What upgrades do we need part 1.

Well as promised last night, I said I would run down position by position of the rockies, and give my input on what can be upgraded if we are in contention by July 31.   For now, lets take a look at the outfield.

LF – I think Holliday is a star in the making,  and the rest of the league is starting to take notice as well, as evidence as to his participation on team USA in the WBC just last month.  Some things that worrry me about him however is that he 1) Has had his share of injury problems in the past, 2) Always seems to start of slow, and 3) Has Bores as an agent, which means the Rockies chances of being able to afford him in the future are very very slim.   Also his defense in LF has been suspect as well.  However if he's hitting like he normally does come July, there is no reason to replace him.  Looking at the farm system, we have guys like Seth Smith, Dextor Flowler, and even guys like Jeff Baker and Garret Atkins who can be moved to LF if Holliday gets to pricey in the future.  So for now,  LF is not a hole on this team.

CF – Here we have Sullivan, who I don't think is much more then a 4th outfielder.  He just doesn't have enough power in the bat to be a middle of the order hitter, and he doesn't walk enough and provide a good enough OBP to be a top of the order hitter.  A good team could hide him in the 7 or 8 spot of the lineup, but we aren't and elite team yet.  What he does provide is solid fielding in CF, so he could be usefull as a late innings replacement, but if July 31 comes around, and Sullivan his hitting .280 with an OBP of .330 or so,  it might be smart to see if we can get a CF to come our way.  In the system we have Choo Freeman, Ryan Salazar, and maybe Piedra can slide over and play CF, but all in all, there really isn't an impact outfielder until you hit about single A.  CF would be a great position to try to upgrade come July 31. 

RF – Here is a tricky one.  Hawpe has great minor league numbers, and a great arm in RF.  Recently he's been on a tear, and leads the club right now with 4 homeruns.  However, aside from this year, he has yet to prove himself for a full season in the big leagues.  If Hawpe can continue to produce like he has been, then he should be ok to help the team with a post season push.  I think CF is the more pressing needs among our outfield right now anyways.  

 I will post the SP, RP, and Infield thoughts later on (either later on today or sometime tomorrow)

An update

Well, I've been very very busy this past week and havn't had much time to post about the rockies, with Easter, and Heading into finals and such,  April has just been a very busy month.   But here is a quick update.

I must ask, what is with this years Rockies?   It seems that we can now all of the sudden hit on the road, but when it comes to playing at the greatest hitting park ever built we get performances like today.  Rockies took 2/3 against the D-Backs and swept the Pads, but came back home only to win 1 againt the phils, however they were in all three games which is a positive step.  It look as if Zach Day will be the odd man out once BK is ready to come back, and I must I don't think any of my fellow bloggers will be sad to see him go.  

Strikeout watch

Well the Rockies have improved a bit, in  113 innings they only have struck out 85 times,  thats still a high number, however there strikeout an inning rate is going down, and thats a good sign.

Table Setter Watch

Well both Barmes and Sullivan have batting averages over .300 which is a good sign and Barmes is sporting an OBP of .321 and Sullivan has an OBP of .339,  I would like to see these a little higher, but if Sullivan can stay around a .340 OBP and Barmes above .320 we won't be too bad…. I think.

Monforts

The Monforts have been on recored this year saying that if this team is in contention by July they might be buyers on the trade market, and with poker chips such as Shealy, Spilborghs, Closser, and Baker, a question that I would like my readers to ponder is what does this team need to upgrade if they are in the race come July 31?  I hope to, in the up and coming days,  run through position by position, and give my take on each starter, and see if it would be worth our while to upgrade that spot.   Until then…. see you later

The new Road Warriors – Colorado Rockies

Something amazing has happened, something that hasn't happened in quite some time… the Rockies Swept San Diego – On the road. Yup, that same team, who for years and years, have had the hardest time winning games on the road… swept a team. And it wasn't even close, 10-4 Friday, 12-4 yesterday, and 10-4 today. for a total of 32 runs. Fill in Jason Smith hit 3 homeruns including 2 today, and Eli (I didn't want him on the team) Marrero came up big this series, as did Garret Atkins and Brad Hawpe. Helton continues to recieve the Barry Bonds treatment, but he also continues to be a double's machine.

Top of the Order Watch

Well Sulivan and Barmes had a decent series, so maybe me harping on them earlier was a case of small sample size, however non-the-less, I would still like to track the TOL this year:

 18/56 for a .321 average, however still just 2 walks between the both of them, thats something to watch and be concerned over.  This series, they went 13/31 for a .419 average,  see what happens when we set the table?  We win.

Strikeout watch.

Before this series, the rockies were k-ing at a rate of 1 strikeout per inning, lets see if this trend is holding…

In Fridays game they struck out 10 times, in Saturdays game they struck out 9 times, and in Sunday's game they struck out 11 tims,  thats 30 strike outs, or an average of 10 strikouts a game.  In the 59 innings played so far this season, the Rockies have struck out 59 times, or still 1 an inning,  so this is something to keep our eyes on.  If the Rockies continue to strike out at such a high rate,  we are going to see more games like the ones against the D-Backs, then the ones against the Padres.  

And finally,  Danny (all field no hit) Ardion, got a hit. 

What the…..

Well, last nights game was ugly.  I didn't get to see it because I had to go to my girlfriends band concernt, but by looking at the box score,  I can tell you that a band concert was much more entertaining then last nights game.  The Rockies lost badly to the Snakes – 12-5.  Watching and looking at the box scores over the past three games, I have noticed a very disturbing stat.  In Wednesdays game, the D-Backs starter Hernandez struck out 8 in 5 innings, and last nights game, Batista struck out 11, in 7 innings.  Put all three games together and the rockies have struck out 29 times in 29 innings, or basically 1 strike out an inning.  If this trend continues, the Rockies have a long season ahead of them.   I don't know what batting coach Duane Espy is telling these guys, but what ever it is,  it's not working.

Also, Francis couldn't follow up the great outings Cook and Jennings had,  in 4.1 innings pitched, he game up 5 runs and while walking 6 batters and hitting anouther batter.  The bullpen didn't do much better, 7 runs, 6 earned, and walking 5.  I would really like to know what Apadaca has told Francis, because I know that this isn't the same kid that was comming up through the system, with great control numbers.  In his minor league career, Francis gave up a total of 82 walks, and struck out 388 in 346 innings,.  His MLB numbers? 89 walks, 163 k's, in 224.2 innings.  I have a hard time, that Francis magically forgot how to throw a strike.

The good news?  Well Holliday finally got a hit, and it was a homerun,  imagine what it would have been like if he came through on Wednesday.  And Helton is still batting .500, and Atkins is starting strong as well.   

The bad news?  Sullivan was 0/3 with 2 k's, and Ardoin still hasn't had a hit yet.  

Top of the order watch.  

5/25 with still 1 walk between the two of them (Barmes and Sullivan)

Today we have Josh Fogg going against the Padres Chris Young, at Petco Park.  I hate to sound not pestamistic, but I wouldn't bet money that the Rockies win today.

You Can’t Eat Dinner, without setting the table first.

Wel, game 2 of the 2006 season didn't turn out as well as game 1.  Cook started where he left off last year, pitching 7 innings allowing 3 runs and 6 hits, and an impressive 16-3 ground-ball to fly-ball ratio.  

Helton also had a good day going 2-2 with 2 doubles, before seeing the Barry Bonds Treatment.

Other then that however, there was very little offense in the air tonight.   Holliday had 3 k's and went 0-4, Hawpe couldn't add on to his good day yesterday, posting a big 0-4, and well Ardoin might be a great catcher, but I don't think he could hit his way out of a wet paper bag.  More concerning is the 8 k's that Hernandez got tonight.  Lets be honest,  Hernandez isn't that great of a pitcher anymore,  and if a guy who has a hard time topping out at 90 MPH on the radar gun,  gets 8'ks thats not a good sign of things to come.  5 runs in 2 games for a team that plays in a hitters heaven, isn't a good sign.   Lets hope this team can turn it around on the road.

Anouther topic of discussion would be the table setters in the order, that means you, Barmes, and Sullivan.  Combined they are 3 for 17 with 1 walk so far these first two games, and the one walk was nullified by a stupid baserunning error by Sullivan in the bottom of the ninth.  So far this has not been a great model for a dynamic offense, and if the rockies have any hopes of improving their record this year, it starts at the top.  You can't eat dinner without setting the table first. 

Opening Day Wonders

Well, in 1995, we get Dante Bichette's dramatic 14th inning homerun to win the game. Just last year, we get a walk off homerun from SS Clint Barmes. This year…. well its a ground ball to D-Backs Rookie First Baseman, Coner Jackson, which brings home Matt Holliday for an 11th inning win. Though not as dramatic as a walk off homerun, game 1 of the 2006 season proved to be a great game.

Due to the fact that I had school (and would've had a test in my last class but it was cancelled) I couldn't get tickets to opening day, and had to look at ESPN Gameday during my breaks to find out what was going on. However looking at the box scores, here are the Hero's and Goats of Opening Day.

Heros

Jason Jennings – Jennings, who has been known to struggle in April, had a great start to the 2006 season, pitching 7 strong innings, allowing 6 runs, and 6 Strikeouts to 1 Walk. Jennings has figured out April, and can revert back to his ROY campain, then Rockies fans can look foward to a great season.

The Bullpen – Last years pen after spring training, was a train wreck. This years was effective and held the Snakes to 1 run – unearned. I'm don't expect great things from the soon to be 40 year old Mesa, but its nice to have some Vets to stablize the back of the pen.

Hawpe – He's the only one who seemed to be effective against Webb, knocking in 2 hits and the game winning RBI ground ball

Holliday – 2-5 with the game winning run, thats a good day by me.

Goats

The top of the order – Sullivan and Barmes went 2/10 with 3 strike outs. This tells me that they don't have what it takes to set the table for Helton and Co. If the Rockies are to do anything this year, they need to get at least a .350 OBP from there 1 and 2 hitters.

Tonight we Have Aaron Cook pitching against Orlando Hernandez,  even though we are down by 2 in the first,  I'm picking the Rockies in this one. 

Welcome to Lodo Magic

Welcome to Lodo Magic,  a new Colorado Rockies blog. 

I've been a fan ever since I was in 4th grade in 1993, and I've stuck with this team, through think and thin, and I'm hoping for a great 2006 season.  I will try to update this at daily or at the very least weekly, so without further delay, lets get blogging.