Sunday Pebble Report

by Russ Oates on Aug 5, 2007 8:10 AM MDT in Rockpile

The Springs, L 0-7: Four singles for the offense last night, coming off the bats of Q, Nix, Stewart, and JoKo. Kevin Walker had a performance in which he showed why he shouldn't be considered as a possible rotation candidate should someone currently in it falter or get injured: 5 IP, 5 R, 9 H.

Tulsa, L 2-4: Christian Colonel hit his 13th homer last night in a mostly silent night for the Drillers. Jon Asahina made his first start since the end of April (after a ball hit him on the side of his head) and allowed four runs, two earned. He lasted 3 1/3 innings before Matt Daley came in for the next 3 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two over that span.

Modesto, W 11-1: Brandon Hynick continued his run through the Cal League by allowing one run in seven innings and striking out seven. James Burok, making his Cal League debut, pitched the ninth inning and struck out all three batters he faced. Both EY Jr. and Jeff Kindel hit a triple, with Kindel's being part of a 4-for-5 night with four RBI. Jr. drove in two, and Justin Nelson and Daniel Carte each had one.

Asheville, L 1-2: Mike Paulk had one of the two Tourists hits last night and drove in the only run for the Tourists. Keith Weiser pitched well over seven innings. He allowed both runs, but struck out five. Casey Weathers made another appearance and struck out two of three batters faced, both were of the swinging variety.

Tri-City, L 4-6: Maruis Loupadiere had two hits last night, drove in a run, walked, and stole a base. Nate Anderson, who played in 10 games for the Tourists last season, drove in two. Cory Riordan went five innings, allowed four runs, and walked three.

Casper, L 2-6, L 0-7: In the first game, David Christensen had a hit and walked twice. Bobby Paschal went four innings and allowed only one run.

The Baby Rockies offense followed that loss with twelve strikeouts and no runs scored. Warren Schaeffer was the only player not to record a strikeout. Jeff Fischer allowed all the runs (four on a grand slam), and Randall Taylor pitched a perfect seventh inning.

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Comments

Ian Stewart...

Just thought I would let you all know that if you haven't seen it, there is a diary at minorleagueball.com where people are arguing what kind of of major leaguer Ian Stewart will be.

Personally, I think he is still young and should end up being a good player, but I'm not ready to pencil him in for a starting position for the Rockies yet. I still think Atkins is the better option at third for next year and the people in place at the corner OF positions should hit better than Stewart next year as well.

A number of people here seem to think he is ready for the show, but he isn't performing that well on the road and I think some extra time in the Springs next year wouldn't be a bad thing for his development. I'd be curious to hear what everyone else here thinks.

Lastly, somewhat off-topic, I really think the Sky Sox need a humidor.

by DenverBears on Aug 5, 2007 8:41 AM MDT reply actions

Here's

a link to the diary.

"Don't give up the ship!" - Capt. James Lawrence

by Russ Oates on Aug 5, 2007 8:58 AM MDT up reply actions

The performance on the road is a concern

Stewart hasn't had an extra base hit away from Security Service Field since June 26. In this latest series with Round Rock, he's gone one for thirteen and is only hitting .200 on the road since that June 26 game when he had a homerun and double. Colorado Springs' schedule has been very home heavy since that time, however, and that span comprises only 40 AB's, but Stewart's scouting profile says he should be a middle of the order hitter regardless of where he plays, and we're not really seeing that lately.

Despite the troubles, I'm in favor of giving him a taste of MLB action this September to try and light a fire under him to figure things out. The diarists' choice to bring up a Ryan Shealy comp later in the comments is unfortunate s the swings are completely different, as is the dismissal of Vinny Castilla, who was a very good MLB third baseman in his prime, even if he was never a star. Castilla actually might be a decent right handed comparison of a slick fielding quick bat that held a lot more promise when he was young. Remember Castilla thrived off of MLB fastballs, whereas Shealy gets overwhelmed by them. Stewart will be more of the former.

Stewart already has more patience than Vinny, too. I think like Matt Holliday, the road numbers will eventually rise to Ian's talent, but it might be a little while before that happens.

by Rox Girl on Aug 5, 2007 9:55 AM MDT up reply actions