Rockies report: Wells expendable?
By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 7, 2008 at 9:56 p.m.
“We can talk about what coulda, woulda, shoulda — what looks good on paper. You take it out there (to the field), and if you can’t back it up out there, you end up having a series like we just had.”
Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager, on losing three of four to the Nationals, who entered the series with a 41-70 record, the worst in the National League.
19 home runs allowed by Jeff Francis in 105 1/3 innings, including two to Lastings Milledge before leaving after Milledge homered in the sixth. Francis is yielding an average of one home run every 5.5 innings, compared with last year, when he allowed 25home runs in 215 1/3 innings, or one every 8.6 innings.
Kip Wells pitched two scoreless innings in the first game, retiring the six batters he faced and striking out three in his first appearance since July 31 at Florida.
The Rockies have to make a move Friday to get pitcher Livan Hernandez on their roster, and Wells appears expendable.
With a $3.1 million contract, the Rockies would owe Wells about $880,000 if they let him go.
FOR THE RECORD
The Rockies were swept in a doubleheader for the first time since Aug. 19, 2004, when they lost 10-3 and 4-2 against the New York Mets. The Rockies are 11-12-10 all time in doubleheaders and had swept their past three.
ETC.
Garrett Atkins’ two-run homer in the first inning of the second game was his first extra-base hit since he doubled July 30 in the seventh inning at Pittsburgh. The home run ended a stretch of 28 at-bats without an extra-base hit. Atkins had three hits in the second game. It was his eighth three-hit game of the season and first since July 9 at Milwaukee. ... With a homer in the eighth of Game 1 and a double in the fifth in Game 2, Matt Holliday extended his hitting streak to nine games. ... Yorvit Torrealba’s two-run homer in the ninth inning of the first game came 43 at-bats after his last homer, July 2 against San Diego. ... Jhoulys Chacin, 20, now being limited to five innings in his first full professional season, allowed one unearned run in five innings for high Single-A Modesto to improve to 6-1 in eight starts for the Nuts. Chacin is a combined 16-2 with a 1.88 ERA for low Single-A Asheville and Modesto and leads all minor league pitchers in victories. ... Left-hander Keith Weiser made his Double-A debut for Tulsa and allowed six runs and eight hits in seven innings in a 10-3 loss to Frisco on Wednesday.
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August 8, 2008
4:45 p.m.
Suggest removal
esarem writes:
They can let me go for half of what Wells would cost them. Contact me to get info re where to send the $440,000. Thanx.