SB Nation User Blog: PinchHitLancePainter

The Holliday Dilemma (Rocks Fan Perpsective)

PinchHitLancePainter — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:31:00 -0000

To preface my remarks, I am a Rockies Fan that used to be a Card fan. Grew up following the Cards of the 60s,70s,80s and moved to Denver in the lkate 80's and started rooting for the Rocks upon their inception. I root for the Cards in a secondary fashion. As a Rockies fan I was troubled by the loot St. Louis gave to get him last summer. As a Rocks fan I was aware of the Holliday fielding defiencies, and inability to hit middle-in pitches consistently. The bigger issue was his hiring of Scott Boras in 2006. A clear sign he intended to test the market in 2009. Rocks gave him a raise to buy out his remaining arbitration years at a premium following 2007. But it was obvious he was going to market. They dealt him and got some pretty good MLB ready guys who helped in 2009. CarGo will likely surpass Holliday as he is a legit 5 tool kid poised for stardom. You may want to nab him for your fantasy leagues next year. The A's got Holliday basically to try to turn him for some good talent. They figured someone would be ready to bite in mid season. Billy Beane is many things and among them an opportunist. The Cards unloaded some significant jack for a three month player. The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and a few other teams can afford to do this, the Cards cannot. Now you are stuck looking for the same thing you were three months ago (Albert protection with production). Holliday turned down 4 years and 80M from the Rocks. Do you think he will settle for less? Not under Boras' watch. He wants a shot at the Red Sox and the Yanks figuring that each may have LF holes where Holliday will fit the bill. I read in the STL Today site where many Card fans want to focus on rebuilding from within. Given a mid market status, it basically the only way you can go. I used to pound Dan O'Dowd for his moves where they all seemed like salary dumps (see 2000-2005). A couple of years ago (2006) I began to see his logic and he has made the Rocks into an NL version of the Twins. As a kid growing up the Cardinals always focused their energies on their player development with a few deals splashed in for good measure. I think they have sort of lost that feeling but it is never too late to get it back. Having two large salaries can hamstring you for years to come. Look at Houston, the Cubs, etc. My only sadness is the three prospects that got away for the failed experiement. A few years ago the Rockies management had a press conference where they profoundly declared that "we know what we are" we will manage our team with that in mind. This offseason they will deal Brad Hawpe, non-tender Garrett Atkins, let Torrealba go, resign some bullpen help and be in a better position to contend in 2010. I am thinking the Cards need to do some of their own internal mirror obeservation. You can no longer afford to dump prospects on short term fliers.

Lansford Dismissed

PinchHitLancePainter — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:50:06 -0000

Well Lansford takes the fall for the Giant offense or lack thereof. We all know this guy is good and maybe we can get him back. I think he would be an improvement over Baylor. He did wonders for several Rocks hitters in his time at CS. Here is the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/15/SP9A1A5UF4.DTL

Seems the Giants are all over the place this offseason. If they honestly think Carney was the reason for their anemic offense then we do not have to worry about them being serious contenders next year. They'll go after some sticks but I see arm problems on the horizon for Cain, Lincecum, etc.

Some observations from in close...

PinchHitLancePainter — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:15:32 -0000

I sat in behind home plate in the advance scout section for both games with an old friend.

-Need to acquire a right handed bat that is reliable next year. Otherwise every team will be stacking lefty garbage against us.

-I think Tracy overblew the whole L/L thing way too much. My friend and I were amazed how he left some sticks on the bench the whole series. Basically he let the Phillies lefty situation keep some of his best players out and turned it into an A team vs a B team game. The Rockies are hard pressed to beat the Phils straight up let alone with players benched. He did a great job all year but when you get here you dance with the girl you came with.

-The message to Stewart, Hawpe, Smith (to a lesser extent), was I believe in Cargon but you guys stink. I was especially intrigued by the EY2 PH in the 9th, when you had 50+ HRs on the bench.

-To play a guy like Atkins you are going to ditch and rest your future on the bench with no PA was bizarre as well. Get him the experience. Tracy kind of went away from things that got them there in the last 3-4 weeks. If some guys come back, there may need to be some damage control.

-As I said in an earlier fanpost, I think the DLR injury was huge and could have ended the season. In retrospect it was. Phillies had no lefties to contend with. Especially Howard who is lefty horrible. The 3rd game was pivotal and we started Jason Hamel.

-Cargon has the opportunity to be a special player. He'll need to work on his offspeed pitch approach. But the dude can hit just about any FB throw at him in any location.

-I not sure if Street has fully recovered from his problem he had in early Sept. He was simply did not possess the same command, location and slider in the last week or in the playoffs.

-When Ubaldo learns to change speeds and hit spots and become a pitcher rather than a thrower, he'll dominate. Cliff Lee gave him a couple of lessons he should chew on in the offseaon. Economize man and get ahead early. You cannot throw the ball by people at this level all the time. Especially down in counts. Lose 4 MPH on the fastball but locate it. The zinger will come in handy from time totime when he needs it.

-Morales should be traded as he has value and he has progressed nill since 2007.

-Bettancourt is a money pitcher and needs to be resigned. I think Taylor B is your 7th inning guy next year.

-Clint Barmes is the biggest offensive enigma I have ever seen.

-Tulo needs to relax more in game ending situations. He was way too jittery in both.

- I think there should be a rule whereby when you move to another city, you have to adopt that team. Way too many Philly fans I told "have a nice drive to PA" said they are from here. I think they should all go back.

De La Rosa Groin (Aka the day the season died)

PinchHitLancePainter — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:48:27 -0000

Sadly I think the season imploded the four inning on Sat night in Dodger Stadium. The point when De La Rosa left the game. I fear the division was lost at that point, homefield, you name it. I think that will likely be the defining moment of the season in retrospect. De La Rosa injury robbed us of our best pitcher down the stretch and a key lefty to offset the Phillies in a short series. I hope the team can rally but the hill is very steep at this point.

Fanpost per bloggers request

PinchHitLancePainter — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:00:59 -0000

I posted this to last night's recap and with some recommendations I place it in a FP for general consumption.

They need to be more agreessive at the plate.

how many first pitch FBs down the middle taken for strike one to be followed by secondary pitches chased. Last week I went to the game with an advance scout of an NL playoff team and old friend from my playing days. He was working on the playoff dossiere.

Some notes from him after several beers and reliving the glory of places like Pompano Beach and Tulsa:

- The book on the Rockies is to get the first pitch over and then they will chase anything close thereafter.

-The majority of the Rockies hitters have been pounded into patience and taking pitches but this strategy is errant on the road away from Coors. Notice the volume of off speed seen tonite. Offspeeds at sea level they break more pronounced especially on the West Coast in the heavy air. Rockies are very vulnerable to off speed after extended homestands, especially in the first two-three games of a series.

-Pitchers will use this tendacy to slow down the offense attack. The only solution is to start expecting and connecting with 1st pitch FBs down the middle.

-Several noted chasers were identified:

Hawpe, Barmes, Stewart, Gonzalez, Ianneta, Fowler, Atkins. Hawpe he was extremely disappointed in. He thought Hawpe had figured it out this year and has now subsequently forgotten the things that worked for him. A interesting tidbit was that he felt Hawpe should hit 3rd behind the runners and get more FBs. He felt Helton could hit anywhere.

-They also mentioned that Smith should be thrown offspeed at all costs as he may be one of the best FB hitters in the game right now. No book on Helton as his zone is keen and he will not chase. GIambi was also given high praise for his approach at the plate and his ability to mesh in a new role. Yorvit should be fed all breaking stuff and is an excellent mistake FB hitter especially up above the hands.

-Another observation of note. He felt the Rocks did Fowler a disservice by bypassing AAA and felt he should have played there all year until August. Reason, not physically strong enough yet.

-The team is very bizarre in that it slumps and explodes together.

-Finally, another interesting observation that RoxGirl will love. Atkins has played the last two years completely out of shape and has cost himself millions in the process. Apparently word in MLB circles is he is lazy beyond reason. Word is his agent is putting him on a strict diet and regiment with a personal trainer after this season which could lure someone to take a flier.

Top Ten Minor League Parks to Groupies/Food Night Life

PinchHitLancePainter — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:43:40 -0000

Someone asked me this the other day so I thought I would share. Now understand this is pre 1984, so times were different. Now I apoligize if this is politically incorrect or offends the younger generation. This is from personal experience:

1. Clearwater (FSL): Number one and none is even close. All the girls were pretty and looking for a future star to latch unto. The place was near a pristine beach and provided great party atmosphere during the day when waiting to play at night. Played many a night game after downing a couple of beach drinks. The rest of the Gulf side stunk though.

2. Pompano Beach (FSL years ago and home park): Pretty and rich girls. Not in the Clearwater class. The ballpark sucked but the female fans were great.

3. Old Durham Park (Carolina League at the time). Nice southern ladies at the time, great old park in Bull Durham. You might see my bloodstains on the CF wall if you can blow it up. Face first on long fly from Brad Komminsk. The park was always nearly full and the mystique was great.

4. Bluefield (SAL) Great place make sure all the teeth were accounted for though. Some really great BBQ.

5. Ft. Lauderdale (FSL) Enuff said. Played an MLB spring game here and took Ron Guidry deep with Dave Winfield simply turning and watching it go. Has to make the list.

6. Midland (TexL): See one above. Texas ladies with a twang and a two step boogie. All yearned to escape from the oil fields.

7. Shreveport (TexL) Great food, polite ladies and anyplace that serves gumbo in the clubhouse has to make the list.

8. Tulsa (TexL and home park) Other than the heat, this place was great. You hoped that the homestands would not last too long though. They had a sirloin snadwich in the clubhouse that ruled. Ladies were above average.

9. El Paso (TexL) I used to love and be able to eat Mexican food when I was younger (now I cannot). This place had greatr food and plenty of chicas.

10. Miami FSLL: Yes itr was a minor league towm back in the days but the O's played there in the Spring and so did their high A club. Cuban cigars, great rum, cuban food, and the smell of the cigars floating in the OF was great. Ladies pretty good as well.

The Trade

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:06:10 -0000

looking somewhat suspect now. Three for one with two most likely headed to the minors. Once again the Rocks trade performance for "potential". Another in a long line of salary dumps by O'Dowd. Granted this may be more than they get from supplemental picks but right now it looks like another Rockies dump job. Why no starter was not obtained is beyond me. You think a runner up MVP, Batting champ, RBI champ, and three time all star could get more.

Who are the other 103????

PinchHitLancePainter — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:43:01 -0000

This A-Rod implication bears some serious issues. I saw one guy post on ESPN the other day that every baseball player he beloved of his generation (Bonds, Arod, McGwire, Clemens, Sosa, etc) has been put to the task and he questions the legitimacy of the sport. I have a 15 year old who begs me to buy him creatine so he can bulk up and swing for the fences. I refuse to let him citing health issues and dad never did it so you don't have to either. Where does that mindset come from?

My concern is that an entire generation of fans have no knowledge of the game when it was pure. They have never seen Willie Mays runs so graceful in the OF, Mickey Mantle smash a ball 500 feet on two bad legs, Hammerin Hank ignite those explosive wrists, Bob Gibson working so fast and effective. Their baseball memories of a wonderful game are a fraud home run race, a congressional hearing, the Mitchell Report, or the latest offering from the new ladder-day prophet Jose Canseco.

There are 103 names yet to be divulged. One wonders when suspect participants such as Todd Helton and Nomar Garciaparra, whose numbers fell off the table post -testing, may be implicated.

One can argue the Union goofed up or someone leaked grand jury information (it has happened throughout history). At the end of the day the truth always seems to worm itself our of any forced cocoon created for it.

Baseball leadership must be forced out (Selig, Fehr, Orza) the whole lock ,stock, and barrel. Baseball should put itself under the guise of the World Doping Association where independence, control and accuracy is at a premium. The Feds and Mitchell Report realize that the baseball testing plan is a sham. They have pushed for independent testing but baseball refuses to comply. Why is that? What more do they have to hide? How much more damage lurks behind the curtains?

Legitimize the game before the game destroys itself. The game is a great game but the people who run it stink!

Things to Look For in 2009 and beyond....

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:23:22 -0000

1. Added pitching depth = more wins in 2009. Should have happened two years ago but additional arms will mean more wins, more Q starts in 2009. Based on pitching alone I would say this team is at least .500. There will be less bullpen strain, more innings eaten, less patchwork starts in 2009. I see the Rockies team era in the low to mid 4s this year. Many close one run games which brings me to...

2. The dilemma of the offense though.... The Rockies offense will be slow, station to station and have proven to be not so run productive(see % in RISP, Sac Fly etc). Baseball is evolving back to a run producing game. The Rocks may have the slowest lineup in baseball. Few bunters of any quality, limited SB potential, and issues with contact (i.e.. less hit and run ops). How will they produce runs? Will the better pitching offset the less run production. Rocks have many guys with lots of swing holes. Atkins, Hawpe, Stewart, Tulowitzski. There best contact guys Helton/Ianetta/Smith/Spilborghs are not (save Helton) at the top of the list. I suspect there will be many low run games they are involved in this year. Can they manufacture runs to win?

3. Speed evolution. This is coming from several angles. 1. The drop in power post roid era. 2. A needed refocus on african american players coming into baseball. 3. Due to the financial situation, older more expensive players are being squeezed out. I love the speed game. The last 15 years have been difficult to swallow with the emphasis on driving balls and big innings and lack of fundamental run manufacturing and aggressive style. I played in the speed era and it was great and exciting. Rockies need to get their fast and may need to elevate Young, Fowler, etc quickly to adapt. It has been truly sad to see talented african american kids playing basketball and football over baseball the last generation. I am excited to yearn for the day when base stealing is once again a major offensive threat. Guys pushing 100 steals per season. Give me the Vince Colemans, Willie Wilsons, Tim Raines's, Willie McGee's, Rickey Henderson's back. Bring back the 2 hole guys who take pitches, hit the ball to the opposite side, can bunt the ball into a soup can etc. Thank god for RBI program and a renewed emphasis on getting the african american kids on the baseball field. They produced so many of the great players in history and are sorely needed back in the sport.

4. Defense. Another real question mark in 2009. The outfield will have coverage issues. We are suspect at 3B, 2B, and in the entire OF. Quite frankly if I were the manager I would open with Fowler in CF from the start as the gaps in Coors Field will look very large with the sloths we have in the OF. I need to see more of this Gonzales kid and will be watching the Carribean Series with interest. If Helton plays well in 2009 the infield will be improved as he eliminates errors and makes plays other 1B don't. I think either Gonzales or Fowler must be in the lineup though as speed is needed.

Prediction: 85-77 and a third place finish behind the Giants/Dodgers.

Check out the 2009 Schedule

PinchHitLancePainter — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:28:02 -0000

Weird. It is very home laden from April-June and then become home laden in July-Sept. Sept is virtually a home month. Hopefully they will not be buried early and never recover. Otherwise the schedule shapes up well for them down the stretch.

Here is the breakdown:

April: Home = 9, Road = 11

May: Home = 14, Road = 15

June: Home = 9, Road = 19

July: Home = 16 , Road = 10

August: Home: 14 , Road = 14

September: Home = 18, Road = 9

October: Home = 1, Road = 3