Thread: The Official Colorado Rockies thread--Now with extra awesome!!

Holliday was 4-4 yesterday. Tulo is coming along great. Quads are death, I dont know what i did to mine but both are tight and burn which makes it hard to walk! Francis today see if he can build off his last start.

Tulo link

Fans at Coors Field on Saturday night had a chance to enjoy shortstop Troy Tulowitzki's bobblehead doll, but it doesn't appear long until they can behold the real player.

Tulowitzki's progress from his torn tendon in his left quadriceps has hit such a high gear that the Rockies' staff will meet Monday with the expectation of sending him to the Minors on an injury rehab assignment in the middle of the week, according to head trainer Keith Dugger.

Tulowitzki, who suffered the injury on April 29, said he has stopped thinking about the injury in recent days, and just needs to regain sharpness. He's not sure how long that will take.

"If I'd done it before, I'd have a better guess on when I'll be ready, but i want to get some at-bats under my belt, plus be out there and get that first step on defense," Tulowitzki said. "I'm thinking maybe a week, maybe a little more."

Tulowitzki worked out on Saturday with Dugger before batting practice as the Rockies try to increase his conditioning level.

"He's doing very well," Dugger said. "I'd say the last week he's been taking full ground balls. The last four or five days, there's no hesitation. He looks normal."

Early estimates had Tulowitzki out until some time around the All-Star break, either before or just after. Now his pending quick return adds to a suddenly healthy outlook for the Rockies, who started the season poorly and became beset with injuries but entered Saturday night's game against the Brewers with a three-game winning streak.

Right fielder Brad Hawpe homered on Friday night in his return from a right hamstring strain. Right-handed reliever Luis Vizcaino, a key free-agent acquisition during the winter, was activated Saturday night after not pitching since April 3 because of a right shoulder strain. Two-time All-Star left fielder Matt Holliday is expected to complete his rehab assignment from a left hamstring strain this weekend at Triple-A Colorado Springs and return to the club on Tuesday.

Additionally, second baseman Clint Barmes, who suffered a right knee sprain on May 23, is increasing what Duger calls "baseball activity" -- hitting, fielding, agility drills -- but is still "a ways out." Right-handed reliever Kip Wells, who had surgery to remove a blood clot from his right hand, is throwing bullpen sessions of 35 pitches and using all of his pitches. Lefty reliever Micah Bowie began a rehab assignment in Colorado Springs on Friday night as he recovers from a left forearm strain.

Righty Jason Hirsh, who has not pitched this season because of a strain deep in his right rotator cuff, has thrown two injury rehab starts at Colorado Springs.

"We're definitely looking forward to getting all our pieces back when we can get them back, putting them into play and developing a more consistent theme with our lineup, and our rotation, and our bullpen as we move forward with the season," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.

Holy schmoly


The 1.2M feed on mlb.tv is super fine!!!!!!!!!

hmmmmmmmmm

Jeffy has another dodgey first inning

Jeff got a RBI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 pitch inning for Jeffy!

RBI to Ianetta

3-2 Brewers

Well, Quintanilla ruins a good attempt with a man on third ...

Could have picked up a game on Arizona today

Farm Report:

Kendall Albaugh, a blogger at purplerow.com, writes a weekly Farm Report for the Rocky Mountain News.

Tools Turning to Skills for Fowler
Tuesday, June 3 at 3:14 PM
To see where Fowler's at, it would be helpful to draw comparisons to other top center field prospects that have advanced through the Texas League. Unfortunately, the TL has been sort of a dead zone for center fielders the last couple of seasons with one bright and notable exception, too bright, as it turns out. The St. Louis Cardinals' Colby Rasmus last season had a breakout year at their Texas League affiliate in Springfield. Rasmus is five months younger than Fowler, so being a level ahead at a younger age automatically puts him in a higher tier to start. Rasmus had a huge 2007 season, with a .274 batting average, he belted 29 homeruns and 37 doubles on his way to being considered one of the top prospects in the game. Fowler, just about half way through his AA season, is well short of Rasmus' power pace, hitting five homeruns and ten doubles thus far. Dexter is showing slightly better contact skills, hitting .285 with a lower strikeout percentage than Rasmus had, but the age differences would mitigate that.

This doesn't quite tell the whole story, however, as there are several indicators that Rasmus' 2007 was a spike in his progression and that he's not quite as skilled a player as he showed last year just yet. This season, Rasmus' production has dropped considerably to a more pedestrian level at the Cardinals' AAA Memphis affiliate. While he should still be considered an elite prospect, what seems to have driven Rasmus' success at Springfield was a one season aberration in his line drive rate. Over the last three seasons, his LD% has looked like this:

2006 13%
2007 23%
2008 10%
Fowler's been much more consistent, his 17% line drive rate in 2008 is higher than what it was at Asheville or Modesto (both years were at 13%) but not nearly the same sort of dramatic and unsustainable spike that Rasmus saw, plus Fowler's gain is consistent with a player gaining familiarity with switch hitting. Rasmus also benefited from a stadium that has generated about 20% more homeruns than the league average over the last couple of seasons, while Drillers stadium has been a little less hitter friendly than usual in that time. Once you cut through the benefits Rasmus got from his good fortune and his kind stadium, Fowler does close some of the gap. And while Rasmus should still be considered the better offensive prospect by a good margin, Fowler also gains by having a better defensive profile that should keep him in center field longer.

Another encouraging sign for Fowler is improvement in his contact. He's lowered his strikeout rate from 21.4% in 2007, to 17.9% so far in 2008. As a likely table setter in the big leagues, Fowler's on base percentage should be in the .380 range at this level, and while he's just shy of that figure right now at .372, his .383 clip in May shows that he's moving the right direction. Fowler still hits much better from his natural right side than from the left, he's hitting .390 with a .585 slugging percentage against left-handers, .260 with a .405 slugging percentage from the left side against right-handers.

With a bit more than half a season left to play, Fowler's positioned himself well for the summer months when offense in the Texas League rises with the temperature. With a particularly strong summer, he could see a cameo in Coors late this year, but it seems a little more likely at this point that he'll make his debut in 2009. The ceiling at this point Fowler seems to be a strong center-fielder who's capable of regularly hitting 15-20 homeruns and stealing 25-30 bases in his prime. His contact and speed skills still suggest that he should be able to have a couple of 200 hit seasons, particularly playing at Coors Field. Keep in mind that the switch-hitting makes projections a little tricky, because his average could be better if he hit from the right side only, but his power would suffer.

Colorado Springs: The Sky Sox roster has begun to resemble an open tryout camp for players cut by other teams, as well as a couple drawn from independent leagues, in the wake of injury mandated call-ups to Denver the past couple of weeks. Former Rockies outfielder Dustan Mohr was signed from the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association and former Red Sox prospect Kenny Perez has been signed from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League to fill spots on the Sky Sox roster. The roster shift has also meant increased playing time for players like Christian Colonel, Chris Frey and Doug Bernier, and the three are taking advantage of it. Colonel has sixteen hits in his last ten games (.381 AVG) including nine doubles. Bernier homered twice Monday night (one was inside the park thanks to a bad hop) and he's hitting .355 over his last ten games while Frey is hitting .366 over that span.

Tulsa: The Drillers have had some bad luck with hands and wrists this year. Besides Chris Nelson, who broke his hamate bone just as Eric Young Jr. was returning from a similar injury he suffered in April, outfielder Daniel Carte has been out since May 29 after jamming his wrist and was expected to see a doctor Tuesday. Right hander Alan Johnson has had some mixed results this season, but on Monday he had one of the system's most dominant starts of 2008. Johnson struck out twelve in seven innings, allowing just five hits and two walks. Perez and Eddie Cornejo are among the candidates to fill Nelson's roster spot once Clint Barmes returns from the DL.

Modesto: Right-handed pitcher Shane Lindsay broke his pitching hand in an off field incident and will be rehabbing in Tucson. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Closer Andrew Johnston sprained his ankle while pitching Sunday night but should return in 5-7 days. Not all the news is bad or about injuries for the Nuts, Aneury Rodriguez pitched his second complete game shutout of the season Monday night, allowing just two hits and striking out ten. Rodriguez has had five straight quality starts.

Asheville: The Tourists had a nine game win streak snapped today, but they still lead their division by two and a half games with twelve games left before first half playoff spots are decided. Seven Tourists players as well as manager Joe Mikulik were selected to the South Atlantic League All-Star team; pitchers Jhoulys Chacin, Joey Williamson and Randall Taylor, and position players Darin Holcomb, Brian Rike, Michael Mitchell and Everth Cabrera. The four position players and Chacin were also named starters for the game to be held June 17. Taylor leads all of the minor leagues in saves with 19, and was named the SAL's co-pitcher of the week after notching five in the past week alone.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=col

Holliday to return for Giants opener
Colorado (24-39) vs. San Francisco (28-35), Tuesday, 7:05 MT
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com


DENVER -- Every few days it seems, the Rockies roll out the welcome mat for a player regaining health. Now they're rolling it out for their biggest star, left fielder Matt Holliday.

A left hamstring strain on May 24 forced Holliday to the disabled list, but after three games at Triple-A Colorado Springs he is ready to return. Holliday is slated to return Tuesday for the opener of a three-game set against the Giants at Coors Field.

He finished his stint on Sunday by hitting a home run in his first at-bat and going 2-for-4 in the Sky Sox's 6-3 loss to Salt Lake City. In three games, Holliday was 6-for-10 with a home run, a double and three RBIs during his rehab.

Holliday returns with a .321 average, eight home runs (tied with Garrett Atkins for the club lead) and is second on the team with 26 RBIs, despite the time missed.

The Rockies also have seen Brad Hawpe hit home runs in two of his first three games back from a hamstring injury and have brought back Luis Vizcaino from a shoulder injury. Infielders Troy Tulowitzki and Clint Barmes aren't far from returning.

It's happening at a time when the Rockies have won four of their last five games.

"I'm excited for Holliday to get back," Hawpe said. "I'll be excited for Tulo to get back, and Barmes. They're not far away. We've got a chance to get our offense together and a chance to score some runs.

"That's the trick. We have a good offense, but it doesn't matter if we're not healthy. I think we've got a bunch of good players coming back right now, which is good for us."

Pitching matchup
COL: RHP Aaron Cook (8-3, 3.16 ERA)
Cook was sharp in his last start, allowing a run over eight innings to pick up his eighth victory of the year. He also tied a season high with six strikeouts and helped the Rockies build a modest two-game winning streak after losing eight straight. Cook is 4-6 in his career against the Giants, but was 2-0 against them last season.

SF: LHP Pat Misch (0-2, 5.79 ERA)
Misch threw a scoreless inning in Saturday's 6-0 rout of the Nationals and will rejoin the rotation for Tuesday's start in Colorado. The Giants skipped over Misch last time after he went 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA in six starts. He moved to the bullpen after that, but goes back to the starting rotation this time. The Giants recalled him from Triple-A Fresno on April 27.

Tidbits
Jeff Baker went into Sunday's game against the Brewers with a bruised right knee. He didn't start, but singled in a pinch-hit appearance. Cook pinch-ran for him. Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs had a stiff lower back, but made a pinch-hit appearance. ... Vizcaino saw action on Sunday for the first time since early April, and threw a scoreless eighth. He walked two with two out, although on the second walk he -- and the booing patrons at Coors -- felt his 2-2 pitch to Joe Dillion should have finished the inning. Vizcaino ended the inning by forcing Gabe Kapler to pop foul to first baseman Todd Helton. "I feel comfortable throwing the ball, and with my pitches," Vizcaino said. "I'm ready to go. I'm happy they gave me the opportunity today." ... Triple-A Colorado Springs first baseman Joe Koshansky earned organization hitter of the month for May by hitting .306 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 31 RBIs in 28 games. Class A Modesto right-hander Aneury Rodriguez earned Rockies pitcher of the month honors by going 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts. He threw a complete-game one-hitter on May 11 against Lake Elsinore. ... Righty reliever Ryan Speier gave up two hits during a scoreless inning on Sunday against the Brewers. It was his first Major League outing since May 11, when he was hit on his throwing shoulder by a line drive against the Padres. ... Pitcher Kyle Ottoson of Eaton, Colo., a Rockies Draft pick, participated in the Colorado Senior Top 50 All-Star Game at Coors Field after the Rockies' loss to the Brewers on Sunday.

7-1 Rocks...

Here is to hopefully turning this damn season around...

nice, put up ten tonight, most runs in a long ass time, good job boys

I'll be at the game tonight. If you see some drunk guy in the upper deck behind home plate that's me

Unless you fall from the upper deck on to home plate, I doubt we'll see you my friend