Rockies Winter Meeting Review

The 2011 Winter Meetings are behind us now, and while the Colorado Rockies did not add a large piece to their damaged puzzle, they did subtract two of their least popular players while adding some depth and freeing up enough cash to make themselves a player for Michael Cuddyer or a key starting pitcher.

Here's a quick review.

Monday

-- Claimed Jamie Hoffman off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers

Hoffman is your typical AAAA player. He's a pretty good defender from all accounts, but at age 27 has yet to take a step forward offensively. He'll compete for a bench job in spring training. His odds of making (in the Ryan Spilborghs role) will depend on who else the Rockies add in the coming weeks.

Tuesday

-- Acquired RHP Kevin Slowey from Minnesota Twins for minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen

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Rock Solid Recap: Hammel punches back against Padres

That was Jim Tracy's headline quote in the postgame describing Jason Hammel's impressive outing and victory over the San Diego Padres.

Rockies 3, Padres 2 (boxscore)

Apparently Hammel had a sitdown talk with some coaches after his last start and the gameplan for Friday night was to pitch inside more. It appeared to work, although I'd be lying if I said I paid real close attention to his location in comparison to previous starts. I just know he was throwing the ball with some zip, and was able to overcome the small doses of traffic he dealt with. I'm encouraged by that even if it was against a sorry offense in a very pitcher-friendly park.

Hammel's line: 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB 5 K

The important thing for Hammel now is to make this start his foundation for rebuilding his season that crumbled around the last month or so. A home date with the Philadelphia Phillies next week will make that a difficult task, though a good start there could go a long towards rehabbing everyone's confidence in him, including his own.

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Sunday Recrap #13: Enough is enough... no?

I realize it's just one day out of the week. I understand it's a little fluky that it's played out the way it has, but thirteen straight Sunday losses? Are you serious, bro?

That's embarrassing. There's no reason this team can't come out and finish a series stronger than this. They can't finish a sweep. They can't win a rubber match. They can't steal three out of four. More often than not, they just come out flat on Sundays.

Today was no exception to that. Three errors. 1-for-11 with RISP. Aaron Cook loading the bases every inning it seemed. So much sloppiness, so little reason to believe in this team. It's maddening.

Brewers 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Still done. Unfortunately, still no realistic option to replace him. So expect to see him on the mound again Friday in Arizona.

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Rock Solid Recap: How did the Rockies spend their break?

Apparently they spent it relearning how to hit. How about a season high 20 knocks -- 11 coming off Yovani Gallardo -- in a dominating home win over the Brewers.

Rockies 12, Brewers 3 (boxscore)

I admit the offensive outburst caught me off guard, but I don't think anyone could be more shocked than Ubaldo Jimenez. This just doesn't happen for him. If only he could reallocate some of those runs to previous and future starts where the Rockies left or will leave him with no room to work.

But let's give Ubaldo his credit, too. He chipped in delivering a run scoring single in the 2nd. That was very big, especially on the heels of the Yovani Gallardo RBI double against him. And he really earned the win on the mound pitching six solid innings against a strong Brewers offense.

His line: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

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Rock Solid Recrap: The story is getting old

Make that 12 straight Sunday losses for the Colorado Rockies and 5 straight failures to complete a sweep.

Bad timing? Lack of killer instinct? Lack of talent? All three?

Probably all three.

Nationals 2, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

Five hits for the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. Five singles to be exact. Which means five total bases, and only one runner advanced as far as second base all day. Don't get me wrong, Jordan Zimmerman is one of the great up-and-coming starting pitchers in the National League, but this was a pathetic showing by an underachieving offense.

But it's the same old story, especially on the road. No sense dwelling on it any further or wasting your time with repetitive words.

Three positives

1. Jhoulys Chacin: Whew. He looked healthy, strong and really effective. My biggest concern was the health, because duh, that's where it all starts. And he sure didn't look right the last two starts with that forearm issue. Hopefully that's behind him and he's ready to come out of the gates in the second half dominating and settling for no-decisions instead of stupid undeserved losses.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Cooked

Braves 9, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook 

Terrible first inning. Bounce back second inning. Relapse third inning. Settles down in the fourth and fifth. Runs into trouble and exits immediately in the sixth. That's how you sum up Aaron Cook's start tonight, which feels pretty close to the pattern he's used since his return from the DL.

Maybe I should compliment his consistency. Or maybe I should add my name to the list of folks who are ready to cut ties with Cookie. It feels like the right thing to do, but the Rockies are in a tough predicament. I don't just mean from a loyalty standpoint. In fact, that's never seemed like an issue for them.

Financially and logistically it's tough to just let him go. I mean yes, chances are Cook won't be able to rehab his value to the point they can move him without taking a big hit, but it's not like the Rockies have another pitcher or two beating down the door to the Majors. They don't. They have Clayton Mortensen, Greg Reynolds and maybe Esmil Rogers. If there's no real clear upgrade to make, sticking with Cook might not be their worst option.

That said, it's possible he's gone tomorrow. It's possible he's gone during the AS break. It's possible he's here all season. I don't know what they're going to do, but I can see why they have and possibly could continue to give him chances. It might not help them, but it might be a "risk" worth taking if he figures something (anything) out.

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Rock Solid Recrap: That was bizarre

No other real word I can find to describe the action at Coors Field on Tuesday. It was one of the more bizarre games I've seen, and that's saying something coming from a Rockies fan since Day 1.

The injuries, the solo home runs, the Tarp Monster claiming another victim, the weird Dexter Fowler vs. Mike Pelfrey at-bat that morphed into a Ryan Spilborghs vs. Jason Isringhausen at-bat. And of course, the first ever Paulino vs. Paulino battle that yours truly foreshadowed in Tuesday's Lineup Card. Not that I'm proud of that fact.

I also predicted Ian Stewart would... oh, **** it.

Mets 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

-- I came away from this game knowing one thing for sure: Jason Hammel is one tough dude.

I mean that physically, and I mean that mentally.

To block out the pain after taking that line drive in his calf, and to continue pitching and pitching well for three innings afterwards. That says a lot. That was a man-sized effort. Definitely not his best from a pitching standpoint, but still an outing where your appreciation grows and you're more thankful to have a guy with his makeup representing your baseball team.

-- What a swing by Carlos Gonzalez on that home run to straight away center. Now, if we can only a) trick pitchers into to throwing him that same pitch at-bat after at-bat, or b) have him improve his pitch recognition so he can make pitchers challenge him, things will be much better for all of us.

-- Troy Tulowitzki struck out for the first time in the month of May. That's a cool little stat. But the problem is popping up the first pitch to the second baseman is just as unproductive, and it also allows the opposing pitcher to throw less pitches.

At least he hit that home run. That was nice to see. Unfortunately he didn't follow it up with anything encouraging.

-- I mentioned Felipe Paulino earlier. He pitched a scoreless inning!

-- Did I also already mention this game was strange? I believe I did.

-- Even though the Paulino and Jose Lopez lottery tickets haven't worked out for Dan O'Dowd, he's hit the jackpot so far with a reliever whose name I shall not mention for fear of jinxing his outstanding performance.

-- That was an awesome three pitch walk by Ryan Spilborghs. One of the better ones you'll ever see.

-- I really hope Dexter Fowler can bounce back quickly from fouling that ball off his leg. Obviously his legs are of vital importance to the Rockies from a defensive standpoint, so to be without him for any period of time is going to add a lot of extra stress on the pitching staff. Not to mention it would also take away one of the two or three most consistent bats in the lineup.

And then we're faced with the reality that his replacement would likely be Willy Taveras.

Now I don't feel well.

Be well, Dex. Please be well.

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 Recap: Offense makes an exciting mid-game cameo

It was nice to see the Rockies offense show up in the middle innings against Barry Enright. After the first three innings, it seemed as though we'd be going down the familiar path that frustrated us over the past ten days or so, but the good guys finally put together some good at-bats, and more importantly, made them count for something.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4 (boxscore)

You're about to read a sentence you never thought you'd see...

Ian Stewart got the offense started with a big two-out, RBI double.

You read that correctly, but it's still worth repeating.

Ian Stewart got the offense started with a two-out, RBI double. Granted, it was one of the weirder doubles I've seen with how poorly Justin Upton played it, but Ian hit it really high, which is quite an improvement over his other 30 at-bats, and Upton Pat Burrell'd it. We'll take the run and Ian will accept his third hit of the year.

Watch Ian's weird double

And better than that, it kept the inning alive for Chris Iannetta to do this...

Watch Chris Iannetta's two-run home run

That's how you put up a crooked number. And as always, we approve of Chris Iannetta being a difference maker.

The offense would continue its roll in the 5th, plating three more two out runs on a two-run double by Todd Helton, tying him with Lou Gehrig on the all-time doubles list with 534, and then Seth Smith singled home Todd.

Watch Helton's 534th double

I mean seriously, this Todd Helton guy can do some things with the bat.

Of course the Rockies squandered other run scoring opportunities, and the opposing starting pitcher Barry Enright (who can hit apparently) may not be the toughest guy they'll face, but it's still nice to see four big hits come with two outs. Those are money hits and money at-bats.

-- Carlos Gonzalez had two more hits and a walk. Everything is back on track with him, which was further evidenced by some really good takes in hitter's counts and with two strikes. No expansion of the zone. A lot of confidence and a lot of patience.

-- Jhoulys Chacin was good, but you're a little troubled by the home runs he's allowed over the past two starts and the walks allowed tonight with the 4-5 run lead. He's been pretty fortunate there haven't been a couple bloop hits here or there that have led to big innings.

But there's little doubt we're seeing something special developing with this kid. He's got the stuff, the makeup, the mindset. He's already terrific, and it's exciting to know there are still steps he can take to be better.

-- And then Huston Street began his defense of the Delivery Man of the Month Award with a true definition of a save after Matt Reynolds couldn't finish off the game against a couple lefties. I know, he allowed a couple singles himself before closing the door, but the results continue to be overwhelmingly positive for the most reliable closer in Rockies history.

Which of course means he's blowing his next save because I said that. I need to learn to shut up.

-- Rubber match tomorrow: Jason Hammel vs. Ian Kennedy. Jason Hammel seems to excel against other team's aces and second in commands. Let's hope for that to continue.

Spring Training Game 28: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 4, A's 1 (boxscore)

Hits

Carlos Gonzalez

I was kinda hoping CarGo would go homerless in the spring, make everyone wonder what the heck was going on, and then jack like three on opening day. Oh well. I'll just settle for the three on opening day.

Chris Iannetta

I felt bad for leaving him off the hit list after homering last night. That won't happen again tonight because he collected three more basehits. Chris is in a really good place right now offensively, and doing good things defensively. Cross your fingers this carries over.

Jason Hammel

Good. Really good. Worked out of a pretty big jam in the first inning and it was smooth sailing after that against Oakland's A lineup. He's well past that disaster outing against Texas and ready to go.

Misses

Matt Reynolds

Little bit of a setback for Reynolds after a string of good outings. I suppose this leaves the door open for Eric Stults or Rex Brothers to steal his spot. It will be interesting to see how Jim Tracy and Dan O'Dowd want to play this. The only guy in the mix guaranteed to make it is Franklin Morales because he's pitching well enough to warrant the opportunity and there's this thing where he's out of options.

Foul Tips

Ian Stewart

How often has a base runner been involved in three rundowns in the same game? Well, not counting Little League obviously. It sounded like one was missed sign on a possible squeeze with Fowler at the plate. The other two sounded like they were more of the aggressive base running type. And he got the extra base on one of them after an Oakland error.

Spring Training Game 20: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 11, Rangers 10 (boxscore)

Hits

Ian Stewart

The most important thing to take away from tonight's game is how good Ian Stewart looked at the plate and in the field. His timing was good. His movement was good. He didn't look like a guy that missed 2 1/2 weeks. Now hopefully he feels good tomorrow and can build enough stamina and confidence in his knee to be a go on opening day.

The Home Run Parade

Ty Wigginton, Jason Giambi, Mike Jacobs and then the big game-tying job by Cole Garner in the ninth inning. Good to see the baseball exploding off some bats, regardless of how hitter friendly that ballpark appeared to be.

Willy Taveras

Three more hits and three RBI after filling in for an injured Dexter Fowler. Great, great spring for Willy. He's going to make it excruciating on the coaches to not select for the roster, but that's still not likely unless Fowler's quad lingers.

Charlie Blackmon

Blackmon has been impressive all spring, but you really have to value night's like tonight where he battles and succeeds against one of the toughest lefties in baseball in CJ Wilson. He's knocking on the door. Not sure when he'll get an answer, but he's knocking.

Misses

Jason Hammel

Statement: I'm not worried about Jason Hammel. End of statement.

Hammel had little command of all of his pitches, against a really good lineup, in a ballpark where the baseball flies like crazy. When you mix those components together, it often equals disaster. Tonight was indeed a disaster, but every pitcher has one or two every season, it's unavoidable, so getting one of the way now isn't the worst thing in the world.

Repeating statement: I'm not worried about Jason Hammel.

Foul Tips

Eric Young

Young did reach base three times tonight, which is exactly what you want from your lead-off man. Unfortunately, he made an out on the bases twice. One was just a lack focus rounding first base, not knowing what was happening ahead of him. The other was a straight caught stealing.

Young's greatest strength is his speed, but poor instincts and focus are offsetting that and hurting his value to the team. He also made two very poor throws to first base, which won't ease any of those concerned about his defense.

Granted, Young is just getting his feet under him this spring due to his leg injury, but he has to step up soon. I mean really step up. He can't just show he's healthy and be penciled on this roster, he has to prove he's ready to play good, solid baseball. If he doesn't, the Rockies will be left making a big decision.

Spring Training Game 18: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 3, Reds 2 (boxscore)

Hits

Rex Brothers

While Matt Reynolds continued his struggles in a "B" game today, Brothers impressed everyone at Salt River Fields when he set the Reds down in order. In the middle of that 1-2-3 inning was an overpowering strikeout of NL MVP Joey Votto. Seems like the Rockies have little to worry about after all from the left side in their bullpen with Brothers' accelerated development.

PS: Franklin Morales had yet another scoreless inning today.

Jose Lopez

Lopez plays the hero with a walk-off single, described by Purple Row's Andrew Fisher as a 350+ foot flyball gapper to RF. In other words, probably a double or triple in reality, but a single was all they needed here. Lopez also threw out the potential go ahead run at home in the top of the 9th inning. Strong game for him as he stays in contention for playing time at second, third, first, who knows where else.

Jordan Pacheco

Hard to believe Pacheco was 0 for his last 8 coming in to today's game. He got himself back on track with a pair of hits, including an RBI double. Had a pretty good day behind the plate as well, throwing out Brandon Phillips trying to steal.

Misses

Jhoulys Chacin

Minor miss here. According to tweeters on scene of this dark game (no TV or radio), Chacin struggled mightily with his command, was hit fairly hard, and was lucky to escape with the limited damage he sustained. That said, regardless of how, he did limit the damage, which might be an indication his bad days could be more effective than some pitcher's good days.

Foul Tips

"B" Game vs Angels

Here are a few notes from the other Rockies game that took place today.

Ian Stewart was 2-4 (2 singles) in his return to action.

John Maine pitched 3 1/3, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. The important here is his shoulder feels healthy.

Matt Reynolds still hasn't recorded a scoreless appearance in Arizona. He allowed one run (solo HR to a Triple A guy) on two hits. Looking like another classic example of how you never take the 25 north that you expected to in early March.

Spring Training Game 1: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 7 (boxscore)

Hits

Salt River Fields

I don't think I need to add anything to what you've already seen or heard. It's a magnificent facility/complex. I mean for crying out loud they have a field just for bunting drills. I'm going to think about that field every time I see a failed bunt attempt during the regular season No excuse for that anymore... not that there ever was a good excuse before.

Rockies bunting

Willy Taveras executed the Rockies lone bunt attempt today. The ball was thrown away down the left field line as Arizona catcher John Hester tried to pick off the lead runner. The Rockies ended up plating four runs in that inning.

Moral: Big innings await you when you execute the little things.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Pitching was fine. Even better was the sight of him signing a ton of autographs after his TV interview. Classy young man.

Jordan Pacheco/Charlie Blackmon

Pacheco had a solid single back through the box in his lone AB. Blackmon ended up playing the role of hero with his HR in the 10th. We're going to hear a lot more from these young men before the spring is over. Very impressive.

Mike Jacobs

He's a strong dude. I'll put the over/under on his home run total at Colorado Springs at 35. Of course that's assuming that's where he ends up.

Cole Garner/Jonathan Herrera

Good days at the plate, and teamed up for a really nice 7-4 putout at second when Tony Abreu tried stretching a single to a double.

Anti-wave commercial

So much win! Actually all of the commercials were full of win. Once again a great job by everyone involved in that process.

Misses 

Ian Stewart

Rough afternoon for the Rockies starting 3B. It'll mostly be remembered for his first inning collision with Carlos Gonzalez on a pop foul a little ways down the line. That was definitely a scary moment that saw his knee just miss Cargo's head by mere inches. Add in the one pitch 4-6-3 DP in the second inning and a later strikeout and I guess you could say his performance was as close to disastrous as you can get in February.

Billy Buckner

Not a very smooth inning or impressive debut for Buckner. He's a Triple A roster filler at best.

Adam Jorgenson

You feel bad for a kid when he gets his chance to make an impression and the end result is what we saw today. I doubt he'll get another chance in a big league game this spring.

Foul Tips

Greg Reynolds

Greg's performance doesn't really qualify as a hit or miss, but I just felt the need to comment on him. He made a bad pitch to Kelly Johnson that he was able to extend on and drive to LF. It probably wouldn't be a HR most places, but it's safe to assume it would be a Coors and in Arizona. That's all that counts.

He had another AB in his 2nd inning where he didn't put a batter away after an 0-2 count, but aside from that I was happy with how he looked. He didn't spiral after allowing the HR, which is something we saw in his few ML appearances. Like I said, not really a hit or miss, but worth mentioning.

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.

Friday Rundown: Business is about to pick up

Pitchers and catcher have reported. 

The Albert Pujols deadline has passed. 

The Toronto Blue Jays are handing out questionable contracts. 

Miguel Cabrera has a DUI.

Yup... It's definitely baseball season.

Let's dig in and take a look at what's happening with the Rockies as we head towards the weekend.

-- I was somewhat surprised to learn that Joe Crede will not be reporting to Rockies camp next week. I haven't heard what exactly Crede has planned, but if this is the end of the line I wish him all the best in his life after baseball.

It's also possible he studied the Rockies roster and couldn't come up with a plausible scenario that had him wearing a Rockies uniform come April 1st (or September 1st for that matter). In that case, he's a smart man, and I wish him well in his venture to find 200-300 ML ABs this season.

Might I suggest he place a call to Kansas City or Cleveland or Florida.

-- One injury-plagued long shot exits, another one enters in former New York Mets ace John Maine. Maine will join Rockies camp on a minor league contract that could see him earn up to $3M if he makes the Opening Day roster, and contains an out clause if he does not.

If Maine ends up making the Opening Day roster it will mean one of two things.

1) He bounced back from shoulder surgery better than anyone could hope for and looked like the guy the Mets were banking on two years ago.

2) The Rockies are screwed.

I'm pretty sure there's no middle ground on that one.

If he's receptive to becoming a reliever I suppose that could enhance his chances, but I'd expect to see him accept an assignment to Colorado Springs with goals of getting healthy, stronger, helping the Rockies out down the line, or maybe catching another team's eye that deals with SP issues.

At any rate, it's definitely a worthwhile addition for Colorado. Low risk, decent potential for some degree of reward. Might as rename that the Dan O'Dowd Special.

Links

-- The lovely ladies at Babes Love Baseball preview the Rockies season in Haiku form. BLB

You can tell they are fans of former Twins catcher Jose Morales, who finds himself in a battle for the backup spot behind Chris Iannetta.

-- Troy Renck focuses in on Ian Stewart's adjustments in the batter's box. All Things Rockies

Hopefully we're at the point now where there will be 3-4 posts coming a week. Once the Spring Training games get underway we'll try to have a couple paragraphs on each of those.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Let's get at it!

Michael Young rumors and a little Ian Stewart

-- Get back to me on the Michael Young rumors when the two sides actually have a conversation. Troy Renck says that hasn't occurred yet, and it seems as though no conversation has taken place since December.

That would refute any and all rumors that suggest trade talks are in the advanced stages with a deal likely to come on Monday. Wherever those are coming from, I don't know, but I'm trusting Troy Renck's trusted source on this one.

-- Tracy Ringolsby reported earlier in the week that the Rockies and Rangers were so close to a Michael Young trade in December that Eric Young took a physical for Texas. Eric Young replied that the physical was actually the standard team physical scheduled by Colorado and had nothing to do with a trade.

Everything we've gathered since that one hour at the Winter Meetings when the Young rumors were hot suggest a deal was never a realistic option for either side at that time, and the conversations didn't even last through that evening. That would make Ringolsby's report seem fairly asinine and likely based solely on speculation rather than anything with factual basis.

Tracy Ringolsby has been very good to me in the past when I was getting my feet wet as a blogger, which makes it difficult to say this. He's had a surprisingly terrible offseason, including reporting incorrect information on Miguel Olivo's contract status on more than one occasion. It seems like he's doing more jumping to conclusions than he is research or checking sources. That's a scary way to go about a job as a reporter, and it's cost him some credibility with myself, which is why I'm going with Renck on this one.

-- Baseball Analytics thinks Ian Stewart makes an excellent #6 hitter on the road due to his better power split away from Coors Field, and fits ideally as a #2 hitter at home where he reaches base more often.

Me thinks Baseball Analytics has too much time on their hands, but you might find their short piece interesting.

-- Michael Young. I'm required to type his full name three times per blog post.

-- Do I need to bother following Brian Wilson on Twitter, or will everything he tweets end up retweeted by everyone anyway?

-- Quote of the Week -- Ian Stewart on Carney Lansford (Denver Post)

"Personally, for me, I think Carney's probably going to have a big impact. He just brings a certain element to the team that I don't think we've had, at least since I've been here," Stewart said. "He's just so intense and fiery."

Intensity and fire from a hitting coach aren't all that important to me, but if that somehow helps Ian Stewart focus better on what he needs to do, so be it. I hope it works.

Moe Belismel tag team broken up

The righty-lefty Rockies reliever tag team I affectionately named Moe Belismel (Matt Belisle & Joe Beimel) is no more. We figured the day was coming when Troy Renck stated the Rockies had no interest in bringing Beimel back, but after the surprising return of Jason Giambi a couple weeks ago, it was worth waiting for the official word.

The word is now official.

Joe Beimel is headed to the new Coors Field East in Pittsburgh.

Much dismay is now ensuing amongst Rockies fans. I understand it to an extent. I liked Joe. Didn't love him, though. His value in the Rockies community is a tad inflated due to the simple fact his name isn't Franklin Morales. Plus the ladies think he's cute and he entered to a kick ass song.

I'm more concerned with the pitching and business side of it. Thankfully the Rockies are too.

There is definitely risk in putting so much stock and faith in a less experienced Matt Reynolds and a roller coaster ride like Morales, but tough decisions have to be made somewhere. And I'm sure the Rockies feel like their right-handers, especially at the back end of the pen, are plenty capable of retiring tough lefties. That's why each of them is making pretty decent coin.

-- In other news... The Rockies have signed OF Willy Taveras, IF/OF Alfredo Amezaga, and C Chad Moeller to minor league deals with invites to spring training. In addition, they have shipped RHP Ethan Hollingsworth to Oakland for AAA RHP Clayton Mortenson.

If I had to venture a guess, I would say Amezaga has the best chance to do something meaningful for Colorado this season. It would take injuries and such, but he has always been an O'Dowd guy and reports are the Rockies came away from his workout at Arizona St. impressed. The fact that he can play three infield positions and the outfield certainly helps his case.

@PoseidonsFist (Andrew T. Fisher, Purple Row) set the over/under at negative three for number of games Willy Taveras would start for the Rockies in CF this season. I'll still take the under there.

-- Rockies avoided arbitration with Ian Stewart on Thursday.

I would hope so. Stewart knows what's at stake this season for him personally. He knows Ty Wigginton, Jose Lopez and Joe Crede are coming to camp. He's heard the far fetched Michael Young rumors. Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to get hung up over $450K difference in arbitration offers and allow bad feelings to come into play.

Simple advice to Ian going forward... not that he needs it.

Go out on the field, hold off the competition behind you, play at the level we all mostly believe you're capable of playing, and you'll make up whatever money you feel like you're giving up.

I believe Ian Stewart can do it, too. I just doubt Jim Tracy will have the patience to let him play through his slumps, especially with the new options at his disposal.

-- Jim Tracy... Still the two scariest words that come to mind when I think about the 2011 Rockies and how far they can go.

Will he learn when to get out of the way?

Will he learn when to press buttons?

Will there be enough healthy relievers left standing in September?

Will there be lineup stability?

I'm crossing my fingers.

Rock Solid Recrap: Going Out With A Thud

The Colorado Rockies decided to say good-bye to their home field and their fans with their worst home series of the season -- a sweep at the hands of their division rivals from Los Angeles.

Whatever.

Dodgers 7, Rockies 6 

This was another tough one to sit through as the Rockies did more to beat themselves than the Dodgers did to beat them. Oh sure, Matt Kemp provided the power that sent a Jhoulys Chacin pitch over the wall for a Grand Slam, but it was the Rockies sloppiness that made it possible.

And it's not just the sloppiness of the fielder in this case. Yes, that's a play Ian Stewart has to make every single time. But guess what? He didn't make it this time (and at the time there was no damage done). So now you have a young pitcher in a situation where he has to pick up a teammate. How does he react?

He walks Loney, which is sloppy on his part. I understand the frustration and refocus factors, but he has to make pitches there. He gave the AB completely away. He then allows the Grand Slam to Kemp. He just couldn't collect himself in time to stop the bleeding.

Like Esmil Rogers, you take the good with the bad with a young pitcher. Chacin has shown far more good than bad so far, but there are still significant hurdles for him to get over before you can truly feel good about him as your #2 starter, which is where Chacin is likely to be slotted next spring.

He'll get there eventually. I have no doubts at all about that.  I wouldn't even be surprised if he reached #1 status in the next 24 months, but there's a ways to go in many respects.

We all beg Dexter Fowler to hit more balls on the ground. Today. Dexter hit two on the ground about as hard as one can hit them, with nothing to show for either. Just stick with that approach, Dex, the hits will come. And maybe if you just hit them a little softer... or even bunt once.

That Tulo guy does alright though doesn't he? We saw the frustration shine through again at the end of last night's game, but he impressively shook it off to give his team a big game today. 4-for-4, a walk, and 4 runs scored. I think that's good enough.

Other positives: Ryan Spilborghs took advantage of his start as well with three hits and a couple RBI.

Franklin Morales, Manny Delcarmen, Edgmer Escalona and (the returning) Matt Daley each threw a scoreless inning of relief, which allowed the Rockies to crawl back into the game. Well done by those four.

Tomorrow

Jason Hammel vs Chris Carpenter

I can't wait to see what we'll get from the Rockies in St. Louis. If these last ten games are any indication, and I don't see any reason why they would not be, then you can probably feel free to plan something else with your time. Maybe get some yard work done or something, unless you really really really need one last baseball fix before it's gone.

PS: Wouldn't it be something if the Rockies did a reverse 2007? Loss 13 of their last 14 instead of winning that many. Could happen.

Rock Solid Recrap: My Bad

Kinda. Kinda more Huston Street's bad, but I guess I should take a little flack for seeing the future in this tweet.

Is Donnie Murphy on deck? Pedro Alvarez? Even worse.

Yeah... this situation was shaping up eerily similar to the one we saw in Florida. Back-and-forth. Rockies fight back late, take the lead on an improbable HR, before turning the ball over to Huston Street, who then walks the #4 hitter (attack please!) bringing up the #5 hitter as the winning run.

Visions of Donnie Murphy danced in my head.

Visions of Pedro Alvarez hitting a baseball harder than any I've seen all year (yesterday vs Hammel) danced in my head.

I didn't want to see what I saw in my head, but I did. Then I tweeted it. Then it happened.

*Headdesk*

Pirates 8, Rockies 7

But you know... this is MOSTLY Jim Tracy's bad.

Only Jim could leave his starter in too long in the 6th, and still be flat out of pitchers by the 10th. I would LOL at that if it weren't my favorite team... and that tragic loss hadn't just occurred.

I didn't really see the upside in leaving Jorge De La Rosa in for 113 pitches. I don't care if the Pirates still had a 0 in the run column heading into that 6th inning, De La Rosa was pretty clearly done after a 5th inning that saw him throw 22 pitches (91 for the game) and leave the bases loaded (thanks to a poor Neil Walker AB).

He starts the 6th with a walk. No Jim Tracy.

Gets a flyout. No Jim Tracy.

Walks another. Jorge De La Rosa clearly on fumes at this point. Even glancing towards the dugout in a "I got nothing, coach" type of way. No Jim Tracy.

By now DLR isn't pitching anymore, he's throwing a baseball hoping it accidentally caught a part of the plate, but somehow missed a bat as Bob Walk stated on FS-Pittsburgh.

One found the plate. One also found Chris Snyder's bat. Ball found the fair pole.

Here comes Jim Tracy. 22 pitches too late.

And then here comes Jim Tracy again and again.

Had an anchor tied to his ass for De La Rosa. Now we're changing pitchers every other batter for the next two innings so that by the time Colorado rallied in the 9th, all he had left were a fatigued Matt Belisle and closer Huston Street.

Not that that part actually factored into the decision, but it still leaves a lot to be desired from the managerial standpoint.

Ugh. And to think about how special this night would have been for Todd Helton and Ian Stewart. Those were your two role players that stepped up big time this evening but it just wasn't enough.

Tomorrow

We welcome Esmil Rogers back from AAA and all we really ask of him is 7-8 innings of brilliance in an extremely important game. Not too much, I hope?

We'll get another look at Paul Maholm. He treated the Rockies well last week in Denver. Going to need to hurt his ERA again.

Rock Solid Recrap: Which Way To Home Plate?

Phillies 4, Rockies 3

The winning run scores on a wild pitch that gets no more than 10 feet from home plate while Rafael Betancourt stands there pointing.

Welcome to our baseball hell.

Seriously.

Just when you think this team can't possibly look any less focused or fundamentally prepared. Just when you think this team couldn't play with less urgency. Just when you think this team has reached rock bottom.

They find a way to sink a little bit lower.

But wait! There's more!

How about some of those late ABs with RISP?

We have Carlos Gonzalez trying to pull everything 25 rows up the RF bleachers. That's actually a positive, because if you recall in Cincinnati he was trying to pull everything over the Ohio River. So at least he's toned it down a little bit. The results still suck, but the swing is closer to normal.

On the other end of the spectrum... What was Ryan Spilborghs looking for? He's challenging you! Fight back! Swing even.

We have guys overswinging with the bases loaded. We have guys up there taking two pitches right down the middle with the bases loaded. And then we have Ian Stewart coming up with the bases loaded, two outs in the 9th, and he does a liittle bit of both.

What the hell is going on?

How does Don Baylor continue to steal money while our hitters regress or flatline?

Today's Silver Lining

Real nice job by Jeff Francis.

Maybe not the length you'd hope for out of a starting pitcher, but he limited his damage against a very good lineup and obviously kept his team in the game. As always the key was avoiding the extra traffic with walks. The only walk he did issue was intentional, which helped get him through a tough 4th inning jam.

He was aggressive. He pitched inside and without fear of contact. He made the Phillies string enough hits together to score their runs. That's not something we saw during his rough three game stretch prior to the all-star break. This is the type of pitcher Francis needs to be if he hopes to contribute the final two months of the season.

I would give his start a solid B.

Tomorrow

Do we have to?