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Rockies notes, 4/22
Young’s speed helping swing games for Rox
By Jordan Schelling / Special to MLB.com
MILWAUKEE — He’s started just one game this season, but Eric Young Jr. has been an integral part of the Rockies’ success.
“He’s a weapon,” manager Jim Tracy said. “And he has embraced the role that he has right now.”
Young has played in 12 of Colorado’s first 14 games, showing an excellent approach at the plate as a pinch-hitter, and even better skills on the basepaths.
In fact, Young’s baserunning was key in the Rockies’ victory on Opening Day, and again Friday when they took the series opener from the Brewers at Miller Park. Both situations involved the outfielder advancing following errors on pickoff attempts and coming around to score go-ahead runs.
Young drew a big leadoff walk Saturday night in the sixth inning, which he followed up by stealing second and scoring a game-tying run on a groundout two batters later. In his fourth-year as a utility player for the Rockies, Young has the freedom to steal whenever he sees the right opportunity to do so.
“He has done just an absolute fantastic job in his role on this ballclub,” Tracy said. “A guy with that kind of speed that’s part of his game, that works on things like that, why would I sit over here and guess when he can stand there and see for himself and know if he can or can’t get a jump and take advantage of the situation?
“You let the light be green. Don’t go through the intersection if it goes to caution or red and cause a bad accident, and get to second. Simple as that. That’s what he does. He’s been absolutely terrific.”
Extra work before season paying off for Colvin
MILWAUKEE — Even his manager has been a little surprised by Tyler Colvin’s hot start for the Rockies.
After a breakout year in 2010, Colvin’s production dropped off last season with the Cubs. However, over his first 10 games and 26 at-bats with the Rockies, Colvin batted .346 with a home run and five RBIs.
Including Sunday against the Brewers, Colvin had started six of the Rockies’ first 15 contests. He batted in the No. 2 hole in the finale against Milwaukee, a spot where his numbers have not been particularly impressive in his career. Colvin has just eight hits in 59 career at-bats batting second, with a slash line of .136/.164/.237.
Even so, it’s a spot where manager Jim Tracy likes his bat.
“He handles the bat extremely well,” Tracy said. “Tyler Colvin’s a guy you can put runners in motion with, and he’s going to get a good swing off and put the ball in play.
“This is also a bat that you have to respect from a depth standpoint and not cheat too much to the point where if there’s multiple runners, he’s going to burn you and drive a ball over your head. He has that capability, he makes those outfielders stay honest that way.”
Colvin also has been a valuable and versatile defender, having already played each of the three outfield positions and first base at least once each. His start Friday night gave right fielder Michael Cuddyer an extra day off to rest his bruised left big toe, while Dexter Fowler got a day off Sunday.
Tracy said the Rockies brought Colvin in two months before Spring Training to get a jump on working with the young outfielder. Colvin came to the Rockies in a trade with the Cubs in December.
“We got very proactive on this one,” Tracy said. “There were some things that we saw on film that we strongly felt had to be cleaned up, that we felt like, ‘This is the big reason why he took a major step backward in 2011, in relation to where he was in 2010.’
“We wanted to get started and give him the opportunity to take the information home with him, knowing he still had eight weeks to go, rather than vice versa.”
Cuddyer made sure to track Humber’s perfecto
MILWAUKEE — Fans across the nation tuned in Saturday evening to catch the end of the White Sox game at Seattle, as Philip Humber completed the 21st perfect game in Major League history.
In the visitor’s clubhouse at Miller Park, the Rockies were watching as well. Right fielder Michael Cuddyer looked on with particular interest, being Humber’s former teammate.
“It’s unbelievable,” Cuddyer said. “What’s even more amazing is the White Sox have 18 no-hitters. It’s incredible.”
Cuddyer played with Humber briefly during the 2008-09 seasons, when Humber pitched 20 2/3 innings in 13 relief appearances for the Twins.
Did Cuddyer ever see perfect-game type stuff out of Humber?
“Well, perfect games, obviously you’ve got to have good stuff, but a lot of things also have to go your way,” Cuddyer said, “So I think [Saturday] was his day. I didn’t see the whole game, but it was definitely his day. That’s for sure.”
While he’s never been involved personally in a perfect game, Cuddyer was in right field for the Twins on May 3 last year, when Francisco Liriano no-hit the White Sox.
Cuddyer reflected on what it’s like being a part of a game like that.
“A lot of excitement,” Cuddyer said. “During that ninth inning, you’re more nervous as a defensive player than the pitcher is, especially in a perfect game. Because if you mess it up, then you messed it up for him. Not you or for the team. It’s nerve-wracking.”
Jordan Schelling is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers beat, 9/20
Macha against continued use of maple bats
MILWAUKEE — As a player, Brewers manager Ken Macha used ash bats. While he sees the competitive benefits of maple bats, he does not see that as reason enough to overlook their dangerous nature.
“Get rid of the maple bats. Absolutely, 100 percent,” Macha said. “What’s going to really happen is one’s going to go in the stands. … There’s people in the stands, they’re not paying attention to anything. They’re talking to the guy three seats down, not even going to move to get out of the way.”
Macha was asked about the maple bats in light of a chest injury suffered Sunday by Cubs rookie Tyler Colvin, who was struck by a portion of Wellington Castillo’s shattered bat. Colvin was in stable condition shortly after the game, but is expected to miss the rest of the 2010 season.
While he believes maple bats should be eliminated from use, that doesn’t mean Macha is unaware of the reason behind the players’ preference.
“That wood is absolutely harder,” Macha said of the maple bats. “You’d hit with these ash bats and if you hit the ball on a seam, you could see a dent with the seam on the bat. But with the maple, it’s so hard guys will use the thing and you will see no dents in the bat at all.
“When you’ve got two objects striking into each other, the amount of energy that goes in the opposite direction after they hit is not being absorbed by the compression of that bat, so the ball’s going further. I understand that point.”
But the potential for the type of injury suffered by Colvin, Macha said, is reason enough to eliminate the bats, regardless of the difference in performance between the hard maple wood and softer ash.
Rogers unavailable ahead of first start Friday
MILWAUKEE — Though they would have liked to get him another relief appearance, Brewers pitching prospect Mark Rogers’ next appearance will be his Friday start.
Rogers threw a side session in the bullpen Sunday, and is scheduled for another Tuesday in preparation for his first career start. As a result, he’s unavailable out of the bullpen this week.
“I was kind of hoping to get him in one more game,” manager Ken Macha said. “But [pitching coach] Rick [Peterson] said that he felt that [Rogers] could benefit more from doing two sides days than getting an inning in.”
Rogers is scheduled to start Friday in the Brewers’ second of four games against the Marlins. If everything goes according to plan with that start, Rogers could start a second time on the road against the Mets or Reds.
Gomez earns another start in center field
MILWAUKEE — With the impact he had on the Brewers’ recent road trip, Carlos Gomez earned yet another start in center field on Monday against the Reds.
Gomez got the day off Sunday in San Francisco in favor of rookie Lorenzo Cain, who had been the Brewers’ starting center fielder for much of August and early September. On Monday, though, manager Ken Macha went back to Gomez for his sixth start in seven games.
“I didn’t want to forget about Cain, but Gomez has been impacting the games,” Macha said. “So I just put Cain in there yesterday and get Gomez back in there today. … He basically won the game in Houston the last day and then had a tremendous impact on one of the games in San Francisco that we won.
“So he’s earned the playing time.”
Gomez batted .400 on the road trip, collecting eight hits in 20 at-bats along with four stolen bases and a pair of RBIs. With Cain struggling, Macha gave Gomez as many starts in those six games as he had in the club’s previous 40 contests.
As for his other right-handed center fielder, Macha opted not to give any evaluation of Cain.
“You can take either sample size on both sides of the line of demarcation and try to determine what is going to be relevant on down the line,” Macha said. “So let’s hold off on drawing a conclusion.
“I’m not going to make the statement that the league has figured him out.”
A Schelling For Your Thoughts 