Morning Links: Rockies News 6/20

The Colorado Rockies left Toronto licking their wounds after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays. They now face another tough road series against the Washington Nationals, with Roy Oswalt making his season debut Thursday night. Here’s what else is happening with the Rockies and around the rest of the league.

From Troy Renck: Rockies swept away by Jays in forgettable three-day trip to Canada (Denver Post)

"The Jays broomed the Rockies 5-2 in a series that was as one-sided as any since the San Francisco Giants had their way with them in April. Colorado never led in three games, falling to a chilling 3-10 against American League opponents this season. The Rockies have never won a game in Toronto, 0-for-9 in three separate trips.”"

Herrera. Image: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

From Josh Schoch: Does Roy Oswalt Have Enough Left To Be Rockies’ NL West X-Factor? (Bleacher Report)

"First and foremost, Oswalt can win games.“He is just two years removed of his surge in Philly, when he posted an ERA of just 1.74 in 10 starts after being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.“However, in the last two years Oswalt has dealt with injuries and age. After starting at least 30 games for seven straight seasons from 2004 to 2010, he started 23 in 2011, and just nine in 2012. His stuff was poor in those games too, as his ERA ballooned to 3.69 in 2011 and 5.80 in 2012, not to mention his 1.34 and 1.53 WHIPs, respectively.At 35 years old, Oswalt is finally back, but he might not be everything the Rockies hope he will be.”"

From Ben Beecken: Carlos Gonzalez: He’s Back, But Did He Ever Really Leave Us? (FanSided)

"As Gonzalez has steadily improved his approach at the plate over the past three-plus seasons, the Rockies have steadily gotten worse, bottoming out at 64-98 with the third-worst record in the majors in 2012. Also contributing to Gonzalez’ improvement in walk rate is the lack of protection in the Rockies’ usually horrendous lineup, allowing opposing pitchers to approach Gonzalez as carefully as they please.“Of course, this is also why and how people have managed to overlook CarGo’s continued superstar performance, as a .312/.373/.561 line since 2010 is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Nobody pays attention to solid players on bad teams that play in the middle of the country, which is more or less why Todd Helton was overlooked for quite some time.”"

From Craig Calcaterra: Bruce Bochy is not inclined to pick Yasiel Puig for the All-Star Game (HardballTalk)

"Puig isn’t on the ballot and with Clayton Kershaw being his usually awesome self, Puig won’t have to be there as a “we need a Dodger” pick. And that stuff aside, Bochy doesn’t strike me as a guy who is going to respond to some June breakout/mania like so many others.”"