Sunday Pebble Report

by Russ Oates on Apr 29, 2007 9:13 AM MDT in Rockpile Comment 10 comments

Colorado Springs, W 7-4: 25 hits between the two teams and no one hit a home run, even if it was an away game for the Sky Sox. Sean Barker went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Cory Sullivan hit a triple and walked once in the leadoff spot. The bottom of the lineup (Bellorin, Quintanilla, Kaiser) all had an RBI. On the mound, Kaiser went 5 1/3, scattered seven hits and allowed three runs. Jentry Beckstead notched his first hold with the Sky Sox after he inherited two runners from Kaiser and allowed neither to cross home plate.

Tulsa, W 10-5: While Jonathan Herrera still waits to go deep with a ball, four Drillers hit home runs last night. Miller and Rifkin had back-to-back homers in the ninth, while Jeff Dragicevich hit his first of the season after Christian Colonel walked (after Rifkin's shot). Joe Gaetti slugged one earlier in the evening, the fifth inning, and that would have been enough to give the Drillers the lead had the ninth inning not taken place.

Franklin Morales had another good start. He struck out four in 5 2/3 IP, walked only two and gave up no homers. While he allowed three runs, the third run crossed the plate when Judd Songster allowed a single by Tyler Greene. Steven Register allowed two runs in a non-save situation to end the game.

Modesto, L 3-6: Except for Daniel Carte, every Nuts hitter had a hit last night in the loss. Becktel, Garner and Cook all drove in a run last night, with Cook's being his first of the season. Cuadrado and Garner had triples to start the sixth, but it didn't help much. Both lineups struck out nine times. EY Jr. stole his 12th base of the season. Things could have gone better for Chaz Roe as he allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 IP. All five runs came in the second inning, when he issued three of his four walks (he also struck out five). Roe's last three outings have all seen him walk four batters.

Asheville, W 10-5: With the exception of Daniel Mayora garnering a golden sombrero last night, the Tourists did well for themselves. Hector Gomez, while he didn't have a hit, drew two walks last night. He now strikes out six times for every walk he takes. Michael Paulk continued his hot hitting this season as he doubled, hit a two-run triple in the seventh and stole his fifth base so far this season. Michael McKenry and Bret Berglund both homered and drove in three runs.

Andrew Graham was mediocre as he allowed five runs in 6 1/3 IP. He also had 12 fly outs against four ground ones and two strike outs. Did you know that Graham has only started once this season at McCormick Field (last night not being that start)?

Joe Mikulik will manage his 1000th game for the Tourists on Monday and Jason McGill looks at Michael Paulk and his future.

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GRAHAM PITCHED PRETTY WELL........

until stretched into the 7th and then gave up 3 of the 5 ER. The organization does not seem to be overly concerned with the final numbers as they stretch to 100 pitch limits which I think is a sound philosophy.
A couple of great defensive plays, late in the game.

by 86 wins in 07 on Apr 29, 2007 10:00 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Might be

Graham isn't particularly young (22 I think?) and I don't know how high the organization is on him. They might be a little more cautious with the pitch counts on, say, an Aneury Rodriguez, who's just 19.

The Coors Effect... thinking about changing the name to The Humidor Effect.

by Rox Fan in TN on Apr 29, 2007 10:22 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

A disturbing pattern

You're both wrong. First year pitching coach Bryan Harvey doesn't seem to understand that it's only April, not August. He has an outstanding group of young pitchers, certainly one of the best in the league. Now is the time to build up confidence and endurance by spreading the innings around, not overworking or ignoring anyone, like Mik does with the position players. Instead, he's leaving his starters in too long. Twice he has done this with Simon Ferrer, causing two of his stronger outings to end in statistical mediocrity. One extra inning this time of year can do that. On Tuesday, he took an unnecessary chance with Aneury Rodriguez, who already had three rough (and short) outings to begin the year but was asked to go seven innings in his fourth start. What's wrong with taking him out after six (even though he had a no-hitter--who cares?) and giving the bullpen some work? On Friday, Josh Sullivan was obviously struggling, having walked four in only five innings and escaped two jams via line drive third outs (one with the bases loaded). Yet, Harvey sent him back out for the sixth. Sure enough, he got into trouble and had to be relieved. Regardless of pitch count, he was out of gas Harv, what's wrong with five innings? Last night was Andy Graham's turn. After throwing six strong innings, he was needlessly sent out for a seventh and promptly gave up three hits and three runs. I'll bet he threw over 100 pitches. In an April game.
What's your point Harv? Your bullpen pitchers barely get one inning every other day. Ferrer has never pitched a full season. Sullivan and Graham have only one year each of experience (at short season Tri-City), and Rodriguez is only nineteen. This time of year starting pitchers are sometimes "done" after only four or five innings, regardless of pitch count. After throwing six innings in any April game, ANY pitcher should be replaced. In addition to the disappointing taste left in the starter's mouth after a lousy last inning, frustration mounts in the bullpen. Come July and August, when the weather down here really kicks in, we'll see the true cost of leaving the starters in one or two innings too long in April.
Harvey is not handling this staff properly. How many more times will he spoil an otherwise outstanding performance by a young pitcher by leaving him in too long? In April, for gosh sakes. This isn't rocket science. Someone in Denver should have a chat with him. So far, Asheville has won two out of three games in this series, but which pitching coach is doing his job?

by Tourista Fan on Apr 29, 2007 10:52 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

PITCHING COACHES TEACH: E.G. .....

technique. adjustments according to the stuff a pitcher has on a given day, mental approach. pitch selection, changing speeds, location, grips to increase movement, monitor bullpen sessions, etc. They IMPLEMENT organizational policy and philosophy...E.G. Staff roles, innings/pitch counts and strength/aerobic and anaerobic/ and stretch conditioning. From a distance. Harvey is as GOOD as it gets in his role as a developer of young pitchers in all the above categories. I would be happy to bet "Tourist Fan" a bottle of "champagne (Tori Hunter) that Brian Harvey, if he so desires will be a highly successful MLB P-coach.....I'd make the bet bigger but I'm not the BIG MONEY GUY that Tourist Fan is.

by 86 wins in 07 on Apr 29, 2007 11:42 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tourista Fan

I believe Tourista Fan is FAR off base. Bryan Harvey certainly has whatever direction and philosophy he must implement from Denver, but the pitchers as a unit are all thriving. Of course they would probably all like the ball every game, that is the nature of being competitive. But look at the statistics of all the pitchers.........not shabby. Ask the players what they think of him as a coach..........I think they would feel he is a great teacher who really is supportive and works with them. If you listen on the radio broadcasts he has been described as taking on umpires to the point of even earning an ejection when his pitchers were the recipients of way too many bad calls. Starting pitchers perhaps could come out earlier, but the Asheville pitchers have not posted anywhere near the number of innings of other starting pitchers in the league. Off season training certainly was done by all the pitchers and much of the endurance for going deep in a game is cumulative. Starting pitchers and relief pitchers need to "dig deep," although maybe under a different sort of circumstances. As a former pitcher, I think Harvey knows what he is doing a lot more than Tourista Fan.

by lahardball on Apr 29, 2007 1:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Uncle!!!

Whoa, guys!! I'm not questioning Harvey's knowledge, qualifications, or commitment to the game, all of which are no doubt considerable. I'm also not doubting how much the pitchers like playing for him or how much he supports them, whether instructing them during bullpen sessions or barking at the umps. And, yes, he might very well make a great MLB p-coach someday. I don't disagree with any of that. My point is a very simple one--it's only April. While there is a time to ask a pitcher to "dig deep," April hardly seems the time to do it. May and June, maybe. July, yes. August, definitely. April--why risk it?
Please don't confuse this with trying to prevent pitchers from having to face adversity. They all need to encounter difficult situations. That's how they learn. So, if a coach hands you the ball, your responsibility is to go get the job done, regardless of the inning or pitch count. Period. No debate. However, I believe the flip side of that same argument is that developing pitchers in the low minors in April should err on the side of a more conservative approach than that seen so far for the Tourist starters. If your (collective) position is that the directive for 100 pitch outings in April is coming straight from Denver and Harvey is merely implementing that order, then I should clarify my position: I don't think that approach is the right one, no matter who makes the decision. The chance for an inadverdent injury by pushing too soon with these kids doesn't make sense to me. I could be wrong. In the meantime, I admit my original comment that "Harvey is not handling the staff properly," was way too general and, hence, way too harsh. I just hope we have a bunch of healthy, successful pitchers next week as well as Labor Day. I'm sure we all agree on that.

by Tourista Fan on Apr 29, 2007 5:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Any pitch count

the Rockies implement on their starters at the low levels is surely followed by Harvey. I also know there is no way Sullivan threw 100 pitches. The Rockies keep starters in the minors on a strict 75-80 pitch count, and I guarentee it was followed by Harvey.

I think the Rockies recent past shows they have been able to keep their young starters healthy. Outside of Jimenez (due to his mechanics) and Tsao, there haven't been many pitching prospects in the O'Dowd regime to have an arm injury.

by Rockiesbiggestfan on Apr 29, 2007 9:01 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tourista Fan

Well it certainly goes without saying that no one wants to see any player injured; it also appears that as the season stands now, only Asheville and Brian Harvey has a healthy pitching staff among the teams in the Rockie organization. Pitchers are being developed in many ways; the reality probably is the vast majority of the pitchers in the organization who arrived from high school and college campuses in this country were over-used starters. Not all of them can be starters in this organization, but it appears that regardless of their role, they are no longer being "abused" as they may have been in the past. I am quite certain the starters are consulted as to whether they feel they still have what it takes to go back out, as are the catchers. Then there is a delicate balance between not forcing a reliever to keep warming up and putting him in too soon versus keeping the starter in a batter or two too long. Certainly with the weather the Tourists have had to play in for the most part I would imagine it takes longer for a pitcher to be ready.........the starter who may be floundering at least is warmed up. And if you listen to some of the games, these umpires are moving them along and not allowing for any of the stall tactics that might allow a few more throws for the reliever to get warm. These are relievers who don't yet know that with 8 more pitches on the mound that they will be ready.............they're used to being starters. It appears all the starters are being given the chance to work themselves out of jams and all the relievers can look forward to pitching every 2nd or 3rd day. I don't think the relievers are being so underutilized and by sticking with the starters they all seem to be on the right track. 20/20 hindsight is always great.............but I do not feel the criticism of Coach Harvey is fair.

by lahardball on Apr 29, 2007 9:15 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

on another note....

did everyone see what Lincecum did to the Sky Sox yesterday? 6IP 3H 0BB 16Ks. Ouch. I don't know why the Giants don't call him up.

by DenverBears on Apr 30, 2007 5:12 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Actually it was 14 K's, like it makes a big difference. Russ Ortiz hasn't been 2005-06 Russ Ortiz awful, which might be putting off his timetable a little bit, but yeah, once he starts imploding it's only a matter of time before the Giants call up Lincecum. He's pretty much wasting his time at AAA.

The Coors Effect... thinking about changing the name to The Humidor Effect.

by Rox Fan in TN on Apr 30, 2007 6:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs