The Rockies will be going to the playoffs this year, but they’ve still got a big decision to make. They can play all-out against the Dodgers this weekend and try for the division crown, or they can rest their starters in preparation for the divisional round of the playoffs. I favor playing all-out. In the past, teams have found that it’s not easy to just turn a team back on after letting them rest for a few days. They come out rusty at the start of the playoffs and have to play catch-up to get back on track. While I wouldn’t overexert the starting pitchers, I think all the regular position players should get some good at bats in this weekend. It really doesn’t matter if they take the division crown or not; what’s important is best preparing the team for a playoff run.
The Rockies have been quicker to the punch than most teams in the past few weeks, and that extends beyond the playing field. The Rockies are one of only 4 teams to have signed their 1st round pick. Tim Wheeler, the outfielder from Sacramento State, agreed to undisclosed terms with the Rockies.
The Rockies first pick in the 2009 draft was left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek out of Capistrano Valley, CA. Matzek has appeared even higher on many mock draft boards, with some expecting him to go at #4 or #5. Matzek has a great upside with incredible mechanics. His delivery has reportedly even been praised by Dr. Mike Marshall, a former Cy Young Award winner who has been teaching an alternative pitching delivery for many years now. Matzek’s delivery does not go to the same extreme as Dr. Marshall’s (which basically squares the body with home plate and eliminates hip torque), but his arm action seems to finish similar to what Dr. Marshall preaches and has led some people on YouTube to label his pitches as Marshall would label them: pronated maxline fastball, pronated slider, pronated sinker, and so on. Others have argued that these are just normal pitches being misrepresented, but I think you can clearly see some Marshall influence if you concentrate on the position of Matzek’s arm as he delivers the ball and follows through. Marshall has spent half his life studying the human body in relation to pitching and believes his pronated pitches will prevent injuries in pitchers.
The Dodgers have had the Rockies number this year, and they did it again on Wednesday with an 8-6 win. Juan Pierre has really moved to the forefront of the Dodgers offense in Manny Ramirez’s absence, and he did it once again today with a 3 for 5 performance.
Perhaps the only decent hitting performance for the Rockies today came from Ryan Spilborghs, who went 2 for 3 with a home run. That’s not going to change the fact that he uses Just For Men on all his hair above the neck (I won’t speculate what goes on below).
- October 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (2)
- May 2009 (1)
