Tuesday Rockpile: Troy Tulowitzki Trounces Team in Technique Trials, Dave Krieger is Optimistic
by Andrew T. Fisher on Feb 24, 2009 8:00 AM MST
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PrintTremendous Tulo
In working on fundamentals this spring, Rockies coaches ran a scored contest involving slug bunting, consecutive hits and opposite field hitting. Tulo won in a landslide. Pop the champagne! Tulo is back! Write down 30 HRs right now! Okay, so this contest is pretty trivial, but Tulo's technique is not:
"I changed my game a little bit as far as putting the ball in play last year and not striking out. My strikeouts were way higher my rookie year. I closed the gap and had more walks," Tulowitzki said. "I need to find the happy medium. I cut down on my K's, but I didn't have any power behind it. With my legs healthy, I should have a firm base again."
Krieger's Kriestal Ball
85 wins. That's his prediction. That would certainly be more optimistic than most Denver non-beat columnists. Then again, he's actually analyzing the team. The Rocky Mountain News' readers don't agree with him, with the highest percentage of voters predicting the Rockies to finish with a win total in the 60's. Of course, that will happen "with the monforts trading away every good player the rockies have ever had." Or so believe readers. Gag.
Name Game
Ubaldo Jimenez was utilized in a recent competition for best fantasy baseball team name over at FakeTeams. "When You Lose Your Haren, You Find Ubaldo" lost by just two votes when the polls closed. The winner had a memorable fall against the Rockies in 07.
DLR off a Dusty Shelf
This article, by David Gobliewski over at FanGraphs, was written two weeks ago. I don't believe it was shared, so here's a chance to check out an outsider's analysis of Jorge de la Rosa, perhaps the biggest wild card on the roster.
Keep a close eye on Jorge this spring- he could finally make good on the promise he has only hinted at to this point in his career.
See it All
If you've been itching to see more of Sal Fasano's beard, a Carlos Gonzalez smile, a close-up of Omar Quintanilla's crotch or another striking shot of Chris Iannetta, you're in luck. Just check out the most recent photojournals from the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News
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I got going in the RMN slideshow
and the second caption was: “Relief pitcher Jason Marquis smiles.”
Yeah, it’s not like we picked him up and then immediately penciled him in as our #4 starter or anything.
Geesh.
Blast and botheration.
I was hoping
for another photo of Joe Gorshe this time.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
you really have a thing for Gorshe don't you
Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/rockiesmagicnum
by Andrew Martin on Feb 24, 2009 9:53 AM MST up reply actions
Whoever Typed Those Captions Doesn't Follow The Rockies
Vinny “Castillo” agrees.
by Greg Stanwood on Feb 24, 2009 9:21 AM MST up reply actions
and he's ok?
He sleeps all night and he works all day?
Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/rockiesmagicnum
by Andrew Martin on Feb 24, 2009 8:46 AM MST up reply actions
+1
for obscure British references.
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
or put on women's clothing
Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/rockiesmagicnum
by Andrew Martin on Feb 24, 2009 9:52 AM MST up reply actions
I would pay good money
to see a picture of Tulo in high heels, suspenders, and a bra.
Even if only to blackmail him with it later.
Blast and botheration.
That happened
during his rookie hazing that no one talks about.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Jeff Kent
does not approve..
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
by DbacksSkins on Feb 24, 2009 10:07 AM MST up reply actions
...of anything
Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/rockiesmagicnum
by Andrew Martin on Feb 24, 2009 10:33 AM MST up reply actions
Especially
hot liquids. But also crossdressing.
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
by DbacksSkins on Feb 24, 2009 10:45 AM MST up reply actions
Wow. I was 6, so I didn't remember that
I didn’t realize he got the arrogant jerk tag so early on
"Winning doesn't really matter as long as you win." - Vinny Jones
by Andrew T. Fisher on Feb 24, 2009 11:00 AM MST up reply actions
Well
I was 7, but I still read about it much later.
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
by DbacksSkins on Feb 24, 2009 11:35 AM MST up reply actions
Talk about prescient statements
“It appeared today that it was going to be difficult for Kent to extricate himself from his isolated clubhouse position”
Seems his whole career, he never did.
Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave
by Mondogarage on Feb 24, 2009 12:00 PM MST up reply actions
Indeed.
Give the man props for getting into fisticuffs with Barry Bonds, though.
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
Jeff Kent
is a wiener.
Blast and botheration.
by Silverblood on Feb 24, 2009 10:46 AM MST up reply actions
He's
a processed pork product?
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
by DbacksSkins on Feb 24, 2009 11:33 AM MST up reply actions
Tulo
I’d prefer Tulo find a ‘happy medium’ that includes a similar BB/K ratio to last year AND increased power, but considering the HRs that we lost with the Holliday trade, and considering he’s likely to start the season in the bottom half of the batting order, the return of his home run pop is the most important thing. I like him for about 17-20 homers this year.
Also, none of those fantasy team names are as good as mine this year: The Audacity of Hawpe. At least mine fits in a Yahoo! league.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
MHCSports - Denver sports analysis from Denver sports fans
I would vote for
The Audacity of Hawpe over any of the names in that poll.
http://twitter.com/blakebomber
Baseball America
Dex 15
Chacin 46
Freidrich 95
No love for Rosario.
On an unrelated note – is anyone else worried about the fact that Chacin’s IP went from around 100 to around 175 last season?
"Better move your rental cars, I am about to take BP."
-Glendon Rusch
No
For whatever reason, under the name “Verducci Effect” after the SI writer, there’s such a big to-do about innings pitched increases. A siginificant increase in IP does not mean an injury is likely. I’d dispute the statement in the linked article that Verducci’s ‘08 picks for regression or injury are convincing evidence. Kennedy isn’t that good of a pitcher, and for every Gorzelanny and Carmona, there’s Matt Cain (46IP in 2005; 190IP in 2006) or Scott Baker (53IP in 2005; 167IP in 2006). And Cain and Baker did the jump with major league innings, which Chacin will not.
Chacin’s IP went up 85 from ‘07 to ’08, which isn’t a terrible jump. If someone threw 3000 pitches one year (assuming 30 starts, 100 pitches/start) and 5000 pitches the next year (in 30 starts) with 60% fastballs, I’d be nervous. While he did pitch more innings, he also lowered his walks and increased strikeouts, while lowering his WHIP by .2. As long as the minor league coaches do what they’re supposed to – watch his delivery for fatigue and limit him from pitching unnecessary innings – he’ll fine.
The point of mentioning BB/9, K/9 and WHIP being that he probably faced far fewer batters than the average pitcher who had a similar increase.
You ignored minor league numbers
for both Cain and Baker. Well, you only ignored Baker’s minor league numbers for ’05. Combined, Scott Baker pitched 187 innings in 2005 and then that number fell slightly to 167 in 2006. Cain pitched 192 innings in 2005 and then pitched 190 innings the following year.
I’m not entirely sure of the specifics of the Verducci effect. Like perhaps a 50 inning increase from 75 to 125 wouldn’t be as bad as a 30 inning increase from 150 to 180 since theoretically it seems like even though a 50 inning increase is large, 125innings still isn’t very much.
However, Jhoulys pitching 92 innings one year and then 177 the next would be a cause for some slight concern in my book I suppose…
PS, thebaseballcube.com is better for minor league numbers than fangraphs which just stops having minor league numbers prior to 2006.
Good Catch
I was going off Fangraphs player stat pages, which are incomplete. I still think the point stands, however, that innings pitched doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot. I’ll substitute Cueto for Cain: Cueto pitched 49 innings in 2005 and 138 in 2006, but he lowered his WHIP by .3 (thus allowing one baserunner less per game (so facing fewer batters and probably throwing fewer pitches per game). He then went on to a nice season in 2007 and an ok 2008 major league debut. I’m sure there are other examples but the main point is that pitches, and probably pitch type, matter a lot more then just IP.
Limited Innings
It wasn’t much passed 125 innings or so that the Front Office gave orders to limit his starts to 5 innings. The 175 innings was probably a very easy 175 innings to a big kid like that.
I've seen a couple of posts
from Saunders/Renck over at the DP blog:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/
http://twitter.com/blakebomber
What is WITH the spring training facial hair?
I’m not wild about all these beards/whatever they are.
This is Fasano
He always has it. Otherwise, I don’t get the facial hair either. Especially since most players are superstitious and it will get shaved when they start playing badly.
"A great catch is like watching girls go by; the last one you see is always the prettiest." ~Bob Gibson
JFK
Beards
are for the playoffs…
We are truly in the presense of greatness here…-- unnamedDBacksfan
by DbacksSkins on Feb 24, 2009 10:35 PM MST up reply actions
That's for hockey
http://twitter.com/blakebomber
by BlakeBomber on Feb 25, 2009 12:07 PM MST up reply actions
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