Well folks, it's that time of year again. The Colorado Rockies have run a random number generator and selected people for Opening Day and Fireworks game tickets. This thread should be used to discuss the possibility of having an extra ticket code or even extra tickets. If you would like tickets because you were unlucky and got rejected comment below and hopefully someone can pick you up. I got a code and I know I will be buying four tickets (hopefully in the Pavillion), but I think I might only be using two of them. I will post more details about my ticket information later but until then happy Opening Day Ticket thread.

BASEBALL IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!

            As fans of the greatest game in the world, not only do we know it to be unpredictable from day-to-day but we also know that anything can happen within a single game. Another great thing is that this game is filled with ifs, from all perspectives: the players, the managers and coaches, the general managers and front office, and, of course, us, the fans. Often these ifs are noticed during crucial moments of a game or season but they exist before every pitch, during every play, and even between innings.

            During the game the players say if to an infinite number of situations and they are constantly ready and preparing as anything can happen at any time. To each of these situations there is an even larger number of possible outcomes, and it is different for each player. If the ball is hit to short a second baseman might cover second or go to back up first base, the left fielder charges if the ball gets through, the catcher might back up first or, if the infield is in, the catcher gets ready for a play at the plate. As the batter comes to the plate he thinks, “If the pitcher throws a fastball on the first pitch I’m going to swing at it,” or “If the third baseman is playing back I might drop a bunt down the third base line.” In the on-deck circle the next batter should be thinking, “If the batter in front of me gets on how can I move him over,” or “If the pitcher works me in this manner how am I going to counter?” The outfielder has to be thinking, “With him (insert speedy player) on second, if the ball is hit on the ground in front of me, and if he tries to score, can I throw him out, but if he doesn’t the cutoff is who?” A base runner is always on alert because, if the ball is in the dirt he must be prepared to take the next base if he thinks he can make safely. “If the ball is hit to right, with my speed and the right-fielder’s arm can I make it to third?” As a fan it is easy to forget each of these possibilities for a player because we think, no, we know, that all of this is second nature to the players and they never have to think about things but instead they just play the game. They are always thinking and if they are not they get flat footed and this is where mistakes happen.

            As the armchair managers that we are it is always possible to predict a manager’s or base coaches’ idea or plan for a given event, “Well this catcher caught all night last night so he won’t catch today,” or “it’s a tie game at home in the 9th inning, it must be time for my closer.” We get to look at statistics and analyze every move the coaching staff makes but what a lot of people forget is that, while things are often planned out ahead of time, “my all-star shortstop will not sit out unless he’s injured,” sometimes things don’t go according to plan or there are things that can’t be planned because everything is based on the changing circumstances of a game.

            “Real” managers also face an abundance of ifs before and during a game or even a full season. They have to decide if a player will continue hitting as well (or not in some cases) as he has been and whether or not he will be in the lineup, obviously this does not include guaranteed starters. The manger must decide if he wants to walk a “more dangerous” hitter to face a “less dangerous,” but possibly more pesky, hitter in a given situation or risk damage being done. Frequently the manager asks, “If this pitcher keeps pitching this way I will have to take him out, but if I do who will I bring in and how will it affect my staff the next few days,” or “if he keeps going like this what pitch count do I take him out after?” If a runner gets on base the manager has to wonder that if a bunt gets him into scoring position will he score if the next few batters get hits. Other times a manager must think to himself, “If this player would only admit to being injured I could work the lineup a different way and we could get him the attention he needs to be the best for the team.” Even base coaches’ deal with ifs, “if the ball is hit to this outfielder do I send this runner or do I hold him up and hope the next guy can drive him in?”

            Ifs are not lost on us, the fans, either. The difference is that we don’t have control in the game or any influence in the decisions of the coaches or players. We think, “If he would stop swinging at that slider in the dirt he would be much better,” or, “if he could throw one more strike this inning could be over.” Often times our ifs are in hindsight or reactionary to the game as it develops, “if he hadn’t made that error” or “the pitcher just walked two batters if he was more patient he would have gotten a better pitch to hit.” Or, to go along with a manager’s fear, “if he wasn’t injured we have a chance to win that game.” Fans often have ifs when the game isn’t being played such as, “if that trade had gone through,” or “if we hadn’t signed that player” this season would have gone much better when in all actuality we, as fans, will never know.

            Baseball, arguably the greatest game in the world is known as many things. It is the game with the most youth participation around the world. It is one of the few places you can enjoy a summer night with a hot dog, beer and the rest of your family. Baseball is boring, exciting, gut wrenching, relaxing, unpredictable and, in general, a lot of fun. One thing often lost in the greatness of baseball is, while unpredictable and ever changing, it is also a game infiltrated with the word IF, and even these are different depending on the perspective of the person looking at them. Managers, coaches and players see the IF as a planning tool, and make adjustments because of it, while fans typically see the IF in hindsight and wonder what would have happened IF...

A wise guy once said, "Well, baseball was my whole life. Nothing's ever been as fun as baseball." However, Mickey Mantle didn’t have to sit through a season of watching the Colorado Rockies play baseball or the last four innings of tonight’s game.

The game was cruising along with Alex White pitching as we had been led to believe, sinkers down in the zone with some really well hit fly balls finding gloves. The fourth inning arrives and Brandon Belt didn’t miss White’s first real mistake hitting a two run home run to right center (what is it with left-handed rookies hitting against out pitchers?).

Cody Ross was Cody Ross when he hit a very good pitch down in the zone to the same place Belt did for a solo shot in the fifth.

White started the sixth inning with two quick outs but the third never came. He walked the .194 hitting SS and hit the .207 hitting catcher. With Madison Bumgarner at the plate the outfield moved in only to have him hit the ball over Dexter Fowler’s head for a double driving in the first two runs of the inning (and his first of two hits in the game). With still no action in the bullpen a single from Cody Ross drove in Bumgarner (Ross left the game at this point with a pulled muscle in his leg). Romero came in and shut down the inning.

On to the 7th where Aaron Cook is making his first appearance from the bullpen in 2011 (remember that it is still 2011). Cook took his cue from White and got the first batter of the inning to ground out but gave up a double to Huff and got Belt to strike out. A single from Crawford scored Huff and Crawford advanced to second on a throwing error by Seth Smith (what has gotten into him lately?). The error didn’t cost Cook anything though because the next batter, Chris Stewart, would hit a two run home run to make the score 9-1.

At this point the game turned Spring Training style with only Brandon Belt, Crawford and Stewart playing the whole game for the Giants and Hector Gomez getting some action for the Rockies (0-2 with an error). Hector was the 11th Rockies player to make his MLB debut for the team this year and 12th player on the team to make the jump to “The Show.” In addition to Cook’s first relief appearance we also got to see the first relief appearance for Barry Zito on the season (EY2 doubled off of him in the 9th).

The lone Rockies run was unearned against Bumgarner (7ip, 6 hits, 1bb, 3k) because the Rockies had runners on second and third with two outs when Fowler grounded a ball to third that Sandoval booted allowing Rosario to score.

This game was pretty good until the 6th when it just died.

Purple Row Cares was set up by Charlie77 and holly96 to offer Purple Row apparel to people who support Purple Row. All of the proceeds from these sales have been donated to a charity in the Denver area or sponsored by the Colorado Rockies. To date we have donated to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial and the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver. The last time we had enough to donate Charlie77 came up with a great idea to get Rockies players to autograph some merchandise and then auction it off and donate those proceeds to a charity. Twenty-five dollars ($25) for each item (two baseballs and a Purple Row shirt) was donated to the Colorado Rockies Foundation to get the autographs. As was mentioned in a recent Rockpile the items have come back to Charlie77 and are now on e-bay and ready for everyone to bid on. The items are:

A Todd Helton Autographed Baseball

A Carlos Gonzalez Autographed Baseball

and A Troy Tulowitzki Autographed Purple Row Shirt

Please go bid on these items as currently I am winning all 3 (not that I would mind taking all 3 home with me) and remember all of these proceeds will be turned around and given to another charity of OUR choice. Good luck and have fun.

Charlie77 and holly96, if you have more to add feel free to let me know and I can edit this post.

Opening Day is fast approaching (2 WEEKS PEOPLE) and fans everywhere are getting ready to watch their team play in the 162 game marathon called the regular season. I put out this proposal to any and every Rowbot who will be in the Denver area for this most celebrated occasion: Do you want to meet up on April 1? Some simple options include:

• Meet in Denver before the game for lunch and talk about our expectations for the season and get ourselves pumped and ready to go
• Meet inside the ballpark before the game because honestly who wants to leave their seat during the game to go meet some stranger you might miss anyway
• Meet after the game to rehash the great/terrible game that was just played and talk about where we go from that point forward, or
• I don't want to meet up because I just want to watch baseball and go home.

Please vote in the poll by Wednesday and a second part will follow to determine times and locations. If you have suggestions or requests for times and locations please place them in the comments section. This is going to be a great year, let's kick it off together.

What is your favorite baseball movie? The Purple Row facebook page had this as the question of the day on Wednesday and there were quite a few responses with multiple answers. I have compiled a list of the movies mentioned there as well as a couple that I enjoyed and were not brought up in the discussion.

For Love of the Game

Billy Chapel, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, is pitching in what could be his last game and as the game goes he reflects back on his baseball career and the people he interacted with. Did he really love and value baseball more than his life and the people who loved him?

The Natural

Roy Hobbs could be the greatest player in baseball, and he knows it from a young age. As he's about to get into the majors he suffers a setback and he never makes it. Sixteen years later he signs a contract to play for the New York Knights and shows that he still has the gift but the season is long and life and injuries come back to get him.

The Rookie

Based on true story about the life and baseball career of Jim Morris, this movie shows a high school baseball coach who agrees to attend a tryout for professional baseball after his high school team wins the district championship. He then progresses through the minors, surviving the long bus rides until he makes it to the show.

Field of Dreams

Ray Kinsella is a corn farmer in Iowa when he hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field where half of his crop currently sits. He builds the field and members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox come out to play including Joe Jackson. He then goes looking for his own past through the lives of others and discovers that baseball is timeless, when he meets his younger father on the field and asks "You wanna have a catch?"

Bull Durham

Crash Davis, a journeyman catcher is sent down to Single A Durham to teach an up-and-coming fireballer, Nuke Laloosh, how to pitch and play baseball the right way. Meanwhile Annie, a baseball fanatic in her own way, tries to work with Nuke and improve his pitching through other methods. This movie is funny and shows some of the struggles of minor league play, especially for players who have been around for extended periods of time.

Major League

The owner of the Cleveland Indians wants to move the team but she can't do it if they have a good season so she assembles the worst possible team and hopes they lose. Ricky Vaughn, a wild pitcher with the nickname "Wild Thing", takes the team and through their differences and inabilities they make a season out of it.

Rookie of the Year

Henry Rowengartner, the worst player on his little league baseball team and a large Cubs fan, breaks his arm tripping on a baseball. After having it in a cast for a few months the tendons in his shoulder are still too tight but there is not much the doctor can do. Henry catches an opposing team homeruns sitting in the outfield at Wrigley Field and, as tradition, throws it back but on a line to the catcher who tags the runner out. Cubs' management decide to sign Henry to a contract to pitch. This is the story of him leading the Cubs to one of their 3 World Series wins since 1908.

The Sandlot

Do you remember getting together with your friends playing baseball in the backyard or at he local school? Scotty Smalls is new to the area and he learns first-hand how to play baseball with the neighbor kids until he hits a baseball signed by Babe Ruth over the fence in with a dog called The Beast. How do they try and get the ball back and are they successful?

61*

The 1961 season was one to remember as both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle try to break Babe Ruth's single season home run record.

Bad News Bears

A group of rich kids are forced to play baseball by their parents who are paying the coach. At first the coach doesn't care and is constantly drunk, but he turns himself and the team around. Watch how they go from messing around to having fun and playing baseball.

Fever Pitch

Drew Barrymore stars in this movie about Red Sox fans loving baseball and never seeing their team win. Can people really find love at a baseball field?

Bang the Drum Slowly

This movie is a heart-warming story about a great pitcher, Author Wiggen, and a catcher, Bruce Pearson, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Author does everything he can to help Bruce through what is likely his last season of playing. This is baseball's Brian's Song.

Eight Men Out

The 1919 Chicago White Sox were the best team in baseball hands down. They were going to win the World Series but they were not going to get any of the promised bonuses from their owner. This is the story that shows how they White Sox became the Black Sox by throwing the World Series against the Reds.

Long Gone

Story of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud' Cantrell, as they battle for the league championship amidst the corruption and racism of the American south.

A League of Their Own

World War Two is in full swing and the baseball greats are leaving to fight overseas. Some of the owners get a great idea to have women play baseball in a new American baseball league. This movie follows the Peaches, one of the teams, as they make a run for the championship in the first season of play.

So what is your favorite baseball movie? Please vote in the poll, and if I missed one that you would consider your favorite please let me know in the comments as I know I probably left out a couple good movies. Thanks.

I am a Colorado Rockies fan but recently the Orioles signed a minor league pitcher Cory Ast (LHP) and he is playing in Bluefield after pitching almost 12 innings in the GCL. I graduated from Colorado School of Mines with Cory and watched him pitch the last 4 years. I was wondering if anyone has had the chance to see him pitch against other players and what they are seeing. He's always had good control with a fair number of strikeouts and an excellent pick off move. I think he would have done a lot better at Mines if he had had a decent defense behind him. Mines is a Division II engineering school in Golden, CO for those who were wondering.

Thanks for the help.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Randy Johnson on a great career. It was a lot of fun to watch a left handed power pitcher with two back surgeries pitch as well as he did for as long as he did.

For his career he went 303-162 with a 3.69 ERA and 4875 strikeouts in 4135.1 innings. There can be very little debate as to his hall of fame candidacy. The question is who does he go in with? I doubt the Expos, Giants, Astros or the Yankees, but the Mariners (10 years) and the Diamondbacks (8 yeasrs) seem like good choices.

Thanks for letting me watch you and thanks for finally leaving our division.

And a picture to finish it off:

via a.espncdn.com

Milestones! The Rockies reached quite a few individual milestones this year including Todd Helton's 2000th hit and 500th double. Aaron Cook becoming the winningist pitcher in Rockies history. But what other individual milestones were reached. At the beginning of the year I had this fanpost about the milestones players in 2009 were approaching. Now that the season is over I thought I would give the follow up on the original. Below is a table recording the date and event that each player achieved a certain milestone. An "x" indicates the player did not achieve the milestone this year.

Player
Milestone
Start of 2009
Date Occurred
Circumstances
Huston Street
100 saves
94
May 23, 2009
2BB, 2K, popup
Manny Corpas
50 saves
23
x
x
Aaron Cook
59 wins
52
June 22, 2009
7IP, 3H, 1R
Chris Iannetta
50 homeruns
24
x
x
Garrett Atkins
100 homeruns
89
x
x
Garrett Atkins
500 RBI
431
x
x
Troy Tulowitzki
50 homeruns
33
July 21, 2009
Solo Shot second inning
Troy Tulowitzki
200 RBI
151
July 30, 2009
7th inning triple to drive in Helton
Brad Hawpe
100 homeruns
88
June 27, 2009
Two Run Shot
Brad Hawpe
400 RBI
341
July 12, 2009
Base hit Walk-off
Todd Helton
2000 Hits
1957
May 19, 2009
single 0-2 count
Todd Helton
500 doubles
471
July 22, 2009
3rd, off scoreboard
Todd Helton
1200 RBI
1116
September 29, 2009
6th Inning double
Todd Helton
1200 R
1166
August 9, 2009
Scores on GIDP in First inning

If I missed any of the large ones please let me know. Thanks for a great season and I hope we can have more individual accomplishments next year (to go along with more great team accomplishments).

This Saturday is photo day for the Rockies. I have every intention of attending the game and having a good time, but I have never been to photo day before. There are two things I would like to know about in regards to this game.

1.  What time do I need to be at the game to get pictures/autographs from the players? Since it is a Saturday game it starts at 6:10 and I generally  show up as the Rockpile and E gates open 2 hours before game time. Do I need to go earlier than this and do the gates open eariler?

2.  After reading the comments here for the last week it has come to my attention that there will be many-a-Rowbot at the game. I propose that we try and get together inside the ballpark before the game starts (I never leave my seat during the game and I assume many of you are the same way). The question then becomes when and where do we meet. Please post in the comments section a preferred location and time, so it will be easier to chat for a little bit before we rush to enjoy the game.

Thanks for the info, and I hope to see you there.

JFK

GO ROCKIES!!!!

Continue reading this post »

WARNING: A wall of text follows.

   I don't know where to start as today was a long day for me. I showed up at the ballpark at 8:15 this morning and there was some activity going already. There were some minor league position players hitting in the batting cage and some catchers working on getting out of their stance to throw to second. This was surprising to me because the players usually come out around 9:00, which they did.

   The minor league pitchers began doing PFP (pitcher fielding practice) drills. These included comebackers and bunt fielding with throws to second. Some other groups worked on pickoff moves, 3rd to 1rst. They practiced bunting and threw bullpens. The catchers were working on fielding high popups, and more throws to second.

   There was a set of major league players who came out. All of the pitchers came out and participated in the same drills listed above for the minor league players. The major league position players that made appearances were: Fasano, EY2, Hector Gomez, Podsednik, CarGon, Christian Colonel, Baker, Paul Phillips, Bellorin and Mike McKenry.

   The drills the position players went through were the same drills as those from yesterday: bunting, hit and run, moving the runners over among others. They also worked on base running and getting a good jump on balls in the dirt, double steals, and moving two bases at a time. These events were judged by Rick Matthews. By the last event, ground balls to the right side, only EY2 had been completely eliminated.

   They then proceded to have a small homerun competition, when Hawpe showed up to take flyballs a little bit later. He said that EY2 "should get counted for a homerun if he hits it past the centerfielder." Paul Phillips, a new guy to the Hi Corbett complex, was having some difficulty finding Field 5 where everyone was working out. He walked across one field and yelled at Bellorin asking for directions to the field. He spent another 5 minutes walking around to try and get to the field before he finally arrived.

   Hawpe, Baker, and Gomez did not hit in the drills due to injury, I would assume. They did, however, start fielding balls. Hawpe took both grounders and flyballs in the outfield and was throwing the ball to the cutoff man. Baker and Gomez took about 50 groundballs a piece at second. This was encouraging because Baker looked like he was a lot more mobile even if he wasn't going all out and he could be ready for more intense things beginning Thursday (from my perspective).

Game Observations:

Before: The team actually took infield and outfield before the game, much as a highschool, college, or little league team would.

1st: JDLR had no control with any of his pitches. This led to the Athletics teeing off on the fastballs he could locate. A big thank you to MATT DALEY for coming in and not letting a run score.  Ryan Spilborghs was picked off because he anticipated the pitcher going to the plate but the pitcher held the ball a little bit longer than expected.

Skipping a few well pitched innings by Daley.

4th: Every ball that was hit in this inning was hit hard. The double by Torrealba was slightly misplayed by Holliday and the triple by Spilborghs hit the 360ft sign in right. I hope Ryan Speier doesn't bat during the season because he looked funny batting.

5th:  Tulo had a sacrifice bunt attempt but Koshansky was thrown out at third because he slowed down approaching the bag and he did not slide.

6th: Fowler showed me his speed on a ground ball to center when he went first to third with ease. It really is incredible how fast he is.

7th: Morillo was very dominant in this inning. He located his fastball well, and he just blew it by the hitters.

8th:  Hynick supposedly hit Wimberly on the foot, but Wimberly did not think so and he wanted to continue his at-bat. The homerun for Fasano had to travel at least 480 feet to left as it towered over the lights surrounding the stadium.

  This was a great trip, as it always is for me. I love baseball and learning what the coaches have to say to the players. I always enjoy talking with the players because they take encouragement well and are always quite humble. I have spent the last year trying to get a NL Championship Shirt signed by all of the members of the team. This weekend I got, Jason Hirsh, Bob Apadaca, Todd Helton, Jeff Baker, Juan Morillo, and even Matt Holliday to sign it. There are only two current Rox left to sign, Fogg and Corpas, and quite a few former Rox including Matsui, Affeldt, Carroll and Hawkins.

  Thanks for reading this wall of text. I cannot wait to read the updates from my fellow Rowbots that are coming in to town this weekend. For now, I'm out.

JFK

    As everyone knows it is the beginning of the third week for Colorado Rockies Spring Training. I am happy to say that I have been watching with enthusiasm and a critical eye for the last two days.

    Yesterday was pretty simple. The major league club did not come out to the backfields because they had a game. Instead it was the second day for full workouts for the minor league pitchers and catchers. The pitchers completed drills involving pickoffs and bunting. The coaches were trying to get the players to control their pickoffs and stay balanced in the process. Trinidad Hubbard, was in charge of the bunting drills. Some of the pitchers could not bunt very well at all.

   The game was well documented. Helton hit a homerun and Reynolds pitched really well. Morillo gave up a run in his one inning but it was earned by the Padres. Two singles on good pitches down in the zone, the second moving the runner on first to third. The double was on a mistake pitch but the ball still just squeaked between the outfielders. Overall the game was a lot of fun.

    Today there was an intrasquad game but it was closed to the public. Instead I stayed on the back fields and watched the practices. Many of the regulars came out for batting practice and situational drills. The drills were: sacrifice bunting and slug bunting, hit and run, hitting with the infield in, and groundballs to the right side.

    Participating in the drills were: Sal Fasano, Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes, Troy Tulowitzki, Scott Podsednik, Wilin Rosario, Seth Smith, Matt Murton, Ryan Spillborghs and Yorvit Torrealba.

    Everyone had trouble bunting the ball to third, and they frequently bunted them foul. The purpose of simulating the infield in was to get the players to hit the ball over the infield deep to the outfield or on a line. The players did fairly well with this but at least four of them had weak ground balls to third base. During the ground balls to second drill a lot of balls were lifted in the air for fly outs to the right fielder. Sal Fasano would do the best at moving the runner to third from what I saw. The slug bunts were funny to watch, especially since I hope none of the players ever use it in a game.

    These drills were being judged by Rich Dauer on a point scale, if the player received a specified amount of points he could leave. If the player did not get the points he had to stay and run sprints with the rest of the team. Those that had to run were, Barmes, Tulo, Rosario, Smith, Murton, Spilly, Torrealba. Hawpe also showed up at the end to run with everyone while they gave Garrett a hard time for not wanting to stay and run.

   Batting practice took place before the drills and you can add Todd Helton to the above named players for those who took batting practice. He did not work on the drills, I assume, because he played in the intrasquad game. Each of the players had simple strokes to the ball and were spraying line drives all across the field. Helton, along with the others, started simple and then turned up the pace by launching balls over the 25 foot high fence in the outfield. This was a lot of fun to watch because they were the big boppers and line drives are always promising, even if it is batting practice.

    Thanks for reading this and I hope it has been somewhat informative as to the happenings in Spring Training from a Rowbot point of view.

JFK

With Spring training off to such a horrible start I started to wonder, are there any Rowbots headed down there in the next week. It would be fun to catch up with someone and go watch games. I am planning on getting down there and being on the backfields starting this coming Sunday. I will have to leave on Wednesday but it would be fun to talk baseball with other people.

If you are still interested there are still three slots open in the Rowbot Fantasy Baseball League.

League ID #: 60759

Password: rockies

Type Roto

Live Draft  March 12 at 7:00 MDT