Results tagged ‘ Manuel Corpas ’
Corpas leaves Tracy pleased, other notes
Right-handed reliever Manuel Corpas, trying to return from an elbow injury that slowed him last season and trying to regain the form he showed in closing for the NL Champion Rockies in 2007, had a throwing Saturday session that left manager Jim Tracy encouraged.
Corpas has been nursing a hamstring problem this spring, but that wasn’t a problem when he faced hitters Saturday.
“Let’s go back and realize what I was watching from the other side of the field and what I saw take place in 2007,” said Tracy, who managed the Pirates at that point. “This was a special guy.
“What I wanted to see today, which he showed me more than once is driving the ball down. This is a very effective guy when he’s down in the zone.”
– Two players in particular have stood out for Tracy.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit .297 with 32 home runs and 92 RBIs last season. To do that, he had to overcome a bad start, as well as some bad habits in the batter’s box.
Tracy said, “I remember looking him right in the eye and saying, ‘A 6-foot-4-inch shortstop with a 5-foot-10-inch offensive approach … The first thing that you have to do in order to hit is stand up. They throw you a breaking ball and your head is going [upward] and the ball’s going that way [downward].
Man, he’s over it now.”
Tracy also discussed left fieler Carlos Gonzalez. Like many special hitters, the ball sounds different, and travels differently.
No stress (or strain) for Corpas
Rockies manager Jim Tracy said right-handed reliever Manuel Corpas was held out of running drills at the end of Sunday’s workout because of a slight hamstring issue that arose during a fielding drill. Tracy said it was so minor that head athletic trainer Keith Dugger didn’t even classify it as a strain. It doesn’t affect his ability to throw bullpen sessions. He’s scheduled to throw Monday.
Also, pitching prospect Craig Baker had a bullpen session pushed back because of soreness in his midsection. It occurred during a slug-bunt drill. Tracy said it elicited a nice one-liner from pitcher Aaron Cook.
“‘As Cookie’ told him, ‘We already have a four-hole hitter,’” Tracy said.
Tracy also added that the Rockies are planning an intrasquad game as on March 1. It’ll be a chance to see some of the younger pitchers and position playres.
Matt Capps a possible target
An interesting bullpen target has emerged for the Rockies — former Pirates closer Matt Capps. Rockies manager Jim Tracy helped mold Capps into a closer.
Capps’ agent said there is “mutual interest” between the Rockies and Capps, but about nine teams are interested.
Capps is available because the Pirates non-tendered him in a surprise move on Saturday night. The move was contract-driven, The Pirates didn’t want to risk losing an arbitration case and paying a high dollar figure. But Capps didn’t show the fastball command he showed in past seasons.
However, Capps didn’t lose any velocity, so the belief is he is capable of regaining past effectiveness. With the Rockies already set with Huston Street as closer and having some good arms in setup roles — Rafael Betancourt, Manuel Corpas and Franklin Morales — Capps would not be under ninth-inning pressure.
It could be a good fit. However, dollars will be a huge factor. Other teams have roles later in the game, and could outbid the Rockies.
New travel plan for Fowler
Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler will begin his injury rehab assignment on Saturday, but he’ll do it at Double-A Tulsa instead of Triple-A Colorado Springs. The Rockies originally announced Fowler, who is on the disabled list with a bruised right knee, would rehab with Triple-A Colorado Springs, but that club is in Tacoma, Wash., and rain is expected.
Right-hander Aaron Cook is playing catch at 100 feet and still hopes to make his return from a sore right shoulder before the regular season ends. Lefty reliever Alan Embree is getting close to being able to throw a bullpen session, which means he has hope of making an improbable return from the fractured left fibula that he suffered on July 10. Righty reliever Manuel Corpas has begun throwing, but it’s unlikely he’ll return from the surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow and the subsequent surgery for an infection in the forearm not long after the surgery. Lefty Jeff Francis, who underwent shoulder surger in February, continues to throw bullpen sessions with an eye toward pitching in instructional ball in Tucson, Ariz.
Cook heads to DL, other medical news
The Rockies placed pitcher Aaron Cook on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder on Satuday, a day after he left a start against the Giants after facing one batter in the fourth inning. But Cook’s situation is still shrouded in uncertainty. The Rockies will know more after seeing the results of Cook’s MRI on Monday.
Rockies manager Jim Tracy said Cook could be looking at something similar to the shoulder strain that left-hander Franklin Morales suffered early in the season, which could mean 3 1/2 weeks. That would mean the Rockies could be without their veteran starter until the middle of September, which is not exactly the prescribed way to fight for a playoff berth. As for Wednesday’s start against the Dodgers, Tracy confirmed that right-handers Adam Eaton and Josh Fogg are in-house candidates.
To replace Cook, the Rockies called up right-hander Matt Herges from Colorado Springs. Herges was one of the bullpen leaders during the 2007 run that landed the Rockies in the World Series. He began this season with the Indians.
In more positive medical news, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki returned to the club Saturday after spending much of Friday vomiting because of a bug he had. Tulowitzki is in the starting lineup, but the Rockies will keep a close eye on him.
But in a more ominous development, right-handed reliever Manuel Corpas, currently out after undergoing surgery to remove a bone chip from his throwing elbow, revealed that he underwent another surgery 10 days ago because of an infection in the forearm of that same arm.
To make room on the 40-man Major League roster for Herges, the Rockies moved Corpas to the 60-day DL.
After the arm and fingers swelled, doctors checked for other bone chips. Corpas has a device through which he is being administered antibiotics every 10 hours. Corpas said he hopes he could pitch in the playoffs, but he also said it’s possible the Rockies will shut him down and not allow him to pitch winter ball, as is often his custom.
Righty Juan Rincon, who is on the disabled list with right elbow soreness, had made two strong performances for Colorado Springs on a rehab assignment. Rincon said his rehab term expires Sept. 3, but he is hoping to be restored to the active roster once the limit is raised from 25 to 40 on Sept. 1.
Helton under the weather, Corpas nearly back
– First baseman Todd Helton was out of the lineup on Sunday, which isn’t always eye-popping. He’s sat some day games to stay fresh. But this time, manager Jim Tracy intended to use him against the Braves, but he said head athletic trainer Keith Dugger informed him Helton was “under the weather.”
Garrett Atkins played first base and hit cleanup. Seth Smith took Helton’s No. 3 spot.
– Righty reliever Manuel Corpas is looking more and more as if he’ll return Thursday when the Rockies return after the All-Star break to open a four-game set with the Padres. Corpas threw a perfect eighth inning for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Saturday. On Sunday, he’s to be treated like a normal reliever. He’ll warm up and be called in according to game situation. His previous outings were scheduled one-inning stints. The Rockies will examine him Wednesday before deciding whether to activate him.
Corpas happy after bullpen, could soon rehab
Rockies right-handed setup man Manuel Corpas, out since June 19 with a bone chip issue in his elbow, felt good after a bullpen session on Monday. How good?
“I don’t know how hard I threw — maybe 100 (mph) right now,” Corpas said, smiling. “I threw pretty hard. And I threw my slider, everything.”
Manager Jim Tracy said a good throwing session Monday could mean a Minor League injury rehab assignment, possibly as soon as Wednesday. Tracy said the club is leaning against a smulatd game, since it would create the need for a couple days’ rest. Tracy also said the Rockies believe seeing him pitch with the adrenaline that comes with game action will be a better measure of how he’s doing.
“My sinker is good,” Corpas said. “My slider is good. My command is good. Especially my balance and my mechanics are good. I’m ready. My arm is fine, not sore. That’s why I’m happy. Too many days off — I don’t like it.”
Street enjoying visit to old address
The boos from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum crowd surprised Rockies closer Huston Street on Friday night. But they didn’t hurt him, emotionally or on the mound, where threw a perfect inning for the save in a 4-2 victory over the Athletics.
“That’s fine,” Street said. “I’m not their guy anymore.
“I thought I’d have a little bit extra rush,” Street said. “Maybe it was because I faced [Orlando] Cabrera first. He had never been one of my teammates. The once you get the first out, it was very much like [normal]. We had a two-run lead and I didn’t want them to get anyone on base.”
Street said before the game sharing stries with his old teammates made the experience fun. The time Street has been in a Rockies uniform gave him quite a few stories to discuss with old friends.
Street won the closer job in Spring Training, lost it in late April even though he didn’t blow a save, and regained it. Through it all, he has succeeded on all but one of his 18 save chances.
That’s quite a bit of activity for a guy that folks thought wouldn’t still be here.
Street came as part of the Matt Holliday trade with the Athletics in November. But with Manuel Corpas on the club, there was immediate speculation that the Rockies would flip Street to another club. It didn’t happen then. Streets name came up in trade rumors early this year when the Rockies struggled early, but now that the team has jumped into the Wild Card race — and Corpas is out with a bone chip issue in his elbow — that has died again.<p>
“I want to be a part,” Street said. ‘This is our job, like anything else. You want to feel comfortable when you have your job. You want to be happy to go to work every day. When your job entails winning, where there’s a game to be played, you want to feel you have a chance to win when you show up every day. I feel like I’ve got all three of those things.”
Street has welcomed the trade all along, despite the brief period when former manager Clint Hurdle removed him because his pitches weren’t crisp. It was in a stretch when save opportunities were few, but Street understood.
“When I got the closer’s job in Spring Training, they said, ‘You’re going to have to pitch well to keep it,’ so I didn’t keep it,” Street said. “I felt Clint was very honest about me when he gave me the job, when he took the job from me, and when he gave it back to me. That’s why I have so much respect for that man. As a team we took full responsibility for what happened to him.
“That being said, Jim Tracy, our new manager, I can not say enough great things about that man. It’s not a compare and contrast. Simply, Jim Tacy has come in and done a fantastic job. He’s made little adjustments with the team that we needed. We needed a little bit added discipline.”
During his inning on Friday, Street took a line drive off his right forearm. The arm was heavily iced on Saturday. Tracy said Street was available for the game.
Corpas has MRI on sudden elbow problem
The Rockies’ smooth sailing was interrupted Friday afternoon when right-handed setup man Manuel Corpas showed up at the clubhouse with inflammation in his throwing elbow, and wound up undergoing an MRI. The results are not yet available.
Corpas has thrown scoreless ball in eight of his last 10 outings. He pitched in the last two games and had no indication of injury.
“It stunned him and it stunned us,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “As a matter of fact, he threw the ball even better yesterday than the he did on Wednesday.
“He threw a minimal number of pitches. We are obviously going to be proactive on this and we want to find out what the heck is going on with this — immediately.”
Immediately, Tracy said, it could push rookie Matt Daley into a setup role. Tracy could also play matchups using Daley, right-hander Joel Peralta and left-hander Alan Embree.
Friday night’s opener of a three-game set with the Pirates presents Tracy with a strategic challenge. Huston Street labored in his last outing, a save Thursday against the Rays in which he gave up two runs but escaped. Tracy said he was leaning against using him Friday, but he has not determined who his closer will be.
If Corpas needs to go to the disabled list, the most-experienced option at Triple-A Colorado Springs is Juan Rincon, who is 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA in eight appearances. Rincon is 32-27 with a 3.84 ERA in 416 Major League games with the Twins Indians and Tigers.
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