SB Nation - Juan Rincon

Saturday Rockpile: Contreras narrowing his choices while the Rockies try to maintain bullpen depth.

theoldgrizzlybear — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:54:34 -0000

La Esquina: The numbers show that Jose Contreras might be a valuable closer. - ESPN
Jose Contreras won't be pitching in Japan, but is starting to narrow down his options on where to pitch next season. Contreras still wants to start, but according to his agent he may be willing to pitch out of the 'pen. I'm hoping the Rockies find themselves in the mix for "The Bronze Titan," as he would be of great value to any team's bullpen - especially if he's still able to continue throwing in the upper 90's.

Rincon returning to Rockies | MLB.com: News
The Rox re-signed ~~Satan~~ ~~Josh Fogg~~ Juan Rincon to a minor league deal yesterday. Yippee.

Sources: Jamey Carroll has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a two-year deal - ESPN
The former Rocktober hero has agreed to terms with the enemy - at two years and just under $4MM.

Rob Neyer: Selecting the top 100 players of the decade - ESPN
I didn't see anybody post this during the week, but I could have overlooked it (if so, my apologies). Anyway, ESPN.com's Rob Neyer has Todd Helton as the 8th-best player of the decade. I'm surprised the Toddfather was placed this high, but he put up some pretty gaudy numbers in pretty much every year of the 00's (with the exception of 2008), particularly in the OBP department.

MLB -- Baseball Prospectus: Hanley Ramirez, Justin Upton, Joe Mauer and Tim Lincecum project as brightest MLB stars of 2010 through 2019 - ESPN
In a related piece, Troy Tulowitzki falls under the "Honorable Mention" section for players who will shape the next decade in Major League Baseball. I may be a homer, but I think it's a crime that Tulo doesn't fall in the Top 20 on this list. It may be an even bigger crime that Clayton Kershaw doesn't, either.

LVBP.com - Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional
The statistics page for the Venezuelan Winter League. Players of note:

Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .289/.325/.526 in 114 at-bats with 7 home runs and 21 RBI's.
Yorvit Torrealba is hitting .314/.419/.471 in 51 at-bats.
Jhoulys Chacin went 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA, allowing 39 hits in 32.1 innings. He struck out 24 and walked 12.
Edgmer Escalona has posted a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings, striking out 7 and walking 5
Franklin Morales has walked six batters in four innings of relief.

Oh, and there should be no stock put into any of the above stats, whatsoever.

Orioles considering oft-injured Ben Sheets, others?

Eli Greenspan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:03:51 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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MASN.com is reporting that the Orioles will consider adding a "high risk, high reward" pitcher like Ben Sheets. The Orioles have several young players that very well could make the Orioles a contender sooner than expected.

With Matt Wieters, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and veteran Brian Roberts, the Orioles are poised to put up better offensive numbers than they did last season, which should benefit pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and Brad Bergeson.

The Orioles still have Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie, who both went on impressive streaks during the season. Still, inconsistency is a big issue.

Before adding a pitcher like Ben Sheets, who may only be able to give you 5-6 innings per start, improving the bullpen is important to making the investment worthwhile. The Orioles were 28th in the league in bullpen ERA (4.83), and could use an experienced closer to hold leads or to keep games close.

Guys like LaTroy Hawkins, Kevin Gregg, Scott Eye, or Juan Rincon would improve the inefficiencies in the bullpen.

Groundballs and the Bullpen: Do we need them?

RockiesMagicNumber — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:00:29 -0000

In the Rockpile today, Poseidon's Fist linked an article by Dave Cameron of Fangraphs discussing the Rockies' postseason rotation. He breaks it down to Ubaldo-Cook-DLR-Hammel, leaving Marquis off of the rotation. But it isn't just "lol marquis is teh awfuls," he raises a really good point:

Marquis would give the bullpen something it doesn't have right now - a guy to come in and get a ground ball in order to induce a DP or a play at the plate.

He raises a good point. The bullpen we have going into the postseason is very strikeout-heavy, pretty much bereft of groundballers. But is that such a bad thing?

Name	GB/FB	GB%	FB%	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP
Aaron Cook	2.30	56.7%	24.7%	4.44	2.68	1.66	1.08	.282	1.41
Jason Marquis	2.00	55.6%	27.8%	4.75	3.31	1.44	0.64	.260	1.36
Ubaldo Jimenez	1.85	52.3%	28.2%	7.98	3.44	2.32	0.55	.232	1.24
Juan Rincon	1.41	47.7%	33.8%	8.77	7.01	1.25	0.70	.199	1.48
Jason Hammel	1.51	46.3%	30.8%	6.75	2.16	3.12	0.88	.290	1.39
Jorge de la Rosa	1.32	44.7%	34.0%	9.35	4.10	2.28	0.99	.251	1.4
Joe Beimel	0.83	40.4%	48.9%	6.60	2.40	2.75	1.20	.287	1.4
Matt Belisle	1.03	40.4%	39.4%	6.23	1.48	4.20	1.78	.284	1.29
Randy Flores	1.08	40.0%	37.1%	10.03	1.54	6.50	1.54	.299	1.37
Jose Contreras	1.25	39.5%	31.6%	9.00	4.50	2.00	1.29	.288	1.64
Huston Street	0.92	39.1%	42.4%	10.29	1.94	5.31	1.04	.202	0.93
Matt Daley	0.59	32.8%	55.5%	9.77	2.84	3.44	0.89	.223	1.13
Rafael Betancourt	0.60	29.5%	49.2%	10.13	1.88	5.40	0.38	.201	0.92
Franklin Morales	0.54	27.1%	50.5%	9.30	4.76	1.95	0.91	.233	1.39
Joel Peralta	0.50	24.7%	49.3%	8.03	4.38	1.83	1.09	.280	1.58

It's interesting to note that the strikeouts and groundballs seem to be inversely correlated, but that's a different study entirely.

Contrast this bullpen with the guys in 2007, just based on GB%:

Name	GB/FB	GB%	FB%	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP
LaTroy Hawkins	3.03	63.3%	20.9%	4.72	2.6	1.81	0.98	0.25	1.23
Aaron Cook	2.46	57.9%	23.6%	3.31	2.39	1.39	0.81	0.275	1.34
Manny Corpas	2.03	57.4%	28.3%	6.69	2.31	2.9	0.69	0.223	1.06
Franklin Morales	2.07	54.9%	26.5%	5.95	3.2	1.86	0.46	0.235	1.22
Jeremy Affeldt	1.63	53.0%	32.5%	7.02	5.03	1.39	0.46	0.22	1.36
Matt Herges	1.22	46.5%	38.0%	5.55	2.77	2	0.74	0.199	1.01
Ubaldo Jimenez	1.26	46.4%	36.7%	7.46	4.06	1.84	1.1	0.232	1.3
Jeff Francis	1.19	44.4%	37.2%	6.9	2.63	2.62	1.04	0.278	1.38
Ryan Speier	1.38	41.5%	30.2%	6.5	4	1.63	0.5	0.283	1.56
Mark Redman	0.96	41.3%	42.9%	6.41	2.75	2.33	0.92	0.275	1.37
Josh Fogg	1.00	40.0%	40.0%	5.11	3.21	1.59	1.25	0.293	1.53
Brian Fuentes	0.83	35.9%	43.1%	8.22	3.38	2.43	0.88	0.21	1.13

Click past the jump and we'll break these numbers down.

In 2009, our 3 most extreme groundballers are all starting pitchers. Which makes sense, more or less, it helps mitigate damage via the double play and it keeps pitch counts down by getting more balls in play early in the count.

In 2007, however, 3.5 of our 5 most extreme groundballers were in the bullpen, and only Aaron Cook was in the rotation. Morales' role in the postseason was somewhat mixed, so that's why he gets the .5 for pen and .5 for rotation.

So in a casual sense, yes, we'd like a groundballer in the bullpen. But it seems, for the rationale listed above, that the groundballers are better suited to the rotation, as they are more prone to giving up hits (at least in terms of Marquis and Cook), and typically with bullpen duty, you want to get the outs as lock-downingly as possible, as to mitigate potential inherited damage.

So let's get a quick look at how 2007 and 2009 stack up in summation.

2007	GB%	K/9	tRA*
Rotation	45.71%	5.61	4.96
Bullpen	50.01%	6.46	4.44

2009	GB%	K/9	tRA*
Rotation	51.24%	6.69	4.33
Bullpen	38.48%	8.02	4.06

You could probably just look at that little chart and say "well, the Rockies just are a better pitching team this year" and I wouldn't argue with you at all. But it does seem that in sacrificing GB% for K/9, we made our pen better, and by further emphasizing GB% in the rotation, it made it better there as well.

The two pitchers I'd like to single out kind of embody the balance between the two measures presented: Ubaldo Jimenez and Manny Corpas.

I don't think I need to say much about Jimenez. 7.98 K/9 and 52.3% GB and he throws 700mph and he runs on clean burning biodiesel.

Corpas, however (and I'll keep this somewhat brief, I want to touch on his season more after we're all wrapped up with 2009), strikes out a decent amount, has excellent control of the strike zone (as in he never walks anyone), and still throws his slider very effectively. He also has a career GB% of 51.4%.

His sinker/2seamer/whatever we're calling it lost something this year, and there's a distinct chance we could chalk some of that up to a damaged elbow causing him to overthrow or something (this really isn't my area of expertise). He got hit a lot harder than we'd like to see, but I really think he'll rebound in 2010. He still gets a good number of ground balls, still doesn't give up many fly balls, and actually posted a lower FIP in 2009 than '08 or '07.

Frankly, and I know he was kind of awful this year, but I do think the pen missed having Corpas just for the different toolset he brought along. I mean, clearly we didn't miss him TOOOOOOOO much, but we had to rely on guys like Flores to come strike one LHB out (and he did do that pretty well: 11K to 1BB v LHB) when we had a jam to get out of. Season-long, yeah, Corpas was trouble, but situationally, he might still be a good tool to have around. But again, next season.

As for the original issue, having Marquis in the pen WOULD present us with a groundballing option, but I'm not 100% convinced I want to bring him into tight situations, especially with how wild his last start was in general. If you want a situational groundballer, you need a guy who can come in and paint corners with either a nasty changeup or a strong sinker, locating low and getting the big double play outs. I don't see Marquis being able to do that.

Mopup guy? Sure. 3 inning relief? Sure.

Situational groundballer? ehhhhhhh I wish we had Corpas still.

Saying Goodbye to the Metrodome: Top 5 Memories

Jesse — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:00:23 -0000

What are yours?

Barring a minor miracle, tomorrow night the Minnesota Twins will open their final series in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. 28 baseball seasons ago, on April 6 1982, the first baseball game was held as the Twins played host to the Seattle Mariners. In just a few hours the Kansas City Royals will be baseball's last visitors under teflon skies.

There are a lot of easy memories when you think back. Of course there's the unbelieveable run by the 1987 Twins, when they returned to Minneapolis down three games to two but still took down the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games; Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky and Frank Viola became household names over night while a 36-year old Bert Blyleven threw a now unthinkable 267 innings. Even more of you might choose the 1991 incarnation of the Twins, starring some of the same characters while also including franchise names like Rick Aguilera, Chili Davis, Brian Harper, Kevin Tapani, Shane Mack, Scott Erickson and Jack Morris; Puckett's homer in game six and ten innings of shutout baseball by Morris in game seven. Or maybe you were there for the alpha, for a 102-loss team with 22-year olds Herbie and Viola? How about the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the organization, when the team won the AL Central title after the final out of their season was recorded in 2006?

I'm too young for some of these, at least to remember them properly. My top five metrodome memories will all be from games where I was actually there; when I was actually sitting in those horribly placed seats, under a dirty yellow sky. Check out my top five after the jump, and then feel free to share your own.

Five

This one isn't even baseball. In high school I was lucky enough to be part of a team that made the state playoffs for football. Two consecutive seasons I got to play at least one game on the turf of the Dome, the same turf as Puck and Hrbek and Radke, the same turf as Anthony Carter and John Randle and Randall McDaniel, as a member of the Breckenridge Cowboys in November of '95 and '96.

Four

On June 22, 1992, my family made a trip to the Cities for a vacation away from Greater Minnesota, and I saw my first Twins game. The Angels were in town. We arrived early enough to watch the guys warm up in the outfield, and I can still remember how in awe of them I was. They were just a few feet from me, in the flesh--real, live people, not on television. Kent Hrbek wasn't in the lineup that day, but I still got to see Knobby and Kirby. Knoblauch singled in the first, stole second base and eventually would score on a Chili Davis single. In the seventh Brian Harper walked, Pedro Munoz doubled moving him to third, and two batters later Harper scored on a Greg Gagne sac fly to make it 2-0. That was the final score, the Twins winning my first ever game on the back of those two runs and 8.1 innings of scoreless ball thrown by John Smiley. Aggy got the save, of course.

Three

I went to a Twins - Blue Jays tilt with my friend Mike on June 22, 2007. There were four drunk Jays fans in front of us, and honestly I don't even remember what the score was, although I do know the Twins won. Why? Because all I can remember is this:

Why did I take this picture, you ask? Why wouldn't I take this picture. Nasty.

Two

I got goosebumps when I saw Johan Santana pick up his 1000th strikeout on June 13, 2006, as I went to a game to see myself in Dugout Splinters for the very first time and to catch a game with some friends a couple days before my birthday. But while Johan more than did his job, striking out 13 over eight innings while allowing just five hits, he couldn't hold the Boston Red Sox scoreless. Jason Varitek's line drive home run to center field put Boston up 1-0, and the Twins would only manage to tie the game on a Michael Cuddyer homer in the bottom half of the inning. Santana left the game tied, and it wasn't solved until Jason Kubel decided to make Julian Tavarez pay for intentionally walking Torii Hunter to get to him. With the bases loaded and the count full, Kubel took Tavarez deep for a walk-off grand slam home run. It. Was. Amazing.

One

On April 5, 2004, Opening Day, I watched as the Twins slowly sunk to a four-run deficit through six innings at the hands of the Cleveland Indians. Brad Radke struggled early, giving up a second inning homer to Travis Hafner and a third inning homer to Jody Gerut, before settling down for the next couple innings. He gave up another solo shot to Hafner in the top of the sixth, and there wasn't any life in the Twins' offense, which had managed just one hit (a single by Shannon Stewart to lead off the bottom of the first) off CC Sabathia over seven innings. But then came the bottom of the eighth.

Joe Mauer walked to lead things off, and Christian Guzman followed that up with a single before the top of the order cylced around and Stewart moved both runners up on a ground out. Cuddyer followed with a hard liner to center, scoring both runs, and was moved to third base on a Doug Mientkiewicz single. Corey Koskie was sitting dead red on a 2-2 pitch and drove it into the left-center gap for a ground-rule double, scoring Cuddyer to maker it 4-3, before Hunter singled to tie the game and finish the scoring for the inning. Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy struck out to end the rally.

Then all went silent once more.

via www.minorleagueballparks.com

J.C. Romero, Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon combined for three scoreless innings. Aaron Fultz and Joe Roa had already combined for two of their own, but those three bridge us to the bottom of the 11th. Jones struck out again, for the fourth time in four at-bats. LeCroy managed to squeeze out a walk, and was replaced on the bases by Nick Punto. Mauer pulled a hard shot into right field, allowing Punto to take third on the one out single. Guzman struck out for the second out of the inning. Alertly, Mauer took second base on defensive indifference with Stewart now at the dish, giving the Indians the option of intentionally walking Stewart to face Cuddyer. Chad Durbin and the Indians decided to go after him, and Shannon repaid them by smashing a line drive home run into the left field seats, about four rows in front of where I was sitting. The crowd went absolutely berserk, and I'm pretty sure Mike and I were already nomiating Stewart for MVP on the back of his strong showing with the Twins in 2003.

This, of course, was also Joe Mauer's very first game with the Minnesota Twins. I studied him closely before the game started, warming up with Brad Radke in the bullpen. There appeared nothing unusual, he wasn't wearing bling and he wasn't acting up and he didn't strut. He just squatted down, held out his glove and let Brad warm up. From moment one Joe was all business, even when his name was announced (hitting eighth, by the way) and the crowd rained down applause like they already knew he was Baby Joe Jesus. That in itself almost qualifies as another memory, seperate from the game, that I will always remember.

What about you?

Coming in with Runners On – Not our Forte.

RockiesMagicNumber — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:12:30 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Frankie, maybe they're just not using you right.

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This snippet here addresses one of my main gripes about the bullpen and how it's being handled. Our manager seems content to leave our pitchers in past when pitch counts suggest it's time for the yank, and let them get into trouble before bringing in his setup staff. One of the recipients of these particular hard knocks has been our right-handed setup man Rafael Betancourt.

On paper, Betancourt's been a stud made of awesomeness. As a Rockie, he's posted a 2.05 ERA (2.14 FIP, 2.15 tRA) and struck out 23 (2.89 K/BB) over 22.0 IP (29 G), and adding 0.8 WAR to the team. He's been more or less "nails", striking out 9.40 batters per 9, his highest rate since 2005 (9.71).

However, he seems to have been struggling lately, not being nearly as crisp as we're accustomed to. However, as I've screamed in game threads, it seems he's being brought in an awful lot to face hitters who've been dumped on him from the pitcher before letting runners on and then getting the hook. Logically, you're going to perform better with a clean slate to start with. What I am having trouble understanding is why we need to push a starter already at 110 pitches to start the 8^th inning when we have a nails setup man and a lights out closer ready to roll. We're paying them, how about we use them?

Anyhow. I ran a quick study using Baseball-Reference.com (btw, check out Ubaldo's page) to see what Rockies Relievers do when the situations are tough, and when they're easy. I used a cumulative WPA to gauge the situations and see how "well" the guys perform when they have inherited runners and when the slate is clean for them. I use WPA so that we can get a look on their effect on the game, as ERA or whatever will attribute runs to other pitchers and such if there are inherited runners allowed, and that really doesn't tell us what we want to know. WPA will just answer the question: "did the pitcher improve the Rockies' chances of winning?"

Don't remember WPA? Refresh yourself, and then come join us after the jump.

So what we've done is taken the game logs from Baseball-Reference, and broken them down into games where our bullpen has had to deal with inherited runners, and games where they haven't. The results aren't terribly shocking, but interesting nonetheless. (note: these numbers don't include the past game or two.)

Name	# of G w/o IR	WPA	# of G w/ IR	IRS%	WPA
Betancourt	17	0.65	11	47%	-0.53
Daley	36	0.75	15	31%	-0.59
Morales	22	0.72	13	33%	0.11
Beimel	12	-0.3	10	19%	0.32
Street	54	2.48	6	50%	0.35
Fogg	11	-0.2	11	42%	-0.07
Belisle	13	0.05	7	50%	0.05
Rincon	14	-0.2	10	0%	0.54

(IR = Inherited Runners, IRS = Inherited Runners Scored, WPA = Win Probability Added)

In short, I can see the following here: Joe Beimel handles traffic well, but for some reason, struggles when given a clean slate. Betancourt and Daley shouldn't be brought in with runners on.

And the scariest point of all: Juan Rincon doesn't allow inherited runners to cross home plate. Period.

So here's the skinny. Rincon is scarily good at cleaning up somebody else's messes. But with no mess to clean, he makes his own. Beimel does the same thing.

Some combination of Morales/Daley, Betancourt, and Street should be our closing staff. They should also be brought in for a clean inning, none of this "oh hey there are 2 guys on and nobody out" nonsense.

Josh Fogg isn't a good pitcher. But that's not really news.

Matt Belisle is about as Meh as it comes. You can see by that 0.05 WPA on both sides of the chart that he really doesn't add much or take much from the team's chances of winning. It makes me laugh because it just speaks to his skillset - pretty boring - but it makes the most sense because for the most part, he's only tossed into very low leverage outings, mopup duty, where him allowing a run or two over however much work isn't really going to change the Rockies' chances of winning all that much. I'd wager if he was put into higher leverage situations regularly, you'd see quite a bit more on the WPA- side.

This is the kind of stuff that gets to me, the proper usage of our pitchers. Some can handle the heat, some just want to come in and get their own zeros and not worry about anyone else. They should be used as such.

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.

Thursday Rockpile: Rockies have nothing to fear but the lack of the brave(s)

Rox Girl — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:59:50 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy, might be pulling starting pitcher Jason Marquis from the Rockies playoff rotation as well as against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Denver on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Sometimes I wonder if people have some sort of psychological need for an unseen enemy to keep them wary and alert and prepared for the random events in life. This theory has been playing out on Purple Row the last couple of days as Rockies fans' hand-wringing has shifted from the Giants to the Braves as most feared remote competitor. On a bigger scale, this kind of cautiousness has a clear use for the protection of our society as long as it doesn't disrupt other important parts of life (as the Rockies and their fans in this AP article about heightened security/alert levels attest) but on a scale with the triviality of a baseball playoff chase, to me it seems sort of silly.

If the Braves really are good enough to pull off the kind of rare, once in a lifetime type of run (which thanks to a team we're all familiar with, we've already seen once in our lifetime) needed to overtake the Rockies and get to the playoffs this year, more power to them. We've got to chalk that up to the random cruel twists of fate, and fretting over it is a bout equal to fretting over a giant doomsday meteor colliding with the earth. You can't really prepare for it, you can't really send Bruce Willis out with some nukes to stop it, you're better off worrying about a pack of organized bears jumping out and eating you while you go jogging.

Last night was one of five catch-up games that the Giants and Braves needed before they can once again start competing for the wild card. They still need four more, the Marlins still need five. Anytime they lose or the Rockies win, that moment of honest competition, where their performance once again is measured on an equal standard to the Rockies performance gets delayed. Right now, it's not their better vs. our better, it's their best vs our mediocrity, and until and unless the standard gets even, the fretting over their cupcake schedule or our more difficult one is moot.

The Rockies in a way are doing the seasonal equivalent of putting in Juan Rincon with a five run lead. They are being extra cautious with minor injuries, toying around with the rotation to see who would be best suited for starting in the playoffs (possibly not Jason Marquis). I would like it more, actually, if they were doing more of this. For instance, giving rest to Yorvit Torrealba, who's previously fresh but now tired legs had to have been some benefit to his hot streak.

Rockies 11, Padres 10: Well, that was interesting...

theoldgrizzlybear — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:49:11 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

3 months ago: Colorado Rockies' Brad Hawpe follows the flight of his three-run home run against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of a baseball game in Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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I must be bad luck. The moment I turned on the game, Juan Rincon began walking the entire San Diego roster and Franklin Morales couldn't get the third out to save his life. BUT, right when I turned off the game, Morales (apparently) induced a game-ending flyout and the Rockies held on to beat the scrappy Padres 11-10.

There was a lot of bad news in this game, especially for being one which the Rox came out on top. Jorge De La Rosa turned in a bit of a stinker, lasting just 2.1 innings and allowing six runs on six hits and three walks, while constantly searching for the strike zone. Carlos Gonzalez left in the second inning with hamstring tightness. Those, combined with the follies of two key relievers listed above, and there is some cause for concern.

However, the Rockies had their share of good fortune in this game as well. Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes each showed signs of breaking out of their extended slumps. Hawpe hit a three run homer and walked a couple of times, and Barmes went 3-for-4, including an inside-the-park home run. In addition, Huston Street recorded two scoreless outs in the seventh, including a strike out. All in all, it seems to be a good night for the Rox, who have a ~~good chance of taking a~~ five game lead in the NL Wild Card standings, as San Francisco ~~currently trails Arizona late in their game (although the D-Backs started the ninth inning roughly, a la Colorado...looks like I need to stop watching this game, too).~~ lost to the D-Backs.

86 - 65

Games Back: 5

Streak: Won 3

Games Left: 11

Continue after the jump for the win probability graph, Row Call, and tomorrow's starters...

via www.fangraphs.com

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Great job tonight, everybody!!! Thanks, PR staff, for hanging out.

Tomorrow: Tim Stauffer (4-7, 3.56) vs. Jason Marquis (15-11, 3.84)...same time, same place. GO ROCKIES!!!!

Tim Lincecum dominates as Rockies lose fourth straight game to Giants

Rox Girl — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:05:54 -0000

More photos » by Dino Vournas - AP

Welp, that didn't go like we wanted it to..,

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Tim Lincecum showed that his back was healthy, striking out eleven Rockies on the way to an easy win for the San Francisco Giants. The Rockies, meanwhile, must regroup and figure out a way to beat a team that has had all the answers against them lately as they continue the final three game set against San Francisco on Tuesday.

Jason Hammel gave up four runs, three in the second when the Giants strung together four straight singles to start the inning and later added a sacrifice fly, and the fourth run in the third inning when Bengie Molina hit a solo homerun.

The Giants fifth run scored thanks to a Juan Uribe single off Juan Rincon in the bottom of the eighth. A few hitters and a couple of relievers later in the same inning, Joel Peralta walked pinch hitter Fred Lewis with the bases loaded to score the Giants sixth run and then Eugenio Velez stabbed the Rockies with a grenade by hitting a bases clearing triple to increase the margin to the final score, 9-1.

The Rockies only run scored when Carlos Gonzalez tripled off of Lincecum with two outs in the seventh inning. A ball four pitch to Todd Helton that got past Bengie Molina and rolled to the backstop allowed Gonzalez to score from third.

82 - 63

Games Back: 3.5

Streak: Lost 3

Magic Number (wc): 15

The Giants close to within 3.5 games of the Rockies in the wild card chase with the win.

via www.fangraphs.com

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Reds lay four eggs in Denver. That's a helluva omelet. Cincinnati loses, 5-1.

Brendanukkah — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:17:04 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

The Giambornstar. -or- "We Greeks invented democracy!" "Yeah, and you also invented homos!" (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Juan Rincon. After starter Jose Contreras left the game after only three innings, Rincon pitched three innings of scoreless relief, giving up only two hits, striking out five and earning the win. Former Red Matt Belisle pitched the final two innings, giving up only one hit.

Key Plays

The Reds got off to a promising start. Paul Janish got a one-out walk in the first, and consecutive singles by Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips brought him around to score. Jonny Gomes then walked, loading the bases. But the lineup's biggest weakness - an abundance of strikeout artists and a lack of RBI men - came to haunt us as Wladimir Balentien and Adam Rosales struck out to end the threat.
In the third inning, Votto hit a double, and one out later, Gomes hit a single to put runners on the corners. Once again, Balentien and Rosales struck out.
The Rockies didn't seem to have a problem bringing in their baserunners. Clint Barmes singled to start the bottom half of the third, but Jonny Gomes threw him out trying to stretch it into a double. Jose Contreras grounded out (and strained his quadricep), and Kip Wells was one out away from being in the clear. But Eric Young, Jr. bunted for a hit and then stole second. Dusty pointed excitedly and insisted that was what he wanted when he got a Colorado centerfielder. Carlos Gonzalez walked, then Seth Smith hit an RBI single. Jason Giambi smashed a ball to centerfield that made Drew Stubbs look foolish and drove in two more runs with a double. Then Garrett Atkins smashed a two-run homer. Five runs in one inning, and that was all Colorado needed.
Jhoulys Chacin relieved the injured Contreras. You may not believe this, but he is the first player named Jhoulys to play in the majors.
Drew Stubbs somewhat made up for his miscue on Giambi's ball in the third inning by stealing a home run from him in the eighth.

via FanGraphs

Other Notes

Jose Contreras does not have a hit in the majors in 32 regular season plate appearances. He pitched in two World Series games, but one was in an AL stadium, and the other was a relief appearance and he was pinch hit for.
Balentien and Rosales both struck out three times. Rosales has 43 strikeouts and 19 RBI, and Balentien has 65 strikeouts and 21 RBI. Clearly, those numbers need to be reversed.
This was Ramon Ramirez's first appearance since May 21.
It was Joey Votto's 26th birthday. And he smells like one too!
Colorado finished the season a perfect 7-0 against Cincinnati. That's part of the reason they're now only two games behind the Dodgers, despite starting the season 18-28. Since firing Clint Hurdle, they've gone 63-32 under Jim Tracy. That's damned impressive.
Eric Young, Jr. stole two bases, the first two of his career.

Final - 9.10.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Colorado Rockies	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	X	5	7	0
WP: Juan Rincon (3 - 2) LP: Kip Wells (1 - 4)

Complete Coverage >

SB Nation - Juan Rincon

Saturday Rockpile: Contreras narrowing his choices while the Rockies try to maintain bullpen depth.

Orioles considering oft-injured Ben Sheets, others?

Groundballs and the Bullpen: Do we need them?

Saying Goodbye to the Metrodome: Top 5 Memories

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

Coming in with Runners On – Not our Forte.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Starting Pitchers)

Starting Pitchers

Thursday Rockpile: Rockies have nothing to fear but the lack of the brave(s)

Other links:

Rockies 11, Padres 10: Well, that was interesting...

Tim Lincecum dominates as Rockies lose fourth straight game to Giants

Reds lay four eggs in Denver. That's a helluva omelet. Cincinnati loses, 5-1.

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Key Plays

Other Notes