Morning Links: Rockies News 4/9

The Colorado Rockies had their five game winning streak snap last night, losing to the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Still, the team stayed competitive in the game and their record stands at 5-2. Here’s what else is happening with the Rockies and around the rest of the league.

De La Rosa pitched well Monday night. Image: Kelley L. Cox – USA Today Sports

From Troy Renck: Jorge De La Rosa laments ‘one pitch’ in Rockies’ loss to Giants (Denver Post)

"With two runners aboard in the first inning, De La Rosa nearly slipped off the hook after striking out Buster Posey on a terrific slider. Up came Pence, out went the baseball. De La Rosa threw a first pitch, 85-mph changeup that drifted over the middle of the plate. De La Rosa knew the ball was gone on impact, shaking his head in disgust.‘Any other hitter would have done the same thing with that pitch,’ said De La Rosa, who finished with 77 pitches, 50 strikes. ‘I was trying to go outside with it.’"

From Patrick Saunders: Rockies Mailbag: Walt Weiss aiming to keep his bench players sharp (Denver Post)

"The Helton situation is tricky for Weiss. He’s dealing with the face of the franchise, but also with a man who is 39 years old. Weiss still believes Helton has plenty to give, but if Helton slumps badly or if his body doesn’t hold up, I think you’ll see a lot more of Pacheco at first. We’ll have to see how that plays out."

From Jeff Passan: 10 Degrees: Loudest hits of opening week come from Justin Upton, Michael Morse and Chris Davis (Yahoo!)

"8. Dexter Fowler-led Rockies. Like Jones, Fowler is at the magical age of 27, and little tweaks to his swing over the last two seasons have helped unleash the power that always was there in his 6-foot-4 frame. Last season was a breakout year, with a .300/.389/.474 line, and if Fowler can maintain the power and step up his center field defense, he’ll be staring at two possibilities.The less likely: a contract extension with Colorado. Barring a trade of Troy Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez – and neither, at this juncture, is likely – the Rockies don’t have room for the sort of money a power-hitting Fowler would warrant. Jones fetched $85.5 million for six years. Unless the Rockies contend – and with that pitching, it ain’t happening – they may be forced to trade Fowler. They dangled him this offseason, asking for what other executives considered an excessive return."

From Craig Calcaterra: Quote of the Day: Roy Halladay says he’s a “horse’s ass” (HardBall Talk)

"This is absolutely brutal. Halladay at his best is a machine. To see him struggle with the pitching and to see just how much it’s affecting him is one of the harder things to watch over the past couple of seasons.  It doesn’t help that, in some ways, he’s in denial too. Salisbury reports that Halladay believes his problems to be “95 percent mental” and that he’s just trying too hard or pressing. Which, with all due respect to Halladay, is the secondary thing here. His fastball has lost life and he can’t throw it by anyone, which is likely flummoxing him. This seems like a shoulder problem first, a brain problem second."