Spring training news & other Tidbits
3/15/06.. CBS.com
Infielder Josh Wilson is out four to six weeks after breaking his left big toe when he fouled a pitch off his foot.
3/11/06.. MLB.com
Clint Hurdle plans to steal runs and ball games from the opposition this season, and he is not bashful about tipping his hand in the spring.
"A lot of teams kind of keep things saddled up and close to the hip," Hurdle said. "We want to get everybody involved in game situations, whether it be the hit-and-run, the double steal, or the pickoff plays at second. If you see it happen, we're planning on using it. We're not trying to trick anybody. If we execute it well, it will be to our advantage.
3/8/06.. Rocky
Outfielder Jeff Salazar complained of a sore elbow after outfield work Tuesday morning. He will be re- examined today, along with outfielder Jorge Piedra, who is bothered by plantar fasciitis. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba reported no pain in his right elbow during Tuesday workouts and is scheduled to get his first action behind the plate today.
3/5/06... MLB.com
The Rockies' plan to have pitchers throw every fourth day instead of every fifth day until they're up to five innings or possibly one start beyond that. Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said he had that program while coaching for the Mets a few years ago, when Al Leiter and Rick Reed showed durability.
3/3/06
The Rockies added utilityman Eli Marrero to the 40-man Major League roster, and placed right-handed pitcher Chin-hui Tsao on the 60-day disabled list.
2/23/06.. MLB.com
The Rockies have reached an agreement on a Minor League contract with outfielder Ernie Young, who has played in the Majors with Oakland (1994-97), Kansas City (1998), Arizona (1999), Detroit (2003) and Cleveland (2004). The Rockies also have a Minor League deal with infielder Jesse Garcia, who has played with Baltimore (1999-2000), Atlanta (2001-04) and San Diego (2005).
Neither was invited to big-league camp.
Rox Head... R.C.
The 5th outfielder.
Tracy Ringolsby writes about the monumental task of selecting a 5th outfielder. The mind reels at the importance of this decision. The very season hangs in the balance. Never the less, I suppose the Rockies will need the all important 5th outfielder, but who should this person be?
Choo Freeman is a possibility and given a name like Choo, perhaps he should be a front runner. I like the name Choo, the Rockies would be the only team in baseball with a Choo on the team. New jokes could emerge, for example. "He puts on his Choos". Now on to the facts. In 8 years of minor league baseball he has hit .273 and struck out once every four at bats and he only walks once every 10.4 ab's. As much as I like the name Choo I don't think Choo is our guy.
Eli Marrero is a second possibility. Not as good a name, but he is from Cuba and I have a soft spot for anyone who can escape that god forsaken island. Unfortunately, this guy is a career .250 hitter. On top of that he only walks once every 12 at bats, so he has no command of the strike zone and he strikes out once every 5.6 ab's. This guy is not and never will be a major league player.
Ryan Spilborghs is a third option. I like this guy the best so far. He has four years of minor league experience and has batted .284. Troubles arise though as he strikes out once every 4.5 ab's. He has a decent command of the strike zone and gets a walk once every 8.3 ab's. Last year he scored 101 runs and hit 84 RBI's in only 131 games and those are very good numbers. Given the high strike outs I can guarantee that he will be of no value on when the Rockies are on the road.
Ryan Shealy is a first baseman who could possibly move the outfield. He is the best hitter of all and in four years in the Minors he has hit .324. Last year he hit 28 homers, 104 RBI and scored 99 runs. He K's once every 4.4 times at bat which is typical for any one in the Rockies organization. He gets one walk every 8.5 ab's. If the organization thinks this guy can convert to the outfield then he is our man. He may also do so well that he earns more time playing. He can also give Helton days off at first base. The only problem will be his poor command of the plate and we predict that he will be a liability on the road.
Jeff Baker is a third basemen who could also transfer to the outfield and probably do it better that Shealy. His numbers are decent but not nearly as good at Shealy's so we will stick with Shealy.
Based on historical numbers, we would go with Ryan Shealy. Spring Training will show us if he can play in the outfield and don't forget that Hawpe was a first basement who will one day become a great Right Fielder.
info...
Friday - Pitchers and catchers report; Saturday - First official workout; Feb. 22 - Position players report; Feb. 24 - First full-team workout; March 3 - Minor-league pitchers and catchers report; March 11 - Minor- league position players report.
2/11/06
The Rockies bolstered the ranks of their infield Saturday, acquiring Jamey Carroll from the Nationals in exchange for cash considerations, which according to a Nationals press release is $300,000. He will make $700,000 this year.
---A million bucks for another utility player.
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With this move, the Rockies now have 40 players on the club's 40-man roster.
2/10/06
The Colorado Rockies have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher Josh Fogg, pending the completion of a physical. He signed a guaranteed contract worth $450,000 ... with incentives he has the ability to earn up to $550,000 more.
----If they really got him for only $450k, then Rox Head has no problem with this addition.
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Because of the recent shoulder injury and surgery to Ryan Speier, the club released the right-handed relief pitcher before re-signing him to a minor league contract.
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With these moves, the Rockies still have 39 players on the club's 40-man roster.
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The Rockies are looking at signing former Arizona pitcher Mike Gosling. ... The Rockies would like to add a veteran utilityman during spring training and will watch Jamey Carroll's situation in Washington. Post
Rox Head.com
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle and general manager Dan O'Dowd have been signed to one-year contract extensions through the 2007 season. We know that most fans are clamoring for a change but at this point it would be ridiculous to do so. Obviously the Rox are in a rebuilding mode so firing O'Dowd and Hurdle would be completely dumb because a change now would just add more time to this already long process.
Patience is the key however hard that may be. Nobody knows the prospects down on the farm and in the bigleagues currently as well as these guys do including the people behind the scenes like Bill Geivett and Marc Gustafson. If a change occurred now, then you can imagine a wholesale change in the player development team. This change would require years of patience by a region of fans already overloaded with impatience.
Clearly, if you listen to both O'Dowd and Hurdle speak, then you can hear in those conversations and interviews that their knowledge of the game is sound. Sometimes this know-how gets blind sighted by circumstance. This comes from a few different sources. This first one being an ownership group that is in an industry that they are incapable of competing with. Some of the deals O'Dowd has made make no baseball sense and you can only read between the lines to see that he probably isn't making these moves and the ownership budget constraints are.
The second being the Rockie fans who are seeing other teams with a less enthusiastic fan base winning championships while their team is not. It is completely mindboggling to many in the rocky mountain region that both the Marlins and the DBacks have won titles. This irritates them more than anything else and because of that, then you can hear the mighty grumble calling for a change.
I think the extension thru the 2007 season is an excellent amount of time. We should have a good idea as to how this phase is coming along by then. It won't take a brain surgeon to see if it isn't working by just watching not only the results on the field, but also the player maneuvering O'Dowd is trying.
2/03/06
The Rox won their arbitration case against right-handed pitcher Sunny Kim, only the second arbitration case in franchise history. An arbitrator ruled Thursday in favor of the Rockies' $600,000 offer, which was $200,000 less than what Kim was seeking. Meanwhile, they agreed to terms with catcher Yorvit Torrealba, which avoids their other potential arbitration case this off-season. Torrealba will have a base salary of $850,000 and an opportunity to add $150,000 through incentives.
2/01/06
A salary arbitration for pitcher Sunny Kim, only the second in Rockies' history, will be held today in Tampa, Fla. Kim has been asking for $800,000 but the Rockies have offered only $600,000.
----Kim has a lot of nerve asking for that kind of money considering he was cut from the Nationals and out of work before the Rockies signed him off the unemployment line.
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Colorado Rockies right-handed pitcher Ryan Speier underwent surgery Wednesday for a torn labrum in his right shoulder that could keep him out the entire season. AP
----More Labrum problems for the Rox.
1/31/06
The Rockies remain strong candidates to sign pitcher Josh Fogg and have offered him a guaranteed contract. The Rockies, meanwhile, lost out on signing utilityman Ramon Martinez, who chose the Los Angeles Dodgers. Post
1/27/06
Manager Clint Hurdle said the Rockies are no longer considering signing Royce Clayton for a utility role, but Ramon Martinez remains a possibility. Post
1/26/06
Because of the WBC, the Rockies announced Wednesday that they've extended camp invitations to left-handed pitchers Justin Hampson and Zack Parker; right-handed pitchers Jim Miller, Sandy Nin, and Judd Songster; catchers and Chris Iannetta and Dan Conway, and infielders Ian Stewart and Troy Tulowitzki. MLB.com
---Excellent. Hopefully a game will be televised in which some of these guys will appear so that we all can get a look at them.
1/23/06
The Rockies are trying to finalize their spring roster, and they remain interested in a veteran utility infielder, which could be Royce Clayton if he is ready to accept a backup role, and another veteran reliever, which has led to continuing talks with Jim Brower and Brian Meadows. Rocky
----Wasted effort.
1/20/06
The club has initiated discussions with Royce Clayton, their starting shortstop in 2004, while continuing dialogue with Ramon Martinez. Martinez told his agent that he likes Colorado, but with heavy interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Denver Post
----Yawn.
1/17/06
Colorado right-handed pitcher Zach Day agreed to a one-year, $600,000 contract with incentives on Tuesday to avoid arbitration. Day can earn an addition $25,000 with 140 innings pitched, and $25,000 beyond that with 150 innings pitched.
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Sunny Kim is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Rockies offered $600,000, and Kim filed for $800,000. He made the major-league minimum $316,000 last year and is represented by hard-line agent Scott Boras.
Yorvit Torrealba, acquired from Seattle in a December trade, asked for $1.05 million. The Rockies countered with $815,000, which represents a raise of $100,000 over his salary in 2005 when he hit a combined .234 with three homers and 15 RBI in 76 games for San Francisco and Seattle. Rocky
1/13/06
Friday, Aaron Cook signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract agreement with the Rockies with an option for 2008. He will receive salaries of $1.2 million this season and $3.05 million next, with a club option for 2008 that's currently valued at $4.35 million but vests at $5 million if he throws 400 innings over the next two seasons. His also is guaranteed a $100,000 signing bonus and a $200,000 buyout on the option.
1/08/06
Utility player Eli Marrero agreed in principle to a one-year, $750,000 minor-league contract.
----The Rockies are becoming the Baseball King of the utility players.
1/07/06...Rocky
The Rockies announced Byung-Hyun Kim will return for a second season, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract, and acquired middle infielder Josh Wilson from the Florida Marlins for future considerations to fill a utility void. Terms of Kim's deal were not announced, but it is believed to carry a $1.25 million base salary with a $250,000 buyout on an option for 2007.
----Finally, the Rox get some rotation depth. Even though we aren't too excited about having a 5 or 6 inning starter that ruins the bullpen, at least he has shown some ability to be effective, especailly at Coors where he posted a 4.50 ERA in 2005.
Also, this allows Zach Day and Mike Esposito to pitch in Colorado Springs and be available for eventual replacement parts in the big-league rotation.
1/04/06
Colorado and Toronto have been mentioned as possible destinations for the Pirates, Craig Wilson. Beaver County.com
----Wilson has shown some power in the past and thus he should since he strikes out almost 1 in every three times at bat.
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Along with Willie Harris, the Rockies also have interest in shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who played last season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after originally signing with the Toronto Blue Jays and also playing with the Chicago Cubs; former Minnesota Twins second baseman Luis Rivas; and outfielder Jeff DaVanon, who thought he had a deal in place with the Arizona Diamondbacks but was jilted in favor of Eric Byrnes; and Royals utility player Eli Marrero. Rocky
----So exciting.
1/03/06
The Rockies will talk with the agent for reliever Brian Meadows this week. Veteran right-hander Felix Rodriguez, whom they pursued early, is still on the market as well. Post
----No Comment.
