Rockies stay busy, acquire Marco Scutaro from Boston

Dan O'Dowd was among the most active general managers even before this weekend rolled around, and then he continued his aggressive overhaul of the Rockies major league roster with another pair of deals.

The headliner may go down as one of his best trades in his 12 year run with Colorado. In a deal that was on again, off again for roughly 24 hours, the trigger was finally pulled on a trade bringing Boston Red Sox shortstop Marcus Scutaro to Denver in exchange for... Clayton Mortensen. Yes, the fringe at best major league starter/reliever (who actually pitched well during his stint with Colorado) for a guy who can fill three major roles for Colorado.

We're going to call that a win for O'Dowd.

The Rockies will be on the hook for all $6 million that Scutaro is owed. That obviously played into the inclusion of Mortensen in the deal rather than a prospect, and the dispute over taking on all $6 million likely played into the delay of the deal.

But at the end of the day, Scutaro is coming, and as I said before, he should fill three important roles for Colorado.

1) He will be the unquestioned starter at second base.

The Rockies haven't had one of those since Kaz Matsui in 2007. Before that you have to go back to Eric Young Sr. to find a steady second-sacker in Denver. Needless to say, it's nice to know the position will be filled for at least 2011.

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Rock Solid Recap: Shutouts guarantee success

If you don't allow the opposing team to score, you will win. It's a proven strategy. For most, it's the surest way there is to win. For the Rockies, it's the only way to win.

Rockies 3, Padres 0 (boxscore)

Clayton Mortensen: This is interesting. Mortensen was very effective tonight (6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB and 3 K), but apparently did not receive a whole lot of praise from Bob Apodaca in the postgame. I understand what they're thinking here. Keep Juan Nicasio in the rotation, bump Mortensen to long relief. I have no issue with that at all, but there has to be a better way than suggesting a pitcher wasn't good enough after six shutout innings.

What if Nicasio takes steps back in his next couple outings? What if Aaron Cook is no good? What if you're needing to go right back to Mortensen in the next couple weeks? I would have just said Mortensen was really good, but we feel he's best here (in the bullpen). No need to shoot holes in an excellent outing.

Offense in two words: Just enough.

Chris Nelson: Nelson had a really strong game at the plate. His first inning triple led to the Rockies first run. He later ripped a double to the left field gap, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it. Replays showed he was probably in there, but that's a poor decision leading off an inning. Maybe he'll actually learn from it? That would be something!

Nelson was also really good defensively at second base. It would be nice if he was allowed to stick there tomorrow, but I won't hold my breath with the ever changing lineup cards.

Seth Smith: His ninth inning RBI triple was definitely the biggest (most relaxing) hit of the night. Going from 1-0 to 2-0 and eventually 3-0 felt like 13-0.

Chris Iannetta: Quietly the player of the game. On base three times. Called a solid game. Defense behind the plate was sound. Nothing exciting to point at, but high grades in every facet of his game.

Carlos Gonzalez: Nothing at the plate. Very frustrating, but the nice thing about CarGo is his defense is still Gold Glove caliber. And his arm is a freakin' cannon... right Jorge Cantu?

Rex Brothers: Congratulations on a solid ML debut. Tracy brought him into a one-run game and he did not look overwhelmed by any means. Nor did I expect him to. He was hitting the high 90's with his fastball. His command was excellent. It was very good. If all you see are the two hits, you're missing everything. One was a cheapie anyway.

Matt Reynolds, Matt Belisle and Huston Street: Lord were those three filthy tonight. This bullpen is not a problem right now with how nicely it's set up. They aren't perfect, which they essentially need to be with the current offense, but you won't find many better, especially when Street is on his game.

Winning streak: Two in a row does not a winning streak make, but you can't win three in a row without the two. So let's make it two.

Rock Solid Recrap: Say good-bye to May

As I tweeted during the game, the Dodgers might be wise to print May 32nd everywhere they possibly can on Wednesday. Just the sight of the word could having the Rockies sucking their thumb in the fetal position. Which is almost where I was watching Tuesday's disaster.

Katie Martinez of Blake Street Buzz had a beautiful description of this game without even breaking down any specifics.

Envision the Dodgers logo. Now add arms, legs, angry eyes, and a mocking mouth. And give it a baseball bat to hold.

Got it?

Now picture the Colorado Rockies logo, also with arms and legs, but with eyes stretched wide in fear and a mouth gaping open in disbelief.

Got it?

Finally, animate the images. Let the Dodgers hit the Rockies repeatedly with the bat until the Rockies logo is raising its arms to fend off the blows while rolling impotently on the ground and crying.

Bingo.

Dodgers 8, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

Some quick thoughts.

-- Clayton Mortensen is good enough when he throws strikes and attacks the zone. When he walks four in four innings, obviously that won't be good enough. Nothing surprising about that. I still like him and think he deserves a role on the team. That will change quickly if the walks continue piling up.

-- Bickering on Twitter over who should have been in the outfield with Ryan Spilborghs and Seth Smith battling groin strains. Ty Wigginton got the assignment in RIGHT field, while Carlos Gonzalez stayed cozy in left, Fowler in center, Eric Young at second and Jonathan Herrera seat belted to the bench. You'll never guess how it all worked out. (Watch)

Personally, I think it's a toss up between Wigginton and Young. Both are not outfielders. Not even close. But what can you do when one has to be out there?

Where I'm annoyed is this whole Gonzalez MUST play left field every day nonsense. It needs to become more flexible. As in, it's time for Gonzalez to make some starts in CF or RF immediately. It's what's best for the team. And it's probably blocking Charlie Blackmon's path to big leagues. That definitely isn't making the team better.

-- By the way, Ty Wigginton has an eight game hitting streak.

-- Chris Nelson created a run with some aggressive and smart baserunning. He doubled, stole third without a throw (something I thought only Rockies opponents could do), and then read a popfly perfectly and was able to tag and score when Jamey Carroll caught the ball running away from the infield. It didn't make a difference in this game, but having the ability to steal a run like that will benefit them sooner or later.

-- On to June we go. I don't expect anything magical to happen, but here's hoping the change on the calendar allows some relaxation from a mental standpoint. That's the first step to finding that success again.

Rock Solid Recrap: The slide continues

Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Here's what we had tonight.

-- 2nd inning: Chris Young on second with one out. Miguel Montero bounces back to Clayton Mortensen. Mortensen catches Young off second base. Rundown. Couple throws. Ty Wigginton's throw hits Young in the hand and everyone is safe.

These guys are fighting themselves so much that they can't even execute simple rundowns.

-- Clayton Mortensen ran into that issue that continues to cost Ubaldo Jimenez. He walked Stephen Drew and Young to start the 4th. Boom. Miguel Montero three-run homer. Just that fast. You lose for it three batters, you're down 3-0. Mortensen seems to be a guy with good control, but it just shows how costly those walks can be, even when they're few and far between.

He allowed one more run the 6th aided by Chris Iannetta's first throwing error of the season. Indeed every little mistake the Rockies make is crippling.

-- As for Mortensen, I like him. Why I like him so much I don't know. I guess because he's usually throwing strikes and hitting spots. He makes a lot of big pitches with his back against the wall. He's far from special -- mind you, but he seems to find a way to keep the offense within striking distance. As a #5 starter you'll definitely take that. This offense just isn't capable of striking right now.

-- Troy Tulowitzki bunting for a hit down three with two outs in the 6th. Took a great play by Montero (he was awesome tonight) to get Tulo, but seriously, why?

-- I defend Huston Street. I defend Huston Street. I defend Huston Street some more. With each defense, the next home run he allows goes about ten feet farther. You're on your own now, Huston. In fact, all Rockies are on their own now. I'll praise you when warranted, but I'm not going to bat for anyone.

Save Todd Helton. But I should never have to go to bat for Helton.

-- After the game the Rockies designated Jose Lopez for assignment and recalled Eric Young Jr. It's the right move to make. Lopez has done nothing to justify sticking around, despite being given ample opportunity to beat out Jonathan Herrera at second and play third base in wake of Ian Stewart's struggles. I may have DFAed Alfredo Amezaga first, just because his ceiling isn't as high as Lopez's, but either/or are expendable.

Young coming up gives Jim Tracy something he's desperately searching for right now -- a lead-off hitter than can put pressure on the defense. Whether or not he can consistently get on base at the ML level is the question with EY. I'm not counting on or asking for anything spectacular here, just a spark, or a pulse, or some form of consistency.

Where he plays in the field will be another interesting question. I could see him flipping back and forth between 2B and CF. Flip Herrera to third when he's at second. Give Fowler days off in CF. Ultimately I think this spells less playing for Ty Wigginton and Jason Giambi in the field.

-- Weekend series with the Cardinals. Difficult to envision this ending well right now. Someone surprise me.

Rock Solid Recrap: One-run losses piling up

Brewers 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

For the third time on this road trip, the Colorado Rockies dropped a one-run decision.

They're now 6-10 in one-run decisions on the season, which is a better mark than I would have guessed, but still far from acceptable. Sometimes you do tip your cap to the competition in these games, as should be the case tonight with how well Shawn Marcum pitched. But when it follows a one-run loss like last night's, it tests your patience as a fan.

Also of concern is the Rockies 2-8 record in their last ten road games. It's not like they're getting run off the field on a nightly basis, or not putting up a fight. It's just a struggle to put nine whole innings together for this team. It's been that way for close to a month. Until that changes the frustrations will keep mounting.

-- Clayton Mortensen continued his excellent work with 6 2/3, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB and 5 K. Pretty similar to the outing of Jason Hammel last night: 6 2/3, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB and 1 K. You'll take that against Milwaukee's excellent offense. Especially in their ballpark when they are very comfortable. Unfortunately, they were wasted outings.

-- Dexter Fowler was caught stealing again. It's sad. So much speed. So much raw athletic ability. Can't steal a base to save his life. At what point do the Rockies invest in someone to work with him? Or do they just let it go and give away outs on the bases and/or via the bunt?

-- Matt Daley has added new life to the bullpen. And by new life I mean he's actually getting people out. Six up, six down in his first two outings. All three via the strikeout tonight.

-- Felipe Paulino has been designated for assignment. Baseball rapture at its finest!

Sounds like Greg Reynolds will get the call in his place. Reynolds will start a game at some point this week. Probably Saturday, but his early arrival could make Tuesday a possibility. We'll see.

-- Jose Lopez has been a train wreck in the field this weekend. Not much better at the dish. He may be next on the DFA hitlist if he can't find traction real soon.

-- Not much else to say after this one since 96% of us didn't get to see it. Hope the Rockies pull it together and head back to Coors Field on a winning note Sunday afternoon. Maybe we'll even get a W from Ubaldo. Would seem fitting the way this week has gone.

Rock Solid Recap: Feel good Monday

After three weeks of lows, lowers and lowests, the Colorado Rockies achieved quite a high on Monday night by defeating Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants.

It's exactly what the doctor ordered. They beat the one man and the one team that might be able to help them instantly undo the disappointment and reverse their recent frustrations. Maybe we owe Mother Nature and the Chicago Cubs one after all. They're the ones who gave us the opportunity.

Rockies 7, Giants 4 (boxscore)

The Rockies have been waiting for a big swing to get them out of their recent funk. They received two on Monday.

Troy Tulowitzki delivered a two-out, two-run single in the fifth. (Watch)

After Tim Lincecum committed a throwing error, opening the door for Colorado in the sixth, Carlos Gonzalez blasted a monster three-run homer to straightaway center. (Watch)

That's why they paid those men the big bucks. They're the money players, they provided the money hits.

But they definitely had some help. Dexter Fowler (two singles, two walks) and Jonathan Herrera (two singles, one walk) not only set the table, but made Lincecum work his tail off all night. Don't think that didn't contribute to the two-time Cy Young winner hitting the wall in the sixth.

Seth Smith (solo home run) and Jose Lopez (single, double) rounded out the very impressive and relentless offensive attack. The Rockies offense definitely showed some confidence and guts here. We saw flashes of that over the weekend with San Diego, so hopefully we're on the verge of a complete and total breakthrough.

And maybe my favorite part is they made a winner out of Clayton Mortensen. Granted, Mortensen wasn't brilliant or even really good, but he battled. He made good pitches early, faltered later on, but kept the team in the game. And besides that, his work in previous outings was very much worthy of a W, so he should feel no shame accepting this one.

Is Jim Tracy losing confidence in Rafael Betancourt, or was he just extremely desperate to get this win? Whatever the case, he gave Raffy the hook here. Matt Lindstrom finished the inning punching out Pat Burrell, so it'll be interesting to see who's placed where in the coming days.

Huston Street; Nine pitches, nine strikes, perfect inning. Awesome.

The only downside Monday was Dexter Fowler's baserunning issues. That was seriously embarrassing for any baserunner, but for a guy with his speed and athletic ability to consistently look lost on the bases is sad.

You can't teach instincts, but you can at least fill a guy in on the basics and hope he connects the dots from there. The Rockies might be wise to bring in a guy like Larry Walker for a seminar that includes Fowler and several teammates. A lot of them need help, and Walker might be the best baserunner I've seen wearing any uniform.

Rock Solid Recrap: Everything is broken

That's the message I saw all Thursday night while attempting to write my Recrap. I found it to be a fitting message after Thursday's results. One that could also apply to Ubaldo Jimenez.

Ubaldo Jimenez is currently unavailable 

Ubaldo Jimenez is unavailable right now. We apologize for this interruption in his career.

All I kept thinking was "Dammit, work Blogger."

And then I started thinking "Dammit, I want Ubaldo to work, too."

I can't sit through another outing where he's htting low 90's on the gun. Where he's walking a pitcher twice. Where his body language screams "I can't do this, I have no confidence or feel for what I'm doing".

It's sad. We're past the point of excuses now. We need answers. Answers Jim Tracy apparently doesn't have or know how to find.

“I wish I knew … I wish I knew,’’ said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, when asked about Jimenez’s struggles. “I’ve done a lot of different things to try to get to the bottom of exactly where we’re at. … I wish I had an answer for you.’’

I don't care what Ubaldo is telling Jim Tracy, Bob Apodaca, Dan O'Dowd, whoever else is asking him questions, it's time to ignore him and it's time for the Rockies to charge of the situation. Make him get an MRI. Spend a sleepless night in the video room. Look back at how sound his mechanics were last season, and get them there again.

Find the answer.

Mets 9, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Finding positves...

-- Clayton Mortensen was really good again, providing 2+ innings of scorless relief. Listen, I don't know how excited I should get about this guy, or if I should even get excited at all, but the production he's giving this team in whatever role they assign him has been outstanding. He earns more respect each time out.

-- Carlos Gonzalez walked three times.

-- Todd Helton is a treasure.

-- Johnny Herrera homered again. He's no Carlos Beltran, but it's nice to know he can run into one from either side of the plate on ocassion.

-- Troy Tulowitzki was 0-for-4, but that line drive to left field his last time up was encouraging. Bad result. But keep that swing.

I hate bunting...

Jim Tracy's decision to sacrifice with Dexter Fowler in the 8th with 1st and 2nd, no outs, down 7-5 made my head hurt. Yes, it's a by-the-book move. You're supposed to play for the tie at home and the win on the road. That's fine. I don't agree with it, but whatever, that's how it's written.

But to give away an out, any out, at any point of the game with this offense? You must be crazy. Throw the damn book away. Granted, Jose Lopez was coming up, which makes a double play more likely than a hit, but still. Lopez has power. He could have changed the game with one swing. Instead, predictably, you give away the out and the inning dies soon after.

Again, Tracy didn't necessarily make the wrong call. One hit by Jose Morales or Jason Giambi makes him look smarter. I would just like to see a more aggressive mindset offensively. Go for the win. Go for the big inning.

Rock Solid Recrap: Another Tracy gem

The frustrations keep building and building for the Rockies. The same formula has come together to beat them three days in a row. Terrific starting pitching. Offense fails to deliver the game-changing hit. Bullpen bends and finally breaks in the 9th inning.

Same formula.

Oh, and Jim Tracy over manages the bullpen, makes strange pinch-hitting decisions, and generally looks confused from the 6th inning on.

Yeah, same formula.

Giants 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

But let me get this out of the way first.

Clayton Mortensen: I salute you. You were fantastic. Your stuff was excellent, and you brought a nice calm and focus to the mound that we weren't getting from Esmil Rogers in the 5th spot.

I haven't seen a lot of you throughout your professional career, but you strike me as a guy that doesn't get rattled easily, and stays on the attack even when things go wrong behind you or when you're facing a tough situation.I admire the heck out of that. Hope to see a lot more of you going forward.

Now back to your regularly scheduled recrap.

-- 1-for-9 with RISP. Bleh.

-- Career advice for Ian Stewart: Take a step back away from the plate and swing the bat. You're getting beat by the same pitch over and over and it's ridiculous. Adjust. Try to be better. That's all I'm asking. Try.

-- Chris Iannetta can still be so maddening. Still walks a lot. Walks are good. Still strikes out looking a lot with RISP. That's not good. Be that difference maker! You watch tomorrow, Jose Morales won't be afraid to swing with RISP, and I bet he'll drive in another run.

-- 2-2 game, Matt Belisle starts the 7th inning by retiring Aaron Roward and Freddy Sanchez. On cue, here come Jim Tracy. Why? Because he's afraid Belisle can't retire Mike Fontenot.

Burn Belisle, bright in Matt Reynolds. What happens, Fontenot doubles. That was actually fortunate because it allowed them to walk Buster Posey and Reynolds retired Aubrey Huff, but seriously, why can't Belisle finish that inning?

Now you're down two pitchers. It's over managing. You're managing yourself into a position where guess what, the game is on the line and you're using Felipe Paulino again. If's awful.

And then Jim Tracy says this afterwards (via @Troy Renck).

I asked Tracy about the status of Paulino and Morales. He said that they have to pitch in those situations, that's their role.

Yeah, because Tracy manages himself into a corner. He could have at least Reynolds available to him tonight if he simply let Belisle finish his inning. Now we're in the same position we were last year where bad matchups late in the game beat us, and relievers are unavailable a couple times a week because Tracy overuses them.

Matt Lindstrom has a sore arm. It's no wonder. Tracy says it's because he's transitioning from closer, where he never had to warm up so frequently. That may be true to some extent, but I think it's more an adjustment to pitching for Jim Tracy, where everybody warms up every day and pitches to two hitters.

He doesn't learn from his past.

Could I do a better job managing the team? Of course not. But I can tell you if I did it long enough and was afforded the opportunities Jim Tracy has been, I would learn from my mistakes and be better as I went along. Jim Tracy has never improved. He's the same manager he was in LA and then Pittsburgh. Because of that, I believe he's the biggest weakness the Rockies have.

I truly believe that.

And the whole sac bunt with Dexter Fowler thing. That's mostly on Fowler. While I didn't necessarily agree with the bunting there, I understood why he called for the it and I understand that Dexter failed. But it probably would have been smarter to take the bunt off after two strikes.

I don't know why he refused to pinch-hit for Ryan Spilborghs in the 7th with RISP against a righty. He's done that 3-4 times now in Spilborghs starts. It's failed every time. He had the roster flexibility to make it work. Heck, Seth Smith for Spilly straight up. Why not? If you're going to be so meticulous with your bullpen, why not try it once with your pinch-hitters? Might actually win you a game one time.

Felipe Paulino is a failed experiment for Dan O'Dowd. He thought he could take a hard-throwing #5 starter and turn him into a late-inning power reliever and it's just not happening. I honestly think it's time to pull the plug.

But aside from all that I still feel good about the team overall. I'm confident the offense will come around. I'm confident the starting pitching will stay strong and may even improve with Ubaldo and Mortensen coming on. The bullpen can be fixed with a tweak or two. You hope Tracy doesn't run the key guys into the ground. And you hope to have an extended stretch soon where Tracy can sit back and let the players do the work.

Rock Solid Recrap: Marlins walk into winner's circle

Well, the Rockies did a solid job of limiting the Marlins to three hits today. Unfortunately, they walked five, which led to two of those hits equaling six runs -- a three-run 5th inning triple by Omar Infante, and a monster three-run home run by Mike Stanton in the 8th.

And to rub salt in the would, both big hits came with two outs.

Marlins 6, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

-- How would I describe Ubaldo Jimenez's performance?

It was encouraging that aside from the triple by Omar Infante, the Marlins had zero good swings against him. His fastball was overpowering when located, and his movement was very good. But it was discouraging to see him lose his command so quickly in the 5th, walking the 6-7-8 hitters starting off the inning.

That's when you want to see your pitcher to challenge hitters and hopefully get quick outs. Instead he killed his pitch count, left himself exposed to that one back-breaking hit, and that's exactly was Infante delivered. I'm sure fatigue played more a part in that than anything. So once that arm strength builds up he should be in line for a string of excellent starts.

Overall there's much more positive than negative. But when you're matched up with a guy like Josh Johnson, you have to be close to flawless.

-- Yeah, I would agree the Rockies had too many long stretches without hits this week, but the at-bats really weren't terrible. Sure, there are a couple guys that look lost, but it's not at the point where they are giving away at-bat after at-bat, inning after inning. They're drawing walks. Extending pitch counts. Giving themselves a chance for success.

Even Carlos Gonzalez took noticeable steps towards improving his approach this afternoon. Dexter Fowler and Jonathan Herrera continued their production at the top. And surprisingly, I thought Jose Lopez had good at-bats. Nothing to show for them, but he exhibited signs of life.

-- By the way, Tim Lincecum and Josh Johnson are really good pitchers. Anibal Sanchez already had a no-hitter and a one-hitter prior to his outing Saturday. It's not like they're struggling against ham-n-eggers. Sometimes you just tip your cap to brilliant pitching.

-- Clayton Mortensen had a flawless two inning relief appearance. He's up to eight scoreless innings of relief now in his two appearances. And he works really fast. He no more than catches that return from throw from the catcher and he's back on the hill into his delivery. I really like what I've seen so far, and I imagine he stands a good chance of sticking around a bit.

-- Poor Matt Belisle made six excellent pitches to Gaby Sanchez Unfortunately, and ridiculously, four of them were called balls by the maddeningly inconsistent Dale Scott (Pitch chart). Thanks to Andrew Fisher of Purple Row for posting that.

Belisle then made a couple bad pitches to Mike Stanton. The second one resulting in the long, game-deciding homer.

-- No doubt this loss leaves a bad taste in your mouth, kinda like the Sunday loss in Atlanta last April. But overall there's no real reason to feel bad about how that team played. It's just a matter of the Marlins, who by the way are now 13-7, maximizing their opportunities and pitching very well.

-- On to Chicago.

Spring Training Game 30: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 6, Cubs 4 (boxscore)

Hits

Jose Morales

Morales locked up the backup catcher job before this afternoon, but his performance today put a stamp on it.

Jordan Pacheco gave it one helluva run, but I have no problem at all with Morales getting the gig. Pacheco needs to play. Morales gives you what you need in a backup. He can hit well from both sides of the plate, and he plays sound defense. It clears the way for Iannetta to get steady playing time, which hopefully leads to consistent production.

Clayton Mortensen

Mortensen was awesome today, throwing five shutout innings, allowing only three hits and striking out one.

John Maine will likely get the call if the Rockies need a starter early in the season, but Mortensen at least wants them to think about it. Also, with Maine having an opt out clause should he not make the big leagues by June 1st, Mortensen becomes an even more valuable piece. Whatever happens there, chances are good we'll see him at some point in 2011.

Matt Daley

Daley's ERA stayed at a perfect 0.00 today. Unfortunately (for Matt at least), that won't be good enough to crack the opening day roster. An established veteran and a fan favorite can't crack the roster with a 0.00 ERA. Think about that.

Misses

Billy Buckner

Bad again today. I didn't have high hopes for Buckner, but I did expect him to be respectable and a little better that AAA roster fodder. He may not even be that at this point.

Foul Tips

Bullpen set

Matt Reynolds pitched just well enough over the last two weeks to lock up the final spot in the Rockies bullpen. He will join Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt, Matt Belisle, Matt Lindstrom, Felipe Paulino, Franklin Morales, Matt Reynolds.

The starting rotation is obviously Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel and Esmil Rogers. Rogers will not be skipped the first time through the rotation, which I like for two reasons.

1) It shows he has earned Jim Tracy's confidence.

2) It save Ubaldo's arm early in the season. That means the Rockies learned a little bit from last year and are working towards keeping him strong in the second half.

Oddly, these are the twelve pitchers I think the Rockies and most fans envisioned making the team out of camp, with Rogers and Paulino possibly switching roles, and maybe Matt Daley working into the mix. That rarely ever happens.

Spring Training Game 15: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 4, Padres 3 (boxscore)

Hits

Ubaldo Jimenez

Four absolutely perfect innings with four strikeouts. He's pretty good.

Jason Giambi

Today was Giambi's day to shine. His laser two-run homer to the lawn in right field proved to be the difference on the scoreboard, but more importantly showed us that Giambi has his feet under him early. As the guys on KOA noted, both Giambi and Todd Helton are further along in their preparation thanks to the shorter bus rides. That will most definitely be helpful come April 1st.

Bullpen

The Rockies bullpen pretty much picked up right where Ubaldo left off. Felipe Paulino (1 IP), Clayton Mortensen (2 IP) and Eric Stults (1 IP) were unscored upon in their innings, allowing only two combined hits. Matt Daley was on his way to a scoreless inning until right fielder Brian Rike dropped what would have been the final out of the game. San Diego went on to score three unearned runs.

Misses

Aggressive Baserunning

I don't mind the idea of taking an aggressive approach to baserunning. However, after a 2010 season which seemingly saw at least one stupid baserunning mistake a game, I'm worried more harm than good will come of this strategy. We saw a good example of why today.

Was that Rich Dauer coaching third as he usually does? What the hell is this guy thinking? Sending Ubaldo into a play at the plate... in spring training... with Carlos Gonzalez coming up. That's committing three baseball sins with one overzealous wave of the arm. It's also idiotic and inexcusable. Nothing to gain from that. Everything to lose. Just a stupid, stupid baseball decision.

And knowing the cramping issues Ubaldo has had in the past. Knowing you've lost Aaron Cook indefinitely. Knowing Jorge De La Rosa isn't feeling right. Knowing you're struggling to find a 5th starter. Stupid times ten.

You want to be aggressive on the bases? Fine. But first learn how to run the bases, and also learn situations so you know when to take your chances.

Foul Tips

More Baseball

The Rockies aren't done playing baseball today. The night game with the Arizona Diamondbacks starts at 6:40 Mountain time.

Eric Young and Wilin Rosario

It was good to have these two guys back on the field as they work their way back from injuries. Still a long way to go for both to get on track, but just nice to finally have them out there.

Spring Training Game 10: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 4, Cubs 0 (boxscore)

Hits

Jorge De La Rosa

Awesome. Could not ask for a better outing (4 IP, 2 H, 5 K) from a starter 11 games into the spring.

Jordan Pacheco

Pacheco lit up the scoreboard again today with a three-run home run off Braden Looper. The story of camp continues.

Clayton Mortensen

Mortensen is making the most of his spring opportunity after being acquired from Oakland to add depth to the starting rotation in Colorado Springs. He won't make the opening day roster, but he's a decent bet for a spot start or stint in the bullpen if the Rockies depth is tested.

Franklin Morales 

Three scoreless appearances this spring. Let's all cross our fingers and really hope he's found his groove during the winter.

Misses

Nothing really stood out here. I was honestly more focused on the Rockies game with the White Sox that aired locally than this game, but from what I heard the Rockies played solidly.

Foul Tips

Split Squads

If you're going to split the squads, stagger the times so nerdy fans like myself with blogs can keep their thoughts straight. That is all!