Hey Batter Batter Batter

[Loren Swelk]

Hum Babe! The Rockies are on the radio and life is good.

[Bob Nattering]

Hum Babe! The Rockies are on the radio and life is good.

I see Juan Morillo pitched a scoreless inning yesterday. I hope he learns to solve the control problems and makes the team. It was quite exciting to see him light up the radar gun scoreboard with 100's and 101's last year in his single inning pitched at Coors. He was rated as #1 in velocity for all minor league relievers last year. Ya gotta love a guy who throws over 100.

Hum Babe! Life is good!

[Old Sweater]

I see Juan Morillo pitched a scoreless inning yesterday. I hope he learns to solve the control problems and makes the team. It was quite exciting to see him light up the radar gun scoreboard with 100's and 101's last year in his single inning pitched at Coors. He was rated as #1 in velocity for all minor league relievers last year. Ya gotta love a guy who throws over 100.

Hum Babe! Life is good!

I was at that game against the Pirates and really enjoyed the show Morillo put on but you have to realize that the stadium guns are juiced to juice the crowd. Stadium guns register 3-6mph over the gun that scouts use. Morillo also throws the flat fastball, compared to one with jump, which MLB batters love. In that inning against the Pirates Morillo had 4 pitches and the 100's mixed in with a 88mph slider and the Pirates were getting full cuts that were right on the speed of the pitch. I believe it was Doug Meinkiewicz that laced a double to the gap in right center and the other Pirates including McLouth got their full cuts without striking out. It was still fun to see some "good ol country hardball" as Dizzy Dean called it. I'll throw it as hard as I can and you try to hit it as hard as you can.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL200807200.shtml

^^^game Morillo pitched.



The Physics of Baseball"*. Written for the layman, but appropriately supported with theory, the book summarizes the Professor's conclusion (page 33) that a typical (Major League) fastball slows down at a rate of about one mile per hour for every seven feet of travel. Thus, a ball thrown by a pitcher will reach home plate, sixty feet-six inches away, at a speed about eight miles per hour slower than when it left the pitcher's hand.

So where does the putative 103 or 104 mph rank on the all time list? Right at the very top, that’s where. Have a look at the following list of hurlers purported to have smashed the 100 mph barrier (courtesy of Baseball Almanac)—it only notes a pitcher’s quickest pitch.

Pitcher Radar Speed Date Location
Mark Wohlers 103.0 mph Mar-95 Spring Training
Joel Zumaya 103.0 mph Apr-06 McAfee Coliseum
Armando Benitez 102.0 mph May-02 Shea Stadium
Bobby Jenks 102.0 mph Aug-05 Safeco Field
Randy Johnson 102.0 mph Sep-04 Pacific Bell Park
Robb Nen 102.0 mph Oct-97 Jacobs Field
A.J. Burnett 101.0 mph May-05 PNC Park
Rob Dibble 101.0 mph Aug-92 Candlestick Park
Kyle Farnsworth 101.0 mph May-04 Minute Maid Park
Eric Gagne 101.0 mph Apr-04 Pacific Bell Park
Jose Mesa 101.0 mph Jan-93 Cleveland Stadium
Guillermo Mota 101.0 mph Jul-02 Qualcomm Stadium
Justin Verlander 101.0 mph Oct-06 Camden Yards
Billy Wagner 101.0 mph Nov-03 Yankee Stadium
Nolan Ryan 100.9 mph Aug-74 Anaheim Stadium
Josh Beckett 100.0 mph Dec-03 Pro Player Park
Daniel Cabrera 100.0 mph Sep-05 Camden Yards
Roger Clemens 100.0 mph Oct-01 Yankee Stadium
Bartolo Colon 100.0 mph Jun-99 Jacobs Field
Francisco Cordero 100.0 mph Jul-04 Jacobs Field
Rich Harden 100.0 mph May-05 McAfee Stadium
Jorge Julio 100.0 mph Sep-04 Skydome
J.R. Richard 100.0 mph May-76 Candlestick Park
C.C. Sabathia 100.0 mph Jun-02 Jacobs Field
Ben Sheets 100.0 mph Oct-04 Miller Park
Derrick Turnbow 100.0 mph May-05 Miller Park
Kerry Wood 100.0 mph Oct-05 Wrigley Field

However, when it comes to the world record, the officially recognized number is held by Nolan Ryan for a 100.9mph fastball thrown on Aug. 20, 1974 that was measured using a specially calibrated infra-red gun. Even though many, including Zumaya, have topped this mark their claims are dismissed because of the uncertainty surrounding the accuracy of guns.

"But on Tuesday night during Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya unleashed two fastballs in the eighth inning that were measured at 103 m.p.h., and a third that was clocked at 102.
Or maybe he didn’t. The triple-digit readings were cited by Fox Sports, with its FoxTrax system, which uses a system of three cameras and computers to determine the flight and break of a ball and its speed.

At ESPN Radio, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan spoke of the same Zumaya fastballs, coming in 3 m.p.h. slower than FoxTrax said they did. ESPN’s readings came from a Jugs radar gun positioned behind the plate at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. The readings were posted on the scoreboard. In fact, all pitches were generally 3 m.p.h. faster on Fox.


And Jon Miller Joe Morgan were reading the stadium gun that is 3-6mph faster then the gun a scout uses.

Nolan Ryan's 100.9mph is still the most recognized as the offical record at Baseball Almanac.

[Bob Nattering]

Rocky Mountain News Sports writers Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin, are still covering the Colorado Rockies. Visit them at http://www.insidetherockies.com/

Life is Good!

411

[large]

According to what I've read, (and heard on sound bites) most batters are pretty tentative about standing in the box with a 97+mph pitcher throwing a ball past them (or at them, sometimes) . . I think that's as much the challenge to hitting one as it is "seeing" the ball . .

We all know that most of the really fast ball pitchers are a little more prone to have "Wild Pitches" or control problems on some days . . sure as hell would make me think as much about bailing as hitting . . and ole Nolan wasn't one to let a batter "crowd" the plate any at all . .

And if you have to go up and face a guy like Morillo who has had "Control Problems", Well, dunno bout you, but to me it would be like shooting trap with a bunch of blind guys . . a little shaky!

[Bob Nattering]

That takes me back to the '58, '59, and '60 when Ryne Duran was with the Yankees. He wore glasses with lenses thicker than a coke bottle and threw about 100 mph. When he would come in and throw warm-up pitches, one of the 8 would usually sail past the catcher and hit the wooden backstop rather loudly. It was always speculated that a wild throw during warm-up and his extreme forward lean to get the catcher's sign were all part of design to intimidate the hitter.

[Old Sweater]

That takes me back to the '58, '59, and '60 when Ryne Duran was with the Yankees. He wore glasses with lenses thicker than a coke bottle and threw about 100 mph. When he would come in and throw warm-up pitches, one of the 8 would usually sail past the catcher and hit the wooden backstop rather loudly. It was always speculated that a wild throw during warm-up and his extreme forward lean to get the catcher's sign were all part of design to intimidate the hitter.


Yeah, I think Ryne Duren was the real life example of Charlie Sheen in that one baseball movie.

Blackie Lawless(didn't play pro ball but his uncle did/Ryne Duren)

Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956, in Staten Island, New York), better known as Blackie Lawless, is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.. He has become notorious in the heavy metal community for his live performances, controversial album covers and lyrics.

Never heard of Blackie Lawless myself but thought it might be interesting for some that have heard of him.
-----------------------------

As far as inside pitching goes. MLB needs to let the pitchers go there again.....
-----------------------

Here is some numbers for the one's that can't seem to grasp how the time frame of baseball can have more effect then PED's that a accused player takes.


NL HR's per game, 1963-1968 one of the most dominant pitching time frames

1963-.75
1964-.75
1965-.81
1966-.85
1967-.68
1968-.55

6 year average= .73 HR per game

NL HR's per game, 1998-2003,one of the most dominating time frames for the HR

1998-.99
1999-1.11
2000-1.16
2001-1.14
2002-1.00
2003-1.04

6 year average= 1.07 HR per game

1998-2003 +.34 per game HR for a 32% HR Boost


Bonds per game HR for 1998-2003

1998-.24
1999-.33
2000-.34
2001-.48
2002-.32
2003-.35

6 year average=.34 per game or 1 HR every 3 games

Adjusted per game average .34*32%=.11 .34-.11=.23 HR per game for Bonds

So Bonds HR per game goes from .34 per game 1998-2003 to .23 HR per game 1963-1968

Bonds actual HR totals 1998-2003, followed by the 23% adjusted HR discount total

1998 37/29
1999 34/26
2000 49/38
2001 73/56
2002 46/36
2003 45/35

Now this is from the league average HR's but it just shows you how much smaller parks, smaller strike zones, body armor, livelier ball and expansion pitching, among other things can effect the HR's produced more then PED's. If Bonds had his 2001 year in 1966, he would have had only 56 HR's. If Ruths 1927 60 HR season have been played in 1966, the record wouldn't have been 60, for Maris to break. Same thing could be said for Maris' 61 in 1961, or for any hitter pertaining to 1963-1968. It's more to do with being in the right time frame for a HR hitter.

Babe Ruth=livelier ball that MLB let the leagues run with until 1931

Roger Maris=expansion, perhaps livelier ball?

Bonds, Sosa, McGwire=PED's?, smaller ballparks, smaller strike zones, expansion, body armor, less inside pitching, Sams Bats(<best of maple) I'm really surprised that the record is 73 for a 17% increase over the 61 that Maris hit in 1961.

I will never give a MLB batter more of a PED boost then a sprinter who gets a 2% PED boost, and will never give more then a 4-9 foot HR distance boost for PED's.
----------------------

I truly believe that all the other reasons above figure into Sosa's, McGwires and Bonds seasons as much as PED's if you believe all 3 used them. I know McGwire did, andro is a PED and Selig knew so in 1998 or 1999 and still MLB didn't put it on the banned list until 2004 after the FDA banned it???

April 12, 2004 - The Food and Drug Administration bans the sale of androstenedione, the steroid precursor used by Mark McGwire while setting the home run record in 1998. The FDA action automatically triggers a ban by baseball

[Loren Swelk]

"Yeah, I think Ryne Duren was the real life example of Charlie Sheen in that one baseball movie."

Or of Randy Johnson pitching to John Kruk in the All Star Game.

[Bob Nattering]

"Yeah, I think Ryne Duren was the real life example of Charlie Sheen in that one baseball movie."

Or of Randy Johnson pitching to John Kruk in the All Star Game.

I was too mad to appreciate the humor at the time. I was anxious to see Andres, who was hitting about .390 at the time. I think it was about 6th inning and they give Kruk another at bat, and he won't stand in the batter's box.

Now that it's old history, I have to say that it was funny. Also Kruk was voted in to start and was hitting about .350 while Anders was playing in Mile High Stadium. That was back when humidors were for cigars.

[Bob Nattering]

Welcome back, Don Baylor. Nice article on Don Baylor in today's Post. Best manager the Rockies ever had (just my opinion).
438

[Bob Nattering]

Welcome back, Don Baylor. Nice article on Don Baylor in today's Post. Best manager the Rockies ever had (just my opinion).

The Post article that was referenced, mentioned the help that Baylor had given to three players:

1. Told Todd Helton to hold his hands back further in a "more loaded" position.

2. Told Garrett Adkins to stop resting the bat on his shoulder, lower the hands and inch them away from the body.

3. Told Ryan Spilborghs to narrow his stance.

Last year Todd and Garrett hit well below the norm for them, while Spilborghs fell off somewhat in the latter part of the year. I know it's just spring training and we're looking at a small number of at-bats, but these guys are hitting the cover off the ball this year.

I like to look at On-Base-percentage plus slugging percentage (often abbreviated OPS).

Todd's OPS is 1.270, Garrett is 1.034, and Ryan is 1.280. To put those numbers in prospective, the best OPS for an entire season for any player is a 1.422 by Barry Bonds in 2004. Mickey Mantle's three best OPS seasons were 1.177 in 1957, 1.169 in 1956 and 1.135 in 1961. Matt Holiday in the magical 2007 season turned in a 1.012 OPS.

I don't expect the three Rockies players' numbers to be quite that high at the end of the 2009 season, but I think their offensive numbers will remain much improved. I wish I had something good to say about the prospects of the Rockies having 5 respectable starting pitchers this year.

[Old Sweater]

I'm really hyped about having Don Baylor back as the hitting coach.

As far as the starting 5 pitchers goes, I like it. If Francis wasn't out for the season, I've love it.

Aaron Cook, has been great this ST.

Ubaldo, has been hit and miss with his location but you got to love his stuff.

Jason Marquis, awful this ST but I hope he can pitch up to his veteran capability.

Jorge De La Rosa, hope he starts off like him and Ubaldo finished last year. Almost has the electric stuff that Ubaldo does which is more rare for a lefty.

5 spot has about got to be Franklin Morales even though I believe it was him that gave up the single and walk off 2rHR yesterday to the A's. Greg Smith that we got from the A's has been stinking it up and if I remember right I believe that Jason Hirsh was sent to the minor league camp. Greg Reynolds hasn't had a good ST so far either.

Not the greatest you will ever see on paper but with the potential of De La Rosa, Morales and Ubaldo, I like it better then any other starting pitching we have had at the start of the year. Real bummer the sore shoulder didn't go away for Francis. Still a mystery to everyone why the MRI didn't show nothing.

[Bob Nattering]

Life is good. Opening Day must be getting close, because it's snowing again in Denver.

Tulo went 2 for 3 today and has the average up to .275. Juan Marillo pitched another inning today. They've given him a lot of innings for a reliever to this point (13.2). The ERA is 3.29, so I'd say he makes the team at least till they get Buchholz back. It's fun to watch the radar gun (even if slightly inflated) when he's pitching.

They've also given Christian Colonel a lot of at bats (59). I saw him in the Springs a couple times last year. If anything happens at either corner, I hope we see him before Koshansky.

[Old Sweater]

Jaw dropper for me is that the Rockies sent Podsednik down and kept the young Dexter Fowler. Hope they give him enough AB's to do him some good.

I seen that David Purcey, the nephew of Lexi threw a fine game against the Yankees, for the Blue Jays, but I never see her post here no more.

[Bob Nattering]

I'm really hyped about having Don Baylor back as the hitting coach.

As far as the starting 5 pitchers goes, I like it. If Francis wasn't out for the season, I've love it.

Aaron Cook, has been great this ST.

Ubaldo, has been hit and miss with his location but you got to love his stuff.

Jason Marquis, awful this ST but I hope he can pitch up to his veteran capability.

Jorge De La Rosa, hope he starts off like him and Ubaldo finished last year. Almost has the electric stuff that Ubaldo does which is more rare for a lefty.

5 spot has about got to be Franklin Morales even though I believe it was him that gave up the single and walk off 2rHR yesterday to the A's. Greg Smith that we got from the A's has been stinking it up and if I remember right I believe that Jason Hirsh was sent to the minor league camp. Greg Reynolds hasn't had a good ST so far either.

Not the greatest you will ever see on paper but with the potential of De La Rosa, Morales and Ubaldo, I like it better then any other starting pitching we have had at the start of the year. Real bummer the sore shoulder didn't go away for Francis. Still a mystery to everyone why the MRI didn't show nothing.

The problem I see with the 5 starters is going to be the number of innings they can produce and the inconsistency of that with a bullpen made up mostly of one-inning pitchers.

They're not making a decision until late April on the final 7 in the bullpen. Right now it will be 8. (Morales starting once and going back to C-Springs to get regular starts). Street, Corpas, Spier, Morillo and Embree are all basically one inning. That leaves Grilli, Rusch and Belisle as multiple inning guys and one of the eight has to go to minors around April 21 with Morales coming back up. Then when Buchholz comes back you have another 1 inning guy who has to be on the active roster.

As far as the starters, Cook has had two years that he has pitched 200+ innings. Last year was 211, but he had one tired arm by the end of July. He had 23 starts and 160.2 innings from April-July (Almost 7 innings per start). In August and September he had only 50.2 innings in 9 starts (missing several starts and averaging barely over 5 innings per) In 2006 he went 212 innings with the starts and innings more balanced over the season. However, in August/September his record was 2-6. So if we're going to be in contention, maybe he should be looked at as a 200 inning and not a 220 inning guy.

Ubaldo went 198 last year. If the consistency is better this year he might just be the guy to give that 220 innings that's going to be sorely needed.

Marquis had 4 years at or near 200, but fell off to 167 last year. I think it would be unrealistic to expect Marquis, De La Rosa or Morales to be anything but 5+ inning pitchers. That means a lot of relief before the 7th or 8th inning. Additionally, how often does a 5-man rotation stay healthy and major league worthy through the entire season. What's in Colorado Springs that looks like a good starting prospect for this year? Same problem we had last year.

They'll make it through by moving guys up and down and making some arms very tired. That's going to limit manager decisions in the middle innings. I'm sure I'll still have to watch Hurdle fail to pinch hit in the 6th or 7th when they're down a run, because he needs another inning from a starter. That's not to mention, the limitation of selection from the bull pen because they're over extended.

It's the other way around with hitters. It's going to be impossible to get the number of at bats that Stewart and Fowler should be getting. On that front, I don't expect Seth Smith to be starting in left beyond the middle of May. Seems like Spilborghs should be in left, Fowler in center. If Fowler's not ready to start in center, he needs to be getting at bats in AAA. He will eventually to be at least as good as Willy Tavaras in center and on the bases, but oh so much more at the plate.

[Bob Nattering]

Yesterday Jimenez, Corpas and Street produce a masterpiece shutout in Arizona. Tulo hits 2nd homer in as many days. It doesn't get any better than this.

[large]

I dunno. A shutout is always good, but, although I missed it, the first game with Arizona must've been something to watch . . Good offensive game if you like to see the ball getting hit, really hard!

[Loren Swelk]

If they are playing in September the way they played yesterday, get ready for Rocktober II.

[large]

They've been "Consistent" for TWO games . . heh, heh . . . Because the first game, while they didn't win it, they really didn't "Lose" it . . .

[large]

OK . . Tacos Tomorrow!

Cool . . . .

[Loren Swelk]

Does anyone know for sure if the Taco promotion is on for 2009? I can't find any mention of it and have yet to hear a commercial or a sportscaster comment.

[large]

Me neither . . mebbee Taco Bell ran outa cats . . . got a claw in my lip once . . from a taco . .

[Old Sweater]

Yeah, the feed your fever from Taco Bell is on for 2009. Jeff Kingery and Jack Corrigan have mentioned it every time the Rockies have scored 7 runs.

[Loren Swelk]

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

[Old Sweater]

Catch 22 this year. You get 4 tacos for a dollar if you purchase a drink. Senior drink is 5 cents.

[large]

Well, they haven't gotten "consistent" yet, so don't look forward to a diet of "cheap" tacos . .

The starting lineup on the pitching staff is still pretty shaky . . .

[Loren Swelk]

As a consumer of .25 tacos I can tell you that the Taco Bell at 7th and Santa Fe gives you their full taco. The Taco Bell on Pueblo Blvd removes the meat and tomatoes and you get a lettuce and cheese taco for your quarter. Haven't tried to others this year, but reviews are forthcoming.

[Bob Nattering]

You tacaholics have turned a nice baseball fanatics thread into an unabashed taco feeding frenzy. You guys need to join TA.

No Loren, it's "T" "A" not "T" "and" "A"

[large]

Hey, keep it civil . .

Last night's game with the Dodgers might bear out one train of thought . . The Rockies have more pitchers than we are going to get tacos . .

Dang it, they're starting that old "killem in the first, loseit in the eighth!" syndrome . . again . .

[large]

Taco Day! . .

[Bob Nattering]

I'm happy they finally pulled one out and I'm happy you tacaholics got your taco day. There are, however, in my mind some troubling questions about the Rockies. In 2007, the magic year, they were 10-16 for the month of April. In 2008, they were 11-17 for the month of April. So far, this year it's 5-8. Add to that the high number of injuries early in the season last year and this year already two pitchers (Morales and Spier) injured.

You have to begin to ask why the injuries and poor record in the early part of the season. I don't know how their off-season conditioning stacks up against other teams, but something has to be wrong.

I've never been a Clint Hurdle fan, but he could do no wrong during the miraculous run at the end of 2007. However, going into that run through September 15th they were a mediocre 76-72. Hurdle's combined record including the partial year in 2002 and the games so far this year is 521-605. That's a dismal .463 clip that would have gotten a manager fired anywhere else.

They apparently tried to get Hurdle to fire Apodaca and he said if Apodaca went he went too. But again, the pitching staff looks like it's not up to expectations and we changed closers 8 games into the season.

Something seems to be very wrong with this team. I've always been a Todd Helton fan. I watch 90% of the games and until last night I don't think I've ever seen Todd make a mental error. When Brad Hawpe dived and missed a single to right, he came up with the ball quickly and threw behind the runner. The throw went right over the 1st base bag where Helton should have been. Todd had turned his back, assuming the throw would be to 2nd. The throw probably would not have gotten the runner, but it was close enough to say that Hawpe's throw to first was the correct throw. Why Helton would not be paying attention to the outfielder at that point is just beyond comprehension. Besides Helton they made a few other mental errors last night. Fielding, once their strongest point, has not been good this year.

It can be difficult to assess what exactly is the cause of all this, but the usual thing to try is a new manager. Don Baylor is no Rhodes Scholar either, but he's already in the dugout and I think he'd do a much better job. There's always plenty of other available candidates. I think it's time to send Clint and his pitching coach down the road before attendance drops off to nothing. The memory of 2007 will not fill many seats during a recession if the Rockies fall out of contention early.

[Bob Nattering]

Did you tacaholics read the fine print? When they get shutout on taco day, you have to report back the following day to pay full price for the tacos.

[Loren Swelk]

Where else can you take the Little Woman out for dinner and pay $5.34? Chances are she won't eat all four tacos and you will get 6 total. Life is Good.

[Bob Nattering]

Where else can you take the Little Woman out for dinner and pay $5.34? Chances are she won't eat all four tacos and you will get 6 total. Life is Good.

Tacaholics rejoice: Two in row (10-4 and 12-7) All of the slumping batters are awakening except for Tulo. They still need a lot in the pitching department, but maybe the bats will be good enough to help Swelk keep the Little Woman happy.

[Loren Swelk]

but maybe the bats will be good enough to help Swelk keep the Little Woman happy.

la mujer es muy poco feliz, no ha leído bien el artículo pene

[Bob Nattering]

Tacos around, including the Little Lady. Cook finally has solid outing. Bull Pen gives up 2 in the 8th, but Street strikes out the side for a clean 9th and the save. Life is good!

[Loren Swelk]

Extra innings and one run games have not been kind to the Rockies this year. It has to be tough on the starting pitcher to lose a 1-0 game in extra innings even though he was not responsible for the win or the loss.

[Bob Nattering]

Finally, a happy ending to a close game.

Rockies are down 1-0 in the eighth, Seth Smith on third and Tulo hits a sacrifice fly to Left scoring Smith. All except for the umpire calls Smith out for leaving 3rd base early. FSN is able to synch up the video from two cameras (accurate to a single frame in time) showing that Smith had a foot on the bag when the ball hit the left fielder's glove. Hurdle argued, but in my opinion should have made the umpire toss him. On that call the umpire has to give the benefit of the doubt to the runner unless he is 100% certain that the runner left early.

So the Rockies go into the 9th still trailing 1-0 in a game where De LaRosa had pitched 7 marvelous innings. Stewart leads off with double and Hawpe hits two-run homer. Matt Murton later knocks in Spilborghs. Rockies lead 3-1.

Houston Street comes in for the bottom of the ninth and faces 3 batters all strikeouts.

Life is good in Rockies Land (at least for one day), unless you were expecting tacos. If that's the case, go fill up on the drink at 7-eleven:

478

[Bob Nattering]

Woody Paige (http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_12387759?source=rss) has written a column titled ""Rockies — It's time to bail on Hurdle." I'm not much of a Woody Paige fan, but I do agree with his premise that it's time to fire the manager. Paige gives us where the Rockies stand in league stats and says that's not good enough. That's where Paige and I part ways. I look at the stats and contend that the Rockies have good enough stats to be better than .500

The only teams in the National League with worse records than the Rockies are Arizona and Washington. San Diego is percentage points above the Rockies but they are 7 games below .500 as are the Rockies. The Rockies are a respectable 11-8 in games decided by more than two runs. In games decided by 1 or 2 runs the Rockies are a terrible 3-13. Isn't it in close games where the manager can really make a difference?

There are only 4 teams that score more than the 5.114 runs per game clip of the Rockies. So is it pitching? While there are only 4 teams that allow more runs per game, the Rockies allow less than they score at 4.914 runs per game. (The average run differential for the Rockies is +0.200) So on average the Rockies outscore their opponents by 0.2 runs.

Should you be at or better than .500 when you outscore the opponent by an average of 0.2 runs per game? I calculated the average run differential for every team in the National League. The Rockies are in 8th place which is just in the upper half of the 16 team league. They are the only team with a positive run differential and a losing record. The San Diego Padres who are last in runs scored per game 3rd from last in runs allowed have a differential of -1.324 runs per game and yet are in a virtual tie with the Rockies. Teams with similar run differentials are Cincinnati with a differential of +0.221 at 4 games above .500 and Phily with a differential of 0.286 at 3 games above .500. Now that's 11 games and 10 games better than the Rockies.

So my conclusion is that the pitching is poor, but the run scoring capability more than makes up for the pitching. The team is not performing when it counts in the close games. If that's the case, is it the manager's fault? Not necessarily, but he's the easiest and least expensive part to change out so most teams start there. No other manager with Hurdle's paltry, losing record would have lasted half this long.

Paige refers to Hurdle as one of the paid apologists for the team. He does hit the nail on the head there. In sport where one team can pay 3 times what another team can pay players, most of the small market teams are in the business of making apologies. That's where Hurdle comes in 6 days out of 10 in the Rockies case. It just wears thin when the same guy does it year after year. Besides that he gets a little surly and starts talking down to everyone when their losing big time like right now. We could at least get a more humble apologist.

[large]

I dunno, and sure as hell don't want to argue stats . . But one of the things plaguing the Rockies is "Dumb Sh*t" . . Things like Stewart being called out on the "Tag Up" rule, when it was plain as day to anyone watching, it was a bad call . . quite a few things like that has occurred this spring and you can't really blame anyone for them . . but it's hard to win when those things happen.

I don't watch 'em all the time, but, it seems every time I do, something key happens that takes points off the board or handicaps the Offense . . I guess maybe I shouldn't watch . . although, just as I write this they're rallying against Pittsburg . . 3 to 1, er . . 4 to 1. I better hold my breath!

The other oddity, while they don't have a killer bunch on the Pitching Staff, look at de la Rosa's stats . . and his won loss record . . ****! With all those strikeouts, he should be a winning pitcher! What's the problem here? No offense seems to be the answer . . But who's to blame?

An hour later . . . Score's 11 to 4, Pirates, with 9 straight hits and 11 straight Runs, not a single one attributable to Jimenez, the starting Rockies pitcher . . McCloud (P) has 3 hits RBIs this inning . .

In other words, poor defense (errors in the outfield) and the bullpen lost this one, because barring the Virgin Mary making an appearance as a pinch hitter and winning it for them . . they're done . . dunno if it's just Hurdle. Perhaps Clint's problem is that he's not kicking Manny Apodaca's a$$ and some other coaches . . and is just apologizing for their inadequacies . .

ButwtthehelldoIknow?

[Bob Nattering]

I dunno, and sure as hell don't want to argue stats . . But one of the things plaguing the Rockies is "Dumb Sh*t" . . Things like Stewart being called out on the "Tag Up" rule, when it was plain as day to anyone watching, it was a bad call . . quite a few things like that has occurred this spring and you can't really blame anyone for them . . but it's hard to win when those things happen.

I don't watch 'em all the time, but, it seems every time I do, something key happens that takes points off the board or handicaps the Offense . . I guess maybe I shouldn't watch . . although, just as I write this they're rallying against Pittsburg . . 3 to 1, er . . 4 to 1. I better hold my breath!

The other oddity, while they don't have a killer bunch on the Pitching Staff, look at de la Rosa's stats . . and his won loss record . . ****! With all those strikeouts, he should be a winning pitcher! What's the problem here? No offense seems to be the answer . . But who's to blame?

Go Figure!

That's what I call intangibles. I had a doctor tell me one time that inflammation of the joints in a male under 45 is automatically gout until proven otherwise. I think that's a good way to diagnose intangible causes for losing teams. It's the manager's fault until proven otherwise.

I'm wondering what folks would think about Alanna Rizzo, who is already quite familiar with the team. I'd much rather see her in the post game interview than Clint Hurdle. Take a look:

Here's Alanna:
480

And in a Rockies jacket, in one of those obstructed vision seats at Wrigley Field:
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And Here's Hurdle (I've protected you from seeing the hairdo):
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If that's not enough she also seems to have a much better personality (less likely to get surly in the interviews). She couldn't have given up that 4-1 lead on Pittsburgh any faster (sorry about that, Ubaldo), so we might as well select who we'd rather hear and see after the game.

Now we just need someone to take Apodaca's spot. They might do that at the end of the 7th inning if it ever ends. Maybe just get some guy in the stands wearing a Rockies jacket.