Farewell, Juan Nicasio -- and, a word of advice for Rockies' Twitter chat

Rockies add Tyler Anderson to 40-man roster; designate Juan Nicasio - Denver Post

It looks like Juan Nicasio has thrown his last pitch as a Colorado Rockie (an inning ending ground out from Tim Federowicz on September 27th if you care). After four years of trials and tribulations with the Rockies, the club has designated the big right hander for assignment. Nicasio would frequently show flashes of greatness, enough to make a fan or a coach or a front office dream a little bit. I still remember his first start of the season in 2014, when he shackled the Diamondbacks for seven innings--six stirkeouts, one run, and a very happy Opening Day crowd. For Juan it was always a question of developing a second pitch to go along with his mid-nineties fastball, and he had a dirty slider going that day. But it didn't stick. It never did.

Juan is easy to root for; he's a big guy with a big smile and a big fastball. He never looked flustered or annoyed or impatient on the mound, even when things weren't going well; at worst he'd blow on his hands, rub down the ball, and get back to the mound. But with steadily declining numbers and a steadily escalating salary, it's not surprising the Rockies are moving on. I think it's likely he catches on as a reliever somewhere, but I don't blame the front office for declining to take that chance with his $2 million plus expected salary.

Nicasio showed a lot of guts coming back from breaking his neck on a come-backer in 2012. People in sports are always talking about overcoming adversity, like it's some abstract force that everyone faces. While I'm sure those athletes work hard, I'd imagine the worst adversity they face are bad games, or demotions, or long bus rides. But Nicasio had to overcome being carted off on a stretcher and getting invasive surgery near his spinal cord. That's adversity my friends.

But as we say goodbye to Juan, let's say hello to Tyler (Anderson, not Matzek or Chatwood). After a dominating year in Double-A (in which he outpitched prospect studs Jon Gray and Eddie Butler) Anderson has taken Nicasio's spot on the 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. His 1.98 ERA sure is shiny, and he had solid strikeout and walk numbers to back it up. He may break camp with the Rockies next spring, though it seems more likely he gets some Triple-A time for seasoning. I get some early Jeff Francis vibes from Anderson; I think he could be a good one.

Rockies brass to host Twitter chat - Rockies.com

ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR SOME TWITTER CHAT? It sounds like it's going to be a full house today in front of the family computer in the Coors Field front office. Jeff Bridich, Walt Weiss, new pitching coach Steve Foster, and Dick Monfort will all be online and answering your tweets. Hopefully they don't have to sift through too many troll questions.

Seriously people, resist the urge to tweet anything obnoxious. These guys don't have to do this. How would you like it if you tried to have a conversation with people about your job and all they would do is yell at you about how much you stink, and how any idiot could do better than you, and when are you going to trade for Clayton Kershaw? You wouldn't like it; in fact, you'd probably be very confused.