Huston Street

2009 wasn’t that long ago, was it? In the world of the Colorado Rockies it feels much longer than three years have passed since those rosy days. As the team prepared to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, there were grumblings that solid-as-a-rock closer Huston Street would be offered a three year extension that offseason. And why wouldn’t he? He converted 35 of 37 save opportunities. He was the best closer the Rockies had seen in their short history. Or something… But even with his failures in that same 2009 divisional series, I was happy that the Rockies locked [...]

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 [...]

The first full week of the MLB season begins this week. With the Dodgers traveling to Colorado to face the Rockies, Kenny Shulsen at Lasorda’s Lair and Logan Burdine of the Rox Pile have teamed up to bring you an in-depth look at this brief 2 game division series. We’ll look at the pitching matchups, hot/cold players, an injury report and finish with a 6 pack of questions, 3 from each team. Los Angeles Dodgers 2011 Record: 3–1, 1st in N.L. West Colorado Rockies 2011 Record: 1-1, 3rd in N.L. West (1.0 GB) Pitching Matchups April 5: Clayton Kershaw vs. [...]

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?)

Reportedly, Aaron Cook’s recent MRI showed no sign of structural damage in his shoulder, but this doesn’t make me feel any better. I assume that Cook has been examined for a possible labrum tear — the most common shoulder injury for pitchers. Unfortunately, labrum tears are very difficult to diagnose. It’s a delicate piece of cartilage deep down in the shoulder joint and the tiniest tear can cause significant pain. It’s virtually impossible for doctors to find a labrum tear through physical examination. To obtain a correct diagnosis, an MRI is almost always necessary. However, when it comes to labrum [...]

Clipped from: mlb.mlb.com (share this clip) Baseball and chewing tobacco go together like Charlie Sheen and hookers. It’s an unhealthy relationship, but unlikely to change. Since baseball was invented, tobacco has been a constant. When I was sixteen, I had the privilege of serving as a visitor’s batboy for the Rangers. I worked there for about two weeks before I started chewing. The clubhouse had a full tobacco spread. You could grab any kind of chew or dip you wanted and I was happy to oblige. By the end of my first year, I was a connoisseur of smokeless tobacco. [...]

Earlier this week, Ubaldo was named as baseball’s MVP, but it wasn’t voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. This MVP award was determined by Forbes and the acronym stands for Most Valuable Pitcher. With the help of Baseball Reference, Forbes evaluated each pitcher based on their Value Over Replacement Player and their annual salary. Ubaldo only made $1.25M last season, easily making him the most valuable pitcher in baseball. His salary was roughly 5% of CC Sabbathia’s. Of course, this isn’t exactly news to Rockies fans. Still, the article is a good read. Clipped from: www.forbes.com (share [...]

Yesterday, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick released a piece on the Giants. For obvious reasons, everyone is happy and team chemistry is at an all-time high. Crasnick referred to their camp as Camp Feel Good. To me, they look like a team that is content and I think it’s great. In the strong NL West, contentment will cause you to miss the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Post ran an article about Helton. Todd is in a place that is opposite of the Giants. He is pissed off, miserable, and hungry. Frankly, this is the attitude I want my team to have in Spring [...]

The Rockies recently designated prospect Samuel Deduno for assignment and the motivation behind this move is now clear. The organization thinks Deduno’s future is as a reliever, and after these recent signings, they have no room for him in the bullpen. Since he was on the 40-Man roster, the Rox had no choice, but to release Deduno. For what it’s worth, he was picked up by San Diego.

Houston and their Napoleonic GM, Ed Wade, gave the Rockies a gift. The Astros dumped Lindstrom in an effort to reduce payroll and didn’t ask for much in return.