Gentlemen, it's time to admit the obvious: Charlie Blackmon, who is scheduled to lead off for the Rockies this afternoon as they likely get swept by the Braves in Atlanta, is not a major league player. Blackmon now has exactly 100 plate appearances in the majors, and he's hitting .250. And batting average appears to be his strong suit: Among his 24 hits are just two extra-base hits, and he's walked just three times.
So his on-base percentage is a pathetic .273, and his slugging percentage is a feeble .292. Among all the Rockies who have 100 plate appearances this season, both those numbers are the worst, save for the now-released Jose Lopez. Dexter Fowler had a disastrous start to the season - yet his 2011 OPS is 100 points higher than Blackmon's.
How bad is Blackmon's .564 OPS? Among National League qualifiers for the batting title this year, only one player has put up a worse mark: Ian Desmond, shortstop for the Washington Nationals, is a tinch behind at .558. The worst OPS for a left fielder is the one recorded by Raul Ibanez of the Phillies, whom everyone agrees is toast - and it's more than 100 points higher than Blackmon's. And of course, Blackmon has the benefit of playing half his games in maybe the best hitter's park in baseball. In road games he is 3 for 41 with no extra-base hits and one walk. That's an .073 average, and a .168 OPS.
Yet this fellow is leading off and playing left field for the Rockies at Turner Field this afternoon. I would hope that this is purely a result of Carlos Gonzalez' injury, except that Blackmon has started 24 of the 28 games the Rockies have played since his callup. If the Rockies have any prayer of getting back into the race, when CarGo is ready to go again at full strength, Charlie Blackmon will be back on the Sky Sox.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Watching Ian Stewart
Watching Ian Stewart hit, even I get nervous for him, thinking that he's got to do something big RIGHT NOW or else he's gonna get sent back to the minor leagues. At the same time, watching Ian Stewart hit, I see the ball just jump off his bat and think that the Rockies need this guy hitting, in the big leagues, if they have any chance of getting back into the race.
Then I see him effortlessly line a shot foul into the upper deck down the right field line, then effortlessly shoot a double off the center field fence, all off one of the best pitchers in baseball, and I think there's no way the Rockies would be stupid enough to send him back down.
And if the team is indeed out of the race, why are we futzing around with Ty Wigginton anyway? Wigginton's future contains nothing but mediocrity. Ian Stewart's future could very easily contain a couple of 35-40 homer seasons.
Then I see him effortlessly line a shot foul into the upper deck down the right field line, then effortlessly shoot a double off the center field fence, all off one of the best pitchers in baseball, and I think there's no way the Rockies would be stupid enough to send him back down.
And if the team is indeed out of the race, why are we futzing around with Ty Wigginton anyway? Wigginton's future contains nothing but mediocrity. Ian Stewart's future could very easily contain a couple of 35-40 homer seasons.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Slap in the Face
With Carlos Gonzalez banged up after running into the centerfield wall on Sunday, the Rockies called up outfielder Cole Garner from Colorado Springs as insurance for the next few days. Garner is no prospect - he's 26, more of a corner outfielder than anything else, and is hitting .340 in AAA but everyone hits .340 at the Springs.
Mostly, I think this is interesting for what it says about Dexter Fowler. Dexter has hit like crap at Colorado Springs, just .197, which suggests that either he's a) hurt, b) totally messed up with his swing, or c) pissed off about being in AAA. It's probably some combination of the three. But if Carlos Gonzalez can't play, the Rockies have no true centerfielder on the major league roster, which makes it most significant that they wouldn't bring Fowler up.
Personally, I disagree with that decision; I would bring Dexter up, and tell him he's coming off the bench till he can show that his head is screwed on right. But this organization has clearly soured on him. I'll bet you this: One of our two AAA big-leaguers, Dexter or Ian Stewart, has played his last game for the Rockies. But I won't tell you which one.
Mostly, I think this is interesting for what it says about Dexter Fowler. Dexter has hit like crap at Colorado Springs, just .197, which suggests that either he's a) hurt, b) totally messed up with his swing, or c) pissed off about being in AAA. It's probably some combination of the three. But if Carlos Gonzalez can't play, the Rockies have no true centerfielder on the major league roster, which makes it most significant that they wouldn't bring Fowler up.
Personally, I disagree with that decision; I would bring Dexter up, and tell him he's coming off the bench till he can show that his head is screwed on right. But this organization has clearly soured on him. I'll bet you this: One of our two AAA big-leaguers, Dexter or Ian Stewart, has played his last game for the Rockies. But I won't tell you which one.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Make Up Your Mind, Already
The trade for Mark Ellis was probably overdue, given that the Rockies' second base situation has been in such disarray for so long. Consider that of the four players who've seen significant time at second for the Rox this year, three are no longer with the team, including Jose Lopez, who was released, and Eric Young Jr. and Chris Nelson, who are now in AAA. The sole survivor of that unholy tetrad, Jonathan Herrera, has an OPS of .624.
So Ellis' arrival was welcome, but that wasn't the only thing to like about the move. What impressed me was that the Rockies immediately demoted both Nelson AND Young. They could have farted around with this a little, said they'd give Nelson some time behind Ellis to try to break him in. But no, they were very definitive about it: Mark Ellis is our second baseman. (It helps that he started out as a Rockie, as I write this, at 6 for 9 with four doubles and a homer.)
That's the way to run a team. You decide who the best players are, and you put them in the lineup. Of course, sometimes you make a mistake, and convince yourself that Charlie Blackmon is one of your best players, and then you got trouble. But in this instance, well done, boys.
So Ellis' arrival was welcome, but that wasn't the only thing to like about the move. What impressed me was that the Rockies immediately demoted both Nelson AND Young. They could have farted around with this a little, said they'd give Nelson some time behind Ellis to try to break him in. But no, they were very definitive about it: Mark Ellis is our second baseman. (It helps that he started out as a Rockie, as I write this, at 6 for 9 with four doubles and a homer.)
That's the way to run a team. You decide who the best players are, and you put them in the lineup. Of course, sometimes you make a mistake, and convince yourself that Charlie Blackmon is one of your best players, and then you got trouble. But in this instance, well done, boys.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Jim Tracy Is Having a Very Bad Season
When Jim Tracy took over as manager of the Rockies 46 games into the 2009 season, Ian Stewart was hitting .187, sharing time as third base with veteran Garrett Atkins and playing a little bit in left field and second base as well. Tracy made Stewart pretty much his everyday third baseman, and Ian played in 102 of the remaining 116 games. He rewarded Tracy by hitting 18 homers and driving in 50 runs in just over half a season.
And the Rockies posted the best record in their history.
Stewart got off to another slow start this year, after getting hurt and missing almost all of spring training. This time, though, Tracy was not willing to be patient and inserted the mediocre veteran Ty Wigginton as his starting third baseman after giving Ian Stewart a grand total of 52 plate appearances.
Carlos Gonzalez was called up from the minors shortly after Tracy took over the team in 2009, but showed very little early on. On the 4th of July, when the Rockies reached the midpoint of the season, CarGo was hitting .194 with one homer in 74 plate appearances. Yet Tracy stuck with him, and Gonzalez played like an MVP the rest of the way, hitting .313 with 12 homers in less than half a season. This year, Dexter Fowler was hitting much better than CarGo's early-2011 performance when Tracy decided to exile him to Colorado Springs.
The point is, Jim Tracy didn't use to solve his problems by getting rid of players who were underperforming. His greatest strength with those 2009 Rockies was his patience: He decided who could play, and he let them go out there and do it, no matter what their numbers said.
Tracy has been charged with always favoring a crappy veteran over a younger player, but that certainly hasn't been the case this year. Yes, Ty Wigginton is the epitome of the crappy veteran, but Fowler was replaced by the rookie Charlie Blackmon, and the crappy veteran second baseman Jose Lopez was replaced by the less-experienced Jonathan Herrera, who has now apparently been replaced by the even-less-experienced Chris Nelson.
The problem with Tracy, as I see it, is that he's not deciding who he wants to have on the field so much as he's deciding who he doesn't want out there. Particularly with Dexter Fowler, one got the sense that he didn't care whether or not he had a better player than Dexter, just so long as he got Dexter and all his strikeouts out of the lineup. Charlie Blackmon is not a better player than Dexter Fowler, and has never been a better player or a better prospect, but Tracy made the decision not to play Dexter, then looked around to see if there was anyone else he could put in the lineup. Similarly, he's decided that Seth Smith shouldn't play against lefties - without asking himself whether he had a better rightfielder than Smith who should play against lefties. That's how we got such ludicrous decisions as Eric Young Jr. starting in right field against the Yankees on Saturday.
The key question to ask yourself about Dexter Fowler, or about Ian Stewart, isn't "Do I want this player in the lineup?" The important question is, "Do I have a better player than this guy, or is he my best option?" Jim Tracy needs to start asking himself the latter question. It really doesn't matter who isn't playing center field. It very much does matter who is playing center field.
And the Rockies posted the best record in their history.
Stewart got off to another slow start this year, after getting hurt and missing almost all of spring training. This time, though, Tracy was not willing to be patient and inserted the mediocre veteran Ty Wigginton as his starting third baseman after giving Ian Stewart a grand total of 52 plate appearances.
Carlos Gonzalez was called up from the minors shortly after Tracy took over the team in 2009, but showed very little early on. On the 4th of July, when the Rockies reached the midpoint of the season, CarGo was hitting .194 with one homer in 74 plate appearances. Yet Tracy stuck with him, and Gonzalez played like an MVP the rest of the way, hitting .313 with 12 homers in less than half a season. This year, Dexter Fowler was hitting much better than CarGo's early-2011 performance when Tracy decided to exile him to Colorado Springs.
The point is, Jim Tracy didn't use to solve his problems by getting rid of players who were underperforming. His greatest strength with those 2009 Rockies was his patience: He decided who could play, and he let them go out there and do it, no matter what their numbers said.
Tracy has been charged with always favoring a crappy veteran over a younger player, but that certainly hasn't been the case this year. Yes, Ty Wigginton is the epitome of the crappy veteran, but Fowler was replaced by the rookie Charlie Blackmon, and the crappy veteran second baseman Jose Lopez was replaced by the less-experienced Jonathan Herrera, who has now apparently been replaced by the even-less-experienced Chris Nelson.
The problem with Tracy, as I see it, is that he's not deciding who he wants to have on the field so much as he's deciding who he doesn't want out there. Particularly with Dexter Fowler, one got the sense that he didn't care whether or not he had a better player than Dexter, just so long as he got Dexter and all his strikeouts out of the lineup. Charlie Blackmon is not a better player than Dexter Fowler, and has never been a better player or a better prospect, but Tracy made the decision not to play Dexter, then looked around to see if there was anyone else he could put in the lineup. Similarly, he's decided that Seth Smith shouldn't play against lefties - without asking himself whether he had a better rightfielder than Smith who should play against lefties. That's how we got such ludicrous decisions as Eric Young Jr. starting in right field against the Yankees on Saturday.
The key question to ask yourself about Dexter Fowler, or about Ian Stewart, isn't "Do I want this player in the lineup?" The important question is, "Do I have a better player than this guy, or is he my best option?" Jim Tracy needs to start asking himself the latter question. It really doesn't matter who isn't playing center field. It very much does matter who is playing center field.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Dexter vs. Charlie
A few days ago, I said that by the end of this month, Charlie Blackmon's OBP and slugging percentage would both be lower than Dexter Fowler's. Well, it's only the 25th of June, and Blackmon's OBP is .328 and his SP is .321. Meanwhile, Dexter has a .340 OBP and a .348 SP, and he's still at Colorado Springs.
Get that? The Rockies sent down a good defensive center fielder and replaced him with a left fielder who trails him in the two most important offensive categories. Brilliant.
Get that? The Rockies sent down a good defensive center fielder and replaced him with a left fielder who trails him in the two most important offensive categories. Brilliant.
Wha?
Eric Young Jr. starting in right field, and batting second? There is absolutely nothing Eric Young Jr. can do like you'd want a major league right fielder to do.
It's hard enough to win games at the major league level; it's doubly hard when you completely punt one of your corner outfielders.
It's hard enough to win games at the major league level; it's doubly hard when you completely punt one of your corner outfielders.
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