Getting Close

Only 35 days until Spring Training, according to the website. At this time last year there were far more questions than answers for the Rox. Probably the most significant area of uncertainty last year was the bullpen. After attempts by DD to acquire veteran arms were unsuccessful, the alternate formula was to take the best of a large pool of young, untested pitchers, termed the "spaghetti approach" over at Bad Altitude. The results were unpleasant, with seven blown saves and seven losses by the bullpen in April. A mixture of veterans and youngsters should make April a little easier to watch this season. In my opinion, catcher and centerfield continue to be concerns with Ardoin and Sullivan slated as probable starters, respectively. Hitting is not the most important element of a catcher's game, but you still need to hit some. Otherwise it's almost like having two pitchers in your lineup. As far as Sullivan goes, it all depends on which guy comes to play. The one we saw most of the 2005 season, or the guy who played pretty much everyday towards the end of the season and hit like crazy.

It all makes sense now. The Denver Post is reporting today that Helton injured his back during Spring Training 2005 and played in pain most of the season. This is the first time his injury has been mentioned, that I have seen, and it explains his drop in power and rbi's.

The DP also reports that former Cherry Creek High School star Darnell McDonald, originally drafted by Baltimore, has signed a minor-league contract with Tampa Bay. McDonald also played tailback for the Bruins football team and passed up a scholarship to Texas to play baseball and football to sign with the Orioles. How dominating was Cherry Creek while McDonald played? In his four years on the football team and four years on the baseball team, Cherry Creek won four state football championships and four state baseball championships.

My friend Scot invited me to the Avs game Monday night. I know, Scot is my baseball buddy, but for one night, at least, he was my hockey buddy too. And yes, we did talk about baseball. As we were on the train heading to the game I mentioned that Vernand Morency started at running back for the Houston Texans the last game of the season and that made two Rox draft picks that had started an NFL game. That started us thinking about other players who were drafted by MLB teams that had started an NFL game. Off the top of our heads and without doing much research, here's who we came up with. John Elway(Yankees), Deion Sanders(Royals, Yankees), Bo Jackson(Yankees, Angels, Royals), Brian Jordan(Indians, Cardinals), Michael Vick(Rockies) and Vernand Morency(Rockies). Can you think of any others?

As far as the Avs go, they beat the Blues 6-1, making their cumulative score in games I have been to 14-3. Sounds kind of like a score at Coors Field. The Avs won Wednesday to take their win streak to six games.

I'm waiting for my Ryne Duren autographed baseball to arrive in the mail. If you are wondering who Ryne Duren is and his significance, go to the articles section of the website and read the article about him, or read my History of Baseball In Denver, Part III archived post.

Welcome to new Rox blogger Drew Beinhoff at Baseball With An Altitude.

I have added a new feature to the website called Team News. This is a collection of news and blogs for each MLB team, updated regularly.

Interestingly enough, the biggest MLB news lately hasn't been about who's going or coming, but about who's staying, as both Miguel Tejada and Manny Ramirez have decided they can handle staying where they are, Baltimore and Boston, respectively.

Until next time, Go Rockies!