Monday Rockpile: Pomeranz, Helton, Swanner, Odds and Ends

Drew Pomeranz start pushed back; Todd Helton iffy for Tuesday

Drew Pomeranz is experiencing some arm soreness still. From what he's said, he's used to being sore after a start, but he's not accustomed to it lingering all the way to the day of his next start. A couple of days off extra could help the situation, but completely skipping a start and/or the DL aren't out of the question.

Pomeranz' velocity was down on Friday vs the Padres, and something wasn't working right for him, because he got shelled. By the Padres. Outside of that Friday start, Pomeranz has been looking very improved since his return to Colorado. Let's all be hoping that this is merely a bump in the road.

Roenicke ideal reliever in Rockies' new system | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Fun fact: Josh Roenicke has thrown the 4th-most innings for the Rockies this season.

Also, Todd Helton is still resting his hip after a cortisone shot on 7/14. He's unlikely to be activated on Tuesday when he is eligible to return from the 15-day DL.

Barry Lewis: Colorado is a tough place for pitchers | Tulsa World

Barry Lewis adds a bit to the criticisms of the Colorado pitching debacle, and not just the fact that altitude is tough and Coors Field is hard to pitch in. His thesis is that the Rockies continue having a lot of trouble making correct pitcher evaluations in the minor leagues, and just in general. A lot of these sorts of things are easily wiped away with the ol' "hindsight is 20-20" proverbial saying, but there could be something to the fact that Jim Miller, Pedro Strop, Franklin Morales, and Esmil Rogers are all enjoying success with teams that aren't the Rockies.

Five Astounding Facts -- Orioles own extras, Rockies starters and the rare K-WP-E2 blown save - ESPN
Jayson Stark is really a master of trivia. I absolutely love reading this guy's rumblings and grumblings columns, as well as his other odds and ends. It's creative, it's clever, and you can see the effort he puts into them - in a good way. In this column, Stark talks about Matt Cain, the Orioles, the Giants, Aaron Cook, and he added this about the Rockies' rotation:

Not one pitcher on their roster is going to wind up pitching enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. (In fact, none qualified this season even before this trade, but Guthrie was at least close.)

Off Topic

Examining the potential trade market for starting pitchers - ESPN

Speaking of Jayson Stark, here's a big pile of trade rumors. Sounds like the Rockies are pretty keen on keeping Ramon Hernandez around, as Wilin Rosario still needs a mentor. Furthermore, Betancourt and Belisle aren't going anywhere unless the Rockies get bowled over come the deadline. I can't say I endorse hanging on to Betancourt TOO tightly, Matt Belisle is the engine that drives this bullpen. Guys like Matt Reynolds are more movable, but like I wrote about on Friday, let's not just give cost controlled, effective relievers away for nothing.

What we talk about when we talk about WAR - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
Dave Schoenfield from ESPN is now on board with WAR. Sort of. Like many progressive baseball writers, Schoenfield is recognizing the possible contributions that stats such as WAR can have on baseball analysis. Many people have said that it's not the end-all-be-all of baseball analysis, and they're right, but it's a good launching point for player valuation discussions. Jeff Aberle's breakdown was pretty awesome, as evidenced by a shoutout from Bill Simmons. Schoenfield says the most important part at the very beginning of his article:

WAR is not the Holy Grail of statistics.

Young catcher does it all for Tourists | The Asheville Citizen-Times | citizen-times.com
Joe Mikulik keeps a stack of used scorecards under his office desk for easy reference. Interesting little factoid from this piece is that Will Swanner calls his own games. I personally hope that sticks with him, as he has some pretty solid value as a catcher. If you haven't been following the Pebble Reports, Swanner's .328/.409/.579 line owns faces.

MLB Preview - Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks - Jul 23, 2012 - CBSSports.com
Jonathan Sanchez vs Ian Kennedy in Arizona. This should go well.

Rockies, Royals Swap Guthrie, Sanchez | FanGraphs Baseball
In case you missed it, Jonathan Sanchez has actually been successful in the small sample in Coors Field. I'm sincerely not counting on those numbers holding up in any way, shape, or form, but as we've said before, this trade is zero risk, we saved money, and there's nothing but upside from here. Well, upside or nothing. It could very likely be nothing.