No MLB yesterday and several have posted pieces of last night’s games. So here is my brief recap of the Rockies Thursday night minor league action:
Colorado Springs Sky Sox lost on the road to San Antonio 2-5. Christian Friedrich actually started out well but finished five innings with 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, and 6 strike outs. Both Brandon Roberts (who?) and Tommy Field went 2 for 4 hitting.
Tulsa Drillers (this team is going to be really good) won at San Antonio 7-2. Edwar Cabrera had a dominate outing pitching 6 innings giving up only 1 earned run and 3 hits to go along with NO walks and 6 strikeouts. Nolan Arenado (maybe he really should be starting in Houton tonight?) as he likely already leads the league with an .800 average, 4 hits and yep 3 RBIs. Josh Rutledge also had a home run while playing shortstop.
Modesto Nuts lost their home opener 3-4 to San Jose. The third lefty starter of the evening Tyler Matzek actually did alright pitching 4 2/3 inninngs while giving up just 3 hits and 0 earned runs. Walks are still too high with 3, but you gotta love those 7 strikeouts. All in all a good start for Matzek. Jared Clark playing 1st Base went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs.
Here are the starting line-ups for the Sky Sox and Drillers:
Sky Sox
Guillermo Moscoso
Alex White
Christian Friedrich
Rob Scahill
Adam Ottavino
Tulsa Drillers
Edwar Cabrera
Daniel Huston
Nick Schmidt
Parker Frazier
Joe Gardner
Now for some real MLB baseball action!
Thanks OrangeRox for this…i’ll be making an RoxMinors section in a few days and we can put posts like this under that section…
You read my mind again!
With the additions of Moyer and Pomeranz, will Chatwood move to the Sky Sox starting rotation? If so, who will he bump out of the starting rotation?
Where is Bettis , I thought he would be in Tulsa. Great idea on the minor section. Will look forward to reading it
Bettis is on Tulsa, but on the DL.
Thanks, Julian
Starting rotations look about right for CS and Tulsa, but obviously the order is wacky at AAA.
BTW others have said this here too, but I think this whole innings thing with Pomeranz is WAY over thinking by Rox management. For example isn’t a AAA inning the same as a MLB inning or even an intra squad inning – a 92 mph fastball is the same whether it is thrown in an MLB game or in a warmup – just don’t get this whole innings limit issue!
If you really want to shut him down after 170 total innings fine – just do it, but why waste any of those innings (in AAA) when he is already throwing well at the MLB level?
Orange,
You are correct, AAA innings are no different than MLB innings, with one distinct difference-the stress associated with pitching at the ML level. I for one think it’s a good move by the Rox to hold DrewPo back. Most starting pitchers have a “bullpen day” between starts, you can look at these starts in the minors as just that for DrewPo.
Nope not buying the “stress” at the MLB level theory. We are talking about saving the physical stress on his arm NOT the mental stress of pitching at the MLB level. That is in theory the purpose of limiting the innings on a young arm.
And Prog if the Rockies do not have their infield/outfield situation figured by now, well I just don’t have any nice words for that situation. Let’s play our best players (and clearly Pom is one our best starters) from the beginning – a win today is just as important as a win in September.
Just wait Pom will throw a “no hitter” at AAA (although they won’t let him go that far) and everyone will say he should have thrown that game for the MLB Rockies. Heck I am almost right there with Arenado and he is only 20 years old – that 4 hit night would have looked pretty good at Coors Field.
I asked this in the other thread, but what articles are we talking about where they say they are saving his innings and that’s why he’s not up right now? Obviously they don’t want to shut Drew down for a whole week so that’s why he’s pitching in the minors.
I think its got more to do with needing another week to decide who should be on the roster and a pitcher like Drew is the easiest way to do that. Obviously can’t do it with Guthrie or Chacin.
Could have done it to Nicasio, I guess. But they’re pretty much same situation on either.
BTW while I am ranting here (it is opening day and I should have a smiley face on!) has anyone else noted how the “Joba” rules worked out for the Yankees?
No MLB yesterday? Just want everyone to know (and it was pointed out by Julie in another thread) that MLB Extra Innings is free thru the 15th. All games.
Watched the 10th-16 innings of the Indians (my other team) yesterday, on it.
Yep I was focused on the Rockies – my oversight!
OrangeRocks, thanks for reviving the dead horse of the handling of Pomeranz.
Cisco, they’re limiting Pomeranz’s innings based on that whole Verducci Effect thing (don’t increase a pitcher’s innings by more than 30 a year). Sportswriter Verducci claims that guys who add more than 30 innings over their last year suffer, with reduced performance and much higher injury risk. Lots of studies say this hasn’t been shown, but it’s obviously what the Rockies are thinking.
Pomeranz threw only 119 innings last year — 101 in the minors, 18 in the majors. So if they are Verducci believers they’d want to limit Pom to about 150 innings. They say they’re capping him at 170, which already breaks the Verducci rule. And yes, minor league innings DO count. That’s a common example of the effect, maybe the most typical example because Verducci often uses “sophomore slump” cases to prove his point).
So … having Pomeranz pitch in the minors just shifts some of those 170 innings (too many already according to Verducci) to minor league games. Call me nuts, but if the guy who looks like the best bet to be my ace is wasting precious innings in the minor leagues, I just don’t get it. Particularly when you want to have your Verducci cake and eat it (increasing his workload by 50 innings over last year).
I have a different theory: the kid’s pitching great. Just let him throw.
Alright Ag, I’ll play along with you. How exactly would you have set the rotation to start the season?
Guthrie, Pomeranz, Chacin, Nicasio and Moyer. Pom breaks up the power right handers and Nicasio would have got the home opener. That’s how I would have set the rotation.
If an extra day comes along just give everyone six days between starts indeed of five. Like I said above the Rockies management is thinking way TOO hard here. This is not that complex, and if they have to send a bench player down in afew days, what’s the big he liekly isn’t playing right now anyway.
Think we’re playing 3 in Houston, right?
So I’d go Guthrie, Chacin, Pomeranz, then Nicasio to open at home. I get the split up the power pitchers thing, but since the season doesn’t end after 4 games, and since our rotation is 4 power pitchers and one Jamey Moyer, aren’t we always going to have 4 power pitchers in a row??
Enough of that. Nice win, let’s give Moyer some runs to work with tomorrow. I still don’t have opening day tix and I don’t want to pay stub hub prices. Where’s the best place these days to scalp em on the day of the game?
Me too. Where? Nice rant exchange boys.
Just found out that Drew Pomeranz will start Tuesday for Double-A Tulsa at Corpus Christi. He’ll join Rockies’ rotation 5 days later…