Tuesday Pebble Report

by Russ Oates on Jun 5, 2007 8:04 AM MDT in Rockpile

Colorado Springs, L 4-5 in 11 innings: Desi Relaford, member of the 2005 Rockies team, hit a double off Josh Newman in the bottom of the 11th to score the winning run. Bobby Keppel allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings but Ryan Speier collapsed in the ninth when he walked three and allowed two runs to score and tie the game.

The theme of the night for the hitters was to go 2-for or 0-for as Barmes, Bellorin, Smith and Alexis Gomez had two hits and everyone else, except for Sean Barker (one hit), had no hits.

Tulsa: The TL was off for the night.

Modesto, L 5-8: It was not a good night for Nuts pitchers. Chaz Roe went seven innings, allowed five runs and walked and struck out four. That had Roe on hook for the loss, but a three-run eighth tied the game at five. Pedro Strop came in for the ninth, walked the first batter and allowed a single to see the first run cross the plate. He then served up a two-run homer to put the Nuts down by three.

The offense combined for six doubles, two by Neil Wilson and Young, Fowler, Nelson and Garner with the others. Half of those doubles came in the eighth when EY Jr. and Fowler doubled in back-to-back at-bats and Neil Wilson drove in two on his double a couple batters later.

Asheville, L 2-7: Keith Weiser had an iffy outing as he allowed five runs on 10 hits in five innings. He allowed his ninth homer of the season and picked off a runner. Zach Simons relieved for the next three innings saw two pitches become solo home runs. Will Harris struck out two in the ninth.

Jay Cox returned to the lineup after being benched the previous game and had two doubles. Daniel Mayora had three hits, one was a double, and Anthony Jackson had his seventh triple. Hector Gomez was hit by a pitch in the eighth and was replaced with Geoff Strickland. There's nothing about it in the A C-T, but if someone was listening at that point . . .

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Gomez Injury

Probably he was removed for precautionary reasons. The announcer thought it appeared like the ball hit him around the stomach (immediate concern may be a broken rib), but the trainer came out and was working on one of his legs. Hard to say if it was the HBP or the going down that caused him to come out of the game; there was no further comment about his injury during the game.

by lahardball on Jun 5, 2007 9:30 AM MDT reply actions

Gomez

Was hit in his knee. He was in teh lineup on Tuesday but was a late scratch. He'll likely be back when the Tourists play on Thursday.

by jmcgill on Jun 5, 2007 6:36 PM MDT up reply actions

Mayo's Mock Draft

He has another one:

8. Colorado Rockies: Nick Schmidt, LHP, University of Arkansas
It's sounding more likely the Rockies will go with a college arm with this pick, and while Detwiler or Moskos are both on their list, they're both gone in this scenario. No one has helped themselves more lately than Schmidt, the consummate lefty who tossed a shutout in conference tournament play and was stellar again in Regional action.
Last projection: Daniel Moskos

If this was the pick, it would probably upset more of you than it would me. Yeah, I'd like a pick with more upside, but I also like my steady, dependable lefties. In a perfect world, I'd like the Rockies to take Wieters in this scenario.

"Vae victis!" - Brennus the Gaul

by Russ Oates on Jun 5, 2007 10:28 AM MDT reply actions

Is Mayo a Giants fan?

Because he has them nabbing both Matt Wieters and Josh Smoker in the first round along with Aaron Poreda sandwiched . They're going to score on Thursday, but that would be a frightening amount of top flight talent entering their system.

With the rest of the division having multiple selections between our first two picks, I'm going to have a much harder time swallowing a safe selection like Schmidt than I had with the Reynolds pick last season. I really hope we're willing to go out on a limb if the talent's available at that slot this year.

by Rox Girl on Jun 5, 2007 11:40 AM MDT up reply actions

I just can't see the Rockies

making a big splash in the draft.

The Shmidt pick just smacks of "Rockie-ness." Where I never got a great look at Reynolds prior to the draft, I have seen two of Shmidt's outings, and will say that he is a very good pitcher and basically is the left handed Reynolds. He works quickly, pounds the zone, solid sinking two seam, average secondary pitches, great clean mechanics. I'm sure he could start in Modesto and like Reynolds, call on Double A a year later. I don't, however, see the same outside "Ace" possibility here as I do with Reynolds, only because I think Reynolds has more potential as a strike out guy, where Schmidt works more to contact. With the quick outings both pitchers have, the Rockies could make their money back on the utilities' savings. Plus, like recent Rockies' picks, Shmidt's team is out of contention, and he appears to be easily signable and capable of entering the organization quickly. Also, I believe a former Razorbacks player or coach still tied to the program also scouts for the Rockies...

That said, I think Colorado has to be careful about how they go about the draft now. A televised draft will only bring more scrutiny on the teams that sign below slot players, or draft guys that have low ceilings but move quickly. Where now most average fans don't pay close attention to the draft, Thursday they'll be able to tune in to ESPN2 and hear a Keith Law or John Manuel (enter BA personality here) openly question the Rockies management's decision to leave more than a dozen higher rated players on the board to take a low ceiling left hander. A fan that attends several games but only pays attention to the farm as it's discussed on mlb.com or the Post/News might begin to wonder why a player like Wieters is passed up while the Rockies' catchers combined can hardly match his college batting average. The Rockies already have a shaky foundation with the fan base, and shirking on the draft may only further the distrust between the fans and management.

I don't dislike this player or selection, but I do roll my eyes when I read things like this, because it fits the MO. With a low second round choice, the margin for error is slimmer in finding "hits" in the draft, but at the same time can this team continue to go safe while teams like San Fran and Arizona go big with Lincecum/Sherzer? It's a question worth asking...

by David OhNo on Jun 5, 2007 2:11 PM MDT up reply actions

The ramifications of a televised draft

The Feed blog made a post today of why teams might not want the draft to be televised, basically summing up a dozen first round busts and/or notable failures to sign the players selected. Included in the list of cautionary tales is Rox hitting coach Alan Cockrell, who was selected eighth overall by the Giants at one time.

My feeling is that if Nick Schmidt=Paul Maholm (who was also selected eighth overall, probably the best #8 selection of the last ten years, unless you count the second time Wade Townsend was selected) then it's hard to complain, but there's a definite trickiness involved for us due to the aggressive drafts of our divisional peers and the fact that they have so many selections this year. I know what probably will happen given the MO, but I still think the right move is to buy high on the first pick and then save afterwards rather than settling for an inferior talent there.

by Rox Girl on Jun 5, 2007 6:33 PM MDT up reply actions

The irony of your comp

is that is the exact player I thought of when I watched Shmidt, but forgot to add it to my brief rundown. He doesn't have the depth on his breaking pitch like Maholm, but he does match the heavy fastball and solid change.

Still Maholm is merely good, not great. I'm in the Wieters camp with Russ if we go for broke, but I'm also shocked that the Rockies have quieted around the Dominguez rumors.

by David OhNo on Jun 5, 2007 9:22 PM MDT up reply actions

Seven Asheville Tourists

made the SAL All-Star Roster.

"Vae victis!" - Brennus the Gaul

by Russ Oates on Jun 5, 2007 2:32 PM MDT reply actions

Thoughts, prayers, well wishes, etc..,

BTW go out to Rai Henniger and his family. The Sky Sox' VP lost an eye due to a fireworks mishap during a game last month in Colorado Springs, but is progressing with his recovery.

by Rox Girl on Jun 5, 2007 5:30 PM MDT reply actions