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Rockies ace Jon Gray making mental strides

Rockies news and links for Tuesday, April 10, 2018

BSN Rockies Podcast: Tony Wolters celebrates and Jon Gray pontificates | BSN Rockies
In the latest edition of the BSN Rockies podcast, Drew Creasman highlights clubhouse audio with Chad Bettis, Trevor Story, and Tony Wolters that took place after Saturday evening’s 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. It was a very encouraging game for all three, as Bettis pitched well, Story showed off some impressive power, and Wolters, of course, drew the walk-off walk to seal the victory at Coors Field.

Creasman also spoke with Rockies ace Jon Gray, who pitched Monday night’s series opener against the San Diego Padres. Gray had much to say about strides he has made mentally over the past year. It’s become no secret that a key to pitching at Coors Field is the ability to not let the ballpark intimidate you. The current rotation seems to have a better handle on that aspect than perhaps any other starting staff we’ve seen in franchise history. Gray talks about the distinguishing factors between his excellent outings and poor outings. A key takeaway from the conversation is that the narrative seems to have changed for Gray and Rockies’ pitchers—it is no longer solely about hitters adjusting to pitchers, but it is now about the pitcher and hitter both adjusting, and who ultimately does a better job of it.

Charlie Blackmon and J.D. Martinez, a tale of two powerful outfielders | Purple Row
JD Martinez and Charlie Blackmon are two outfielders who have both received lucrative contracts over the past month and a half or so. Martinez signed a 5 year, $110 million deal with the Boston Red Sox on February 26, and we’re all aware of Blackmon’s 6 year, $108 million extension with the Rockies. Purple Row’s own Sam Bradfield breaks down the two contracts, and the two players who are more similar than you might think.

What are the options for streaming Colorado Rockies games in 2018? | The Denver Post ($)
If you’re cutting the chord on cable TV, it is unfortunately not the easiest task to watch your Colorado Rockies play baseball. Streaming services Sling TV and DirecTV Now do not include AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, and MLB.tv contains blackout restrictions if you’re looking to watch Rockies games in the Denver market.

Around Baseball

Roundup: Keller, Craig lead Altoona to win | MLB.com
In a roundup of league-wide minor league action, Peter Lambert gets a spotlight for the Rockies organization. On Sunday, Lambert tossed six scoreless innings for the Hartford YardGoats, the Double-A affiliate of the Rox. Lambert is a control freak, only having allowed 75 walks in 305 2/3 innings at all levels of the minors in his career.

Cody Bellinger, Alex Wood suffering from food poisoning | True Blue LA
Cody Bellinger, Alex Wood, and Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers were all affected by food poisoning over the weekend. Seager was healthy enough to play Sunday, but Bellinger was out of Sunday’s lineup, and Wood had to skip a bullpen session. The Dodgers are surprisingly dwelling near the bottom of the National League West in the early going of 2018.

The Dodgers Will Probably Be Fine | FanGraphs
Jay Jaffe offers a good analysis of what has been going wrong for the Dodgers early in the season. The Dodgers lost the first two games of the year by a score of 1-0 (with the lone run in both games coming on solo home runs by Joe Panik of the San Francisco Giants), they’ve endured uncharacteristic shakiness from closer Kenley Jansen, and Seager has yet to notch an extra-base hit, among other surprising notes out of Chavez Ravine.