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Monday, April 7, 2008
It’s chilly here, as are the Rockies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Denver — The bad news is that it’s snowing outside my downtown Denver hotel as I type this, and the forecast for tonight’s Braves-Rockies series opener calls for temps in the 30s and showers, which could turn to more snow.
The good news for the Braves: Even if we have a rain- or snow-out, there’s still a very good chance they will face Mark Redman in this series.
Yes, that Mark Redman.
In case you missed it, the lefty who was released by the Braves (and by the Rangers, and the Blue Jays) last season ended up with the Rockies and actually won a couple of games for them during their amazing September playoff drive.
So they brought him back. And since the Braves face Colorado the second week of the season, it means they get to hit against Redman before he’s released by the Rockies (that wasn’t fair, I know).
He’s scheduled to face Chuck James Wednesday in the third game of the four-game series. Chuck will be making his first start coming off the DL, after pitching in one Grapefruit League games and a couple of sim games in spring training and six simulated innings last week at Class A Rome.
And making that first start at Coors, no less. Yikes.
Oh, well, Chuck probably couldn’t have handpicked a better opposing pitcher under the circumstances. Since July 30, 2006, Redman is 6-10 with a 7.07 ERA and .334 opponents’ average in 24 major league games (21 starts), with 159 hits, 45 walks and 62 strikeouts in 112 innings. He has four quality starts in that span.
Speaking of sure things…. If you were surprised John Smoltz was able to come off the DL and match Johan Santana pitch-for-pitch (for five innings) on Sunday, well, you probably shouldn’t have been.
For one thing, it was a big game, at least relatively speaking. Smoltz loves big games.
Secondly, it was Turner Field. Smoltz loves pitching there and thrives with the home crowd behind him.
Not that he’s a slouch on the road. Whatever the venue, Smoltz remains a legit No. 1-caliber starting pitcher, albeit one who’s going to go six or seven innings most nights instead of his previous eight or nine.
But at Turner Field? Chances are good you’re going to see a special performance from Smoltz any time he walks to the mound.
Consider that since he returned to the starting rotation in 2005, Smoltz is 27-13 with a 2.76 ERA in 52 starts at the home ‘yard, and the Braves are 36-16 in those games.
In his last 20 home starts, Smoltz is 12-5 with a stingy 2.00 ERA and .224 opponents’ average, with 129 strikeouts in 134-2/3 innings. In the five losses, the Braves scored no runs while he was in three games, and one run in two.
Before the knot in his shoulder led to his five-inning exit Sunday, Smoltz had 16 quality starts in his last 19 home games (a quality start is defined as six innings or more, with three earned runs or fewer).
Humidor Man gets ring: While the Rockies were being swept by the Diamondbacks during the weekend, they took time to unveil their NL championship pennant and distribute rings to Colorado players and other select team employees.
Among the others receiving rings (kind of like others receiving votes in a poll) was Tony Cowell, described in the Denver Post as “the pioneer of the Coors Field humidor.”
By the way, the D-backs outscored the Rockies 20-5 in the series. The Rockies are 1-5, and their .209 team batting average includes 5-for-50 with runners in scoring position. They’ve been outscored 40-10 for the season.
Something tells me that won’t last too long, though. This is a very good Colorado lineup.
Anyone still worried about Tex? Mark Teixeira had two homers and five RBI in his past four games, which gives him 19 homers and 61 RBI in 60 games for the Braves since he was traded to Atlanta on July 31.
Teixeira has a .303 average, .388 OBP and .598 slugging percentage in 234 at-bats for the Braves.
By the way, he’s hit .360 with three homers and six RBI in six games against the Rockies. His only visit to Coors Field was in June 2006 with the Rangers, when he homered in each of his first two games and finished the three-game series 6-for-13 with four extra-base hits and five RBI.
Quick hits: The surge goes unabated for Chipper Jones, who has hit .353 with 58 doubles, 6 triples, 49 homers, 159 RBI and a 1.084 OPS in 191 games since June 24, 2006. On the road in that period, he’s hit .368 with 64 extra-base hits in 93 games, with a .463 OBP and a .694 slugging percentage…. Peter Moylan and Will Ohman are tied for the NL lead with five relief appearances apiece before today… Rockies 1B Todd Helton has hit .351 with 17 doubles, 5 homers, 31 RBI and a .463 OBP in 50 games against the Braves this century. He hasn’t homered against them since hitting five during the 2000-01 seasons, but Helton has hit .371 with 11 doubles and an amazing .524 OBP (25 walks) in his last 22 games against the Braves.
”POCATELLO” by James McMurtry
Picked you up in Pocatello
In some truck stop parking lot
Out beside that burned up Volvo
With the smoking engine shot
And you just left that Volvo lying
You never gave it half a thought
Faithless, fine, and gone
You said you came from Randolph
Up across the Wasatch Range
You kept talking clear to Salt Lake
Liked to drove us all insane
But now I’m flying down
That four lane highway screaming out your name
Faithless, fine, and gone
Batten down the hatches I can hear my grandma say
Boy you like to play with matches
Gonna burn yourself someday
I’m gonna haul on back to Denver
Just as soon as I get through
And I’m burnt down to smoldering embers
But I guess I can make do
And now I hear some guy that used to
Manage some band I never heard of
Is trying to manage you
Faithless, fine, and gone
