Spring Training Game 7: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 10, Royals 9 (boxscore)

Hits

Carlos Gonzalez

Pretty good hitter when he's locked... which is apparently all the time. The sound off his bat is second to no one in either league.

Jason Giambi

The ball was making a nice sound off Giambi's bat as well. Two doubles, two RBI. I get the feeling he's going to help the Rockies a lot this season after struggling to gain comfort in his role most of 2010.

Jordan Pacheco

What? Only 1-for-4 today? What's the matter with Jordan?

Kidding. That one hit was a 2-run double. He also stole a base and gunned down the speedy Alcides Escobar on a SB attempt. He's the unquestioned star of camp through the first week of games.

Misses

Esmil Rogers

Felipe Paulino is now the clear favorite for the 5th rotation spot after Esmil's bleh outing today. You can live with the four hits he allowed, but it's the walk and the two hit batters in just three innings that lead to extensive damage, short outings and taxed bullpens.

The good news is he has time to find his release point and get that consistency down, but not as much time as a guy like Chacin or De La Rosa, who already have their roster spots locked up.

Claudio Vargas

Nothing to see here. Triple A roster filler at best.

Greg Smith

Smith had his second uneven performance is as many appearances. He may not even get past the first cut down.

Foul Tips

Franklin Morales

Another scoreless outing for Morales despite a Mike Aviles triple, which is encouraging. Obviously there's a big difference between showing poise now and showing poise in April or August, but it's a start.

Also, the more Rockies fans hate on this kid the more I pull for him. There's no better feeling than silencing critics. That's the feeling I want for Franklin. I also want him to make the Rockies better, so that kinda goes hand-in-hand.

Ben Paulsen/Charlie Blackmon

Paulsen and Blackmon continue to contribute something positive whenever they're afforded the opportunity. That's all you can ask for of these kids. Great attitudes that fit the Rockies mold perfectly.

Spring Training Game 3: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 4 (boxscore)

Hits

Jason Hammel

Nice opening effort for Hammel Time with two scoreless frames. Troy Renck summed up the outing with this tweet.

We also intercepted this tweet from Jason's brother Bill to Renck.

Chris Iannetta

If you hit a home run, your chances to make the hit list are very good. He also flew out to RF right after a runner scored from third on a passed ball. I was actually very annoyed by that passed ball because I wanted to see if Iannetta would come through with a good situational AB. Guess we'll have to wait.

Jordan Pacheco

Pacheco has future man crush written all over him. Two more hits today with an RBI. He can flat rake.

Hernan Iribarren

First of all, that's a fantastic spring training baseball name. Second, he's played quite well in back-to-back games. Seeing as we've only played three, we'll call go ahead and call Hernan the early favorite for the surprise of camp 2011. What that gets him who knows.

New opponent tomorrow

You can only beat up on the Arizona Diamondbacks for so long without getting bored. Rockies head to Peoria tomorrow to take on the San Diego Padres.

Misses

Greg Smith

The Good: The 3rd inning. He pitched a scoreless top half and doubled leading off the bottom.

The Ugly: Yes, straight from good to ugly. Smith's horrendous 4th inning -- which consisted of 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB and one home run allowed to Russell Branyan -- will keep him a long ways off the Rockies radar.

In his defense, I'm sure it won't be the last home run Russell Branyan hits off Rockies pitching in 2011. He fits the mold of a Rockies killer the same way Pedro Feliz and Scott Hairston did.

Foul Tips

Franklin Morales

A scoreless inning! Sure there was one little walk mixed in there, but no runs, no hits, no balks, no wild pitches. We're on to something here.

Patience

The Rockies swung at the first pitch of every at bat today. Alright, not really, the At Bat Ap/Gameday on MLB.com only keep track of the pitches put in play. That gets confusing for a half inning or so.

Wouldn't it be nice if these 11 things happened in '11

Wouldn't it be nice...

... if the Rockies could get through spring training relatively healthy? 

After Sunday's Aaron Cook news, I think we're already down to ten.

... if we could count on Aaron Cook for 25 starts? 

Make that nine.

... if one of the Gregs (Reynolds or Smith) got their act together, stayed healthy for a full season, and contributed at a level higher than Double A?

Not ready to give up on this one... but don't hold your breath.

... if Ian Stewart led the league in RBI in April? 

Not because the stat means everything -- we've had it beaten into our brains that it doesn't -- but because that would very likely indicate the Rockies are scoring a lot of runs and #3 and #4 in the order will get pitched to a lot more.

... if Jim Tracy never used Huston Street four days in a row?

Heck, I'd be happy if he never had to go three days in a row. Mariano Rivera never does. I'm just guessing that's part of the reason he's remained so damn good for so damn long.

... if Todd Helton has one of those seasons that tipped the Hall of Fame scales back in his favor?


... if the Rockies patience (and mine) with Franklin Morales is rewarded?


... if the Rockies hired an old school organist to play walk-up music so we didn't have to hear silly debates over which walk-up song each Rockie selects?

 I means sure, it's all a part of the entertainment package that draws in the casual fan, but most of the guys pick awful songs or don't take it seriously.

And besides that, nothing will ever top Dante Bichette walking up to Sledgehammer. Talk about palpable electricity each time he was due up in a clutch situation late in a ballgame. That was special.

... if the Rockies named someone their regular second baseman, and that someone was Eric Young? 

He has to prove that's what he belongs, but having that speed into the #2 spot is something I'd really like to see. It would also help keep Jim Tracy from going overboard on the tinkering, while giving him his most versatile bench.

... if Dexter Fowler bunted a lot more? 

Just be on base, please. Those bunt singles are almost as good as doubles in most cases. Also, when you're on base, the Rockies have a really, really good chance of scoring run(s) in that particularly inning. That's logistics.

... if the Rockies finally win the NL West?

Please. I want to see one of those neat banners. There's one I want more than that, but just to finally see that a division championship banner would be fantastic. It's a nice to hurdle to get over en route to the biggest hurdle.

Rock Solid Recrap: Several Bullets Lodged Firmly In Foot

Phillies 9, Rockies 5

The Rockies hung around and hung around. It even looked promising a couple different times. But the reality is that the Phillies never lost control of the baseball game, and the Rockies never were in a realistic position to win it.

That's because the Phillies were never going to shoot themselves in the foot. They were just waiting for the Rockies to shoot themselves in the foot, and then they jump all over them for their mistake.

In the 5th, Melvin Mora couldn't turn a double play (again) which led directly to a run on that play. This allowed the inning to contunue, and then another run scored one hitter later as Seth Smith booted one in LF.

In the 6th, a two out, two strike wild pitch by Matt Daley gave Philly another gfit.

In the 8th, Brad Hawpe drops a flyball that should have ended the inning. That did NOT lead to a run, but folks, it was costly. That meant Randy Flores had to come in to face one batter (Chase Utley), whom he retired.

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Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Kendrick

Preview

Lineup Card

Here we go.  This should be interesting.

Rockies lining up in their three announcer setup tonight.

1st Inning

• Shane Victorino triples on an 0-2 pitch.  Smith simply can't make a quality 0-2 pitch.  
• Polanco with the sac fly.  Hawpe made a great throw from fairly deep right.  Good try.  
• Another 0-2 basehit, this time by Chase Utley.  
• Smith strikes out Howard.  He's throwing strikes tonight, no doubt about that.  Now he just needs to find more quality strikes.  
• And then he walks Werth on four pitches.  Maybe I need to shut up.  
• Strikes out Ibanez.  High pitch count inning but limited the damage.  
• Phillies 1, Rockies 0
• Jason Giambi with a laser RBI single to even the score.  Much needed hit for team and player.  
• Rockies 1, Phillies 1
• Good first inning of baseball.  

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Looking Ahead: Rockies Unprepared For Litmus Test

I hate being a pessimist, but not as much as I enjoy being a realist.

This series doesn't look good on paper.

It didn't look good on paper on Opening Day. It didn't look good on paper the second it was official Roy Halladay would make a start. It didn't look good on paper when it was official the Rockies would start Greg Smith, Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. And amazingly, as bad as it looked at all those times, it looks a helluva lot uglier on paper now than it did 24 hours ago.

Thankfully the games aren't played on paper.

The Rockies won't make any excuses. which is good, because the Philadelphia Phillies -- far and away the best team in the National League -- come to town, and they could give crap about the Rockies problems.

Those problems, by the way, go beyond the injuries and absences.

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Running Thoughts: Smith vs LeBlanc

Preview

Lineup Card

San Diego opens their broadcast showing highlights of Greg Smith's last outing.

<---- A lot of that from Smith.

1st Inning

• LeBlanc starts off with an efficient 1-2-3 inning.  Would have preferred a run or two to help Smith settle in.  Can't always get what we want.  
• Thank you Tony Gwynn Jr.!  Swings and pops up the first pitch.  
• After a basehit by Eckstein, Olivo guns him out on a failed hit-and-run.  That's right.. help the kid out.  
• And now Gonzalez walks.  Not the worst result in the world.  
• Headley grounds out.  Not a smooth start by any means, but encouraging!
  

2nd Inning

• 6 up, 6 down for Barry Zito Wade LeBlanc.  Lots of ugly, off balance swings in the early going. 
• Scott Hairston has a couple good swings that go foul, so Smith walks him, then turns around and picks him off.  We'll just take the outs.  
• And another walk.  That's three.  Command just isn't there.  
• Smith gets a popup and a strikeout of Torreabla.  Ubaldo is seen taking notes on how he did that.
  

3rd Inning

• LeBlanc has a MUCH wider strike zone than Smith does.  Stewart called out on a ball that was 8 inches outside.  
• Greg Smith breaks up the perfect game with an infield single.  That figures!
• LeBlanc returns the favor by singling off Smith.  
• 5 Padres reached the first time through.  2 hits, 3 walks, 2 outs on the bases, 4 regular outs.   
• Mora drops a liner.  Should have been a double play.  Now Gwynn gets to run instead of the pitcher.  
• That's three scoreless for Smith so far.  Not all pretty, but indeed all scoreless.  Let's get the kid some runs now!

4th Inning

• Rockies load the bases with one out and leave them that way.  Ian Stewart was screwed again on a couple strike calls.  Smith isn't getting those calls I assure you.  
• Padres on the board first.  Jerry Hairston triples to deep left center, scoring Headley from first.  Smith has been playing with fire all night.  Finally catches up.  
• Padres 1, Rockies 0

5th Inning

• Let's wake the bats up already.  Smith is keeping you in the game.  Reward him!  
• Greg Smith leads off with a double.  EY fails to move him over or do anything productive.  
• However, CarGo picks him and doubles Smith to the house.  Good to strike right back.  
• Helton drives in the go ahead run on a hard single to right.  Who needs a home run?  
• Rockies 2, Padres 1
• I often wonder how Todd Helton only has three Gold Gloves.  Plays like the one he just made on Tony Gwynn are what make me wonder.  
• Smith follows that up with his 5th walk.  Sets up Adrian Gonzalez.  
• Mora botches another double play ball.  Runner on 2nd with two outs.  
• So Smith gets through five.  I have to believe his night will be over with a chance to win.  

6th Inning

• Rockies offense quiet in the 6th.  
• Daley hits the first batter.  Kyle Blanks should have hit into a double play, but Mora's turn was painfully slow.  His third time failed DP of the night.  
• And now the bases are loaded.  Matt Daley is off his game a little bit lately.  Not good with how Rafael Betancourt is also struggling.  
• Randy Flores to face Tony Gwynn.  
• Flores gets the out... on a wild pitch to the screen and the deflects back to Olivo.  Blanks out at home. 
• Whew.  

7th Inning

• Another quick and silent inning offensively.  That's great... just keep applying that pressure on the pitching and defense.  
• Now it's Joe Beimel.  Burning through pitchers quickly this evening.  
• Fowler in for Young defensively.  Mora still in defensively.  Why?
• And now the Padres are pecking Beimel to death.  1st & 3rd with one out.  They're going to bust through one of these times.  
• Tulo with the tailor made 6-3 double play.  Keeps Mora out of the equation.  

8th Inning

• Offense: WAKE UP.  Need more runs.  
• I said WAKE UP.  
• Manny Corpas handling the 8th.  Jim Tracy's confidence in him must be soaring.  
• Veanble triples on an 0-2 pitch. Ugh.  
• Tie game.  Sac fly by Jerry Hairston.  
• I'm sure we'll be seeing Heath Bell now.  Great.  
• Rockies 2, Padres 2

9th Inning

• It will be Heath Bell.  Good luck waking the bats up against him.  
• Finally Ian Stewart breaks the slumber with a two out walk.  At least there's a pulse.  
• That amounts to nothing.  So yeah, have to hold them again.  
• Rockies turn to closer Morales in a tie game on the road.  Alright.  Matches up with lefties at least.  

Looking Ahead: Man Up Or Shut Up

Greg Smith vs. Wade LeBlanc

It's getting to be now or never time for Greg.

Jeff Francis has a rehab start scheduled. Jason Hammel is working his way closer. Jhoulys Chacin made his presense felt over the weekend. And then there's Esmil Rogers kinda hovering around looking for opportunities.

The Rockies aren't asking Smith to be an ace, workhorse, or even a stopper, they just need him to keep them in games. That obviously didn't happen last time out, and I imagine Jim Tracy will have a quick hook for him again if things don't get off on the right track this time around.

I have a strange feeling he's going to man up and come through. There's probably a lot of false hope and confidence involved in that feeling, but I like to stick by the guys I supported all spring. Smith was pretty clearly at the top of that list.

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Confidence Rankings: Struggling Rockies

I have ranked the struggling Rockies in order of my confidence in them to turn it around.

1 Jason Giambi

Giambi is #1 because his main role on the team is to hit. Eventually he will, because that's what professioanl hitters do.

2. Franklin Morales

I read a couple things going off on Morales after Wednesday's game and I just sorta scratched my head. He was hardly the problem in that game. In fact, if you look at how things have played out, Morales could be 5-for-5 in save chances if not for a Tulowitzki error and then an umpire error in Atlanta. So he's not KILLING the team like you might think he is.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Nauseated

Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 11 (10 innings)

What can you say after a game like that? Probably not a whole lot more than I said while the game was going on. Feel free to go back and read that again if your stomach can handle it.

Losing Player: Greg Smith

It all boils down to how AWFUL Greg Smith was today. Absolutely brutal.

I have defended this guy all spring. I've been in his corner despite his early season troubles. There's nothing I can say anymore to defend him. I still do like this talent, but talent doesn't equal a whole lot when you have no confidence in your best pitches or your ability to retire big leaguers.

It's a mnetal hurdle he has to overcome every time out there, and you can just tell how his day is going to go with the first batter. It happened in Miwaukee. He was up 0-2 on Rickie Weeks and ended up walking him. He was up 1-2 today on Kelly Johnson... walked him.

And then it spiraled. Rockies can't afford anymore of this. Not with the circumstances having changed to tremendously in a short time.

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Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Benson

Miguel Olivo played just hours after passing two kidney stones?  That dude really does have stones!

How about this lineup... EY Jr. starting again, leading off again... and playing LF.  Alright.  Let's see how this goes.

Fowler, Helton, Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, Olivo, Stewart.  No surprises there.

Melvin Mora gets the nod over Barmes at second.  Could be an interesting defense day again as we've seen a few when Mora plays.

Only notable resting for Arizona is SS Stephen Drew.  That makes sense against the lefty Smith.

Alright... time to take another series.

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Looking Ahead: But Not Too Far Ahead

Have to focus on this big game at home before the big trip to San Francisco and beyond.

Greg Smith vs. Kris Benson

Hello, Greg Smith, you're now the #3 starter. That happened fast, didn't it? No pressure or anything, you just might need to go more than 5-6 innings these next few starts while we wait for everyone to get well again, or at least until we know what Rogers and Chacin are capable of.

It's possible they settle right in quickly, taking a lot of the pressure off you, but, for now, let's try to target that 7th inning.

Kris Benson on the mound for Arizona.

He's no Dan Haren. Heck, he's no Edwin Jackson, either. I would be extremely shocked if the Rockies don't pound him into the ground by the 4th inning. And even more so disappointed if they don't find a way to win the game. Gotta have it!

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Rock Solid Recap: Times Two

Game 1

Marlins 4, Rockies 1

Losing Player: Greg Smith

Nothing at all surprising about how this game played out. It was a tough matchup for Smith. I thought his showing was okay, nothing great by any means, but he battled and certainly kept Colorado in the game.

As did Manny Corpas, who has turned into a very valuable long reliever. His versatility in the pen is huge.

I'd give the losing player to the entire offense, but again, it's difficult to expect much against a guy as hot as Ricky Nolasco right now. This was just a tough matchup from top to bottom on both sides of the fence.

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Running Thoughts: Smith vs. Nolasco

Rockies Examiner explains the TV situation.

Just talked to the producer for Fox Sports Rocky Mountain and she said that there is no TV for the first game, HOWEVER; they are turning on their broadcast at 5:30pm so if the first game is still ongoing (probably will be) then they WILL show that.  

So follow along with me and the radio broadcast until they flip the switch at 5:30.

Seth Smith gets the nod over Dexter Fowler in Game 1.  He bats second and plays left, CarGo shifts over to center.  Chris Iannetta starts behind the dish.

The Marlins go with an entirely right-handed lineup against Greg Smith.  I figured they would.   This presents quite a challenge for Greg, who will need his command to be at its best.  These aren't just right-handed hitters, these are right-handed bats that go up there looking to go yard.

I'm going to close my eyes and hope this goes well!

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Looking Ahead: Double Dipping

I previewed Game 1 yesterday. Nothing has changed in my opinion on that.

Game 2: Aaron Cook vs. Nate Robertson

Game 2 should be more of an advantage to the Rockies because of their clear depth/talent advantage over the Marlins. The Rockies can run an entirely different lineup out there in two games and you feel like both lineups can hang with anybody.  That's a nice attribute.

Of course there's always the concerns over Giambi's defense, but let's just hope he's not needed too often with the glove.  

Aaron Cook needs to be good today. I'm expecting the bullpen to pick 3-4 innings in Game 1, so Cook has to get into the 7th or 8th to keep things from getting crazy. The Marlins lineup matches up much better for him than it does for Smith. plus Cook just seems due for a Cookmanlike outing, doesn't he?

Let's cross our fingers.

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Looking Ahead: To A Bad Matchup

Greg Smith vs. Ricky Nolasco

Tonight's pitching matchup has the potential for very ugly results.

I say that not because I don't believe in Greg Smith -- because you all know I do if you've been reading since Spring Training -- it's just a very difficult matchup for a lefty with his type of stuff. Extremely difficult.

The Marlins lineup will be loaded with potent and powerful right-handed bats -- Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, Cameron Maybin, Ronny Paulino -- that are capable of putting up runs in a hurrry.

Remember this day? Rockies 18, Marlins 17

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Rock Solid Recrap: Four Reasons It Wasn't All Jeff Nelson's Fault

Braves 4, Rockies 3

Reason #1

When your pitching combines to walk 11 batters, your chances of winning that game are significantly hampered.

Reason #2

Dexter Fowler led off the 6th with a single. He quickly stole second and advanced to third on Brian McCann's throwing error...

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Running Thoughts: Smith vs. Jurrjens

No clue how players handle these quick turnarounds.  Pretty sure I'll be ready for a nap by the 4th inning.

Seth Smith starts in place of Brad Hawpe, who's being held out as a precaution after some ginger baserunning last night.  Smith hits 5th and plays left, Gonzalez shifts over to right.  Chris Iannetta also back in the lineup tonight hitting 6th.  Otherwise it's all the regulars we've come to know and love.  Probably doesn't hurt that last night's game was played so quickly and without a whole lot of stress.

Atlanta has Matt Diaz leading off today.  Not sure how that'll work.

How about a series victory in Atlanta and a jovial flight to Washington to play a better expected Nationals club.

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Looking Ahead: To A Worse Today

Because let's face it, Greg Smith is going to give up a hit, maybe even a run or two.

Smith vs. Jurrjens

Following a no-hitter has to be about the least enviable task a starting pitcher could face. Then again, in the case of Greg Smith, who's coming off maybe the best start of his ML career, the pressure must feel pretty low, and the confidence has to be at an all-time high.

The adjustments he made between starts one and two were exactly what I'd hoped they would be. He was aggressive. He approached the ABs like he was in control. Most importantly, he trusted his stuff could get ML hitters out, and his stuff did just that. Now I'm really looking to how he backs up that start.

I might suggest Jason Hammel take a close at how Smith fares as well. It's early yet, not sure when Francis will return, but you have to figure Smith COULD earn his way into the rotation one way or another. And even if that's not a possibility, I wouldn't mind Smith and Hammel thinking it was.

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Rock Solid Recap: All About Smith... And Don't Forget Smith

Rockies 11, Mets 3

Winning Player: Greg Smith

You can't really call him a kid, but you can definitely call him the man tonight. Greg Smith did it all. 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 8 K. That's just the pitching side. At the dish: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R. Showed some nice wheels on the bases beating out a possible DP to get his second RBI. There's a lot to like about his athletic ability and all the ways he can help the team win games.

He gets paid to pitch though, and wow, like I've been saying all spring, the stuff he has in his arm is big league caliber. He can make good hitters look silly when he's confident and in rhythm. That's exactly what he was tonight.

For him to roll out there like he was tonight, getting into that seventh inning, has to make all of us feel better about where this team can go. So many of the top notch clubs are looking to to find a solid 4th or 5th. The Rockies have six if Francis is healthy. As it stands, they have five.

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