clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tuesday Rockpile: Trivial things you should know about the Rockies

By Andrew T. Fisher Updated

The Rockies pipeline is pretty dry this morning. Nothing is boiling at MLB Trade Rumors, Troy Renck hasn't had an update since yesterday, and with the 40-man roster full, it's unlikely we see anything noteworthy. We will just have to wait until pitchers and catchers report in six days.

But just so there's something to read this morning, I have assembled a few random factoids/statistics from 2009. Some are intentionally counter-intuitive; some are intentionally abusing small sample sizes. Some are old and you've probably seen them before; some are new; some I've borrowed from other writers and some will make you blue. Without further ado:

  • Miguel Olivo led the entire AL in slugging percentage in June.
  • Adam Eaton led the team with a .706 wOBA. He had one plate appearance, pulling out a 14th inning RBI walk on August 24, immediately preceding the SpillySlam. Behind Eaton are Jason Giambi (.455) and Troy Tulowitzki (.393).
  • Todd Helton was 2nd in the NL in sac flies, Jorge de la Rosa was 3rd in wild pitches, and Dexter Fowler was 4th in sac hits.
  • Ryan Spilborghs led all Rockies' outfielders in assists, and Seth Smith had the greatest UZR.
  • Jason Marquis had a better ERA at Coors Field than away from it.
  • Jason Hammel had a lower xFIP at Coors Field than on the road.
  • Brad Hawpe hit .846 with a runner on second base from Opening Day to June 13. He was 11-for-13.
  • Carlos Gonzalez failed to get on base even once in his 14 PA's from the 9-hole.
  • Much was made of Jorge de la Rosa's dramatic turnaround in the second half, but his second half FIP was only 0.10 better than in the first half.
  • Jason Marquis, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Hammel were 3rd, 7th and 16th, respectively, in MLB at groundball per flyball ratio.
  • Eric Young Jr. was the first player to be picked off on his first two times reaching base in his career.
  • Jason Hammel set the franchise K/BB mark, Ubaldo Jimenez set the franchise H/9 mark, and Jorge de la Rosa broke his own franchise record, set in 2008, for K/9.
  • According to Fangraphs, Jason Hammel had the 5th best curveball in MLB in 2009. Suck it, thin air.
  • Memo to Baltimore: Garrett Atkins hit .450 with a 1.150 OPS as a DH.
  • Only one Rockies' starting pitcher allowed more than 1.0 HR/9 - sinkerballer Aaron Cook.
  • The first batter in an inning hit .370 off Ubaldo Jimenez, reaching base 49% of the time.
  • For the second consecutive year, Ubaldo Jimenez had the fastest average fastball (96.1mph) among MLB starters. Despite starting at the ceiling and throwing the 3rd most innings in franchise history, he increased his average fastball 1.2mph, the 20th highest fastball gain in the league from 2008.
  • From Fangraphs' pitch ratings: Only two pitchers had three different pitches rated at greater than +9.6 in 2009. One was Javier Vazquez. The other was Ubaldo Jimenez
  • Chris Iannetta grounded into only one more double play than Jeff Baker did with the Rockies.
  • Seth Smith had a .581 BABIP in AB's from games in which he did not start.
  • After the day Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle, the Rockies were 34-14 in games started by fourth and fifth starters Jorge de la Rosa and Jason Hammel.
  • If you have any oddities/anomalies/interesting bits of your own, do share.
There will be some links after the jump.

Six days from the first day of Spring Training activity, and there are a slew of talented, unsigned free agents. The Rockies don't figure to have space for any of them, but the "Un-signed All-Star team" is interesting nonetheless.

Chris Jaffe ranks the best MLB stadiums. Coors Field ranks....nowhere. He has only been to 14 parks, some of which no longer exist. Where would you rank Coors (no answering unless you've been to 5+)?

I don't know when these were posted, but the Denver Post has a couple video interviews with Jeff Francis and Dexter Fowler posted.

The following three links were no linked in the Rockpile story yesterday, but they were published yesterday and linked in the comments. If you missed them:

Renck: Rockies are sure to miss Torrealba - The Denver Post

With starting spot secure, Rockies' Stewart focuses on swing - The Denver Post

 

The Pitching DiamondView is here. - Beyond the Box Score
The DiamondView Pitching Composite Evaluation tool is finally here--and it will knock your socks off. Check it out now.

Lastly, the 2009 NL West in Review WAR series will wrap up today at noon MT.

More From Purple Row