The Associated Press: Millwood struggles as Rockies fall to Arizona, 5-3
Ok, so old news, but Kevin Millwood turned in his worst start in a Rockies uniform, falling just short of 6 innings pitched, allowing 4 runs, one homer, 4 strikeouts, and an unsurprising 0 walks. In fact, in his 6 starts as a Rockie, Millwood has given up 7HR yet walked only 4. For pitchers with 30 or more innings pitched in the purple pinstripes, only 7 have allowed fewer walks than homers. The list is as follows:
Kevin Millwood, 2011
Chris Nichting, 2002
Nelson Cruz, 2003
Matt Belisle, 2009
Rafael Betancourt, 2010
Huston Street, 2011
Denny Neagle, 2003
Of course, these are at most 65 inning samples, but it's a pretty nifty little thing to look at. That kind of control stacked against that level of defeat is pretty interesting. Amusingly enough, the lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio of the above was Denny Neagle's 1.75 K/BB.
Rockies reliever Rex Brothers quick learner at Major League level | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Thomas Harding gives us a pretty great rundown of the season of Rex Brothers. Despite his rookiness, he's been played in many a high-leverage situation for the Rockies, and one has to question the wisdom in this. Brothers' 4.67 BB/9, which ranks 24th among relievers in Rockies history, puts him in company of players such as Curt Leskanic, Jose Mesa, Mike Myers, and Bruce Ruffin. His .333 BABIP shows that he's hittable, more hittable than the average pitcher. Upside of that is that if/when his BABIP normalizes, that should bring down his ERA.
Oh, did I mention that his ERA is only at 3.38? Oh, and I probably forgot to mention that his strikeouts-per-9 rate is sitting a smidge behind 13. Yes, 13 batters per 9. If the season ended today, Brothers would have the highest K/9 of Rockies relievers with 30IP+. All the advanced metrics support his awesomeness as well, most of them suggesting that his numbers could even get better. Yes, better. Oh yes.
Cincinnati Reds at Colorado Rockies - September 9, 2011 | MLB.com Preview
Friday Night should be an epic battle of rookie catchers: Wilin Rosario, the potential future of the Rockies catching position and Devin Mesoraco, who kind of looks like Sloth from The Goonies. Both are top flight catching prospects, both with their own strengths and weaknesses, and both should help solidify their team's catching corps for years to come. Interestingly, both teams have had some success from the backstop position: The Rockies have gotten 9.6 fWAR since 2009 (mostly from Chris Iannetta and Miguel Olivo) as compared to the Reds' 8.5 fWAR (fueled by Ryan Hanigan and Ramon Hernandez).
Given the late hour of the 2011 season, there's really no reason not to just keep playing Rosario the rest of the season. Yeah, we'd like to see more Chris Iannetta (well, some of us would), Seth Smith, etc, but the rest of September should really be put toward playing rookies and showcasing borderline guys for trade.
What do you think? Should the Rockies be showcasing Iannetta? What other marginal MLB players should the Rockies be looking to move?
Ethier shut down, to visit Dr. Andrews | MLB.com: News
I can't help but think of Dr. Andrews as like Dr. Frankenstein and he rebuilds knees and elbows out of the tendons of the damned.
Jim Armstrong puts together a slideshow documenting the 10 reasons for Rockies' failure this season. I'd say more about it, but it's kind of a rehash on what we've been talking about the past 2 months. It's certainly worth a click!