Monday, September 24, 2012

Rox Talk - Week 25

Week 25
A 0-7 week against the Padres and D-Backs. The Rox currently stand at 58-94 (second half record at 25-42). Thirty and half games behind the Giants for the division lead in last place. Currently 31-46 at home and 27-48 on the road, the Rox have been outscored by its opponents 849-718 (expected wins is 64 versus historical wins at 73). On pace for 62 wins with 765 runs scored and 905 runs against. Playoff indicator (Runs Scored/Runs Against ratio) is 0.85 (1.16 indicates high playoff potential).

Rookie of the Year
With the season finally coming to an end (thankfully), Rox need to look back on their dismal season and at least take away some positives.  The biggest has to be the bat of Wilin Rosario (let's forget the defense for now).  With 26 homers (through Sunday), he leads the rookie field.  Unfortunately Rosario has no chance of gaining Rookie of the Year honors due to the presence of a strong East Coast candidate in Bryce Harper.  Plus even if Rosario didn't play in the media black hole of Colorado his 20 passed balls would probably preclude him from any honors.  Either way with Rosario's power and a healthy CarGo, Tulo, and Cuddyer, who knows maybe we will have Blake Street Bombers Part II.  Here are Rosario's stats compared to past offense ROY winners:



My guess is that he will finish in 4 or 5th place.  But hey Helton and Tulo both finished 2nd so who really cares...

Friday, September 21, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 149

- Giants take the season series 14-4.  Giants should give the Rox a share of their playoff money as I don't think it would have been this easy without us laying down for them...27-9 over the last two seasons as well

- Welcome back to the BIGS de la Rosa...hard to figure why the Rox bothered but it was his first start since May 24, 2011.  Maybe next year will matter...

- Another catcher interference call, this is the season's 6th for the Rox.  In the past this has been extremely rare but Colvin does something...


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 148

- Maybe it's just when we play the Giants but Rox just look horrible.  Besides a nice little run in late August this team doesn't look any better.  It has seemingly regressed to what we saw in May and June.  I really thought we'd see some growth, some excitement, something.  At this rate what we are seeing this month is what is going to start next April.  Frankly I have no confidence that what is fielded next year will be any better.  Seasons like this just suck the joy of baseball out of me...

- Giants have all of 24 homers in their own ballpark and yet are closing in on another division title...pretty much sums up what it takes to win in baseball, yup a little thing called PITCHING!

- Rox sit at 58 - 90 with 14 games remaining.  They need to go at least 9-5 to match their worse record ever.  With the way they are playing losing 100 is back in play.  Rox bottom my friends 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 147

- Not for sure what it is about San Fran but they completely own us right now.  San Fran owns a 12-4 record against Rox this year.  Last year they took 13 games against the Rox.  In every aspect they are complete opposites of our Rox.  Awesome pitching with weak hitting, it is just confounding.

- Rosario hit his 25th home run and is now tied with Helton for the Rox rookie record.  My guess with 15 games remaining and seven of those at home he will be the all time leader.  As Troy Rench twittered, he is a 20/20 man in his own way with 25 homers and 20 pass balls.

- Giants batters have a .457 batting average against Francis this year...yikes

- Game had a little bit of everything with catcher's interference, field interference, a baseball ricocheting off a helmet, and a flipped bat which sort of led to a player being tossed but not really.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Rox Talk - Week 24

Week 24
A 2-4 week against the Giants and Padres. The Rox currently stand at 58-87 (second half record at 25-35). Twenty-four and half games behind the Giants for the division lead in last place. Currently 31-43 at home and 27-44 on the road, the Rox have been outscored by its opponents 792-692 (expected wins is 64 versus historical wins at 69). On pace for 65 wins with 773 runs scored and 885 runs against. Playoff indicator (Runs Scored/Runs Against ratio) is 0.87 (1.16 indicates high playoff potential).

Physiology @ Altitude
This past weekend the Denver Post had an interesting tidbit on how the Rox management are now looking more closely at the effects of playing at altitude and its effects on human body.  After reading this I just have to say wow, it took management this long?  How a team that spends this sort of coin doesn't look at everything just amazes me.  Rox are paying $80 million in salary this year to big league players.  How something as simple as nutrition and training aren't more closely watched just goes to show you that it ain't the Monforts fault they are raking in the dough, it's our fault for not calling them on it.

As a runner myself I know that working out at altitude is not easy on the body.  Recovery suffers, aches and pains aren't as quick to leave but I also now there are some benefits.  Cyclist, swimmers, and runners all know the philosophy of "Live High, Train Low".  Studies conducted in the 90s showed performance gains by following this regiment.  Could baseball training make a difference?  Should our starter's throw on home games and then immediately head for sea level to allow for recovery?

Frankly it would be nice that all possible alternatives are looked at.  At this point the Rox are a bottom rung team and it would be nice if management exhausted all possible reasons for the failure to do better on the field!

Box Score Bytes - Game 145

- With the recent announcement in yesterday's Sunday Denver Post the great experiment appears to be over.    In reality with the addition of Chacin to the rotation at Game 121 the experiment was effectively over as the rotation effectively since then has been Chacin, Francis, Chatwood, Pomernanz, and White.  This has been steady over the last 25 games.  Although through these 25 games, starter's have still averaged 76 pitches and average 4.1 innings of work so although the 4-man rotation experiment was done it appears we've morphed into a 5-man pitch limited piggyback rotation which I believe is theoretically still limiting the starter from getting seen a third time around in the rotation.

- 643 games have been played at Petco.  This is the first time both teams scored 10 plus in a 9 inning game.

- Homer milestones galore in this game as McBride hit his first homer, Rutledge hit his first grand slam, and White hit his second homer in as many games.  White is the first pitcher to homer in back to back games since 2009.

- History repeats?  This time Padres won the game on a throw to the plate...maybe!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 142

- Game 77 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 32-45.  Francis struggles through 3 innings.  He is know 5-5.  Rox one true pitching star in the this otherwise dismal season is probably showing his age.  Will he be back next year?  Starter's record is now 12-32 with 33 no decisions and bullpen record of 20-13.

- San Fran owns us again this year.  They hold a 10-4 edge and finished 7-2 at Coors.  Ever since the Lincecum comment a few years back about the humidor the edge that Colorado once had is noticeably gone. Maybe there was something to it...

- Rosario tied Tulo's record for rookie homers and is now within one of Helton's rookie record.

- For a team going no where and on a cold chilly night 24,000 crazy fools showed up or at least that was the paid attendance?

- Giants once again used 7 relief pitchers to get 9 outs last night.  That is just plain silly



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

2013 Schedule

Here is the Colorado Rockies 20th Season Schedule for 2013.



































Quick thoughts - Monforts are going to buy themselves a couple of new cars with both the Yankees and Red Sox coming to town!  Interesting having a home and away series against Houston in May.  Lovely June trip to Toronto, Washington, and Boston.

Box Score Bytes - Game 141

- Game 76 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 32-44.  Chacin struggles and Rox piggyback can't stop the bleeding.  Rox might have false hopes due to a 20-13 bullpen record.  Is this truly sustainable over an entire season?  Starter's record is now 12-31 with 33 no decisions and bullpen record of 20-13.

- With White hitting a home run yesterday helping the Rox win, tonight Rox loss because we gave up a home run to the opposing team.  Just another strange chapter in the book that is Coors Field.

- Rox almost came back with a Colvin homer in the bottom of the ninth but then Giambi lined out to the end the game.  

Monday, September 10, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 140

- Game 75 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 32-43. Too bad White wasn't more efficient otherwise he might have gotten the win.  Starter's record is now 12-31 with 32 no decisions and bullpen record of 20-12.

- White did homer for himself so that is a good thing.  Second homer this year from a Rox pitcher.  Last one was Pomenranz's on May 7.

- Rox finally beat Vogelsong.  In his previous six starts against us he was 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

- Tracy got ejected for the third time this year when he felt that Giant's Scutaro had missed a tag...




Rox Talk - Week 23

Week 23
A 1-6 week against the Braves and Phillies. The Rox currently stand at 56-83 (second half record at 23-31). Twenty-two games behind the Giants for the division lead in last place. Currently 30-41 at home and 26-42 on the road, the Rox have been outscored by its opponents 750-654 (expected wins is 61 versus historical wins at 66). On pace for 65 wins with 762 runs scored and 874 runs against. Playoff indicator (Runs Scored/Runs Against ratio) is 0.87 (1.16 indicates high playoff potential).

Rox ran into a buzz saw this past week.  Up until this point they had been playing fairly well and the real rub on this past week is that they lost two very winnable games.  To see some pitching success but then not take advantage is a real bummer.  Then of course Rox run into Philly with the Phillies finally playing up to their standard.

In addition to the losing of winnable games something else that that this year's record suggests is that Rox have not only had historically bad pitching and field but also have had some bad luck.  Their expected win percentage is closer to 61 games.  Now I'm not suggesting that if the Rox were sitting at 61-78 this season would be any better but perhaps it is something to lean on for next year.

Four Man Rotation
With Chacin's return to the rotation, the experiment is effectively over.  Since his return all pitchers have returned to their normal days of rest although the 75 pitch limit still appears to be in effect and the bullpen is still taking over once the opponent's line up goes through the third time.  My guess is that this will be the legacy of the experiment and that is giving pitchers fewer pitchers and the advent of a new bullpen piece, the piggyback.  Hopefully a better name is found but continues the obvious movement away from 9 inning starter and the further specialization of the bullpen.  Below is the data, not for sure if anything really jumps out.  I was hoping something would be seen but realistically I just don't think the data set is large enough to matter.  The first data points is the whole staff not just starter's.  Further down is starter's only.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 139

- Game 74 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-43. Starter's record is now 12-31 with 31 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-12.

- With 83 losses Rox should look at this game to wonder maybe it is something more than pitching.  Rox committed 5 errors today.  Two by Nelson, one by Pacheco, and two by Herrera.  Four runs were unearned and of course if these runs didn't score than Rox win by one...

- Phillies take the season series 7-2 (Yikes!).

- Why I hate September baseball?  Phillies use 7 pitchers to get through the game.  How the most important month of the season gets the expansion of rosters which changes how games are managed is beyond me...



Box Score Bytes - Game 138

- Game 73 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-42. Nice start by Chatwood.  Goes 5 innings and throws 75 pitches.  Everything Rox expect from a starter ;)  Starter's record is now 12-31 with 30 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-11.

- Double header due to the rain out last night.  

- Bullpen struggling a bit.  Have to wonder if the innings are starting to wear on the arms.  Importance of pitching stands out on the road when runs aren't as plentiful.  Rox lose another one in the bottom of the ninth...

- Rosario is making a name for himself and his bat but he is also making a name for himself as a terrible catcher.  He allowed four pass balls in the game and has a total of 19 for the season.  The all time record is 6 pass balls in a single game...


Friday, September 7, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 137

- Game 72 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-41.  Francis does his job going 5.2 innings and allowing no runs.  Probably best start of the season limiting Phillies to just 6 hits and striking out seven. Starter's record is now 12-31 with 29 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-10.

- Francis made his 200th career appearance.

- Two quick runs in the first then nothing from the offense.  They were 1 for 8 with runner's in scoring position.  

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 136

- Game 71 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-40. Chacin gets the embarrassing loss (see below).  Pitched well although not as efficient compared to his other starts.  Starter's record is now 12-31 with 28 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-9.

- Rox continue to find new ways to lose a game.  Today's was more embarrassing than most as Chacin misplayed the return throw from the catcher and allowed a pass ball resulting in the runner from third taking home.  As this season goes this run was enough and Rox loss another 1-0 decision...the second in as many days!

- In the crazy world of stats this is the first time in 28 years that a team won consecutive 1-0 games with both runs being unearned.

- With as bad as Rox pitching has been, it has seemingly masked the fact that the defense behind those pitchers as also been truly awful.  Not only do we lead the league in errors but almost all the advanced defensive stats also suggest that our fielding this year as been bad.  

- Elias also reports this is the just the second time in Rox history they have played three straight games where one team failed to score.  Last time this happened was 2009.

- Braves trounce the season series by taking six of seven games.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 135

- Game 70 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-39.  White pitched effectively, too bad well pitched game added to his loss total.  Starter's record is now 12-30 with 28 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-9.

- Rox have played in 28 1-0 games in their history (approximately 1% of their total games!).  This is their second such game this year.

- Rox have been strike out kings this series having 12, 11, and 12 K's in each of the three games so far this series.

- Pacheco's hit streak hits 14 games.  In this stretch he is hitting .365 and raised his overall average to .313.



Monday, September 3, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 134

- Game 69 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 31-38.  Pomeranz continues to struggle and not understand the concept of being efficient.  While he threw 3 innings of scoreless baseball he threw 72 pitches to get there.  Being that it would take him 216 pitches to get through 9 innings at this pace something has to start clicking with him.  In 17 starts he is averaging 13 outs per start.  Starter's record is now 12-29 with 28 no decisions and bullpen record of 19-9.

- Six shutout of the year for the Rox pitching staff.  Of course we are still last in the league in this category...

- Pacheco has a quiet 13 game hit streak going on.

- CarGo collected his 22nd homer and 83rd RBI.  Nice season for someone who probably doesn't see anything to hit on a daily basis....

Box Score Bytes - Game 133


- Game 68 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 30-38.  Chatwood can't do much on the road in Atlanta, giving up 6 runs (5 earned, sound familiar?) in three innings of work.  Starter's record is now 12-29 with 27 no decisions and bullpen record of 18-9. 


- Rox strikeout 12 times and our pitchers get a lesson on how it should be done.

- Although the score looked bad, Braves only had 5 hits and 6 runs, while Rox had 5 hits and 1 run...know how the Padres fill after yesterday's performance against us in a losing effort.




Rox Talk - Week 22

Week 22
A 4-2 week against the Dodgers and Padres. The Rox currently stand at 55-77 (second half record at 22-25). Twenty games behind the Giants for the division lead in last place. Currently 30-41 at home and 25-36 on the road, the Rox have been outscored by its opponents 729-639 (expected wins is 58 versus historical wins at 63). On pace for 68 wins with 784 runs scored and 895 runs against. Playoff indicator (Runs Scored/Runs Against ratio) is 0.88 (1.16 indicates high playoff potential).

Links
Joe Posnanski is one of the better writer's going.  He takes a healthy approach to stats and what they mean to the average fan.  In this article about WAR, his analysis of our Rox is surprising in what it stands on especially when this season troubles has always been the pitching.

Two points that jump out to me
1)  "And yet … WAR tells you the Rockies are really not a good hitting team, not a good pitching team, and are terrible defensively."
2)  "But it might be tempting for the Rockies to decide that their offense is FINE -- after all, they score the second most runs in the league -- and just working on their pitching this offseason. I don't think that plan would work."

As Rox build to next year we have a whole lot more to worry about than just finding that pitching.  With Tulo back defense should improve but with Pacheco and Nelson still in the mix the hot corner really needs to be looked at.  Wonder if it wouldn't be better to move Tulo to third and fit in Rutledge at short?

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 132


- Game 67 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 30-37.  As well as Chacin pitches yesterday, Francis laid an egg going only 3.2 innings and allowing 6 runs (5 earned).  Of course best case scenario didn't imagine Francis being your second best starter!  Starter's record is now 12-28 with 2 7no decisions and bullpen record of 18-9. 

- Whew wan't that a fun one?  Seems like every year Coors has some epic see saw battle.  Think after scoring 7 runs in the third would be enough but Padres chipped away and made it a ball game.

- Nothing like scoring 10 runs and outhit your opponent by 9 hits and still lose the game by a run!

- Pacheco has a 11 game hit streak.

- With three games left against the Padres they lead the season series 8-7.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Box Score Bytes - Game 131

- Game 66 of the Great Tracy Experiment (Train Wreck): Record 29-37.  Chacin pitches a gem.  Best start by a Rox starter in 2012.  Goes 7 innings, throws 74 pitches, and gets the W.  Last time a starter when that far in a game was June 4th.  Starter's record is now 12-28 with 26 no decisions and bullpen record of 17-9.

- Dex hits his first MLB Grand Slam.

- Colvin has had a sneaky good year.  Has 16 homers so far this season.

- Rox welcome back Giambi from the DL.