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KRIEGER: It's bad, but there are signs of life for Rockies

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 6, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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First things first. Here's the winner in our search for a Rockies starting pitching slogan to match Spahn and Sain and pray for rain:

Cook and Francis, then take your chances.

Thanks to the independent authors, Grandma Shirley Stokes and Terry Graves, as well as others who responded.

I think I still prefer Cook and then some schnook, but I've been outvoted.

So the Rocks took their chances with young Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday against the Cards. For the fifth time in six starts, he failed to make it through six innings. He gave up seven hits and three walks in five innings, keeping to his average of roughly two baserunners per inning.

Still, he wasn't awful. In fact, if he were the Rocks' fifth starter, as he probably ought to be, his struggles wouldn't be nearly as noticeable.

"We've talked to Ubaldo," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He knows he needs to make improvements. We had a very firm meeting before his last start (Wednesday) and I thought he took a lot of things to heart and he took complete accountability for those innings that he's had the problems.

"He said, 'I need to do better. I need to keep my focus on the glove, on making my pitches, not be so concerned with so many things around me. Keep things simple.' So he's well aware of where he stands and how important it is to the team when he pitches well and what he can give us."

Jimenez is out of minor league options in any case. If the Rocks asked waivers on him in an attempt to send him down, every team in both leagues would put in a claim. So he'll have to work out his problems at the big-league level, which, given his vast potential, is OK. If the Rocks could adequately fill the other two spots in the rotation, they could live with his growing pains.

Even at 12-20, the Rocks are showing a few signs of life, like weeds sprouting through cracks in the sidewalk. One is 25-year-old Chris Iannetta's emergence behind the plate. You might recall that a year ago, Iannetta and Troy Tulowitzki were twin blank slates coming to the big leagues, ready or not.

Tulo responded with a memorable rookie season, earning a six-year, $31 million contract. Iannetta batted .218, ceding the starting catcher's job to Yorvit Torrealba.

This year, it's the other way around. Tulo went down with a torn tendon while batting .152. Iannetta is hitting the ball the way Tulo did a year ago. His 3-for-4 Monday night raised his average to .349. Torrealba is at .235. Overshadowed by the wreckage of the early season, Iannetta appears poised to take the starting job.

"Catching, we're knocking on that door," Hurdle said the other day. "Iannetta's done a good job. For the at-bats that he's had, he's been very productive."

Scott Podsednik has also been better out of the leadoff spot than starter Willy Taveras. Notwithstanding his Monday 0-fer, Podsednik is batting 50 points higher than Taveras. Given the Rocks' difficulties scoring runs this year - they rank 11th in the National League - they need their most productive bat at every position without regard to history or hurt feelings.

As Brad Hawpe breaks out of his early-season doldrums, the once prolific offense is not quite back yet, but you can see it from here.

Still, Monday's loss to the Cardinals was another example of opportunities squandered. When pinch hitter Ryan Spilborghs tied the score at 5 with a 4-foot RBI single in front of the plate in the eighth, the Rocks had the lead run 90 feet away with one out, the top of the order coming up.

Against left-handed reliever Randy Flores, Hurdle pinch hit Torrealba for the left-handed Podsednik. After Torrealba whiffed, Hurdle let left-handed Omar Quintanilla hit rather than substitute right-handed Clint Barmes.

Sometimes, National League managers seem to love the double switch so much it becomes an end in itself. With Taveras having run for Iannetta earlier in the inning - a center fielder for a catcher - it was just so symmetrical to hit Torrealba for Podsednik - a catcher for a center fielder - even though Podsednik was hitting 70 points higher than Torrealba.

"You can't wait for something to happen when you're in this position, and you can't force something to happen," Hurdle had mused the day before. "You've got to be ready to move on things when they're presented to you, and that's really where we've struggled."

Even with Cardinals left fielder Chris Duncan bringing back memories of the Bad News Bears, the Rocks could not survive yet another short start and long night's journey into the bullpen.

Mark Redman takes his 6.99 ERA to the hill tonight. Cook and Francis, then take your chances.

Comments

  • May 6, 2008

    9:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    RockiesBigDog writes:

    This is one of the times that Clint Hurdle thought too much about his plan for the next inning and not about the moment. Pinch hitting Torrealba for Posednik --- ouch. Torrealba a notorious fastball only hitter to face Flores a pitcher whose out pitches are the curve and the slider. Let Posednik hit (even being 0-4). Roll the dice and let the best bunter on the team try to score Herrera from third. The Cardinals had just whiffed on Spilbourghs "swinging" bunt..what was there to lose. The worst case is Herrera is out at home, but you have speedy runners on at first and second with two out and you pinch hit Barmes. "Oh I think we think too much........."

  • May 6, 2008

    5:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    AKuser writes:

    Getting tougher and tougher to believe that last year was the start of continued success and not a once a decade blip. The problem with the Rockies this year is the same problem that has plagued them for most of their history. The Rockies ownership cannot or will not invest the money it takes to win in major league baseball. In salary cap leagues you can outsmart folks and win it all or pay less than the other teams and still be good by running the team better than your competitors. In baseball you can only fake it for so long before reality catches up with you.