All right Purple Row, it's once again time for the community to vote on their top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs).

For your reference, here is the Fall 2011 PuRPs list.

The rules are pretty simple:

• Your list must be at least 30 players long -- partial ballots will not be counted. If you're having trouble filling out your list, check out great resources like RockiesRoster.com and Baseball-Reference to find any stats you might need. Only the top 30 names will be counted on the ballot -- if the same player is listed multiple times on the ballot, the player ranked 31st (if applicable) will be moved up to fill the list. To reiterate: if there aren't at least 30 distinct players on the list, the ballot won't be counted. Additionally, Charlie77 compiled a Google Spreadsheet of the stats from every level for your convenient reference.
• Feel free to give a rationale about the placement of each prospect, but you aren't required to do so by any means.
• Polls will be open from now until the end of Friday, June 1st (MDT). As needed, I or another staff member will bump this post to the top to keep it on the front page. Once I tabulate the results, I will reveal the list five names at a time over the next week or so after voting ends.
• Players are eligible for inclusion if they still retain their Rookie of the Year eligibility (less than 50 IP, 130 ABs, and/or less than 45 days on the active roster). Players on the fall list that have exhausted their ROY eligibility (two of them could win it this year but not next year) and who therefore are no longer eligible are Wilin Rosario (3), Alex White (6) and Jordan Pacheco (24). In addition, Albert Campos (23) is no longer in the organization and therefore is not eligible either. Note that Drew Pomeranz does still retain eligibility for this list, though just barely
• Scoring will be in done like the AP poll in college football -- that is, a first place vote gets a player 30 points, a second place vote 29, and so forth on down to 1 point for a 30th place vote. It's important to note that until a player is named on at least 1/3 of all ballots cast that their vote totals will only receive partial credit (on a sliding scale which depends on the total number of ballots cast). This is to prevent individuals from manipulating the poll with "vanity" votes for marginal prospects.
• All ballots are weighted equally (so long as the players on them are named on enough ballots to qualify). Rox Girl's ballot is worth the same as mine or my dad's. The PuRPs list is a community ranking of Rockies prospects and we're proud of that fact. As a result, we ask that you put some quality effort into compiling your list.
• Remember, everyone has their own methodology of ranking their PuRPs. You may disagree with how one user ranks their PuRPs over your own, but it remains in your hands to maintain civil discourse when discussing said PuRPs. That's what makes this ranking so unique

With that, have fun with this list. I look forward to a lively (but civil, in accordance with Purple Row's rules and regulations) debate over each others' lists. Let's try to keep this thread focused on the lists, please.

I know that I've been pretty doom and gloom about this team in recent weeks. Having the month of May that the Rockies have had will do that. However, I think that I've gotten most of the frustration out of my system now. Not only is the June Rule 4 Draft right around the corner, but this team has quite a few reasons to keep watching them even if they don't threaten .500 again this year.

1. May is almost over

The Rockies have gone 8-18 in the month so far (after going 8-21 in May 2011), during which they've averaged 4.8 runs a game. They've been so unsuccessful because the pitching staff has allowed over 6 runs a game in that stretch. I'll wager that some serious regression to the mean on that front will occur, but the real reason that I think the Rockies will be considerably better in June is their schedule.

The Rockies have 15 home games in the month and many of their 12 road games will come in hitters parks (Arizona, Detroit, Philadelphia, Texas). I believe that this will help mitigate the Coors effect somewhat for close to an entire month, allowing the offense to stay in rhythm. The pitching might still be bad, but I think that the offense can be better than it has shown so far. The Hardball Times reviews the NL West so far.

2. Dexter, he's so hot right now. Dexter.

As the driver of the Dexter Fowler bandwagon (I believe that he'll be an All-Star multiple times), I have to mention that he is hitting .327/.444/.673 (195 wRC+) in May after his huge day on Monday. Dave Krieger writes that this is what we've been waiting for from Dex. The defensive metrics hate his play in center field, but then again I am dubious of them when it comes to measuring OF defense at Coors. As Andrew 2 said yesterday, Dex needs to be leading off and playing every day. In other words, he needs to be given a chance to break out a la Carlos Gonzalez in 2009.

We've seen this kind of run from Dex before, and it lasted the entire second half of 2011. I'm extremely interested to see if he can maintain his slugging while remaining an OBP machine if left atop the batting order. If he can, the Rockies might be set at CF for a long time.

3. Cargo and Tulo are really good at baseball.

Say what you will about Troy Tulowitzki's 2012, but he's still managed to put up a darn good line (.288/.362/.486, 119 wRC+) despite struggling mightily. When he goes thermonuclear (and trust me, he will), it's one of the most exciting experiences in baseball -- I wouldn't want anyone to miss it.

Meanwhile, Colorado's other superstar has been quietly awesome (if that's possible) so far in 2012, hitting .309/.381/.575 with a 153 wRC+. Even better, he's managed to stay healthy and productive throughout -- and he's really heating up now. The combination of Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki is one the best 1-2 punches in the big leagues -- and when both are hot at once, I don't think that there's a duo that can match them.

Off-Topic.

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Given how well Johnny Cueto has pitched this season, I did not have high hopes for Colorado tonight. Fortunately, the Rockies didn't pay any attention to my negative vibes and knocked around the Cincinnati ace to the tune of 11 hits (a career worst) and 5 runs in 4.1 innings to win their 2nd straight game (winning streak!!!) and snap the Reds' 6 game streak.

Todd Helton led the charge for the Rockies, getting them going with a 2 run shot in the 2nd (his 5th on the year), and adding a RBI single in the 5th to push across the go-ahead run. Troy Tulowitzki added 3 hits and Wilin Rosario chipped in 2 for the Rockies -- actually, every starter including Christian Friedrich got at least one hit in the game.

Outside of a 4th inning in which Cincinnati scored all 3 of its runs, Friedrich looked solid on the mound -- much closer to the form of his first two starts than his 3rd. He only lasted 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, but he did punch out 6 and got the win (2-1). The bullpen (with the notable exception of Josh Outman) held onto a 5-3 lead, allowing only 2 hits in 4 innings, and that was all she wrote as Rafael Betancourt recorded his 8th save. The time for panic shall come a different night.

Graph after the jump.

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Please continue to discuss game 44 in this thread. The game wrap will either be up very shortly after the game or much later tonight, so plan accordingly.

Please continue to discuss game 44 in this thread.

Coming off their first win in seemingly forever, Colorado travels to Cincinnati (where they've historically had some success) to try and build some momentum.

Colorado has Christian Friedrich going tonight. Friedrich struggled in his lone Coors Field start, and unfortunately the Great American Ballpark has more in common with Coors than it does with Petco and AT&T, where Friedrich was very successful. I'm hopeful that he can rebound in a meaningful way with a quality start tonight.

Christian Friedrich

#53 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Jul 08, 1987

Too bad the Rockies are running into the Johnny Cueto buzzsaw. In 9 starts this year, Cueto has pitched 59.1 innings with a 1.97 ERA and a 5-1 record. According to rWAR he's already been worth 2 wins. So good luck with that, Rockies.

Johnny Cueto

#47 / Pitcher / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 5-10

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 15, 1986

Normally, I really like East Coast series because the games are over at a reasonable hour, but my plans are such tonight that the game wrap will probably be up well after the game ends. As such, overflow threads are scheduled for 6:15 and 7:45 tonight.

Thanks to two doubleheaders, Colorado's minor league affiliates played six games last night, going 2-4.

Game 1: Oklahoma City 7, Colorado Springs 4

Drew Pomeranz suffered his first AAA loss of the season in this one. He lasted only 3 innings, allowing 6 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, striking out 4. The 4 unearned runs came on two throwing errors by Brendan Harris.

PuRP 20 Tommy Field led the Sky Sox (23-23 for the moment) with a 2-3 night in which he hit his 4th homer (a solo shot) of the year and added a double. Andrew Brown added a 2 run homer for the Sky Sox.

Game 2: Colorado Springs 9, Oklahoma City 2

Game 2 went much better for the Sky Sox (24-23, 0.5 GB), as 5 separate players had multi-hit nights for the team. Leading the charge was Brown, who went 2-4 with 3 RBI. Field, Chris Nelson, Brandon Wood, and Wilkin Castillo added two hits each.

Guillermo Moscoso was solid on the mound to earn the win, going 6 innings (out of 7 in a minor league doubleheader), allowing 1 run on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts.

Frisco 4, Tulsa 0

After blazing out of the gates, Tulsa (26-20, 1st) has fallen back towards the pack a little bit with a 2-8 stretch. The main culprit is the offense, which hasn't scored more than 5 runs in the last 9 games. They were punchless tonight, mustering 7 hits but no runs.

Parker Frazier lasted only 2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits to get the loss. The bullpen only allowed 1 run the rest of the way, but it's hard to win when you don't score.

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At least, that's what he wants us to believe. As Monfort says in Patrick Saunders' article in the Post:

"If this is anybody's fault, it's mine. I will take it right square between the middle of the eyes," said Monfort, who became more involved in the Rockies' baseball decisions after the death of team president Keli McGregor in April 2010. "There is no way that we are as poor of a team as we are playing. And if we are, then I fell in love with our own guys and couldn't look through the forest to the trees. But I don't believe that's the case."

There are a few things in this article to parse, so let's take them one by one. The above quote illustrates a few things that have bothered me about the way the Monforts (and the Rockies) do business.

The Owners

On the whole, the Rockies are not a terribly run franchise. The Monforts do quite a few things very well, paramount of which is creating an affordable and enjoyable fan experience at Coors Field. That's a large reason why, despite the product on the field, Colorado has enjoyed fairly strong attendance. They are making a concerted effort to bring states that border Colorado into the Rockies revenue and fan footprint. And there's the fact that Colorado has been to the playoffs twice in the last 6 seasons, which is hard to complain about (and the team actually has put a lot of that revenue back into the payroll, whether you've noticed or not).

I think that the organization could do a few business-related things better: community outreach (including media access for a certain Colorado Rockies blog), a new TV deal (the one they signed with Fox in 2004 has been pretty awful -- the new one taking effect in 2015 will really enable Colorado to have more flexibility), and maybe they could get rid of Dinger (pretty please?). From a business standpoint I'm okay with the direction the team is heading in.

With that said, I think that the Monforts really need to stay away from the baseball decision making for the franchise. If Monfort really believes that most of the fault for the team's malaise in recent years lies on his shoulders, then he should step down as team president. Dick can be comfortable in taking responsibility for his team's failures because he doesn't have to worry at all about being fired. He's not going anywhere. Dick's role in this decision-making increased after Keli McGregor's death in April 2010. To say that the Rockies have not achieved much success since he took on the position of team president would be an understatement.

This team has repeatedly held on to marginal or declining homegrown talent (e.g. Brad Hawpe, Garrett Atkins) long past the time when they should have been traded. That's what I think Dick is talking about when he says the team has fallen in love with their own guys. One could also argue that the Monforts were the impetus for this off-season's overhaul, in which the team bid against itself for a league average bat but high character guy in Michael Cuddyer, they jettisoned a few young players with perceived attitude issues, and in general accumulated quite a few veterans for this season's team.

The lesson here is that I think the Monforts need to focus on the growing and development of the business of the organization, staying hands off with the baseball decision. This process should include hiring a new club president from outside the organization. The Monforts are obviously very confident about the baseball men running this team, and as such I don't think they would object too strongly to this plan.

The GM

Monfort had this to say about his GM:

"He's a tremendous asset," Monfort said. "I can't think of a general manager in baseball that's as good as him. Granted, I don't know all of them. I do get a chance every once in a while to speak with them, but I just think (O'Dowd) is head and shoulders above everybody else."

Okay, one more quote about Dan O'Dowd:

"I have spent almost my entire baseball career with Dan and I think he is the most brilliant guy I have ever met," Monfort said. "We have made mistakes along the way, but there is not a guy that works harder than him. There is not a guy that cares more than he does. He doesn't think he knows it all. He doesn't pretend that he knows it all, and questions himself all the time."

Dick Monfort is in love with Dan O'Dowd. For better or worse (most of what I've heard about O'Dowd from Rockies fans would indicate that popular opinion leans toward the latter), O'Dowd will be the guy running the baseball operations of this team for the near future.

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Yesterday's loss dropped Colorado to 15-25, 12.5 games back in the division, and into a tie for last with San Diego. They just got swept at home by a team that is comfortably in the bottom echelon of the AL if not MLB. Through 40 games, Colorado is on pace to go 61-101. That would be the worst mark this franchise has ever posted.

The Twins and the Cubs might have a worse record and run differential, but Colorado might be the worst team in MLB. The case is neatly summarized by Lookout Landing's Matthew here before the last series, but the gist is that Colorado's pitching (29th) and fielding (29th) lead to an overall ranking of 30. The point is then driven home by the incomparable Jeff Sullivan (also here).

After this weekend, Colorado's pitching staff has a 5.07 ERA (29th) and a WHIP of 1.56 (30th). Their tERA, which is basically defense-adjusted FIP with batted ball mix (line drive %, etc.) added in, is worst in the league at 5.83. And the starters have been worse (5.31 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 6.51 tERA, all 29th or 30th in the league), plus the fact that they've thrown the least amount of innings in the NL (about 5.5 innings per start).

Okay, so the Twins starters are probably still worse. Their starting pitchers this year have an ERA of 6.67 (!!!), 5.43 overall. But it's pretty close. Add in terrible defense (-15.5 UZR, -23 DRS, 28th either way) and below average offense (93 wRC+, 89 OPS+) and you've got a good argument for being really terrible. The Rockies have won only 3 out of 8 games they've played this season, and the stats say they deserve the record they have.

Colorado's got a lot of talent offensively (seriously, this has the potential to be a great offense) and there's certainly reason to think that the pitching will get better (Jorge De La Rosa's return, Jeremy Guthrie's unfathomable badness to this point, young pitching getting used to Coors Field, etc.) -- so they might not end up with over 100 losses. Still, through 40 games this team has been one of the worst, if not the worst, in MLB. And that really sucks.

I'll still watch with regularity for the purpose of watching the development (or lack thereof) of younger players and because I love baseball, but I certainly won't blame you if you don't feel like subjecting yourself to this product on a daily basis.

Daniel Rathman of Baseball Prospectus think that the Rockies have hit rock bottom (like I've never heard that reference describing Colorado before). To that I say, we're only a quarter of the way into the season -- there's plenty more time for rock bottom to occur.

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Kevin Millwood amazes me. The 37 year-old dominated his former team tonight, tossing a complete game two hit shutout, striking out 7 and walking 1. I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. Of course he did that at Coors Field -- that's just the way 2012 has gone for Colorado.

The Rockies got a good start from Alex White (0-3), but it's hard to win when you don't score any runs. White went 7 strong innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 7. If you're like me and have written off Colorado's playoff hopes, this was an encouraging sign from a promising young player auditioning for a permanent slot in the rotation.

To be honest, White's performance was about the only positive tonight for the Rockies, who got shut out by a pitcher in the twilight of his career in what is still the best hitter's park in baseball. It was tough to watch, but at least it was over in a tidy 2 hours and 32 minutes. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

The Rockies are 3-11 over their last 14 games. At least we get to see Christian Friedrich's Coors Field debut tomorrow. White set a pretty good mark tonight in his quest for a rotation slot -- your move Fried Rice.

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If you so desire it, this is the best place to discuss game 38 until I get around to writing a game wrap.

Please continue to discuss game 38 in this thread, if that is your wont.

The Rockies will see a familiar face tonight as the Seattle Mariners come to town. Going for Seattle will be 37 year-old Kevin Millwood, who pitched competently in an abbreviated stint with the Rockies last year.

The physical embodiment of an innings eater his entire career, Millwood has averaged a little less than 6 innings per outing this year. His 5.09 ERA and 1.60 WHIP belie a decent 3.63 FIP. Then again, Millwood's a flyball pitcher throwing at Coors Field tonight. I'm hopeful that the Rockies can get to him early and often.

Kevin Millwood

#25 / Seattle Mariners

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Dec 24, 1974

Millwood's opponent will be 23 year-old Alex White. The right-hander had a great debut this year against the Padres, but against the Dodgers he struggled. Tonight he makes his first Coors Field appearance of 2012. Let's hope that this start is more like his 1st start than his 2nd.

Alex White

#6 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 29, 1988

The Mariners have a weak offense, so hopefully Colorado will be able to put together some decent pitching performances even at Coors.

Overflow threads are scheduled at 8:15 and 9:45. They will appear in the Game Thread Overflows section.

The affiliates were 1-2 yesterday.

Colorado Springs 9, New Orleans 7

The Sky Sox (21-19, 1st) lead their division despite being barely above average. I think that record will improve drastically over the next 40 games though, as Colorado Springs has only played 12 of their first 40 at home. In this game, the Sky Sox pounded out 16 hits and scored 4 runs in two separate innings. Leading the way with 3 hit nights were Brandon Roberts, DJ LeMahieu, and Hernan Iribarren.

NW Arkansas 2, Tulsa 1

The Drillers (24-16, 1st) retained their division lead despite losing their 4th straight game, all in a home sweep to the second place Naturals. Headlining this matchup was Jorge De La Rosa making a rehab start. Unlike the last start, in which he had to leave with arm tightness, De La Rosa was pleased with this start, according to the Tulsa World. His velocity was reportedly in the 88-89 range, touching 92.

De La Rosa went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4. De La Rosa threw 73 pitches, only 43 for strikes. He's now scheduled to make 2 rehab starts for the Sky Sox before returning to the Rockies around June 2nd.

Offensively, Tulsa's two main PuRP position players had good games in a losing effort. PuRP 9 Josh Rutledge went 2-4 and scored his team's only run, while PuRP 2 Nolan Arenado continued to emerge from his mini-slump with a 3-4 night.

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The current situation the Rockies find themselves in -- 7 games below .500 in May, all but out of the division at 9.5 GB has created a mood among Rockies fans that is very familiar indeed. After this loss that dropped the team to 14-21, 9.5 games back 3 years ago to the day, the Rockies were frustrating enough to us at Purple Row that we started thinking of long-term plans that could fix this team.

My modest proposal back then gave Colorado a 12 step plan to success involving a major reconstruction of the team while Rox Girl's 6 step manifesto talked about the Rockies rebuilding around their young core. Then of course Clint Hurdle was fired, the rest of 2009 happened, and those plans were mostly unnecessary. Maybe that's what will happen this year, but I'm not holding my breath. So let's talk about long-term plans for this mess on our hands.

Two steps both plans had in common were the need for a decision to be made about Dan O'Dowd's tenure (stay or go) and for Clint Hurdle to not be back with the team in 2010. On the former, the Monforts decided that O'Dowd was the right guy to be running the team, while they didn't feel the same about Hurdle. That one turned out pretty well. Will this situation turn out differently with O'Dowd and Tracy? O'Dowd built a team that went to the playoffs twice in 3 years and Tracy helmed the latter team's remarkable turnaround. But both men certainly have their faults.

O'Dowd has had a tendency to overvalue his own prospects and homegrown players (think Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins). His post-Tulo draft track record has been shoddy, including the execrable pick of a college reliever at #8 in the 2007 draft. The emphasis on character (which is undoubtedly being influenced by ownership) when looking at free agents and prospects alike might be coming a little too much at the expense of talent.

Meanwhile, Tracy has had the unusual distinction of stirring up feelings of widespread hate in each of the 3 MLB franchises he has led. Some of his myriad faults are listed here in a horribly prophetic article from 2006 (a must-read if you haven't seen it already), and his sordid managerial career is covered in this piece by Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times.

While it seems unlikely to me that the Monforts will give either of these men the boot in the near future, it might behoove them to sit O'Dowd and Tracy down together and come up with a strategy that the GM will design and that Tracy will implement going forward. It's been a little difficult to ascertain the plan for Colorado of late given some of the personnel decisions that were made both in building the roster (O'Dowd) and in individual games (Tracy). To be honest, I'm uneasy with the thought of those two men planning the future of the organization, but somebody has to make a coherent plan.

While Colorado might not have such an obvious trade piece as they did with Brad Hawpe at this point in 2009, members of this 2012 bridge to nowhere team do have value or will build it leading up to the deadline -- most notably Jeremy Guthrie and Rafael Betancourt. Maybe the Rockies will pull the trigger on selling some of their short-term veteran pieces this summer.

It's also become apparent that giving the myriad young pitching prospects acquired by O'Dowd recently the opportunity to grow into MLB pitchers at the MLB level might in fact give the Rockies their best chance to win now and in the future. Colorado could have a September rotation of Jorge De La Rosa and 4 pitchers 26 and under. Should this be the plan?

As for position players, third base has been the usual sinkhole offensively and so has second base unfortunately. Colorado has a lot of potential options for those slots (sell low on Scutaro? call up Arenado?), but at some point they need to commit to seeing which of their young players is worth keeping in 2013 and beyond. There's certainly value in putting a respectable MLB product on the field (and that's what Colorado is trying to do with these bridge veterans), but as I said on Monday, is what we're seeing now a respectable product?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on a plan that will set the Rockies up for present and/or future success.

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You can probably panic now. That is, if you had any expectations that the Rockies were going to be postseason contenders this year. With the sweep at the hands of the division leading LA Dodgers completed yesterday afternoon, the Rockies are now 9.5 games out in the division and 7.5 games out of the 2nd wild card. Their 13-20 record ranks them 15th out of 16 in the NL. Colorado's playoff odds are under 10%. That's dead in the water territory, folks.

This isn't easy for me to say, but the Rockies are probably done as contenders in 2012. I know what they've done in the past, so I know that counting this team out at this point may be premature. I just don't see that sort of a comeback in this year's team.

Maybe this is the consequence of focusing so heavily on clubhouse culture this off-season. Here's a Tulo quote from that article:

"It's a tough time, and this is one of the lowest of the lows," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "We have a lot of veteran players and a lot of expectations. It's still early, but we need to get it going in the right direction. But we do have time."

The Rockies don't have much time -- if they've got a 2009-esque run in them, the Rockies had better start it soon.

For all intents and purposes, Colorado's playoff chances are squarely between slim and none, and we're not even halfway through May. Some days (okay, most days) the pitching melts down (the Rockies walked 10 yesterday), in other days the hitting peters out at the wrong time. With all that in mind, Colorado needs to change the way they are approaching this season.

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The same old problem hit Colorado tonight -- lack of length from starting pitchers (as well as that constant nemesis, poor road offense). This time, despite allowing a first inning solo homer to former Rockie Mark Ellis, Jamie Moyer had looked excellent through two outs in the 4th, allowing only the one hit. Even after he allowed a run on two hits with two outs in the frame, Moyer was still cruising, really keeping the Dodgers off balance.

In the 5th inning though, Moyer (1-3) allowed 4 hits (one of which led to the embarrassing picture of Dexter Fowler accompanying this story) and 3 runs...and just like that he was gone from the game. It's becoming all too common an occurrence for Rockies starters, and it needs to stop quickly if Colorado is to have any playoff aspirations. On the night, Moyer allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in his 5 innings, striking out an amazing 7 batters in the process.

Offensively, Michael Cuddyer broke Chris Capuano's (5-0) 25.1 inning scoreless streak with a solo homer (4) that finally got Colorado in the board in the 7th. Colorado tacked on two stat padding runs in the 9th, but this game never felt close. Pretty depressing, actually.

Let's get them tomorrow, I guess.

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Please continue to discuss Game 31 in this thread, if you so desire.

At least this time Jamie Moyer will be matched up against a pitcher who was old enough to remember his first major league start in Chris Capuano. The Rockies' own personal house of horrors, Dodgers Stadium, has hosted Matt Kemp and (surprisingly) 4 other position players with more fWAR than any Rockies player, which has been effective enough to get them a 6.5 game lead over the Rockies.

That cast of characters will get their first chance of 2012 to hit against the man, the myth, the Moyer. Moyer's decent ERA and poor luck with defense is counterbalanced by his unsightly 1.66 WHIP and lack of length (5 2/3 IP per start). In pitching-friendly Dodgers Stadium, let's hope that Moyer finds that winning formula once again.

Jamie Moyer

#50 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 18, 1962

vs.

Chris Capuano

#35 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 19, 1978

Capuano, who actually made an All-Star game with the Brewers in 2006, was brought in as a free agent this off-season on a 2 year, $9 million deal with a mutual option. Thus far, he's been pretty excellent, going 4-0 (I know, I know) with a 2.21 ERA (3..36 FIP), 1.12 WHIP, and has struck out nearly a batter per inning (8.8 K/9).

This is the opening game of a series that the Rockies really need to win to keep pace in the NL West, because somehow, someway these Dodgers have shown themselves to be a formidable team thus far. My hope is that they turn out to be the Rockies of yesteryear.

An overflow thread is scheduled to be published at 9:45.

It's opposite day in the Pebble Report, as we're going bottom to top today. The affiliates went 2-2 yesterday.

Asheville 2, Rome 0

The Tourists (20-13, 3 GB) got an outstanding effort from the previously (before 2012) unknown Vianney Mayo, who has emerged as a pitcher worth watching this season. Mayo (2-3, 4.21 ERA) threw 7.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing only 4 hits (though he only struck out 2).

Both of the runs came in the 8th inning, as Tyler Massey and Sam Mende had RBI singles. Mende went 3-4 with 2 steals and a RBI while Delta Cleary was 2-4 to lead Asheville offensively. The Tourists had 9 hits in the game, all of them singles.

Modesto 13, Stockton 3

With the benefit of a major league pitcher in Jeremy Guthrie on the mound, the Nuts (17-18, 5 GB) cruised to an easy victory. Modesto scored 4 in the 1st and led 9-0 after 4 innings. PuRP 15 Rafael Ortega was 3-5 with a triple and a steal, Juan Crousset was 4-5 with 2 doubles, Dallas Tarleton was 3-5 with a double and 4 RBI, and PuRP 19 Corey Dickerson was 2-6 with a double and 2 RBI.

On the mound, Guthrie was great in his first (and perhaps only) rehab start. The righty went 4 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits and striking out 4.

Upper levels below the fold.

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I could easily go on at length about how bad the pitching has been this year (and it's been pretty terrible), but I'll boil it down to two stats for you to understand why Colorado desperately needs some good performances from its young pitchers.

First -- the Rockies are 5th in MLB in runs and have scored at least 4 runs 18 times already this season. That would put them on pace for 101 games scoring 4 or more this season (up from 81 last year). I know that number is skewed by having more games played to this point at Coors Field, but Colorado's offense is looking more potent this season. Last year, the Rockies were 58-23 (.716) when scoring 4 or more. This year, they are only 11-7 (.611) when the offense has had a good game. Colorado's pitching is wasting the excellent output from their hitters. Oh, and when they score less than 4, Colorado is 1-10.

Second -- the Rockies' starting pitching has not given the team much length at all. This is hardly news at this point, but Colorado's starters have only thrown 155 innings through 29 games (5.3 IP per game), worst in the NL and tied for 29th in MLB. To put that in perspective, the Phillies and Angels are getting 6.6 innings per start. That's 4 outs that inferior pitchers in the bullpen don't need to pick up every night. The extra work renders the bullpen even less effective as the season goes on, and the season crashes and burns. It isn't too late to turn this 2012 season around, but at this point that's where the trend is heading. Enter the young pitching.

Christian Friedrich will make his major league debut today, making him the 3rd 1st round pitcher in a row to start for the Rockies that was drafted in the last 4 years -- in reverse order no less (Drew Pomeranz 2010, Alex White 2009, Friedrich 2008). Too bad virtually nobody will be able to see it, as the debut will come in a midweek day game with no TV coverage. We'll have to rely on the radio team to tell us how Friedrich will be hit with a line drive in the leg, as the two first round picks who preceded him were.

In all seriousness, Friedrich couldn't have picked a much better game to start out his major league career, pitching in Petco against an anemic Padres offense on a getaway day. The lefty will be following a very good performance by White last night. White kept the ball down, had good command of his breaking pitches, and gave the Rockies good length (though Colorado lost its 5th straight). It's pretty sad that 6.1 IP counts as quality length from the rotation, but White's start was close to the longest by Colorado this year (I believe the longest is 7 innings to this point). Troy Renck writes that the Rockies' young pitchers need to show improvement this year.

Given what we've seen out of the rotation so far, there's definitely an opportunity for Friedrich to grab a major league rotation slot and hold onto it -- he just has to seize the excellent opportunity before him today.

Off-Topic.

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Acceptable Discussion Topics

Have you had your 15 minutes of fame?

What is the film that you quote most often?

What is the longest work shift you've ever had?

Favorite alcoholic beverage & favorite beverage name

What do you do on a typical Tuesday evening?

Go.

Edgmer Escalona (0-1) allowed a 2 run homer to Erik Hinske in the top of the 11th (pictured above) and the Braves held on for a win against the Rockies despite a rally in the bottom half of the 11th. It was Colorado's first Friday loss of the year

The night started out with great promise for Colorado, as the Rockies went through the lineup in the first inning, scoring 5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. At that point in the game, Colorado had an 88% chance of winning. Unfortunately, the Rockies couldn't muster much offense beyond the first, adding only 4 hits and 3 runs in the next 10 innings.

Jonathan Herrera (?!?) led Colorado on offense, going 2-3 with a double, a solo homer (2), 2 walks, and 3 runs. Todd Helton was 2-6 with 3 RBI while Dexter Fowler added a hit and 2 RBI. Defensively, Todd Helton saved two runs in the 10th with a diving stop, while Wilin Rosario (playing 3rd base!) made a fantastic play on his 1st chance at the hot corner in the 11th (gif after the jump).

In his 2nd start in a Rockies uniform, Guillermo Moscoso -- who was handed the precious gift of a 5 run first inning lead -- couldn't even make it through the 5th inning, lasting only 4.1 IP and allowing 6 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5. Outside of Matt Reynolds and Escalona, every Rockies reliever put up goose-eggs despite allowing a boatload of base-runners.

To be fair, most of the damage did come in the 5th -- after Michael Bourn's apparent failed bunt attempt was called foul by the umpires after initially being ruled fair. Instead of having nobody on and 2 out, Bourn singled, stole 2nd (advancing to 3rd on a throwing error by Ramon Hernandez), and then the Braves got 5 more hits in the inning to knot up the score. The Braves and Rockies traded runs in the 6th to make it 7-7, where it remained until the 11th.

In the game, Atlanta pounded out 19 hits to Colorado's 8, so we should probably be happy that it was as close as it was, but then again, it's tough because the Rockies had such a nice early advantage. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

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Please continue to discuss game 25 here, if that is your wish.

Please continue to discuss Game 25 here, if that will bring you happiness and increase your morale.