Results tagged ‘ Jorge De La Rosa ’
Betancourt, Hawpe delay Cactus League debuts
Rockies right-handed reliever Rafael Betancourt was scratched from his scheduled appearance in Thursday’s Cactus League opener against the D-backs at Tucson Electric Park. There isn’t an injury. It’s just that Betancourt lost three weeks of season preparation because of a virus.
Betancourt said he became ill just after Christmas, and didn’t work out until going to Denver for his preseason physical Jan. 19. He dropped about 10 pounds. After the visit to Denver, Betancourt went to Jacobs Field in Cleveland — he was with the Indians his entire Major League career until being traded to the Rockies last July — to continue season preparation.
There is no other physical issue, Betancourt said. But he wants to face hitters at least twice more before entering game competition.
“The first time I faced a hitter was Saturday,” Betancourt said. “I feel like I need a little bit more to be able to pitch in a game.
“I told the pitching coach [Bob Apodaca] I want to go step-by-step. If I pitch the first game, I don’t feel I’m doing that. It’s like I’m rushing everything. This is Spring Training. I have to be real smart.”
The Rockies will have left-handed starter Jorge De La Rosa pitch two innings Thursday. Right-hander Jason Hammel is scheduled to start and throw two innings.
Also, right fielder Brad Hawpe reported that the infection in an ingrown toenail on his left foot has subsided to the point that he can begin baseball activities on Monday. Hawpe said it’s likely he will miss at least the first couple of days of Cactus League games, but he will be fine.
Rain hits, but the important work is done
A hard and chilly rain hit Tucson right around the time the Rockies’ pitchers and catchers were scheduled to end their drills during Saturday morning’s workout. It forced the team to change some plans for post-workout conditioning, but manager Jim Tracy said the baseball work was done.
Tracy is calling on his pitchers to be versatile offensively. Most of the time they’ll be asked to advance runners, with the bunt being the No. 1 weapon. But if pitchers develp the ability to slug-bunt for a base hit in such a situation or hit-and-run, suddenly Tracy can make surprise calls — or at least give the opponent other factors to consider.
“You look at those great Braves clubs with [Greg] Maddux, and [John] Smoltz, and [Tom] Glavine, and, back in the day, [Steve] Avery,” Tracy said. “One of the things you knew, and this goes back to when I was a coach in Montreal, they started and were able to do a lot of things. When they walked to the plate, yes, you knew a bunt was in order and there were times they would do that.
“But you had to be concious about the fact they could possibly do anything. That alone right there eased the opportunity for you to get the job done.”
Jason Marquis, one of baseball’s best offensive pitchers, took his bat and arm to the Nationals this winter after a strong 2009 for the Rockies. But Aaron Cook is such a versatile hitter that former manager Clint Hurdle used him as a pinch-hitter, and Jeff Francis has been more-than respectable at the plate.
At one point, stories of Ubaldo Jimenez’s ineptitude with the bat were sources of comedy, and Jorge De La Rosa wasn’t good, eithre. Now Jimenez is advanced with the bat. De La Rosa won an important game with the Mets last season with a double. Tracy said Jason Hammel, who had been in the American League with the Rays before being traded to the Rockies at the start of the seaso, also improved as last season progressed.
Notes: De La Rosa wants to stay
Here are some early Spring Training thoughts:
– Lefty Jorge De La Rosa, who led the Rockies in wins last season with 16, can become a free agent at season’s end. De La Rosa said his ambition is to have a strong year to earn the right to stay with Colorado.
– Left-hander Jeff Francis not only is healthy after missing last year with shoulder problems, but he’s actually ahead of many of the other pitchers because of the intense offseason work. Francis faced hitters in the Dominican Republic a few weeks ago.
– Righty Greg Reynolds, the team’s top pick in the 2006 Draft, underwent surgery after the season to correct an issue with his labrum. Almost amazingly so, Reynolds is healthy enough to begin the spring without restrictions. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca said Reynolds’ motion — which the club believes was at the root of his troubles — has cleaned up considerably.
– The Rockies will have 32 pitchers in camp. Righty Taylor Buchholz, who underwent Tommy John elbow ligament transfer surgery last season and hopes to return to the Majors in June, is the only pitcher not healthy enough to be a factor.
Apodaca said right-handed reliever Casey Weathers, the top pick in 2007, was not invited to Major League camp so he could have a little more time to make sure his elbow is healthy. Weathers missed last season because of Tommy John surgery.
– Lefty Christian Friedrich, the team’s top choice in 2008, said being invited to this camp gives him the opportunity to closely study Francis’ delivery.
Redding provides pitching reinforcement
The Rockies’ signing of right-hander Tim Redding to a Minor League conract with an invitation to Major League camp gives the pitching staff a much-needed veteran reinforcement.
The Rockies go into Spring Training with a rotation already penciled — left-handers Jeff Francis and Jorge De La Rosa, and right-handers Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Hammel. But that apple cart could be upset if Francis needs extra time early in the year, after missing last year because of shoulder surgery, or one of the others is hurt or struggles.
Redding, 32, provides an experienced option. If he pitches well and makes the club, he could fill the role the club envisioned for Jose Contreras, who instead signed with the Phillies. After Redding, the most-experienced option is lefty Greg Smith, who missed last season with various illnesses and ailments. Smith threw 190 1/3 innings as a rookie with the Athletics in 2008.
De La Rosa tabbed for Tuesday start, rotation still not set
Rockies manager Jim Tracy decided not to bring in a starter to take the place of the injured Aaron Cook (right shoulder soreness) for Tuesday’s turn in the rotatoin. With the Rockies off on Monday, left-hander Jorge De La Rosa (12-9, 4.72 ERA) will start Tuesday’s opener against the Mets, followed by right-handers Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Marquis. The next time the Rockies will need a starter is next Saturday at home against the D-backs.
Tracy said Cook, who received good news from last week’s MRI, will not be ready for next Saturday but could be ready thereafter. With manager Jim Tracy against using a reliever for a start — righty Josh Fogg’s start against the Dodgers on Wednesday did not go well — the starter will likely come from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Rockies not set on Tuesday starter
The Rockies have an opening in their pitching rotation and a day that they need one — Tuesday at home in the opener of a three-game set against the Mets. Manager Jim Tracy said he has determined who will start, but he knows who won’t: Josh Fogg.
Fogg, as Tracy noted, has been a valuable innings-saver in the bullpen in the long relief role. But filling in for the injured Aaron Cook Wednesdsay night, Fogg gave up six runs and four hits in three innings pitched in a 6-1 home loss to the Dodgers. Fogg had made 20 appearances, exclusively in relief, since being called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Tracy determined that Fogg is too conditioned to relief pitchng to be put back in a starting role.
“We’re better served with him serving in the role that he’s been serving in, as the savior of our bullpen, so to speak,” Tracy said before the Rockies opener of a three-game set against the Giants on Friday night. “He’s done such an incredible job in doing that for us. I think we really are doing him a disservice to send him out there to try to start games.”
The optons are to call up someone from the Minors, or smply skip the spot and allow left-hander Jorge De La Rosa to pitch on four days’ rest. Tracy said he is evaluating whether the other four members of the rotation would be better off pitching with normal rest or if an extra day would be beneficial.
Earlier this post mentioned veteran Russ Ortiz, currently pitchng at Triple-A Colorado Springs, as a possibility. But Ortiz started tonight and went six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits in a loss. That would make him unlikely to pitch Tuesday on short rest.
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