Carlos Gonzalez

The Rockies have always been an offensively proficient team. The overlap of Larry Walker and Todd Helton makes that an indisputable statement, even while more mediocre players have occasionally filled out the roster. Coors Field is a hitter’s park, and generally speaking the scouting and development department has done a perfectly adequate job finding good hitters. So we expect our team to score runs. Still, excellence deserves recognition. On top of that, the Rockies have not had an especially excellent year. That makes those performances worthy of recognition stand out even more. Note: In some ways this was even more [...]

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched very well, but left after seven innings, behind 3-1. It didn’t matter. The Rockies’ lone run before the eighth inning came off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki in the form of a solo home run to left field. A good sign for Tulo was that the pitch he hit out of the park was around his ankles, and he still hit it out. Pinch-hitter Alfredo Amezega sacrificed himself, but an errant throw by Giants’ pitcher Jonathan Sanchez alowed Amezega to score Ryan Spilborghs, who was at third. With Amezega at third and Chris Iannetta at third, Dexter [...]

Right now, everything the Rockies touch turns to gold.  Last night, Jhoulys Chacin dominated the Cubs in a complete game shut-out.  It was the first complete game shut-out at Coors Field in more than two years.  Obviously, Chacin has been very exciting this year.  He’s now 3-0 and is well on his way to becoming one of the NL’s better starting pitchers. Clipped from: mlb.mlb.com (share this clip) When the Rockies are going like they are currently, it feels like nothing will ever go wrong.  But, it’s important to remember that there will be adversity this year and that’s a [...]

Seven innings pitched, no runs, four K’s, and a ton of groundballs. If you would have given me that stat line before last night’s game, I would have gotten pissed. That damn Kershaw did it to us again! But, obviously, that was Chacin’s line. The second year pitcher outdueled a popular NL Cy Young pick. The best part: he didn’t even have his best stuff. Obviously it’s early, but the recent starts of Chacin and De La Rosa have given us much to get excited over. Everyone expected those two guys to be decent, but very few thought they’d be [...]

Sunday’s snow out royally sucked. These last two days have felt like an eternity. Giving us two games and then taking two days off was like giving a peanut to a starving man. However, at 6:40 tonight, we can all eat again. Bring on the Dodgers! Carlos Gonzalez has a ridiculous set of tools, but can he be a 40-40 guy? Absolutely, but he’ll have to stay healthy and catch some breaks. For CarGo, the most difficult aspect may be getting to 40 homeruns. It’s not a lack of power — he hits the ball harder than anyone else on [...]

Jose Lopez looks to be a solid acquisition, hitting a homerun in his first appearance as a Rockie. In fact, he’s the only Rockie who has gone yard, which is encouraging production from a second basemen, a position the Rockies have not received good power numbers from historically. (Remember Roberto Mejia?)

The Rockies should consider hiring a full-time manicurists. If they don’t, the bullpen will be worn out by June. Cut cuticles and little finger nail blood blisters are messing with my chi. Ubaldo’s cut is obviously a substantial nuisance, knocking 8 MPH off his fastball and rendering his curveball useless. It sounds like he will skip a turn in the rotation. Hopefully, he will get it right. Before leaving last night’s game in the sixth inning with a blood blister on his middle finger, Jorge De La Rosa was electric. His fastball was in the mid-nineties and he was spotting [...]

MISSING: Ubaldo’s fastball. Last seen around 97 MPH. If seen, please return immediately to Coors Field. I was relieved this morning when I read that Ubaldo was having cuticle problems again. With the way he was throwing yesterday, I was starting to worry about arm trouble. Granted, his secondary stuff and his location were off, but a serious dip in velocity was the main culprit behind yesterday’s poor outing. The two home runs he gave up each came on inside fastballs. If he had his normal heat, neither Justin Upton or Miguel Montero would’ve been able to barrel up those [...]

Today is the best day of the year. It’s like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and my birthday all rolled into one. After an off-season of anticipation, the Rox will finally take the field again. Make sure to check back shortly for Rox Pile’s series preview. The Rockies are coming off the best spring training they’ve ever had, and are hoping that it will carry over into a hot start. They come into the 2011 season fresh and hungry. One thing is for certain, this is going to be a fun year. Clipped from: www.denverpost.com (share this clip) CarGo, Tulo, and Ubaldo can [...]

Spring Training is no longer shiny and new. There is nothing to report that hasn’t already been reported. By now, we know that Todd Helton is old and can’t play every day. Just like we know that the Rox need CarGo to build off last year. Also, there is no need to point out that a substantial Tulo injury would probably doom the team’s playoff chances. Like every other team, the Rockies’ question marks can only be answered during the season. All I want is to watch some meaningful baseball. Nine days. Yesterday there was a Spring Training brawl! Some [...]