The 2006 Colorado Rockies bullpen was an awkward hodgepodge of veterans and farm talent. The Rockies weren't in a position of competition within the NL West, and were waiting on their young talent to really fill out and put the Rockies into a serious position of contention. There was longtime reliever-turned-closer Brian Fuentes, overworked veteran setup man Jose Mesa, swan-song lefty Tom Martin, uninspiring LOOGY Ray King, and a pair of rookies named Ramon Ramirez and Manuel Corpas.
2007 saw a divergence from the two promising relievers. By season's end, Ramirez was in AAA and Corpas had stolen the closer's job from Brian Fuentes.
Not much more really needs to be said about Corpas' career, as he had moments of grandeur and moments of complete fallibility. But there is plenty to say about Corpas' 2010.
The story of Corpas' 2010 is really the story of 2 months. With closer Huston Street on the DL to begin the season, and interim closer Franklin Morales being hit all over the ballpark, the Rockies turned to Manny Corpas to see if he could show any flashes of his former brilliance.
Between the months of April and May, Corpas pitched 31.1 innings, struck out 21, walked 9, and allowed 8 earned runs. That's a 2.30 ERA and roughly a 3.5 FIP. Corpas notched 4 saves and finished 12 games in that time. The first half of June wasn't bad either, and from June 1 to June 18, Corpas notched 5 saves in that span, striking out 3, and walking nobody.
For those keeping score at home, from Opening Day through June 18, Corpas had pitched 38 innings, struck out 24, walked 9, had an ERA of 2.37, 3.33 FIP, .739 WPA. I think everyone had sorely missed THIS Corpas.
The next 11 days were pure hell for Manny. 7G, 6.0IP, 18 ERA, 4K, 5BB, 2HR. 8.70 FIP. -.511 WPA. Essentially put, Corpas had undone everything he'd worked so hard to regain.
The remainder of Corpas' 2010 was pretty unremarkable. He'd been relegated to mopup duty. Despite a passable 4.91 ERA, he was allowing a .973 OPS to opposing hitters. Solid K/BB ratio, but too many homers, too many hits.
Corpas underwent Tommy John surgery in September, and was subsequently released by the Rockies in November.
From World Series dominance to the scrap heap. Kind of sad to see a hero fall apart like Corpas did. That's baseball, though.
Last thought on Corpas. He may have been ineffective, he may have wasted Colorado's money by showing up out of condition, leading to injury, but I'll say this for him: His April 6, 2010-June 18, 2010 may have been Corpas' own Swan Song, but it was a really good song. To put it another way, Corpas' 2010 left a good taste in my mouth. I'll always sentimentally enjoy Corpas, and I hope he latches on elsewhere in 2012.
Grade: B- (A- for April-June 18, D+ for everything else).