Purple Row - All Posts

Rockies 5, Giants 0: Juan Direction

2013-05-20T00:34:23Z

Juan Nicasio needed a good outing in the worst way and he delivered. Nicasio had easily his best outing of the year, throwing six strong innings with three hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Nicasio had wonderful command of his fastball and was even able to throw his slider for a strike in a few important places. Whether it was having Torrealba behind the dish, pitching for his rotation well-being, or simply just pitching to his ability, Nicasio gave the Rockies exactly what they needed.

Taking three of four from the Giants (should have been a sweep, but still not bad) was something the Rockies had to do. The Giants have been walking all over the Rockies recently, to be frank, and the Rockies finally fighting back is extremely encouraging. Especially against arch-nemesis Barry Zito, who typically owns the Rockies.

The Rockies took patient at-bats against Zito all afternoon and got big blows offensively from Carlos Gonzalez -- 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBI -- and Troy Tulowitzki -- 1-for-5 with two RBI -- as well as a four hit day from Dexter Fowler. Tulowitzki now leads the National League with 37 RBI.

The Giants defense once again did their pitching no favors, but give the Rockies credit for still pounding out 14 hits.

The Killer Bees -- Belisle, Brothers, and Betancourt -- each pitched shutdown innings and the Rockies are just a game out of first place heading into another big series with division leading Arizona.

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call Info
Total comments	762
Total commenters	39
Commenter list	CentralCaliRox, Charlie Drysdale, Chrysicat, DomP, Drew Creasman, ES46NE10, I_Am_Marshall, Jay Tymkovich,Jennifer Justus, Jordan Freemyer, Junction Rox, Kyle Domingos, MissR, Mr. Rockie, Nephelimdream, Nick95,OrangeTorpedo, Paleface Destro, PurpleToPurple, RMC7511, RdRnnr, RhodeIslandRoxfan, RockedUp,RockyMountainWay91, Russ Oates, SDcat09, Shoemaker, The Lodo Magic Man, TomCat009, Torrey's Tacos,Traindogger, WhiskeyDrinkingMan, afanfromafar, biondino, black_knight101, bumpy_johnson, butterfly, oldcoachB,prettyinpurple
Story URLs	http://www.purplerow.com/2013/5/19/4345982/2013-colorado-rockies-game-no-44-barry-zito-vs-juan-nicasio

#	Commenter	# Comments
1	SDcat09	92
2	CentralCaliRox	81
3	Nick95	54
4	ES46NE10	49
5	oldcoachB	47
6	Drew Creasman	44
7	RockyMountainWay91	44
8	Paleface Destro	39
9	Shoemaker	35
10	butterfly	35

Blake Street Stroll: The curious case of Juan Nicasio

2013-05-19T16:35:09Z

Juan Nicasio, now in his third season in the big leagues has basically acquired a full-season's worth of starts with 32. He offers tantalizingly good stuff and seems to give you just enough to believe that he is turning the corner only to regress in his next outing.

In fairness, Nicasio has youth on his side at age 26 and it's not uncommon for a young starting pitcher to take a bit of time to figure things out. He also has been set back by various injuries and the fact that he is even pitching after breaking his neck is a miracle in and of itself. So, how do we evaluate Nicasio? Do we just need to be patient and trust that he will develop? Does he need a minor league stint? Is he better suited in the pen?

I am of the opinion that Nicasio is best suited as a reliever with his ceiling being either as a setup man or closer. He has an overpowering fastball and a pretty good slider. The problem is he still hasn't developed a third pitch that he can throw with any consistency whatsoever. Nicasio is throwing his fastball 72% of the time, his slider 20%, and his changeup 6%.

Just to give you an idea what that means; Nicasio ranks 3^rd among starting pitchers in FA%. What that means is there are only two starting pitchers in all of baseball that throw their fastballs more often. Those two starters are Tony Cingrani and Shelby Miller. Rockies fans have seen what Shelby Miller can do throwing primarily fastballs, so why can't that work for Nicasio? One reason could be that Miller's second most used pitch is his curveball. A curveball has a far greater velocity difference from a fastball then a fastball to a slider, in Nicasio's case not having a big enough velocity difference allows a hitter to time him better.

There are plenty of big names in the top 25 of starting pitchers that all throw primarily their fastball on average. These names include, Jordan Zimmerman, Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Harvey, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Brandon Morrow. But, all of those hurlers throw their secondary pitches at least 40% of the time, whether it's a changeup curveball or slider, compared to Nicasio's 30% (I'm doing some rounding here, but the numbers are close). Nicasio's fastball is electric, but without better, and more frequent use of his secondary pitches he will likely continue to struggle as a starter.

Therefore, a move to the pen would be warranted where having a third pitch isn't essential. Starters need more variance in their pitches because the second and third time through a lineup the hitters start timing the hard stuff better. That's where a good secondary pitches keep them off balance. In the bullpen guys are typically only pitching an inning or two and they don't have to worry about a guy being able to time them in their second or third at bat

However, there really isn't room for Nicasio in the bullpen given the outstanding overall performance of the current relievers. In such a case as this, a minor league stint to work on his secondary pitches might not be the worst idea. Pomeranz certainly seems ready to step in and Nicasio hasn't even been in Triple-A before, so, giving him more time to develop down there might not be a bad idea. It seemed to work for Chatwood and it looks like it's working for Pomeranz. The Rockies are going to compete this year and that means they can't afford to let Nicasio work it out at the big league level.

Sunday Pebble Report: Jurickson Profar tags Sky Sox for two home runs

2013-05-19T16:32:32Z

Triple-A Colorado Springs - L 5-6 (24-16)

The Sky Sox lost to the Texas Rangers affiliate in Round Rock on Saturday. Drew Carpenter started in place of the recently promoted Tyler Chatwood and struggled against baseball's No. 1 Prospect Jurickson Profar. Profar hit two home runs against Sky Sox pitchers accounting for nearly all of the runs for the Express.

Leftfielder Corey Dickerson (# 7 PuRP) jacked his fifth home run of the season and now has a 15 game hitting streak. The consistency of Dickerson has been amazing as he's hit safely in all but one game this season. Designated hitter Matt McBride had two doubles on a three-hit night. First baseman Ben Paulsen contributed his third home run of the season.

Double-A Tulsa - L 4-11 (18-23)

The Drillers lost to the Royals affiliate in Northwest Arkansas Saturday. Starter Tyler Matzek (#10 PuRP) faced off against statistically the worst hitting team in the Texas League and gave up five earned runs including two home runs in five innings pitched. Matzek is now 1-4 and his ERA stands at 4.99 on the year.

The Drillers offense was held in check by starter and all-name pitcher Brooks Pounders, who only allowed three hits in a five inning shutout. Kiel Roling accounted for all of the Drillers runs on a grandslam, his ninth home run of the season. Designated hitter Rafael Ortega (#9 PuRP) had a pair of walks and scored in front of Roling's home run.

High-A Modesto - L 3-4 (19-23)

The Nuts were defeated by the Padres affiliate of Lake Elsinore on Saturday in Modesto. Starter Chris Jensen allowed three earned runs on eight hits, with two walks and five strikeouts. Russell Brewer and Kenneth Roberts came on in relief and combined for 2.1 shutout innings.

First baseman Harold Riggins (#20 PuRP) tallied a home run on a 2-for-4 game. It was Riggins eighth homer of the season. Third baseman Tim Smalling scored a pair of runs with a hit and two walks on the night.

Low-A Asheville -

L 4-6 Game 1

In a completion of Friday night's game that was rained out, the Tourists lost to the Atlanta Braves affiliate in Rome on Saturday. Shane Broyles pitched three shutout innings, but Alving Mejias came in to give up four earned runs in 3.1 innings.

Leftfielder Francisco Sosa had two hits, including two RBI. Catcher Tom Murphy (#15 PuRP) added a double and RBI to his stat line.

W 5-2 Game 2 (23-18)

Eddie Butler (#13 PuRP) started the second game and held the Braves to two earned runs on six hits, he added six strikeouts to his total and has a season ERA of 1.66.

Kyle Von Tungeln had a breakout night going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Leftfielder Dillon Thomas added two runs scored on a hit and walk, he's hitting .192 for the year.

Sunday Rockpile: Rockies momentum & robot umpires

2013-05-19T16:31:14Z

The Colorado Rockies have finally won two games in a row and have a chance to really get some momentum going against the San Francisco Giants this afternoon. This stretch of games, including the ensuing three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, have been highly anticipated and billed as a pivotal time in the Rockies young season. So it is certainly encouraging to see them come out of their offensive slump a bit and put up some runs against the defending champions.

That being said, if they lose today, they allow the champs a road series split within the division, and have still yet to actually win a series against a winning team. This would be a great time for the Rockies to secure a big win over a division rival, prove they can run with the big dogs, set themselves up for a competitive series with the Diamondbacks, and show that the May swoon is no longer in effect. Today is a big mental game for the Rockies, and it will almost undoubtedly be one for their starting pitcher.

Momentum is tricky in baseball. Offenses certainly slump and get hot (and Rockies fans have seen plenty of both this season) but as Earl Weaver said "momentum is the next day's starting pitcher." After another solid start from young Tyler Chatwood, the Rockies will hand the ball to Juan Nicasio, who may be one or two bad starts away from demotion. Yorvit Torrealba will set up behind the plate in a managerial move designed to help guide Nicasio through this important start for both him and the club.

Umpires and Replay Update:

A few weeks ago I wrote a scathing critique of MLB umpiring, insufficient use of technology, and a general lack of transparency. That very evening, a home run that was ruled a double by Angel Hernandez in an Oakland vs Cleveland game would set off a series of conversations with MLB ultimately announcing that it hopes to have a "large" expansion of instant replay by 2014. That night was also a tough officiating night for the Rockies, but while more replay may have helped on a decisive bang-bang play, MLB reports that it still has no intention of shifting the way balls and strikes will be called, so the Mariano Rivera 4-inches-outside-strike is likely still as useful as ever. Still, these are steps in the right direction toward the inevitable Umpire Robot Uprising.

Links!

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post on Tyler Chatwood's excellent performance.

Troy E. Renck (I'm already running) actually gives us some pretty good insight as to the off day situations for Troy Tulowitzki this season and his journey to remain healthy and effective. It will be interesting to see if "playing it safe" pays off for him and the club all year, or even for years to come.

Not a lot of great links today but I found this piece on Hardball Times about some excellent pitching performances that included very few swings and misses. Especially in today's game where BABiP and the like have become such important stats, it was interesting to see a break down of how and why some pitchers can be dominant by actually forcing the opposition to put the ball in play.

Giants vs. Rockies final score: Tulowitzki, Rosario power Colorado to 10-2 win

2013-05-19T03:18:29Z

After Thursday's gut-wrenching loss, the Colorado Rockies fell to 2-15 in their last 17 games against the San Francisco Giants. Two days later, the Rockies must be on cloud nine after taking consecutive games from the defending-champion Giants, who entered the series with 30 victories in their last 39 games against the guys in purple.

Colorado received a balanced effort from its offense and pitching staff for a full nine innings en route to a 10-2 victory over first-place San Francisco on Saturday. The back-to-back wins marks the first such occurrence for the Rockies against the Giants since this time two years ago.

It's also the first time the Rox have won consecutive games of any sort since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 20 to cap off an eight-game winning streak.

Troy Tulowitzki had four hits and a pair of runs batted in and Wilin Rosario hit a two-run home run as part of a 2-for-4, three-RBI night to pace Colorado's offense, which banged out 10 hits -- seven of which came against Giants starter Tim Lincecum. Lincecum had a rough evening; he took a tumble on the mound while attempting to throw a pitch which resulted in a balk and made a head-scratching throwing error which kickstarted Colorado's offensive onslaught.

Dexter Fowler continued to heat up, finishing 3-for-5 with an opposite-field double -- a promising sign from a guy who has been eye-poppingly pull-happy as of late.

Tyler Chatwood prevented damage to the tune of one run on seven hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out four. Josh Outman performed admirably in relief of Chatwood, giving up a run on three hits in two innings.

Wilton Lopez notched a strikeout to close out the eighth inning and kept the Giants off the board in the ninth to preserve the blowout victory.

23 - 20

Games Back: 1.5

Streak: Won 2

Games Left: 119

*****

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call Info
Total comments	491
Total commenters	21
Commenter list	BikeChess, Bryan Kilpatrick, CentralCaliRox, Chrysicat, ES46NE10, FieldGreen, Funabashi, Jordan Freemyer, Kevin L, Kevin V. Minor, MissR, Nephelimdream, Nick95, Northsider1964, RockyMountainWay91, SDcat09, Sjamb, WhiskeyDrinkingMan, everever, holly96, idj2

Rock Mining, Week 7: Exorcising the baseball demons

2013-05-18T19:30:29Z

After writing last week about the Rockies sudden offensive power outage, I was able to go to my first Rockies game on Mother's Day in St. Louis with my wife and kids. I was apprehensive, knowing that the team had just lost its last two games by a combined score of 6-0. I would like to think my presence at the game helped, as the Rockies had an impressive 8-2 victory for which I made the family stay until the final out. Unfortunately, the Rockies couldn't keep this going as they headed into Chicago, but I remained hopeful that they had figured something out. Then came Thursday night.

As Jay Tymkovich wrote after the Thursday game, the baseball gods have been surely in favor of San Francisco. When the Giants started off Friday night with a four run lead, I decided to take direct action and provide a sacrifice to these baseball gods that Jay mentioned. Without a Giant handy, I had no choice but to sacrifice a panda and hope that this would be enough. It was an expensive undertaking but proved to be worth it as it was just enough to help the Rockies come back and win the game. How else can you explain Pacheco hitting his first home run of the year as a grand slam? Or the Giants' four errors in one game? Or the fact that the Rockies won a one-run game for the first time since April 24 (0-3 since then)?

Just so all the animal lovers out there don't yell at me, what I sacrificed was some Panda Express (some Chinese fast food, not an actual panda). So it was not all that pricey but it looks to have done the job. I hope that the baseball gods do not need more from me next week, because I really don't like the taste of rattlesnake. Seriously though, the Rockies needed this win. 10 consecutive losses to a division rival had the team playing scared. It showed in Thursday night's game, it showed in San Francisco earlier this year, and it showed in their all-or-nothing swings toward the end of Friday's game. Hopefully they will be able to calm down now and approach the next two games with patience and purpose. Two more wins or even splitting the series would give the Rockies a good way to prepare for the D-Backs. Cargo has been hitting the ball really well of late, and Dexter Fowler has quietly gotten some hits after a horrible beginning to the month. If Rosario can capitalize on his strong performance last night, this team could start running on all cylinders again on offense.

Now it seems that it is the pitching staff's turn to struggle. Giving up eight runs two nights in a row is tough and with Francis down, it will be interesting to see if Chatwood comes up and continues to do well. After I praised the bullpen last week, they began struggling while everyone in the rotation benefited from at least one strong start. Not a whole lot of analysis this week for all of you Rowbots, but it's time for the good, bad and the ugly.

The Good: The Rockies' position

While I would much rather them have a 10-game lead in the division at this point, the Rockies -- even after going 6-9 to start May -- have put themselves in a good position to be successful this year. They have five games against the Giants and three against the Diamondbacks before a four-game, home-and-away series with the last place Astros. I don't mean last in their division Astros, I mean last in baseball. As I said above, a strong week here and the Rockies will create a lot of buzz around baseball. Even without an average week, Colorado can ensure it is in contention going into June. Hopefully the demons are exorcised and the Rox can play normal baseball now against the Giants.

The Bad: Adam Ottavino with inherited runners

Someone else mentioned this stat, so I don't take credit nor have I validated it, but Adam had allowed six of his last eight inherited runners to score. Some players just need to come in to a fresh new inning and maybe he is one of them. Inherited runners do not show up in Ottavino's ERA but they are a big deal. Perhaps Walt Weiss can look at using someone else to put out the fire and let Adam and his 2.21 ERA take the long role starting at the beginning of innings.

The Ugly: The number 2 spot in the order

I know I have touched on this several times, but this still continues to be an issue. Batters not named Jordan Pacheco only hit .208 in the number two spot, with Dexter Fowler batting .235 and Josh Rutledge worse at .143. Josh simply needs to bat sixth or seventh in the lineup, where his OPS is 300 points better. And with Eric Young Jr. struggling, Dex needs to move to leadoff as he snaps out of his slump. This leaves the two-hole, well ... a hole. Pacheco can fill this on days when he plays -- and who knows, maybe Michael Cuddyer can step in when he returns -- but for now, it is likely to remain a problem. Pacheco has shown great ability hitting second this year, with a .370/.433/.481 line from the spot (albeit with a small sample size). Despite some negativity thrown his way here on the Row by commenters this week, Pacheco has shown himself capable and may even be growing in strength to be a better power hitter. It will be interesting to see.

Have a good weekend, and as always, GO ROCKIES!!!

Saturday Pebble Report: Featherston hits grand slam in Modesto's offensive show

2013-05-18T18:15:14Z

The Rockies affiliates were 2-1 on the night, with Colorado Springs having the only loss in the Rockies organization. Asheville's game was suspended due to rain after three scoreless innings.

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 4, Round Rock Express 7

Two wild innings by the pitching staff resulted in a loss for the Sky Sox. The offense was able to strike early against Ross Wolf but was unable to maintain control of the game. Corey Dickerson, Charlie Culberson and Tyler Colvin collected multiple hits, including Colvin's third triple of the year and Culberson's 11th double.

Dickerson started off the game with a line drive single, the first of two hits he collected on the night. He was able to score later that inning. In 33 games, Dickerson is sporting a .382/.414/.640 line, good for a 1.053 OPS, with three triples and four home runs. His main weakness has been reaching base via walk; he only has eight on the year.

The Sky Sox were up 3-0 after the top of the fifth. After giving up a walk and two consecutive singles, Jeff Manship faced a bases loaded situation with no outs. Three runs would score before Manship was chased from the game with two outs. Cory Riordan relieved Manship and struck out Chris McGuiness to end the inning.

The seventh inning turned sour for Riordan. He faced traffic after giving up 3 singles, and a wild pitch to McGuiness allowed Eli Whiteside to score. McGuiness followed with a two-run homer to right field. A Sky Sox run in the 8th brought the score up to 4-7, but Colorado Springs stayed quiet after that.

Tulsa Drillers 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Kiel Roling, Kent Matthes, Angelys Nina and Jayson Langfels each collected two hits in the win over NW Arkansas. Roling and Matthes each hit home runs, the only extra base hits of the night. Roling's two-run shot in the fifth proved to be enough against NW Arkansas' Texas League-worst offense. It also tied him for first place with Kyle Parker, who also has 8 home runs on the year. Roling is leading the team in SLG (.546) and OPS (.882).

Tim Gustafson was credited with the win and improved to 2-3 on the year. Through seven innings and 101 pitches, he allowed two runs (none earned), five hits and three walks. In his last two starts, he has not given up a single earned run. Fielding errors by Cristhian Adames and Rafael Ortega allowed both runs to score in last night's game. Mike Marbry and Steven Hensley held the NW Arkansas offense to one hit in the final two innings.

Modesto Nuts 12, Lake Elsinore Storm 8

The Modesto offense collected 12 runs on 12 hits while the pitching staff allowed eight runs on 10 hits. After returning from the 7-day DL for shoulder soreness, Tyler Anderson had his shortest start of the year, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks in three innings of work.

After falling behind, 6-2, through four and a half innings, the Modesto offense struck back with a four-run fifth and a six-run sixth inning. Taylor Featherston hit a grand slam in the sixth to score Trevor Story, Will Swanner and Tim Smalling. The inning included four walks, three stolen bases, a double, a single, a wild pitch and the big home run.

Featherston, Brian Humphries and Tyler Massey each collected multiple hits. Every player reached base at least once. Kraig Sitton earned the win, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three in 1.2 innings of work.

Asheville Tourists @ Rome Braves: Suspended (rain)

Asheville and Rome are tied at 0-0 through three innings, with the game slotted to be completed today.

Saturday Rockpile: Welcome back, Tyler Chatwood

2013-05-18T14:20:10Z

The long, strange journey that has been Tyler Chatwood's professional baseball career to this point will take another turn tonight when he returns to the Rockies to face Tim Lincecum and the Giants.

People tend to forget that Chatwood is just 23 years old, given that he has made 48 Major League appearances (39 starts) in three different seasons to date.

Chatwood was drafted out of Redlands East Valley High School by the Los Angeles Angels in the second round of the 2008 draft and impressed in the lower levels of the minors, pitching for three different LA affiliates in 2010.

Chatwood made just four unspectacular starts at AAA Salt Lake before being called up to the Angels in 2011 to help fill in for a rash of pitching injuries that hit the big club. For a 21-year-old with less than 25 innings above AA, Chatwood performed quite admirably in the big leagues in 2011, accruing a 4.75 ERA and six wins in 142 innings spread over 25 starts and a pair of relief appearances.

That offseason, Chatwood's career took another unexpected turn when he was traded to the Rockies for Chris Iannetta.

Chatwood made the Rockies out of Spring Training in 2012 ... as a reliever. He made four relief appearances for the Rockies in April, earning his only career save in the process, before being sent to AAA ... to start. He made nine starts at Colorado Springs with mixed results -- an ugly 5.79 ERA but good peripheral stats -- before being recalled to Denver once again.

Chatwood's second stint with the Rockies in 2012 again consisted of work out of the bullpen; he made three relief appearances in late June and early July before being sent back down again, this time to AA Tulsa.

He made four starts in Tulsa, with good results this time -- a 3.00 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 24 innings -- before being recalled for a third stint in the majors, this time as a starter.

Chatwood made his final 12 starts of 2012 with the Rockies, going 4-5 with a 4.88 ERA, a significant improvement over the 7.62 ERA he compiled as a reliever.

This will already be Chatwood's second stint in the Major Leagues in 2013, but between AAA and the majors this season, he has put together a 3.10 ERA in 40 2/3 innings over seven starts. Perhaps this is the time he sticks in the show.

If there has been one constant in Chatwood's career, it has been inconsistency. He has 749 2/3 professional innings under his belt on 10 different teams in two different organizations; he has thrown more than 100 innings for just two of those 10 teams (Single-A Cedar Rapids in 2009 and the Angels in 2011). However, he has shown improvement at each stop and a bit of stability, at either the AAA or major league level, could really allow his career to develop.

Perhaps this call up is his chance to do just that.

Links:

Rockies notes and quotes: Pacheco's dad gets grand slam ball, Tulo questions Bumgarner - Denver Post
Patrick Saunders has a whole slew of notes from last night's 10-9 win over the Giants, including the fate of Pacheco's grand slam ball and a disagreement between Troy Tulowitzki and Madison Bumgarner, but more on that one later.

Giants lose wild one under Coors big top - San Francisco Chronicle
In Henry Schulman's wrap up of last night's game, he discusses an incident in the fourth inning in which Tulowitzki called the attention of umpire Tim McClelland to a black splotch on the ball in Bumgarner's hand, which resulted in the two players having words with one another. It is to be seen what, if anything, comes of the incident.

Chad Bettis doing A-OK with Colorado Rockies' Double-A farm team - Denver Post
Irv Moss takes a look at the hot start of Tulsa's Chad Bettis, which has been momentarily derailed by an oblique injury, and has some other notes on the Drillers as well.

Colorado Rockies rookie Nolan Arenado has a big fan in Vinny Castilla - Denver Post
Patrick Saunders takes a look at the relationship between Nolan Arenado and Vinny Castilla since Arenado's call up. Personally, I can't think of a better mentor for Arenado than Vinny.

Finally, the Rockies tweeted this list of the top 20 walk up songs in franchise history, as voted by the fans. I'll refrain from comment on the list, as Franchise26 mentioned possibly doing a FanPost on the subject, but I will submit these favorites of mine that didn't make the list:

Josh Fogg - "Slow Ride" by Foghat
Brian Fuentes - "For You" by Staind (Note: That is the clean version.)
Carlos Gonzalez - "Abusadora" by Wisin & Yandel
Mike Myers - "Halloween Theme" by John Carpenter
Eric Young Jr. - "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" by Birdman & Lil Wayne (Can't find a clean version of this one.)