[UPDATE]: Carlos Torres has been called up to help shore up the bullpen for the weekend series.
According to The Cowboy:
Jhoulys Chacin starter for Rockies home opener. Last 21 starts, 3-11, 5.14, 63 BB 119 IP. Rocks hope AAA refresher gets him back on track.
Thomas Harding feels that Alex White will be called up to replace him.
“Dead arm phase” according to Renck. But this dead arm has lasted all spring, maybe even going back to the second half last year. I’d be inclined to shut him down completely for a while. One thing I’m sure of: calling him out in public won’t bring back 3 mph of fastball velocity. It’s not as if he’s trying to suck. That didn’t work with Ubaldo either. Ubaldo got shut down with (literally) a hangnail and he got ripped for being a slacker. Chacin has tried to pitch through it and he’s getting ripped for being a slacker …
Ag, has he recently been called out/ripped in public by the organization? Or do you refer to the winter when O’Dowd was doing so? Just wondering. Sure hope he finds it.
Ag, once again, what is your point in beating this dead horse? DOD made a remark before ST even started, the parties involved got together and discussed it man to man and the issue was put to rest.
You come across as a very intelligent individual, but I don’t understand why you sometimes grab a hold of a subject and beat it to death as though you are on some sort of crusade. I think you’ve made it quite clear that you are not a fan of DOD, JT, and several other members of the organization, but please, lets maintain some sort of objectivity.
I sure hope White is ready. He was NOT impressive last year. But he also had some sort of hangnail or blister or dandruff injury dogging him.
Alex White had the torn (some strange name for ligaments in his finger) which takes several months to recover completely. Same injury as DLR two years ago and DLR wasn’t 100% after returning to mound for a couple of months. White is completely healthy now as he had the entire winter to recover completely from it.
I’m struggling with the dead arm theory but I guess it is possbile. There are reaching implications with that though.
We all know that Chacin has sucked this year and after mid-June last year. We know before that he was impressive at the beginning of last year and had shown flashes before that.
Getting sent down does not mean you won’t become a good pitcher, maybe a great pitcher. Roy Halliday was sent down to A ball and despite his struggles last night I think we would all agree he turned out pretty darn good.
Sandy Koulfax and Warren Spahn weren’t very good until they were 25 or so. I think Chacin is younger than that.
I’m not sure what, if any, DoD’s calling out Chacin had to do with his struggles since he struggled the whole 2nd half of last year. Personally I think Tracy’s not letting Betancourt pitch to Kemp gave Betancourt a much worse message. We’ll see what happens. Tracy said he would do it again.
On a happy note, there is an excellent article on De La Rosa in the Modesto Bee:
http://www.modbee.com/2012/05/03/2184157/long-road-back.html
Sounds like he is on track to be as dominant as we will need!
After witnessing up close and personal the debacle that occured in Chacin’s last start, I can conclude one of only two things. One, but not both, conclusions are derived after reading Dirk Hayhurst’s brilliant book, “Out of My League,” which chronicle the minor league lifestyle compared with the major league lifestyle he experienced.
Chacin is either lacking in the long-term talent needed to maintain a successful career at the major league level OR, as I suspect, not applying the talent he has by living a ho-hum attitude lifestyle.
If, in fact, he really is Ubaldo 2.0, it will become readily apparent up the road in Colorado Springs. The humidor is in place so the argument the city and park have provided is no longer in the equation.
He will quickly be re-introduced to the minor leagues and its very visible(to players)lack of major league stature and perks. He will realize that if he wants the “gravy train” to return it will have to involve intense work and a commitment to a work ethic which most highly successful big leaguers seem to possess.
It appears to me, and I admit it is only my opinion, that Chacin is taking the big leagues for granted(much like Ubaldo his last year or so, IMO).
Since he has proven that he has the talent, as we have all seen, the answer MUST lie elsewhere.
I can only concluded that he needs a very severe “attitude adjustment” in which he discovers that the major league experience is much too enjoyable to let himself fade into the scrap heap of ex-major leaguers or worse yet, career minor leaguers.
The comparisions with Ubaldo and Chacin, to me, are scary.
We RWOers will learn soon enough if the REAL J. Chacin comes back to us, not only as a “changed pitcher,” but a changed man as well. One that discovers what it really takes to be a big leaguer.
NICE Ed! I agree 100% … wow … I think you summed it up pretty well.
How ironic you read that book by Dick Hayhurst. I am reading his other book, “The Bullpen Gospels.” I was trying to choose between the two books before I settled on The Bullpen Gospels. Loved that book as it takes you behind the scenes of what really goes on off the field and on. I guess I’ll have to read that book “Out of my League” as well.
Out of My League is the sequel to The Bullpen Gospels…these are two of the best baseball books I have ever read, and I’ve read quite a few.
Read TBG first and then follow up with OOML.
Brilliant writing by someone who lived it.
Thanks for the recommendation Ed. I just ordered a copy.
I think it was Prog that ripped me for comparing Chacin to Ubaldo the another day in chat. Glad to see other people agree with me.
Maybe they both have dramatic fall offs, but Chacin was never half the pitcher Ubaldo was. So, pretty hard for them to be comparable in my book.
I can’t remember how many times during 2010-2011 that the camera would pan to the dugout and the Ubaldo, Chacin, Esmil Rogers “clique” could be seen hanging out. Often it seemed as though they weren’t paying attention to the game. At the time, I shrugged it off, because Ubaldo was rolling and the other two were learning ( and generally doing well ). It seems as though Esmil has ramped it up since Ubaldo’s departure. But Chacin still seems to be in that “slacker” mode ( at least visually – to me ).
Just my opinion. I’m not buying the “dead arm” theory.
Funny SDCarp, i remember things quite differently – every time they panned I’d noticed Ubaldo standing at the “fence” of the dugout, watching the game and playing with a ball in his hand…i did see him at times with the others, but what stands out was how many times they would show the dugout and he was right up front, watching the action…i guess it is true, witnesses can’t really be relied on because they all bring their own perspective/prejudice to the scene
Great post Ed. I wonder how many major leaguers on all the teams go through this. Should have gotten my degree in sports psychology!
Go Rockies!
There is supposed to be a corresponding move before the game tomorrow. I suspect it will be a bullpen arm, likely Zach Putnam, to reinforce our relief corps.
I put myself in the organization’s shoes and see what I would have done. How about this? Call up Alex White (because he has MLB experience and only one completely healthy and stretched out). Have Jamie Moyer pitch Friday with Nicasio going Saturday. That would be on five days rest for both. Let Alex White pitch Sunday (that would be on five days rest for him) as he is a ground ball pitcher. Push Moscoso (an extreme fly ball pitcher) to Monday so he can take advantage of the Petco Park to keep the fly balls inside the park. Guthrie back on Tuesday and our rotation returns to normal sans Chacin.
Guthrie, Moyer, Nicasio, Pomeranz, White and see where they take us.
Carlos Torres has been called up to help the bullpen…
Ed, RMH–
You guys have convinced me to read the Dirk Hayhurst books. I’ve read some of his essays and they’re great.
Interesting article on Ubaldo at cleveland dot com. Here’s a clip:
“Jimenez worked hard in the off-season program assigned to him. He came into spring training in excellent condition.
The Indians didn’t worry about him failing to average 96 mph. They believe with decent control, he would win a lot of games with a fastball in the 92-93 mph range, well above the big-league average of 90. But the control is erratic, his fastball is straight and hitters seldom swing and miss — that rate is down from 7.5 in his mediocre 2011 season to 4.9 this year.
He’s not fooling many hitters, period. They foul off a lot of pitches, raising his pitch count to close to 100 in the fifth inning of most starts.
Looking at Jimenez, this much is obvious: He’s not only lost something off his fastball, he’s lost a lot of confidence. And none of this is going to quickly change.”
Since the ASB in 2010 he’s 16-22, 4.70. Ouch.
It’s a fickle game. Just read an article on John Danks ( CWS ). Same thing. Good pitcher, but has fallen part, and the solution doesn’t seem near.
Ed, I just ordered the The Bullpen Gospels. Thanks for the tip!
Life-long Yankee hater here, but even I’m depressed about Mariano Rivera. Other Yankees I dislike but respect (Jeter); Rivera? I couldn’t help but respect and like him. Shame to see his career end that way.
I have spent fifty years hating the Yankees, and I am not likely to change that anytime soon. Still Ag you are right about Mariano Rivera as he was one of the few Yankees allowed to be selected for my fantasy baseball team each year.
Last week I noted to anyone who would listen (quite happily!) that the Yankees were in trouble this year, and with this latest development (Rivera) that 2012 trouble just became a NY nightmare. And that is just fine with me, because my fantasy team will always take a second seat to my YANKEES HATE!!!
BTW I have to also mention that my Birds are near the top of the much AL East division.
Yeah, go Orioles! They’ve been like the Royals lately: on paper they’re doing the right things now, but nothing has turned out right. Maybe their luck will turn.
The Blue Jays are probably my team to watch. Quietly they’ve moved up into the upper tier in the AL, and with the Red Sox and Yankees stumbling they’ve got a little opening.