6 simple ways to make the 2008 playoffs

Wait, what? What happened? I blacked out for a week and when I woke up the Rockies were only 6 games out of first place. As they say in the land down under, "Wtf, mate?" How is this possible? How is this team, the Colorado Rockies, of 63-71 fame, only 6 games out of first place with 28 games left? On this date last year, the Rockies were 6.5 games back of first place. I'm not saying we're going to have Rocktember deja vu but to be perfectly honest, in this crazy mixed up world we live in where college students in our fair city are being maced by SWAT teams and Joe Morgan still has a broadcasting job (the two have direct correlation), stranger things have definitely happened. We've won 13 of our last 18 on the road (to bring us all the way from atrociousness to just plain ol' shittiness away from Coors this year), and are getting major contributions from every aspect of our ballclub. Too little, too late? Possibly. But the present doesn't look as bleak as it did even a week ago.

Here are some things that must happen for the Rockies to pull off another miracle, improbable, logic-defying run to a second consecutive postseason:

1) The continued domination of our makeshift bullpen.
- Luis Vizcaino has begun to pitch like, you know, a real pitcher. No longer flinging poo in wayward directions when he enters the ballgame he has started to become a, dare I say, worthwhile contributor (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 16/2 K/BB ratio in August.)
- Taylor Buchholz is just phenomenal. That's it. No further explanation needed.(6-3, 1.61 ERA on the season)
-T Rex has been ferocious since returning to the closer's role. 25-27 in save opportunities and has recently struck out 34 of his last 72 hitters faced. That doesn't suck one bit. So what if it's probably his last hurrah with the Rox? He's going out with a bang.

2) Writing in Ian Stewart's name into the lineup card every single day.
- There's nothing this kid can't do. I'm serious. I was totally, like, walking by Coors Field yesterday and saw King Stew shooting webs out of his hands and scaling the left field Jumbotron. Then I saw him use his Predator-like stealthness to bypass the 8 miles of security surrounding the Pepsi Center to accept the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. Barack Obama was quoted as saying, "Damn, that boy can hit that ball a country mile." Then Stew, feeling bad for stealing Obama's nomination, asked him to run as Vice President on his ticket. Stewart-Obama '08. Then he lowered gas prices by $2 a gallon and ended the conflict in the Middle East peacefully. See? I told you he could do anything.

3) The return of the Franchise.
- Jeff Francis finally got his first win since June 18 last night against the Giants. His changeup was effective and biting, his fastball was sneaky and he kept hitters off balance enough to keep them hitting weak ground balls. Translation: he was the Jeff Francis of old. We're going to need him to return to form if we think we have any kind of shot at this thing.

4) Do not play Livan Hernandez.

5) Pray for a choke-job from the D-Bags and Doyers.
- The Dodgers already seem to be way ahead of me on this one. To go along with their utter inconsistency, enormous payroll, and MIA offense, they still seem to find spots for "true Dodger" Juan Pierre. Until they stop doing that, I'll just keep laughing. The D-Backs have possibly the best 1-2 pitching tandem in the big leagues in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Beyond that, their ballclub really isn't that impressive. Their offense is lackluster at best as Chris Young, Justin Upton and Eric Byrnes have been, well, to call them disappointing would be lavishing them with praise. I called that back in April by the way. You can look it up here in the archives of Frost Brewed Baseball. While I'm not saying that it's probable that both of these teams will tank enough for the Rockies to overtake them, I'm not saying it's impossible.

6) Take advantage of their remaining games against the NL West
- The Rox have 6 more against the D-Backs and 3 more against the Dodgers. Then there's 13 more games against also-rans the Giants and Padres. To make the playoffs this season the Rockies must take advantage when they play teams that are less talented then they are. The Rockies offense is starting to click, the starting pitching has been serviceable if not spectacular, and the bullpen has been lights-out. They have one of the most talented lineups in all of baseball and now they're finally showing it.

Well, there you have it. If all those things happen then I guarantee we will go to the playoffs. Did I say guarantee? That probably wasn't the right word but hey, at least there's a glimmer of hope now.

Farming for Victory: Rockies Minor League Report Part 4

Okay, so this is a little late. Forgive me, I had hectic week. So, without further ado, I bring you a tardy report on the Tourists:

Asheville Tourists

Hitting

-Darin Holcomb continues to Rock the Casbah (.316/.397/.488). Yes, he could show more power. And, yes, he is a fielding adventure (18 errors). But he's only 22 and hasn't much experience in pro ball. He also has 60 walks and 60 strikeouts--that kind of discipline doesn't often come easy or this early in a professional career.

-"Old Man" Bo Bowman is one of the few A-ball players who was born in 1984. He is also one of the few A-ball players to hit as well as he has. He's a first baseman, which is a hitting position, obviously. Still, across Tri-City and Asheville, he has hit not too shabbily with a .328/.390/.511 line. He's old, an undrafted free agent and he's hitting. If he's not a prospect, he's at least an interesting story.

-The once promising 2007 duo of Brian Rike and Lars Davis, drafted in the second round and third round, respectively, is looking less and less promising by the day. Davis is a catcher, meaning he's expected not to hit. He sure as shucks is fulfilling that expectation as he can't OPS over .700. As for Rike, he has one decent stat going for him--his 71 RsBI. There are, however, much more important stats in which he is a disaster--.392 slugging for a corner outfielder.

Pitching

-Craig Baker rocks. He could be a crunchy relief pitcher some day. His 61K and 11BB in 53.2 IP is staggering.

-Newly signed first rounder, Christian Friedrich, has had a mixed first season in the Rockies organization. He started out extremely well for Tri-City and was promoted to Asheville after 8 starts. He then gave up 3 runs in only 4 innings in his A-ball debut. We'll see how he adapts to Asheville.

-Connor Graham (2.29 ERA) and Cory Riordan (3.56 ERA) of the 2007 draft are looking like decent pitchers. Is their stuff projectable for the majors? We'll see. But for now they are looking good.

-Shane Lindsay, of Australia and quick fastball fame, was demoted from Modesto to work on his command. And he has done. At Asheville his BB/9 went from 6.46 to 3.57. Okay... now bring that same command back up to Modesto.

Well, that's about it. Asheville has several good pitchers and several bad hitters. Let's hope those several good pitchers stay gold when they get into a Rockies uniform, Ponyboy.

Farming for Victory: Rockies Minor League Report Part 3

Friday, August 15, 2008

That's right. I posted this yesterday like I said I would. See look, the date's right there. Don't believe me? Whatever I can do what I feel like. I can end a sentence in a preposition. That's right.

Modesto Nuts

Hitting

-Shucky dang darn, Jhoulys Chacin is good: 50 K's in 51.1 IP, 10 BB, 2.74 Ground out to air out ratio--and that's at high-A. His low-A numbers were even better. For some reason, Chacin hasn't got much "prospect buzz" around Rockies minor league discussions, but golly goshes, he's good. Dare I say that the Rockies have a pitching prospect that will actually be good? Nay, I do not dare. But, hope? Yay.

-Will Harris, a 2006 9th rounder, didn't play at all last year. This year he is playing--playing with hitter's heads. As a reliever, he has struck out 66 batters in 56.2 IP, for a 2.54 ERA. Call this fella up to AA for Pete's sake.

-Aneury Rodriguez, who gets much more buzz than Chacin, is also pitching relatively well. He is definitely a fly ball pitcher (0.81 GO/AO), but he apparently has a good arm. Still he could strike out more (7.86 K/9) and his WHIP is borderline (1.25).

-Esmil Rogers, a converted infielder, and because of that, a 40-man roster member, has been unspectacular. He walks a few too many and his 1.38 WHIP is not a good sign if he wants to make it to the majors. It looks like neither pitching, nor hitting are his fortes, maybe pummeling horse? Or 100-meter individual medley? Wrestling (shrugs)?

Hitting

-Michael McKenry is having a decent offensive year (.821 OPS) for a catcher, but he's just too old. When you're drafted as a junior, you can't spend three years in A-ball. At this pace, he'll be in the majors at 27, when he should be peaking, not reaching the majors.

-Daniel Mayora had a decent year for a middle infielder last year (14 dings), but it appears no longer playing in Asheville's hitters park is catching up to him. His slugging has dropped 69 points. Now he just looks like another empty-average middle infielder.

-The Modesto Nuts don't really have anymore big prospect type guys. They also, coincidentally or not, don't have anybody that can hit. McKenry has the highest OPS on the team and most of the players are far too old for A-ball at 23-24.

Asheville better have some players or the 2010-2015 teams might be looking like a team circa '05 of Cory Sullivans and Dusty Mohrs

Tomorrow (or in the next day or two): Asheville Tourists.

Go Broncos tonight. America's team is going down. God's (John Elway's) team is king.

Rox Recap 8/14/08 (Is anybody still watching?)

That's it. I'm done. Kaput. As they say in Italy: Io sono finito. I can barely muster enough energy to write this blog much less root root root for my beloved Rockies anymore. Yes, yes, the season is theoretically over and yes, yes, we just went 3-7 on an incredibly crucial 10 game homestand (including 7 games against the 2 worst teams in the National League in which we managed to go 2-5), but every day I wake up still looking forward to the day's game even if I already feel the outcome down in the depths of my currently supercooling soul. I love these guys (well, most of them anyway. Taveras and Torrealba, I'm looking in your direction) and I want them to do well every day and that's why it hurts so much when they put the type of product on the field that they have been the last week and a half. Maybe if we could just show the Rockies what they're doing to their die-hard fans like me, then maybe they'd be guilted into starting to turn around their season and finish with a flourish (a flourish meaning maybe winning 75 games.) For the sake of Elway and all his grace, let's just do a little dance, make a little love, and briefly recap this abomination of a homestand.

1) Our top starters Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Jeff Francis managed to go a combined 0-5 on the homestand while giving up 31 runs in 33.2 innings pitched for a sterling 8.40 ERA. When the most quality starts from your pitching staff on a homestand come from career castoffs Jorge de la Rosa and Glendon Rusch, you know something's wrong.

2) Glendon Rusch gave up a home run to Chris Burke today. That's significant because coming into today's game, Burke had as many home runs this season as everybody here at Frost Brewed Baseball combined.

3) Ian Stewart is doing all he can to impress me personally. He's hitting huge home runs, hitting for average, getting his rbis, and all the while playing a pretty damn good defense. He's slowly taking over Tulo's place as my New Favorite Rockie (capitalized because of its epic magnitude.) Though the Rookie of the Year in the National League will probably go to a Cub because everybody feels sorry for their neverending plight to win a World Series (present company excluded) King Stew should get some serious consideration at the end of year. If he keeps up this pace he might eclipse the 20 home run mark with around 70-80 rbis. If he keeps the ol' average around .300 he just might get some surprise votes. Now that I've said that, I know how ridiculous it would be for Stewart to get any recognition regardless of how good his numbers end up at the end of the year. Baseball writers know four teams: The Yankees, the Red Sox, the Cubs, and the Dodgers. They might not even be certain that there are teams in other cities and are constantly confused by those other blokes in the baseball jerseys who seem to be playing the same sport against their beloved Sawx, or Yanx, or Cubbies. (Though in Geovany Soto's defense, he has had a pretty good season and if he wins, whatever, live and let live.)

4) Willy Taveras tied the Rockies single season stolen base record in today's game with 53, putting his name in the record books alongside everybody's favorite EY, Eric Young. What surprised me more is that Willy Taveras has actually been on base 53 times this season. Could have fooled me.

5) A job well done: Luis Vizcaino wore pants.

(I cannot be credited with this joke because it's not mine. It's the quality work of a blogger for the Cleveland Indians on http://www.sportstimeohio.com/ named Steve Buffum. He writes a daily blog called the B-List and may be the most consistently funny column on baseball I've ever read. Do yourself a favor and enjoy it.)

6) Torrealba may be going on the DL!

That's all I have. I'm at Fox Sports right now and am trying to kill time until FSN Live. When the Rockies are playing like this, the mood is pretty down around the office. At least the Olympics are on.

Go Casper Ghosts

P.S. Will Smith.

P.P.S. The cartoon above is from Win, Lose, and Drew by Drew Litton in the Rocky Mountain News. His cartoons are always hilarious and almost always about Denver sports, 2 things I'm incredibly fond of (humor and Denver, that is.)

Farming for Victory: Rockies Minor League Report Part 2

As promised...

Tulsa Drillers

Hitting

-In 2004, Chris Nelson was taken by the Rockies 9th overall, and was considered a steal at that slot. The only larceny involved in that draft choice was the $2.15 million signing bonus, which Nelson received. $2.15 million for a .626 OPS and 18 errors in AA... delicious. Looks like his great "turn around season" in 2007 was a fluke.

-Eric Young Mini-Edition hasn't hitting the ball supremely hard, but his much more important on-base percentage is sitting at .394. A lead off hitter that could get on-base would be a lovely addition to the Rockies (that's right Willy Taveras! I don't care if you steal 100 bags; you still suck).

-Speaking of getting on-base and Willy Taveras... (cue choral church music)... Dexter Fowler (Hallelujah! Hallelujah). He has a .430 on-base percentage, which is the highest of any current Texas Leaguer with a legitimate number of ABs. His .514 slugging ain't too shabby either. When the USA gets eliminated from the Olympics, Fowler ought to be sent to AAA, with a plan for a September call-up. Maybe, then, he'll be the Rockies CF come 2009.

Pitching

-Oh, Brandon Hynick, what cruel mistress hath destroyed thee? Hynick gives up home runs like 3oh!3 makes hit singles. He still doesn't walk anybody (1.41 BB/9), which is good. Though I'm not a big fan if this qualifier, Hynick looks more and more like a fifth starter, rather than the 3 he looked like last year.

-I'm not really excited about anybody else on the staff. There is, however, some guy named Jeff Francis, whom I've never heard of. He has had 3 starts for the Drillers and has struck out 19 batters in 14.1 IP, with 2 walks. Maybe he'll be a good big leaguer some day.

And 'gain... Tomorrow: Modesto Nuts...

Sorry for the laziness, but if it was all together it would get really long. Also, I'd like to think I have a life, though I probably don't.

Also: Well done, Rockies. I know Haren is ridiculously good pitcher, but two runs against and letting him get two hits? At least the Broncos will be a losing a lot soon, so that we won't have to hate just the Rockies.

Farming for Victory: Rockies Minor League Report Part 1

Well, with the Rockies crumpling under the wallops of the colossal wrecking ball of their in-crap-titude (mouthful, huh?), and Jayson Nix failing to throw South Koreans out at home plate, to where do we turn? Perhaps the minor league system has a few reasons to keep calling yourself a Rockies fan... Perhaps.

Colorado Springs Sky Sox

Pitching

It is more like "Pitching" than Pitching, because what the Sky Sox have is an awful facsimile of pitching. I think, when this masquerade of a pitching staff was being created, someone accidentally spilled coffee on the machine. What came out, should be thrown out rather than used--sort of like the new Indiana Jones movie.

-Former prospect Jason Hirsh is 26-years old. Instead of reaching his prime pitching age in the major leagues, he's working on repeating his delivery in AAA.

-Luckily for Franklin Morales, his parents made him later. So, at 22, he still has time to refine his command. His 70/69 K/BB ratio would be kind of infuriating, if it wasn't so sad.

-Gregory Reynolds hasn't pitched since July 22nd. He is transitioning from a pitcher full of potential to a useless roster spot. In other words, he's becoming a "True Rockie," like how Derek Jeter is a "True Yankee." Instead of how a "True Yankee" is someone who only gets balls to his right and hits a few dingers in the playoffs, a "True Rockie" is someone who is either injured or plays poorly.

-In honor of the Olympics, the Bronze goes to Steven Register for being the only halfway decent on the Sky Sox. The 25-year old has a respectable 3.33 ERA.

Hitting

With Ian Stewart cranking dingers into the second deck at Coors, the Sky Sox don't have many "prospects," but some of their players are hitting pretty decently.

-Joe Koshansky keeps on destroying--.295/.374/.594. This could be because of the humidor-less altitude of Security Service Field. For you RBI fans out there, Koshansky does pretty well at situational hitting (102 RBI).

-Though he can't through out South Koreans, Jayson Nix hits pretty well in the thin air of Colorado Springs. He was slugging .593 before running off to Beijing. Now, if he could only slug like that at Coors field...

Tomorrow: Part 2-Tulsa Drillers...

RIP

Here lies the Rockies season

March 30, 2008-August 7, 2008

Rox Recap 8/5/08 (Winning Baseball Games For Dummies)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Where do we go from here, babygirl?

Well, the trade deadline has come and gone. The Rockies valiant post-All-Star Break play has come and gone. OUR ROTATION FEATURES GLENDON RUSCH, JORGE DE LA ROSA AND VALERIO DE LOS SANTOS. Okay, I know Jeffrey William Francis will be back in the rotation--this time sans injury--but seriously? The Royals wouldn't even take De La Rosa as a fifth starter and he's our third starter? The 42-68 Padres thought Rusch wasn't good enough for their team. Then there's Valerio De Los Santos. He wasn't good enough for anyone in America to want him on their team. Welcome to Colorado, Valerie of the Saints. Pitch well and with vigor.

Dan O' Dowd in his infinite wisdom decided that the Rockies were contenders. Maybe Terry Malloy shoulda been a contendah, but the Rockies don't pitch on the waterfront. They pitch at the stoop of the mountains, where balls fly higher than a beach ball at a Nickelback concert.

Let's pontificate on this for a moment... Jimmy is learning how to strikeout, Cook's striking more out and walking fewer, Francis isn't hurt and screwing with his delivery anymore. Then we have Gregford Reynolds the first starting to figure stuff out at AAA. Morales and Hirsh are slowly but surely being taught that the object of the game is to throw the ball across the plate, not at the batter, at the ump, into the stands, toward Uzbekistan. Dan O'Dowd's answer is let Rusch, De La Rosa and De Los Santos take us to the promised land. The Rockies are only 8 games out!

Wouldn't it maybe make sense to focus on the future? Stew and Iannetta are destroying; Tulo remembered how to hit; U-Ball is using the stuff of the gods to get swings and misses; Dexter Fowler is blitzkrieging AA pitching. The Rockies might just have a future with those players and a rotation of Cook, U-Ball, Francis, Reynolds and either Hirsh or Morales (may be better suited for the pen).

I understand not trading T-Rex Fuentes--the Rockies get two first round compensatory picks for him. Perhaps Dan of O'Derr will pick up two college players on the fast track. But, as much as it hurts, Holliday and Helton should be traded. Helton, though he gets on base more than the Dark Knight gets ticket sales, is too expensive. The duo of Atkins at first and Ian "Do you think I'm sexy?" Stewart at third base is much more cost effective and not a huge dropoff in production. Also keep in mind that Atkins is one of the worst fielding third basemen in baseball and is better suited for first. Last year, he had the second worse plus/minus, after Ryan Braun, of all third basemen (-29). Over the last three years Atkins is fifth worst of all third basemen. He had a -12 FRAA last year. To put it bluntly, Atkins blows at third base, no matter how you look at it.

So for the next few years you have an infield of: Atkins-1st, Baker or eventually EY Jr.-2nd, Stewart-3rd, Tulo-SS, Iannetta-Catch. That is a pretty decent infield and all relatively cheap.

Holliday's replacement would be tougher. Hawper is a good hitter and functional outfielder, who is under control, at a decent wage, till 2010/11 with option. Taveras sucks and is a fourth outfield/pinch runner at best. Seth Smith is a replacement player, who will provide slightly less than Keanu Reeves value, but still not a huge gap in the lineup. Dex Fowler is certified stuck off the realness and will be one hell of a center fielder and, since he hasn't appeared in the majors yet, will be around until at least 2014. So Seth Smith would have to fill in for Holliday. But that depends what we would get in return for Holliday. Future ace? Sluggifier? Left field is usually a pretty easy position to fill. All you have to do is find a fat first basemen who can run a bit and stick him in the outfield. Hell, Joe Koshansky could learn to play left and he could provide Brad Hawpe like production at the major league level.

So trade Helton and Holliday and the conclusion: reduce the payroll by huge margin, lose maybe 30-50 runs in the short term, and add prospects that could eventually make up those 30-50 runs and possibly add more. It'll hurt ticket sales and fan's feelings, but it'll add wins in the future (if, of course, O'Dowd gets good prospects).

There's no chance of contending this year; there's a small chance to contend next year; and if, O'Dowd plays his cards right he'll have a good chance in 2010-2012ish, before having to rebuild with the losses of Atkins, Hawpe, Cook, Francis and soon after Tulo and Manny.

The D-Bags are only going to improve, and will provide intense competition. Luckily, Ned Colletti is a complete moron and got robbed by the Red Sox and Bucs. I'm so excited that I won't be seeing Andy LaRoche in Dodger blue. Maybe even the Dodgers will sign Manny Being Ramirez for $100mil/4yr like he thinks he deserves. It would be amazing to watch him hit like 10 home runs at 40 and get paid $25 mil by the Dodgers, while limping his way around the outfield, of course. I am concerned though that Manny won't fit in with the gamer mentality of the Dodgers. Manny can hit, he doesn't hustle, he doesn't have a beard and he doesn't scrap. Hmmm, how do you win games with that? If only the Dodgers had a team of Juan Pierres, Casey Blakes and Nomar Garciaparras, they'd score like 100 runs per season and scrap their way to five wins.

Okay, that was meandering and incoherent, but I'm sick and it's about 90 degrees at Frost Brewed Baseball Headquarters. So, please forgive me.

In Praise of Ubaldo...

Dear Ubaldo,
Hey! I've got something to say to you.......effin' a, man....effin' a. Yes, I haven't posted in a while but Ubaldo, you're making me do it finally. I've just got to get the word out in the blogosphere that you're probably the pitcher with the nastiest stuff in the game right now. But don't take it from me, take it from the last Major League hitter you just made look like he's swinging a wiffle bat. The phrase "He probably had the nastiest stuff we've seen all year" is thrown around so many times after your pitching performances lately that it's becoming one of the storied "baseball cliches" joining the ranks of "we're just going to take it one day at a time," "I'm just doing what I can to help the ballclub," and "Look out! Here comes Milton Bradley and he looks pissed off!" The hitters know what you're capable of and they don't want a piece of it, much less think they can get one. You could stand on the mound and call out what every pitch is going to be to the hitter and they'd still have trouble making contact. Yesterday's start was what's becoming another ho-hum outing for you since the middle of June. Your line:

7 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 bb, 10 k, 111 pitches.

Earlier in the year you were throwing 111 pitches in four innings and walking the ballpark leading me to give you the incredibly clever and fairly unflattering nickname of "Four-balldo." Now, you're making adjustments mid inning, hell, mid batter that you were previously unable to do. Skip Hurdle's letting you work through your little hiccups (like last night's 5th inning when the Marlins got their only 2 hits off you and loaded the bases on one of your walks.) All you had to do was face maybe the best young player in all of baseball in Hanley Ramirez with the bases loaded and what did you do? Threw one of the filthiest sidearm sliders I've seen in recent memory. Skip Hurdle compared it to Juan Marichal and I'll tell ya, that's some pretty lofty praise being thrown around.

You started the season 1-9, but in your last 11 starts you've gone 7-3 with a 2.00 ERA. That's Cy Young worthy if you put together a whole season like that. You've pitched 13 straight scoreless innings that you'll look to continue in your next start presumably against the bumbling Nationals and you've now dropped your ERA from a De La/Los Rosa/Santos-worthy 5.98 at the end of May to an Aaron Cook-like 3.60. When before I'd cringe when you pitched and only hoped you'd do well enough not to lose the game, now I have the utmost confidence that when you're on the hill, it's going to be a long day for the opposing team. You're finally pitching up to your potential and goddamn it's fun to watch.

Love,
Anthony

P.S. Do you think you could pitch tonight too? I'm not sure I can stomach another De Los Santos regurgitation. Thanks.