The National League Champion Colorado Rockies
Twenty-eight teams down, two teams left. You know ours, let’s meet theirs. Since it's an issue that will get much attention I've provided you with the home/road splits including the change in OPS home vs. road. You'll find that at the bottom of the post;
Offense – 2nd in the league in runs scored. Coors Field is still a terrific hitters’ park though not historically good any longer thanks presumably to the humidor. To no surprise the Rox led the National League in runs at home but they were still good enough to be 5th on the road. They were 7th in stolen bases while being tied for the league lead in OBP and fourth in Slugging Percentage.
Pitching – 8th in the league in runs allowed. The Rockies were 4th in the league in runs allowed in road games. As a group the Rockies don’t strikeout many people as they were 15th of the 16 National League teams in strikeouts per nine. They offset that by allowing the third fewest walks per nine innings.
Defense – Colorado was 6th in the league in Defensive Efficiency. They were 2nd in Revised Zone Rating on the infield and 5th in the outfield.
1B – Todd Helton - .320/.434/.494 – No longer the power hitting lefty of the past. More of a line drive hitter with virtually no speed but still a tremendous offensive threat. Works a count as well as anyone and led the NL in Pitches/Plate Appearance.
2B – Kazuo Matsui - .288/.342/.405 – Slashing switch-hitter similar to Asdrubal Cabrera. Excellent speed and an efficient base stealer who was 32 for 36.
3B – Garrett Atkins - .301/.367/.486 – Disciplined hitter who can drive the ball. Often removed for defensive purposes for Jamey Carroll late in games.
SS – Troy Tulowitzki - .291/.359/.479 – The breakout star of the post-season. A free swinger at the plate but best known for being an outstanding defensive player.
LF – Matt Holliday - .340/.405/.607 – 2007 wasn’t a fluke as it was marginally better than 2006. Absolutely devastating in Coors Field but his .860 OPS on the road is still excellent. Considered a strong defensive outfielder and enough speed to steal 11 bases.
CF – Willy Taveras - .320/.367/.382 – A hacker who never met a pitch he didn’t like. Tremendous speed and a fairly strong arm with virtually no power.
RF – Brad Hawpe - .291/.387/.539 – Slugging left-hander who pounds righties but can’t hit lefties to save his life. Considered a solid outfielder with a strong arm who can be coaxed into chasing pitches.
C – Yorvit Torrealba - .255/.323/.376 – Poor offensive backstop who historically has done a nice job throwing out runners though he had a very poor year in 2007 in this regard. No particular speed to speak of.
OF – Ryan Spilborghs - .299/.363/.485 – Patient right-handed hitter who is likely to be the DH if the Sox give Lester a start at Fenway. Expect him to face Okajima at least twice if the series if things go long enough.
IF – Jamey Carroll - .225/.317/.300 – Generally a better hitter than this year though never particularly strong. Can play any infield position and is frequently used to replace Atkins defensively at third base.
OF – Seth Smith - .316/.381/.527 (AAA – Colorado Springs) – He hit righties very well at Colorado Springs while being a little substandard against lefties. Some power but not as much as the .527 slugging percentage would success. The Colorado Springs ballpark is the highest elevation of any ballpark in the United States. He has become a key contributor in the post-season off the bench and is considered a good bet to be the DH in Boston.
C – Chris Ianetta - .218/.330/.350 – Fairly patient hitter who will strike out a fair amount. Still an excellent prospect who shouldn’t be viewed solely on his performance of 2007. To this point in his career he has been a poor thrower.
SP – Jeff Francis – Vastly underrated lefty. Similar in terms of performance to Barry Zito in his Oakland days.
SP – Ubaldo Jimenez – Hard throwing lanky righty. Had significant problems on the road in 2007 with an ERA over 5.00 while posting an ERA under 4.00 at Coors Field.
SP – Josh Fogg – “Dragon Slayer” has gotten the nickname for a knack for beating top quality pitchers. Fly ball pitcher who pitches to contact. The Red Sox may be able to hit him.
SP – Franklin Morales – 21 year old southpaw who induces a large number of ground balls and does an excellent job of avoiding the home run ball.
SP – Aaron Cook – Possible Game Four starter if he’s healthy. Another extreme ground ball pitcher who strikes out a very low number of people.
RP – Brian Fuentes – Lefty who started the year as the closer. Had a little slump and moved into a setup role where he thrived. Extremely difficult to run against.
RP – Latroy Hawkins – Hard throwing sinker-balling right-hander. Doesn’t strike many people out but throws strikes and avoids the big inning.
RP – Jeremy Affeldt – Big hard throwing southpaw who is used as a LOOGY despite being no better against lefties than against righties.
Closer – Manny Corpas – The closer in the second half he doesn’t do anything particularly noteworthy. Just a solid pitcher who throws strikes and keeps the ball on the ground. Gaining comparisons to Rivera in some circles but that seems to be a case of him being Panamanian and a closer.
Like the series just past, this is going to be a tough series. Of course the big story will be that the Rockies will have had eight days off since their last game and people will be pointing to the Tigers of 2006 as an example of a team that had a long layoff. However, in 2005 the White Sox had five days off as opposed to the Astros who had just two and it didn’t hurt the White Sox as they swept Houston.
The point is not to dismiss a reason the Rockies might struggle, it is to point out that expecting them to struggle is a mistake.
In 2007 the Colorado Rockies had the best run differential in the National League and were just a half game behind the Diamondbacks for the best record in the league. It is worth noting that before they began their season-ending 14 out of 15 run they were fourth in the league in run differential.
Home/Road Splits for the Rockies in 2007 (players in italics are better on the road)
Chris Iannetta Away .255/.379/.431
Chris Iannetta Home .179/.275/.263 -272
Yorvit Torrealba Away .212/.292/.326
Yorvit Torrealba Home .296/.353/.424 +159
Todd Helton Away .308/.407/.460
Todd Helton Home .333/.463/.533 +129
Kazuo Matsui Away .249/.304/.333
Kazuo Matsui Home .330/.381/.482 +226
Garrett Atkins Away .254/.327/.446
Garrett Atkins Home .349/.409/.527 +163
Jamey Carroll Away .263/.360/.379
Jamey Carroll Home .197/.285/.242 -212
Troy Tulowitzki Away .256/.327/.393
Troy Tulowitzki Home .326/.392/.568 +240
Matt Holliday Away .301/.374/.485
Matt Holliday Home .376/.435/.722 +298
Ryan Spilborghs Away .290/.346/.469
Ryan Spilborghs Home .311/.384/.504 +73
Seth Smith Away .750/.750/.750
Seth Smith Home .500/.500/1.000 +0
Willy Taveras Away .311/.365/.358
Willy Taveras Home .330/.368/.408 +53
Brad Hawpe Away .273/.368/.462
Brad Hawpe Home .308/.405/.612 +187
Offense – 2nd in the league in runs scored. Coors Field is still a terrific hitters’ park though not historically good any longer thanks presumably to the humidor. To no surprise the Rox led the National League in runs at home but they were still good enough to be 5th on the road. They were 7th in stolen bases while being tied for the league lead in OBP and fourth in Slugging Percentage.
Pitching – 8th in the league in runs allowed. The Rockies were 4th in the league in runs allowed in road games. As a group the Rockies don’t strikeout many people as they were 15th of the 16 National League teams in strikeouts per nine. They offset that by allowing the third fewest walks per nine innings.
Defense – Colorado was 6th in the league in Defensive Efficiency. They were 2nd in Revised Zone Rating on the infield and 5th in the outfield.
1B – Todd Helton - .320/.434/.494 – No longer the power hitting lefty of the past. More of a line drive hitter with virtually no speed but still a tremendous offensive threat. Works a count as well as anyone and led the NL in Pitches/Plate Appearance.
2B – Kazuo Matsui - .288/.342/.405 – Slashing switch-hitter similar to Asdrubal Cabrera. Excellent speed and an efficient base stealer who was 32 for 36.
3B – Garrett Atkins - .301/.367/.486 – Disciplined hitter who can drive the ball. Often removed for defensive purposes for Jamey Carroll late in games.
SS – Troy Tulowitzki - .291/.359/.479 – The breakout star of the post-season. A free swinger at the plate but best known for being an outstanding defensive player.
LF – Matt Holliday - .340/.405/.607 – 2007 wasn’t a fluke as it was marginally better than 2006. Absolutely devastating in Coors Field but his .860 OPS on the road is still excellent. Considered a strong defensive outfielder and enough speed to steal 11 bases.
CF – Willy Taveras - .320/.367/.382 – A hacker who never met a pitch he didn’t like. Tremendous speed and a fairly strong arm with virtually no power.
RF – Brad Hawpe - .291/.387/.539 – Slugging left-hander who pounds righties but can’t hit lefties to save his life. Considered a solid outfielder with a strong arm who can be coaxed into chasing pitches.
C – Yorvit Torrealba - .255/.323/.376 – Poor offensive backstop who historically has done a nice job throwing out runners though he had a very poor year in 2007 in this regard. No particular speed to speak of.
OF – Ryan Spilborghs - .299/.363/.485 – Patient right-handed hitter who is likely to be the DH if the Sox give Lester a start at Fenway. Expect him to face Okajima at least twice if the series if things go long enough.
IF – Jamey Carroll - .225/.317/.300 – Generally a better hitter than this year though never particularly strong. Can play any infield position and is frequently used to replace Atkins defensively at third base.
OF – Seth Smith - .316/.381/.527 (AAA – Colorado Springs) – He hit righties very well at Colorado Springs while being a little substandard against lefties. Some power but not as much as the .527 slugging percentage would success. The Colorado Springs ballpark is the highest elevation of any ballpark in the United States. He has become a key contributor in the post-season off the bench and is considered a good bet to be the DH in Boston.
C – Chris Ianetta - .218/.330/.350 – Fairly patient hitter who will strike out a fair amount. Still an excellent prospect who shouldn’t be viewed solely on his performance of 2007. To this point in his career he has been a poor thrower.
SP – Jeff Francis – Vastly underrated lefty. Similar in terms of performance to Barry Zito in his Oakland days.
SP – Ubaldo Jimenez – Hard throwing lanky righty. Had significant problems on the road in 2007 with an ERA over 5.00 while posting an ERA under 4.00 at Coors Field.
SP – Josh Fogg – “Dragon Slayer” has gotten the nickname for a knack for beating top quality pitchers. Fly ball pitcher who pitches to contact. The Red Sox may be able to hit him.
SP – Franklin Morales – 21 year old southpaw who induces a large number of ground balls and does an excellent job of avoiding the home run ball.
SP – Aaron Cook – Possible Game Four starter if he’s healthy. Another extreme ground ball pitcher who strikes out a very low number of people.
RP – Brian Fuentes – Lefty who started the year as the closer. Had a little slump and moved into a setup role where he thrived. Extremely difficult to run against.
RP – Latroy Hawkins – Hard throwing sinker-balling right-hander. Doesn’t strike many people out but throws strikes and avoids the big inning.
RP – Jeremy Affeldt – Big hard throwing southpaw who is used as a LOOGY despite being no better against lefties than against righties.
Closer – Manny Corpas – The closer in the second half he doesn’t do anything particularly noteworthy. Just a solid pitcher who throws strikes and keeps the ball on the ground. Gaining comparisons to Rivera in some circles but that seems to be a case of him being Panamanian and a closer.
Like the series just past, this is going to be a tough series. Of course the big story will be that the Rockies will have had eight days off since their last game and people will be pointing to the Tigers of 2006 as an example of a team that had a long layoff. However, in 2005 the White Sox had five days off as opposed to the Astros who had just two and it didn’t hurt the White Sox as they swept Houston.
The point is not to dismiss a reason the Rockies might struggle, it is to point out that expecting them to struggle is a mistake.
In 2007 the Colorado Rockies had the best run differential in the National League and were just a half game behind the Diamondbacks for the best record in the league. It is worth noting that before they began their season-ending 14 out of 15 run they were fourth in the league in run differential.
Home/Road Splits for the Rockies in 2007 (players in italics are better on the road)
Chris Iannetta Away .255/.379/.431
Chris Iannetta Home .179/.275/.263 -272
Yorvit Torrealba Away .212/.292/.326
Yorvit Torrealba Home .296/.353/.424 +159
Todd Helton Away .308/.407/.460
Todd Helton Home .333/.463/.533 +129
Kazuo Matsui Away .249/.304/.333
Kazuo Matsui Home .330/.381/.482 +226
Garrett Atkins Away .254/.327/.446
Garrett Atkins Home .349/.409/.527 +163
Jamey Carroll Away .263/.360/.379
Jamey Carroll Home .197/.285/.242 -212
Troy Tulowitzki Away .256/.327/.393
Troy Tulowitzki Home .326/.392/.568 +240
Matt Holliday Away .301/.374/.485
Matt Holliday Home .376/.435/.722 +298
Ryan Spilborghs Away .290/.346/.469
Ryan Spilborghs Home .311/.384/.504 +73
Seth Smith Away .750/.750/.750
Seth Smith Home .500/.500/1.000 +0
Willy Taveras Away .311/.365/.358
Willy Taveras Home .330/.368/.408 +53
Brad Hawpe Away .273/.368/.462
Brad Hawpe Home .308/.405/.612 +187
2 Comments:
At 9:25 PM,
Anonymous said…
Edit me please
Like the series just past this is going to be a tough series
At 10:57 AM,
fusionmouse said…
How well does the knuckleball dance in Coors field?
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