First Impressions

Editor’s note. This was sent into our Supreme Master last week, but our Supreme Master was off vacationing in Maui! Why isn’t he watching every pitch of every Rockies Spring Training game? I asked the same question and all I got in return was some sort of Corona induced psycho babble. In any case, we feel this is still relevant and Kevin’s opinions and thoughts haven’t changed.

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Since Root Sports decided to air more than one spring training game this year, those of us who don’t have the time (or money) to venture to Arizona get some chances (six, to be exact) to see the team in spring training. After watching Mariners crush the Rockies 16-6 on Monday, these are my initial thoughts.

Juan Nicasio threw three innings and looked awful in giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. I say “threw” and not “pitched” because the man is a pitcher in title only. If anyone can tell me why the Rockies insist he is a starting pitcher, please educate me. He threw mostly fastballs and mixed in something that vaguely resembled a curveball. Starting pitchers need two plus pitches and a third decent one to be successful and Nicasio has one. To top that off, his control was nearly nonexistent, mostly due to his body being out of control. He is a reliever at best and appears to have no idea how to actually pitch. He just slings the ball at the plate and no one is sure where it is going.

Following Nicasio’s exit, the Rockies portrayed why they were so terrible last year. First, the inning showcased another dubious acquisition by the front in office in 42-year old reliever, Miguel Batista. When I wrote earlier about what I would do if I was the GM for a day, it included releasing 42-year old Jason Giambi, primarily because the Rockies are in no place to be burning roster spots on 42-year olds. Uh…yeah. While Batista didn’t give up any earned runs, he did give up 6 unearned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. Second, it was another signature inning where one error basically blew up the game. Third, the defense completely stunk up the field, though the box score show only one error (on Cuddyer at first base). Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but two other plays should have been made that could have ended the inning. One was a fly ball to right-center that Tyler Colvin appeared to overrun, though it was by no means a routine play. The other was a fly ball to left field that Corey Dickerson caught on the run, only to drop it when he stopped himself with the wall. Again, both plays were somewhat difficult, but good defenses make those plays and stop the bleeding.

Since we’re on the subject, for those of you who can’t stop griping about Todd Helton playing first base, Cuddyer let a routine ground ball go through his legs, leading to those 6 unearned runs in the fourth inning. Yeah, Helton is a shadow of his former self, but the man still managed to put up replacement level numbers last season on one leg. As Travis Lay predicted in an earlier column, a healthy Helton probably puts up a 1-2 WAR and the guy still gets on base and works counts. If Weiss manages the lineup properly, we should see a platoon situation between Colvin, Cuddyer, and Helton manning right field and first base, with Helton seeing 120 games max.

Across the diamond, the third base situation has become a no-win situation for the Rockies. Hold on…before you flip out…hear me out. The Rockies already have Chris Nelson and Jordan Pacheco – two guys that proved they can hit last year and offer versatility as utility guys, especially Pacheco who can catch and man first base as well. Granted, both of them need to improve a lot with the glove, as they were both fairly dreadful at third by most defensive metrics. Added to the mix are DJ LeMahieu, the best glove of the batch, but with little power at the plate; Ryan Wheeler, the guy received in a trade for Matt Reynolds, and Nolan Arenado, the third-base prospect ripped by the front office as immature, but the guy most of the fans want to see get his shot.

The reason this is no-win is because the Rockies created a situation where someone gets screwed no matter what happens. Arenado is having a great spring so far and is making it really difficult for the Rockies to start him off in the minors, mostly because it will piss off the fans and Arenado (reportedly, the reason he was upset last year was because he didn’t make the team out of spring training). Additionally, Nelson and Pacheco lose any trade value if Arenado gets the job, leaving the Rockies with two guys they can’t really afford to drop to the minors. This, in turn, makes it far less likely that Wheeler makes the club, rendering the Reynolds trade a complete loss (arguably, this was a loss anyway considering Arenado has always been the long term plan). With LeMahieu also fighting for a spot, throw in Jonathan Herrera and Charlie Culberson (they guy they got for Marco Scutaro) battling for the back-up second base job, and you can see how the complete lack of planning on the part of the GM team has led to a situation where at least one deserving player ends up languishing in the minors (or lost for nothing).

Finally, two more notes on Arenado. One – the guy is lighting it up at the plate, but is swinging at everything (still hasn’t taken a walk). While this is exciting for now, it will catch up with him sooner rather than later as pitchers start taking advantage of this. Second – he didn’t get any plays at third base, so I didn’t get a chance to observe him in the field.

I know this sounds very negative, but is just the game I saw and there are positive signs from the team in general (see: Chris Volstad, Jeff Francis, and more Arenado box scores). The next game to be aired is on Friday, March 8, and I’m hoping to see more of Arenado on both sides of the ball, at least one Helton at-bat (very curious to see him move around and swing), Tulowitzki in the field, and none of Batista or Manny Corpas.