Rox rout Bucs to snap losing streak
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- Colorado snapped its season-high eight-game losing streak by pounding Pittsburgh, 13-4, in front of 20,086 people on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
"We showed ourselves that we're capable of doing some good things," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We put a nice package together tonight. The offense showed up."
The Rockies got a solid start from lefty Jeff Francis, who hurled seven innings and surrendered two runs (one earned run) on eight hits. Francis upped his record to 7-8 with the win.
"We got a big start again from Francis," Hurdle explained. "Another quality start from our rotation. He pitched strong effective baseball. He went through that lineup pretty effectively [and] followed his game plan very well. [He] mixed in his offspeed stuff with his fastball on both sides and elevated when he wanted to. It was just the start we needed."
Francis was pleased with the offensive explosion as well.
"To come out with seven runs in the first three innings helps you relax a little bit," Francis said. "But you've still got to go after guys and you've still got to get outs."
Left fielder Matt Holliday had high praise for another well pitched game by a Colorado starter.
"That's pretty much every day these days or it has been," Holliday offered. "We'll keep riding them as long as they'll carry us. They have pitched great."
Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny was tagged with the loss as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, surrendering seven runs (five earned) on four hits. He issued five walks as he fell to 0-2 on the campaign.
The Rockies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Garrett Atkins drew a walk and advanced to third on a double by catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Atkins scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Gonzalez. Torrealba scored after Francis hit a grounder to Gorzelanny, who threw wide of third base for an error. Jamey Carroll delivered a sacrifice fly to right field knocking in Choo Freeman, who singled.
Colorado upped its advantage to 7-0 in the third inning when Torrealba hit a two-run double into the right-field corner after Gorzelanny issued a pair of walks. Gorzelanny walked two more to load the bases before making an early exit. He was replaced by right-hander Victor Santos, who was greeted by a two-run double by Carroll.
"A big night for Torrealba," Hurdle stated. "He strung together four [quality] at-bats. You don't envision the guy going 3-for-5 every night. His swings were real clean tonight. He hit the ball where it was pitched and he hit it hard."
Pittsburgh tagged Francis for his first run in the bottom of the third inning. Jason Bay's RBI double drove in Jack Wilson to make it 7-1 Colorado.
The Rockies added the eighth run in the fourth inning.
Then they tacked on four more in the sixth when Holliday crushed a two-run homer off Santos and Freeman smacked a two-run triple making it 12-1. It was Holliday's 17th home run on the season.
"It was a first-pitch curveball that I hit," Holliday said. "I was looking fastball, but when a breaking ball [hung] up a little bit, I just put a good swing on it and luckily I got enough of it."
The offensive pyrotechnics were just what the doctor ordered.
"It was a nice way for the offense to kind of break out of a team-wide slump that we'd been in," Holliday explained. "Hopefully, we've turned the page on what was a bad 10 days and we can now move forward."
"I think that win goes to the offense," Francis stated. "That's what we've been struggling to do the last couple of games. They came through big time."
Jason Smith rounded out the Rockies' scoring with a solo homer in the ninth.
"That might be the most pleasant part offensively speaking," Hurdle observed. "That so many people were able to participate, help out and have a hand in what we did tonight offensively up and down the lineup.
"We had good at-bats throughout the lineup. Guys were much more patient and more disciplined. We showed up good."
Rookie right-hander Manuel Corpas and closer Brian Fuentes tossed the final two frames for the Rockies.
"I think you got to see flashes of what Corpas can bring and that's a pretty exciting arm." Hurdle explained. "[Then with] Fuentes, we needed to get him back on the mound [to] let him air it out a little bit and get ready for a save tomorrow."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Notes: Focusing on internal options
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- With baseball's July 31 trade deadline looming, the Rockies would seem to be buyers, considering they are in a pennant race in the National League West and are only five games out of first place.
"We really haven't worried about our division all year," Rockies general manager Daniel O'Dowd said. "We're just trying to focus on how we can get better. We've hit a rough stretch here, and there's no doubt about that. We've just got to focus on the fact that we've come a long way from last year. We still have to stay patient."
He cautioned that just because the Rockies are in a pennant race does not mean they are in trade mode.
"I don't think we are there at all," O'Dowd stated. "I think we'll focus on our internal options. We've only made four player moves based upon performance all year, leading up to some of those we made on Monday. And that's because our starters have been good and our bullpen hasn't gotten enough work. So, I don't think we'll do that. If there is something that ends up falling in our lap, we certainly will, but I don't think we're going to be actively out trying to force things to happen at this point."
Family business: Some families own a grocery store, others own a garage or auto dealership and that is the family business. But with the Holliday family, baseball is the family business.
Matt Holliday, 26, is an All-Star outfielder with the Rockies. His father Tom was the longtime baseball coach at Oklahoma State and then the pitching coach at the University of Texas. He recently became associate head coach at North Carolina State.
Matt's older brother, Josh, is the hitting coach at Georgia Tech and Uncle Dave is a scout for the Rockies.
"That's a funny way to put it -- family business," Matt said. "I've been around [baseball] a long time. It's a fun thing and it's something our whole family has in common."
Matt is excited about his father's new job. "I think it will be a good spot for him," he said. "He'll have a boss who he has known for a long time and is a good friend of our family, and I think they'll have a lot of fun together."
"I think when you get to a point in your career, this is one of those things when you sit around in your chair and you jump up and say, 'You're going to go do this,'" Tom Holliday said of his current coaching role. "I don't act on impulse very often. But this is a longtime friend that I've seen work his rear end off for 20 years, and in our business of college baseball, getting to the College World Series is a lot of people's goal and it's a dream.
"Having been there 16 times [with Oklahoma State and Texas] and this program hasn't been there, this may be my last drive, my last goal in this college baseball business. If North Carolina State can get there in the next couple of years, then maybe I'll go do something else. But at this point, I think I've earned the right to do what I want to do."
It will place Tom and Josh in the same conference as opponents.
"That's an accident," Tom said. "We'll play three games against each other. I know him and he knows me, and when we put our uniforms on we'll play the game properly and when it's over there is still going to be a hug and a kiss."
"They both will want to win," Matt said. "They're both competitive."
The elder Holliday is still feeling the exhilaration of watching his son play in the All-Star Game.
"The biggest rush I ever had was watching Matt in a big-league game," Tom said. "When he was called up, I had to find his mother an airline ticket because we were playing, too. She was able to fly in and see his first big-league game in St. Louis and I had to watch it on tape. That rookie year, every time I saw him on television I got big goose bumps.
"To watch him in the All-Star Game is like -- I don't even know if I can describe it and I probably still haven't been able to put a word to it. He's only 26, so I don't want to say it's a dream come true, because I know Matt better than that, and probably a World Series is something I want to see him play in. But the goose bumps were really big again and to sit there with my mother was special."
Helton sits: Manager Clint Hurdle inserted recent callup Ryan Shealy in the lineup at first base on Wednesday afternoon, giving veteran Todd Helton a day off.
"It's going to be a situational-type thing. [Helton] has played six straight days in the heat," Hurdle explained. "Give him a blow today, and a day off tomorrow -- it just makes sense. We'll just see how it develops, but I'm using Shealy more as a bat off the bench."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Rockies' rally falls short
07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- Colorado had hoped to build some momentum after snapping an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night. But the Pirates held the Rockies down to take the rubber game of a three-game series, 6-5, before 19,881 on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.
Colorado staged a ninth-inning rally against Pirates closer Mike Gonzalez, but came up short. Choo Freeman led off with a single. After pinch-hitter J.D. Closser struck out, Jamey Carroll drew a walk. Clint Barmes then singled to load the bases and Garrett Atkins singled to drive in Freeman and make it a one-run affair.
Not wanting to get doubled up on Atkins' hit, Carroll hesitated at second and only made it to third base. Gonzalez then struck out Matt Holliday and Ryan Shealy to end the game.
"We didn't make a clean read at second base on the single by Atkins," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle lamented. "We had a runner that broke back to second base, unfortunately. Jamey is probably one of our best baserunners. He just didn't get a clean read on it. He broke back to second base on a ball where really nobody is there. You don't want to get doubled off, but I think in that situation, he knew where the guys were. He wasn't sure, but when he looked around, he saw that he might have misread it."
"When he hit it, it just kind of froze me," Carroll said. "You don't want to get doubled off in that situation. I went too cautious of a route, and knowing that Holliday and Shealy were coming up, I just froze on it. I just played too cautious."
Hurdle bemoaned the missed opportunities.
"There were opportunities a couple of times today to get it done," Hurdle stated. "We were talking earlier about finding a way to get a run going. Today is a perfect example. We had different situations where guys could have showed up and given us that opportunity."
Rockies starter Jason Jennings (6-8) gave up six runs on seven hits in six innings of work and was tagged with the loss.
"The way [Jennings] pitched -- it wasn't his best day," Hurdle said. "[Pittsburgh] didn't pound the ball on him in the sixth inning, but he got the balls up. Whenever you get the ball up, more often than not, good things don't happen. A couple balls dropped in that weren't hit hard to score the three runs. He wasn't able to get the big out."
The loss was a stinging one for Jennings.
"I feel like I made the pitches to get out of the inning," Jennings explained. "We were winning and I had two outs in the sixth and we were leading, 4-3, and I come out and we're losing, 6-4. It's frustrating all the way around. Today, I didn't throw as good, but for most of the game, I had us in a position to win and let it slip by."
Pittsburgh lefty starter Zach Duke got the win and upped his record to 7-8. He tossed six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits.
Colorado nicked Duke for a run in the second inning. First baseman Shealy paid immediate dividends after being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Monday. In his first action of the season, he led off with a double to right-center field and scored on a two-out single by Freeman.
Jennings did not allow a Pittsburgh hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Jack Wilson tripled. He later scored on a two-out RBI single by Sean Casey, tying the game at 1. Veteran Joe Randa then smacked a two-run double to left-center field, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
Shealy struck again in the sixth inning. With one out after a walk to Atkins, Shealy stroked a run-scoring double to center field. He scored on a two-out RBI double by Yorvit Torrealba. Duke surrendered his third RBI double of the inning to Luis Gonzalez, putting the Rockies on top, 4-3.
Pittsburgh rallied with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and tied the score at 4 on a bloop RBI single by Randa. Ronny Paulino then delivered a two-run double, putting Pittsburgh on top, 6-4.
Gonzalez notched his 15th save for Pittsburgh.
The loss was a tough one to swallow for the Rockies.
"It's definitely a frustrating loss," Carroll explained. "If I scored, it could have been a totally different ballgame."
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
Athletic trainers hands-on in Colorado
07/20/2006
DENVER -- Before many games, Rockies head trainer Keith Dugger puts down his athletic tape and first-aid kit and picks up a baseball glove.
In a somewhat different ritual, one he believes brings him closer to the players, Dugger participates in baseball activities, activities he considers part of the job.
For example, catcher Yorvit Torrealba needs to play long toss -- a game of catch from 90 or more feet -- before games to loosen a right shoulder that suffered a strain during Spring Training and caused him to miss the season's first two months. Dugger, 40, a former junior college infielder, is Torrealba's throwing partner. The games of catch free a teammate or a coach for other duties, and give Dugger a different point of observation.
"It helps to at least be able to play catch, or at least know what the guys are talking about," said Dugger, who also pitches to rehabbing hitters in the batting cage. "I can say I've never experienced playing 162 games a year, but I do know the difference between pain and soreness from just doing the daily throwing routine with these guys. And in a sense, you gain a little respect from showing that you're coordinated."
It's part of the Rockies' creative use of staff members. Strength and conditioning coach Brad Andress, a former Penn State football player, is valuable as a batting practice pitcher, because none of the coaches with a baseball background throw left-handed. Video coordinator Mike Hamilton hits ground balls to infielders.
Dugger's assistant, Scott Gehret, also picks up a glove -- a catcher's mitt for a left-handed thrower. It's something that the former head trainer, Tom Probst, did during his six seasons in the job before becoming the club's medical operations director.
"Pretty much all of us realized we weren't the best baseball players, but we loved being around the sport," Dugger said.
Getting on the field is not the only way for trainers to gain the respect of players that spend as much or more time around the ballpark as they do with families.
"I don't spend any time on the field besides for the game, [but] I think you have to have the players' trust and respect," Pirates head athletic trainer Brad Henderson said. "There are times when guys take us out to dinner, kind of a thank you. Some of the more veteran guys over the years have enjoyed good wines and good dinners like I do, so they may take you out to dinner and that forms a relationship."
The Rockies staff has company in its more active approach to gaining insights on a player's health. For example, Giants trainer Stan Conte throwing the ball around or a member of his staff running through agility drills with a rehabbing player is a common sight.
Baseball skill is not a job requirement, but the Rockies encourage trainers to be jack-of-all-trades from the lowest levels. Dugger served as a batting practice pitcher and bullpen catcher in the Rockies' system before joining the big-league club in 1998.
"You don't have to, but we encourage all our Minor League guys to at least grab a glove during Spring Training to play catch with the guys that are going through rehab," Dugger said. "When it gets to the point -- especially pitchers -- when they're throwing bullpens and throwing too hard for us, we'll move them on over to a coach or another player.
"We don't want to get hurt."
It's OK for trainers to throw and catch like players, as long as they don't get hurt like them.
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
