Apr 23 2007 10:12 PM
Sorry, I beefed this one. Thought the series started on Tuesday, planned my Monday night around watching [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446071/]We Jam Econo[/url].
Here's what you might already know.
Rockies everyday lineup is ever-shifting, but looks something like this.
CF- Willy Taveras (.192/.276/.212): Aquired from Houston in the Jennings deal. The man sure gots speed, but that won't make him a halfway decent leadoff man if he keeps going on with this career .326 OBP and 206 K/63 BB ratio.
[And if he keeps it up, the never ending Steve Finley will get more ABs. He certainly can't hit enough to be an everyday player, and his outstanding defense is now a bit less outstanding, but hey, he's a good lefty vet to have around.]
2B- KAZ MATSUI: He's DL'ed right now (back), so taking up the bulk of the playing time is infielder/goatsucker Jamey Carroll. Had a career year in his 1st Colorado season in '06, but was displaced by Matsui and Tulowitzki. Expect useful mediocrity and sheer terror.
3B- Garrett Atkins (.299/.388/.493): Coming off a huge soph season (29 HR, .965 OPS), Atkins is part of the young core that could make the Rockies pretty dangerous pretty soon.
1B- Paul Bunyan (.339/.462/.452): Stayed in Colorado despite BoSox trade rumors in the offseason, Helton isn't the feared power hitter he once was, but he's still a damn good hitter. Lots of walks. Lots of hard hit balls. Lots of facial hair.
LF- Matt Holliday (.382/.434/.566): In conjunction with Atkins as the Rock's established young mashers, Holliday is more of a traditional power hitter, meaning big homers and strikeouts (34 and 110 in 2006, respectively).
RF- Brad Hawpe (.271/.389/.356): Like Atkins, he had a breakout sophomore season in 2006. 22 HR, .383 SLG, .515 OBP, and an impressive arm in Right.
SS- Troy Tulowitzki (.193/.281/.228): Rock's Rook, 7th overall pick in 2005. Lifted from ScoutingBook.com- "Fighting to be the starting SS in Colorado this season, Troy 'the Tulip' has been compared to Khalil Greene and Jhonny Peralta, and we can only hope that was meant in a good way. He has pretty good pop in his bat, strikeouts more than he should and is a good fielder with a strong arm. Prior to being called up to the majors at the end of last year, Tulowitzki batted .291 with a .370 OBP. He also had 13 HR's, 6 SB's and 71 K's in 423 AB at the AA level. Remember this though, he is playing in COL and has a good power stroke."
Off to a crappy start in 2007.
C- Chris Iannetta (.129/.243/.161): The other rookie that Colorado'll be counting on, Iannetta's also off to a slow start, presumably getting his feet wet. Scouting from PurpleRow.com: "Iannetta never impressed the scouting community as a premier catching prospect until this last year. His profile just didn't show it in him. That said, after a seamless transition to the pro-game from college at North Carolina, Iannetta has seen his stock rise dramatically. He doesn't have the power of a Jeff Clement or Joe Mauer, maybe not even the power potential of JD Closser, and that's been his biggest drawback among professional scouts. What he does have is solid defense, tremendous plate discipline and a swing that can use every portion of the field. His ability to hit the other way and force pitchers to throw strikes has made him a very interesting player in my book, and all his skills will still be very useful in a major league setting."
[Iannetta will be spelled by the amusingly named Yorvit Torrealba, who seems about par for the backup catcher course.]
Another bench notable is SS Clint Barmes, who was having a pretty solid half-season as a rookie in 2005 before hurting himself while hauling Todd Helton's Meat. Since then he's kind of sucked a lot.
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As for the pitching, Colorado's starters in the remaining two games will be Aaron Cook (27 IP in 4 starts, 4.00 ERA, 14 K/10 BB) vs. OHernandez and Josh Fogg (16.1 IP, 6.61 ERA, 9 K/6 BB) vs. Pelfrey. Cook had his first season as a full time starter last season and was impressive, he's got the stuff to be a good mid-to-back of the rotation starter. Fogg was picked up in free agency before last season. He's lousy, but has averaged 30 starts a year the last 5 seasons.
Some bullpen notables:
Lefty Brian Fuentes is the closer. He's been rock solid in the role for the last 2 seasons. Good K rate, low implosion rate.
LaTroy Hawkins is a traditionally up-and-down power set-up man. He's looked down so far this year.
Jeremy Affeldt is a once promising pitcher who came up as a starter with the Royals. You can see where this is going. He's the Rock's pen lefty now, trying to get back on track.
Bob Keppel is a former Mets farmhand. I have his baseball card. He made 6 starts for KC last season in an unofficial rookie campaign.
That's what I've got for now. Sorry 'bout the lateness.