The Rockies roughed up the Rangers a bit last night as startee Esmil Rogers had just one less hit (two) at the plate than he allowed on the mound.

• Pacheco pushing for spot on Rockies - This is a little late, as Jordan Pacheco's pursuit of a roster spot seems much less likely now than it might have a week ago, but the news has reached Albuquerque. While Pacheco making the Opening Day roster seems doubtful, Jim Tracy's comments make it pretty clear that we can expect to see him in a Rockies uniform at some point this season.
• Who will stop the Phillies in 2011? - The Globe and Mail - The Rockies merit some attention as a prime challenger to the expected return to the NL roost of Philadelphia according to the Toronto newspaper.
• Adrian Gonzalez, Cliff Lee Among Top 10 Story Lines to Follow This Season - Top 10 - NESN.com - Here too, sort of, the ten questions all seem to have to do with major media market teams, but the preamble and final story line (about the Giants) make note of the Rockies usurper ambitions.
• Former MLB Player/Manager Passes Away from Mesothelioma | Mesothelioma Lawyer & Asbestos Cancer Resource | Sokolove Law - Charlie Metro, who helped advise in the construction of Coors Field passed away.
• Colorado Rockies buck Cactus League's downward attendance trend | Denver Business Journal - As I've pointed out, the Rockies are drawing a lot of fans to their new shared ballpark with the Diamondbacks. What's been odd to me is how many, 10,000 plus a game, a 104% increase on last season so far. I get that there would be some increase with the new digs, and the Diamondbacks regularly selling out Salt River Fields makes sense to me as well, given that they're the local team, but even the Giants are experiencing an attendance decline this Spring. So the best conclusion is that the Talking Stick itself is bringing fans to the Rockies, but I'm hoping the Rockies talking sticks are winning some of them over.
  
• Attendance decline in Cactus League proving to be prickly - USATODAY.com
  

Finally, I'm in Austin right now, but I did notice at least one familiar face while I was here:

Just thought I'd share Huston in his inverted W glory at the Texas football stadium's entryway food court. Anyway, as was the case Thursday, I won't be around when this is posted to respond to comments.