Saturday Rockpile: There is no place like home

For one day at least, the bad start in Miami was forgotten.  It was hard to find anything wrong with the Rockies on Coor Field opening day and lots for everyone to talk about on the net.

20th and Blake tough to beat as a party site - Denver Post

Ben Hochman took some time on opening day to enjoy the sites and sounds of 'Denver's Mardi Gras.'

Who is Charlie Blackmon? - ESPN

Apparently Chuck Nazty isn't as well know outside these parts.  David Schoenfield uses Charlie's great day to take a dig at the Rockies for not figuring out their centerfield.

Blackmon goes from bubble to historic six-hit day - MLB.com

Thomas Harding actually goes in-depth to show how great of a day Charlie had.

Juan Nicasio debuts new pitches - Denver Post

Nick Groke praises Juan's first outing of the year with a bit of hyperbole.  While NIcasio's split-fingered fastball may be new (I can't find record of it in the past), Juan has used a slider, albeit not well, for years.

Rockies witness Nicasio take next step - MLB.com

Leave it to vetera beat writer Tracy Ringolsby to provide a more accurate look at Juan and his work at mastering pitches. As Tracy shows, Juan didn't debut new pitches from just one offseason but has been working on this for years.  One health offseason, though, sure seemed to help.

Justin Morneau fitting in just fine - Denver Post

Stop me if you have heard this one before, a new veteran player feels right at home with his new club.  It is good though to find out more about our new first baseman.

Carlos Gonzalez falls shy of hitting party deck - Denver Post

Cargo has had two home runs this year and both of them have been breathtaking.  His first of the year in Denver was a sight to behold as he tried to reach out to the new fan area but didn't quite make it.

Around MLB

Yasiel Puig benched for being late - ESPN.com

In case you were under a rock yesterday and didn't hear about it, Dodgers' manager Don Mattingly benched Puig for not making it to batting practice on time.  The funniest part of this, for me, was when Dodgers' 'fans' booed Matt Kemp (I don't think this fat made the article).

The games are already mattering - fangraphs.com

Not good news for the Rockies, but Jeff Sullivan gives an interesting look at what is really a subjective playoff predictor.

Balls right down the middle, already - fangraphs.com

Showing that Rockies pitchers are not the only ones getting squeezed this year, Jeff Sullivan shows two pitches right down the middle that were called balls in 2014.  Projected for a full season, he says umpires are on pace for 3.5 times as many gaffes on pitches straight down the pipe, talk about SSS.