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Rockies trying to become more than the kings of April -Yahoo! Sports
The Rockies are no strangers to a hot start, but they know an early jump on the division won’t save them from the trouble they’ve found themselves in by the ends of seasons past. Injuries add up and pitching woes are exacerbated by altitude, though there’s something about this team and this clubhouse dynamic that Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado like. The emergence of Blackmon, Dickerson and LeMahieu is huge for a group that has gone without its stars for much of the last few years. For Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown, being able to pull off wins without dependence on Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez is crucial for turning a hot spring into a winning season.
Axford may need to extend emergency family leave - MLB.com
Though the Rockies are anxious to get a better look at what veteran reliever John Axford will bring to the table, they may have to wait a bit longer. This is all fine and well because good things are happening in the Rockies’ bullpen so far, including the work of Axford’s roster spot replacement, Scott Oberg. By baseball quirk, Oberg got the win in his first big league appearance and put up another inning and a third of scoreless relief in last night’s loss to the Dodgers.
As always, our thoughts are with John, his son Jameson and all of the Axford family at this time.
Talking with Tulowitzki on Working and Winning - Rockies Zingers
Richard Bergstrom chats with Troy Tulowitzki on what makes great baseball players and players who have made baseball great. The Rockies’ star shortstop reflects on watching Walt Weiss as a young Oakland A’s fan, making a run at the World Series as a rookie, and the scariest moment in Rockies history.
Kris Bryant brings plate of hope to Cubs fans - The Denver Post
No, it’s not Rockies news, but yesterday was a highly anticipated one for all of the baseball world. Kris Bryant made his long-awaited debut on the north side of Chicago, during which he went 0-4 with three strikeouts in the Cubs’ loss to the Padres. Included in Benjamin Hochman’s piece is Walt Weiss’s take on the phenom from spring training, as well as a real life Denver Cubs fan’s. Who knew those existed!?
In other news, Troy Tulowitzki and Charlie Blackmon both notched their first home runs of the season, each in impressive fashion, off of reigning CyVP Clayton Kershaw, no less:
*The condition of the man who presumably fell down a flight of stairs behind the right field wall in an attempt to catch Blackmon’s homerun ball is unknown, but for the time being remains highly entertaining.