May 3rd, 2013 at 8:01 PM
By Milton HermanThere are many bold moves in baseball. The 3-1 slider, the hit-and-run, or the suicide squeeze. These occur are on the field but there are other bold moves that occur in the front office, with paperwork and meetings instead of leather and pine tar.
The Colorado Rockies made a bold move when they designated and then traded 3B Chris Nelson in favor of the coveted young prospect Nolan Arenado.
Nelson had earned the third base spot last year as he hit .301 in the second half of the season. Nelson’s luke warm .242 average in April and his 0 home runs lead the Rockies to move to Arenado as they carried a, NL West best record, 15-10.
The move signifies that although the season is young, the Rockies are striving to contend now. Arenado is 22 years old and was blistering AAA pitching though 18 games hitting .364 with 3 homers.
Nelson has never shown the capacity for power and seemed to be limited at the corner defensively.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 24th, 2013 at 10:58 PM
By Milton HermanThe cold Colorado weather cooled down the bats of the Rockies for most of their three game series against Atlanta Braves.
The Rockies came into the series with eight straight victories and an undefeated home record. Monday’s game was postponed due to snow, which meant the Rockies had to play their second double header in a week.
Game One: Rockies 3 – Braves 4
Starting pitcher Jeff Francis seemed to be the most negatively effected by the harsh conditions.
Francis played home run derby with the Braves. He allowed jacks to Justin Upton, Dan Uggla and Evan Gattis in just 75 pitches. Francis was pulled from the game in the fourth with an 8.44 ERA on the season. The Rockies hung around with Rob Scahill and Edgmer Escalona holding the Braves scoreless to close the game. The Rox brought across three runs but had just six hits in the game and were 2-of-7 with RISP.
Game Two: Rockies 2 – Braves 10
Jon Garland failed in his attempt to warm up the Rockies’ day. He allowed back-to-back long balls to the Upton brothers in the fifth. Garland had allowed a homer to Juan Franciso in the previous inning. Garland was shelled on the day, allowing 10 hits, six earned runs and coughing up four walks.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 20th, 2013 at 9:26 PM
By Milton HermanThe Rockies (13-4) endured a Colorado snowstorm as they worked their way to an eight game winning streak with a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The win has the Rockies tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best record in baseball. The kicker is the Braves will face the Rockies in a three-game series beginning Monday.
On Saturday at Coors, Reid Brignac delivered from the 7-hole with a RBI single in the second. Carlos Gonzalez and Tulowitzki played small ball in the third with a Fielder’s Choice RBI and a Sac Fly respectively.
Michael Cuddyer added the high-value insurance home run in the sixth with a rainbow shot to left.
Edgmer Escalona took the mound in the seventh inning and looked impressive but allowed a two-run home run to Eric Chavez in the eighth. Rex Brothers shut down the inning, lowering his ERA to 1.08 in nine games.
Rafael Betancourt came in with six straight saves but loaded the bases with one out. Rafi forced a groundball out to first then forced a flyout to right to end the threat. The Rockies closer is now tied for the NL lead in saves with seven.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 19th, 2013 at 10:03 PM
By Milton HermanThe 3-1 Rockies win over the Diamondbacks was overshadowed by the fear of what is being called a left oblique strain suffered by ace Jhoulys Chacin.
Chacin grimaced after throwing a fastball in the 6th inning of the game at chilly Coors Field. Rockies fans hoped it was back spasms, as oblique diagnosis was posted panic spread.
All fans can do is hope the 25-year-old will not miss more than a start or two, he has a dominant 1.46 ERA through three starts.
The options that seem likely for replacement starters are prospect Drew Pomeranz or recovering Aaron Cook.
Fowler, Rutledge and CarGo, the top three of the order went for a combined 0-11 but enough runs came around for the home team.
Tulowitzki launched a two-run home run and Chacin helped himself with a Sac Fly.
The most impressive thing about the win was the solid performance from the bullpen to close the game. Wilton Lopez, Rex Brothers silenced the Dbacks in the 7th and 8th. Betancourt earned the save with just 19 pitches despite a Nelson error that allowed the only run for Arizona.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 3rd, 2013 at 6:07 PM
By Milton HermanRockies (1-1) at Brewers (1-1) – 6:10 MT
Game Notes
- The Rockies are picked by Keith Law of ESPN to go 53-109 on the year. Two wins fewer than the Houston Astros last year. Law's beef with team? You guessed it. Starting pitching. If the offense if anything like it has been in the first two games, the Rockies will slug their way to 70 wins.
- Juan Nicasio takes on Wily Peralta of the Brewers. Nicasio has not pitched in a regular season game since a June 2 loss to the Dodgers. Peralta will try to build on strong September of last year when he had a 2.48 ERA in five starts.
- Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki have went deep in each of the first two games.
- Eric Young Jr. gets the start in RF for Cuddyer and Jordan Pacheco will start at First Base.
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