Saturday Morning Rockpile:

by Rox Girl on Mar 29, 2008 7:20 AM MDT

All systems go, apparently. The Rockies plans for building depth have remained on track. Josh Towers and Jose Capellan were bad enough this Spring to ensure no outside interest as they cleared waivers and are reporting for Colorado Springs. Cory Sullivan is also ticketed to play with the Sky Sox, as the Rockies decided to make a go with Scott Podsednik off the bench instead to start the season. Sullivan and Ryan Speier -who's right handedness also played a role- were victims of the CBA's option system more than anything else, as both have had strong camps and would have made the Rockies decisions much harder had there been a risk of losing either to other teams. The Denver newspapers are in two camps with Sullivan this morning,

1. Sullivan's an example of ownership's new emphasis on winning over cost cutting

2. Sullivan is a well-liked victim of a brutal cut that will destroy clubhouse chemistry

The game itself, was a bittersweet victory that might not have told us anything, as you have to wonder how much Doug Davis' cancer diagnosis affected his pitching. He's the type of pitcher that needs to have cool-headed deception and a good poker face to be successful, and obviously other things are going to be on his mind right now that might throw him off. Our thoughts and well wishes go out to him and his family for a full and speedy recovery, as we hope to best him on the field many times this year.

The bats were out in full force, yesterday, sans Tulo, who's still showing weakness against finesse lefties. That Brad Hawpe hit his HR off Davis is particularly encouraging, as he's been much more consistent against southpaws this Spring. Let's hope that continues into the regular season when the games actually count.

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Is that

blank space supposed to be the widget for Hawpe's stats? The code doesn't quite tell me.

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

by Russ on Mar 29, 2008 7:42 AM MDT 0 recs

Yes it was,

I'm not sure exactly why it didn't work, but I couldn't remove it either. I'm still trying to get used to the new platform, but there are apparently some kinks to work out.

by Rox Girl on Mar 29, 2008 8:15 AM MDT up 0 recs

I fixed it.

Went into the HTML editor and took the code out. I believe the stats widgets are empty since they're set for 2008 stats now.

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

by Russ on Mar 29, 2008 8:23 AM MDT up 0 recs

Tulsa Drillers roster set

From TulsaDrillers.com:

Catchers:
C Brian Esposito
C Neil Wilson

Infielders:
1B Jeff Kindel
2B Eric Young Jr.
SS Chris Nelson
IF Corey Wimberly
IF Jeff Dragicevich
IF Duke Sardinha

Outfielders:
LF Justin Nelson
CF Dexter Fowler
RF Daniel Carte
OF Matt Miller

Rotation:
RHP Brandon Hynick
RHP Alan Johnson
RHP Ching-Lung Lo
LHP Xavier Cedeno
RHP Tomas Santiago

Bullpen:
RHP Casey Weathers
RHP Pedro Strop
RHP Ryan Mattheus
RHP Jarrett Grube
RHP Matt Daley
LHP Adam Bright
LHP Luis Gonzalez

DL / in Extended ST:
RHP Chaz Roe

Are Brandon Durden and Samuel Deduno hurt? I expected those two to be with Tulsa. Also wondering where Rick Guarno, Jordan Czarniecki and Chris Frey will end up.

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 8:24 AM MDT 0 recs

Deduno

Yeah, I think Deduno is hurt. When we were at the minor league camp (mid-March) I saw him wearing gray pants.

For those who don't know, gray pants in minor league camp means one of two things ... a coach or instructor ... or someone who's hurt and not playing.

Modesto has a season ticket holder event at 2PM PDT today and they usually have the roster at that time. If they don't have it on the web by then, I'll try to grab one and post it.

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 10:59 AM MDT up 0 recs

Updates

I went down to the field in Modesto and they do not yet have the roster.

We (actually, my wife, not me) spoke to one of the players who is currently on his way driving to Modesto and gathered the information below. Keep in mind this is all from a ballplayer's memory so there could be some inaccuracies, but mostly I trust what he remembered and told us.

- There will be 7 outfielders in Colorado Springs, including Chris Frey. There will be 6 extra players in the Springs, who will presumably rotate in and out of the active roster in a phantom DL scenario. Not sure how that will work.

- There were 12 players released yesterday; no more were released today when they broke camp. The ones he could remember were Jose Valdez, Philip Cuadrado, Lino Garcia and Andrew Kriedermacher.

- Jonathan George is going to Tulsa, but is on the DL.

- Brandon Durden, Jason Van Kooten and Bret Bergland are on the DL and will be staying in Tucson.

- Here are the players that will be in Modesto that he could remember. Since he's a position player, he didn't remember all of the pitchers. There's 21 players here, meaning 4 more on the roster and I would bet that at least 2 of those are pitchers.

Pitchers
James Burok
Simon Ferrer
Andy Graham
William Harris
Andrew Johnston
David Patton
Esmil Rogers
Keith Weiser

Catchers
Michael McKenry
Nelson Robledo

Infielders
Hector Gomez
Nick Haley
Daniel Mayora
Michael Paulk
Matt Repec
Geoff Strickland

Outfielders
Travis Becktel
Jay Cox
Victor Ferrante
Cole Garner
Anthony Jackson

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 3:55 PM MDT up 0 recs

Hmm… interesting stuff

Thanks for the information.
I didn’t think Kreidermacher would be released.

My guess at Modesto’s four mystery pitchers:
Aneury Rodriguez, Josh Sullivan, Shane Lindsay and Zach Simons

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 5:15 PM MDT up 0 recs

And

Tommy Baumgardner too. Maybe Lindsay is still rehabbing.

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 5:16 PM MDT up 0 recs

Pitchers

Those were the four I had in mind when trying to sort it out myself.

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 6:05 PM MDT up 0 recs

The rest of the Modesto roster

I just got the official roster from the Modesto Nuts front office. The 21 listed above are all correct and here are the four that were missing (malakian pretty much nailed it):

Aneury Rodriguez
Shane Lindsay
Tommy Baumgardner
Zach Simons (they have him on the official roster press release as "Simmons")

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 8:49 PM MDT up 0 recs

Interesting

Roster overview from ModestoNuts.com

Modesto’s rotation definitely looks intriguing:
Weiser
Rogers
Lindsay
Rodriguez
Ferrer

The first four are all top 30 caliber prospects.

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 10:01 PM MDT up 0 recs

SPEAKING OF STUFF.....

in 1957, Warren Spahn (Hall of Famer with 363 wins) said, "Hitting is timing and Pitching is disrupting that timing." Think of that the next time you quote a jugs gun.

by 91 wins in 08 on Mar 30, 2008 7:37 PM MDT up 0 recs

Surprises?

Matt Miller I was expecting to get promoted to AAA. Frey and Czar are probably headed there, and since Mike Rose requested a release, the team might have pushed Guarno up to back up Bellorin.

by Rox Girl on Mar 29, 2008 12:06 PM MDT up 0 recs

Springs

I was looking on milb.com and the Colorado Springs roster looks somewhat updated (still has some guys like Paulk that will not be there). Guarno is listed there now and was not previously and Czarniecki is listed there as well, but no Chris Frey. But, there's still 28 guys on that roster so I don't think it's final. Other names I was expecting to be there or in Tulsa and aren't in either place currently ... Jonathan Herrera and Nick Haley.

Matt Miller wasn't a total surprise for me, but only because he was already in the Tulsa workgroup when I was there a few weeks ago. Sure, he might have been ready for a promotion, but with a Springs outfield that is likely to include Gaetti, Smith, Sullivan and Czarniecki he wouldn't have seen a ton of playing time.

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 12:21 PM MDT up 0 recs

True, regarding Miller, we've got a logjam of fourth OF types

That aren't good enough to force their way onto the MLB roster, but too good for anywhere but AAA. I'm guessing that this probably means that Frey would be in extended with an injury then, because I don't see the team releasing him yet. With Fowler pushing his way through the system fast and the club's decision to hold onto Cory Sullivan and add Podsednik, you'd think Chris was running out of space to show he's got long term value to us, however, he's probably the best cf defensively we have in the system and he made some solid progress offensively last season. I could see him being Fowler's backup in two or three years.

by Rox Girl on Mar 29, 2008 1:21 PM MDT up 0 recs

Frey

Yeah, I don't see them releasing Frey either and there's no way he'd get dropped to Modesto, so I have to assume he's hurt and going to extended until I see or hear otherwise. I agree with your assessment of where he could end up, but I would debate him being the best CF defensively in the system. Personally, I think he's a very close second behind Fowler ... but it's pretty darn close.

by ModHost on Mar 29, 2008 2:15 PM MDT up 0 recs

Projected Sky Sox roster?

RHP Greg Reynolds
RHP Josh Towers
RHP Victor Zambrano
LHP John Koronka
RHP Jose Capellan

RHP Ryan Speier
RHP Juan Morillo (DL candidate?)
RHP Steven Register
RHP Darren Clarke (DL candidate?)
LHP Josh Newman
LHP Chris George
RHP Alberto Arias
RHP Zach McClellan # (DL)

C Edwin Bellorin
C Humberto Cota
C Rick Guarno

1B Joe Koshansky
2B/OF Matt Kata
2B/SS Omar Quintanilla
SS/2B Jonathan Herrera
3B Ian Stewart
IF Doug Bernier

OF Sean Barker
OF/3B Christian Colonel
OF Jordan Czarniecki
OF Chris Frey
OF Joe Gaetti
OF Seth Smith
OF Cory Sullivan

Others unaccounted for (or possibly released): Fernando Seguignol, Ruddy Yan, Tony Blanco, David Parrish, Josh Burrus, Valerio De Los Santos, Edward Valdez, Marc Kaiser, Mike Esposito, Alec Zumwalt, Sandy Nin, Chris Young and Cedrick Bowers

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 5:27 PM MDT up 0 recs

Closer

Speier or Register?

by roxhead on Mar 29, 2008 9:16 PM MDT up 0 recs

Speier

I guess. He had 33 saves for the Sky Sox last season.

by malakian on Mar 29, 2008 10:07 PM MDT up 0 recs

Update

Matt Kata was traded to Pittsburgh yesterday. Quintanilla and Herrera are set as the starters at 2B and SS.

by malakian on Mar 30, 2008 1:25 AM MDT up 0 recs

Kaiser and Esposito

Just talked to one of the pitchers that's on the drive to Tulsa right now and in addition to the four released that I mentioned in my previous comment (Valdez, Cuadrado, Garcia and Kriedermacher) he said that Kaiser and Esposito were among the 12 released on Friday.

by ModHost on Mar 30, 2008 12:38 PM MDT up 0 recs

Woody Williams

Woody Williams was released, who would you rather have Towers or Williams?

Should we go get him?

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 7/6/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER! rockiesfan4ever reffered you

by rockiesfan4ever on Mar 29, 2008 12:55 PM MDT 0 recs

There was a link

but I cant get it to work, but it was on Yahoo!

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 7/6/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER! rockiesfan4ever reffered you

by rockiesfan4ever on Mar 29, 2008 12:55 PM MDT up 0 recs

I'd still rather have Towers

Williams' arm is toast, he needs to hang up the cleats. Josh should be able to have some value still.

by Rox Girl on Mar 29, 2008 1:10 PM MDT up 0 recs

Just read this...

Don't know how significant this is, but found a quick bit on mlbtraderumors.com:

"The Mets have given up trying to trade for Rule V pick Steven Register, and are letting him go back to Colorado. He'll report to Triple A. "

by roxintober on Mar 29, 2008 3:12 PM MDT 0 recs

Oh really?

Hmm...

by oo_nrb on Mar 29, 2008 4:55 PM MDT up 0 recs

End of spring training stuff:

Jason Hirsh will start the season on the DL. Mark Redman and Franklin Morales in the rotation. Josh Towers and Jose Capellan got sent to AAA. The Rockies optioned catcher/first baseman Edwin Bellorin to Colorado Springs to complete their end-of-spring moves. Also, the Mets sent Rule 5 Draft pick Steven Register, a right-handed reliever, back to the Rockies for $25,000.

I guess that makes our rotation: Francis, Cook, Jimenez, Morales, Redman? Better than having Josh Towers anywhere near a rotation spot.

The Purple Reign has begun....

by The Lodo Magic Man on Mar 29, 2008 4:38 PM MDT 0 recs

I'm going to opening day!!!

The sign will DEFINITELY make an appearance!

by Squeaky on Mar 29, 2008 5:48 PM MDT 0 recs

I hate her

We were down in LoDo all day, went to Coors (I applied for a summer job there) and she just walked up to the ticket window and asked about Opening Day. Seventy bucks later, she had a ticket in Sect. 144 and I was cursing up and down the cruel fate that makes me fly back to New York a week before Opening Day.

Argh.

Get Demented :: Gang Gridiron.

by Silverblood on Mar 29, 2008 5:53 PM MDT up 0 recs

Awesome!

I will be sure to look for your sign! I probably won't run into you, as I'll be up in the upper deck, but if you happen to see a kid in a Tulo jersey with a very bewildered but cute girl hanging off of him, feel free to say hi :) .

by oo_nrb on Mar 29, 2008 6:01 PM MDT up 0 recs

Sweet!!!!

I'm so happy that you were able to get a ticket! I'll be just a couple of sections over from you, so I'll look for the sign and introduce myself. Way cool.

2007 National League Champions, baby!

by rockhead on Mar 29, 2008 10:19 PM MDT up 0 recs

Roster assignments

I'm new to this. Just got back from spending several days at spring training. Wow, what a great time. As to some of the "missing" names listed above, here's what I heard this week:
Sam Deduno supposedly had Tommy John surgery, at least that is what the players were saying. I saw Branden Durden throw a bullpen and he looked fine. Shane Lindsay is not hurt. He threw this week and was 94-97 on the gun, though a bit wild. Mark Redman threw against the AA team and looked awful, I mean really awful. Josh Sullivan is supposed to have some minor surgery in Denver soon (again, that's what the players were saying). Dexter Fowler looked very good both times I saw him play, as did Chris Nelson.
I had never taken the opportunity to view the minor leaguers before. You can really get a good feel for lots of players pretty quickly because of the close proximity of the practice fields.
Last observation: I saw Vizcaino pitch against the Dbacks and, if we are in any way relying on him to give us lots of good innings this year, we're in trouble. I hope Clint and Bob can figure something out with him. It wasn't pretty.

by Roxbb on Mar 29, 2008 8:08 PM MDT 0 recs