Sorry for the late 'Pile this morning 'Bots. Finals beckon.
Troy Renck got the scoop straight from the horse's mouth. Owner Dick Monfort says Clint Hurdle's job is safe, even with a terrible finish to the homestand.
"To say he would be (fired after this homestand) would be inaccurate. If you make the change, what is going to be better? And we are not going to make change for change's sake," Monfort said Monday in a phone interview. "If I felt it was going to make the difference in winning more games, we would do something. But I just don't think that's the case right now."-Renck
And yet another vote of confidence. "They will get the job done. That's why patience in this whole situation is the key." This has gotten beaten to death, but seriously, you have to start wondering what Hurdle has to do to get himself fired...
Argh...to other news. Foo Man thought that Redhawk might be Troy Renck. Redhawk then followed with stating that the Rox need Tulo to be great. So maybe it's no surprise that Renck's column this morning addresses that very issue. Renck's closing comments:
The Rockies need a player to go off, get crazy-hot, make the kind of plays that increase walk-up sales.
No player profiles better than Tulowitzki.
All kidding aside, Redhawk and Renck are completely correct. Tulowitzki's raw talent and leadership were pivotal to Rocktober. He absolutely has the most potential of any position player to rise up and fill that star role, and he does have a 1.233 OPS since being moved to the 2-hole last week. And by the way, his left leg is feeling "much better."
Dexter Fowler is getting more time in the cage. He'll need to make adjustments, because he has struggled - specifically with a loopy swing - since the beginning of May.
One former Rockie got DFA'd from the Red Sox bullpen, though it certainly wasn't Ramon Ramirez. Javy Lopez, whose headlining moment this year came while playing RF while OF Johnathan Van Every pitched, is heading to AAA.