SB Nation - Shawn Chacon

Shawn Chacon Busted for Gambling Debts

Charlie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:23:12 -0000

This isn't the kind of thing I'd usually post here, because I think former big-league players, while maybe not deserving of sympathy or anything like that, face a tricky situation, as this excellent article by former big-league outfielder Doug Glanville illustrates. They've spent their whole lives doing something and become public figures doing it. They've got money but may not have the education or real-world awareness necessary to know what to do with it, and just as importantly, everyone knows that. So it's no surprise that many of them wind up in debt. And then suddenly they're in their 30s or early 40s and can no longer do the thing they were once great at. So as fun as it might be to laugh at a Derek Bell for getting in trouble with drugs, it's probably natural that some former big leaguers are bound to wind up on the wrong side of the law.

As former-athlete-transgressions go, Shawn Chacon's recent arrest for allegedly writing bad checks to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is pretty typical. (Chacon may technically still be a ballplayer; he pitched 73 poor innings for the Athletics' AAA affiliate in Sacramento this year and is probably on his way out, if he isn't done already. When this alleged crime occurred in March, he may well have thought his playing days were over, since he didn't sign with the A's until June.) I don't know the circumstances behind the alleged crime, but it's not hard to see how a former pro athlete could get mixed up with gambling, which can provide a "high" similar to competing as a top athlete. But it's striking that, when Chacon was in Pittsburgh, he was considered a team leader. Since then, he's been essentially kicked out of the Astros organization for choking GM Ed Wade, and now busted for writing bad checks to cover gambling debts at a casino. If that doesn't speak poorly for the futures of ballplayers who aren't team leaders, then I don't know what does.

Thanks to Pat for the link.

WAR Lords of the Diamond: Greatest. Rockies. Ever.

Jabberwocky — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:30:19 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Todd Helton features prominently in any conversation about the greatest Rockies ever.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF I RF I RP I SP

Now that I've discussed the greatest Rockies ever by position according to WAR, I'll summarize my data and reveal my All-Time Rockies squad. In all, 224 Rockies have been weighed, measured, and (mostly) been found wanting in this quest, yet some have clearly risen above the rest.

Of course, due to the fact that the Rockies' history is only 17 years old, there isn't exactly a deep pool of players to choose from in this study. Therefore, I will be ranking all players who produced a career WAR of over 3 wins at a position for the Rockies or was a significant player for the team.

Here was my methodology:

1. I only used stats accumulated when they played for the Rockies.

2. The categories used were: career with Rockies, best three consecutive years with Rockies (establishes average production), and best single year with the Rockies (establishes peak production).

3. If the players spent less than three years with the Rockies, their career total was used in the other metrics as well. If the player was at different positions for different years, the player would be considered for the position in which he had the most starts (or greatest impact, at my discretion) for the Rockies.

4. The players were ranked in each category. Those ranks were added and averaged out--the lowest average rank was the most valuable Rockie.

5. The data used was only for seasons that were completed (e.g. not 2009).

Remember, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fantastic Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of WAR's calculation for position players and pitchers. Note: the calculation that Smith uses is different than the one used in my article, so the numbers at Fangraphs will be slightly different than the ones I present in these articles.

After the jump I'll outline the greatest (and worst) Rockies squad as found using my methodology, as well as the best single year performances.

The All-Time Greats

Remember, this ranking takes into account best career WAR, best consecutive 3-year WAR period, and best single WAR year to accurately capture a player's greatness and to mitigate somewhat the fact that WAR is a counting stat and is heavily influenced by longevity. Slash stats are (Career WAR / 3 Year WAR / 1 Year WAR).

Starting Lineup

C: Jeff Reed (1996-1999) (4.3 / 4.6 / 1.8)
1B: Todd Helton (1997-2008) (53.9 / 21.7 / 8.8)
2B: Eric Young (1993-1997) (9.5 / 7.3 / 3.8)
3B: Garrett Atkins (2003-2008) (11.1 / 10.8 / 6.4)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (2006-2008) (6.2 / 6.2 / 5.6)
LF: Matt Holliday (2004-2008) (16.9 / 15.9 / 7.3)
CF: Juan Pierre (2000-2002) (3.0 / 3.0 / 2.4)
RF: Larry Walker (1995-2004) (44.1 / 18.3 / 9.0)

Bench

Vinny Castilla (1993-1999, 2004, 2006) (15.1 / 10.1 / 4.5)
Ellis Burks (1994-1998) (10.8 / 10 / 7.6)
Andres Galarraga (1993-1997) (11.3 / 6.3 / 3.6)
Jamey Carroll (2006-2007) (5.1 / 5.1 / 4.3)
Chris Iannetta (2006-2008) (3.2 / 3.2 / 2.7)

Batting Order

1. Eric Young
2. Troy Tulowitzki
3. Larry Walker
4. Todd Helton
5. Matt Holliday
6. Garrett Atkins
7. Juan Pierre
8. Jeff Reed

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Pedro Astacio (1997-2001) (9.9 / 9.3 / 5.3)
SP2: Aaron Cook (2002-2008) (10.3 / 7.3 / 3.4)
SP3: Jason Jennings (2001-2006) (9.1 / 6.6 / 4.2)
SP4: Kevin Ritz (1994-1998) (6.6 / 6.5 / 3.9)
SP5: Armando Reynoso (1993-1996) (7.6 / 5.0 / 3.1)

Bullpen (in order of importance):

Steve Reed (1993-1997, 2003-2004) (9.2 / 5.6 / 3.1)
Brian Fuentes (2002-2008) (8.8 / 5.2 / 2.7)
Curtis Leskanic (1993-1999) (5.2 / 3.2 / 3.1)
Bruce Ruffin (1993-1997) (5.7 / 4.6 / 1.9)
Jerry Dipoto (1997-2000) (4.7 / 4.4 / 2.1)
Jose Jimenez (2000-2003) (4.2 / 4.2 / 2.3)
Darren Holmes (1993-1997) ( (3.8 / 3.6 / 2.3)

Analysis

The construction of this team historically tells us that in the last few years the Rockies have played several of the best position players in team history (three of them are on this squad). After 2009 is completed Chris Iannetta will supplant Jeff Reed at starting catcher while several other players shoot up the leader boards.

From a pitching standpoint, the bullpen is heavily comprised of guys that were in the 1997 bullpen (five of them!). After this year not much will change as far as relievers go, but Ubaldo Jimenez's stellar 2009 will place him in the rotation as the second-ranked starting pitcher. It should be noted that Ellis Burks would probably supplant Juan Pierre in center field.

The team that is best by my metrics is by and large the best team by Career and 3 Year WAR totals too, but there are definitely some interesting outlier seasons by others that shake up the best single year roster.

The Greatest Single Season Performances

Collected below is an unholy amalgamation of the best individual seasons by position in Rockies history. If these players had all produced at this level in the same year, they would have produced 67.2 batting WAR (20.4 off the bench), 19.2 relief WAR, and 22.1 starting pitching WAR for a total of 88.1 WAR. This team should statistically win 136.7 games out of 162 (a replacement level team would win 48.6, or 30% of its games).

Starting Lineup

C: Chris Iannetta (2008) 2.7
1B: Todd Helton (2000) 8.8
2B: Jamey Carroll (2006) 4.3
3B: Garrett Atkins (2006) 6.4
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (2007) 5.6
LF: Ellis Burks (1996) 7.6
CF: Juan Pierre (2001) 2.4
RF: Larry Walker (1997) 9.0

Bench

Matt Holliday (2007) 7.3
Vinny Castilla (1998) 4.5
Kazuo Matsui (2007) 4.1
Eric Young (1996) 2.7
Jeff Reed (1998) 1.8

Batting Order

1. Jamey Carroll
2. Ellis Burks
3. Larry Walker
4. Todd Helton
5. Garrett Atkins
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Chris Iannetta
8. Juan Pierre

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Pedro Astacio (1999) 5.3
SP2: Joe Kennedy (2004) 4.7
SP3: Jason Jennings (2006) 4.2
SP4: Marvin Freeman (1994) 4.0
SP5: Kevin Ritz (1995) 3.9

Bullpen (in order of importance):

Gabe White (2000) 3.3
Steve Reed (1997) 3.1
Curtis Leskanic (1995) 3.1
Brian Fuentes (2005) 2.7
Manuel Corpas (2007) 2.4
Jose Jimenez (2000) 2.3
Darren Holmes (1995) 2.3

Analysis

Obviously I'd play Holliday in left field and shift Burks to center, improving the lineup (and overall WAR) immensely, but those were the best players by WAR at their position in one season. From this year's team, Carlos Gonzalez is close to surpassing Juan Pierre, while Ubaldo Jimenez will jump atop the starting rotation, where he will perhaps be joined by Jason Marquis (depending on how his last start turns out). I'll talk more about this next week.

Rockies fans have been privileged enough to witness in the last couple of years some of the greatest seasons ever--Smith's WAR calculations are park-adjusted, so when Coors Field changed due to the humidor's implementation so did the formula for calculating WAR. As a result, early pitchers get a large boost (and hitters a large detraction) relative to today's players because of the pitcher's hell that was early Coors Field/Mile High.

And finally...

Single Season Goats

This would be the worst single-season lineup the Rockies could put on the field (worst players starting). The sad thing is that many of them did play a large role for the Rockies. The damage: -15.9 hitting WAR (-11.2 from the starting lineup), -7.5 relief WAR, and -8.5 SP WAR for a total of -31.9 wins above replacement. This team should statistically win 16.7 games out of 162.

Starting Lineup

C: Kirt Manwaring (1997) -2.1
1B: John Vander Wal (1997) -0.7
2B: Luis A. Gonzalez (2006) -1.0
3B: Vinny Castilla (1993) -0.5 [soon to be supplanted by Garrett Atkins, 2009 (-0.9)]
SS: Neifi Perez (1998) -1.2 (and yes, he played all 162 games)
LF: Dante Bichette (1999) -2.8
CF: Choo Freeman (2004) -1.2
RF: Brad Hawpe (2008) -1.7

Bench

Cory Sullivan (2006) -1.1
Steve Finley (2007) -1.1
Jason Bates (1996) -0.9
Jeff Baker (2007) -0.7
Gary Bennett (2002) -0.9

Batting Order

1. Neifi Perez
2. Choo Freeman
3. Vinny Castilla
4. Dante Bichette
5. Brad Hawpe
6. John Vander Wal
7. Kirt Manwaring
8. Luis A. Gonzalez

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Dennis Stark (2004) -1.9
SP2: Joe Kennedy (2005) -1.9
SP3: Brian Rekar (1996) -1.6
SP4: Andy Ashby (1993) -1.6
SP5: Mike Hampton (2002) -1.5

Bullpen (in order of suckitude):

Shawn Chacon (2004) -1.7
Todd Jones (2003) -1.4
Mike Dejean (1999) -1
Darren Holmes (1994) -0.9
Jose Acevedo (2005) -0.9
Jeremy Affeldt (2006) -0.8
Javier Lopez (2004) -0.8

Analysis

This team is horrible, but some of the names on the list were just having a statistical anomaly of a bad season or were getting their first look at major league hitting/pitching. In fact, several went on to have nice careers. Several of them did not, and for good reason.

Next week, I'll look at how the 2009 Rockies performed individually and as a team from a value standpoint.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Starting Pitchers)

Jabberwocky — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

Where does Aaron Cook rank among Colorado's starting pitchers?

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF I RF I RP

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at starting pitcher (through the 2008 season).

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list of all starting pitchers, but all the pitchers who have made a large contribution to the Rockies as starters were weighed, measured, and (often) found wanting. All in all, 54 players were ranked.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fabulous Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of how pitching WAR is calculated. Note: the calculation that Smith uses is different than the one used in my article, so the numbers at Fangraphs will be slightly different than the ones I present in these articles.

As I explained last week, starting pitchers are MUCH more valuable than relief pitchers when one is measuring WAR, by and large, due to the fact that WAR is a counting stat. Starting pitchers throw more innings and therefore have a greater influence on the game than do relievers, which stands to reason. This is also the reason why a pitcher like Franklin Morales, who could develop into a dominant closer, would be better off just remaining a starter.

Remember, relief pitchers are often failed starting pitchers who are given an easier task that their skillset will allow them to handle. Nearly every starting pitcher in baseball could be a useful relief pitcher. Very few relief pitchers could be useful starting pitchers. Replacement-level starters can be useful relievers; Juan Rincon is neither.

In any case, what both Smith and the fine folks at Fangraphs have shown is that star starting pitchers are just as valuable if not more so than star position players (and their contracts often bear this point out). Even though a dominant starting pitcher will only play once every five games, they have such a huge influence on whether their team wins the game that it mitigates the difference in playing time between the position player and, say, Troy Tulowitzki.

For instance, this season Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado's top pitcher) has been worth 5.5 WAR while Tulowitzki (the top position player) has accumulated 4.7 WAR. On a macro scale, the Rockies' pitching staff has actually contributed more WAR to the team (23.3, 2nd in MLB) than have the position players (16.5, 17th in MLB).

But I digress.

Like the denizens of the bullpen, a club's starting rotation is often in a constant state of flux due to injuries and inconsistent performance. The fact that the Rockies have only had five pitchers start more than two games this year is quite frankly amazing--the MLB average for this is closer to eight starters. I would say, though, that starting pitching performance is by and large more predictive overall than relief pitching performance due to the larger sample sizes involved in any one year's stats. A reliever can be unduly harmed or helped by luck when used less often--a trend that can see an unpleasant (or pleasant) change the subsequent year.

In order to qualify for consideration for this list the pitchers had to be one of the top five or six starters in innings pitched in a given year or throw over 50 innings for the team in a mostly starting role. It's a relatively deep group, with 14 starting pitchers having delivered at least one league average season (2 WAR) as a starter for the Rockies.

Starting Pitchers

Note: some of these pitchers were both starters and relievers for the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker. I'm ranking eight players to reflect the fact that the modern starting rotation generally uses eight pitchers in any given year.

Keep in mind when reading this list that WAR is a counting stat and therefore longevity counts for quite a bit, especially in this category. Also, Smith's numbers seem to be park-adjusted, therefore pre-humidor pitchers are given a nice park-factor boost to their less-than inspiring numbers (small consolation for having to pitch in an offensive haven.

1. Pedro Astacio

Career WAR: 9.9 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 9.3, 1999-2001 (1st)
Top Season: 5.3, 1999 (1st)
Average Rank: 1.33

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an 18 year old by the Dodgers, Pedro Astacio came over to the Rockies as a 27 year old before the waiver trade deadline in 1997 in exchange for Eric Young. Needless to say, trading EY was not originally a popular move with fans, but Astacio soon won over Colorado partisans with his sublime pitching even at Coors Field.

Astacio's third season with the Rockies, 1999, was the greatest pitching season in franchise history (though it will soon likely be surpassed by Jimenez this year) with 5.3 WAR. The 29 year-old righty threw 232 innings, managing a 17-11 record and 210 strikeouts (a club record to this day) despite a 5.04 ERA. Considering that Coors Field in 1999 had a Park Factor of 127 (this year = 107), it was pretty tough to succeed using conventional pitching stats. Astacio's 4.56 FIP and 8.15 K/9 (2.91 K/BB) hold up pretty well in such a poor pitching environment.

In any case, Astacio was traded by Colorado to Houston for homegrown pitcher Scott Elarton at the 2001 trading deadline as he approached free agency. Oddly enough, Astacio's performance never was even replacement level for the rest of his career even when pitching in better environs.

TOGB celebrated Astacio in an edition of Rockies Retro.

2a. Aaron Cook

Career WAR: 10.3 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 7.3, 2006-2008 (2nd)
Top Season: 3.4, 2008 (6th)
Average Rank: 3

You might not have realized it, but Aaron Cook has been pitching for the Rockies since 2002 (and he's signed through 2011 with a mutual option for 2012). His longevity and consistency (he's been over 1 WAR his last five seasons) are what puts the Rockies' 2nd round pick in 1997 near the top of this leaderboard and to the summit of the Rockies' career WAR leaderboard.

Cook's best year was his All-Star season last year, when in the awful beginning of the year he was the only thing keeping the season from becoming a complete disaster. His 16-9 record and 3.96 ERA in 211.1 IP got him on the All-Star team and his 3.76 FIP garnered him 3.4 WAR. His 4.37 career ERA is tops in Rockies history.

Going forward, Cook is a solid middle rotation starter that is locked into the Rockies for a couple of more years. He is already the longest-tenured Rockies starter, and could be one of the few players in today's game to pitch a long career with one club.

2b. Jason Jennings

Career WAR: 9.1 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 6.6, 2004-2006 (3rd)
Top Season: 4.2, 2006 (3rd)
Average Rank: 3

Talk about selling an asset high. Jason Jennings, the jewel of the Rockies' player development system, Rookie of the Year in 2002, coming off of his best season, was traded to the Houston Astros after the 2006 season (and before his third year of arbitration) for Willy Taveras, Taylor Buchholz, and Jason Hirsh. Dan O'Dowd was lambasted for this trade by most, yet in hindsight this move looks like an absolute steal.

Why? Because Jennings fell off a cliff once leaving the Rockies, sustaining arm injuries and pitching poorly enough that he's now the Rangers' mop-up man. Despite the hard times that have befallen JJ, let us remember his glory.

The 16th overall pick of the 1999 draft out of Baylor, JJ rocketed through the Rockies' system and made his big league debut in 2001, going 4-1 and having a rather memorable debut, pitching a five pitch shutout and hitting a home run. Jennings only got better in 2002, going 16-8 and winning the ROY. However, it was JJ's 2006 that cemented his status as a front line pitcher (or so thought poor Ed Wade).

In 2006 Jennings compiled a 9-13 record but had a 3.78 ERA (4.09 FIP) with 206 Ks (1.67 K/BB) in 212 IP, good enough for 4.2 WAR. And then O'Dowd sold high. What a move that was. His WAR since 2006: -1.1, -0.8. While I appreciate what JJ did for the Rockies, I'm glad O'Dowd let go when he did.

4. Kevin Ritz

Career WAR: 6.6 (6th)
Top Three Seasons: 6.5, 1995-1997 (4th)
Top Season: 3.9, 1995 (5th)
Average Rank: 5

Kevin Ritz, a 4th round pick of Detroit in 1985, was picked as the 46th pick of the 1992 expansion draft by the Rockies. Ritz was a rotation regular by 1994 and had a nice two season stretch in 1995 and 1996. Ritz went 11-11 with a 4.21 ERA (4.15 FIP) with 120 Ks (1.85 K/BB) in 173.1 IP for the Wild Card-winning Rockies in 1995 (3.9 WAR). He followed it up with a 2 WAR 1996, going 17-11.

Ritz's career ended when he was released by the Rockies during the 1998 season after he was unable to overcome arm injuries.

TOGB wrote a nice profile on Ritz in Rockies Retro.

5. Armando Reynoso

Career WAR: 7.6 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 5.0, 1993-1995 (6th)
Top Season: 3.1, 1993 (8th)
Average Rank: 6

Armando Reynoso, originally purchased by the Braves from his Mexican professional team, was selected by the Rockies with the 58th pick in the expansion draft. Reynoso quickly became Colorado's best pitcher, posting a 3.1 WAR in the team's inaugural season. However, his career was quickly detoured by chronic arm injuries, otherwise he'd be higher on this list. The righty, who possessed an awesome pick-off move, did manage to put up 1.1 and 2.6 WAR seasons in 1995 (half year) and 1996.

The Rockies traded the plucky finesse pitcher to the Mets after the 1996 season for Jerry DiPoto as he became more expensive given his injury risk. Reynoso won a World Series ring with the Diamondbacks despite performing poorly in 2001, his last real MLB season.

TOGB wrote a profile on Reynoso in Rockies Retro.

6. Marvin Freeman

Career WAR: 4.6 (8th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.6, 1994-1996 (T-8th)
Top Season: 4.0, 1994 (4th)
Average Rank: 6.67

Ladies and Gentleman, the single season ERA record holder for the Colorado Rockies! A 31 year-old Marvin Freeman was picked up off the scrap heap by the Rockies after the 1993 season, and though he only had one good season with the team, what a blaze of glory it was!

The imposing (6'7") righty was, quite frankly, amazing in 1994 for the Rockies. In only 112 innings (18 starts), Freeman went 10-2 with 67 Ks (2.91 K/BB) and a 2.80 ERA (3.84 FIP), worth 4.0 WAR!

Of course, in 1995 and 1996 everyone was reminded that Freeman wasn't actually this good (0.9 and -0.3 WAR) and he went away quietly--he was released at the waiver deadline in 1996.

7. John Thomson

Career WAR: 7.2 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.8, 1997-1999 (7th)
Top Season: 2.7, 1997 (10th)
Average Rank: 7.33

Drafted by the Rockies in the 7th round in 1993, Thomson exceeded the production of 1992 2nd round draft pick Mark Thompson, who I often confuse him for. Thomson reached the big leagues in 1997 as a 23 year old and had immediate success, posting 2.7 WAR (7-9, 4.71 ERA) and following that up with another 2.7 WAR (8-11, 4.81) season in 1998.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit Thomson hard after 1998, and he managed only half seasons in 1999 and 2001 with no season at all in 2000. Finally healthy in 2002, Thomson was traded at the July deadline with Mark Little to the Mets for a package that included Jay Payton. After the trade Thomson had a few injury-free years and performed well for the Rangers and the Braves, then was ultimately undone by more injuries.

8. Jeff Francis

Career WAR: 6.2 (7th)
Top Three Seasons: 5.7, 2006-2008 (5th)
Top Season: 2.5, 2006 (13th)
Average Rank: 8.33

The 9th overall pick in the 2002 draft out of Canada, Jeff Francis moved rapidly through the Rockies' system and was with the big club by 2004 as a 23 year old. Francis finished sixth in the ROY voting in 2005, his first full season, then enjoyed two very nice years in 2006 and 2007.

The soft-tossing lefty equaled Ritz's and Astacio's franchise wins mark with his 17-9 record in 2007 (he had 2.2 WAR) and finished 9th in the Cy Young Award voting. However, he suffered a torn labrum after a tough 2008 and has been rehabbing the injury since then.

The Physicist has one year left on his contract ($5.75 million) with a $7 million club option for 2010. It will be interesting to see if Francis can ever return to his early form and make it worthwhile for the Rockies to exercise that option. I've taken a pretty pessimistic view on this injury from the start, so my money is that Francis will never contribute significantly to the team again. I would love to be proved wrong though.

Other great single seasons include Joe Kennedy's 2004 (4.7 WAR) and Roger Bailey's 1997 (3.2).

Career Underachievers: Mike Hampton (-1, though he was worth 2 WAR batting), Denny Neagle (1.1), Scott Elarton (-2.9), and Livan Hernandez (-1.2).

Others of note: Jimenez (3.4 and on his way to a place high on this list very soon), Darryl Kile (4.1), Jamey Wright (4.6), Shawn Chacon (2.2, but 3.9 as a starter), Josh Fogg (-0.6) Greg Reynolds (-1.5).

Next week I'll reveal the unholy amalgamation that is the Colorado Rockies All-WAR team.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Relief Pitchers)

Jabberwocky — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Fuentes makes the cut. See who else joins him among the Rockies' elite relievers after the jump.

Browse more photos »

Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF I RF

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at relief pitcher.

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list of all relief pitchers, but all the pitchers who have made a large contribution to the Rockies as relievers were weighed, measured, and (often) found wanting.

As I explained in the pitching WAR article (please reference it for more detail on this point), relievers are by and large shortchanged by WAR (which is a counting, not a rate stat). This is because WAR ignores the game's situation and context--a strikeout when the bases are empty in a blowout is counted the same as a ninth-inning strikeout with the bases loaded in a one-run game.

As a result, relievers, whose primary value comes from delivering in high leverage situations, have their contributions diminished by WAR. There are stats out there that measure this well (like Leverage Index and Win Probability Added), but to measure relievers by those stats is both inconsistent with the rest of this series and impossible (the stats don't go back to 1993). In any case, Smith's WAR database remains an excellent way to quantify pitching value, starter or reliever.

Relief pitchers have consistently gained influence in baseball since the 1960s, evolving from the realm of broken down failed starters into a highly specialized field. As Dave Cameron said though:

Relievers are, in general, failed starting pitchers who are given an easier task that their skillset will allow them to handle. They are selectively managed to face hitters whom they have the best chance of getting out, and they get to throw at maximum effort on nearly every pitch, giving them greater velocity over their shorter appearances.

Nearly every starting pitcher in baseball could be a useful relief pitcher. Very few relief pitchers could be useful starting pitchers.

This doesn't necessarily hold true for the rare dominant closer, but by and large this is a good explanation of what a relief pitcher is. Many teams have chosen to bring their stud starting pitching prospects up in the bullpen to get them used to the majors and because it is relatively much easier than starting. Generally back-end relievers have one or two plus pitches that they can throw at maximum effort, often generating excellent results--but they would fail under the rigors of handling a lineup two or three times in a row.

The bullpen is by nature the most fungible piece the team, generating high turnover due to the incredible variability of relief pitching performance. After all, the Rockies only have Huston Street this year that has stayed in the bullpen all year long. While this is a little extreme, the Rockies have had quite a few relievers in their short history.

In order to qualify for consideration for this list the pitchers had to be one of the top five relievers in innings pitched in a given year or throw over 50 innings for the team in a mostly relief role. It's a relatively deep group, with 18 relievers delivering at least 1 WAR for the Rockies.

Relief Pitchers

Note: some of these pitchers were both starters and relievers for the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker. I'm ranking seven players to reflect the fact that the modern bullpen generally uses seven pitchers.

1. Steve Reed

Career WAR: 9.2 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 5.6, 1995-1997 (1st)
Top Season: 3.1, 1997 (T-2nd)
Average Rank: 1.33

Steve Reed is one of my favorite all-time Rockies. Though he never really closed for the team (15 saves over 7 years with the Rockies), I usually felt pretty secure about a lead that he protected. Reed is a great story, having signed with the Giants as an undrafted 23 year old college free agent, somehow making it to the majors at 27, and carving out a 13 year career out of it.

The Rockies acquired the right-hander with the 60th pick of the expansion draft and he paid immediate dividends for them, taking the ball 64 times in 1993 and solidifying the back end of the Colorado bullpen for five years. His best year was the magical 1995 Wild Card run (one of several excellent bullpen performances that year), in which he was 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA over 84 IP. His K/9 was 8.46 (3.76 K/BB) with a FIP of 3.25 and an incredible ERA+ of 252! All in all it was worth 3.1 WAR--a fantastic reliever season. Street this year has been worth only 1.5 WAR.

Reed left after the 1997 season for free agency, but returned as a 38 year old for the 2003 and 2004 Rockies, where he posted two 1.2 WAR seasons (great for a reliever). Indeed, Reed never posted a negative WAR for the Rockies, a stunning model of consistency in a variable profession. This consistent excellence is what made him the greatest Rockies reliever ever.

2. Brian Fuentes

Career WAR: 8.8 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 5.2, 2005-2007 (2nd)
Top Season: 2.7, 2005 (4th)
Average Rank: 2.67

The Rockies' all-time saves leader with 115, Brian Fuentes was acquired in the Jeff Cirillo trade from Seattle after the 2001 season. The former 25th round draft pick uses a deceptive left-handed delivery and plus stuff to baffle hitters from both sides of the plate, but as many Rockies fans will tell you, it was always an adventure with Fuentes.

Fuentes has had two seasons over 2 WAR of his seven with Colorado, the first of which occurring in 2005, when he posted a 2.91 ERA and a 3.40 FIP over 74.1 IP with a K/9 of 11.02 (K/BB of 2.68) and an ERA+ of 164 on the way to 2.7 WAR. Last year Fuentes had similar success (2 WAR) with a 2.73 ERA (2.24 FIP), 11.78 K/9 (3.73 K/BB), and 168 ERA+ over 62.2 IP.

As all things must, the Fuentes era came to a close (get it?) as he moved out of the Rockies' price range with his fine performance and as a Type A free agent garnered the Rockies what turned out to be Tim Wheeler and Rex Brothers. I think that Rockies fans are happy with the guy we got to replace him, though we certainly thank Brian for his seven years of service.

3. Curtis Leskanic

Career WAR: 5.2 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 3.2, 1993-1995 (9th)
Top Season: 3.1, 1995 (T-2nd)
Average Rank: 5

Contrary to Steve Reed, I had an irrational hatred of Curtis Leskanic as a young fan, predicting doom and gloom every time that he took the mound. Colorado acquired Leskanic (originally a 1989 8th round pick of the Indians) with the 66th pick in the expansion draft and plugged him right into the bullpen. The right-handed Leskanic generally handled setup duties and generally terrified me when he did so. I was even more mortified when he handled the closer position (20 saves as a Rockie).

The numbers by and large back me up on my fears, though Leskanic's saving grace on this list is his phenomenal 1995 (similar to Reed), in which he also delivered 3.1 WAR. Leskanic had a 6-3 record with 3.40 ERA (2.86 FIP) over 98 IP, 9.83 K/9 (3.24 K/BB), 10 saves, and a 159 ERA+. Most of Leskanic's Colorado years were very average besides his career year in 1995, as he was hampered by his high walk rate and poor FIP.

In any case, my personal torturer was traded by the Rockies after the 1999 season to the Brewers for another reliever, lefty specialist Mike Myers.

4. Bruce Ruffin

Career WAR: 5.7 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 4.6, 1993-1995 (3rd)
Top Season: 1.9, 1993 (10th)
Average Rank: 5.33

Bruce Ruffin is yet another original Rockie near the top of this list. The 1985 2nd round draft pick of the Phillies signed with Colorado as a free agent before 1993 and he finished out his career with the Rockies, through 1997. Though he'd primarily been a starter before coming to the Rockies, Ruffin was primarily a bullpen guy for Colorado. He served as Colorado's closer in 1994 and 1996, posting solid seasons both years. In all he finished with 60 saves as a Rockie.

Like Reed and Leskanic, Ruffin was excellent in 1995 as a full-time reliever (1.7 WAR) but his best overall season was 1993 (1.9 WAR), in which he started 12 games (remember, starters are more valuable than relievers!). All in all, Ruffin was very solid for the Rockies over his tenure with the team.

5a. Jerry Dipoto

Career WAR: 4.7 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.4, 1997-1999 (4th)
Top Season: 2.1, 1999 (8th)
Average Rank: 5.67

Jerry Dipoto, now an executive in the Diamondbacks system, pitched for Colorado from 1997-2000. The 1989 3rd round pick of the Indians was traded to Colorado in exchange for Armando Reynoso after the 1996 season. The right-handed Dipoto served as the Rockies' closer in 1997 and 1998, racking up 36 saves as a Rockie.

Dipoto was at his best, though, as a setup man in 1999 (2.1 WAR). Unfortunately, Dipoto's career was derailed by a neck injury before the 2000 season as he competed for the closer's job again, cutting short a promising career.

5b. Jose Jimenez

Career WAR: 4.2 (6th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.2, 2000-2002 (5th)
Top Season: 2.3, 2000 (6th)
Average Rank: 5.67

Jose Jimenez, number two on the Rockies' all-time saves list with 102, was acquired by Colorado after the 1999 season as part of the trade that sent Dave Veres and the late Darryl Kile to St. Louis. Colorado converted the 26 year-old hard-throwing righty from a starter into a reliever. Jimenez made an immediate impact with the Rockies in his new role, saving 24 games with a 3.18 ERA (3.94 FIP) over 70.2 IP with a 182 ERA+ despite only a 5.60 K/9 ratio (suggesting a fluke), earning a WAR of 2.3.

Unsurprisingly, Jimenez never was that dominant again, though he did have two more useful seasons (including 41 saves in 2002) as the Rockies' closer, plus a fourth one that was poor and led to the Shawn Chacon experiment. The Rockies let Jimenez leave after 2003 and within a year he was out of baseball.

7. Darren Holmes

Career WAR: 3.8 (7th)
Top Three Seasons: 3.6, 1995-1997 (6th)
Top Season: 2.3, 1995 (6th)
Average Rank: 6.33

Filling out my imaginary bullpen is the Rockies' first closer, Darren Holmes (he did the honors in 1993 and 1995). The 16th round pick of the Dodgers in 1984, Holmes was selected by the Rockies with the fifth pick of the expansion draft and inserted right into the closer's role (he saved 46 games as a Rockie).

Further showing just how special the 1995 bullpen was, Holmes had his career year then (2.3 WAR), going 6-1 and saving 14 games with a 167 ERA+. Once again, the Rockies in 1995 had Reed (3.1 WAR), Leskanic (3.1), Holmes (2.3), and Ruffin (1.7). That's quite a back end right there.

Holmes stayed with the Rockies through 1997, after which he kicked around the league for six more years, never again attaining the same success he enjoyed in Colorado.

Others of note: Mike Munoz, despite having pitched six years for the Rockies, ended up with a net -0.4 WAR (32nd overall) and an injured Roger Bailey on his conscience.

Gabe White owns the best single WAR reliever season (seriously) with his 3.3 WAR 2000. White in 83 IP was 11-2 with a 2.17 ERA (2.71 FIP), 9.00 K/9 (5.60 K/BB), and an ERA+ of 267! He never replicated that success again.

Manny Corpas finished tied with White for eighth with 3.4 WAR, while Taylor Buchholz (2.1) was 14th and Jason Grilli (1.1) was 16th.

Next week I'll tackle starting pitching, and then it will be time to assemble the greatest Rockies team ever.

Dodgers Week 20 In Review: The Dead Ball Era

Eric Stephen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Manny Ramirez has been confused lately as to what exactly to do with this long cylindrical wooden object in front of him.

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Previous Weekly Recaps: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

The Dodgers returned to their winning ways this week, sort of. The club posted a 4-3 record, and pitching was the key for both the Dodgers and the opposition. The Dodgers scored two or fewer runs in five of seven games, but they also gave up three runs or less in every game.

Over the last two weeks, the Dodgers have outscored their opponents 51-33, yet are only 7-6. Part of the reason for that is the club's 1-3 record during that time in one-run games.

The week featured some unique and unusual plays and moves, some records, and above all, some fantastic pitching.

Dodger Batter of the Week: Andre Ethier is making winning this award a common practice, as he paced the Dodgers with five extra-base hits and a team-leading 1.012 OPS. Honorable mention goes to Matt Kemp, who had a good week punctuated by his 449-foot home run over the Dodger bullpen back wall, and to Russell Martin, who had a grand slam and a pair of doubles as he remembered how to drive the ball again.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: A strong argument could be made for Randy Wolf, who allowed just one run on one hit in seven innings on Friday, but this award goes to Dodger newcomer Charlie Haeger, who pitched seven innings in each of his games, posting a 1.93 ERA for the week. Honorable mention also goes to Jonathan Broxton who appeared in five of six games at one point, allowing just one unearned run while striking out nine in 5.2 innings.

Week 20 Record: 4-3
23 runs scored (3.29 per game)
15 runs allowed (2.14 per game)
.702 pythagorean winning percentage

Overall Seasonal Record: 74-51 (.593)
603 runs scored (4.82 per game)
478 runs allowed (3.82 per game)
.614 pythagorean winning percentage (77-48)

Providing Relief: The Dodger bullpen was outstanding this week, allowing only one earned run in 21 innings, good for a 0.43 ERA. Six of the seven relievers last week put up a 0.00 ERA, and the "underachiever" of the bullpen, James McDonald, put up a 2.08 ERA for worst on the staff. The relief corps has a current streak of 18 straight innings without allowing an earned run.

Complimentary Move: When the Dodgers acquired George Sherrill on July 30, they got a valuable lefty reliever with closing experience to give support to the back end of the bullpen. Still, Joe Torre has maintained that Jonathan Broxton is his ace reliever, but hinted he might alternate their use based on matchups. On Saturday, Torre brought in Broxton in the eighth inning of a 2-0 game, with a runner on base, to face the heart of the Cubs' batting order. Broxton did the heavy lifting in the eighth, but Sherrill got the save in the ninth, retiring the less-imposing lower part of the batting order. This was not a switching of roles by Torre; he simply used his best reliever at the time late in the game when the club was most vulnerable. The move was about strategy; don't let anyone tell you anything else.

Start Me Up: The relievers aren't the only ones pitching well of late. Dodger starters have allowed three runs or fewer in each of their last nine games. The starters have also allowed four or fewer runs in 25 straight starts.

Hey 19: Charlie Haeger's seven scoreless innings on Saturday made him the 19th Dodger to get a win this season, breaking the club record of 18, set last season. The quick list: Billingsley 12, Kershaw 8, Wolf 8, Broxton 7, Weaver 5, Kuroda 5, Troncoso 4, Stults 4, Mota 3, McDonald 3, Elbert 2, Wade 2, Leach 2, Belisario 2, Schmidt 2, Milton 2, Ohman 1, Kuo 1, Haeger 1. Also, all ten pitchers that have started a game for the Dodgers this year have won at least one game.

A Rare Theft: Mark Loretta stole third base on Saturday against the Cubs, his first stolen base since April 26, 2007. It was only the fifth steal of third base in his career, and his first since August 18, 2004.

Welcome Back: Tony Abreu drove in a run with an RBI single on Sunday, collecting his first run batted in since September 23, 2007.

Delivering in a Pinch: Juan Pierre had three hits in his four pinch-hitting appearances last week, and is seven for his last ten in such situations. On the season, Pierre is batting .355/.394/.419 as a pinch-hitter.

In Grand Fashion: Russell Martin has had a power outage for almost a year and a half, but this week had three extra-base hits, including a grand slam against the Cubs on Thursday . It was Martin's first grand slam since he hit a walk-off shot off Shawn Chacon of the Pirates on April 21, 2007.

Transactions: A few pitching-related moves this week:

Wednesday: Hiroki Kuroda, who was hit in the head last Saturday by a batted ball, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a concussion. To temporarily take his place on the 25-man roster ...
Wednesday: Tony Abreu was recalled from Triple A Albuqeurque for the second time, and will likely be on the roster at least until the arrival of...
Thursday: Vicente Padilla, who was released by the Texas Rangers earlier in the week, was signed to a minor league deal. Although nothing has yet been officially announced, Padilla is expected to start Thursday in Colorado against the Rockies.

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers take Monday off, and will start their three-game series in Colorado with either a three- or four-game lead on the Rockies, who finish their series with the Giants tonight. After three in Denver, the Dodgers travel to Cincinnati, now without the services of starting pitcher Aaron Harang, out for the remainder of the season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday.

Week 20 Stats

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB/CS	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS
Ethier	23	2	7	3	1	1	3	1	0/0	.304/.360/.652	1.012
Kemp	21	3	7	2	0	1	1	0	1/1	.333/.333/.571	.905
Martin	15	4	3	2	0	1	5	3	0/0	.200/.333/.533	.867
Blake	24	4	6	0	0	2	4	0	0/0	.250/.269/.500	.769
Loney	16	2	4	1	0	0	2	3	1/0	.250/.368/.313	.681
Hudson	20	2	5	0	0	0	1	1	0/0	.250/.286/.250	.536
Manny	25	3	5	1	0	0	1	3	0/0	.200/.286/.240	.526
Furcal	30	2	5	0	0	0	2	0	0/0	.167/.167/.167	.333
Pierre	12	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0/1	.333/.385/.417	.801
Abreu	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0/1	.250/.500/.250	.750
Loretta	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1/0	.143/.143/.143	.286
Ausmus	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	.000/.000/.000	.000
Castro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	-----/-----/-----	-----
Pitchers	12	0	2	1	0	0	3	1	0/0	.167/.231/.250	.481
Totals	213	23	50	11	1	5	23	14	3/2	.235/.290/.366	.656

Pitcher	G	W-L	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Wolf	1	1-0	--	7.0	1	1	1	2	5	1.29	0.429
Haeger	2	1-1	--	14.0	8	3	3	4	9	1.93	0.857
Weaver	1	0-0	--	5.1	5	2	2	2	4	3.38	1.313
Billingsley	2	1-1	--	12.0	12	5	5	1	6	3.75	1.083
Kershaw	1	0-0	--	3.2	5	2	2	4	5	4.91	2.455
Broxton	5	0-1	2	5.1	2	1	0	2	9	0.00	0.750
Sherrill	3	0-0	1	3.1	2	0	0	3	2	0.00	1.500
Belisario	3	1-0	--	2.2	1	0	0	1	1	0.00	0.750
Kuo	3	0-0	--	2.1	1	0	0	0	3	0.00	0.429
Mota	1	0-0	--	2.0	2	0	0	0	2	0.00	1.000
Troncoso	1	0-0	--	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	1.000
McDonald	3	0-0	--	4.1	4	1	1	2	2	2.08	1.385
Totals	7	4-3	3	63.0	44	15	14	21	49	2.00	1.032

Martin Busts Out In Grand Style To Beat Cubs

Eric Stephen — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:25:07 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Russell Martin watches his fourth home run of the year plate four runs for the Dodgers.

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Russell Martin provided the highlight of the night, launching a grand slam over the wall in left field to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, powering the Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the Cubs in the first game of a four game series at Dodger Stadium.

Martin, entering the game hitting just .246/.295/.316 in August, hit a fastball from Angel Guzman out for the second grand slam of his career. The first one was a walk-off in extra innings against Shawn Chacon of the Pirates on April 21, 2007. Martin's slam came directly after Lou Piniella opted to intentionally walk James Loney with first base open to get to Martin, and to setup the possible double play.

Jeff Weaver started for the Dodgers, and lasted into the sixth inning, and his 5.1 innings represent his longest outing of the season. He allowed only two runs, but because he left in the middle of an inning with the score tied, he did not qualify for the win. That honor went to Ronald Belisario, who got two outs, starting the 3.2 scoreless innings of work by the bullpen tonight.

Manny Ramirez had three hits, including a double, and scored two runs for the Dodgers.

Kosuke Fukudome was the man for the Cubs, with three hits, including a home run, and a walk.

Tomorrow night's game will feature a battle of Randy Ws: Wolf versus Wells.

WP - Ronald Belisario (2-3): 0.2 IP, 1 walk

LP - Angel Guzman (2-3): 1 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Box Score

Saturday Rockpile: Dan O'Dowd is bearing golden arms for playoff hunt

Poseidon's Fist — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:48:21 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Dan O'Dowd has gone outside the organization, effectively trading Ramon Ramirez, Aneury Rodriguez, Luis Vizcaino and Connor Graham for Jorge de la Rosa, Jason Hammel, Jason Marquis and Rafael Betancourt. The first three all appear to be wins, if they aren't convincing wins already. How will the Betancourt/Graham swap look?

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In his morning column, Dave Krieger accurately picks out the key to the Rockies' wild card aspirations: the pitching staff. If only the starting pitching gives them a chance to win each night, which is not always an easy task, as Krieger notes: "they had reason to be encouraged that Jason Hammel, their fourth or fifth starter, depending on the state of Jorge De La Rosa at any given moment, kept it close."

If the pitching staff is the key, it's a good thing it has been pretty special this season. Bob Apodaca muses:

"I said from Day One this potentially could be the best starting rotation I've ever had in my seven years here," Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said.

"I'm sticking by my comments. Potentially, and they're making me out to be a prophet, this is the best complete rotation that the Rockies have ever had."

I'm not sure where the overly worried vibe came from here last night, but last night was a game we were supposed to lose. We can say all we want about Iannetta, Stewart and/or Atkins finding their stroke and contributing, but for the Rockies to win the wild card, it starts and ends with the rotation giving the bats a chance to win every game, including matchups pitting the back end of our rotation against an All-Star. So consider last night as having a modicum of success. We'll face the Giants 12 more times. There are plenty of chances to push them down the standings, so the sky is not falling.

Speaking of Sky, over at his Beyond the Boxscore blog, Dan Turkenkopf has unveiled his freshest BtB Poor Man's Projected Season Standings. He projects the Rockies to finish as the wild card with a franchise record 91 wins. When I saw 91, I had to chuckle given Rox Girl's ascertation in last night's game thread.

Our new setup man

Betancourt Shipped Out for Graham | FanGraphs Baseball
Marc Hulet at Fangraphs evaluates the Rafael Betancourt/Connor Graham swap, and despite writing the entire article from the Indians' point of view, he agrees with most pundits that the trade was smart and fair on both sides.

Missing More than is Called | FanGraphs Baseball
Matthew Carruth made an interesting point last night. Only four relievers in MLB have induced more swings-and-misses than called strikes. Betancourt is one of them.

The Venezuelan is saying all the right things, as noted in Patrick Saunders' column this morning:

"I just want to come here and help the Rockies win games... I am really excited to be here."

In the Elias player rankings released this morning, Betancourt slides in comfortably to Type B status, just below the midpoint. The righty had a strong debut last night, throwing 6 pitches, 5 for strikes, and retiring all three batters he faced.

Jim Armstrong gives kudos to O'Dowd for the trade, I think.

Rockies Retro: Colorado's All-Star History

theoldgrizzlybear — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:53:16 -0000

Larry Walker, everybody. (via i.a.cnn.net)

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The Colorado Rockies have been represented very well in All-Star Games during their short history, sending 16 different players and a manager to the midsummer classic. Here's a rundown of each game (as well as some Home Run Derbies) and how it related to the Rockies:

1993: Andres Galarraga

As the first All-Star in franchise history, the Big Cat will forever be a part of Rockies' lore. However, he didn't really do anything special in this game, going 0-for-1 (pop out to SS).

1994: Dante Bichette

Bichette was Colorado's first Home Run Derby participant, as he was eliminated in the first round after hitting three home runs - finishing in a tie for fifth overall (with Houston's Jeff Bagwell). In the actual game, Dante only got one AB (as a pinch hitter) but made the most of it, as he led off the fifth inning with a single to left off of Mike Mussina.

1995: Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla

By virtue of an injury to San Francisco's Matt Williams, Vinny Castilla became the first Rockie to ever start an All-Star Game, as the third baseman was written into the eighth slot in the NL's batting order. It wasn't a great day for Colorado's stars; Castilla went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and Bichette K'd in his only at-bat.

1996: Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Eric Young

'96 marked the first season that the Rockies sent three players to the midsummer classic. Burks participated in the Home Run Derby, but hit just one home run - a 405' tater - and was eliminated in the first round. As for the game, Bichette (who started the game in LF) and Burks each had an extra base hit, and Bichette scored a run. EY was 0-for-1 after entering the game as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. At the time, this was probably the best All-Star game in terms of performance by Rockies players. This was also the last time the National League won an All-Star Game.

See what happened during the wild 1997 All-Star festivities, and much more, after the jump.

1997: Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker

The Big Cat made it back to the ASG after a three-year hiatus, but it was Larry Walker who best represented the club at this year's event. Walker participated in the HR Derby and put on a clinic, homering nine times in each of the contest's first two rounds. However, he ran out of gas at the end and ended up finishing as the runner-up to Tino Martinez, despite hitting three more homers overall. The following night, Walker started and went 0-for-1 with a walk, but had a memorable at-bat against Randy Johnson in which he turned his helmet backwards and batted from the right side of the plate after the Big Unit threw a fastball over his head. Galarraga struck out in his only AB.

1998: Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker

At Coors Field in Denver, Vinny Castilla finished third in the HR Derby, hitting 12 homers through two rounds. For the fourth straight ASG, the Rockies had a player in the starting lineup. Walker was that man in '98, in front of 51,267 mostly Rockies fans. Walker was 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored, while Bichette and Castilla combined to go 0-for-4 with a K.

1999: Larry Walker

This was the first year the Rox only had one player in the game since 1994. Walker hit just two homers in the Derby and was out in the first round. He started in LF the next night and went 0-for-2 and was one of the five consecutive NL batters who fell victim to Pedro Martinez via the punch out to start the game.

2000: Jeff Cirillo, Jeffery Hammonds, Todd Helton

The new-look Rockies sent three guys to the ASG who had never been there before. They didn't do much, however, as they combined to go 0-for-4 in reserve duty.

2001: Mike Hampton, Todd Helton, Larry Walker

Hampton earned the distinction of being the first Rockies pitcher ever to be named an All-Star. Helton participated in the Derby and hit just two homers - the longest of which was a 425' shot. Both Helton and Walker started in the ASG, but combined to go 0-for-4 with a K. Hampton pitched an inning and gave up a hit and an unearned run.

2002: Todd Helton

Helton was the only Rockies player to make it in '02, but he was voted in as a starter and represented the club well in the game. He hit an RBI single off of Roy Halladay in the third inning that scored Jimmy Rollins, and came around to score a run of his own when Barry Bonds homered in the next at-bat.

2003: Shawn Chacon, Todd Helton, Preston Wilson

Helton was voted in as a starter for the third consecutive season, and responded by hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning off of Shigetoshi Hasegawa that put the NL up 2-1. Wilson tacked on a single for the NL in two AB's, as well. Chacon was a DNP due to an injury.

2004: Todd Helton

Helton was named to the team for the fifth straight time, but did not play. He has not made it to an All-Star Game since.

2005: Brian Fuentes

In '05, the Rox were one of those dreadful teams whose only All-Star is a relief pitcher. On top of that, Fuentes did not even pitch in the game, which has to be one of the only occasions in recent memory that a team went two straight ASG's without seeing any of its players appear in the game.

2006: Brian Fuentes, Matt Holliday

Holliday went 0-for-3 in his first ASG appearance, but Fuentes represented the Rox well as he pitched a scoreless inning and struck out Grady Sizemore.

2007: Brian Fuentes, Matt Holliday

Holliday fared well in the Home Run Derby, hitting 5 bombs in the first round and 8 in the second, and finished in a tie for third overall (with Albert Pujols) with 13 total homers - one of which traveled 475'. He proceeded to go 0-for-2 with a strike out in the game. Fuentes did not play due to injury.

2008: Aaron Cook, Matt Holliday, Clint Hurdle (manager)

Holliday got the NL on the board with a fifth inning home run off of Ervin Santana. He finished 1-for-3. Meanwhile, Aaron Cook threw THREE innings - an ASG rarity these days - of shutout ball despite having A LOT of traffic on the base paths (some the fault of his own - 4 hits and 3 walks, and some the fault of Dan Uggla, who committed 3 errors). Although the NL lost, the members of the Rockies organization fared extremely well in this contest.

Saturday Pebble Report: Jhoulys Chacin struggles in loss

Russ Oates — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:37:50 -0000

Colorado Springs, W 3-2
Ah, we meet again, Shawn Chacon. He's biding his time in Sacramento for now. He took the loss, though he struck out eight Sky Sox batters. In the fifth, Chris Frey drove in a run after Dan Ortmeier reached base on a double. In the ninth, Matt Murton doubled in a run and then scored on two consecutive wild pitches. Jason Hirsh went 6 2/3 innings and allowed three hits.

Tulsa, L 2-10
Jhoulys Chacin was knocked around for six runs over 5 1/3 innings. He walked three, struck out five, and allowed two homers. Daniel Mayora had a homer (4). Tommy Baumgardner struck out four in 1 2/3 innings.

As a result, Tulsa lost the first-half title for the North Division.

Modesto, L 2-4
Charlie Blackmon had a two-run double in the second, and Jay Cox had three hits to raise his average to .300. Kenny Durst allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks in six innings. Randall Taylor and Matt Reynolds held Visalia hitless over the last two innings.

Asheville, L 0-3
Scott Robinson had a hit and stole two bases (24). Jonnathan Aristil allowed those runs, but the relief pitching did well. Alan Deratt, Kurt Yacko, Tyler Trice, and Michael Marbry held Greenville scoreless for the last 4 2/3 innings.

Tri-City, W 8-3
Matt Baugh struck eight out in four innings. The other four outs were of the ground ball variety. Mike Zuanich hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off of Juston Street, Huston's brother. Scott Beerer and Matt Sanders each had two hits and an RBI. Shane Lowe stole two bases and scored twice.

Casper did not play due to rain.

News Roundup: Steve Pearce--Confident or Cocky?

Charlie — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:04:41 -0000

-P- Here's an interesting article about Steve Pearce in a website dedicated to his alma mater.

“I’ve always been told my swing wouldn’t work, this wouldn’t work, that wouldn’t work,” Pearce says. “But it’s all about going out here and working hard and staying within yourself, not trying to do too much and basically not taking no for an answer"...

There is one other characteristic with Pearce: He is extremely confident in his ability to hit. After being selected in the eighth round of the 2005 draft, Pearce surprised everyone but himself by quickly ascending through the Pittsburgh farm system. He hit 31 home runs going from High A-level ball to the major leagues in 2007, earning Pittsburgh’s minor league player-of-the-year honor along the way.

Tanner recalls how Pearce would occasionally go hitless in four at-bats at USC. Tanner would turn his head in the dugout and hear Pearce boasting about being “the best oh-for-four hitter in the country.”

At the close of fall practice one season, Pearce and Steve Tolleson were in a dead-heat for the club batting crown. Tanner recalls Pearce getting into Tolleson’s face and telling his teammate he “had no chance of winning,” with one practice game remaining. Sure enough, Tolleson got two hits. Pearce won with three.

How do you read something like this? Is Pearce a gutsy gamer and a winner, like Lenny Dykstra was? Or is he just cocky and uncoachable? Probably it's just a matter of perspective--when he's hitting, he's the gamer, and when he's not, he's just stubborn.

This is why it's unwise to make rash judgements about players' personalities, except in extreme, Elijah Dukes-like situations. When there was a brouhaha over Ian Snell's absence from the Arizona Fall League in 2005, he was a hothead who wouldn't listen to his coaches, and fans immediately took to message boards to declare they wanted him off the team; the very next season, he emerged as one of the Pirates' best players, and was one of the few on that team who seemed to care that the Bucs were losing. In 2007, Shawn Chacon appeared to be a team leader and a steady veteran presence in the clubhouse; the next season, he was out of baseball after attacking his GM at the time, Houston's Ed Wade.

The issue of team chemistry is a pretty fluid one to begin with--a fiery player might be perceived as exactly what a team needs in one case, and a complete pain to deal with in another. And we fans only get part of the picture, and the part we do get is informed as much by the team's performance and by the motivations of those offering the quotes as it is by the player in question's actual attitude. It's best to just stay out of it, in my opinion. Ultimately, we can judge Pearce by his performance.

-P- Some of you might have been hoping that the Pirates could take advantage of the Rays' rotation surplus to grab a free starting pitcher, but we can forget about that. The Pirates don't have much to offer, and the Rays aren't pushovers. Tampa has traded Jason Hammel to Colorado for a pretty good pitching prospect in Aneury Rodriguez. Rodriguez seems to have issues with his changeup and thus is pretty likely to be a back-end starter or a reliever, but he has a good minor-league record. I'm not a huge fan of Hammel, who has yet to have an impressive season in the majors, so this looks like a good deal for the Rays. Jeff Niemann will be their fifth starter.

-P- The Cubs have released a pretty decent reliever/swingman in Chad Gaudin. Gaudin was bad down the stretch last year and bad this spring, but he's had stretches of competence, and he can eat innings. Maybe the Pirates can lure him with the promise of an important role in the 'pen. Probably not, but it's worth asking about.

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