye (Three team deal: Neifi to KC, Dye to Athletics, a mess of "prospects" to the Rox. Oh Jose Ortiz, he was great). On the lower budget Missouri team, Perez performed poorly, his average dipping almost 50 points and his slugging dropping almost 150 points. Neifi simply was not happy. He missed Colorado and he missed the Rockies. After a few years bouncing around the league, sometimes on the NL West San Fran Giants allowing Colorado fans to see him, sometimes on the Cubs, sometimes in the minor leagues, Neifi resurfaced in 2005.

Once the face of the Boston Red Sox, Nomar Garciaparra had been traded in mid-2004 to the Cubs in a three team deal that brought Orlando Cabrera to the BoSox and left the Expos with very little. Garciaparra went down with a torn groin early in 2005 and Neifi Perez all of a sudden was the starting shortstop for the Cubs. He's not performing particularly well statistically with a .265 average and barely-above-that OBP, but his propensity for big hits has endeared Neifi to the Chicago population (That's not to say he won't be zealously replaced with someone better at the drop of a hat).

It's good to see Neifi around again.

Woooo!

2005-07-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

The rollercoaster road Rockies (mostly screaming downhill sections, a few quick rises) pulled off a wonderful victory.

With the Rockies leading 3-2 in the ninth, bright spot du season Brian Fuentes was in to close the game. The tying run crossed the plate under the Frisbee Man's watch, but he buckled down with one out and the bases loaded to preserve the tie and give his team a shot.

With two outs in the top of the tenth, Aaron Miles broke his bat and sent an arching shot to short center field. Todd Helton then proceded and continued to rock the house (Track 1, Do You Want More?!?!!?) with a gut wrenchingly slow fly to deep, deep, GONE, right field. 5-3 Rockies.

David Cortes closed it out in the bottom of the tenth with the help of a solid play on Jack Wilson's no-out bunt with men on second and third; Cortes fielded the bunt, twirled around, and delivered the ball to Luis Gonzalez covering third, just in time to get the force on the lead runner.

The Big Handsome put forth a dominant performance, yielding only two runs in six innings. He had four strikeouts and only one walk in his sextet, forcing batters to hit his dominant stuff if they wanted to reach base.

Matt Holliday continued his torrid post-injury streak with a solo homer that cracked the game's scoring open and two singles.

Garrett Atkins had a double with the bases loaded and a walk in four official ABs as well.

Tomorrow, Alaska native Dave Williams takes the mound against the Rockies, and on Sunday, Shawn Chacon, a fellow Last Frontier-er, will go up on the hill in Pittsburgh. I wonder whether that's happened before...

Guh.

2005-07-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

One meek step forward, one debilitating and painful step back, most likely followed by more debilitating and painful steps back. In the first inning after the Pirates scored one of their runs, I went to get my laptop to ask if anyone thought that Byrnes hesitated on the throw to the plate. When I came back, it was 5-0. Stupid Rockies. So I turned off the game on tv, turned it on on the radio and tried to play some h4l0. Unfortunately, the XBOX i bought two days ago doesn't work properly (good thing it's in the two week warentee zone), so I had to sit around and watch the game. That's not to say I payed real attention. I was mostly thinking about how I hate people that work at game stores in general (I have to go deal with them and answer innane questions about A-V hookups to return the broken XBOX they assured me was quality checked. Just like the extra controller they sold me that scrolls uncontrollably through menus).

Nobody on the Rockies got and extra base hit last night, and that's not the solution. Then again, the Rockies left six men in scoring position at the end of innings, who could've been scored on a single.

Holliday had two hits, but left four men on, and Atkins had two as well.

Marcos Caravajal performed almost exactly as his ERA indicates, allowing one run over two innings with one K and one SO.

Woooo!

2005-07-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

"The Rockies also are looking to see if they can move outfielder Dustan Mohr."
(under Rumor Mill)

Ahhh. That feels good.

Let's trade him to Milwaukee for a case of beer. Not bad beer, mind you. Good beer.

I love the fact that the German capital of the U.S. has a team called the Brewers. Makes sense.

The Rox face lefty Zach Duke tonight, the top Pirates prospect according to Baseball America. Duke is making the fourth start of his career, and from the looks of it is a control and speed change guy. I haven't seen his delivery, but he seems similar to Jeff Francis in the descriptions I've seen--Jamie Moyer with more velocity, a touch less control, and a whole lot less veteran smarts. These folks say he's got a ridiculous curve, and his strikeout total (21 in 22 innings) seems to reinforce that.

Another road series victory perhaps?

We can only hope.

Woooo!

2005-07-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

Don King ought to be delivering this blog entry, for the occasion is that momentous.

Something like "in an eraaaaa of consternation in, OUR, nation, the ridiculous road Rockies victoriated over the Nationals (wave small American flag) in a stellar show of stupendous success! (unfurls large American flag formerly stored in his hair, ties around neck)."

Seriously, folks. What a victory. I agree that to some extent, the Nats are a mirage, as are the White Sox no matter how much I love the South Siders, but this is still a pretty big deal. The Rockies finally won two of three on the road, putting them at 2-4 on the road trip. The infuriating aspect of this is that the Rockies really should be 4-2 or even 5-1, but then again, who expects the Rockies to beat the snot out of a crappy team? Whatever. I'll take the series victory and go merrily about my business.

Clint Hurdle seems to have read my post about how I changed my mind about J.D. Closser and lo and behold, the young catcher socked a dinger over the right field wall. On a side note, J.D. Closser is so built like a catcher it's not even funny. The dude's body is fit for no other position in sport. Even his mug is fit for a catcher. Am I right, folks? It's good to see him hitting again, and hopefully he can get some more ABs so we can find out the if he's for real this time.

Oh Microsoft Paint...

Matt Holliday went two of four with a double, and hopefully that is a harbinger of future hitting success for the guy. I wonder if he'll be sliding head first anymore...It's an interesting dilemma, because a player's presence in the batters box, especially if his replacement is Dustahn Mohr, may be worth more than the extra base, but then again, who doesn't want their guys going absolutely full speed at all times? Hmmm.

If you could give some synonyms (bonus for olde-tyme synonyms) for catcher and leave them under the comments section, in the words of Van Wilder, that'd be super.

Peer Pressure

2005-07-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

I guess with everyone doing a piece on trades, it makes sense for me to do one too. I'll try my best not to just regurgitate what the hardworking folks at TGTBATB (barmes.mlblogs.com) and PurpleRow(.com) have told me. What I'm going to do is offer opinion.

Here's what I think.

Brian Fuentes--
If indeed the Rockies are serious about Gen-R, and intend to keep Gen-R-ating (term stolen from blogging cohort at up in the rox) prospects from their farm system, Brian Fuentes' success seems like an ideal occasion for trading. Quite honestly, the Rockies aren't going to be closing many games this year. Brian Fuentes, I have no doubt, will be a stellar player wherever it is that he plays, and GMs around the league seem to agree, so why not capitlaize on it? Now my minor league baseball knowledge outside of the Colorado Rockies system is slim to nil, because, quite frankly, I find scouring A level ball for prospects to be futile and/or boring given the ridiculous level of failure amongst them, but the reports that the Rockies might get Yorman Bazardo for Brian Fuentes give a general idea of his value around the league. The Baseball America reports upon which my entire minor league "knowledge" comes from place Baz at no. 3 on the Marlins' 1-10. Not bad. I don't really want the Rockies to be going after pitchers. That fact notwithstanding, if we can get a prospect in the upper half of the BA top 100 prospects, I say do it. Especially if the guy can sock dingers. The Rockies have a great opportunity to enrich their farm system through the auction of a closer, and with the general failure level amongst prospects, they should take it. This is a Billy Beane technique outlined by Michael Lewis in moneyball, and it seems to be working out for them, doesn't it? I will miss Brian Fuentes, but you know what? If the guy we trade him for can hit 20-30 homers in a season with a decent to awesome OBP, then I won't care.

Shawn Chacon--
If you look at my previous post on this, you can see how I feel. Chac consistently turns out quality starts, and it's worth the gamble to see if he can perform after the All Star Break. Keep him through the end of the season, and if he sucks, it's a bummer. If he performs, the Rockies have a local guy who can pitch extremely well on the team. He's barely not a prospect folks. He was a prospect and had some solid years.

Jason Jennings--
Don't trade him. He's good for 180-200 innings per year, and hopefully he can sort out his inconsistencies. With a bulldog mentality, not a fake one like Mike Hampton's, but a legitimate "I don't care about my stats," JJ is the type of guy the Rox want in their rotation...except with ERAs about 1 run less, but that's a minor technicality. Also, he had a higher OBP in 2002 than Aaron Miles has now. Not kidding.

If you didn't see it, check out the hilarious quote by Senor TGTBATB about trading with the Yankees. I fell out of my chair.

I don't have anything to say about Eric Byrnes, 'cause I haven't seen much of him.

I'd like to thank the Mozilla-Firefox browser for making this column possible through its tabbing system.

Rox-Nats on ESPN tonight! Thank God we don't have to listen to Joe Morgan complain about Coors Field this time...

No Game Post

2005-07-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

No super lengthy game post on account of I was working and didn't see part of it.

Unless the statline is decieving, like BK's from two nights ago, Chac pitched wonderfully and returned to early season form.

From the radio broadcast, which I listened to instead of watching the game due to a variety of factors, Patterson had some serious stuff and kept the ball down. The Rox almost broke through in the fifth, but Sullivan's barely foul Texas Leaguer was, well, a foul, and after that there wasn't much of an opportunity to strike at Patterson.

Nobody hit well enough to get special mention.

It'll be brief, but here's my opinion change. I think it's time to let J.D. back in the lineup. He's learned that he can't hit .200 and still start, but if the guy you replace him with no longer is even marginally hot with the bat, what's the point. I say stick Closser out there for a couple of games and see what happens. This is especially true because Danny Ardoin, if he starts hitting .300, will be traded away for prospects. In other news, the Rockies traded first round pick Troy Tulowitzki for prospects (that's a joke, but seriously, if someone comes along with the right offer...(that was a joke too).

CRASH AND BURN

2005-07-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

CRASH AND BURN YOU FILTHY YANKEES. Sorry about that. Um. I posted because I'm looking for VORP stats for historical figures. Anyone know where to find that? I'm lookin' at you, TGTBATB A's fan.

Die Yankees, die.

edit in top of 11th: DIE YANKEES DIE. THE O'S ARE HOT ON YOUR TAIL.

A Night of Oddities II, Alternate Title: What the Crap?

2005-07-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

why is Tim Brown retiring from the Oakland Airport Hilton? I have no idea.

This game was freaking crazy. I'll do a brief rundown.

~The Nats try to give the Rox an out on a sac bunt, but then BK botches the pickup and the pitcher beats out the throw. It doesn't end there. BK tosses a wild one and the man on third starts going towards the plate, but then the ball ricochets directly to Danny Ardoin (needs nickname) and he fires the ball to Atkins. Man on third is out. But wait, there's more. BK promptly hurls another wild pitch, this one didn't conveniently bounce back to him. Runners move from 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd. BK then Ks the batter, escaping the inning unscathed.

~Preston Wilson botches a play he probably should've made, getting back to a ball in center while on the run, but having it skip out of his glove. He's plays a pretty ugly center field.

~The Rockies crank out some infield hits and capitalize on some errors to get a 4-2 lead.

~With the game tied in the ninth, Vinny Castilla looks like Bill Buckner's mirror image on the other side of the diamond (The score was tied in both games, too. So lay off of Billy), allowing a run to score that puts the Rox up by one.

~Brian Fuentes gets the first guy on a K with two calls that Vidro didn't like, then looks to have gotten the second, but Atkins imitates Castilla with surprising precision, and there's a guy on first with one out. Fuentes walks P-Dub on four pitches, but then gets a DP ball to close out the game.

In non-abnormal news, Kenny Rogers (verbally) assaulted another cameraman (www.wfaa.com). Also, O'Dowd said it's stupid and it's unreasonable to set a date for player development milestones in an interview on FSN. Sorry, the Rox have to be .500ish by 2007 or I quit.

Turn on the Twins-O's game, by the way, it's close

Chacon

2005-07-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

What the hell is going on? Chacon to the Yankees for prospects? This is ridiculous. Shawn Chacon is less than five years away from being a prospect. Is anyone else as enraged as I am? It's not as if Chac is making crazy money, he made under 2,000,000 last year, so it's safe to assume that he's not raking in much more than that this year. Jesus. What in the name of Gen-R is Dealin' Dan thinking?! I hope to everything holy that this is just media hype, because Shawn Chacon is a solid pitcher who looked exceptional at the beginning of the year. His velocity is down, but that should come back up, right? I'm pretty pissed. I hope for the sake of the integrity of the Gen-R movement that they keep Chac around. Otherwise, they'll lose a pitcher and the respect of what few fans they still have around.

Ken Griffey Junior and Suchlike

2005-07-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well, then. The Rockies got swept in a series, where, improbably enough, they should have won two or all three of the games. In the first game Bobby Seay allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth, thereby quelling comeback opportunity, and in the second, Dan NOT THE MAN Miceli allowed the Reds to gain the lead in the bottom of the eighth and the Rox couldn't mount a dramatic victory charge in the ninth, and then on Sunday, they looked to be cruising to a victory with a very solid start by Jamie Wright, but then he gave up six runs in the sixth inning. The one plus of the game was watching Eric Byrnes look positively drunk for a couple of seconds after hitting the wall and watching Mr. B. dive into first base in a close play. Oh yeah, there's some guy named Ken Griffey on the Reds. He used to be good but then he broke himself or something. He's apparently back, 'cause Griffey Junior hit three dingers in the series. His appalling attitude aside, it's a joy to watch him hit, and earlier in his career (we saw shades of it in the first game), Griffey played the most beautiful center field to ever grace the West Coast. YES I KNOW WILLY MAYS PLAYED FOR THE GIANTS. God. Fine. The second-best center fielder to grace the West Coast. Actually, if Griffey didn't get injured so much, I think we'd be talking about him closing in on the Babe's record rather than talking about Big Barry. Griffey could easily hit 600 homers if he stays healthy and concievably could hit 700 if he played five years hitting 35-40 or maybe seven with some DHing.

The Rox press on to the dirtiest city in the world after leaving Cincinatti, and visit Washington, the new home of P-Dub.

P.S. does it really make sense for them to reset statistics after a league switch these days? The AL and NL are closer than ever.

P.P.S. interleague play is ruining the allstar game and the mysticality of the World Series.

P.P.P.S. Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition is the best non-Madden game i've ever played.

8.9.05, how I pine for thee. Sweet bringer of Madden '06 goodness.

A Couple of Thoughts

2005-07-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Dontrelle Willis is perhaps the coolest guy ever. He's old school, but he's new school, bringing enthusiasm and hipness to America's traditionally serene and olde tyme game. Also, his nickname is the best ever. I think I'm moving to Florida to be with the 1993 franchise that knows how to win. That was uncalled for, but my rage at the Rockies for their performances in the past two games makes it seem acceptable. Also, it's true. How can you not like D-Train?

Pedro Martinez is kind of funny looking in his picture on the MLB scrollotron thing this morning. I traded him for Roy Oswalt in my fantasy league before the season started, and I'm still not sure if it was the right move.

Everyone's right about the NL West. What a crap division. We've got the Padres, and that's about it. The Giants are pretty much screwed because their entire roster is going to retire in a couple years (say it ain't so, Marquis), the Padres' stars are aging (Xavier Nady notwithstanding) and their phenom Burroughs is looking like a 156 hit wonder who never had great power to begin with, and the Dodgers ain't so hot after a bad series of trades sending the best catcher and setup man in the N.L. to the Marlins for a Dustan Mohr type 1b, albeit with a better average, and a solid starter. Point is, all of the lame teams in the division are only going to get worse, and the Rockies may actually be able to win this thing in '06 or '07 barring a Yankeesesque free agent acquisition flurry on the part of the Dodgers or Giants. Peavy can only start every fifth day, people.

A Night of Oddities

2005-07-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight in Cincinatti, there were strange things brewing. The Rockies were scoring in consectutive innings, rather than waiting for the six run frame that almost never comes on the road, and the Franchise was pitching poorly, letting the Reds keep step with the Rox. It didn't stop there. Aaron Miles, the man who, upon entering the game had less walks than people living in his house, went to first on a free pass. Dustan Mohr, the sub-Mendoza line outfielder, had two hits in the game including a triple that smacked the yellow padding atop the outfield wall. What, you ask, was normal? Well, for one, the Rockies lost the game. Also, they ensured a series loss on the road, continuing a Cal Ripken-like streak of road series suckage.

Recent trade acquisition Eric Byrnes not only hit a double and a single in the game, but also familiarized himself with Aaron Miles, smacking his bum after the 5' 7" almost-walkless wonder destroyed Reds catcher Jason LaRue while crossing the plate. It was truly indicative of Byrnes' playing style and personality that he was the first guy on the top step and one of the first to, well, smack Little Man's bum.

The male, baseball equivalent of a debutante that came into the ball halfway through, Ryan Spilborough, had two hits and an RBI on the night. His first big league hit was a product of an infield-in alignment, but it was his first major league hit nontheless. Not Corey Sullivanesque, but good enough.

The general awesomeness that is Luis Gonzalez had two hits including an RBI double. Gonzalez' sweet bat seems to have persuaded Clint Hurdle to put him in the starting lineup, and not surprisingly, the second-best Venezuelan Rocky in the past decade delivered.

For the second consecutive night, though, the Rockies gave up a two spot in the bottom of the eighth, and for the second consecutive night, it cost them the game. Anderson Machado's pinch hit RBI double put the Reds up by one. It proved to be all the Reds needed, as they won the game 7-6.

Woe is me

2005-07-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to watch the game last night on account of work, but from the looks of it, the Rockies ought to have won. This is turning into a situation similar to the beginning of the year where a lame bullpen pitcher (Used to be Spier or Dohmann, now is Bobby Seay and formerly David Cortes and Matt Anderson) gets stuck out there after repeated sucky performances. If someone can remind me of a dominant performance by Bobby Seay after his injury, go ahead and do that. Also, this is completely reactionary, but, just for the hell of it, stick Piedra in the outfield semi-regularly until Holliday comes back. I don't think he's ever seen consistent ABs in the bigs, and I don't think he's got the speed to play center (Byrnes maybe), but he could be a second half surprise.

Also, is this hooha about a new Rockies announcer true? I think I heard it on the radio or something...

Trades, eh?

2005-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

So, one of the Rockies' trades went down exactly as expected and another one looked vaguely similar to the pundit predictions of the past. peanut. popsicle. pig. pip. The Rox sent P-Dub to the Nats in exchange for Zach Day and J.J. Davis, a minor league oufielder that enjoys long walks on the beach, home runs, and strikeouts...well...maybe he doesn't enjoy strikeouts, but he sure does have a lot of them. With Wilson gone, the Rox, after this year, should be done with their contract woes. Neagle, Hampton, Wilson, Walker, etc., will not be recieving checks from the Colorado Rockies any longer. This move, while ostensibly a prospect-gathering trade, is essentially a salary dump. I don't have a problem with it this year, but 2005 ought to be the end of the string of salary chucking years, if we are to believe management. If next year at this time the Rockies are shopping a high priced player (I have no idea who it would be, but the Rox will find a way to get a huge contract other than Helton's on the books), everyone ought to be outraged.
Dustan Mohr's Replacement? (Please)

The Nats look to have gotten the worst of the deal, losing a solid pitcher and marginal prospect for a Preston Wilson that looks weakened by knee surgery. Moreover, Wilson is only going to be a National for the next few months under the terms of the deal. Then again, being a Rockies fan, my appreciation of 30 HR guys is substantially lower than others, and 4.something ERAs make my eyes pop out of their sockets.

In the aformentioned "other" trade, Uncle Charlie specialist Joe Kennedy and super eighth man Jay Witasick were sent to the A's for Eric Byrnes and a prospect who I will call Mr. Q for spelling purposes. Byrnes, according to my sportcenter knowledge enjoys slamming himself into walls and the like in pursuit of fly balls. Instead of blood, his body has piss and vinegar. Unfortunately, he also isn't that good, segun senor Donahue de TGTBATB. I will switch languages when I please, thank you very much, and segun game to mind instead of another word for "according to." So Byrnes ought to be a decent fourth outfielder once Dustan Mohr hits the ol' dusty trail (for the love of god hit the old dusty trail). The picture I provided of Eric Byrnes looks to be of Jason Varitek punching him in the groin. I figured that if I couldn't find captain Insano crashing into a wall, this could at least convey his fearless style of play. Mr. Q has been rated the top hitter for average in the A's organization by Baseball America, upon whom I rely for all baseball knoweledge below the big league level. If anyone knows better and thinks Mr. Q is better or worse than that, please do not hesitate to comment.

Ryan Shealy needs to find playing time in the bigs. I don't know how to accomplish this other than putting Helton in left like they did when Andres was the man at first. I don't care. Shealy is hitting .332 with a .590 slugging percentage. If they found time for Matt Anderson, they can find time for a real player. So, call the equipment manager and have him get Todd an outfield glove, and I'll get in touch with Clint Hurdle. I'm also going to try to convince him to start Luis Gonzalez over Aaron Miles.

Midseason Review Part II--Hitting

2005-07-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

When you play at Coors field and your runs total ranks you 21st in the major leagues (give or take a couple of ranks 'cause not all of the teams have played the same amount of games), there's a problem. Put aside the vehement denial of inflated power numbers at Coors proposed by a few and merely look at the park dimensions. The Rockies ought to be able to find the gaps at Coors. Unfortunately, they rank 16th in the league in slugging percentage and hold the same league position in homers as well. Some of these power numbers are low because Clint Barmes broke himself carrying the insides of a deer up the stairs, but then again, who, at the start of the year, would have the audacity and sheer cojones to predict that the scrappy rook with an inexplicable tendency to hold the bat until he gets 3/4 up the first base line would be leading the Rockies in most offensive categories?

The hitting report card goes as follows.

Outfielders:
Power: D
Aside from Preston Wilson's decent 30 HR pace, the outfield has not knocked the ball around as you'd expect. Brad Hawpe's odd power zone to the opposite field makes his home run potential promising, but he has yet to start turning on inner half pitches. Matt Holliday had hit four homers until his injury sidelined him. Three hundred something slugging percentages don't work so well. Corey Sullivan...well power numbers don't even come into the equation.
Average/OBP: D-
Nope. Not one Rocky outfielder in the top 100 OBP guys in the league. Hawpe and Holliday are 36th and 73rd amongst outfielders in OBP, and considering the abysmal slugging percentages, OPS isn't looking that great either.

Infielders:
Power: C+
Todd Helton brings the letter grade up at least one, Garrett Atkins has visited the gaps enough to get a free pair of pants and recently has been going yard in a promising fashion. Clint Barmes was exceptional in this regard, and he counts for part of the report card. When Clint does the smart thing and puts in Luis Gonzalez, that jacks up the power potential, so it's just J.D. Closser and Eddy Garrabito/Desi Relaford that aren't great power guys.
Average/OBP: B
Todd Helton, despite sucking at the plate for a significant portion of the first half, is thirteenth in OBP amongst position players with a reasonable number of ABs at .414. Barmes was respectable after his hot start at .371 and Eddy Garrabito is at that spot right now as well. Garret Atkins' OBP is rising and as it stands now is .364. Aaron Miles brings the grade down one mark.

So, did you know that the Rockies payroll is 28 million for 2005 if you don't count those terrible contracts with the pitchers of the late nineties, which will be off the books next year? Any free agent ideas? Something tells me Monfort & Co. will not spend very much money on those. Stupid Management. Homegrown or not, we deserve someone that can sock dingers...or at least play second base and get on base more than three out of ten times.

Home Run Derby?

2005-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know that I said I would do a midseason hitting evaluation today, but that can wait. Here's what's really on my mind. My passionate hatred for Chris Berman is rekindled every year at the Home Run Derby. There is nothing more enraging than his ridiculous comments and sound effects, and at the home run derby, they come at a rate of about four per minute. That's not all. The pitiful efforts of analysis of home run derby strategy are also disheartening and, well, pitiful. We know that the objective is to hit the ball hard over the fence. Strategy isn't involved. I think they should either get the guy that screams "Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal gola gola gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal" or play a medley of early nineties grunge and post grunge. The solution is actually to stop watching the home run derby, which is what I always do after about ten minutes.

Halfway Grades

2005-07-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie to you, this has very little rhyme or reason.

Starting pitching: D

The rotation of the Rockies had most of us excited at the beginning of the year. It looked to be the most solid part of the team. Guess not. Joe Kennedy, once the ace of the staff, has been banished to the pen, and Jason Jennings' performances are consistently frightening to everyone watching because of everyone he lets on base. Shawn Chacon, who looked like the bright spot (aside from the Franchise), got hurt sliding into a bag and has not been his 3.68 ERA self recently. Jamey Wright, who wasn't supposed to be all that great given his position as fifth starter on the Rockies, has been his usual enigmatic self, dropping stunning performances every once in a while and implosions a little more often, but on the whole performing like a decent pitcher by getting the team into the sixth with 2-4 runs notched against him. Jeff Francis, the, um, slick Canadian?, has been the Rockies' best starter (BK set aside for a while). The kid has been relatively consistent, with more than a couple of stellar outings, including a shutout of the Cardinals, viewed by many as the best team in the bigs. His lack of overwhelming stuff can leave him out to dry when his control isn't where everyone expects it to be (see yesterday's game for examples), but on the whole, he commands the breaking pitch, change, and most of all, the 90 MPH fastball with surprising and promising skill. That leaves Aaron Cook, who hasn't tossed a game yet, and BK. The Korean sidewinder proved to be a decent pickup after all, once the Rox figured out just where he could be effective--the starting role. BK has looked like a completely different pitcher in starts; while he still walks and hits batters, he seems to keep his composure and work out of jams with limited damage when he's on the hill at the beginning of the game.

Bullpen (old)--F-

The bullpen of April, featuring the feared Scott Dohmann and Ryan Spier, was horrible. For some reason the Rockies felt the need to build a bullpen from within, which is not the way to do it (not the time or place for that discussion), and they payed dearly for putting their fuzz-faced rooks on the mound in the late innings. More than any other component of the team, early bullpen pitching sunk the morale of the team to a level on which they could either converse with Hades or tunnel to the core of the Earth. One merely needs to look at the early series with the Giants, when late inning grand slams were given up three times by Rockies relievers (Two by Michael Tucker, one by Marquis Grissom). There was a game at Pac Bell when the Rockies' road woes were even more troubling than they are now, in which the Rox posted a seven or eight spot in the 6th or 7th inning, and then their pen blew the potentially miraculous win. The worst part was that the Rockies stuck with this set of relievers for a month and kept handing them the ball. In the words of RC and Head Bum, not so good, Batman.

New Bullpen: B+

The new bullpen composed of wily veterans and the youthful Brian Fuentes has quickly become the strength of the Rockies. If the Rox have the lead going into the 8th, it's almost surely a lock, with midseason free agent aquisition Jay Witasick flourishing in the setup role and the incredibly consistent Brian Fuentes closing things out. Dan Miceli has performed admirably, as well as Mike DeJean (in limited performance), in the middle innings as well. As opposed to earlier in the season, a three run defecit in the sixth typically stays that way 'till the ninth, hopefully allowing a Rockies comeback.

Hitting tomorrow.

1-0...Rockies?!

2005-07-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true, folks, the first 1-0 finish in Rockies history. Rather than launching into a long diatribe about how 1-0 games aren't how to win at Coors, I'll just make some remarks after I post some statistics.

~The Rockies are 20th in runs scored this year. And don't we play at Coors?

~The Rockies are 16th in homers this year. And don't we play at Coors?

~The Rockies don't have the worst ERA in the league! And don't we play at Coors?

(It started out as a pseudo "and ain't I a woman", but then it failed, so there won't be any more of that stuff)

Take that, uh, Tampa Bay, Cincinatti, and Kansas City. Mmm Ribs.

~37 unearned runs by the Rox this year.

~413 unearned trips to first base doled out by the Rockies this year (59 hbp, 354 walks). JJ consistently manages these baserunners with his ridiculous sinker, but almost everyone else has trouble.

~The Washington Nationals are third to last in the league in ground out to air out ratio, suggesting that they're the yin to the Rockies yang of "sink the crap out of the ball."

~I'm fairly certain that the Rockies pitching staff total of 11 pickoffs exceeds J.D. Closser's CS total, but I'm not sure. Wait yes I am. J.D. has six CS, according to the internet.

~You may be asking yourself, "why did I just read that?" I have no acceptable answer, nor a will to string the stats together in an attempt to make a real entry. Just food for blog-thought, I guess.

trade

2005-07-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Preston Wilson to Nationals, Money, Zach Day, JJ Davis to Rockies.

Victory

2005-07-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

The once woeful Rockies seem to have started putting things together, finally. After a miserable first two months (15-35), the Colorado squad had a good month of June (12-15 isn't bad for a .349 team) and has started off July 4-4 with a series split against the best team in the National League, the Cardinals (one game was in June, so technically they were 1-2 vs. the Cards in July), and another 50-50 against the Dodgers.

With the starting pitching starting to come around and the young bats offering considerably more pop than before, the Rockies have been performing better as of late.

Never was this more apparent than on Thursday afternoon. Despite a bad start by Joe Kennedy, who left the game after the 5th with five earned runs notched against him, the young club battled back from a 5-0 deficit with some help from the Dodger 'D'. An error in the infield on LA's part lead to two unearned runs for the Rockies, which were a boon to their comeback effort.

More encouraging to fans than the Dodger error were the two homers hit by Todd Helton, one of them landing in the third deck and the other getting rocked off of an ad above the bullpen in right. Jinxes aside, Todd Helton looks to be coming out of his titanic slump; his two dingers on Thursday complemented a very solid series against the Dodgers.

As far as the hurlers go, the roller coaster bullpen situation just keeps getting more volatile. David Cortes, who has tantalizing velocity on his fastball, is inconsistent as a reliever and recently allowed a small deficit to become a large one, thereby ensuring a Rockies loss.

Bobby Seay on the other hand, clearly has a routine. Unfortunately, his routine involves giving out runs like candy, so he may be on the ropes in the pending roster squeeze.

The solid part of the bullpen comes later in the game. If there is a lead going into the 8th for the Rockies, a win is almost indubitedly coming. With a poor man's Mota-Gagne combo in Jay Witasick and Brian Fuentes, the Rockies have a surprisingly good late inning duo considering their early pen woes.

Joe Kennedy continues to dissapoint as a starter and Jeff Francis continues to deliver miraculous performances. Lacking spectacular velocity, his consistent ability to locate the fastball at about 89 MPH makes him the undisputed performance-based ace.

Looking forward to the rest of the month, the schedule involves some patsies as well as some exceptional teams, and it is reasonable to expect the first .500 month of the year.

Rar.

2005-07-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

After that overly sentimental post on my part, the Rockies go and lose badly. Great. This makes me so angry that I'm going to do everything in squiggly line form.

~Drew Goodman needs to decide on how to say "Robles." I did not like his exploratory policy regarding the pronunciation of the name.

~Did anyone else catch the Cards-Snakes game? What a finish! Smallball appears to be back in style, for in the top of the ninth after a leadoff double (tie game), a pinch runner (Taguchi) came in and was bunted over to third, and then David Eckstein executed the suicide squeeze bunt to perfection (so good that the play wasn't exciting at all). Incidentally, the suicide squeeze is now my favorite play in baseball besides the "run into the wall while making a catch".

~Garrett Atkins smacked the ball hard. A lot. Dodgers CF Jason Repko won my heart with his two catches on Atkins fly balls that showed outstanding range.

~Danny Ardoin's batter ditty is charming. With DeJean and Ardoin on the squad for the time being, I suspect there will be some blackened catfish and whatnot goin' on in that clubhouse, along with nearly uninteligible speech.

~Tommy LaSorda's visit to the Rockies booth was a real treat. I maintain that the best part about baseball is hearing old guys talk about it.

~Hockey appears to be back. Wooooooo. Crap. The Avalanche will be unidentifiable with the cap. Woo nonetheless.

~If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go glue my forehead to the television set what with the England news.

Back-0-tron

2005-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

It turns out that I like the Rockies more than I thought. In the five days I was in Durango, I caught perhaps twelve innings of baseball on television (none in apartment, being underage in a sports bar: more than awkward. Also, no intertron), and frankly, there was a void in my life. This was not so much a desire for any kind of baseball, this was a desire for Rockies baseball, however perversely masochistic that desire may be. This Rockies season is one I've followed with more vigor and interest than most others, due to a variety of factors ranging from the lameness of the Dumb Friends League volunteer program to my own stubborn unwillingness to get a real job (babysitting is mo' betta in almost every aspect if diapers aren't involved). However it came to be, I, along with you, if you're reading this blog-0-tron, have formed a bond with the team that's unprecedented in my short history of Rockies fanitude. I've had a bond with the Broncos, I've sort of had a bond with the Avalanche, but never before have I had it with the Rockies, yet this one is stronger than the aformentioned connections. This, in my humble opinion, results from several factors, the most important of which is the sheer number of games in a baseball season. Every day, it is known that the Rockies and every other baseball club will play, and when they don't, it strikes an odd note in the rhythmic pattern of the 162 game season. As you can imagine, the five days with little but box scores were tough. Somehow this group of rookies and scrap heap relievers has lassoed and captivated me such that I was filled with rage when the Sunday paper had the Friday box score, depriving me of a recap of a game that I had watched the previous night.

Go Rockies.

Also, the Rockies have until 2011 to win the World Series. I think I'll be spending my summers here until then, so I will be able to partake in the awesomeness.

Semantics note: Ostensible and ostentatious come from the same latin word meaning stretch, spread, or show.

I'd Like to Give a Shout Out...

2005-07-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well hello, everybody. Been a while. I'm just here proving Sam wrong by blogging tonight, because I ended up getting MLB.TV, so I was able to catch the highlight reel, even though I don't have much time to blog. I've also watched a few games but like I said, I just don't have much time.

Anyhow, aftert showing up my co-blogger, I'd also like to congratulate Sam for calling it perfectly a few days ago in his analysis of Brad "Leather" Hawpe (Oh God! No Mohr). Tonight, Brad really showed everyone how to play in the outfield with two stunning catches and one damn good one. Plus, Hawpe had two RBI's on a respectable 1 for 4 night. It's was just an all around good game, and it's fun to see him maturing defensively. Now there's just no justification for putting Mohr out ahead of Hawpe for anything else than the very rare break or to relieve someone else in the outfield.

Some other notes about the game that I had:

Todd Helton is heating it up. 3 for 3 with a double and a run scored? I think he's finally feeling it, and I still hold my position that he'll be batting .300 by the All-Star break, which brings me to my next point:

Who in the hell is going to represent the Rockies in Detroit? If you'd asked me a month ago, I would've said Clint Barmes for sure, but barring another ceremonial nod for Helton, who's gonna be "representin'"? The only people I can justify going to the game are the newly hot Garret Atkins (who isn't even on the list), and perhaps Brian Fuentes, but you can hardly claim that he's one of the top five closers in the league. If anyone has some ideas, please let me know.

Finally, I'd like to say congrats to J.D. Closser, who got another home run tonight. 3 Down, 72 to go. Seriously skipper, what did Danny Ardoin ever do to you? Give better defense and better offense a chance.

I'm out.

-Gabe

Hurrah for leaving

2005-06-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

I will be in Durango for the next week or so, so there won't be much posting unless my co-blogger decides to start doing it from kansas...which is needless to say improbable. I'm not sure how I'll figure out how the Rox are doing, and maybe that'll be really good for my brain. I leave with this token of...something.
As we move closer to the trading deadling, teams will get more urgent and offer more for Preston Wilson, so there shouldn't be so much rush to get it done. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch a whole lot of west wing and then leave.

Argh.

2005-06-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

~BK somehow worked five innings giving up only three runs. In Houdiniesque fashion, he wiggled out of jams in almost every inning, and in, well, Byung-Hyun Kim fashion, he hit some guys, walked some guys, and had a couple of sliders that left everyone with their mouths agape in amazement, especially the batters facing them.

~The combination of Closser behind the plate and Kim delivering the ball resulted in a justifiable kleptomania amongst Astros players. Kim's ability to work out of jams prevented the steals from becoming a gigantic issue, however.

~Todd Helton had another solid game with two hits, one of them getting absolutely crushed against the scoreboard in right. Atkins reached base in two of his four plate appearances with a walk and a hit.

~The Morgan Ensberg Show continued with another couple RBI coming on a towering shot just inside the LF foul pole.

~In his long drea...I mean...awaited return, Aaron Miles went 0-4 with a strikeout...although so did P-Dub. Incidentally, the guys on the radio called Wilson P-Dub and I smiled briefly, then went back to scowling.

Woo.

2005-06-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

After a second-rate performance by the Rockies on Monday evening, they appeared to be delivering another after the fifth inning on Tuesday in which Morgan Ensberg socked a grand salami off of JJ. It was eerily reminiscent of a three run dinger Ensberg hit off of Jennings just last week in Houston, when JJ was ahead in the count but ended up hanging a pitch like a nineteenth century criminal. If Joe Kennedy has the one inning disease, JJ appears to have the one pitch disease, an ailment of importance for someone pitching at Coors. After the fifth, it looked like the Rox were in for another miserable game in which the late innings become a mere formality. In step...Danny Ardoin? Yes, the "defensive" catcher got things started in the Rockies' five run frame. After various singlings and walkings by Rockies hitters (including Todd Helton's RBI base hit), Atkins socked a dinger over the left field wall with the bases juiced to put the Rox up by one. And up by one they stayed, despite some wild pitch strikeout woes in the ninth.

This game was markedly different than others this season because the Rox made a comeback. Probably the most memorable come-from-behind this year besides that of opening day and the San Fran Lead Span Elimination Plan (8 run inning, still lost) (www.rhymezone.com) involved the Rockies hottest hitter as of late, Garrett Atkins.

The fact that Atkins doesn't have a nickname is troubling, but not as troubling as Dustan Mohr's postgame antics, which make me really like the Mendozaesque (only in offense) outfielder. I can't let that get in the way of me disliking his average.

Here's the deal. We've got to find something to call him. Submit suggestions, and don't rule out the possibility of Atkins Diet jokes. You know, meaty joe, the G-train, and so on.

Also, who's the last, and maybe only, player to hit two grand slams in one inning? Senor TGTBATB should be all over this one.

The Rockies Train. Next Stop: Disillusionment Station.

2005-06-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

There's not too much to comment on. The Rockies' main problem seems to be that their position players, starting pitchers, and everything else having to do with the organization aren't good enough. Frankly, I'm dissapointed that I flipped from my Madden game to the Rockies game periodically after the lead was opened up to 7-1. Pretty lame. On the bright side, Garret Atkins continued his hot streak and Todd Helton got a bit of a break, although it's irritating that the Rox didn't really do anything with that defensive lapse. I'm going to go through the rest of the day bitter.

Sweep!

2005-06-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Gah! I had a really fancy post with summary, commentary, and actual writing written up but then lost it by accidentally pressing a button that navigated me away and then ignorantly hitting enter to placate the machine, so I'll cut to the chase. Here's the post, in less words, more concise points, and with references to the writer...all of that stuff that's indicative of amateur writing.

~Kennedy got his shtuff together after a shaky first, and the Rockies quickly tied it up, and showed no hesitancy in spreading that lead to huge proportions.

~Instead of sacrificing and then stranding guys on 2nd and 3rd, the Rox sacrificed and knocked guys in.

~Scuicide squeeze was excecuted so well that there was no excitement except in the Rockies dugout.

~Bringing in Matt Anderson with two out in the top of the ninth with two outs: absolutely f****** bush league. It was a sign of disrespect to Cortes, the Royals team, Buddy Bell, and frankly, Matt Anderson. I'd expound, but food is more fun than expounding at this point.

If you're Tom Stephenson, tell me how to link my blog to yours.

A Night at the Ballpark

2005-06-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the game on Saturday night and saw The Franchise pitch with my sister, and unfortunately, without my glove. With the money that was supposed to be for groceries over the weekend (parentals are away), my sister deemed me fit for bargaining and I got us two seats at the pole in left, sitting on the foul side by about six seats. This is where the glove part comes in. She was complaining to me for the first couple minutes about the seats, and then a foul came two sections over, and she demanded a move to our former season seats up in 333. Now this is unreasonable for a number of reasons, notably that seeing the players up close is a great experience that can only be partaken in when someone else is paying, but also 'cause she's 19--too old to be scared of the ball. Anyway, she had the hotdog money, so I was forced to capitulate to her fearful whim. When we finally got to the 3/4 empty section 333, for some reason an usher decided to ask us if we need help with our tickets as we were at about the third row. Long story short, she informed us that we couldn't move up, even with my sister's girlishly ridiculous fear. Now correct me if I'm wrong, actually, don't, but that is moronic. I dislike their policy about moving down, but at least I understand it. I don't understand what's so bad about moving up. We gave them money for a "better" ticket, why can't we sit in crappy seats. Stupid Rockies.

I'll just go ahead and do that thing with the squiggly lines now.

~If baseball is America's pasttime, reading the ball, strike, and out totals in a loud fashion is giving it a run for its money. Young and old, people seem to enjoy filling the silence in their conversational group by announcing what is already in gigantic letters on a scoreboard in plain view. Along similar lines, making judgements on players based solely on their averages is a popular activity. "Yeah, this catcher sure is terrible, just look at his average...why aren't they playing that Closser kid? (Ardoin smacks a double)(silence)."

~I swear I'm done ragging on people...that aren't baseball players...

~Once again I'd like to emphasize what a beautiful park Coors is. Every time I go there, the place strikes me as spectacular. With concourses wide enough for comfortable walking, olde tyme architecture, a national forest in the bullpen/fountain area, and a great addition in my opinion, brick facing on the wall behind home plate. Plus, I think that the ivy they're working on in Coors Field National Forest will be pretty sweet once it's spread.

~I was remarkably pleased when the fans gave Francis a huge ovation after he laid down a sacrafice bunt that moved runners from 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd. Even though the ovation wasn't so much for the bunt, and even though the Rockies didn't capitalize on the RISP, as usual, I am still very pleased about it.

~Brian Fuentes started off with a loud out but then closed the deal. I'm glad to report that the Rox have jumped on it and have a graphic of Fuentes' eyes with the words "Fuentes Salvar (0) (0) Fuentes Saves," on the side-a-majig scoreboards ( (0)<--Eye).

~I used to get upset when attendance dipped below 40,000 at Rockies games, but now I am enthused to report that there were over 27,000 fans at the game last night. A huge portion of them were Royals fans...if someone would care to explain that phenomenon, that'd be nice.

~Get out your brooms, and remember to bask in the glory of every Rockies victory, I don't need to tell you that they don't come often...

Woo Rockies

2005-06-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

~What a role reversal. The Rockies were like the team that the Rockies were playing on any given night, and the Royals were like the Rockies. This is what it's like for other teams playing the Rockies. Games where the team pulls so far ahead that watching it would be boring to almost anyone, rather than games where the Rox fall so far behind in the 4th-8th innings as to render the remainder dull.

~How does Brian Fuentes throw so hard? It looks like he's shotputting the ball...

~George Frazier says Helton is coming out of his slump every time he gets a hit.

~Danny Ardion delivered another solid performance, along with practically everyone else on the roster, including The Todd...sort of...2 SOs (woo Scrubs, season 2 out this Christmas on DVD is what I've heard).

~BK delivered once again. Nothing spectacular, just 5 2/3 and three runs.

~I have a newfound disrespect for the defensive abilities of the KC outfield

~I'm a-goin' to the game tonight, and the same thing better happen...you know, with the Royals getting pulverized.

~Zep Rules.

All Good Rockies Outfielders Get Gangsta-esque Nicknames

2005-06-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

The battle of the failures is coming up this weekend: Rockies-Royals. On what's similar to Christmas eve for baseball fans everwhere, RDR eschews extensive discourses on just how terrible the two teams are, if only because doing so for one such team is exhausting. Also, other bloggers have already done a more than adequate job in covering the miserableness of both teams' plights. One thing is worth mentioning about the Royals. The key to their offense is Zack Grienke. He is leading the league in slugging with a 2.000 percentage and is hitting .500. Has anyone mentioned that his breaking ball goes 60 MPH, too? He's a BEAST.

One bright spot for the Rox this year has been Brad Hawpe, or, as called by his surely-won't-stick-nick(name), B-Hizzle. Aside from his decent average, which will most likely improve if he is named the starter, Hawpe has exhibited tantalizing power to all fields. He's hit shots to the deepest part of Coors Field and more recently hit one out at Minute Maid against southpaw Wandy Rodriguez, hopefully showing daycare operator/manager extraordinaire Clint Hurdle that he deserves to play every day, no matter which hand the starting pitcher is throwing with. He's hitting .176 against lefties, but he's only had 17 ABs versus them thus far in the season, so the sample size isn't sufficient for realistic statistical analysis (NERD). Sure, the guy that takes his place when he's not starting, Dustan Mohr, is hitting .288 versus lefties, but the Rockies are supposed to be devoting this season to player development...right? Some may argue that they're "protecting" Hawpe, but that's just stupid. Not the argument, the practice. If they're trying to make these rooks less green, then shielding them from major league challenges is ludicrous and contrary to the philosophy that we're being fed by the brass. Dustan Mohr: almost 30, Brad Hawpe: 26. This makes as much sense as playing the slumping Desi Relaford every day (by the way, the Rockies should have traded him a while ago, as mentioned in a previous post (nah nah I was right and management was wrong), because his stock has dropped). Hawpe is hitting better on the road than at home, contrary to everyone's expectations. More evidence that this guy is for real. He's in the top three in rookie homers, RBI, and slugging percentage this year as well.

I started out trying to laud Brad Hawpe, but as always ended up bashing management. Oh well.

Let's retire no. 14. I miss the Big Cat. Plus, Matt Anderson needs to be kicked off the roster. This crusade will not end until number 14 is on the outfield wall in left.

Disorganized Implies That There Once Was Order

2005-06-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

"The Rockies had a chance in six of the games. But habitual clutch miscues help explain why Colorado's road record (5-31) is one of the four worst in history after 36 games and the overall record (22-48) is the worst in baseball this season."

Yeah, what he said.

Jason Jennings pitched exceptionally well through the first six innings, allowing only a three run jack to Morgan Ensberg up to that point. In the seventh, JJ imploded after a single by Chris Burke. Something switched in Jennings' head after that unfortunate single much like something switched in his head after Biggio leaned toward's his inside pitch in the third inning. It would be convinient to blame the psychology of the thing on traffic, but although he retired something in the area of 11 straight in the game and thus kept the bases clear, he's pitched well in his past few starts with plenty of men on base. He worked out of two bases loaded jams in a game just last week en route to a 2-1 victory, and the one run wasn't his at any rate. More and more pitching appears to be a psychological excercise once a guy has reached the bigs. Sure the pitching coach may have something to say about something or other, but overwhelmingly, most major league pitchers (even Rockies guys) have the stuff to pitch in the majors, and being successful is just a matter of harnessing it. The examples that come to mind are Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux, still viable starters though their velocity is in decline.

J.D. Closser was stolen on twice yesterday, and indeed was the goat of the game with his throwing error after a not-so-wild pitch. The eloquent George Frasier remarked that JD's towering throw to second base on one of the steals was 'at least on line,' despite being so high that there was no chance of getting the runner. In his frantic scamper to try to save a run, Closser tossed a ball allegedly aimed toward Jennings past the troubling starter, allowing one more run to cross the plate. This is the future. Gen-R at its finest.

Closser, though, has made up for his subpar defense with stunning offensive numbers. His stellar average of .203 and OBP of .321 more than make up for the 2 for 25 on stolen base attempts. Actually, Closser's eye consistently inspires speculation that his "slump" is over: he is second on the team with 21 walks. His OBP is better than Aaron Miles', too. Speaking of OBP, Helton's isn't half bad. While it isn't that of a superstar, it definitely affirms everyone's suspicion that he isn't getting any pitches to hit, given that his average is around .250. Don't confuse this with an indictment, 'cause it's not, but why do you think the media hasn't jumped on this story as potential steroid use. Think about it, a slugger's numbers drop huge amounts after steroids are banned. Again, I don't think he did 'roids, I just wonder why the media doesn't, given that the national media is removed from the situation and doesn't have a good explanation for his numbers.

The Rockies scored 22 runs over nine games on the road trip. Yeah...

Hawpe got some birthday presents from the Astros, but the Rockies didn't capitalize on the free run he errored home in the third.

Ugh.

2005-06-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

~Happy birthday to Brad Hawpe.

~I really thought we had a win lined up. Oh, what's that? We were on the road? Oh. Nevermind.

~Sitting along the first base at the juice box probably blinds seven people per year.

~Let's unload Dustan Mohr and Desi Relaford, they're taking up roster spots.
For some reason, one rental is playing almost every day, and for some other reason a subpar 29 year old outfielder is...well...on the Rockies' roster.

~The College World Series had two thrilling games yesterday, one of which I saw. I guess I'm rooting for Baylor because JJ went there.

~The problem with college baseball is the metal bats. Whenever anyone makes contact and the bat makes a big noise, I'm like "oh that one's out of here," and then Gary Thorne goes "and it's a soft dribbler up the third base line."

~That hill in center field is awesome, although I don't really get the point of it. If someone cares to explain, you know, why it's there, that'd be great.

~I miss Andres Galaraga. We should retire his number.

Oh God! No Mohr!

2005-06-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

~Sorry about that pun. I agree with Rox Head's analysis of this guy. He's no good. While he's most likely being kept around because of his power potential, he's never been on pace to hit more than 20 homers in a season, and the guy needs to learn some plate discipline. If you're a .188 hitter that's taking up a precious outfield spot, you need to be cut. The Rockies should unload him for whatever anyone is willing to give them and call up one of the Sky Sox OFs as long as a winning season is a lost cause. Buchanan has intriguing power numbers, and Choo Freeman deserves another shot before being dismissed as a fizzled out prospect, so for the love of gen-R, get rid of this fossil of a 29 year old and bring in the youth.

~Free agency. If the Rox want to be major players in the bigs, they should focus on raising their own pitchers so as to brainwash them with the Coors Field "bulldog" mentality. If the past years have taught us anything, high profile pitcher signings work out to be horrible for the club and its finances, and low to mid profile positional player signings (aside from Dustan Mohr) work quite well. Examples of the pitching failures need not be mentioned, but the positional acquisition sucesses should be noted. Jeromy Burnitz. Vinny Castilla. Todd Hollandsworth. Andres Galaraga. The list goes on... The Rockies, once they have a respectable record, or even if they don't, ought to be in the running for the premier positional free agents in the coming years. They shouldn't jump at every one, but they should make a legitimate effort to pick up exceptional free agents for this team.

The Second Coming of the Cat? (and other musings)

2005-06-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

~If nothing else, the trade rumors surrounding the dismal Rockies allow their fans to think about something besides the general aura of suckitude that surrounds the team. Given the vast tracts of sub-mediocrity to mediocrity on the North Side of Chicago over the past 97 years, the Cubs are always looking to capitalize on any opportunity to get to late October, and as such the loveable failures may be the Rockies' ticket to a top flight prospect in return for a 2-3 month rental of Preston Wilson. The prospect I'd like to see included? Felix Pie. The guy is a fast CF with the raw tools to become a Hall of Famer, according to various googled sources. The credibility of these sources may not be the best, as they are almost exclusively Cubs related sites created by optimistic fans, but his consistent average is always .300 or better, not to mention his 11 home runs so far this year. The weakness appears to be in his SOs, he's averaging about one per game thus far. On the bright side, he has walked 16 times this year, which is somewhat promising. Another Cubs prospect who's looking pretty good these days is Matthew Murton, whose batting discipline is ranked as the best in the Cubs organization.

~Speaking of Chicago, the Sox's Juan Uribe is the most enigmatic baseball players in the league. He shows great promise as a guy that can hit balls over the fence in one AB and drop down a drag bunt in the next, but for one reason or another always seems to fall short of expectations. Last year on the South Side, Uribe tapped into his power with 23 dingers and also posted a .283 BA, but this year he's at .242 with about a 15 home run pace. Someone's got to be able to get this guy to play consistently, and when they do, they'll have a hell of a player.

~The Rox have had the worst runs allowed per game in the majors in every year of their existence except 1998 and 2000. In the two winning seasons of '96 and '97, the club exceeded the second place run per game finisher by 1.13 and .79 runs per game respectively. Hmm, which strategy should management pursue? Actually, reasonable pitching seems to make the most sense statistically, seeing as a ridiculous amount of runs only translated into a .512 WP. If the Rockies could get a second coming of the Blake Street Bombers and a first coming of a pitching staff with and ERA in the 4.00-5.00 range, we'd be in business...

~You can get a chance at baseball card inserts by mailing stuff to the card company, I guess because it's like a contest whether you pull a jersey card or whatnot...

~Check out Rox Girl's rosy worldview at Purple Row, the optimism is a little infectious until you look at the current record.

Astros &c.

2005-06-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

After a decent series against one of the best clubs in baseball, the Rockies are off to Houston's semi-new yard Minute Maid Park. Formerly graced with the fine name of Enron, the hitter's park underwent a name change with the downfall of the corporation and now is affectionately reffered to as "The Juice Box." The team has disapointed this year, but that could have been predicted, albeit not to this extent. With one half of the Killer Bees out for the season, former CF Carlos Beltran in another city, and slugging 2B Jeff Kent lost to the Dodgers, the 'Stros aren't the team they were last year. Even with those losses, however, there is no excuse for their paltry 28-39 record. They have two legitimate aces in Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt, not to mention an extraordinary closer in Brad Lidge (a Colorado product, of CCHS). They seem to have struggled finding a fifth starter from the statistics; there are four pitchers with 80+ innings so far this season, but the next largest total is the aformentioned closer, who has 31 innings on the year thus far. A bright young spot on the struggling 'Stros is CF Willy Taveras, a speed guy who has 17 SBs on the year. He was included in a Baseball Weekly article about the return of stealing as a major strategical component of a winning team. 28-39...Guess not, huh? Other than that, Morgan Ensberg has provided exceptional power, but no other positional player has posted an eye popping stat line. The Rox, according to the depth chart on MLB.com, are due to face Pettite, Clemens, and Backe. Look for righties Preston Wilson and Dustan Mohr to capitalize on the famously short porch in left against the southpaw Andy Pettite.

Premature Speculations

2005-06-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

So some in the baseball community may have been too quick to jump on the BK bandwagon. By the same token of thoughtful decision making, we should continue looking at the sidearmer as a good starter--his less than superior performance on Friday night was an aberration, not the dependable 2-5 run start that Denver fans had become accustomed to. According to coloradorockies.com, it was a one pitch game. BK had nothing except his fastball, which still lacks the velocity to be a dominant pitch, resulting in a less than satisfactory start. If people still watched the Rockies, there would be all kinds of clamoring on radio shows and real writers giving this column inches in the paper to this issue, but alas, the fan-starved franchise's consituency is apathetic, long having accepted losing as a foregone conclusion. Some still care, and they should be wary of hasty and rash decision making on the part of the Rockies. The outstanding opportunity presented in having, let's not lie to ourselves here, a bad team, is the ability to play whoever whereever with no measureable impact on the team's record (Marcos Caravajal is a good prospect, but do you want him starting?). Just like they ought to embrace Coors, the Rockies have an opportunity to give lots of guys second chances if they embrace their suckitude. They're doing this for about five of nine positions on any given night, so for once, the management might just be doing the right thing. The fact that they're in the position to play anyone wherever whenever speaks to management's problems, but oh well, you've got your team allegiances set by the time you're ten, so what're you gonna do?

Speaking of pitching, why do the Rockies place a premium on raising their own bullpen pitchers? It makes no sense. The vast majority of effective Rockies relievers have been brought in from other teams. The best example of this is the Rockies pen of 1995, the best in Rox history, (see some other blog's article for the reference to this that reminded me of it...if you're the author of that blog, leave a comment...) which was composed entirely of guys taken from other teams in the expansion draft. Even now, the most successful relievers in the bullpen, Brian Fuentes and Jay Witasick, are a traded good and a journeyman respectively. Relievers are pitchers who didn't have the stuff to start (leave closers out of this for a while), so they were stuck in the pen to be brought out for an inning or two in about one game out of three. Considering the Rockies consistent starting pitching failures, we should have quite a bullpen, huh? Kidding aside, it doesn't matter where bullpen pitchers come from or go, they just need to get the job done.

Welcome to Good Baseball

2005-06-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Watching the game tonight, I was reminded once again of just how good our team could be, and it made me think of a day when Coors Field might again be as ecstatic as Campden was tonight. Before I go any further, let me touch on just that: noise. Atmosphere is a huge part of any sport. In Europe, soccer games draw screaming crowds who shake stadiums, and make the game fun to watch, even on TV. One of the reasons why nobody goes to Rockies games may be because nobody goes to Rockies games. When a ballpark is full, and fans are screaming, it's a totally different feeling. It makes fans appreciate the game, and it drives players to compete even more. It's what makes playoff baseball great even when your team isn't in it, and the atmosphere at Campden Yards tonight made the game so exciting, that I skipped most of dinner to see it. But onto the game.

Despite being a win against the division-leading Orioles (which, coincidentally, I've been in Maryland for the last week, hence my lack of posts), a number of good things fell into place.

First and foremost, Todd Helton finally got a homerun, his first since May 14th. While one hit may not seem like a big deal, consider this: Currently batting .253 in about 200 at-bats, the difference between Helton at .253 and Helton at .300 is only 6 hits. In fact, throughout an entire season, the difference between an average .270 hitter and a great .300 hitter is only 15 hits - but those 15 extra battles are so tough, only the best make it. Tonight, going 1-3 with a walk, Helton showed that he's still a great hitter - and hopefully he'll continue with a little confidence, especially with the homerun coming to the oposite field, against a good pitcher and good team, in a packed ballpark. Everything is in place for him to go on a tear.

Secondly, all pitching was solid, for perhaps the second time this year. What I liked especially was that even though two of our pitchers got in big trouble, they pulled it out in front of screaming fans hoping the worst. Jason Jenning's sixth inning-ender double-play groundball was obviously a terrific performance, but what pleased me more was Brian Fuentes coming back from allowing a run with no one out to put the stomper on and close up the game. After the run scored on a close play at the plate, the crowd went nuts, and Fuentes looked more nervous than I've ever seen a professional athlete. But you've got to give credit to him for ending the inning by striking out Surhoff (keeping him on track to have more strikeouts than innings pitched) and getting the dangerous Mora (batting .310) to fly out to Corey Sullivan, the same man who may have thrown out the ultra-quick Eli Marrero two plays earlier on a close play at the plate that started with Sullivan making a head-first diving catch on a line-drive off the bat of catcher Fasano. It looked like Ardoin had his foot underneath Marrero's slide, and speaking of which, let's talk about a guy who isn't getting nearly enough credit.

Everyone always talks about the pitcher who gets it done, but what about the guy behind the plate? Besides being an excellent catch-and-throw guy (he proved that with three baserunner throughouts in his first two appearances), Danny Adroin seems to be a guy that pitchers like. With all due credit to JD Closser, calling a ballgame and recognising what pitches to throw against batters is something that Danny seems to have. Recognising the hard slider as the pitch that struck out Slammin' Sammy Sosa three times during the game is a testament to the fact that Ardoin may have the gift of calling the game. But don't take my word for it. In the last month, in the six games featuring Ardoin (minus the 15-5 Chicago effort which was largely Matt Anderson's fault), Rockies pitchers have allowed just 19 runs. In contrast, in the just three games with JD closser, pitchers have allowed 21 runs. Even though the team has gone just 3-4 with Ardoin behind the plate, this is more due to offense than pitching. The Rockies lost a 2-1 game to the league-leading White Sox, and a 7-6 game to Cleveland. Plus, Ardoin is batting a respectable .250, whereas Closser is well below the Mendoza line, at a mere .188. What I'm getting at is that there's more to catching than blocking a ball behind the plate, and Ardoin has it. He knows how to call a game, and he has some hitting potential. I'm wondering why management chose Closser to ascend the ranks instead of Ardoin, and I will not be happy if Ardoin is cut when veteran Todd Greene returns for the DL after pulling a hammy in a tough play walking across home plate.

Overall, we could be a really good team, but I don't think all factors have clicked yet. We're winning games with EITHER good pitching OR good offense, but not both. Once Helton pulls out of his slump (and I maintain that he will), and the clutch hits start coming from a few other guys, I think this team is ready to go on a tear. The question is, who will be there when it happens?

-Gabe
Back from Maryland, en route to Lawrence, Kansas.

P.S. - If someone wants to buy me MLB.TV for the next five weeks (I'll be away) and somehow remove blackout restrictions on my Denver registered account, please e-mail me at potterhead4@comcast.net . Thanks.

%#@$ Rockies.

2005-06-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

I lost my patience over the Indians series. The first game's blowout, fine. The Franchise didn't pitch well, but who really expected him to. The second game was no fun. First, it took a while, and I ended up watching the strong man competition during the rain delay so that I wouldn't miss the game. What was irritating about that game was not the pitching of Brian Fuentes, I thought he did a spectacular job. George Frazier supports me in this: the pitche that got knocked out of the park against Fuentes was jacked to the opposite field by a no. 9 hitter, and adding to the impressiveness of Boone's feat was the fact that it was a good pitch. Not a great pitch, but a solid 92 MPH fastball that was on the corner down low. What was irritating to me about that game is that the Rox offense was absolutely shut down by the Indian pen from Sabathia's exit to the tenth inning. Zero runs in almost eight innings of work from the guys who aren't supposed to be good enough to start. Arg. Fuentes should not have had to pitch perfectly to win the game, it shouldn't have even been a save situation.
On Thursday evening, after watching about six hours of West Wing, I was excited to see Wright pitch because he's been spectacular as of late. He continued his performance, but the damn Rockies couldn't do anything at all offensively. The one run was an opposite field shot by a guy whose worldview has to be pretty dark, given the fact that he has to prove that he's better than Todd Helton to play in the bigs. That was the only trace of offense. You'd think that with a runner on second, with zero outs, down by one, Clint Hurdle would bunt the guy over to third and then try for a sac fly or a hard hit grounder. Nope. I can see the appeal of letting Shealy swing, he's got good power, but c'mon, just tie the game. Every once in a while a series just gets to you as a Rockies fan, y'know? On the bright side, Shealy played well with a dinger in the game and a really solid AB in the ninth, Closser displayed some offense, and a bit of defense (1/3 throwing guys out), and Hawpe continued his climb out of the funk that'd been weighing him down recently. Oh yeah, one other complaint. What was Preston Wilson doing out there? A double was completely wasted, it was as if he'd popped out instead of doubled because of his pickoff. Makes you rethink the running game. My unabashed love for P-Dub aside, that was a bonehead play...but I guess nobody will notice except for Indian fans and Rockies masochist-freak fans, you know, 'cause the team is terrible...Crapping crap, when's that new Russian owner going to come in and make us the Yankees of the mountains?

P.S. this post recieves my self appointed award ( the 'Sammy') for "Least organized/coherent post written in a fit of rage after reading the box score and remembering your favorite team is the Rockies."

A Farewell to P Dub

2005-06-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

With Preston Wilson's trading being considered inevitable by all parties, this is a good time to look back, and look forward, upon Preston Wilson's future and the Rockies' center field future. In his lone full season with the Rockies (again, his trading in the summer of 05 is a foregone conclusion), Wilson was spectacular. He put up the power numbers of a true Blake Street Bomber: .282 BA, .537 SLG, 36 Homers, 141 RBI, and 43 doubles. Oh yeah, one more Blake Street Bomber stat: 140 Ks. Sigh. Truly Galaraga-esque... If you ask me, the trade with Florida in which we acquired Preston was a good one, given the Rockies' old misguided philosophy about not paying attention to the farm system. By the way, shout out to Andres Galaraga. He didn't get Lance Armstrong's press for coming back from cancer, but he has a special place in every Rockies fan's heart. His number ought to be retired at Coors, in my humble opinion. Back to business. Preston Wilson is going to become a rental for some team that's a legitimate contender in the second half of '05. Whereas most of the Rockies' trades of established veterans were salary dumps, they're in a great position here because Preston is still in the prime of his career. The Rockies have a great opportunity to bolster their farm system in a Preston Wilson trade, having decided that they need to free up center field for younger players. While the minor leagues tend to be murky in terms of career speculation (see old article), top flight AA or AAA prospects tend to make an impact in the bigs. The Rox need to get one of these guys. Where on the diamond they should be looking at in terms of prospects is somewhat unclear, but 3b, SS, 1B, and apparently CF (unless Jeff Salazar isn't the real deal) are pretty much set. While the Rockies' Rookies (yes, that's also the name of the kids fan club...not so ironically...) are performing adequately this year, none of them besides Clint Barmes and Brad Hawpe look like impact big leaguers to me, but the season ought to be wrapped up before we judge them all. The point is, if almost all veterans are unacceptable on the roster, then there shouldn't be opposition to bringing in more unpolished rooks in a trade. Don't joke about the Rockies bringing in prospects--the one they get for a very solid player in Preston Wilson may be ready to make an impact next year. The teams that are contending this year are:

Atlanta
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Anaheim Angels
Boston Red Sox
L.A. Dodgers
Arizona D-Backs
Florida Marlins
NY Yankees
NY Mets
Philly Phillies
SD Padres
Texas Rangers
Minnesota Twins
Washington Nationals

There's got to be a good player in there somewhere...

BK, Ballparks, etc.

2005-06-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

~BK ought to be starting, and he is. In his starts this year, he's been spectacular by Rockies standards, losing a tight 2-1 game to the White Sox and winning a game against the mediocre Tigers 7-3 in his two most recent full length appearances. Although he struggled horribly in the bullpen, when starting, something psychological happens to the guy, a little less pressure to deliver a scoreless inning perhaps. Explanations aside, the fact is that the guy is a different player when he starts pitching in the first inning instead of coming in later in the ballgame. I'm glad to see the recent trend of Hurdle putting aside the "play a young prospect at all costs" philosophy and trying to achieve victory with players that deserve a shot.

~What is the deal with the word scuffling? The FSN broadcasters have started using it, but they're using it to mean "having trouble." The dictionary says it means to "struggle or fight at close quarters and in confusion." I guess I could understand the struggling part, but it ignores the other part of the definition.

~On the subject of ballparks, here's what I think the Rockies should do in order to try to help out pitchers at Coors:
--Grow the grass out in the infield. Make the Coors field grass a thing of legend, so in fifty years I'll be telling kids about Albert Pujols hitting a scorching
would-be bouncer that stopped dead 3/4 of the way down the line. This seems like a perfectly legitimate way to help out pitchers without going to much expense.
--If management decides to spend big money on it, I'd pull in the fences a bit to make the outfield more manageable. Not only would the fences be pulled in, but then I'd make them taller. Not like Fenway's green monster, but more like Jacobs Field's left outfield wall, slightly taller than the scoreboard at Coors (Yes, I thought of making the walls higher during the first part of the miserable show of a game...through seven innings...at Cleveland). Granted, I'm not a physics professor, nor am I a sabermetrician, but the general idea behind my plan is to decrease bloop singles, decrease the size of the outfield, and preserve or decrease the current level of home runs. I'm not really ego driven on this particular subject and will change my position if someone makes a better suggestion. Just trying to get something started here.

Rebukery!

2005-06-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sweet mercy I love baseball arguments, and as such, I will respond to The Good, The Bad, and the Barmes.

Preston Wilson will not be retained by the Rockies. Frankly, I'd be surprised if he makes it through June as a Rocky. I think that if the Rockies can retain the guy, that'd be a very good thing, seeing as I have a Coors Field philosophy that would make John Kruk's oversimplifying butt extraordinarily happy; the Rox need power at every position, at almost any cost. When I say almost any cost, I mean, you guessed it, the outfielder must have good range and a good arm. Having Andruw Jones or someone like him is not a luxury at Coors, it's a necessity. On every other spot on the diamond with the exception of short and catcher, I agree with Bill James: screw defense, let's hit, however, Coors' outfield is more double friendly than, um, some kind of..double country club?. "It's nice to have guys like Andruw Jones and Torii Hunter who can get to seemingly anything hit their way, or a catcher like Mike Matheny who gobbles up balls in the dirt and controls the running game, but if they can't hit, they shouldn't play." I agree that baseball "purists" put too much of a premium on defense in most situations, but Torii Hunter has hit close to 30 homers in every season he's played a decent amount of games, and Andruw Jones hovers around 35 homers as well. Point is, the two guys I mentioned as perfect Coors center fielders can crush the ball as well as play stellar defense. I'd like for the Rockies to keep Preston Wilson over the next couple of years (roster spot created by cutting Dustan Mohr) because I think he can regain his form speed and power wise, seeing as he had no spring training this year, but the Rox management doesn't quite agree with me I'd assume... If we trade him, the Rockies better be damn sure that Jeff Salazar is the five tool player that they've marketed him as, because Corey Sullivan can't be the every day center fielder if he doesn't start walking more or hitting more homers. Either that, or somehow get a hold of Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, or more realistically, Corey Patterson or Carl Crawford.

Where catchers matter is in calling a game. Danny Ardoin and Jamey Wright were in complete rhythm together against the Tigers, and Ardoin caught him beautifully. I like seeing Ardoin throw out runners, but yes, the pilfering game is long outdated as much as I hate to admit it. Where the defensive catchers matter is in the framing of pitches and in the calling of a game. This is why the Boston pitching staff loves Varitek: he may not be able to throw many guys out, but he calls a great game and instills confidence in the starter. Like that, Ardoin's primary focus is defense--getting the other team's hitters out. While some catchers, most notably Jason Kendall, are always thinking offense, Ardoin is all defense, totally devoted to the pitcher. If you're asking "are you stalking danny Ardoin," I understand, but my evidence is in that almost every defensive catcher in the bigs lives for the mission of helping out the pitcher as much as possible.

And as adressed previously, I don't think defense matters except at three places: catcher, short and center. You need guys with good range and arms at center and short, and you may have to compromise offense to do it. Ever wonder why everyone loves Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones? It's because they're the best athletes in the league, they play the most important position in the game (besides the pitcher, in my opinion), but they also can hit the ball, and not just singles, but doubles and homers. A catcher doesn't have to have a spectacular arm, he just needs to be entirely devoted to defense; framing pitches and calling a good game aren't god given talents like a strong arm, they are products of sheer effort. The shortstop fields a whole lot of balls and has a lot of ground to cover, and unlike the second baseman, he's got a hell of a long throw once he gets to the ball. Whether it's a freakishly strong arm or a quick transfer from glove to hand, the shortstop has to get the ball over there damn fast. I'm a little worried about Clint Barmes at the position, but feel like he can be coached into better play--he's got to avoid panicking if there's a fast guy running to first and either eat the ball or learn to harness his arm strength.

I'm tired, so I think that's it.

Sunday Morning Musings

2005-06-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly have the energy to weave together a real blog entry in the wake of a taxing Rockies loss last night, so I'll make like Dave Krieger on a Monday morning and just put down way underdeveloped bullets.

~I attended the game on Saturday night with a little kid, a guy that's about nine, and I was being paid to take him to the game (babysitting type deal). When I heard I was going to get free tickets, free parking, all the ridiculously priced concessions money can buy, plus twenty bucks for the trouble to top it all off, I was damn excited. Unfortunately, I finally had to experience the scene I'd seen many times: a middle aged guy trying to watch the game whilst his younger companion complains about wanting food/tries to exhibit knowledge of the game in a pitiful manner. The saving grace of this outing was seeing one of my (earlier) childhood heroes, Dmitri Young, sock a double off of the wall in the deepest part of the park (explanation of how my childhood hero is still playing: I'm 16). Oh yeah. The seven dollar hotdog being absolutely free was pretty sweet too. That bullet was pretty long.

~Sitting in fancy seats paid for by someone else, instead of Rockpile seats paid for by me, gave me a view somewhat close to Todd Helton's (Sec. 117, Row 8, seats 1+2, check the view out on mlb.com in the cool interactive deal...). I have a newfound respect for the guy, because the sun was shining intensely in my eyes for about an hour, when the cloud cover wasn't dominating. I can't imagine trying to catch a throw in the dirt while looking straight into the sun.

~J.D. Closser needs to get sent to AAA. In the White Sox series Danny Ardoin was a force, throwing their speedy utility man Pablo Ozuna out in consecutive innings and making some key stops behind the plate before the bullpen blew the games. Against the Tigers, he lead Jamey Wright to his best start of the season in 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Simply put, J.D.'s offense used to overshadow his terrible defense (one runner thrown out all year), but if the guy is below the Mendoza line, why the hell is he still starting? I respect the organization's commitment to youth, but Jesus, use some sense.

~Stealing this idea from a caller on 950's Sunday morning show "Hardball," the Rockies should be moved to the A.L. West and the Astros should be moved to the N.L. West. This is probably the smartest idea I've heard in terms of creating a competitive Rockies franchise other than having good players. Think about it; Coors is an offensive ballpark, the A.L. is an offensive league. This would allow my utopian Rockies vision of NINE, COUNT'EM, NINE, mashers, to play every day. Excuse me while I salivate. Ok, so if there are any typos, that's from the drool. The other benefit is that the six team N.L. Central would be reduced to five teams while the N.L. West would remain at the standard five and the A.L. West would be augmented to five squads as well. I have absolutely no idea how to get this plan moved into reality, but the Brew Crew did it in reverse in '97, so it's feasible.

~We need to trade Desi soon, so his stock doesn't go down...

~Danny Ardoin represents a return to olde tyme baseball where defense matters

~If I were Dan O'Dowd, I'd start talking to P-Dub about how much it's going to cost to keep him. If it's too high, trade him, if not, keep him around. Seriously, if we can't keep Preston Wilson, we need to find a way to get Andruw Jones. The guy is made for this ballpark

~Why is a mediocre group of players raised by the Rockies better than a mediocre group of free agent acquisitions?

~David Ortiz is awesome. As a Redsox bandwagon jumper last year, he was my favorite. Yesterday on FOX, they were zooming in on him during his ABs, and he's just hilarious. In the box, he sneers at the pitcher, but outside of it, he's joyful and happy and downright awesome.

~Cleveland is kind of like a more rich Expos team. They raised Richie Sexson, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, etc., but had no money to retain them.

~I love the rain, but it needs to stop interrupting the Rockies games.

sam

A Complete Game: Rockies 2, Tigers 0

2005-06-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Rockies' main problem this year hasn't been starting pitching. Sure, the starters have had their fair share of bad outings, but every pitcher, and more importantly every rotation has a few bad days. So far, if we can say one good thing about the Rockies' pitching, it's that our starters have not even come close to being the worst rotation in the league. And this has all come without Aaron Cook, who was supposed to be our ace this year.

No, the problem for our beloved Rockies has occured well beyond when the starters have been pulled, in the realm of middle relief, specifically in the dreaded 7th inning. Rockies middle-innings pitchers have struggled all season, and their failure has been the defining point of another loosing season.

Not so tonight, however, and most of that credit goes to Mr. Wright, who pitched 7 and a 1/3 scoreless innings, and dropped his ERA below 6 with this outing. If there's one weakness with our starters, it's been durability. The five starters average a mere 5.74 innings, which means more games than not, the Rockies have had to break into the bullpen early, forcing pitchers like Dohhman (ERA 18.9) to throw. Jamie's stellar, lengthened performance tonight behind a mere 2 runs of offense allowed the Rockies to cut past some of their not-so-successful relievers, and go straight to 8th-inning ace Jay Wotasik, and the recently dynamite Brian Fuentes, both of whom pitched well, allowing no runs.

What I'm getting at here, is that for the first time that I've seen this season, the Rockies may just have played an all-around complete game. Though they didn't get much offense, they didn't have to, because behind stellar defensive play from the likes of recently-hot Garret Atkins behind solid, prolonged starting pitching carried the team to victory. The main component behind Rockie failure this year has been the un-timely error, coupled with bad middle-relief. Today, the Rockies avoided all of that in a tight game, and were able to pull a tight one out when it counted. How many times have we been able to say that this year?

Overall, I'm beginning to like the way the Rockies have been playing, even against the White Sox, who swept them. In all three Sox games, the starting pitching was great, and the score was close going into the later innings. I'm also seeing the Rockies' hitting develop. Though the White Sox incredible staff seemed to shut us down, we're getting timelier, clutch hits from people like Corey Sullivan, and our outs are getting more productive too, with guys like Dustin Mohr hitting groundballs to move a runner to third. Though the Rockies may not be putting everything together nightly yet, they played a good series against the league-leading White Sox, and looked like a Major League team. I've seen plenty of other series where it's looked like the Rockies are a AAA team trying to hang with teams not nearly as good as the Sox. Whatever the result of the season, our young faces are finally coming together into a baseball team, and based on the latest ballgames (which have been really good games), I think we're going to enjoy the rest of the season. At least, it's looking better than this Monday.

Gabe

Juan Pierre v. Preston Wilson

2005-06-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

In response to my co-blogger's comment that the Juan Pierre trade was the wrong move, consider this:

Juan Pierre is one of my favorite players in all of baseball, the guy works harder than anyone I've seen or heard about in baseball; he is baseball's Rod Smith. Like Smith, he has magnified his positives in such an extreme way that the negative aspects of a his player type are almost invisible. Enter Coors Field. Blaming Coors for the Rockies' failures is moronic, but blaming Coors' voluminous outfield for Juan Pierre's "failure" in Colorado is entirely acceptable. In the sense that JP can cover ridiculous amounts of ground in very little time, he is well suited to the mammoth center field of Coors, however, when he was getting the ball back into the infield, the single most pressing weakness in his game, a subpar arm, was unmercifully displayed. Next, Juan Pierre doesn't hit for power, something critical in Coors Field. Every Rockies' player should be able to sock dingers with regularity given their playing environment; small ball isn't what a Coors team needs. JP's gift for stealing bases was rendered irrelevant because so many doubles are hit in the Rockies park, and in addition, outfielders are forced to play farther back, allowing many players to go from first to third on a single. Simply put, Pierre's strengths (contact hitting, ridiculous speed, good range) were mostly irrelevant at Coors, and his weakness (arm strength) was put on display. This is not to say that Pierre was a bad player, but he is tailor-made for any park that isn't Coors.

What the Rockies needed was a Tori Hunter/Andruw Jones type, a guy with great range and extraordinary arm strength. Since those guys both are franchise type players, the Rox went for someone comparable, but not quite the same (although range was compromised a bit for power): Preston Wilson. Wilson had 20-40 jack power and hit for about .270 in his first couple seasons, plus he had good range and an above average arm, so the Rockies were indubitably interested. Also, at this time Mike Hampton flat out sucked. After his great half season for the Rockies and sucky season and a half that followed, the Rox desperately needed to dump his ridiculous contract. Florida/Atlanta presented the opportunity they needed. Granted, taking on Charles Johnson's contract was unwise, but the trade accomplished two things: they got an extraordinary power hitting center fielder that lead the league in RBI during his first season in Colorado, and they got rid of Mike Hampton.

Frankly, the Rockies and Marlins got the best of that trade, although the Rox ended up with the burden of CJ's contract, which perhaps tilts it towards Florida.

The Rockies need to retain Preston Wilson; he is the only power hitting center fielder in the organization except for the iffy AA prospect Jeff Salazar, whose power numbers have been dipping (five HRs on the 54 game old AA season)...that is, unless they decide to make that Luis Gonzalez' position...

P.S. The Rox could make this homestand an successful overall if they do well against the so-so Tigers.

sam

Helton

2005-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Though I didn't want to get into this discussion, the good folks over at Purple Row have wondered about trading star Todd Helton, or at least tried to start a conversation on that hot topic. As our disclaimer at the bottom says, he's not for sale, and the rumors are just rumors - but just in case you've really got a case of the giggles about this, here's why we shouldn't, and won't trade Helton.

-He's the only reason less-than-diehard fans have to go to the ballpark now that Barmes is out.
-He's a good veteran mentor for the kids in the clubhouse, and really ties a young team together.
-There's no decent replacement.
-Management doesn't want to eat the salary from the 9-year deal he got a while back.
-You shouldn't trust our management with any player we might get for Helton. They'll probably end up getting nothing for him anyways.

But most of all, Helton himself has said he doesn't want to go, and likes anchoring this young team..

Even though he's in a bit of a slump, there's no reason to dump him like we did to Juan Pierre, who had a bad month, and went on to anchor a Florida team that won the world series. So there's no argument there. Plus, I think Helton will be out of his slump by the all-star break.

Anyhow, if you're still not convinced that we shouldn't AND won't trade Helton, you're probably a Dodgers fan or a moron. Or both. But don't take my word for it, please tell me why I'm wrong.

Gabe

Luis Gonzalez

2005-06-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

With Clint Barmes' freak injury and Aaron Miles' less freaky injury, a player that has been deserving of playing time has begun to shine. If you don't know who I'm talking about, it's no. 4, Luis Gonzalez. This super-utility guy (he apparently carries something in the area of ten gloves on road trips) has shown that he has the ability to start in the bigs. He has performed admirably in the wake of the Miles injury and will get more playing time with Barmes out too. I personally believe that he should get the starting job at second base over Aaron Miles, given his power numbers. Gonzalez exceeds Miles' numbers in OBP, Slugging %, homers, and has legitimate power to the gaps. It seems to me that in Coors, a ballpark know for its inflated power numbers, every positional player for a team that plays 81 games there ought to have the ability to knock the ball out of the yard; thus, the Rockies should trade Miles or push him into a utility role (especially with Desi Relaford's revival, he should be starting every game too). Aaron Miles' hitting style would be ok in Coors if he drew more walks, but because he doesn't do that, his OBP is almost identical to his average, thereby decreasing his value. Many teams would be glad to have a contact hitting second baseman in Miles, so there would be some value in return. Keeping to the youth movement, Luis Gonzalez is the younger player as well, and thus should get the starting nod.

Desi Relaford has shown something as of late as well, and the Rockies need to capitalize on that by trading him (if they are truly committed to the future). A team with two rising middle infield stars (Gonzalez, Barmes) has no room for a utility man that can hit .320. Normally the view would be that Relaford's stats are merely a reflection of Coors field, but he is hitting better on the road than in the thin aired hitter's paradise. Like Miles, Relaford is a contact hitter with little power, but in contrast to Miles, Relaford works the count and walks very often. This makes him acceptable in Coors, however, the Rox should exploit his rising value by trading him and consequently free up space in the infield while acquiring a good prospect.

The following playoff-competitive teams are probably interested in a veteran middle infielder hitting .320 (some have players to give in return):

Padres (Loretta down, Xavier Nady is a solid prospect)
Marlins (Alex Gonzalez is hitting only .278)
Mets (Kaz Matsui is no good)
Brewers (loaded farm system, starting SS has .182 BA)
Mariners
Twins (Loaded farm system, may need a veteran to anchor the infield)
Yankees (but who would they trade...)
Orioles (badly need infield depth)
Blue Jays

Don't take this as hostility towards either player, I really like Desi Relaford as a player and Aaron Miles is pretty good too. That said, the Rockies, if they are to stick to their future first philosophy, need to trade Relaford and Miles.

I guess the original whizzinator didn't work for Onterrio this time...

A Tale of Two Opposites

2005-06-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight's game (Rockies vs. Sox Take II) chronicles an amazing difference between two teams at polar opposites in terms of record and two other important stats: pitching and hitting.

The Colorado Rockies have the best hitting in the league, with four players batting above .300, three in the .290s, and one who will be batting .300 by the All-Star Break. (there's my official helton prediction). The Sox, on the other hand, have the worst hitting in the league, with one player batting about .300 (albeit in just 52 atbats), and one in the .290s (the former Rockie, Juan Uribe).

So why do the Sox have one of the best records in the league, and the Rockies one of the worst? It's because unlike what appears to be current-day sentiment, pitching beats hitting every time. I think the Sox's formula will finally force managers to realize that slugging isn't everything, but my question is, what took them so long? If the league had been paying more attention to our Rockies, the league could've figured that one out long ago.

What am I talking about? The Sox have the best pitching staff in the league, and the Rockies have the worst. That should say it all right there, because Pitching is something that has always plagued the Rockies, from day one. Our ownership has never been willing to dig deep in those million-dollar pockets and sign a good reliever or two, despite contuining signs that pitching is really what matters. Of course, they weren't too worried back in the day, when the Rockies were still drawing 30K to the field night after night. But this year, with attendance dwindling even further, the only reason to go to the ballpark seems to be Todd Helton, who's deep in the worst slump of his career, and Clint Barmes, former rookie of the year candidate, who's going to be out of business for 3 months.

What's so interesting about this game is that it brings all of these facts into focus. If the owners don't see the Sox with their terrible hitting and brilliant pitching with the best record in the league, and take it as a wakeup call that the Rockies need pitching, I don't think we'll ever see a good team under this ownership.

But here's to the rest of this year!

-Gabe

Rockies Draft

2005-06-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Every year around the beginning of June, the Rockies and all of baseball look to the future with the amateur draft. More so with baseball than other sports, this culmination of a year's worth of scouting is an absolute crapshoot. As opposed to football, where if a top ten pick flops heads will roll (citable examples include Ryan Leaf, KiJana Carter, &c.), baseball's top ten draft picks are lucky to yeild 5 decent major leaguers; and whereas a miraculous story in football is a sixth rounder like Ahman Green becoming a superstar, in baseball, it seems like a fortieth round pick is as likely as a first rounder to make it to the bigs (Piazza, arguably the most prolific cathcher of the 90s, was a 62nd rounder). The top ten picks of the MLB drafts from 1993-7 (guys who should be established by now) include the following notable players:

Alex Rodriguez
Trot Nixon
Dustan Hermanson
Jaret Wright
Todd Walker
Darin Erstad
Kerry Wood
Todd Helton
Geoff Jenkins
Chris Benson
Travis Lee
Braden Looper
Mark Kotsay
Eric Chavez

Aside from the overall trend of top ten picks not making it to the majors, the other major trend is that the majority of those that became good major league players are positional ballplayers, not pitchers. Thus, the Rockies (and all of baseball for that matter) shouldn't draft pitchers in the early rounds, and should steer their strategy towards drafting big bats.

The impact of altitude on baseball is undeniable, and the Rockies need to embrace it. A team that plays 81 games in such a unique climate should have the best home field advantage in all of sports. The Rockies should draft big bats early and often. The hits (no pun intended) would be of titanic proportion, as evidenced by Todd Helton, and the misses would be comparable to those of other teams. The bungling Rockies management had drafted one positional player in their history in the first round before the 03 draft: Todd Helton. Their first round picks had been comprised of an assortment of right and left handed pitchers, two of which are inconsistent starters on the verge of being banished to the bullpen (Jamey Wright and Jason Jennings), one of which looks pretty darn good (Jeff Francis), and the others aren't on major league rosters. After ten years of horrible failure, the GM appears to have changed his mind (although in all fairness, the previous regime made lots of those picks), with the selection of 3B Ian Stewart in 03, SS Chris Nelson in 04, and Troy Tulowitzki in 05. Fittingly, the picks from 03, 04, and probably 05, are being touted as the next wave of great players by those closely related to the team. The truly infuriating thing about baseball's draft is that the fans and management won't truly know about all of these players for quite some time, but from what we know, things are looking up.

Sam

P.S. Baseball America has Troy Tulowitzki rated fourth on the list of prospects, so the Rockies apparently got a steal with the seventh overall pick

First Post

2005-06-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

hi, welcome to Rockies Disaster Report. This is really just a test post, but I will mention a few things we're not happy with that happened on Monday:

1. Rockies lost 9-3, snapping a 4-game winning streak, the longest of the season.
2. Clint Barmes feel down some stairs on Sunday and broke his collarbone. On monday, he was placed on the 60-day DL, and will be out for at least that long.
3. Skip's little girl was back in the hospital. We're praying for her and Clint's family.

Anyhow, we'll be back soon with daily commentary.

Yours,

Gabe and Sam