Rockie Start For Mora

As I pointed out over at Bugs & Cranks this morning, I can't for the life of me understand why Melvin Mora hasn't shown up to camp early.

Mora is being counted on to wear a number of hats for the Rockies this season.  Aside from third base, where Mora has played 99.98% of his games over the past six seasons, he's expected to see time for sure at second base, and possibly first base, shortstop and outfield.

Early in his career Mora was athletic enough to pull off such a role.  However, as his career has moved along, Mora has settled into that one position: third base.   Troy Renck points out that Mora has become quite adept at that position defensively.

Read more »

Analyzing Some Rockie Predictions

Tyler Thompson over at Bleacher Report made his 10 Bold Predictions for the Rockies in 2010.

Here's a rundown with some of my thoughts mixed in.

1. Ubaldo Jimenez will take another step forward

Thompson goes on to say Jimenez "should be an easy choice for the All-Star game in July."

Agreed.  Jimenez is only going to get better as he establishes better command and more consistency.  He's special, folks.  Let's just enjoy this guy for as long as we can.

Read more »

Todd Finally Gets It!

Can't tell you how happy I was to read this piece from Troy Renck the other day.

Todd Helton learns vital lesson from last year

In the article, Todd Helton admits that...

"I had nothing left at the end of the year."  

That's not much of an admission really.  Everybody watching could see Helton was laboring, particularly at the plate.

"That was partly my fault. I should have kept myself in a little better shape. You just get worn down from playing so much. I want to have more left in the tank when the games matter."

Todd Helton is a lot of things: a leader, gold glover, all-star, batting champion, potential hall of famer, all around nice guy.  Another thing he is, that may even surpass all of those descriptions, is stubborn.

Read more »

Other Notable NL West Non-Roster Invitees

Arizona 

• RHP Rodrigo Lopez

Los Angeles

• RHP Scott Dohmann
• RHP Ramon Ortiz
• RHP Russ Ortiz
• RHP Josh Towers
• RHP Jeff Weaver
• C JD Closser
• IF Angel Berroa
• IF Nick Green
• IF Doug Mientkiewicz
• IF Alfredo Amezaga
• OF Brian Giles
• OF Michael Restovich
  

Read more »

Cordially Invited to Tucson: Rockies Non-Roster Catchers

Paul Lo Duca -- Lo Duca returns after spending 2009 out of baseball entirely.  He should be as healthy as he's going to get but I'm not sure a full year away at the age of 38 does much good.  The Rockies see him as insurance at catcher (check) first base (check) and outfield (     ).  Not quite comfortable checking off on that one.  It's also known he won't accept a minor league assignment.

Jordan Pacheco -- Pacheco is invited as a catcher but can play all around the infield as well.  Not a lot of power here, but has a .303 average with a .375 OBP is three minor league seasons.  Those are encouraging numbers that make him at least worth monitoring.

Read more »

Cordially Invited to Tucson: Rockies Non-Roster Outfielders

Chris Frey -- I'm always interested in Frey because he's an Illinois native, like myself, and then he moved on to the University of Arizona where my cousin watched him play ball for the Wildcats.  It doesn't look too promising for him ever cracking a 25-man roster, but he could be a guy that lingers around the minors for several years.

Cole Garner -- Pretty fast guy that doesn't offer much upside as a 25-year-old outfielder.  He gets a courtesy look as a 10th outfielder.

Read more »

Cordially Invited to Tucson: Rockies Non-Roster Infielders

Jonathan Herrera -- Herrera had a brief sniff of the bigs back in 2008 when Tulo pulled the quad.  There was some pretty noticable talent there that could develop into a switch-hitting Omar Quintanilla.  You could do a lot worse than that for your 25th man.  Unfortunately for Jon, he's competing for the 26th roster spot that doesn't exist.  A spring training trade would not surprise me.

Darin Holcomb -- Holcomb is a guy often overlooked because of his size and lack of athleticism.  That means he'll have a lot to prove when his number gets called early in the spring.  That's the type of guy I like to keep my eye on.

Read more »

Cordially Invited to Tucson: Rockies Non-Roster Pitchers

LHP Christian Friedrich -- Simply stated: Friedrich is the future.  There's really no need to rush the future at this point, but a good spring that carries over to Colorado Springs could force the Rockies to be creative with Friedrich.  That would be a great problem to have around say... August?  

LHP Jimmy Gobble -- Gobble has been grazing around the AL Central since 2003.  His first six seasons were spent in KC before he moved on to the southside of Chicago last year.  He has 43 career starts and 435.2 innings to his credit, which is pretty respectable, but his ratios don't project well in Coors Field.  Maybe... MAYBE... he has a role as a left-handed specialist.  I can't see him helping any other way.

Read more »