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.

Rox Recap 4/17/08 (The Neverending (s)Tory)

I’m not even sure where to start. Last night’s game was the ultimate test of a Rockies fan’s mettle. Maybe the Rox were trying to weed out the bandwagoners that tried to hitch a ride during last year’s playoff run because what they did last night definitely wasn’t for the casual fan. Being out here at Kenyon College in Ohio, the morning hours kept creeping by until I was positive I could see the beginnings of the sunrise on the horizon. This marathon of a game (by that I mean, I probably could’ve walked 26.2 miles in the time it took to finish it) can really only be defined by the numbers it produced: 22 innings, 6 hours and 16 minutes to play, 41 players used, 658 pitches thrown, 37 combined strikeouts, 25 hits, 3 seventh inning stretches, 1 hat eaten by Padres broadcaster Matt Vasgersian (who said in the 10^th inning that if the game went 18, he would eat his own hat), and 1 bleary eyed kid in his dorm room in Ohio, cursing his beloved team until they made his dedication worthwhile. What a night for the Colorado Rockies.

1) The game ended at 4:21 am local time here in Gambier, both my roommate and girlfriend had been asleep in the room for four hours while I sat up doing everything I could to not let the sandman enter (insert obscure Metallica reference here.) The Rox offense, wow, I was texting Eric throughout the whole game and we were wondering if it was in fact that lowest scoring 22 inning game of all time to which my response was that, well, it couldn’t be much more lower scoring. 2 runs in 22 innings is a 3 game slump for most teams, but the Rockies managed to hammer it all out in one agonizing victory. The important thing is, however, when you look at the score at the end of the day, the Rockies went into their division rival’s ballpark and took 2 of 3…or 3 of 4 and a half, whichever way you want to look at it. Willy Taveras set a Rockies franchise record for most at bats in a game with 10 and like I predicted in my Rox Recap on Sunday, Tulo did indeed have a multi hit game in San Diego. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that he would need 9 at bats in a contest to do so, but I just wanted to point out that my prophecy was correct. Bradley Van Hawpe was the only Rockies regular to take the collar in the game, going 0-7 with 4 strikeouts, but he did garner an all-important RBI walk in the 14^th inning (after an incredibly questionable ball call on the 2-2 pitch to which the Padres broadcasters started screaming in disgust.) It didn’t matter what the Rockies did throughout the course of this game, they just could not score. They would get leadoff doubles, runners on first and second and nobody out and still come away empty handed. It was only fitting in the longest game in either club’s history that the winning run would score on an error, a stolen base, another error, and a line drive double by a guy hitting just above the Ricky Ricardo line (that would be .150…and I totally just made that up.) All in all, I’d be much more worried if we had scored 2 runs and not won, but since we did, I’ll just stay cautiously optimistic.

2) No need to be cautious about being optimistic about our bullpen. What a bunch of gamers. In the 3 game set with the Latin American Parents, the Rox bullpen gave up a grand total of 1 run in 23 1/3 innings. No, that wasn’t a typo. The only run allowed was by Manny Corpas who failed to hold the 1-0 lead in the 14^th yesterday, but he even recovered to get out of a bases loaded 1 out situation (of his own doing, yes) by getting two perfectly placed ground balls. These guys have the guts of a kid who just climbed the Aggro-Crag. When even Micah Bowie is throwing 2 hitless innings you know you have a good thing going. Rex-Mex kept his ERA at a comfortable 0.00, Buchholz’ two scoreless innings brought his down to 1.00 while also adding 3 strikeouts, Ryan Speier, who pitched 3 huge frames in the post adolescent innings knocked his ERA down a peg or two to 1.17, and Kip Wells, the odd man out in the rotation but the deserving winner in this one now is the proud papa of a 1.84 ERA. Who are these guys and what have they done with the old Rockies pitching staff?

3) Jake Peavy was incredible last night in lowering his ERA to 1.20 and racking up 11 strikeouts. He was focused, intense, and fiery and deserved much more than he received…..but Jeff Francis matched him pitch for pitch. In the first sign that the Franchise has put his early season woes behind him, Francis threw 7 shutout innings, to the tune of 7 strikeouts and only 1 walk to go along with 3 hits allowed. He Picasso-ed the outside corner consistently all night even if the home plate umpire tried to make the strike zone into a Pollack. Last night was the shape of Francis to come.

4) Also, the catchers for each team, Yorvit Torrealba and Josh Bard, each caught all 22 innings yesterday. I don't even have to explain how incredible that feat is in and of itself, especially after the game when Tory said he wouldn't have minded catching 30. He's definitely fiery, and he deserved his probable day off for tonight's game.

Though the Rocko’s modern life has them arriving in Houston for a 3 game set at 9 am this morning, I guarantee they would be more exhausted had they not pulled that win out just before the roosters were crowing here in rural Ohio. I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up for the first pitch.