There was good news and there was bad news for the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
The good news was that recent call-up Justin Hampson pitched very well over 3.2 innings, shutting down the Rockies. The bad news was, that the Padres needed Hampson for 3.2 innings.
After starter and MLB ERA leader Chris Young went down after 2 innings pitched with a strained abdominal muscle, Hampson came in and threw nearly four innings of shutout ball and was an integral part of the Padres 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. After the game manager Bud Black said that Young would likely miss his next start, previously scheduled for Sunday.
Victory and everything that goes with it aside, if Chris Young is down for any significant amount of time this ball club is in some serious trouble. For a team last in all of baseball in runs scored, they need their starting pitching to be lights out and with Young, Jake Peavy, Justin Germano, Greg Maddux and David Wells, it has been for most of the year. However now, with Young down for at least a week, if not more, this team will need a little boost from the bats in the lineup to keep pace with the Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks.
On to the win, the Padres were able to put 3 runs up on the board against rookie Ubaldo Jimenez in his 7 innings pitched and then added two more against reliever Ramon Ramirez to get the win.
Jimenez was making only his second start of the season and the third start of his Big League career. He did all he could, keeping the Rockies in it for seven innings and giving them a chance to gain some ground on the 2nd place Padres who are 4.5 games up on Colorado. If Jimenez can keep this up, he may become an invaluable piece of the puzzle for the Rockies who are searching desperately for some quality starting pitching to help them keep up in the intense arms race that is the NL West.
The Rockies now need to focus on getting All-Star slugger Matt Holliday back to form as his offensive numbers have dropped off the radar. After being one of the hottest batters in all of baseball before the All-Star Break, Holliday has cooled off dramatically since going a pitiful 8 for 45 in his past 13 games for an average of .167. Holliday has added 2 homers and 8 RBI in that span but Colorado needs him at his 1st half form in order to even think about contending in the very treacherous NL West.
We should find out fairly early tomorrow whether or not Young will be hitting the disabled list, and if indeed he does, be sure to monitor the situation in San Diego. Long thought to be in the market for one more arm, it might become necessary rather than optional for Padres GM Kevin Towers.
Showing posts with label Rockies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rockies. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Four Team Race
The division race in the National League West is one of the most interesting and entertaining at this point in the season and promises to be through the remainder. At 48-46 and only 5 ½ games back of division leader Los Angeles, the Colorado Rockies are intent on playing a major role.
After dropping 8 games at the end of June, the Rockies have gone 10-4 since, thrusting themselves back into the NL West picture. They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Wednesday on the back of Jeff Francis who threw down another strong outing.
Francis went 7, allowing only two runs on six hits with 6 k’s for good measure. Francis also helped out on offense, knocking in Troy Tulowitzki in the 3rd to tie the game up at one. He had hit a bit of a rough patch before the All-Star break and in his first start after so maybe this effort will help get him back on track.
The Rockies real strength though is their offense and their big-time hitters came through again for manager Clint Hurdle. Against the offensively poor Pirates, the Rockies needed only 5 runs today. After the RBI single from Francis, a 2 run homer by Brad Hawpe and a 2 run homer by Todd Helton was all Francis, Jorge Julio and Manual Corpas needed to shut the door and send the Pirates home with their sixth loss in a row, the longest current streak after the A’s snapped their dreadful 8 game slide.
Pittsburgh is just scuffling right now and they can’t seem to produce anything beyond 3 runs, but then the few times that they do? Well, their pitching staff lets them down.
Despite having a very good season, Wednesday was not starter Ian Snell’s day. He gave up two home runs, pushing his season’s total to 15, and got little help from his teammates. After the game, Snell was very adamant about the Rockies stealing signs and even threatened retaliation the next time the two teams meet, which will take place in Colorado in late August.
While not an advocate of sign stealing, I do believe it is a part of the game and pitchers just need to deal with it and compensate in other ways. Getting angry, rather than adjusting your stuff or talking to the catcher about it is stupid and foolhardy. This should make the showdown in the Rockies quite interesting though if Snell is indeed involved in the four game set.
After dropping 8 games at the end of June, the Rockies have gone 10-4 since, thrusting themselves back into the NL West picture. They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Wednesday on the back of Jeff Francis who threw down another strong outing.
Francis went 7, allowing only two runs on six hits with 6 k’s for good measure. Francis also helped out on offense, knocking in Troy Tulowitzki in the 3rd to tie the game up at one. He had hit a bit of a rough patch before the All-Star break and in his first start after so maybe this effort will help get him back on track.
The Rockies real strength though is their offense and their big-time hitters came through again for manager Clint Hurdle. Against the offensively poor Pirates, the Rockies needed only 5 runs today. After the RBI single from Francis, a 2 run homer by Brad Hawpe and a 2 run homer by Todd Helton was all Francis, Jorge Julio and Manual Corpas needed to shut the door and send the Pirates home with their sixth loss in a row, the longest current streak after the A’s snapped their dreadful 8 game slide.
Pittsburgh is just scuffling right now and they can’t seem to produce anything beyond 3 runs, but then the few times that they do? Well, their pitching staff lets them down.
Despite having a very good season, Wednesday was not starter Ian Snell’s day. He gave up two home runs, pushing his season’s total to 15, and got little help from his teammates. After the game, Snell was very adamant about the Rockies stealing signs and even threatened retaliation the next time the two teams meet, which will take place in Colorado in late August.
While not an advocate of sign stealing, I do believe it is a part of the game and pitchers just need to deal with it and compensate in other ways. Getting angry, rather than adjusting your stuff or talking to the catcher about it is stupid and foolhardy. This should make the showdown in the Rockies quite interesting though if Snell is indeed involved in the four game set.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Filling Gaps
Two top notch prospects got called up to the Major’s on Tuesday. Colorado recalled Ubaldo Jimenez from triple-A and Florida did the same with prospect Rick Vanden Hurk. Vanden Hurk will be pressed into starting duty for the Marlins tonight as the Marlins take on the St. Louis Cardinals, while Colorado has decided to bring up Jimenez for bullpen relief work.
Vanden Hurk was up earlier this season but struggled and got sent down with an 8.38 ERA to his name. He had some serious success in the minors and did well in the Future’s Game so the Marlins brought him up. With Josh Johnson on the disabled list there is a spot open for Vanden Hurk if he can lower his ERA some. If you can, check out Vanden Hurk tonight when he and the Marlins face St. Louis.
Jimenez, meanwhile, has not dominated triple-A like expected but he was still very highly regarded in the Rockies organization. He really struggled to start the season but has had much more success in recent outings. He had his Major League debut last fall for the Rockies and had moderate success. The Rockies bullpen has sustained some injuries lately, including closer, Brian Fuentes so instead of starting, which is where Rockies management would prefer Jimenez to be, his primary workload will stem from the bullpen for the time being and the foreseeable future.
Vanden Hurk was up earlier this season but struggled and got sent down with an 8.38 ERA to his name. He had some serious success in the minors and did well in the Future’s Game so the Marlins brought him up. With Josh Johnson on the disabled list there is a spot open for Vanden Hurk if he can lower his ERA some. If you can, check out Vanden Hurk tonight when he and the Marlins face St. Louis.
Jimenez, meanwhile, has not dominated triple-A like expected but he was still very highly regarded in the Rockies organization. He really struggled to start the season but has had much more success in recent outings. He had his Major League debut last fall for the Rockies and had moderate success. The Rockies bullpen has sustained some injuries lately, including closer, Brian Fuentes so instead of starting, which is where Rockies management would prefer Jimenez to be, his primary workload will stem from the bullpen for the time being and the foreseeable future.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Trade that should happen
The Colorado Rockies send 3B Ian Stewart and C Chris Iannetta to Cincinnati for P Bronson Arroyo.
The Reds fire sale continues as Arroyo is an appealing piece for pitching-starved teams, especially with Buehrle off the market. The Reds could use a younger catcher as David Ross and Javier Valentin are both older than 30, while Ian Stewart is incredibly talented and very ready for the Major’s but is stuck behind Garrett Atkins in Colorado. The key for the rockies to send Iannetta as well though would be the previous acquisition of a strong catcher to either back-up Yorvit Torrealba or take over as a new starter.
For the Rockies, Bronson Arroyo becomes an immediate impact player in their shaky rotation and helps to stabilize the Rockies main weakness, which is their rotation. Every other team in the division has deep pitching staffs but is lacking in offense. Colorado is the polar opposite with their fantastic offense and impotent pitching rotation. A move like this would not mortgage the future for them, yet would help them to be more of a real threat to the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Padres.
The Reds fire sale continues as Arroyo is an appealing piece for pitching-starved teams, especially with Buehrle off the market. The Reds could use a younger catcher as David Ross and Javier Valentin are both older than 30, while Ian Stewart is incredibly talented and very ready for the Major’s but is stuck behind Garrett Atkins in Colorado. The key for the rockies to send Iannetta as well though would be the previous acquisition of a strong catcher to either back-up Yorvit Torrealba or take over as a new starter.
For the Rockies, Bronson Arroyo becomes an immediate impact player in their shaky rotation and helps to stabilize the Rockies main weakness, which is their rotation. Every other team in the division has deep pitching staffs but is lacking in offense. Colorado is the polar opposite with their fantastic offense and impotent pitching rotation. A move like this would not mortgage the future for them, yet would help them to be more of a real threat to the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Padres.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A near no-no
Dustin McGowan of the Blue Jays was three outs away from joining Mark Buehrle and Justin Verlander in the 2007 no hitters club, but he lost it on Rockies outfielder Jeff Baker with a single in the ninth. McGowan still went on to throw the complete game shutout.
While McGowan has been maddeningly inconsistent all season long, perhaps the most interesting part of this near no-no is the fact that he got roughed up big-time in his last outing as he faced the Dodgers but could only go 1.2 and gave up six runs on eight hits. Bizarre.
And truthfully, if I had to have guessed any Blue Jay who would have pitched a performance like this, it would have been McGowan’s fellow upstart Shaun Marcum who has been more consistent and has a solid 3.38 ERA. Shows what I know.
The Rockies can’t be too happy with the sweep at the hands of the Jays as they were riding a big high after taking the Yankees for a three game sweep at home earlier in the week. Matt Holliday’s 2 of 14 performance in the series didn’t help matters.
While McGowan has been maddeningly inconsistent all season long, perhaps the most interesting part of this near no-no is the fact that he got roughed up big-time in his last outing as he faced the Dodgers but could only go 1.2 and gave up six runs on eight hits. Bizarre.
And truthfully, if I had to have guessed any Blue Jay who would have pitched a performance like this, it would have been McGowan’s fellow upstart Shaun Marcum who has been more consistent and has a solid 3.38 ERA. Shows what I know.
The Rockies can’t be too happy with the sweep at the hands of the Jays as they were riding a big high after taking the Yankees for a three game sweep at home earlier in the week. Matt Holliday’s 2 of 14 performance in the series didn’t help matters.
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