The Astros, picked by almost everyone in the world to lose 100+ games this season, have been surprisingly OK so far in 2012. Their record of 22-25 is better than five NL teams (your Rockies included), and their pythagorean record is a game above .500 as a result of cumulatively outscoring their opposition (189 runs scored, 182 runs allowed) thus far.

Looking at their lineup, there are four guys who have been above-average in terms of OPS+ to this point in the season. Carlos Lee (111 OPS+), while having been sapped of a lot of his power, still gets on base and never, EVER strikes out. In fact, his 4.9 K% leads the league by a fairly wide margin - almost two full percentage points ahead of Marco Scutaro. Meanwhile, Jed Lowrie, who was jettisoned from Boston for some unknown reason, has posted a 122 OPS+, powered by a team-leading seven homers. Chris Johnson has an atrocious K/BB ratio, but still owns a slug-heavy 106 OPS+. The best of the bunch is a guy who is among the league's most diminutive players:

Jose Altuve

#27 / Second Base / Houston Astros

Height: 5-7

Weight: 170

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 06, 1990

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Jose Altuve	.307	.359	.469

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The 22 year old Altuve made waves last season by being the best hitter in the minors, as his .389/.426/.591 line in 391 plate appearances would indicate. In a late-season call up to the bigs, he struggled a bit, but he has picked up the pace this season and continues to defy odds. His OPS+ of 126 leads the team, and it's not batting average/OBP-fueled, either; his 19 extra base hits are the most for any player on the club.

Houston doesn't have much in the way of bench depth, which may ultimately be their undoing once we get later into the season. Nobody has an OPS+ better than Travis Buck's 70, and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Matt Downs has lived up to his name a bit this season, as his slash line is down to .150/.203/.367, good for a 53 OPS+.

The rotation has held up fairly well so far, with Wandy Rodriguez being far and away the best of the group. Boy, would the Rockies love to have his 2.14 ERA/180 ERA+, 1.09 WHIP, and 3.00 K/BB ratio atop their rotation. Nevertheless, Rodriguez is clearly making the best of his situation in Houston, despite constantly being surrounded by trade rumors. In terms of striking people out, Bud Norris and J.A. Happ have been pleasant surprises for the Astros. Both pitchers are whiffing a batter per inning, but Happ has been a little more hittable and homer-prone, leading to his below-average ERA+ of 88. Norris (115 ERA+), meanwhile, has continued to build upon the promise he has shown in the previous few seasons. He has always struck guys out, but has walked a few too many in the past. However, he has improved upon that a bit this season, so we'll see where it takes him. Lucas Harrell rounds out their regular rotation (as Kyle Weiland and Jordan Lyles have shared time in the fifth spot), and he is due to get hit hard by regression. Currently, he sports an ERA+ of 103, but a lot of that resides with the fact that he has been the benefactor of some decent BABIP luck (.275). His K/BB ratio is pretty horrendous, and his GO/AO ratio of 2.43 should revert to the norm, as it has never been higher than 1.64.

Houston's bullpen has been a strength, particularly the top three guys. Brett Myers is the closer, and he already has 12 saves. He strikes out enough batters, doesn't walk many, and to this point hasn't been very hittable, allowing just 11 in 17 innings. Wilton Lopez and Brandon Lyon follow that mold as well; Lopez strikes out seven batters for every walk issued, while Lyon's number is 9 K's for every walk.

For more on the Astros, head over to The Crawfish Boxes.

Probable starters and more after the jump.

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AAA Colorado Springs: L 8-3 (25-25, 2nd, 0.5 GB)
It was a less-than-stellar return from a minor setback for Jorge De La Rosa, as he struggled with his command, throwing just 32 of 60 pitches for strikes. He only made it through three and a third innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks and a hit by pitch. He struck out two. Two of the four hits were home runs. Kennil Gomez made his Sky Sox debut and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief before giving way to Mike Ekstrom, who allowed three runs. Offensively, Tommy Field led the Sky Sox with two hits (including a double) and an RBI. Andrew Brown homered, his fifth of the season.

AA Tulsa: W 7-4 (29-20, 1st)
Edwar Cabrera picked up the win for the Drillers, as he was as sharp as he has been since early in the season. He allowed just a run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven in 6.2 innings. He retired eight batters via ground out, and did not allow a home run. He also had some offense behind him, as Angelys Nina led the club with three hits, while Nolan Arenado, Ben Paulsen, and Kiel Roling each had two. Two of Roling's hits were doubles, and Arenado also had one of the two-base variety. Coty Woods closed out the game for the Drillers and extended his scoreless innings streak to 21.2 to start the season.

High-A Modesto: W 6-1 (25-25, 3rd, 7 GB)
Christian Bergman turned in another solid outing for the Nuts, lasting seven innings and only allowing a run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Kurt Yacko finished the game off with two innings of perfect relief. Every player in the Nuts' lineup at at least one hit with the exception of Rafael Ortega, who was 0-for-4 with a walk. Christhian Adames led the charge with a four-hit day, raising his average to .281. Mark Tracy and Dustin Garneau each had two hits, while Corey Dickerson singled and stole second and third in the same inning to increase his total on the season to eight.

Low-A Asheville: W 7-5 (34-16, 1st)
The Tourists, despite having some issues on the hill, got out of Rome with a win thanks, in large part, to pounding out 14 hits, including five in the ninth inning alone which allowed them turn a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 advantage. Harold Riggins delivered the crushing blow with a three-run homer (his ninth of the year), and Ryan Casteel homered in the next at-bat, giving Asheville some insurance. Unfortunately, Casteel was only in the game because Will Swanner suffered a leg injury, presumably while running the bases, in the fourth inning. Samuel Mende led the offense with four hits, while Riggins, Casteel, Brian Humphries, and Tyler Massey each had two.

Rafael Suarez started the game for Asheville, allowing just a run on three hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Taylor Reid came on in relief of Suarez and the wheels fell off at that point, as he allowed four runs on four hits (including two homers) in an inning and a third. Luckily, Michael Wolford and Jefri Hernandez kept Rome off the board for the final three innings, which gave the offense their opportunity.

Despite out-homering the Reds 5-4, the Rockies dropped their third consecutive series as they fell short in the finale in Cincinnati. They remain without a series win since beating the Dodgers on May 2nd at Coors Field to take that series 2-1.

So, how do you lose a game in which you hit that many balls over the wall? Well, a good way is to have those five longballs represent your only hits. That's exactly what the Rockies did this afternoon. Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez (twice), Michael Cuddyer, and Dexter Fowler all went yard, but there wasn't a single person on base for any of them. The big difference in the game is that, for Brandon Phillips' third-inning jack, there were two runners aboard. What's worse, Phillips may not have even stepped to the plate in that frame if it weren't for Jamie Moyer inexplicably plunking Reds' pitcher Mat Latos to lead off the inning.

Moyer was bad in his five innings of work, allowing seven runs on seven hits including four homers. He has now allowed 11 on the season in a little bit over 50 innings of work. Those aren't good numbers. He also saw his ERA climb to 5.70, and there has to be at least a decent chance that he has made his final start in a Rockies uniform. We shall see. The bullpen deserves some praise, as Josh Roenicke, Matt Reynolds, and Adam Ottavino combined to pitch three scoreless innings, while allowing just one hit. They gave the offense a chance to climb back into it, and while they certainly tried, it did not pay off.

After Fowler's pinch-hit homer with one out in the eighth inning, Eric Young Jr. drew a walk and Marco Scutaro reached on a fielder's choice in which the Reds had EY trapped between second and third, but were unable to get him out. Wtih Carlos Gonzalez looming, Dusty Baker called upon Aroldis Chapman, who proceeded to blow Gonzalez away with three high fastballs ranging from 94 to 98 MPH. Tulowitzki's approach was better against Chapman, as he saw eight pitches. However, he just missed the last of those, flying out harmlessly to Drew Stubbs. Jason Giambi would reach to lead off the ninth against Chapman, but Cuddyer lined out to second base and Jordan Pacheco grounded into a game-ending double play, halting his 11-game hitting streak.

It was nice to see all the long balls, and the Rockies had a few loud outs that sit firmly in the bad luck department. However, there were probably too many big swings on their part, resulting 14 ground ball outs compared to the Reds' five. CarGo's two bombs (his third such effort of the season) give him ten on the year, while Tulowitzki's total has raised to seven. Fowler's was his sixth, and Cuddyer now has five. Those five homers, combined with the Reds' four (off the bats of Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Phillips, and Todd Frazier), set a single-game record at Great American Ballpark.

The usual after the jump.

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Colorado Rockies Purple Row
@ Cincinnati Reds Red Reporter

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 11:10 AM MDT
Great American Ball Park

Jamie Moyer vs Mat Latos

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Jamie Moyer

#50 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 18, 1962

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	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2012 - Jamie Moyer	2-4	4.99	1.75	34	17

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Mat Latos

#55 / Pitcher / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 6-6

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 09, 1987

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	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2012 - Mat Latos	3-2	4.35	1.43	48	22

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Sunny. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 95.

Know Your Foe #16: Votto, RED-Hot Cincinnati Chomping at the Bit with Rockies on the Schedule

posted by Bryan Kilpatrick 2 days ago

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The Rockies have a shot at a rare series win - on the road or otherwise. Moyer is going to have to figure out how to keep the ball in the yard, though, which is something that Jeremy Guthrie and Matt Reynolds failed to do yesterday in a blowout loss. The offense, meanwhile, went a little stagnant after the first few innings yesterday. The Colorado bats must capitalize on opportunities; if they get ten baserunners through just over three innings today, it would suit them well to get more than three runs out of it.

Lineups after the jump...

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The Rockies’ Wretched Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball
Fangraphs' Paul Swydan rips into the Rockies, namely Jim Tracy and Dan O'Dowd, for compounding the already-big pitching problem. In addition to Tracy's curious decisions, such as the mishandling of Rex Brothers (on which I'm not sure I agree with the writer 100%), Swydan also lists all of the players dealt from, and traded to, the Rockies, and compares their WAR from the time of the trade. Felipe Paulino is killing EVERYONE on both lists, while Mark Ellis (whose time with the Rockies is shown) and Jason Hammel are tied for a distant second. A couple of other interesting nuggets from that chart...

• Drew Pomeranz and Alex White's cumulative WAR since the trade is equal to that of Ubaldo Jimenez.

• Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman's cumulative WAR is only .1 less than that of Seth Smith.

• Tyler Colvin's WAR is .2 greater than Ian Stewart's.

• Marco Scutaro and Clayton Mortensen both have contributed .2 WAR.

• Kevin Slowey appears on both lists.

The only trade that stands out as terrible right now is the Jeremy Guthrie for Hammel/Matt Lindstrom deal, as I'm refusing to call letting go of Paulino a 'deal.' The rest will take some time to sort out. I'm not going to be as rough on the Rockies as Swydan was, but I do fully agree with him on one thing - the Rockies should REALLY be examining how things got to the point where Jamie Moyer made the starting rotation out of spring training.

Rockies pitcher Jhoulys Chacin dealing with nerve issue in pectoral muscle - The Denver Post
Swydan also blames the team for not staying on top of Chacin's injury, and I'm not so sure I agree with that either. Regardless, the issue seems to have finally been pinpointed, as the result of the dead arm that he had been experiencing is due to a nerve issue. The club is unable to, at this point, place a timetable on his return.

A couple more links after the jump...

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Following a four-game series sweep of the Braves, the Cincinnati Reds find themselves atop the NL Central with a record of 25-19. Winners of six in a row overall, the Reds have mostly relied on pitching; during their streak, they have allowed more than three runs just once - a 6-5 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. However, we all know that the Reds can hang with anybody in the National League offensively, which makes them a very dangerous club if their pitching staff continues to be successful.

Joey Votto

#19 / First Base / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Sep 10, 1983

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Joey Votto	.295	.448	.550

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The 28 year old Votto truly is this decade's version of Todd Helton, as the athletic first baseman has put up similar numbers through the first five years of his career. Votto has been well above average in every season, full or otherwise, and that is no different this year, as his 170 OPS+ leads his team and is sixth in the NL. The biggest reason why he is so similar to Helton in his early years is the on-base percentage; Votto is the two-time NL leader in OBP, and when the dust settles in 2012, he'll likely be at the top of the league this year as well. Despite seeing a decrease in homers last year, he led the league in walks and doubles, proving to be every bit as dangerous as he was in 2010 when he flirted with the triple crown. In 2012, his home run rate is down slightly again (both in terms of AB/HR and HR/FB %), but his walk rate is way up - to the point where he's walking more than he's striking out. Whatever numbers you choose to look at, it is undeniable that Votto is on pace for another MVP-caliber season.

The rest of the offense isn't bad either, albeit they're still trying to find their way as a whole. Jay Bruce isn't getting on base a whole lot (just a .301 OBP), but he still boasts a 119 OPS+, which is due in large part to his club-leading ten homers as well as a .522 slugging percentage. Ryan Hanigan is splitting time with Devin Mesoraco behind the plate, and Hanigan has been the better of the two, posting a 117 OPS+ in 98 plate appearances. Todd Frazier has added some big-time pop off the bench, as he has homered four times and is slugging .567 in 71 plate appearances, good for a 135 OPS+ (which is second on the team to Votto). Everyone else is below average in terms of OPS+, but history says guys like Brandon Phillips will come alive at some point (and he has been heating up as of late, anyway; his OPS is 1.040 during their winning streak).

Among starters, Johnny Cueto has been the Reds' best to this point. Although his strikeouts are down, Cueto has still been tough to hit, and he has had pretty good control, walking just 12 in 59.1 innings. The seemingly-rejuvenated Bronson Arroyo is enjoying a very fine season, as his 5.5 K/BB ratio is among the league leaders for starting pitchers, and is almost in Cliff Lee territory. Former Padre Mat Latos, for whom the Reds gave up considerable value in the offseason, leads the rotation in strikeouts but also walks more batters than any of their other starters. He hasn't been as hittable as, say, a Mike Leake, but the walks have caused his overall numbers to reflect poorly.

Aroldis Chapman is obviously their biggest story on the mound, rotation or otherwise. In 24.1 innings of relief, the fireballing Cuban has yet to allow a run, earned or otherwise. He has punched out 43 batters and walked just seven in those innings, and is currently maintaining a WHIP of 0.57. His level of dominance is rarely seen, and it will be interesting to see if he can hold it up for an entire season. Closing games for the Reds is Sean Marshall, who was acquired from the Cubs during the offseason. Marshall has been no slouch himself, striking out 12.4 batters per nine innings despite being fairly hittable. I don't envision the .444 BABIP-against continuing, though, so it's likely that Marshall's overall numbers will get a lot better as the season goes on.

Cincinnati's team ERA+ of 118 ranks second in the NL, and a lot of that is in correlation with how healthy they've been. They've only had five starting pitchers and eight relievers appear in games this season, which is about the bare minimum that you'll see in baseball these days. If they're able to sustain this kind of health throughout the season, they may very well beat out the Cardinals for first place in the division.

For more on Cincinnati, be sure to check out Red Reporter.

Projected starters and more after the jump.

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After a sluggish start which saw them go 8-14 in April, the Miami Marlins have turned things around in a big way during the month of May. Their 14-5 surge has allowed them to get back into the thick of things in the NL East, as their 22-19 record seats them third in the division, just 3.5 games behind the first-place Braves.

Outside of two players, the offense has been largely pedestrian. Collectively, they've put up an OPS+ of 83, which ranks 14th in the National League. However, the pitching has been very good (their team 118 ERA+ ranks third in the league), and it hasn't even been the guys that were expected to be that way.

Omar Infante

#12 / Second Base / Miami Marlins

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 26, 1981

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Omar Infante	.326	.357	.568

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Omar Infante was acquired in a trade that sent Dan Uggla to Atlanta. Infante was coming off an "All-Star" season in which he posted a sub-.800 OPS (as he has in every other year of his career). His first season in a Marlins uniform wasn't a real good one, as he posted a 90 OPS+ (though he led the league in sacrifice hits!). Still, they re-signed him at $4 million per year for the next two seasons. So far, this has proven to be a wise investment, as Infante leads the club with a 147 OPS+. Is he going to sustain that level of production? Not likely. However, he's already on pace to shatter his personal single-season record of 16 home runs, as he has hit six already. And, that's with half of his games being played in a park that has been rough on home run hitters. Luckily for Colorado (but not fortunate, and actually very sad, for Infante), Omar left the team yesterday after learning about the passing of his grandfather. He may return on Wednesday for the finale.

Mike Giancarlo Stanton has been the other productive bat in the Marlins' everyday lineup, and that one was a little more predictable. Stanton sports a 129 OPS+ and has hit eight home runs so far. That total will only go up when he figures out how hard he has to swing to get balls out of his new park. No park in the universe can hold his homers, that's for sure. Although the rest of the lineup has yet to eclipse the 100 OPS+ mark, there are some positive signs in nearly every spot. For instance, as a club, they're better than average at drawing walks, and they don't strikeout anywhere near as much as they have in the past. Jose Reyes epitomizes this, as despite the fact that his OPS sits at just .667, he has drawn 21 walks compared to just 12 strikeouts. Logan Morrison (.698 OPS/91 OPS+) has cut down on his K's dramatically as well, striking out just 18 times compared to walking 16. They also still have Hanley Ramirez on their team. Some of these guys are going to adjust to hitting in their new ballpark (which has treated hitters well, according to the park factor of 116) and when they do, their lineup might be pretty scary.

On the mound, two of their prized pitchers have scuffled so far this season. Josh Johnson has pitched to an ERA+ of just 81, as he's being hit more than he ever has in his MLB career. Meanwhile, Heath Bell, their big bullpen acquisition of the offseason, has been absolutely dreadful. He has an 8.16 ERA (49 ERA+) and has walked more batters than he has struck out. Aside from those guys, Miami has been quite successful on the bump. Carlos Zambrano's resurgence has been music to the Marlins' ears, as he currently boats a 1.96 ERA (199 ERA+). The only guy in their rotation that has bested him is Anibal Sanchez who, despite having a higher ERA and lower ERA+ (2.32/168), has struck out better than a batter per inning and has a K/BB ratio of nearly 4. Mark Buehrle, another big free agent acquistion, has pitched about as well as expected. His 3.17 ERA (123 ERA+) and K/BB ratio of 3.22 are exactly what the Marlins hoped for when they gave him a $58 million deal in December.

Projected starters and more after the jump...

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High-A Modesto: W 15-0 (23-21, 2nd, 5 GB)
You read that right - the Nuts put up fifteen runs in a home game. That's significant because, in a hitter-friendly league, their park is one of the least hitter-friendly. The rehabbing Brandon Hynick didn't have any of the problems that Lake Elsinore's pitching staff had, as he lasted 6.2 innings without allowing a run, and only gave up two hits and didn't walk anybody. He struck out five. Craig Benningson and Kraig Sitton combined for 2.1 scoreless relief frames.

As for the offense, ELEVEN extra-base hits were produced (six doubles, two triples, and three home runs). Jared Clark led the way with two bombs which drove in four runs. Meanwhile, Helder Velasquez had three hits, two of which were doubles, and drove in four runs. Kyle Parker had three hits as well. Christhian Adames had four hits from the leadoff spot, while Corey Dickerson (who hit his 19th double of the season and is now hitting .358) and Jayson Langfels also contributed a couple of hits apiece. Every position player who appeared in the game got on base at least once, although Juan Crousset (0-for-5, BB) and Bryce Massanari (0-for-1, HBP) were held hitless.

One final note on this one: weird baseball ensued in the ninth inning, as Lake Elsinore third baseman Justin Miller was forced to pitch. He allowed four runs on three hits and a walk.

AA Tulsa: W 3-2 (25-18, 1st)
The Drillers were finally able to end their losing streak, albeit in a fairly-bizarre manner. Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the first two batters of the inning (Tim Torres and Josh Rutledge) reached via single. After Michael Mitchell struck out, Nolan Arenado came through with a big RBI double, scoring Torres. Kiel Roling was unable to come up with a productive out, as he went down swinging instead for the second out. Then, with Kent Matthes at the plate, Springfield pitcher Kevin Thomas unleashed what was apparently the wildest of pitches, as it allowed both Rutledge and Arenado to score, putting the Drillers ahead for good.

Joe Gardner took a no-decision, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in six frames. He struck out five. The Tulsa bullpen did good work, combining for three scoreless innings. Josh Sullivan notched his eighth save, despite allowing a hit and a walk, by striking out two in the ninth inning. Rutledge and Roling paced the offense with two hits apiece.

AAA and Low-A recaps after the jump...

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The Rockies just got swept by the Mariners. Basically, the way their pitching staff is throwing right now is akin to if Henry Rowengartner would have continued pitching after his arm went back to normal at the end of the Academy Award-winning film Rookie of the Year (sorry if I ruined the ending for you). Hell, even Esmil Rogers struck out Matt Kemp once, just like the diminutive Rowengartner K'd feared 90's baseball movie villain Butch Heddo with a floater to send the Cubs to the playoffs.

Anyway...

Jeremy Guthrie allowed 25 runs on 36 hits (including 29 homers) and 12 walks, raising his ERA at Coors Field this season to 475.81. He is really, REALLY terrible right now, as many people suspected a perennial flyball pitcher would be while pitching half of his games in LoDo. At least the bullpen pitched well in their three innings of work, though, as Matt Reynolds, Adam Ottavino, and Josh Outman kept the Mariners off the board. They should be promoted to the big leagues.

On the other side, Blake Beavan struck out seven batters. He had never struck out more than four batters in any other outing in his career. So, that's a cool stat that should make you feel all good and optimistic inside. The Mariners' pitchers struck out 13 Rockies batters in total, which makes one wonder where that approach from early in the season went. That was a time when the Rockies were at the top of the league in strikeout rate. That's not the case anymore, obviously, whatsoever. Edit: the Rockies batters are still 7th-lowest in MLB in K%. Sue me.

I guess I should mention that the Rockies tried to make in interesting in the ninth inning, when Dexter Fowler homered and Eric Young Jr., Jason Giambi, and Carlos Gonzalez (who was 3-for-5 with a homer) hit consecutive singles. All that got the Rockies to within two runs, but then Troy Tulowitzki got in the way again and ruined the rally with a groundout that was nearly a double play (and didn't score a run). Todd Helton (who is now hitting just .218) would strike out in the next plate appearance, and that was that.

Really embarrassing stuff this homestand from the hometown nine, particularly after a satisfying win in the opener, in which they pitched well AND hit well (which we've seen about three times this season). The question is, is it enough to send anyone packing (I'm looking at you, old guy in the dugout with the gray hair and underbite)? We'll see.

The usual after the jump...

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Frrrrrrrrrrt.

Seattle Mariners Lookout Landing
@ Colorado Rockies Purple Row

Sunday, May 20, 2012, 1:10 PM MDT
Coors Field

Blake Beavan vs Jeremy Guthrie

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Blake Beavan

#49 / Pitcher / Seattle Mariners

Height: 6-7

Weight: 240

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 17, 1989

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	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2012 - Blake Beavan	1-4	4.58	1.29	18	6

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Jeremy Guthrie

#15 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 08, 1979

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	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2012 - Jeremy Guthrie	2-1	4.85	1.45	9	14

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Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70.

Know Your Foe #14: Rockies Welcome Offensively-Inept Mariners to Town to Kickoff Interleague Play

posted by Bryan Kilpatrick 2 days ago

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The Rockies need to win today to avoid going ten games under .500 for the season. That, at this point in the campaign, is a painful thing to have to consider as reality. The Rockies are already in the process of making some surprising moves (as they did when the wheels started coming off a year ago), as they optioned Rex Brothers to Triple-A and recalled Adam Ottavino in his place. Let's hope they don't need the bullpen today; Beavan isn't exactly a great pitcher, and Jeremy Guthrie should be able to give the Rockies some length, provided he doesn't get hit all over the state of Colorado.

Lineups after the jump...

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With the Mariners coming to town this weekend, we will get a chance to see how bad the Rockies' pitching staff truly is. Warning signs are abound with the some 40 batters walked by Rockies pitchers in the past week, as well as the fact that they struggled with the Pirates, who are by far the worst offensive team in baseball. But, if they're unable to keep the Mariners, who have a team 81 wRC+ and have been even worse than that lately, we'll know we have a historically-bad problem on our hands.

At least with the Pirates, they have one great player, one huge power threat, and about 12 duds. With the Mariners, they can't get on base (Dustin Ackley's .325 OBP leads the team), they can't hit for power (Kyle Seager's team-leading .446 slugging percentage has been in a sharp decline, as he has hit .205/.225/.282 in his last ten games), and they just generally stink, as their total team fWAR of 3 (which is on par with David Wright and has been eclipsed by Josh Hamilton) will tell you.

The Mariners have had stretches where they've hit well (see the four-game stretch in late April where they scored 30 runs against the Tigers and Blue Jays), so the Rockies can't continue to pitch poorly. On top of that, they may not be quite as bad as advertised; sure they're 16-24, but they've already played ten more road games than home games. While that may not seem like a bad thing on the surface as their home park is death on hitters, it's hard to get any momentum going that way.

Dustin Ackley

#13 / Second Base / Seattle Mariners

Height: 6-1

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Feb 26, 1988

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Dustin Ackley	.260	.325	.377

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As mentioned above, Ackley gets on base at a better clip than any other Seattle regular, as he has the ability to draw a walk and also has some pop in his bat. The line shown above definitely looks little bit pedestrian, but Ackley's career road slash line is .288/.349/.424, which suggests that getting out of that ballpark would do him a world of good. (Note to Rockies: Get him after this season)

The aforementioned Seager and Michael Saunders account for the rest of Seattle's above-average regulars in terms of OPS+. After that, it's a laundry list of has-beens, never-were's, and might-not-ever-be's. Ichiro Suzuki leads the team in hits with 45, but he has little-to-no power, and boasts just a .318 on-base percentage. Chone Figgins (.182/.248/.293) is still the biggest criminal in baseball, as he is stealing outrageous amounts of money from Seattle for the third straight season. And, to make matters worse, Miguel Olivo, Justin Smoak, Brendan Ryan, and Jesus Montero all have sub-.300 OBPs. Yuck.

Even worse, you'd think that the Mariners would have an above-average pitching staff due to pitching half of their games in the AL's version of Petco Park. However, that is not the case. They are 26th in the league in pitching fWAR, and 24th in baseball in ERA+. Outside of Felix Hernandez (3.02 ERA, 126 ERA+, 8.8 K/9, and NOT pitching in this series), their only above-average starter is Jason Vargas (114 ERA+), who the Rox will see tomorrow. In the bullpen, closer Brandon League hasn't been very good, as he has walked as many batters as he has struck out. Outside of him, they're not bad, as the pen is filled with a collection of guys who can get a strikeout without walking everybody on the opposing team. They are, however, fairly hittable, as their low ERA+ totals would suggest.

The Rockies are perennially good in interleague play - especially at home, where they've historically been great. So, on the surface, one would think this series should be easily winnable, if not sweepable. However, if the Rockies continue to fail to throw strikes and put themselves in bad situations, a series loss could occur, which may spell the end of some jobs.

Projected starters and more after the jump...

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Losers of eight out of their last ten games, the Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be suffering a bit of a hangover from a season that saw them, more or less, run away with the NL West title. They have had some bad injury luck, as key players from last year's squad such as Daniel Hudson, Geoff Blum, and Chris Young are all currently on the disabled list. However, they also have also faced a myriad of regression issues. Justin Upton, Paul Goldschmidt, Gerardo Parra, and Ryan Roberts are all performing significantly below their levels from last season, and only one of their regulars - Jason Kubel (130 OPS+) is above average. Simply put, the D-Backs' offense is not getting it done in 2012 after tearing the National League a new one in 2011.

Miguel Montero

#26 / Catcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Jul 09, 1983

---

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Miguel Montero	.267	.358	.350

---

With the same consistency as the sun rising from the east, Miguel Montero destroys the Colorado Rockies. In the three-game series at Coors Field in April, Montero homered twice, walked twice, singled, and drove in five runs. He owns a .931 career OPS in 190 plate appearances against the Rox, and has hit 13 bombs. His highest total against any other club is five. One reason for his success against the Rockies is that their hurlers, as we all know, generally employ a pitch-to-contact, down-in-the-zone strategy that makes them very susceptible to getting scorched by notoriously good low-ball hitters such as Montero. Unfortunately for Colorado, a lot of Arizona hitters are good low-ball hitters, so it has resulted in some ugly games over the years. It will be interesting to see if they pitch Montero - who has shown a pretty keen eye at the plate this season, if nothing else - differently this time around.

The D-Backs have continued to be successful on the mound, particularly in their starting rotation. Other than Josh Collmenter, who has since been relegated to the bullpen/spot-starter duty, the current mix of guys have all been good. Patrick Corbin is a talented young pitcher who is still trying to get his feet on the ground, while Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy, Wade Miley, and Trevor Cahill have been consistently solid. This doesn't include some guys coming through the pipeline (Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs, etc.) that are going to give the D-Backs a much-needed boost when the time comes. The bullpen, meanwhile, has been good with the exception of closer JJ Putz, who is scuffling to the tune of a 49 ERA+. While he is still striking batters out (12 in 11 innings), he has allowed four homers and sports an 8.18 ERA. Ouch. Arizona has used David Shaw to close a couple of games along the way, so there's some flexibility there. One guy who has absolutely infuriated me due to his success is Joe Paterson, but he lost his job in April after allowing 11 runs in 2.2 innings spanning six appearances. So, that's a plus. Their best reliever to this point has undoubtedly been David Hernandez, who has struck out 24 batters in 17.1 innings and has allowed only four walks. Naturally, with that kind of stuff and command, his ERA+ sits at 190.

Projected starters and more after the jump...

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This is really weird. The Giants get a ton of flack for having a terrible offense, yet here I sit with Baseball-Reference in front of me, and I'm looking at this. That's right - the Giants offense is pretty damn decent, especially when considering that they're the Giants. Now, most of their fans will tell you that the players aren't necessarily the problem, and that the blame mostly falls on manager Bruce Bochy for using them incorrectly, and well, they're right. But, he hasn't been given much to work with as far as middle infielders are concerned, and naturally that's where the holes reside in this San Francisco lineup.

Those three guys are all kinds of horrible at the plate, but Crawford is a pretty slick-fielding shortstop, so at least his existence on their roster can be justified. Although Crawford is bad against most of the league, naturally he absolutely owns the Rockies (.359/.444/.692 in 45 plate appearances), so you can pretty much ignore the numbers shown above. Burris has been neutralized, for the most part, in his time against Colorado, and Arias has never faced them. In addition, with Pablo Sandoval on the disabled list with a broken hamate bone, the Giants have resorted to using Arias and newly-called up 23 year old Charlie Culberson at third base, so that likely won't help their cause. Still, the Rockies will have to figure out the rest of the Giants lineup, which has abused them in the past, and has actually held their own against everybody else this year, too. This guy hasn't been a whole lot of fun for opposing pitchers to face:

Melky Cabrera

#53 / Left Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Bats: B

Throws: L

Born: Aug 11, 1984

---

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Melky Cabrera	.348	.396	.504

---

(Fun Fact: People in Utah pronounce the word 'milk' as 'melk,' but I don't think Cabrera was born in Utah - and probably hasn't even ever been there - so I'm not sure how he got his name.)

The Melk Man has become the Giants' top hitter, as he has racked up a 155 OPS+ in a team-leading 154 plate appearances. He's not hitting for home run power (as he has just two HR's), but he has 14 extra-base hits and has walked a club-leading 12 times to help supplement his OPS. With Sandoval out, Buster Posey and Angel Pagan share the club lead in homers with four apiece, while Nate Schierholtz has hit three (two of them, OF COURSE, coming in Colorado). Each of those players is above-average in terms of OPS+, as is Buster Posey and Brandon Belt (though Belt's is strictly because of his fairly-high OBP, and not because of hitting for power to this point).

On the mound, the Giants have been just as good as always, though it's different guys this time. Tim Lincecum, who will pitch in the second game of this series, has been dreadful so far in 2012; his 5.89 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and 58 ERA+ are all by far the worst among San Francisco's starters. Everyone else in their rotation has an ERA under 3, including Barry Zito, although he's walking on dangerous ground with his 1.15 K/BB ratio. Matt Cain has been absolutely lights-out, boasting a 2.28 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. He has struck out 48 batters and walked just nine in 51.1 IP. Luckily, the Rockies won't see him in this series.

The bullpen is still good, even with the losses of Brian Wilson (injury) and Guillermo Mota (PED suspension). Sergio Romo has yet to allow a run in 12 appearances while lefty specialist Javier Lopez (1.35 ERA, 268 ERA+) and closer Santiago Casilla (1.38 ERA, 254 ERA+, 7 saves) have been exceptional as well.

Probable starters and more after the jump...

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AAA Colorado Springs: W 3-0 (19-18, t-1st)
Drew Pomeranz was brilliant in his AAA debut, as the hometown boy shutdown the Memphis Redbirds for six scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and striking out five. Most importantly, he didn't walk a single batter. Mike Ekstrom, Adam Ottavino, and Zach Putnam combined for three scoreless (and nearly perfect) innings of relief, with Putnam being the big star as he struck out the side while throwing 12 strikes compared to just one ball.

Wil Nieves had a couple of hits and an RBI to lead the offense, while Brandon Wood singled drove in a run as well.

AA Tulsa: W 4-2 (24-12, 1st)
Nick Schmidt was fantastic on the mound for the Drillers, as he went eight innings and allowed one run on just three hits and didn't walk a batter while punching out five. He also produced ten groundball outs as opposed to just five flyball outs. Josh Sullivan allowed an unearned run in the ninth but escaped some traffic to pick up his seventh save of the year.

Nolan Arenado had two hits (including a double), as did Juan Gonzalez and Kiel Roling. One of Roling's hits was a second inning solo homer, his fifth of the season.

High-A Modesto: Off Day

Tyler Matzek (1-3, 3.98 ERA) has the ball tonight for the Nuts as they travel to San Jose.

Low-A Asheville: Postponed

Daniel Winkler (3-2, 6.82 ERA) will take the mound for the Tourists tonight in Greenville, SC.

If somebody would have told me before the game started that the Rockies would get three first-inning runs, and that the Dodgers would play the majority of the game without their two best players (Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier), I would have told you that I love the Rockies chances of winning. Unfortunately, these are the Rockies we know and love - the team that simply cannot catch a break (or ever put together a good game in all three facets), so that did not happen.

After jumping out to leads of 3-0 and 4-2, the Rockies completely fell apart in the fifth inning, allowing the Dodgers to score six times, with the big blow being a three-run homer off the bat of AJ Ellis with two outs off of Matt Reynolds. Bobby Abreu also hit a bases-clearing double in the wild inning, which also saw Ethier and Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly get ejected. Alex White allowed four runs in that frame and six overall in just 4.1 innings. He struggled all day with control, walking three and striking out just one.

The Rockies started out well, opening the game with four straight singles, which plated two runs. Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer came up with the run-scoring knocks, while Ramon Hernandez drove in another with a ground out to put the Rockies up three. However, the Dodgers came back quickly, with Tony Gwynn Jr. leading off the game with a double and scoring on groundout by Kemp. The next inning, James Loney led off with a double and came around on AJ Ellis' RBI single. The Rox picked up another run to get some separation in the fourth on a Marco Scutaro RBI single before the wheels fell off an inning later.

The Rockies got back within three on an RBI groundout by CarGo, but Josh Roenicke and Esmil Rogers were unable to keep the Dodgers at bay. Rogers allowed two more runs on a hit and three walks, raising his ERA to 9.18. His days in a Rockies uniform may very well be numbered.

It was a discouraging performance from White, who looked pretty good in his start in San Diego. He is going to have to command his pitches a lot better if he wants to stick around at the big league level. Otherwise, he may find himself back in AAA with former Indians teammate and fellow first-rounder Drew Pomeranz.

Graph and roll call after the jump...

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Current Series

Dodgers lead the series 1-0

Fri 05/11	WP: Chris Capuano (5 - 0) LP: Jamie Moyer (1 - 3)	3 - 7 loss
Colorado Rockies Purple Row @ Los Angeles Dodgers True Blue LA Sunday, May 13, 2012, 2:10 PM MDT Dodger Stadium Alex White vs Ted Lilly Alex White #6 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies Height: 6-3 Weight: 215 Bats: R Throws: R Born: Aug 29, 1988 W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2012 - Alex White 0-1 2.84 1.26 5 2 Ted Lilly #29 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers Height: 6-1 Weight: 195 Bats: L Throws: L Born: Jan 04, 1976 W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2012 - Ted Lilly 4-0 1.41 0.88 21 11 Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75. Complete Coverage >
Sun 05/13		2:10 PM MDT

The Rockies are 2-8 in May. They've got a real good shot at being 2-11 when the road trip ends, and another good shot at a 20-loss month, which will effectively put them out of contention (again).

Sound harsh? Well, go prove me wrong. Start hitting on the road. Make plays that a veteran team with a "winning culture" is supposed to make. Star players, show up when the game matters (or, in the case of Troy Tulowitzki, at all).

Stop with the excuses. Go win a ball game and save some face. Lineups after the jump.

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I don't know how many other people out there actually pay attention to stuff like this, but ROOT Sports' promos for Rockies games are absolutely atrocious. I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about; the voice-over guy plays the part of an extreme homer, saying stuff like "WE TOOK THE SERIES FROM 'EEM LAST TIME AT HOME, NOW WE'RE GOING FOR THE SWEEP IN THEIR PARK" over highlights of Troy Tulowitzki making a routine play look spectacular, Jonathan Herrera laying down a sac bunt, and Jason Giambi hitting a ball 975 feet.

Look, I get that 95% of the Rockies' (and probably every other professional sports team's) fan base is of the casual nature. I also get that within that 95%, 95% are homers, at least to some degree. But still, it doesn't make those promos any less irritating.

So, with that, here are a few things that the voice-over guy, assuming he stops being an unreasonable homer, should be saying during the promos:

1. "At least Jamie Moyer pitches for us and not the Dodgers/Giants, right? Saves us from the embarrassment of him pitching a two-hit, CGSO against our boys."

2. "Come on, guys - what do you say we change the taco rule to three runs on the road? Go get 'em, boys."

3. "Let's see our boys beat the...ah, f*** it - tune back in when the next homestand starts."

You guys should definitely comment with your own, which are 103% likely to be better than mine.

Links after the jump...

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At 9-20, the San Diego Padres are currently the only thing keeping the 12-15 Rockies from the NL West cellar. Their record, combined with the fact that the Rockies always seem to play well at Petco, spells relief for the Rockies, who are coming off of a rough homestand. As was the case a few weeks ago when we last saw them, several gaping holes in the Padres' lineup are holding them back, and now they're also suffering from a new plague, and that is the injury bug. Recently, they lost their best starter (Cory Luebke, 133 ERA+) and best reliever (Huston Street, 385 ERA+) to injury, and traded their second best reliever (Ernesto Frieri, 154 ERA+) to the Angels. Tonight's starter is the best of the remaining rotation options for the Friars, but there's no telling how long he'll be able to stay on the mound.

Edinson Volquez

#37 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-0

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 03, 1983

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	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2012 - Edinson Volquez	0-2	2.92	1.16	33	18

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Seemingly healthy for the first time since 2008 when he won 17 games for the Reds and struck out 206 batters in 196 innings, Volquez is maintaining a BB/9 ratio of less than five - something he also hasn't done since '08. While many predicted pitching in Petco would help him resurrect his career, his ability to limit the damage by keeping the ball in the zone at least somewhat effectively has resulted in a successful campaign, albeit only a month into the season. The biggest question going forward isn't his stuff, but rather whether or not he'll be able to stay healthy. He has only pitched 221 innings across 41 starts over the past three seasons, and while his control hasn't been good during that time (5.4 BB/9), he has still been able to strike out almost a batter per inning. If Volquez's arm stays firmly attached to his body, he should have a good season in San Diego. The fact that his control has been better may be a testament to his health, and that's good news for the Padres' future plans.

Chase Headley has continued to be a pain in the backside of his opponents, including but not limited to the Rockies. However, Headley hasn't been able to handle good pitching well. Consider this: in games against teams that are below .500, Headley's OPS+ is a healthy 159. However, against teams better than .500, he's sitting at a paltry 55 OPS+. Granted, there are a lot of players in baseball (good ones, as a matter of fact) that feast on bad teams, but Headley's splits are pretty egregious in that category. It may be something to watch going forward.

Other than Headley, Yonder Alonso is San Diego's only above-average player, and that's almost solely on the strength of his ten doubles, as he still hasn't hit a homer in a Padres uniform. They've gotten help off the bench from Chris Denorfia (137 OPS+ in 67 PA's) and Mark Kotsay (124 OPS+ in 32 PA's), but at least one of those guys is playing on borrowed time, and neither are likely to sustain that sort of production even in limited action.

The bullpen is getting interesting, with the injuries and trades that have occurred causing the team to shuffle some people around. They're currently deciding on who they want to close games while Street is on the DL, and the favorite appears to be Andrew Cashner, who throws unbelievably hard (repeatedly hitting triple digits). However, he doesn't strike out as many batters as a guy of his type should, and issues way too many walks to be a closer. Currently, his walk and strikeout rates are identical, each sitting at 7.9 per nine innings.

Head over to Gaslamp Ball for more on the Padres.

Projected starters and more after the jump...

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The recently-demoted Jhoulys Chacin will not be reporting to Colorado Springs, and may instead end up on the disabled list, according to Troy Renck at the Denver Post.

Chacin, 24, has struggled to the tune of a 7.30 ERA (61 ERA+) in five starts this season. Despite maintaining a pretty good strikeout rate (8 K/9), his walk rate has ballooned to 5.5 per nine innings from just 4 in each of the previous two seasons.

Chacin may be dealing with health issues - possibly a dead arm, cites Renck - in addition to the pretty obvious confidence problems that he has been fighting through. In just under a full season, Chacin has gone from the club's de facto ace (due to Ubaldo Jimenez's failure to show up last season and Jorge De La Rosa's injury) to a demotion that has sent shockwaves throughout the baseball community. At the 2011 All-Star break, he was 8-7 with a 3.16 ERA and had 101 strikeouts in 116.2 innings, and sported a K/BB ratio over 2. Since then, his command has deteriorated and has become extremely hittable, with decreased fastball velocity to boot.

Chacin may report to extended spring training and/or end up on the disabled list. More to follow, obviously, when more information is available.

UPDATE - From our own Raffy's Twitter account:

We just confirmed @TroyRenck's report on Jhoulys - The Venezuelan Pitcher is likely to go on the DL due to health issues #LosRockies

— Rafael Rojas C (@rafaelrojasc) May 7, 2012

No decision has officially been made, so we'll wait to see if we hear something from the club.

***UPDATE***

Chacin has been the object of medical evaluations, in order to find an explanation to the pitcher's situation, sources close to Chacin said. He is currently waiting for the results of such tests, which could shed some light.

The righty pitched during Spring Training with unsatisfying results. A blister in his right middle finger plus a tendinitis were some of the maladies Chacin had to deal with. He immediately went on to pitch during the regular season, starting with the Rockies home opener at Coors Field against the San Francisco Giants. It wouldn't be farfetched to think his shoulder problems have extended to a point in which Chacin had no chance than pitch with diminished velocity and command.

Chacin is waiting for the final decision from the Rockies front office so he can start on the necessary steps for a comeback.

AAA Colorado Springs: W 6-5 (15-16, t-1st)
Down one heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Sky Sox rallied to win behind a game-tying RBI single from Andrew Brown and a game-winning sac fly off the bat of Brandon Wood. Brown and Hernan Iribarren each had two hits, while Matt McBride's three knocks raised his batting average to .387. Edgar Gonzalez started for The Springs and allowed three runs on four hits in five innings. The Sky Sox received good bullpen work from Stephen Dodson and Mike Ekstrom, as the duo combined to pitch three scoreless innings (although they weren't the most efficient, as they threw a total of 56 pitches).

AA Tulsa: L 4-3 (20-10, 1st)
Tulsa starter Nick Schmidt pitched very well through five innings before falling apart in the sixth, as he allowed three straight singles (with a caught stealing sandwiched in the middle) and a three-run homer to Mario Lisson, allowing NW Arkansas to reclaim the lead for good. Schmidt's final line was decent, as he worked 5.2 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out four without issuing a walk. Josh Outman pitched a scoreless rehab inning, and did not allow a hit despite issuing a walk. Josh Sullivan struck out two in a perfect inning of work, as well. You want more silver lining? Josh Rutledge continues to heat up, as his three-hit day raised his average to .287. What's more, Nolan Arenado went 2-for-2 with a walk and a double, a good sign that he's breaking out of his funk.

High-A Modesto: W 8-4 (15-16, 3rd, 5 GB)
Timothy Smalling, Jared Clark, and Dallas Tarleton each had two hits to lead the Nuts, while everyone else in the starting lineup had a hit save for Rafael Ortega, who despite going 0-for-5 with a K, is still hitting .306. Juan Gonzalez worked six good innings, allowing just a run on four hits while striking out two and walking two, and maintaining an 8-to-2 GB/FB ratio. Adam Jorgenson cleaned up the mess that Chad Rose left (three runs on six hits in 1.2 innings), earning his fifth save of the season.

Low-A Asheville: W 8-5 (18-12, t-2nd, 3 GB)
Tyler Massey had three hits including a couple of homers, and Harold Riggins homered as well, as the Tourists got past Lexington despite a fairly rough outing from Daniel Winkler. Winkler allowed four runs in five innings, but also gave up eight hits and four walks. He struck out five. Delta Cleary had three hits, raising his average to .337. Maybe it's time to move him up and see if he's going to amount to anything as a prospect.

Whoops...late game wrap. Sundays'll be Sundays. I'll make it quick and give you three things...

1. With today's homer, Freddie Freeman now has eight against the Rockies in under 50 plate appearances. He also tripled, drove in three, and scored twice. He's also still horrendously weird-looking.

2. Rockies pitchers allowed nine more hits today, bringing the total for the nine-game homestand to 122. That is an alarming number, Coors Field or otherwise. The Rockies' team ERA was north of 6.50 for the homestand, as well.

3. 3-6 homestands simply will not get it done, especially for this team, and especially with the way they perform on the road. Sure, they were in every single game (and had a great chance to win every game) except for today's, but the simple fact is that this team won't ever possibly be able to score enough runs to counteract their abysmal pitching staff.

Graph and such after the jump...

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The Rockies are looking to avoid being swept for the first time in 2012. Juan Nicasio is probably the right guy for the job, as compared to the rest of Colorado's rotation options. The only problem is that Brandon Beachy has been fantastic thus far. We'll see if the Rockies can continue hitting the ball well.

Lineups after the jump...

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We're going completely link-based today, as this old grizzly bear has a softball tournament to get to shortly.

Giambi saddened by news of Rivera's injury | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Lots of good stuff from Thomas Harding, including Jason Giambi's thoughts on the tough situation for his former teammate Mariano Rivera, Carlos Gonzalez's hot streak (which took a temporary detour last night), and some injury updates.

Jeremy Guthrie is part of that last category, as he appears to be ready to return to the mound on Tuesday in San Diego. Once that happens, the Rockies will need to decide if they're going to demote the recently called-up Carlos Torres, or if they're going to send down the struggling Edgmer Escalona, who has already had a couple of blowups out of the bullpen this season. Both players have an option remaining. They also may make an entirely different move. Who knows with these guys...

Rockies' Marco Scutaro overcomes slow start - The Denver Post
The Rockies' second option at second base has turned out to be a good one, writes Patrick Saunders. The Rox failed at landing Martin Prado, whom they've coveted for some time now. However, they landed Scutaro, and while he's still trying to find his way, he is also quietly improving. It's doubtful that his OPS+ will be this low (74) a month or so from now. And, it was a better baseball move for the Rockies, who only had to give up Clayton Mortensen as opposed to having to deal Dexter Fowler (among possibly others) to have a shot at landing Prado.

Sky Sox's Matt McBride turning into bonus player for Rockies - The Denver Post
Irv Moss profiles Matt McBride, who has received some attention for raking in Colorado Springs (warning - PCL/SSS alert) as well as handling catching and corner infield duties well. In addition, Moss has notes on McBride's Sky Sox teammates Alex White and Jordan Pacheco, as well as updates on injured first-rounders Kyle Parker and Tyler Anderson.

San Diego Padres closer Huston Street has strain near shoulder - ESPN
Bad news for the former Rockie and his new team, as Street has been pitching well thus far (0.93 ERA, 13 K, 2 BB in 9.2 innings).

With a record of 16-6, the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers come swaggering into Coors Field looking to continue their forever-long success against the Rockies. Okay, last year was sort of an outlier, as the teams split 18 games, but the Dodgers also outscored the Rockies by 17 runs, so the success thing still stands. Anyway, the Bums are coming off a three-game sweep of the resurgent Washington Nationals, the first series against a decent team that has gone the Dodgers' way. So far, they're 11-2 against the Padres, Pirates, and Astros, and were 2-4 against decent-to-good teams (Braves and Brewers) prior to the Nats series. The Dodgers set out to prove they could beat a good team, and they did just that by outpitching their opponent; they allowed just five runs during the three-game set, while scoring only nine. The upcoming series against the Rockies will pose a challenge of a different sort, as they'll look to contain a team that is great offensively in their home ballpark, but one that cannot pitch to save its life. The Dodgers will have to outscore the Rockies to win the series; fortunately for them, they have a guy on their team that is capable of doing it all by himself.

Matt Kemp

#27 / Center Field / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 23, 1984

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Matt Kemp	.425	.495	.887

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If I told you that, right now, Matt Kemp is the best player in baseball, could you honestly put up an argument against me? Just ask yourselves that. Kemp leads the league in the following offensive categories:

Runs (23)

Hits (34)

Home Runs (11)

Runs Batted In (24)

Batting Average (.425)

Slugging Percentage (.888)

OPS (1.382)

OPS+ (282)

Surprisingly, his .495 on-base percentage does not lead the league, as that distinction belongs to a guy who just got done tearing up the Rockies' pitching staff (David Wright, .506). Kemp's numbers obviously won't stay at this same pace (as a .460 BABIP is hardly sustainable), but it would not surprise me if the guy hits 50 home runs. It will also not surprise me if he hits four home runs tonight (hence the headline) and about ten in the series. He has a 1.002 career OPS at Coors Field with ten bombs in 195 plate appearances. Ouch. Regardless of what he does in this series (although odds are whatever it is, it will only help his cause), another season like last year's (or better, as I think will be the case) and Kemp will cross the bridge to mega-stardom.

Naturally, on a team that is 16-6, Kemp isn't doing ALL of the damage on his own. Andre Ethier has been a formidable tag-team partner, as he has posted a 146 OPS+ with five home runs and 13 extra-base hits in all. The always-obnoxious AJ Ellis is off to a great start as well, as he has a rather OBP-heavy 141 OPS+ thanks to 14 walks (compared to 15 strikeouts). Everyone else in the everyday lineup has been below-average, and some considerably so; young sensation Dee Gordon, who hit .304 in 233 plate appearances a year ago, has regressed heavily and sports an OPS+ of just 41 currently. Another interesting note about the Dodgers is that only Kemp and Ethier own more than one home run. In fact, only five guys on the team have homered at all. Compare that to a team like the Rockies, who have had nine guys homer at least once and six who have homered multiple times.

That brings us to a phenomenon that deserves its own paragraph. James Loney, who is among the worst offensive first basemen in baseball against 28 out of the 29 teams he faces, and is Babe Ruth against just one - you guessed it, our Rockies. In 358 career plate appearances against Colorado, Loney is a .300/.356/.508 hitter with 15 homers and 75 RBI. Hell, those numbers aren't even heavily weighted from when he was highly thought of earlier in his career. To make my point, just last season, Loney hit .353/.371/.662 against the Rockies with six homers. He hit six homers against everyone else COMBINED. What's worse, Loney has posted a .966 OPS in 187 plate appearances in Denver. Don't feel bad, though - he does this to the D-Backs as well (1.071 OPS in 172 PA's at Chase Field). That guy is a grade-A dick to the opposition in hitter's parks.

Even with all of the offense they've been getting, the Dodgers' pitching has still been top notch, which is a big reason why they're ten games over .500. Four out of their five starters are above-average in terms of ERA+; only Aaron Harang is not, and it's not like he has been terrible, as his 9.9 K/9 would indicate. Chad Billingsley looks to be back to his former somewhat-dominant self, and Clayton Kershaw is Clayton Kershaw. Some regression should be expected out of Chris Capuano (2.73 ERA, 130 ERA+) and Ted Lilly (0.90 ERA, 398 ERA+) - particularly Lilly, who has been operating with a .167 BABIP-against.

Pitching matchups and more after the jump...

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AAA Colorado Springs - L 4-3 (13-11, 2nd, 1.5 GB)
Christian Friedrich made his first start since returning from the DL, and allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. Both runs came on a homer by Roger Kieschnick. Friedrich struck out three and walked one. Overall, it was an encouraging outing, particularly since he's coming off of an injury. Matt McBride paced the Sky Sox with two hits and an RBI. He's now hitting .375.

AA Tulsa - W 3-2 (17-6, 1st)
Seemingly no matter who pitches for the Drillers, they keep on rolling. This time, Dan Houston used six innings of one-run ball to get past Springfield. Houston gave up just four hits and struck out five while walking two. Josh Sullivan picked up his sixth save by pitching a scoreless ninth which included two punchouts. Tulsa only had six hits on the day (and none went for extra bases), but Kiel Roling's big two-run single in the sixth put the Drillers on top for good.

High-A Modesto - W 7-4 (11-13, 4th, 3.5 GB)
Four different players had multiple hits for the Nuts, and Corey Dickerson continued his strong campaign with an RBI triple, leaving his batting average at .337. Christian Bergman was on the hill for Modesto, and he worked 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, striking out four and walking two. Chad Rose was key out of the bullpen, retiring four batters (two via K) while only giving up a single.

Low-A Asheville: W 9-8, W 12-1 (16-7, 2nd, 0.5 GB)
When play resumed today following last night's game suspension, Trevor Story stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position. Story proceeded to shoot a ball into center field, plating both runners and giving the Tourists a 2-0 lead. It was the first of a few big hits on the day for Story, as he tripled in the fifth to drive in another two runs. Brian Humphries added three hits of his own to help boost the Tourists' offense. Somebody had to be awarded with the victory, and that somebody was Jefri Hernandez, despite the fact that he allowed three runs on four hits in an inning of work.

Game 2 saw Asheville utterly dominate, as Humphries, Delta Cleary Jr., and Rosell Herrera each had multiple hits. In addition, Story homered, walked twice, and drove in three more runs, bringing his total to seven on the day. Chris Jensen picked up the win for the Tourists, as he lasted six innings and gave up just a run on three hits while striking out a pair and walking two, as well.

Well, that was a fun one.

I do mean it; while the end result is somewhat agonizing to think about, the Rockies scratched, clawed, and gritted their way back into a game that seemed out of reach for the first two-thirds of it. After being shut down for six innings by a rejuvenated Johan Santana and his downright nasty changeup, Colorado fought back in the eighth inning and loaded the bases on reliever Jon Rauch. After Mets manager Terry Collins decided to lift Rauch for Tim Byrdak for a left-on-left matchup against Todd Helton, the Toddfather made him pay by launching a 2-2 slider off the second deck facade in right field to tie the game.

Unfortunately, Todd's blast was what finally got the Rockies on the board, as they were only able to come up with two hits through the first seven innings, compared to the Mets' 13. Jamie Moyer, as we all have expected, finally got hit around like a pitcher of his type should at Coors Field, as the ageless one surrendered four runs on 11 hits in five innings. Oddly enough, Moyer was able to rack up seven strikeouts, and several Mets were caught swinging out of their shoes on some Moyer changeups and BP fastballs.

Because Moyer was only able to go five innings, the Rox had to dip into their bullpen early once again. It didn't come back to bite them until the tenth inning, when Matt Belisle gave up consecutive hits to Russ' childhood friend Mike Baxter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the latter a run-scoring double that was sort of BABIP'd into the left field corner. The Rockies had a possible shot at getting Baxter at the plate, but Troy Tulowitzki eliminated it by bobbling the relay throw from Carlos Gonzalez.

The Rockies had a little bit of magic left in them in their half of the tenth, as with one out, Gonzalez hit an absolute laser off of Frank Francisco just over the out-of-town scoreboard for another game-tying homer. After Tulowitzki reached via an infield single and Helton walked, Michael Cuddyer struck out in a rather rough-looking at-bat for the second out. Ramon Hernandez was left with the opportunity to drive in the winning run, but he hit an infield pop-up instead.

Trying to gut himself through another inning, Belisle instead allowed consecutive singles to David Wright and Lucas Duda to start the eleventh. After retiring Scott F***ing Hairston, Belisle induced a groundball off the bat of Ike Davis. However, instead of going into somebody's glove for a possible inning-ending double play, it trickled into left field, scoring Wright and giving the Mets the lead once again. In torturing fashion, Belisle got the next batter, Josh Thole, to hit into the inning-ending GIDP.

In the bottom of the inning, Chris Nelson went down easily via strikeout before the real trauma took place. Wilin Rosario pinch-hit for Belisle and hit a deep fly ball to center field, but Nieuwenhuis caught it a couple of feet in front of the wall. Marco Scutaro stepped to the plate next, and he launched one into left field. Unfortunately, Hairston saw the ball into his glove about three feet in front of the wall. Ugh...THAT close. It was a cruel, cruel game which saw the Mets rack up EIGHTEEN hits compared to the Rockies six, even though a lot of times their contact wasn't much better. These ones will happen.

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Mid-inning overflow worked last Sunday, so I'm banking on this week too. Let's finish these guys off, Rockies.

Current Series

3 game series vs Mets @ Coors Field

Fri 04/27	WP: Matt Reynolds (3 - 0) LP: Manny Acosta (0 - 1)	18 - 9 win
Sat 04/28	WP: Dillon Gee (2 - 2) SV: Frank Francisco LP: Guillermo Moscoso (0 - 1)	5 - 7 loss
New York Mets Amazin' Avenue @ Colorado Rockies Purple Row Sunday, Apr 29, 2012, 1:10 PM MDT Coors Field Johan Santana vs Jamie Moyer Johan Santana #57 / Pitcher / New York Mets Height: 6-0 Weight: 210 Bats: L Throws: L Born: Mar 13, 1979 W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2012 - Johan Santana 0-2 3.00 1.22 24 8 Jamie Moyer #50 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies Height: 6-0 Weight: 185 Bats: L Throws: L Born: Nov 18, 1962 W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2012 - Jamie Moyer 1-2 2.28 1.35 9 7 Mostly sunny. Winds from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage >

Five years ago, this pitching matchup would have been completely one-sided. I'm not so sure that it isn't today, but the eldest statesman has been keeping his club in games so far (and even putting them in a good-to-great position to win), so who's to say that will change?

Sunday lineups below the jump...

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