A "medley’ of candidates at first base | All Things Rockies
As was mentioned in the comments in yesterday's Rockpile, Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta have been getting plenty of pregame work in at first base, resulting in a whole bunch of guys who may be ready to fill in over the next few weeks while Todd Helton is out - or longer. Iannetta is a guy to really watch for here. It has been long said that catching can take a toll on a guy mentally and physically. We all know that Chris can be an excellent hitter in stretches (and the same can be said of Hawpe). If his mind is off of catching and solely on hitting, as can be the case when playing one of the easier positions on the field in first base, he may be in a better position to start having the breakout offensive performance that we've been expecting for a couple of years.
Meanwhile, Hawpe's butchery in the outfield has been beaten to death, as has the "little known" fact that he was drafted as a first sacker. Moving Hawpe to first base would be an immense help to the club by just freeing up a spot for Seth Smith and Ryan Spilborghs to platoon (as RMN explains in this piece from a few days ago that you must check out). It will be interesting to see how Jim Tracy handles having three guys (I'm still refusing to think about a scenario in which Melvin Mora plays first base) ready to throw in at first base, as well as how those guys respond defensively. We've been spoiled with Helton saving errors there for well over a decade.
Weathers moves up to Modesto | Inside the Colorado Rockies
Casey Weathers is an interesting cog in the Rockies' relief wheel. After dominating at Tri-City (0 R, 2 H, 5 BB, 21 Ks in 11.2 IP), he is being moved to Modesto (as Russ also stated in this morning's Pebble Report), and in another couple of weeks, Tulsa. As you all know, Weathers was basically MLB-ready when he went down with an injury (and some say he was the closest to being MLB-ready in the entire 2007 draft when it took place) in late-2008. He'll need to keep proving his worth, though, because while his numbers were excellent for the Dust Devils, that is to be expected for a guy with his experience in that league. If he passes the tests that the organization presents to him, though, he could be a part of the Rockies' bullpen sooner rather than later. I like the sense of urgency the club is seemingly beginning to show with their '07 first rounder.
Tourists pitcher Matzek learns the ropes | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times
Keith Jarrett writes about Tyler Matzek's trials and tribulations during his debut season in pro baseball. It includes some good quotes from Asheville manager Joe Mikuluk, as well as pitching coach Dave Schuler. Matzek suffered his first loss of the season last night despite an acceptable pitching performance (he tossed a quality start).
Denver: Mile High fun | The Salt Lake Tribune
This has little to do with the Rockies in particular, but there's some pretty good stuff in here about the City of Denver as well as some nice photos attached to the article. I saw it in the paper this morning, and immediately began longing to return to Denver.