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Rockies Links: Chad Bettis, baserunning, and Billy Butler

By Hayden Kane

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The Colorado Rockies embark on this off-season with a lot of questions and a stubborn front office. Today’s links take a look at Chad Bettis, Rockies’ baserunning gaffes, and an important reflection on the fact that Bill Butler stole second base in a playoff game.

So it is that the Colorado Rockies have reached the end of another disappointing season. With this being the time of year for non-playoff teams to assess their current situation, evaluate individual performances from the season that just passed, and look ahead to next season and beyond, the Rockies are once again a depressing team to cheer for.

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This team has talent yet it needs to be tweaked. They have the assets for a quick turnaround; what they need is a front office that has the ability to think creatively and proactively make moves to maximize those assets. If the Rockies had anything like that kind of management, it might not be so bad to reflect on last season and look ahead.

They don’t have that kind of front office, but we trudge onward anyway. Here’s a look at some Rockies’ links about the season that just finished, as well as an important piece on a moment in the playoffs.

From Bryan Kilpatrick: Rockies 2014 season review: Chad Bettis couldn’t get MLB hitters out (Purple Row)

"The Rockies were counting on Bettis to take a big step forward, and he simply didn’t, with the low point coming in late May when the young righty served up a grand slam to Hector Sanchez in a game against the Giants that went into extra innings. When it was all said and done, Bettis had allowed more than two baserunners per inning, let half of the runners he inherited to score and owned an ERA+ of just 47."

From Adam Peterson: Nincompoops: Baserunning and the Rockies, Part 1 (Rockies Zingers)

"Of the 15 players to attempt a steal, only Charlie Blackmon (28 for 38) Drew Stubbs (20 for 23), Carlos Gonzalez (3 for 3), Michael Cuddyer (3 for 3) and Wilin Rosario (1 for 1) were successful on more than 70% of their attempts. The fact that 3 of the 5 players to break that threshold had fewer than 5 attempts tells the story of the Rockies and stealing bases. DJ LeMahieu (10 for 20) and Corey Dickerson (8 for 15) seem to be the worst thieves among those with at least 5 attempts."

From Jeff Sullivan: Billy Butler Stole Second Base: A Reflection (FanGraphs)

"Billy Butler is slow. Not just relatively slow, among professional athletes — he is a slow man, when he’s running. The good news is he’s not supposed to be fast. The bad news is he’s slow. Since 2009, Butler’s posted six of the 80 worst baserunning seasons in baseball. This year he was on first base for 31 singles, and one time did he make it to third. About 10% of the time he took an extra base, against a league average of 40%. Current Fan Scouting Report results give Butler a 17/100 in sprint speed"

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