Apr 15 2013 08:43 AM
Maybe They Should Play Hockey
The Mets arrive in =#8000FF]Colorado hot in only the most metaphorical sense, having completed a mini-sweep in =#8040BF]Minnesota, taking the first two games before cold conditions led to the cancellation of the the third. Was the the third going to be that much colder than the first game on Friday night, or was =#8040BF]Minnesota just yella?
It's not for me to say, but the shriveled manhood of the Mets takes off with the frozen Lake Minnetonka giving the team no opportunity to purify themselves. The original nine-degree low expected for Wednesday's game --- the scheduled third of a four-game set, was expected to be nine. Was. That forecast has been changed to six. SIX! What do you do with that? It's wally Backman degrees! Some say any temperature under Mike Piazza is unacceptable. But Backman? Backman is right out.
There is precedent for the notion of changing venues. In April 2007, when a snowstorm forced four postponements in =#BF0040]Cleveland, the =#BF0040]Indians moved the three-game set against the =#FF0040]Angels to Miller Park in =#004080]Milwaukee. And a change in the weather certainly isn't out of the question. That sort of thing happens all the time.
But enough about the environment. Let's talk opponent.
The =#8000FF]Rockies are holding their own, thus far, in a very competitive National League West division, tied for second at 8-4 with =#BF0040]Arizona, behind the defending champs from =#FF8000]San Francisco, and a game and a half ahead of the big-spending =#4040FF]Dodgers. They come in hot, having just swept three from =#0040BF]San Diego (the 2-8 =#0040BF]Padres are in a tough hole already), a welcome bounce back following a three-game sweep of the =#FF8000]Giants over them. Before that? Another rocky triple-kill of the =#0040BF]Pads. So, evidence suggests they're a team who loses to the good ones, and beats the poor ones. Which are the Mets?
The =#8000FF]Rockies , who breathed their first competitive breath against the Mets, have completed 20 seasons, having joined the league along with the =#00BFBF]Marlins in 1993, right before everything went kaflooey. They've had a lot of different uniforms in that period, but have mostly gone with combos of black and purple. I've admired their sticking with Donnie Osmond and Prince's signature color, but the satorial critics have rarely been kind to them, and in recent years, I think their shade has moved toward the blue spectrum. (My representations in this post are far from accurate.)
More disturbingly, that comes at a time when various blue parts of the Mets' look has been purpling a little bit.
Catcher:
Wilin Rosario is perhaps the first catcher named for a Grateful Dead song (we're looking into it). He's also a nice young hitter, who socked 28 homers last season. You can dismiss that as a Coors illusion, but his power was never in doubt. His defense has been, but he's been working on it. In fact, he's looks a little like a cross between Rod Barajas and Tiger Woods. (Considering Tiger's adventures, that's not the most inconceivable notion.) Kinda jowly for a young guy. The =#8000FF]Roxx have tried and failed to grow catchers in the past (Chris Iannetta, Ben Petrick, Jayhawk Owens). The may have harvested a nice one here. He's already delivered four plates of Kaboomage to opposing fans.
Opening day against the Mets back in 1993, starting a catcher against Dwight Gooden: Joe F. Girardi. For reals.
First Base:
Long-term deals to institutional players seem like a good idea, but the good happies a familiar player gives you --- the kind that lead you to say you don't mind overpaying at the end of a contract --- sometimes leave some people minding a little more than they expected to years later. I dunno, but I'm expecting the chance to see the frozen remains of Todd Helton over at first won't be the deciding factor for anybody considering braving this week's weather. Helton got into only 69 (dude!) games in 2012, and honored those games with a .743 OPS (which, you may guess, is even worse when you consider his home park). So far in 2013, he's at .746. In between, he posed for this mugshot after being picked up on a DWI charge after hopping in his truck loaded in order to, as he reportedly said, to buy some scratch cards.
He's had a nice run. He's wracked up 2,427 hits, but the magic 3,000 is looking unlikely. Permission to be frank, Sir? Even 2,500 is no guarantee.
Late breaking news: That sweep of the =#0040BF]Padre series was capped by a pinch-hit homer by Helton, his first of the season. Before that swing, his OPS was .601.
Opening day in 1993, the starting first baseman was Andres Gallaraga. His early career promise was fading and he turned his career around in becoming the =#8000FF]Rockies first hitting star.
Second Base:
Manning the keystone is another sophomore for the =#8000FF]Roxies: John Rutledge, who put up a .775 OPS last year in half a season, which is, you know, secondbaserly. He hasn't hit at all this season, though. But Walt Weiss believes in him and Walt knows a thing or two about infieldin'.
Opening day in 1993, the starting second baseman was Eric Young. Senior.
Third Base:
Also not hitting yet is thirdbaseman Chris Nelson. Nels had a minor breakthrough last year, proving he's good enough to start, but probably not much better than that. He's got some derring-do, though. Back in 2010, he stole his first career base --- home plate, giving the =#8000FF]Rox a walkoff win for their seventh straight victory. Style.
Anybody who watched Sports Center in the nineties might think the =#8000FF]Rox were absolutely born with Vinny Castilla at third, and he born to be there. But no. Opening day dude in 1993 was Charlie F. Hayes.
Shortstop;
One of the best all-round players in the National League is Troy Tulowitzki, he's got offensive firepower, defensive acuity, and I imagine the wit of a raconteur and tender touch of James Taylor ballad. A groin injury wiped out the lion's share of 2012 for him, and that's a shame, because he probably should have won an MVP by now, and with the two best hitters leaving the National League last year, the table was set.
On the other hand, he pretty much always does well against the Mets (.985 OPS). Even when nobody else on the team has been hitting, the Mets sometimes just can't get him out --- and he wears "2" in order of Derek Jeter, so... I take back any sympathy for him I may have ever once ever held. Ptui!
Opening day in 1993, the starting shortstop was Freddie Benavides. Yeah, I don't know, either, but his name kinda sounds like "Freddy Goodlookin'."
The Field to the Left
One of the most consistent sluggers in the National League is Carlos Gonzalez. So good the last five years, but still not widely known, perhaps due to his common name and mountainous home team. Part of me thinks he's among the five most likely to get caught juicin'. But that's an unkind thought. It takes a dope to get caught juicin' when you already play for =#8000FF]Colorado (but he certainly wouldn't be the first.)
Traded back when from the =#BF0000]Diamondbacks in a deal for Matt Holliday. The =#8000FF]Bedrocks[/b[ got Huston Street in the deal also. Nice, huh?
Opening day in 1993, the starting leftfielder was Jerald Clark. He spent most of his career with the =#0040BF]Padres, and if your remember him, you probably remember him as a =#0040BF]Friar.
The Field that is Centrally Located
The cartoonishly named ballplayer Dexter Fowler remains in center for the =#8000FF]Montain Range. He's a switch hitter who's off to as good a start as anybody in baseball, with six homers and a 204 OPS+. Like John Buck, he's not that good, but like Buck, he sure has been of late, and unlike Buck, he's probably better than John Buck. He bats leadoff (let's hope that takes away some of the effect of his power) and wears Willie Mays' number.
He's not only good, he's also crafty. Keep an eye on him.
Opening day in 1993, the starting centerfielder was Alex Cole, a no-power speed-guy with a cool name come over from =#BF0040]Cleveland. His year in =#8000FF]Colorado would be his career-high in games played, but he still showed absolutely no power. That's hard to do.
The Field to Your Right-Hand Side
Long-time =#8040BF]Minnesota Twin Michael Cuddyer is beginning his second year in =#8000FF]Colorady, and he's getting it done, with three homers and a 1.010 OPS. He bats righty and plays first and third as well as the outfield.
Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. Like the =#8000FF]Rockies of old, there's a lot of offense in this team. Five regular dudes --- Rosario, Gonzalez, Cuddyer, Tulowtzki, and Fowler --- are OPSing over 1.000. Maybe that's an illusion of a small sample size, of playing the =#0040BF]Padres a lot, of a home park in the mountains. But it's there and it's my job to tell you about it. Maybe the cold weather will cool the bats down, or maybe the park effects wil permit the Mets to counter punch all that offense. Look for key appearances by Greg Burke and Josh Edgy --- and maybe Scott Rice --- to be a key to the series. The =#8000FF]Rocky hitters get the ball up and the Mets will look to their pen to keep it down.
And that brings us down to pitchers. If we're going to go ahead with this series, we're going to have to have a few. The pitchies scheduled include:
Tonight:
Dillon Gee (0-2, 7.71) @ Juan Nicasio (1-0, 4.91)
Nicasio is a big (230-240 lb) high-kickin' Dominican righthander, trying to stick in the =#8000FF]Colorado rocktation after two partial seasons. He throws in the high nineties and calls his fastball "gasolina." His stats on paper speak of a guy who has had some tumbles, but in fact he's suffered a mother of a setback, taking an Ian Desmond line drive off the temple during his rookie year and going down with a broken neck. He was back on the field in less than seren months with permanent screws in his neck and skull, but his 2012 season ended while fielding a ground ball and injuring his left (landing) knee. He's back grinding it out like the badass he is. Sometimes in freezing weather.
And you wanted to be a ballplayer.
Starting that first game ever for the =#8000FF]Roxx: David Nied. Not much of a career, that guy.
Tomorry:
Aaron Laffey (0-0, 5.06) @ Jeff Francis (1-1, 5.87)
Francis is a crafty Canadian lefthander with an overbite. He was the nominal ace of the staff from 2006-2010, but aces don't last long in the =#8000FF]Mile High City, and he had some good seasons and some not-so good ones. In 2011, free agency took him to the =#4040FF]Kansas City Royals where he went 6-16 and started dreaming of the relative salad days he enjoyed with the =#8000FF]Rockies. The =#8000FF]Rockies, for their part, were unable to get over their vague feelings of Francislessness, and when he became available, swooped in and resigned him in mid-2012 and now everything's like it used to be, 'cept he's trying to leave shoulder problems behind him.
Starting that second game ever for the =#8000FF]Roxx: Bruce Ruffin. Mets won that game, too.
Wednesday:
Jon Niese (2-0, 3.57) @ Jon Garland (1-0, 3.75)
When they speak of this series, Wednesday is the expected coldest of nights they speak of. These Jons draw the short straw.
You probably know Garland from his many years with the Ozzie Guillen-era White Sox. He was a =#000080]Cubbie first rounder who they gave up on in the minors and traded across town for Matt Karchner (really?) and he turned into a middle-of-the-rotation mainstay for the president's favorite team. Since 2007, though, he's been bouncing around the National League West like a Bizarro-world Bruce Chen. =#4040FF]Los Angeles in 2008, =#BF0040]Arizona in 2009, =#0040BF]San Diego in 2010, back to =#4040FF]LA in 2011 (what, no =#FF8000]Giants?), and, after failing to crack a big league roster in 2012, is now a 2013 =#8000FF]Rocky.
As a career-long sinkerballer, this may be the one place on the planet left for an aging journeyman like himself. His sinker is still pretty hard (high eighties), but his curve and his change are little more than setup pitches that he keeps away from batters. He gives up a lot o hits, so his key is to stay away from walks an homers.
Jon is part of a nu breed of ballplayers who don't just pursue xexy women who make a lifestyle out of hair and makeup and liposuction. No, these men marry fellow warriors, athletes like theyselves, who xexiness is battle-hardened. His amorata is softball star Lovieanne "Lovie" Jung, a former Arizona softballer who is not above tagging you in your stupid face, so you better come in shoes first.
Starting that third game ever for the =#8000FF]Roxx: Bryn Smith. Smith got the win --- first ever for the =#8000FF]Rockies --- but it was over the Montreal team you probably associate him pitching for. The Mets got away from the newborn =#8000FF]Rockies unblemished. Suckazz!
And you wanted to be a ballplayer.
Thursday:
Fundecided for the New York Mets is scheduled to go up against Jhoulys Chacin (2-0, 1.96).
That's a pretty intimidating name for a dude, and Jhoulys, another 230-pounder, fits the bill. A second cousin of the also chilling Gustavo Chacin, this big Venezuealan strikes out his fair share of dudes, and gets even more grounders (natural sink), but walks a lot too. Wait him out, wait him out. Don't chase him low. Everything he throws seems to be below the hips.
Starting the fourth game ever for the =#8000FF]Rocklanders was Nied again. But their fourth ever was one Butch Henry who debuted in game five, also against the Expos. He did poorly, giving up five runs, four earned, in four innings, on the way to a 19-9 loss, and that's pretty much symbolic of the story of the first two decades of the =#8000FF]Rockies --- keeping scoring under control is always going to be the narrative, whether they're succeeding or failing.
Rafael Betancourt is closing for the =#8000FF]Rockies these days, and he successfully saved 31 games last year, and five already this year. He's been around a while, has a habit of twitching on the mound, delaying his pitches by repeatedly going to his hat, and then entering a weird windup, with a delivery that looks like murder on the elbow, and in fact has four screws there.
And you wanted to be a ballplayer.
Former Mets in =#8000FF]Denver include, well, nobody... but perennial alternative catching option Yorvit Torrealba is their backup, and he sure feels like he's been a Met, as we've pretty much negotiated with him every offseason for the last eight years. But 1994 Met Doug Linton is their pitching coordinator, so we may see a shot of him sitting in a heated box staring at an iPad.
Latroy Hawkins spent 2007 in Colorado and did well. Better than he's done as yet for the Mets, at any rate. Brandon Lyon, and Aaron Laffey have not pitched for the Rockies. And John Buck has not caught for them. I don't care what your friends say. They are LYING.
That's the =#8000FF]Rockies. Enjoy the games and thank God for your heated homes.
