Rockies hit road after solid weekend
| July 26, 2009 | 11:55 PM
More journal entries from Steve Foster »
The Colorado Rockies did what they had to do this weekend, nothing more, nothing less. A few thoughts as the Rockies begin a 10-game road trip that includes four against the New York Mets, three against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the Philadelphia Phillies:
- Sunday’s 4-2 win against the Giants was one of the Rockies’ better games this season. Aaron Cook dealt with traffic much of the day put consistently pitched himself out of jams with help behind him, in particular Clint Barmes, who helped snuff out a Giants rally in the fourth inning by first starting a double play with runners at first and second and then making a nice stop to his left on a groundball to end the inning. The Rockies stayed in front of the Giants all day, added runs when they needed and maintained control of a game they had to win.
- Franklin Morales, who struggled a bit the last time he relieved Cook, cruised through a one-two-three inning Sunday, striking out two but throwing only nine pitches. Morales has been behind in counts to many of the hitters he’s faced since moving to the bullpen, but threw the just one ball against the Giants Sunday.
- Troy Tulowitzki was prematurely touted in Friday’s Denver Post despite opening the Giants series with a .250 batting average and just .167 with runners in scoring position. He then grounded into a game-ending double play Friday with the tying run on first base. But Tulowitzki earned the attention a day later with a career-best five RBI in the Rockies 8-2 win against the Giants.
- The Rockies have the National League wins and saves leaders on their pitching staff.
- The bullpen, which debuted two new members Friday night in Jhoulys Chacin and Rafael Betancourt, pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed no hits, two walks and struck out eight batters over the weekend.
- Chacin proved Saturday night why we should be excited about his presence on this team. He struck out two in his major league debut and didn’t flinch despite a walk and a foul ball that missed being a home run by inches. After one outing, it is premature to speculate too far into Chacin’s future, which is still likely as part of (and possibly fronting) the starting rotation. But it’s worth looking back to how the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera became a closer. Like Chacin, he was a highly touted starting pitcher in the minor leagues who couldn’t crack the rotation. He spent a full season setting up John Wetteland, then took over the closer role when Wetteland left as a free agent. If Chacin is not in the rotation next season — and there is plenty of competition as Jeff Francis returns and Esmil Rogers and Christian Friedrich push for a spot on the staff that is already as stable as any in Rockies history– it’s conceivable that he ends up in the bullpen again. His fastball, changeup and poise could make him a dominant closer if he’s not careful.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
aaron cook, cincinnati reds, clint barmes, colorado rockies, franklin morales, jhoulys chacin, new york mets, philadelphia phillies, troy tulowtizki
