Many Questions Face Rox as Spring Training Nears

With the Rockies' pitchers and catchers set to report to Tucson on Friday, and the rest of the club coming in early next week, many questions still remain as to whether or not the Rox can return to the prominence they tasted in 2007.

Personally, I think a playoff run is possible when you consider a few important factors:

The NL West is completely, totally, Wyoming-ly wide open. When you look at the rosters of each of the five teams, everyone except the Padres, who are in a cost-cutting financial free fall, are seen as possible contenders for the division title.

No team made a major addition to their rosters. Matt Holliday switching leagues would be the biggest loss for any team in the NL West, and it's a veritable staring contest to see who will blink first between the Dodgers and the Giants when it comes to the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes at this point.

The NL West is still one of the more pitching-rich divisions in the game, and with each team hacking their way through Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Cook, and Ubaldo Jimenez, it's going to be tough for any team to build a sizable advantage in the standings.

Eighty-four wins, which the Dodgers earned last year to win the division, could very well do the trick again.

But back to the Rockies...

What are some of the major questions that must be answered before their Apr. 6 Opening Day showdown with the D-Backs?

How's Jeff Francis' shoulder?

The shoulder status of Jeff Francis will be monitored on an hourly basis as he tries to work through the scar tissue remaining in his pitching arm. He's supposedly going to make a decision about whether surgery is necessary soon after arriving in Tucson.

If he decides to go under the knife, it's bye-bye to 2009. If he breaks through said scar tissue during his daily bullpen sessions, he could be back on the mound around May or June.

How's Todd Helton's Back?

A majority of the lineup's daily movement will rest on Helton's balky back. If he's good to go, Garrett Atkins will man third while Ian Stewart either rides the bench or plays out of position in left field. If Todd needs a breather, Atkins goes to first and Stewart returns to his natural position at third base, opening up a spot for Seth Smith in left.

Who's Rounding Out the Rotation?

Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jason Marquis, and Jorge de la Rosa have the first four spots in the starting rotation as it stands today. The real position battle for that fifth spot will be between lefties Franklin Morales and Greg Smith and righties Jason Hirsh, Greg Reynolds, Josh Fogg, and Matt Belisle.

Smith could have the upper hand as he threw nearly 200 innings with the Athletics last season with moderate success (7-16, 4.16.) Morales has the best stuff of any of the candidates, but dealt with control issues and a bad back in 2008.

Who Will Man the Outfield?

Brad Hawpe is a lock in right. The other two spots are more up in the air. Ryan Spilborghs will be given the chance to translate his super-sub skills into a starting spot in center while Seth Smith will set up shop in left, getting spelled by Matt Murton when the team faces a tough lefty.

If any of those players should fail, hot shot prospects Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez will be waiting in the wings for their chance to shine.

How Hot is Clint Hurdle's Seat?

Maybe the reason why we never see Clint Hurdle sitting down in the dugout is because his seat is hotter than my new girlfriend, Bar Rafaeli. Hurdle's been given a seemingly infinite amount of patience on the part of the Monfort Brothers in his seven year tenure as the team's head coach, but you really have to wonder how much more losing the organization can take.

If the Rockies slink out of the gate in '09, look for Hurdle to be updating his resume come June.

Sabotage?

This is my apartment building:

I'm thinking it could have been either Clint Hurdle, Dan O'Dowd, or Yorvit Torrealba, as they are the most common scapegoats for Frost Brewed Baseball. Since Boulder is closer to Denver, they decided to attack me, rather than Anthony who is all the way out in Ohio. This is of course all speculative. Also, the fire never reached my apartment, so Ha Ha Ha! I win again Clint, Dan, or Yorv!

Was that ivy growing on the outfield walls at Coors?

Boo! It’s almost as popular as cheering and clapping. Boo! It’s the simplest expression of disapproval there is. Boo! Apparently, it is also something the Rockies get at their home park.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle intentionally walked three Cubs over the course of tonight’s game and was booed every time. Now why would Rockies fans boo Clint Hurdle for trying to avoid good hitters (except Cedeno) and get out of innings? There are plenty of other reasons to boo Clint Hurdle. My current count is 387. Yet they booed Clint for his intentional walks—for not having the Rocky Mountain oysters to pitch to potentially dangerous hitters. That’s not really why Hurdle was booed; he was booed because the booers booing him boofully were Cubs fans. Now, I wasn’t at the game, but drawing from my knowledge of seeing the Cardinals and Cubs come to Coors and from what I saw in the stands on television, there were probably about as many Cubs fans as there were Rockies fans. And somewhere Larry Walker wept. No, scratch that. Larry Walker only cries when his tears are needed for their remedial capacity—they can cure anything from cancer to the common cold.

It’s not as though the large portion of away team fans is a continual problem—it’s usually on the days the Cubs or Cardinals come to town (or the rare occasion when the Yankees play at Coors). These franchises obviously have a lot of history as well as vast fan bases. You’d think, though, after somehow making it to the World Series last year, the Rockies would garner a bit more support. No? They’re the biggest one-hit wonders since Dexy’s Midnight Runners? (Could have gone with Vanilla Ice, but everything he’s done is a hit)

Their one-hit was enough to improve attendance, if only slightly. They are averaging about 3,000 more people (or tickets sold) per game than last year. They are also averaging the highest attendance per game since 2002. That’s a good sign. They are moving up in the world. Maybe they can be in ESPN’s Next competition. The question is: How many of those fans are Rockies fans? The Tulo chant suggests there are many. The booing suggests there aren’t enough.

I suppose they will have to post a few thousand more winning seasons before Colorado is a baseball state, though the Broncos’ firm hold on our state’s heart is loosening with each playoff-less January. One winning season is a lot to ask with Danny O’ Dowd at the helm. After all, “life is a blast when you know what you’re doing, best to know what you’re doing,” which Dan O’ Dowd doesn’t. You can’t really blame Dan, though; it’s the prerogative of every Rockies general manager to not know what they are doing.

Since a few winning seasons is probably too much to ask, I’ll put my money where my mouth is (as long as my foot isn’t already there). I’m going to go to Rockies games and boo opposing teams’ fans. For every person I see wearing a hat without a “CR” on it, I will go up to that person and say “boo you, sir” and walk away. Cruel? Borderline asshole-ish? Perhaps, but we all have to make sacrifices for what we love, even if what we love can’t seem to win any games.

Talk about precocious...

It was revealed today that Miguel Tejada faked his age coming out of the Dominican Republic as a prospect. He is, in fact, 33 instead of his purported age of 31. His true age was, embarrassingly, right on his passport. Because of this, the Rockies decided to make sure they had no foreign-born players lying about their age by checking everyone's passports. The Rockies were pleasantly surprised to find out that Canadian-born Jeff Francis is actually 14, rather than his listed age of 27. Francis has often been called baby-faced, and lo and behold, he truly is baby-faced. This means instead of making his major league debut at the age of 24, Francis was only 11--by far the youngest player in major league history. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle had this to say: "I can't go out drinking with him any more. Shit!"

While a player claiming to be older than he truly is can be bad publicity for a team, finding out that a player is actually younger could prove to be great publicity. The Rockies anticipate a sky rocket in ticket sales when Francis is pitching. Much as the Cubs did in the Daniel Stern-directed Rookie of the Year, the Rockies aim to take advantage of Francis' young age. A spokesman for the team says they have already planned promotional days including: Free Pokemon Day (as in free -of-charge Pokemon, not free the imprisoned Pokemon), Free Jolt Cola to Get Buzzed On Day, We'll Do Your Social Studies Homework While You Watch the Game Day, and Dress Up Like Power Rangers Day. At a press conference this afternoon, Francis said, "Mommy, can I have my snaky now." His mom then gave him his cookies and milk and told him it was bedtime.

Perhaps this will bring about a new age in baseball, in which players are drafted out of junior high, rather than after high school. Here's to hoping.

Christopher vs. Yorvit—There can be only one Highlander…

Anferny discussed this earlier and I think it warrants some elaboration. After all, catcher is one of the most important positions out there. There is the chubby, high potential kid (Chris Iannetta) and the sprite Venezuelan (Yorvit Torrealba). Both have their merits, but one is more meritorious than the other. One’s meritivty is more meritified than the meritations of the other meriter.

Neither has hit very well in their major league careers. Actually, both have been well below average. Their career OPS+ is exactly identical (80). The problem is, Yorvit has had 1078 more at-bats than Christobald. Jorvy is 29 and passed his prime years (26-28). Chances are he ain’t getting any better. Christoph, on the other hand, is in his younger and more vulnerable years at 25. Add to this how he got jiggy wid it in the minor leagues (OBP: .409, SLG: 509) and there’s a good chance Ian will hit better than Tory over the long term. Obviously, minor league numbers don’t equal major league numbers, but there is a relative correlation. Yorvit’s are pretty similar, if slightly better in the majors. So far this year, in a very small sample size, Iannetta is OPSing 971 (nah, nah, nah, nah, na-nah, nah, getting’ jiggy wid it). The Duke of Torrealba, meanwhile, is OPSing 641 (nah, nah… no). Then again, perennial all-star and first ballot hall of famer Gabe Kapler is OPSing 1410 so far. So… conclusion? Iannetta and Torrealba have hit about the same so far in their careers, but Iannetta is younger and has a much bigger upside. Advantage: Iannetta

Defense is hard to judge. The stats are slippery and you can’t watch every single play. It seems like just about everyone who covers the Rockies says Torrealba is a terrific defender, yet he rarely throws runners out and he can’t seem to block the ball very well (though he was credited with only 4 passed balls last year). Iannetta is also supposed to be a very good defender, but he seems to be flawed like Torrealba. Apparently Yorvit is a better game-caller (catching ERA 4.12) than Iannetta (CERA 4.71). The stats seem to back that up. My only qualm with this is that both of them look into the dugout before they call their pitches. Is there a puppeteer in the dugout? I can’t say for sure. For lack of clear evidence, I have to say… Advantage: Torrealba.

The other advantage that Torrealba supporters claim he has is that he’s clutch. He reeks clutch. If he had a cologne, like Jeter, it would be called Clutch. The problem is that if you look at all his “clutch” stats (2 outs w/ RISP, late and close, within 1 run) he is worse than normal. In fact, the only time he hits better than his career average is with a margin of more than 4 runs, where his OPS is 28 points higher. As for late and close games, when you would think it matters most, his OPS is significantly lower (134 points lower!). So, if you believe in clutch hitting, which I personally don’t, you cannot say truthfully that Yorvit is “clutch.” Just because he hit a homer in the playoffs, it doesn’t mean he’s clutch (ahem… JETER!). Iannetta also doesn’t eat, breathe and shit clutchness; so this category is a wash, as the mystical attribute of clutchbat should be.

There are other arguments that could be brought up: Yorvit is good with the young latin pitchers (so just start him for Morales and Jimenez) and that Torrealba costs 7,575.75 times (not dollars) more than Iannetta (ok, there is no point in arguing that). So, I suppose the question comes down to: Is Iannetta’s bat and potential worth more than Torrealba’s defense? I think the answer is unequivocally, yes. Instead of wasting $3 mil on Torrealba, we could have had a capable catching tandem of Iannetta and Edwin Bellorin. But wasting money is what Dan O’ Dowd is good at—Hampton, Neagle. So unless his royal clutchness starts to hit well for the first time in his career, Clinton of Hurdle might find his team scoring more runs with a line-up including Christopher Domenic Iannetta instead of Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba. Oh, I forgot to bring up the “whose name is better?” argument. Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba wins in a landslide. I forfeit. Torrealba should start merely because of the majesty of his name.

"Oh, I just wanted to say good-bye and remind you that the good guys always win, even in the eighties." - Academy Award winner Barry Bostwick in the hit 1982 film Megaforce

To quote Soulja Boy, “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to escape”

That may not be Soulja Boy that I just quoted; it may be James Joyce. I guess it doesn’t matter, because their contributions to the English language are roughly equivalent. The point remains; the Rockies, like Soulja Boy or Joyce, are trying to escape history, specifically their own. It has been a history full of home runs, tears, embarrassment and tearful home runs full of embarrassment. Their career record before last season, including the one time they somehow lucked into the playoffs, is .465, which averages to a little over 75 wins per season. That would make the Devil (whoops blasphemy) Rays proud?

Their Captain Fantastic win percentage has, however, been subverted by some lovely moments—EY hitting the first homer in the first Rockies at bat, Dante Bichette’s mullet, umm… that’s about it, but Bichette’s mullet is like the hair equivalent of Steve Perry’s voice/face combination. For a while, Bichette’s epic doo was enough to keep fans in the seats. The Rockies set attendance records and were selling out every game for a half decade. I remember all the crazy fervor when the Rockies debuted under the Rocky Mountain sunset (cliché #37a). Fans were crazy nuts for them. I found myself in the nosebleed section of (not Invesco Field at) Mile High amidst a sellout crowd. And there was hope (cliché #3b). And then there was denial (it’s the altitude). And then there was steaming piles of Triceratops poop with Jeff Goldblum constantly quipping “now that is one big pile of shit” until Todd Helton shot him, took him to a taxidermist, mounted him above his fireplace, and drew a Rollie Fingers mustache on him with a sharpie. And hope was dead; just like God, chivalry and crystal Pepsi.

Then, once upon a time (érase una vez, for our latin friends) the Rockies won a shit-load of games in an anti-shit-load of time. It was fluky, but fun. People were getting loaded in sport bars and cheering instead of downing fifths of whiskey at home and breaking television sets. The bandwagon almost collapsed from the pressure of being overloaded. Young kids were rocking the K-Fed graffiti Rockies hats with the stickers on the bill, which New Era now sews on crooked by default. And hope had made a comeback (cliché #3c? I’ll have to check the clichétionary—yes! Another retarded portmanteau!), just like John Travolta.

And here we are (",babe"? It seems like ",babe" should follow that). The National League Champion Rockies attempt to prove their mettle (or that they're metal). Todd Helton walks up to the plate and tells the pitcher he’s going to superman that ho (see Ulysses by Joyce, James). Then, he cranks that into the Rockpile and runs around the bases yelling “I AM LEGEND!” (Note: that may not actually be true, but I had to insert the obligatory Will Smith reference). Though Todd Helton still rakes like a fox (I must be drunk), the rest of the team looks pretty average. PECOTA predicted the Rockies to win 84 games, or just above average. It seemed fair at the time, with all the questions marks involved. Now, after a super small sample size (8 games), the Rockies look like their going to end up in the 10^th percentile of their PECOTA projection, or the Ben Affleck percentile, as I like to call it.

It is, after all, a long season, and who the hell knows? But the Rockies should consider front office and managerial changes for the long term. I can’t completely hate on O’Dowd because he has drafted some good players, but he has also has made Omar Minaya look smart a few times. An example of his smartification that didn’t end up screwing him: he wanted to draft Denard Span (career minor league OPS: 698), but couldn’t afford him; so he was stuck with some Jeff Francis guy. In terms of Clint “I’m Bringing in Jorge Julio” Hurdle, the Wall Street Journal did a study of managers based on wins in close games, wins above expectation and player performance. Guess where Clint finished… Go on, guess… Oh, you can’t? Well, I’ll tell you. Dead fucking last (http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-baseballMgrs08.html?n=50&page=1&sd=ASC&sort=overall). He’s fun in the post game interview. He has a big funny looking head with goofy hair. But is that worth his shitsational managing (I win again! Shit+senational=brilliant, retarded or retarded brilliant—you choose). The Rockies may have a good season in spite Clinton and Daniel again, but it might be better to build a good organization. Or not.

I’m still thinking of a cool little sign off note, so for this post I’ll settle for:

“I ain’t got time to bleed” – Jesse “the Former Mayor of Minnesota” Ventura in Predator

Maybe I’ll just end with stupid quotes every time.