Results tagged ‘ Chase Headley ’

Rockies welcome “the new” Alex White

Rockies fans saw right-hander Alex White late last season. They saw him give up 12 home runs in 36 1/3 innings.

But if what Rockies manager Jim Tracy saw when he was able to catch some of White’s work when he pitched at Triple-A Colorado Springs during the early part of this season, fans can forget about the Alex White they saw last year. The new White, Tracy hopes, will be revealed tonight against the Padres.

“I don’t know how this is going to play out, but I’ve seen him on television in some of these starts that he’s had in Triple-A,” Tracy said. “If that guy shows up, you’ll see a different pitcher than you saw last September and you’ll see a different guy than you saw last September.

Here are the lineups:

 

ROCKIES

1. Marco Scutaro, 2B (.266, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

2. Jordan Pacheco, 3B (.154, 0 HR, 0 RBI)

3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF (.320, 7 HR, 26 RBIs)

4. Troy Tulowitzki, SS (.266, 3 HR, 13 RBIs)

5. Todd Helton,1B (.233, 4 HR, 20 RBIs)

6. Michael Cuddyer, RF (.275, 3 HR, 18 RBIs)

7. Ramon Hernandez, C (.279, 4 HR, 14 RBIs)

8. Tyler Colvin, CF (.289, 2 HR, 10 RBIs)

9. Alex White, RHP (2012 debut)

 

PADRES

1. Will Venable, RF (.236, 1 HR, 2 RBIs)

2. Cameron Maybin, CF (.220, 1 HR, 9 RBIs)

3. Chase Headley, 3B (.255, 4 HR, 16 RBIs)

4. Yonder Alonzo, 1B (.283, 0 HR, 6 RBIs)

5. Mark Kotsay, LF (.276, 1 HR, 6 RBIs)

6. Orlando Hudson, 2B (.211, 1 HR, 8 RBIs)

7. John Baker, C (.091, 0 RBI, 1 RBI)

8. Jason Bartlett, SS (.141, 0 HR, 4 RBIs)

9. Jeff Suppan (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Tulowitzki rests, clears his head; Scutaro plays short, Herrera second

Veteran Jason Giambi introduced his friend and Rockies teammate, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, to someone really special Tuesday night.

“I showed him some highlights of him playing and, ‘That’s you.’” Giambi said. “I said, ‘I know. I’ve been there many times, the deer in the highlights look and you’re just reeling.’ He’ll get through this just great. He’ll be fine.”

Right now, Tulowitzki doesn’t recognize the player he sees in the mirror.

Tulowitzki committed two errors Tuesday night, the second of which nearly cost teammate Jamie Moyer in his bid to become the oldest Major League pitcher ever to win a game at 49 years and 151 days. The Rockies prevailed and Moyer earned his place in history. Now Tulowitzki needs to realize that his ability to control a game from shortstop isn’t history, either.

The present isn’t looking so bright for Tulowitzki. His six errors match his total for last season, and he is hitting .244. Both of those figures are shocking for a player who has won National League Rawlings Gold Glove and Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger awards for each of the last two seasons.

Tulowitzki, who was out of the lineup for the first time this season for the Padres-Rockies game Wednesday night, admitted the mistakes — especially the throwing errors — are weighing on him. He said he has been worried about his throwing since Saturday night, when he had two throwing errors while playing in wet and cold conditions against the D-backs.

“I’m taking the field and thinking about it,” Tulowitzki said. “I never thought about defense. I just go out there and play, and if I make an error, I made an error. But I wasn’t worried about it. So, yeah, I think about it. It’s in my head. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t in my head. I think about it because I care.

“It’s never that I don’t want the ball to come to me. Once I reach that point, then I have some serious problems. I want the ball. But more or less when you’re playing catch, it’s, ‘OK, hit him in the chest,’ where before it was just throwing it to him. It’s more things like that, that I never really thought about. There’s nothing more to really say than that.”

Tulowitzki suffered a right hip flexor strain during the season’s first series at Houston, but he played through it and insisted that there is no injury that’s preventng him from performing well.

Marco Scutaro moved from second base to shortstop, the position he occupied with the Red Sox last season, and Jonathan Herrera started at second base.

In other lineup news, catcher Wilin Rosario started for the second straight game while Ramon Hernandez nursed a sore left hand. Manager Jim Tracy said Hernandez should be available Friday night when the Rockies begin a three-game series at Milwaukee.

Padres lineup

Will Venable, CF

Chris Denorfia, RF

Chase Headley, 3B

Jesus Guzman, LF

Yonder Alonso, 1B

Nick Hundley, C

Jason Bartlett, SS

Orlando Hudson, 2B

Clayton Richard, LHP

Rockies lineup

Marco Scutaro, SS

Dexter Fowler, CF

Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Michael Cuddyer, RF

Todd Helton, 1B

Wilin Rosario, C

Chris Nelson, 3B

Jonathan Herrera, 2B

Juan Nicasio, RHP

Ring-ring … CarGo is ready to help Moyer

As Rockies manager Jim Tracy left Coors Field on Monday night, he was doubtful that Tuesday night’s lineup would include left fielder Carlos Gonzalez, who was in the final stages of recovery from a case of strep throat that had kept him out of the lineup since Friday.

“We talked about it last night, how I wanted to be in there, so they were waiting on my call in the morning,” Gonzalez said. “So I called and told him I was ready to play.

“I was getting better day by day. I can’t wait to get on the field and be ready to play.”

Gonzalez returns to his customary No. 3 position in the order against the Padres and righty starter Anthony Bass.

Lefty Jamie Moyer will make his third attempt to become the oldest pitcher ever to win a Major League game. His next win also will tie him with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 34th on the all-time list at 268.

In a pregame player move, the Rockies sent right-handed reliever Tyler Chatwood to Triple-A Colorado Springs to work as a starter, and he could help the rotation soon. The Rockies recalled hard-throwing righty reliever Edgmer Escalona from Colorado Springs.

Padres lineup

Cameron Maybin, CF

Mark Kotsay, LF

Chase Headley, 3B

Jesus Guzman, 1B

Nick Hundley, C

Chris Denorfia, RF

Andy Parrino, 2B

Jason Bartlett, SS

Anthony Bass, RHP

 

Rockies lineup

Marco Scutaro, 2B

Dexter Fowler, CF

Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Michael Cuddyer, RF

Wilin Rosario, C

Chris Nelson, 3B

Jamie Moyer, LHP

 

 

Guthrie under the weather, on the mound

Just three times in nine games as the Rockies’ starting pitcher stayed in a game longer than five innings. Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie has one of the long ones, seven innings while winning the opener at Houston, and one of the short ones, 3 1/3 and six runs against although the Rockeis beat the Giants in comeback fashion.

Now Guthrie must shake off illness to give the Rockies the innings they need against the Padres on Monday night.

“He’s dealing with being a little bit under the weather,” Rockis manager Jim Tracy said. “It’s not even close to the extent with Carlos Gonzalez [who was at Coors Field and possibly able to pinch-hit, after missing two straight games with strep throat]. But he did have a little bit of a sore throat over the last day or so.

“We’re keeping an eye on that but also keeping out fingers crossed that this is one of those days where you go out there and get a Guthrie performance, where he potentially pitches you deep into a game and you can use your bullpen accordingly.”

Tonight, Tracy said the bullpen is not in bad shape. Right-hander Josh Roenicke, who went 2 2/3 inings on Sunday and an inning the previous game, is the only one definitely unavailable. Righty Esmil Rogers, who threw 62 pitches over two performances Thursday and Friday, is in play, as is righty Tyler Chatwood, although Tracy said Chatwod cannot pitch for an “extended period.”

Also, the Rockies have asked right-handed starter Jhoulys Chacin not to throw his scheduled bullpen session until later. He is available out of the bullpen in an emergency.

Padres lineup

Cameron Maybin, CF

Will Venable, LF

Chase Headley, 3B

Jeremy Hermida, RF

Nick Hundley, C

Yonder Alonso, 1B

Andy Parrino, 2B

Jason Bartlett, SS

Cory Luebke, LHP

Rockies lineup

Marco Scutaro, 2B

Dexter Fowler, CF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Michael Cuddyer, RF

Tyler Colvin, LF

Ramon Hernandez, C

Chris Nelson, 3B

Jeremy Guthrie, RHP

Losing the numbers game … updates on Corpas, Speier

The Rockies have outscored their opponents this season, 115-113. It’s not a dramatic difference, but one would think it would mean a better record than 9-14. It doesn’t.

One way to address it is to say it’s a fluke that’ll correct itself over time. But manager Clint Hurdle isn’t going that route. He freshly remembered the 2007 D-backs being outscored (732-712) yet winning the National League West.

Not only that, but Hurdle is not relying on the mantra of “it’s early” to explain the team’s issues, which have manifested themselves in an 0-7 record in one-run games and being shut out three times.

“I don’t say it’s early now,” Hurdle said. “I want us to play good baseball and I want us to focus on the things we need to play good baseball, so when they’re not happening we need to address them. And I think you can get away with it for the first couple weeks of the season. Then it’s time to move on, time to play better baseball.”

 

Rockies

Dexter Fowler                CF

Ryan Spilborghs            LF

Todd Helton                  1B

Garrett Atkins               3B

Brad Hawpe                  RF

Troy Tulowtizki              SS

Chris Iannetta                 C

Clint Barmes                 2B

Jorge De La Rosa           P

Padres

David Eckstein             2B

Brian Giles                  RF

Scott Hairston             CF

Adrian Gonzalez          1B

Chase Headley            LF

Kevin Kouzmanoff        3B

Henry Blanco               C

Luis Rodriguez            SS

Kevin Correia                P

– In a non-development, right-hander Manuel Corpas is still on the club. Of course, if he doesn’t pitch better, the possibility of a demotion to Triple-A Colorado Springs looms large. Hurdle spoke in an encouraging tone about Corpas on Monday, however.

“He’s worked very hard on making those adjustments,” Hurdle said. “Guys go down and watch him in the bullpen, and you see what you want to see in the bullpen. It’s transferring it into the game, and we’ve had multiple conversations. We’ve coached him up, encouraged him on the value and significance of the role he has now. He’s been there. He’s done it. He can see it from a closer’s mentality.

“We’re at the point now where we’re going to have to find him a game here or there where we’re up or down a little bit where we remove him from the flame a little bit.”

– Righty releiver Ryan Speier said he felt good after throwing a simulated game Monday afternoon. Now it’s a matter of working on his lowered arm slot, which could take a few outings. He plans to go to the extended spring training in Tucson so he can throw without the risk of being hung with negative stats. That could take one, two or three games, then he’d be ready for an injury rehab assignment.

A great day to relax, and debate

Garrett Atkins started and batted cleanup in every game this season, until Wednesday afternoon. Dude had to rest at some point. But let’s debate the timing:

Position A — Atkins didn’t come through in a couple of key situations in Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss. Maybe a day off will do him good.

Position B — The best time to sit a player is after he succeeds. Let him sit with a smile. You don’t force him to dwell on failure. Atkins, after all, has a hit in his last give games and is batting .324 at home. If he doesn’t play today, it’ll be two days to stew over Tuesday’s disappointment.

Here is today’s lineup:

Padres

Jody Gerut                CF

Luis Rodirguez          SS

Brian Giles                RF

Adrian Gonzalez        1B

Chase Headley          LF

Kevin Kouzmanoff      3B

Edgar Gonzalez         2B

Henry Blanco              C

Kevin Correia              P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler           CF

Seth Smith               LF

Ryan Spilborghs       RF

Todd Helton             1B

Ian Stewart              3B

Troy Tulowitzki         SS

Clint Barmes            2B

Chris Iannetta            C

Aaron Cook              P

– OK, got note from Noah Huntsman saying my accidental omission of Brad Hawpe from the lineup the other night angered the gods and, boom, Hawpe took a throw to the neck. Oops. Well, the saving grace is Brad Hawpe isn’t blaming me. Sorry.

– Today was a career first. As I entered the park, three fans stopped me. One was carrying writer Tony DeMarco’s remarkable book, Tales from the Colorado Rockies, and two others wree carrying baseball bats. All wanted me to sign. I truly appreciated it. The value of those items may depreciate on the count of the signature, but still …

– Finally, please take a look at my piece on Rockies rookie phenom Dexter Fowler. It was fun to write.

Snow, snow, gone away

Is Troy Tulowitzki simply a poor April hitter or is something seriously wrong? Can someone other than Jason Marquis consistently pitch the Rockies deep into games? What will the press meal be at Coors Field? These are a sports writer’s thoughts in the middle of the night. So I woke up at 2:25 a.m. and saw snow covering my yard and car. Woke up at a normal human hour and saw more flakes falling.

Yet, this is Denver. Each time I went outside, I needed to bundle a little less. We have baseball tonight. All questions will be answered eventually.

And the meal was Mexican.

Here are the lineups for Rockies vs. Padres:

Padres

Jody Gerut               CF

David Eckstein         2B

Brian Giles              RF

Adrian Gonzalez      1B

Chase Headley        LF

Kevin Kouzmanoff    3B

Nick Hundley            C

Luis Rodriguez        SS

Chris Young             P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler         CF

Ryan Spilborghs     LF

Todd Helton           1B

Garrett Atkins        3B

Ian Stewart            2B

Clint Barmes         SS

Chris Iannetta         C

Jason Hammel       P 

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