Colorado Rockies reliever Jairo Díaz headed for Tommy John surgery

This was the prelude:

Reliever Jairo Diaz injures elbow and his outlook is "not good" for Rockies - The Denver Post

Spring training, it appears, has arrived. Hard throwing right-hander Jairo Díaz departed Saturday's contest with "elbow discomfort," which is a phrase that is code for "something has probably gone terribly wrong in the elbow." The uncoded evidence that something is wrong is that Díaz's fastball dipped from 97 to 86 mph on Saturday. The Rockies are awaiting the MRI results, but sources told Nick Groke that the outlook is "not good." He might be headed for Tommy John surgery.

This is the denouement:

#Rockies RHP Jairo Diaz has a right ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow and will have Tommy John surgery

— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) March 7, 2016

Rockies' Tyler Matzek scratched from start | MLB.com

Well this is disappointing, verging on sad. Thomas Harding notes that Tyler Matzek was set to start yesterday's B game, but he was scratched prior to its start. Matzek failed to record an out in his first spring training appearance, giving him the never wanted undefined ERA for the spring.

Despite the article's title, it's not apparent that the Rockies believe that the issue is mechanics, or if it's the same performance anxiety that derailed Matzek's 2015. Harding, in reference to the work the Rockies did on Chad Bettis's mechanics last season, writes: "What isn't clear is whether there is a mechanical fix for Matzek, but the Rockies have proof that mechanics can be corrected away from contests." Matzek: "That's what we're trying to fiture all out -- it might be that, it might be something else." Harding reports that Matzek's next appearance is not yet scheduled, so he might be working on things, whatever those things are, in bullpen sessions.

Rockies' Trevor Story, David Dahl homer in win | rockies.com

Hey look some good news! Not only did David Dahl and Trevor Story dinger yesterday, but Jeff Hoffman had an impressive debut, as he allowed one hit across two scoreless innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out two. Kyle Freeland also had a nice outing. He allowed a solo home run, but it was the only hit he gave up in two innings of work. He struck out three and didn't walk anyone.

The fastball is back: Rockies refocused on the simplest pitch - The Denver Post

Continuing the conversation that has been taking place recently about the Rockies' evident enchantment with fastball pitchers, Nick Groke talks to several players about the pitch. The article is about what might be a "magic key to pitching at mile-high altitude." The sentiment that comes across from the players, however, is that pitchers just have to be comfortable with the idea of Coors Field in order to find success. That, and they should also be good pitchers.

For instance, the recently signed fast ball pitcher Jason Motte notes that pitchers sometimes "come to Colorado and they try to get too cute." The front office version of this on the field overthinking might be the pursuit of finding a pitcher type that will be successful at Coors Field. Any sort of narrow thinking will lead to missed opportunities. In other words, after the Rockies signed Motte and traded for Jake McGee, it looked like they were pursuing fastball pitchers. With more hindsight, however, it's starting to feel like their profiles were more coincidence than calculation. That's the hope, at least.

Aroldis Chapman's Domestic Violence Suspension | Rox Pile

Isaac Marks and Logan Bannon converse about what Aroldis Chapman's suspension might tell us about José Reyes's. I think they hit the nail on the head here. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred had to act and suspend Chapman right now because spring training is underway and Reyes's legal situation won't be settled until after the season starts. Regardless of whether or not you believe the suspension was too light, Manfred's attempting to set a precedent with the new domestic violence policies in place. He'll do the same with Reyes, who, unlike Chapman, was charged. They discuss possible suspension times ranging from 80 games to an entire season, ultimately agreeing that the suspension might land somewhere around 100 games.