Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 6 vs. Oakland

Hits

Juan Nicasio

Nicasio's comeback story gets better and better with each passing day. For the first time since breaking his neck last August, Nicasio threw in a live game against live hitters and was largely successful, allowing only one unearned run on five hits over the three innings. But the numbers truly do mean little in this case, it's just awesome that Nicasio is healthy enough physically and mentally to resume his big league career. He's already the comeback story of the year.

Troy Tulowitzki

You probably won't see guys like Tulowitzki, Gonzalez or Helton listed here often since, you know, they're well established and we kinda know what to expect, but multiple extra basehits (two doubles) on a day the offense did little else is worth recognizing. Tulo remains a stud.

Misses

Casey Blake

The 38-year-old veteran, who at this point is fully expected to be the opening day third baseman, is off to rough start this spring. In his initial two starts, Blake has four plate appearances, and each appearance has resulted in a strikeout. Again, we shouldn't look at this too closely at this point, but Blake is definitely among the regulars who needs a good spring in the eyes of the fans. With Nolan Arenado already a huge fan favorite and breathing down his neck, there will be justified discontent if he's simply handed the job despite a lousy spring.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 5 vs. Kansas City

Hits

Drew Pomeranz

Make that back-to-back strong outings to start the spring for Pomeranz. In today's outing he threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out three. To break it down a little further, he forced three groundball outs, picked the speedy Lorenzo Cain off first, and teamed up with Ramon Hernandez to have another speedy runner, Mitch Maier, thrown out attempting to steal second.

Good stuff all the way around for Pomeranz individually, but that about covers the good for Colorado today.

Misses

Josh Outman

Outman's day was a miss, no doubt, but not the total miss it looked like it would be after his first inning. That first inning, which was the game's fourth inning, included the Royals plating four runs on five hits, with Yuniesky Betancourt's home run greeting him on just his second pitch. His second inning didn't start much better with a walk and single leading it off, but Outman did bear down at that point to retire six in a row.

Again, not a good outing, but you definitely take note of his ability to collect himself and finish his three innings of work strongly. How a pitcher finishes his outing after a rough start is one of the few things you can actually take away from these spring games, so I wouldn't say Outman harmed his chances of making the team based on this. But he definitely needs to bounce back with a more complete performance his next time out.

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Plain and simple: Ubaldo Jimenez acted unprofessionally

The big story involving the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday centered around the article Tracy Ringolsby wrote for Fox Sports where we learned more details about the departure of Ubaldo Jimenez last July.

Among the new pieces of information revealed by Ubaldo Jimenez himself...

1. He felt disrespected when the Rockies chose to extend Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and not him.

"I read in the paper that the Rockies said they were only going to sign two guys, they couldn't do three guys," Jimenez told FOXSports.com. "I was the third guy. They signed the two guys they were going to sign and they gave them more (years) and bigger (salaries). "

2. He arrived to spring training with the intention of being traded.

3. He forced himself to pitch through an infected cuticle on his thumb and a strained groin because "I was not going to get traded if I was on the disabled list."

4. He then continued to pitch with a fatigued arm for the Cleveland Indians after the trade.

Listen, I can completely understand why a person would feel slighted when overlooked for a promotion or an opportunity they felt they earned, especially if they felt like the employer wasn't doing a good enough job communicating their plans and his status directly. It's not fun. Most of us have been there ourselves or we've seen someone close to us being put in that position, so it's very easy to sympathize with that.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 4 vs. San Francisco

Hits

Charlie Blackmon

Hey, any time you can take Tim Lincecum out of the yard - spring training, postseason and all times in between - you've had a good day. So that means Blackmon's day was a good day just a couple pitches into the game as he led it off with a solo blast off the Giants ace. He then added a single, a stolen base and a run scored in the second, again off Lincecum, making it an excellent day.

Michael Cuddyer

Jim Tracy wanted to get Cuddyer into the lineup today to get him a look at Lincecum. It didn't take him long to get comfortable as he knocked a two-run triple over the head of right fielder Nate Schierholtz to cap a three-run first. Cuddyer would later add a run scoring single, giving him a three RBI day batting out of the sixth spot.

Jamie Moyer/Rex Brothers

Opposite ends of the age and velocity table, but equally as effective on the mound today. Moyer tossed a pair of scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. Brothers followed with his own scoreless frame. Good start for each in active competition.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 3 vs. Chicago

Hits

Dexter Fowler

The newer, stronger version of Dexter Fowler muscled up from the right side for his first home run of the spring. According to the Cubs radio broadcast the ball traveled over well 400 feet, so that's pretty impressive and maybe even encouraging. Unless, of course, you don't want your lead-off hitter swinging for the fences.

Tyler Colvin

Colvin's solid day began with an RBI groundout in the second. He then singled in the fourth and concluded his day with a triple in the sixth. That had to feel good for Colvin against his former club, especially on the heels of his three strikeout game on Saturday. He remains a guy to watch closely throughout spring training because of his intriguing upside and versatility.

Misses

Guillermo Moscoso

Moscoso's high flyball rate made his addition to the Rockies pitching staff a head scratcher this offseason. His performance on Tuesday did nothing to change that. Well, aside from maybe leading fans and writers alike from scratching their head to banging it on a desk repeatedly. Yes, the Cubs hit the ball in the air a few times again Moscoso in his two innings, including an Alfonso Soriano home run that traveled 450+ feet and struck the scoreboard on the fly, and a Brett Jackson three-run homer which capped Chicago's four run second inning.

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