Full Name: Joshua Smith Fogg
Position:  P
Born:  December 13, 1976   Place: Lynn,Massachusetts
Height:  6-2   Weight:  205
Bats:  Right   Throws:  Right
High School:  Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale,FL)
College:  University of Florida
Drafted:  Selected by Chicago White Sox in 3rd round (89th overall) of 1998 amateur entry draft (June Regular Phase)

Josh Fogg was the perfect 5th starter in the Rockies rotation. He pitched over 170 innings, picked up 11 wins and stayed healthy all year long. He even  pitched a near perfect game in Seattle where he faced the minimum batters.

Fogg has the kind of stuff that seems very ordinary but he knows enough about getting hitters out that he is able to get by with what he has to offer, which is a sign of a real pro. Look for the Rockies to offer him a deal in 2007, but they won't go to arbitration. In other words, if Fogg doesn't sign the deal, then the Rox will pull it off the table rather than go to arbitration.


YEAR   TEAM    W   L    ERA    G  GS  CG SH QS SV   IP    H    R   ER  HR   BB   SO
2001   WSOX    0   0   2.03   11   0   0  0    0   13.1   10    3   3   0    3   17
2002   PITT   12  12   4.35   33  33   0  0    0  194.1  199  102  94  28   69  113
2003   PITT   10   9   5.26   26  26   1  0    0  142.0  166   90  83  22   40   71
2004   PITT   11  10   4.64   32  32   0  0    0  178.1  193   98  92  17   66   82
2005   PITT    6  11   5.05   34  28   0  0    0  169.1  196  106  95  27   53   85
2006   ROX    11   9   5.49   31  31   1  1 14 0  172.0  206  115 105  24   60   93
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Career Totals 50  51   4.89  167 150   2  1    0  869.1  970  514 472 118  291  461

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2006

With the 5th pitching spot in the rotation being up for grabs, the city of Denver finds itself groping to learn anything they can about the riddle of Josh Fogg. We all ask "who is he", where did he come from" and "why does he want to be a Rockie"? This man is truly an enigma wrapped in a riddle or else he is a pig in a blanket. Never the less he is shrouded in mystery.

Tracy Ringlosby writes, that the Reds and Nationals actually offered him more money than the Rockies did. (Pirates didn't want him back) But, Mr. Ringlosby writes that the Rockies actually courted this man harder than anyone else. We note that the Rockies no longer court all star pitchers, but rather they go after the less than average ones. This way, when the newly signed free agent goes 5-11 and his season ends with an elbow injury no one will be upset at the loss of money.

Anyway, Mr. Fogg chose the Rockies and if the story that Mr. Ringlosby retells is correct and Mr. Fogg really did turn down more money from two clubs for the chance to pitch at Coors field then we can only surmise that Mr. Fogg has serious brain damage. FYI: Mr. Fogg signed for $450,000 and last year he earned $2,150,000 from the Pirates. Last year Mr. Fogg went 6-11, had an ERA of 5.05 and pitched 169 innings. We note that the Pirates really got their money's worth.

Baseball American tells us that Mr. Fogg is a 29 year old pitcher who is a Sagittarius and is still alive and we are happy to learn that the Rockies are signing free agents who are alive. They appear to have learned something from the Denny Neagle experience. Mr. Fogg went to the University of Florida where he had a three year record of 18-7 . His reward for this was being drafted by the White Sox in the 3rd round. Eventually he landed with the Pirates where he had three decent seasons. In three years he was 33-31 and pitched about 180 innings a season. (he tanked last year) He is an average pitcher, who has never improved and last he deproved. (is that a word?). He averages about 1/2 a strike out per inning. He only walks about one person every three innings. He throws a sinker and a change up and we suspect he will throw more walks at altitude than he is used to throwing.

All the Rockies need of a 5th pitcher is a player who can go to mound 32 times and throw 160+ innings. If Mr. Fogg can do that he could end up being about 8-14 with an ERA of about 6.00. Honestly, those are the numbers of a typical number five pitcher for the Rockies and we shouldn't expect anything more. This is what Mr. Wright did last year and the Rockies got rid of him so they could pay someone else $450,000 to do the same thing. RC

12/12/06.. addition.. Rocky
"I think we'd like to keep Josh," general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "But I also know we have our limits in what we're going to do to do that."

According to sources close to the negotiations, the Rockies are believed to have offered Fogg about $2.5 million next season but have not struck a deal because of the rising market.

Fogg underwent arthroscopic right elbow surgery Nov. 6 in which a bone spur was shaved down and loose bodies removed. He'll begin playing catch Friday and is expected to be ready for spring training. Ideally, Fogg said that will be with the Rockies.

"I definitely want to come back," he said. "With the group of guys that are there, I look forward to it. But you don't want to put all your eggs in that basket until it actually happens. So I'm just kind of waiting."

11/2/06.. addition.. Rocky
Fogg, who was second on the team in victories with an 11-9 record in 2006, is eligible for arbitration. It isn't likely the Rockies would go to arbitration with him, but they have until Dec. 12 to tender Fogg a contract, which gives general manager Dan O'Dowd nearly six weeks to try to work out a deal.
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Fogg is scheduled to undergo surgery next week to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. While Fogg finished fourth on the team with 177 innings pitched, he did skip between-start throwing sessions frequently in the second half of the season because of soreness that has been attributed to the bone chips.

9/19/06.. addituon.. MLB.com
Rockies right-hander Josh Fogg will pocket an extra $50,000 once he makes his start Friday night against the Braves. The $50,000 incentive is based on a points system that was negotiated in Fogg's contract. Fogg's next start will be his 30th of the season, which will earn him the required number of points for the bonus to kick in. But Fogg is more interested in maintaining the opportunity to pitch for the Rockies beyond this season.

Fogg has struggled recently, posting a 10.19 ERA in his last eight starts. At 9-9 with a 5.68 ERA this season, Fogg can put a brighter tint on his season with a good finish. "If I can get to 10-9 and make it 11-9, it makes those four or five starts when I struggled not so bad," Fogg said. "Do I want to go out on that kind of note? Definitely not.

"I've gone out there and competed and kept my team in it. I deserve to go out there and make the rest of my starts."

Fogg, who will have earned $200,000 in incentives beyond his $850,000 salary once he starts Friday, said his problems have stemmed from falling behind in counts. His changeup is his best pitch, but that's only if his fastball is setting it up. Habitually falling behind 2-0 or 3-1 robs him of his changeup, which he uses to jam batters. "I'm the type of pitcher that 0-1 and 1-0 are two completely different counts to me," Fogg said. "The changeup is my best pitch, but the fastball is the most important one."

3/27/06.. addition.. Rocky
We've seen this guy before in a Pirate uniform," Hurdle said. "He's no-nonsense. He comes after people. He's not afraid of contact."

With the 5th pitching spot in the rotation being up for grabs, the city of Denver finds itself groping to learn anything they can about the riddle of Josh Fogg. We all ask "who is he", where did he come from" and "why does he want to be a Rockie"? This man is truly an enigma wrapped in a riddle or else he is a pig in a blanket. Never the less he is shrouded in mystery.

Tracy Ringlosby writes, that the Reds and Nationals actually offered him more money than the Rockies did. (Pirates didn't want him back) But, Mr. Ringlosby writes that the Rockies actually courted this man harder than anyone else. We note that the Rockies no longer court all star pitchers, but rather they go after the less than average ones. This way, when the newly signed free agent goes 5-11 and his season ends with an elbow injury no one will be upset at the loss of money.

Anyway, Mr. Fogg chose the Rockies and if the story that Mr. Ringlosby retells is correct and Mr. Fogg really did turn down more money from two clubs for the chance to pitch at Coors field then we can only surmise that Mr. Fogg has serious brain damage. FYI: Mr. Fogg signed for $450,000 and last year he earned $2,150,000 from the Pirates. Last year Mr. Fogg went 6-11, had an ERA of 5.05 and pitched 169 innings. We note that the Pirates really got their money's worth.

Baseball American tells us that Mr. Fogg is a 29 year old pitcher who is a Sagittarius and is still alive and we are happy to learn that the Rockies are signing free agents who are alive. They appear to have learned something from the Denny Neagle experience. Mr. Fogg went to the University of Florida where he had a three year record of 18-7 . His reward for this was being drafted by the White Sox in the 3rd round. Eventually he landed with the Pirates where he had three decent seasons. In three years he was 33-31 and pitched about 180 innings a season. (he tanked last year) He is an average pitcher, who has never improved and last he deproved. (is that a word?). He averages about 1/2 a strike out per inning. He only walks about one person every three innings. He throws a sinker and a change up and we suspect he will throw more walks at altitude than he is used to throwing.

All the Rockies need of a 5th pitcher is a player who can go to mound 32 times and throw 160+ innings. If Mr. Fogg can do that he could end up being about 8-14 with an ERA of about 6.00. Honestly, those are the numbers of a typical number five pitcher for the Rockies and we shouldn't expect anything more. This is what Mr. Wright did last year and the Rockies got rid of him so they could pay someone else $450,000 to do the same thing. RC


2/23/06
Fogg has the right pitch mix for Coors Field, a sinker and a changeup. He also shakes off bad occurrences fairly well. He is a ground-ball pitcher, but his mistakes tend to fly -- he has given up 94 home runs in 697 1/3 career innings, yet has been competitive.

2/10/06... addition... Post
"The attraction from a performance standpoint is that he (Josh Fogg) can do both (start and in relief)," general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "Probably more importantly, everywhere we checked, it came back he was our kind of guy. Very good competitor. Good teammate. Takes the ball. Doesn't complain."