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What a difference a day makes. Well, two days. Ok, three. Tuesday, Ty Wigginton went 3-for-4 with a long ball against the Cubs, and came up with an injured oblique on a slide into 2nd.
This injury to Wigginton really couldn't have come at a worse time for anyone involved. Over the past 14 days, Wigginton has batted .280/.367/.560 (.927 OPS), and finally looked like he was breaking out of his rough start to the season. In fact, since he bottomed out after his PH groundout in the top half of the Mets doubleheader at a whopping .194/.242/.258 - and oh yes, that's a .500 OPS - Wigginton has posted a .276/.371/.517 (.889 OPS) line.
I'm expecting a couple of different gut reactions like "SSS!" or "well those are arbitrary endpoints and" or something about Lopez' LD swing, but really, 3B production has been so screamingly bad in 2011 that any sign of a pulse from the position has me leaping out of my chair. Seriously, folks, Rockies 3B as a whole have batted .128/.191/.221 (.412 OPS). For the sake of comparison, the Pitchers' spot has batted a consistent .170/.170/.170, good for a .340 OPS.
So with Wiggity potentially hitting the DL, the Rockies might make a roster move today prior to the opener with the Pirates. We spoke yesterday about the potential candidates, with Alfredo Amezaga as the seeming leading candidate, despite the need to make a 40-man roster move to make it happen. Cole Garner and Chris Nelson are options that would not require a 40-man move, although Garner doesn't really make sense, given the need for IF depth. Ian Stewart could get an early return call to the big club, as he's (expectedly) crushing AAA and his K rate has dropped to below 30%, although I personally don't see him as quite ready. Finally, Eric Young Jr. could get the call, and I don't hate the idea. He's cleaning up in the Springs with a .411 OBP and 6 steals in 7 tries. My question is "can he play 3B?" They're certainly not playing him at 3B down in AAA.
I guess if we're to look at Herrera as the 2B and Jose Lopez as the 3B and whoever we call up as the bench dude, it doesn't matter THAT much which guy we choose, but in my mind, you want as much actual positional versatility as possible, which leads to Amezaga, given that he can play every position on the field simultaneously. Eric Young Jr provides that PR option in the 9th when Giambi somehow gets on base that Amezaga doesn't fill quite as exceptionally. Chris Nelson brings "stealing home" to the table as well. I don't know. Given the need for depth both in the IF and the OF, I guess go for Amezaga. Who do you pick?
Oh and I put some news after the jump.
Iannetta Battles the BABIP Gods | FanGraphs Baseball
Relatively fair analysis of Iannetta's 2011 so far, and some historical comparison. Definitely not a "HE WALKS A LOT SO HE IS GREAT" kind of article, but it mostly addresses his flaws, namely in the "complete lack of success on balls in play" department. Oh and he punches out too much.
Rockies' Helton back in swing of things - The Denver Post
I know my Todd Helton Lovefest took place last week, but here's another nice piece to add to the stack of greeting cards and wreaths.
Oh, and HE'S BACK IN THE SADDLE AGUNNNNNNN
The Rockies' bullpen has picked up the pieces in leading the club to the top of the standings | ColoradoRockies.com: News
The bullpen has been saving the Rockies' bacon this season. Or maybe the team has just been winning and the bullpen has been solid. I think either way you look at it, you're correct. It's a nasty awesome bullpen.