Strength & Conditioning

Is it fair to question the strength and conditioning coaches and routines used by the Rockies?

I ask this knowing that every team deals with similar injuries, it just seems like they pile up on the Rockies a little more than most, especially in the early months.

It's not so much the significant injuries -- Tulo's quad tear in 08, Francis' shoulder in 09, Huston Street now -- that bother me, it's the little lingering muscles strains and tightness that always seem to be plaguing one or two players at a time.

Right now there's Brad Hawpe dealing tightness in his quad. One would think that'll limit him for the next handful of games. Carlos Gonzalez has that ever nagging hamstring tightness he dealt with last September into the playoffs. Didn't affect his play then, but you can't push him through that at this stage of the season. He's out a few more days.

Rafael Betancourt missed most of camp with shoulder tightness. Thankfully he worked through it. Not to mention the sore muscle Jeff Francis is dealing with under his left armpit.

Last year Chris Iannetta battled the oblique on and off. Just as Holliday did the two years prior to that. Willy Taveras had nagging issues here that he hasn't seemed to have anywhere else. It just seems like a lot, and most of it deals with muscle issues.

I don't know what, if anything, they can do differently, but I'm thinking that should be something they look into. This team has the depth to deal with minor, nagging injuries, but I'd just like to see them make a better effort to keep from always relying on it. It's always a necessity, rarely a luxury.