Troy Renck has a new mailbag and answers a question about pitching coaches and Leo Mazzone:

Why is it that Leo Mazzone hasn't caught onto a team since he was let go from Baltimore? With the future of the rotation needing direction (Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Greg Reynolds), could you see the Rockies shaking things up by replacing Bob Apodaca with Mazzone?
-- Chad, Kearney, Neb.

Chad - Anytime a team struggles, there are understandable calls for new coaches. And Leo Mazzone is considered one of the best. For starters, I don't see Apodaca going anywhere. Since he filled out his first staff for the 2003 season, manager Clint Hurdle has replaced only one coach based on performance -- hitting instructor Duane Espy after the 2006 season. Apodaca has known Hurdle for nearly 30 years and has coached for him at both the minor and major league levels. Hurdle is loyal to him. Apodaca, in my opinion, has grown into the job, communicating better by communicating less. He's the same coach that led the Rockies to their lowest ERA ever last season.

[...]

That last sentence before I cut off the answer is just sitting out there alone in a pond. Let's also take a look at what Apodaca's done each season since he started his job with the Rockies:

• 2003: 5.51 R/G (worst in the NL), 5.20 ERA (worst in the NL), 95 ERA+ (7th worst in the NL)
• 2004: 5.70 R/G (worst in the NL), 5.54 ERA (worst in the NL), 89 ERA+ (2nd worst in the NL)
• 2005: 5.32 R/G (2nd worst in the NL), 5.13 ERA (2nd worst in the NL), 93 ERA+ (tied for 3rd worst in the NL)
• 2006: 5.01 R/G (tied for 4th worst in the NL), 4.66 ERA (4th worst in the NL), 105 ERA+ (tied for 3rd best in the NL)
• 2007: 4.65 R/G (8th best in the NL), 4.32 ERA (8th best in the NL), 111 ERA+ (3rd best in the NL)
• 2008 (through 126 games): 5.19 R/G (2nd worst in the NL), 4.88 ERA (2nd worst in the NL), 95 ERA+ (6th worst in the NL)

So, yeah, he is the coach who led the Rockies to their lowest ERA ever in a season, but he's also consistently led a pitching staff that ranked at the bottom of the league. Not that we didn't already know that. Apparently Hurdle's loyalty blinds him to what's actually going on.

Renck also fills us in on some attendance numbers and tackles a question about when the best time to let a manager go.

Patrick Saunders sees moving Jorge De La Rosa back into the rotation as a move for 2009:

The decision to go with De la Rosa was made as much for 2009 as for the present. De La Rosa is eligible for arbitration this winter and the Rockies want to get a long look at him.

Might want to pencil in JDLR's name as a guy battling for a rotation spot come next spring.

Terry Frei muses on the Rockies's triumvirate of power, hoping that regime change is a complete one if things don't change for the franchise.

via soundbiteblog.com

Yeah, that's the funeral procession Troy Renck starts his game recap with. Though it may be a bit more extravagant than the Rockies deserve. And since Aaron Cook's not taking the mound on Thursday, that procession gets just a little bit longer: Glendon Rusch, Jorge De La Rosa, and Livan Hernandez.

Let's look on some of the better things going on right now. Dexter Fowler's words to live by are those for his father's company: "Exceeding Expectations." Here's one of the many good parts of that piece:

Asked whether Fowler's performance this season was unanticipated by the Rockies organization, [Bill] Geivett said, "I think so. . . . He doesn't have as good a bat control as he probably will when he really has his true strength that he's going to have. I think he's very close to that. He's much stronger and quicker with the bat now, and I think that's what's really helped him take off."

Fowler desires to earn a degree in computer science in the future. Reminds me of a few years ago when Mark Prior completed his degree at USC. Greg Maddux told him he was overqualified for the job.

Bill Geivett also chimed in on what Casey Weathers needs to do to get to the majors:

To get there, Geivett said Weathers needs to acquire "true command of his fastball. Right now, he's got OK control of it. But really true command where he can follow the (catcher's) glove with his fastball and put it there when he needs to - I'd say that's the biggest issue that he faces."

The future can't get here soon enough.

Gotta have better results tonight, right?

How's that saying go? Momentum is only as good as tomorrow's starter. Well, tomorrow is today and the starter is Jeff Francis. We last saw Francis on June 28 against the Detroit Tigers for six innings. He allowed five runs on 11 hits (his third-highest total this season) and two walks. And we know it wasn't always pretty before that start:

Last season that whole momentum thing worked well with Francis, after having lost four consecutive games between April 16 and May 2. Francis only lost back-to-back games once more that season, and that wasn't until September 8 and 13.

Jorge De La Rosa came up big and Stewie continued to show he can hit lefties (and with power). But while Tulo notes that Stewie's pinch-hit homer provided the momentum the team needed to come back, the Rockies basically sat back after that and saw the Nats rout themselves in a "bizarre eighth inning." You take the win however you can, but let's see the bats appear a little stronger tonight to help what hopefully will be good momentum provided by Francis' return.

Instant replay was being tested at Citizens Bank Park last night, but couldn't be used to help determine if Shane Victorino's homer was, in fact, a homer.

I'm going to do the Pebble Report later today after the game, as I woke up late this morning after our second glorious victory in a row. The team remains undefeated in regular season contests when I attend the last couple of years, I just wish that streak had carried over to the World Series. Anyway, I'm not sure where this new Rockies team came from, but I'm glad they showed up before coming out to the Midwest.

After a short rain delay caused by a storm that would have had difficulty filling a beer pitcher for all the liquid it contained, the game got underway. For a while there were two opposing forces at play, the first was good JDLR showing up, and when he's good, he's very good, and the second was the bad RISP Rockies team showing up and for awhile I thought I was seeing the same team that opened the season than the team I had seen Friday night. My Adam Dunn bobblehead was nodding in agreement, but it turns out Adam was wrong. The Rockies broke through for the lead and Good Jorge's performance held up for our second win in as many games in Cincinnati. Let's see if my streak can continue today with U-ball on the mound.

I've been tinkering with the idea of making the drive out to Pittsburgh for a game and follow the team around like some crazy astronaut stalker this week (gas prices being the biggest hold-up right now as it's not like I have much else to do) but I've been pretty certain that Mystery Starter Monday won't be the game I'm in Pittsburgh for. With news that it might be Jason Hirsh taking the hill, MSM suddenly becomes a more appealing game for me than watching Glendon Rusch on Tuesday.

While I'm on the subject of journeying to Pennsylvania, a trip to Philadelphia's newspapers this morning shows the Phillies are picking up Patrick Saunders articles for some reason. After clearing out much of their farm to acquire Joe Blanton, I don't think Philadelphia has the goods anymore to go after Brian, so I'm not exactly sure why they imported this piece from Denver, but it's there nonetheless. Meanwhile, Peter Gammons reports that the Cardinals are the faves right now to land Brian after the Marlins nixed giving up Anibal Sanchez plus a prospect.

After yesterday's start, it appears Jorge De La Rosa won't be back in the rotation once the second half of the season starts. De La Rosa will give way to Kip Wells, who still has two more rehab starts to make. Farther down on the article, Franklin Morales and Jason Hirsh are mentioned, but the possiblity of either pitching for the Rockies any time soon appears remote.

Aaron Cook and his family will add a baby girl in late July.

In a look at which teams have interest in which Rockies, Tracy Ringolsby's column mentions that Juan Morillo, Ryan Mattheus, and Casey Weathers are possible call-ups should some team trade for Matt Herges.

Mark Kiszla. Matt Holliday. New York. Scale of 1-10. Yankees at 11. Or something.

Well, the Rockies got that first win on the road out of the way rather early. Now they run into the Brewers' recent acquistion, pitcher Carsten Charles Sabathia. All right, let's just call him C.C. Anyway, this will be Sabathia's first start against the Rockies since 2005 when he was knocked around  for six runs in 3 1/3 innings. But those were the 2005 Rockies, who blew a 6-2 lead and lost 6-7 in 11 innings.  Eddy Garabito, Preston Wilson, Dustan Mohr, Ryan Shealy, Luis Gonzalez, Desi Relaford, Danny Ardoin, David Cortes, Blaine Neal (I don't remember that guy at all)--the Rockies sure have come a long way. Sabathia was also beat up in a 2003 start against the Rockies.

Still, Mark Redman's going up against Sabathia. That doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. Nor does, as we discussed in the game thread yesterday, the other pitching match-ups. Glendon Rusch says he's the starter for Wednesday's game. He'll face Ben Sheets (10-2, 2.77 ERA). Thursday's game features Jorge De La Rosa against Dave Bush. That's not too daunting of a task as compared to the previous two starters for the Brewers.

A day doesn't go by when we don't have a Hurdle quote that includes "No excuses." Actually, I'm convinced that that is just an excuse.

Mark Kiszla, that's not exactly the image I need in my mind.

Our opponents over the weekend, the Mets, will have a different look in the dugout as Jerry Manuel became the interim manager over the night for the fired Willie Randolph. Pitching coach Rick Peterson was also fired. As the article indicates, Peterson claimed he would fix Victor Zambrano after he arrived in New York in a trade for Scott Kazmir. Zambrano, as we all know, is with the Sky Sox this season.

His Sunday performance earned Jorge De La Rosa at least one more start. Jorge De La Rosa or Glendon Rusch? Not that hard of a decision after De La Rosa's last start. But then when you reach the end of the article, "In six career starts against the Indians, De La Rosa is 1-3 with a 7.67 ERA." He also walked 22 Indians in those games.

Clint Hurdle explains what went wrong:

"One of the things I learned from personal experience is that the enemy of good is great. You start doing good and you think if you turn it up a notch you will be great, and it turns into a struggle."

So . . . does he know how to skip the struggle and actually become great?

Colorado Springs: L 4-5

The Rockies bottom of the rotation roulette wheel continues to spin. Jorge de la Rosa got demoted to the bullpen, Glendon Rusch is getting called up as the team continues to search for an answer. Here's a hint: It's not in the bottom of the rotation. Anyway, one pitcher who's already had one shot with the 2008 Rockies, and at the rate we're going will have a couple more before the season's out, Mark Redman actually threw a decent game last night, he went seven innings allowing just six hits and a walk, with a much improved extra base hit rate. Christian Colonel and Sean Barker had three hits apiece for the Sky Sox. Colonel's .370 batting average would be good enough for fourth in the league were he to have the thirty or so additional plate appearances to qualify.

That first link mentioned Humberto Cota's suspension for violating the MLB's performance enhancer policy, but didn't go into the odd details that the suspension happened under the MLB's jurisdiction rather than the minor leagues . Cota's statement says that the positive test came as a result of what he thought was just anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by a physician in Mexico this winter.

Tulsa: L 3-6

Alan Johnson and Brandon Hynick have been having similar deep but ineffective outings this season. Typically they give up a lot of hits but not many walks, although Johnson walked five in seven innings last night. It's sort of baffling how they could so thoroughly lose the abilities to create outs that were evident in Modesto in 2007. The leap to AA is difficult, but is it typically this bad? Other clubs don't appear to be having so many growing pains. I don't intend to be accusatory these last couple of days, even though the questions probably come off that way. I just don't think we can avoid some of these legitimate concerns about the state of pitching in the upper levels of the system any longer. There are just too many good young pitchers taking steps backwards and as a fan I want to make sure that if there's a problem that it's corrected before this next talented Modesto/Asheville wave suffers the same sort of setbacks.

Justin Nelson had three hits, including a homerun and double for the Drillers.

Modesto: L 0-5

In the comments to yesterday's Pebble Report we unearthed Shane Lindsay's broken pitching hand, which will keep him out six to eight weeks. It's been six to eight weeks that Modesto's offense has been out, but there's no timetable for a return yet. The Nuts managed two hits against Clayton Tanner, a starter whose last quality start before last night was April 8, also against Modesto. In the eight games between, he's been averaging just a smidgen over four innings a start with an ERA of 6.96. It would probably help Modesto to get Cole Garner's bat back, but I also have to wonder why Travis Becktel was benched a night after carrying the team to their only runs in the last four games.

Asheville: Off

Tucson (extended spring):

Just to fill in the other news from the comments yesterday, I did report that Ricardo Ferrer, an 18 year old Venezuelan RHP the Rockies signed in 2006, pitched off the mound for the first time since an off-season surgery.

Last night's game was oh so much fun to watch . . . if you were a Phillies fan. I mean, it apparently "exorcised a few demons" the Phillies acquired back in October when the Rockies swept them. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Phil Sheridan points out the, uh, obvious:

The Colorado Rockies couldn't have enjoyed getting pounded by the Phillies last night. You can be just as sure they wouldn't trade their last three victories over the Phils for a reversal of this outcome. . . . It's a long way from May to October, but the Phillies have survived the journey from October to May. Ask the Rockies how hard that can be.

Yeah, but can the Phillies survive the  journey from the end of May to the end of September?

Clint Hurdle on Jorge De La Rosa's status with the team:

"It wasn't a step forward," was all Hurdle said when asked about De La Rosa's future.

If he's still in the rotation come Saturday, DLR and his 9.00 ERA will face Ryan Dempster and the Cubs.

Injury updates: Garrett Atkins may be back tonight; Ryan Speier will join Asheville on Wednesday for a rehab assignment; Jason Hirsh and Luiz Vizcaino threw in simulated games and will rehab with the Sky Sox starting this weekend; Micah Bowi's throwing BP sessions; Brad Hawpe's right hamstring is feeling better. Are you?

Bob Apodaca on Yorvit's performance Sunday:

Revisiting Aaron Cook's complete-game four-hitter against the Mets on Sunday, Apodaca heaped praise on catcher Yorvit Torrealba: "It was like they were reading each others' minds. That's how well-called a game that was from Yorvit."

Torrealba went 0-for-2 with a sac fly.

U-Ball vs. Kyle Kendrick tonight.

Where did we last leave off with the D'Backs? After having lost all three home games in the first series against the Snakes, a week later the Rockies traveled to Chase Field and lost the first two games. Then the team's savior, Aaron Cook, took the mound against Edgar Gonzalez and we wound up with this:

Atkins, Barmes, and Holiday each had a homer in the game. Let's see triple the number of wins for the Rockies in this series against the D'Backs after Thursday's game. Over at the Snakepit, snakecharmer previews the pitching matchups and (surprise! surprise!) gives the advantage in each game to the D'Backs. I'd give a push to the the first and third pitching matchups and the advantage to Owings in the second game. That's really only a result of having seen De La Rosa reach both extremes in his two starts. Well, that is to say, those may be his extremes. If his first start is more indicative of his performance . . . Oh, and the slumping offense needs to show up this series as well.

We know Garrett Atkins is one of those guys getting it done on offense, but

somehow he gets overlooked, his name usually popping up only on message boards with fans clamoring for the call-up of Triple-A prospect Ian Stewart.

And do you know what Stewart has to say about Atkins?

"Atkins is a great player. There’s just no room for me right now . . . But I also look at it as I just barely turned 23 (on April 5), second year in Triple-A. I would think a lot of guys would take that at my age. So I just try not to worry about it."

At least Stewart isn't "clamoring" for his call up; if he was, I guess he's not a "message board," so that would be slightly better.

We might see Julian Tavarez in a Rockies uniform soon, if a source close to the situation is correct.