Posted at 10:51 am on April 27, 2008 by Jason Ackerman
The Rockies made some moves in the wake of last night’s drubbing - including designating Jayson Nix for assignment. The Nix Experiment is something we were all looking forward to- we were all hoping for a Tulo-like rookie season. However, at this point, we’re just hoping we can get a Tulo-like season out of Tulo right now. Nix, while a serviceable second baseman, has just been overmatched by the pitching in the bigs, and this may spell the end of his time with the Rockies, as he now as to clear waivers before he can be sent to the Sky Sox. But since there aren’t many teams looking for a .111 hitter, he could clear and get some more work at the Triple-A level. The bright side, is that Barmes has taken advantage of the situation with some decent fielding and some of the better hitting the Rocks have seen this short troubled season with a .305 average and 18 hits, including 2 homeruns.
Secondly, Ubaldo “Wheels-off” Jimenez was put on notice– which I think is a bit of a generous move on Hurdle’s part. This guy has simply imploded at every start. It’s no wonder that the bullpen is fried beyond any ability to hold when they’re essentially being asked to pitch 6+ innings per game. What sort of bizarro world is this, when the bullpen is logging all the innings, Corpas gets lifted as the closer for Brian “Chest-High-Curveball” Fuentes, and Helton is moved into the 2-hole because Tulo can’t seem to get on base or push across a run?
Which prematurely brings me to the third move, that is sliding Helton up to the second spot, with Holliday at three and Atkins at four, and Tulo moving up to six. I’m hoping this loosens up Holliday a bit more, maybe gives him a few pitches to hit… but I fear that Holliday’s best days were back when he had Helton protecting him in the clean-up spot. Either way, I don’t see this is a world-shaking move, just the kind of thing that needs to be done to shake the roster up a bit and show the guys that this team will not take this sitting down.
Finally, I’m looking at the move that hasn’t been made officially, but is causing some stir in the clubhouse. Willy Taveras has not been the everyday starter at centerfield, and he’s been grumping about it to the media. He sure enjoyed the days when his spot was safe because the other guy on the team with wheels was an infielder. Willy doesn’t like being pushed, and I’m here to tell Willy that he needs to suck it up and bring the performance, because Podsy is the real deal. Podsednik has a 100-point lead over will in OBP, Slugging percentage, and a 50 point advantage in batting average. Podsednik can use his speed in the outfield, and he can steal a base as good as Willy - so it seems to me that Willy’s best bet is to shut his mouth and let his numbers do the talking. And what they’re saying right now, is Podsednik is taking his job. I know Hurdle says he doesn’t want a committee for an outfielder, but I say do it and if Willy doesn’t like it, ship him out and give the job to Podsednik. Maybe we could get into a deal for another starting pitcher for Taveras, or something. So in conclusion, let it be known that I’ve been a fan of Scott Podsednik since his days with the Mariners, and I’m a fan now and wouldn’t be bothered to see him in the lineup everyday. He’s certainly making a case for earning that job on the field.
This year has started tough for the Rockies, and I know it’s only April and there’s a ton of baseball to play. The Rockies, however, simply cannot count on a ridiculous 20-game surge in September to carry them to the playoffs– that kind of thing only happens once in a great while. If they hope to make a run at the division, they’re going to have to start winning series with division rivals, at least splitting with the good teams, and beating the snot out of the not-so-good teams. Right now, everyone in the league has lost their fear of this lineup and are licking their chops to take a whack at the defending NL champs. Let’s hope the shakeup can restore some confidence.
