Mile High sabermetrics - A Rockies Dynasty

[bombboy85]

Free Agency filing update
November 27th, 2015

Before we get into how the Rockies handled their available players before free agents filed lets look at the Award winners around the bigs.

NL Gold Gloves
P - Henderson Alvarez (Philadelphia Phillies)
C - Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
1B - Ike Davis (New York Mets)
2B - Chase Utley (Los Angeles Dodgers)
SS - Starlin Castro (Chicago Cubs)
3B - Jedd Gyorko (San Diego Padres)
LF - Colling Cowgill (New York Mets)
CF - BJ Upton (Atlanta Braves)
RF - Marcell Ozuna (New York Mets)

AL Gold Gloves
P - Garrett Richards (Los Angeles Angels)
C - Ryan Hanigan (Chicago White Sox)
1B - Mark Texeira (New York Yankees)
2B - Dustin Pedroia (Boston Red Sox)
SS - Francisco Lindor (Cleveland Indians)
3B - Matt Dominguez (Houston Astros)
LF - Andy Dirks (Detroit Tigers)
CF - Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
RF - George Springer (Houston Astros)

NL Rookie of the Year - CF Jose Soto - Colorado Rockies
AL Rookie of the Year - RF Kole Calhoun - Los Angeles Angels

NL Manager of the Year - Walt Weiss - Colorado Rockies
AL Manager of the Year - Mike Scioscia - Los Angeles Angels

NL Cy Young - Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young - Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners

N MVP - 1B Anthony Rizzo - Colorado Rockies
AL MVP - CF Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels

The Rockies as you can see took home 3 awards this season, first up was CF Jose Soto who took home the Rookie of the Year award which is incredible if you remember he was just drafted last year! The youngster finished the season with a .300 average and a .377 on base percentage out of the leadoff spot. He finished with 80 RBI's, 37 Stolen Bases which was good for 3rd in the league and he led the major leagues with 115 runs scored.

With the payroll the team had this season and having the second best record in the big leagues this season manager Walt Weiss was a no brainer for manager of the year. Even so, Weiss seemed less than thrilled. "I don't give a damn about the award," he growled to reports, "I just want this team to win championships!" (games quote not mine lol) so we can see what motivated this team to perform so well this year.

The last award to showcase was midseason acquisition 1B Anthony Rizzo who came over in a trade for SP Justin Masterson and 3B Nolan Arenado. All Rizzo did was play 159 games hitting .347 (won the NL batting title) with 43 Home Runs and 131 RBI's and finished 4 runs behind rookie teammate Soto with 111 runs scored.

Team Off Season Notes
- The Rockies won the arbitration case for 3B Jordan Pacheco who will get a 1 year contract worth $850,000.
- The team lost the hearing with SP Jose Fernandez who receives a 1 year deal worth $5,437,500
- RP Joe Ortiz (83.1 IP 2.59 ERA) instead of arbitration this season the 25 year old signed a 4 year extension worth $2,610,000 per season.
- RP Sean Burnett was set to be a free agent but instead signed an intriguing extension. He is 33 years old and pitched 84.1 innings with a 2.45 ERA last season. He made $4.5 million last season but signed a 4 year deal worth $2.6 million the first season which increases to $4.2 million in year 2, $5.8 million in year 3 and a team option 4th year worth $7.4 million. Just hours after signing the deal the team found out that Burnett failed a league issued drug test and is suspended for 10 games.
- In a no brainer the Rockies skipped arbitration with 1B Anthony Rizzo and signed him to a 5 year extension worth $51,100,000 over the life of the deal.

[Scottiedog]

Awesome season....congrats man. I hope you can keep this team together. The only sad thing is Helton wasn't there to celebrate.

[bombboy85]

Originally Posted by Scottiedog

Awesome season....congrats man. I hope you can keep this team together. The only sad thing is Helton wasn't there to celebrate.

ya according to the game he is making a run for a Senate office lol

[bombboy85]

Offseason Review
March 1st, 2016

It was a very very quiet offseason for the Rockies after signing a few players to extensions but what would you expect with a team that just won the World Series and really doesn't have much in the way of holes. They did sign 2 free agents however to add options to their bullpen.

- RP Brandon League signed a 1 year deal with the Rockies worth $1.1 million. League is 32 years old and a veteran starter who pitched 74.2 innings last season for the Dodgers with a 3.86 ERA. League owns a career ERA of 3.80

- International Free Agent Wu-Sheng Mar signed a 3 year deal with the Rockies for $750,000 per season. Mar is 29 years old out of Taiwan and could have been a starter but he has only 2 pitches but man are they good he throws a fastball that can reach 98 mph and a Curveball that will freeze hitters.

We head into spring training excited to see how the Rockies youngsters improve.

[Scottiedog]

I could see Helton winning if he ran. He's pretty well loved in Colorado....from what I've seen.

[bombboy85]

Let the Season Begin
April 1st, 2016

Spring Record - W - 11 / L - 11

While it was not a great spring as we may have expected manager Walt Weiss focused on giving every player plenty of playing time to evaluate who would start at each position, while many were set in stone some players surprised and may have earned a starting spot. An example is it looks like last years utility infielder Rosell Herrera might have somehow earned himself a spot on the starting 9 with a fantastic spring hitting .328/.406/.541 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in 61 AB and while Wilmer Flores was fantastic last year he is a bit of a liability in the field with a -3.0 RF in the field last season. Let's take a look at the expected starting rosters.

Starters
C - Wilin Rosario
1B - Anthony Rizzo
2B - Marco Hernandez
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B - Rosell Herrera
LF - Carlos Gonzalez
CF - Jose Soto
RF - Jorge Soler

Bench
1B - Ryan Wheeler
IF - Wilmer Flores
IF/C - Jordan Pacheco
OF - Jorge Soler
OF - Tim Wheeler

Rotation
LHP Ryan Verdugo
RHP Jose Fernandez
RHP Brandon Beachy
LHP Drew Pomeranz
RHP Kevin Gausman

Bullpen
RHP Jhan Marinez
RHP Chris Withrow
RHP Brandon League
LHP Sean Burnett
LHP Thomas Keeling
LHP Joe Ortiz
LHP Rex Brothers

Consensus Season Prediction - 90-66

[bombboy85]

Ridiculous just ridiculous
May 1st, 2016

W - 15 / L - 8 / 3 game lead

The Colorado Rockies were ridiculous in a great way in the first month of the season. We knew the Rockies could hit there was no question but through the first month the team's offense has a team batting average of .302!! and hit 37 Home runs as a team. Several players could have been selected as a top performer like LF Carlos Gonzalez who hit an insane .397/.457/.698 with 4 HR 10 RBI or rookie of the month 3B Rosell Herrera who it looks like was a good decision to start at 3rd hitting .351/.420/.636 with 5 HR 19 RBI and even 2B Marco Hernandez hit .398/.456/.495. You will have to see below who got it due to being selected the NL hitter of the month.

Top Team Performances

MLB Hitter - SS Troy Tulowitzki - .325/.406/.625 7 HR 17 RBI
MLB Pitcher - Closer Rex Brothers - 8/8 Saves 1.54 ERA 0.94 WHIP

AAA Hitter - RF Kyle Parker - .321/.430/.654 8 HR 17 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP Heath Hembree - 14.1 IP 3.14 ERA 0.70 WHIP

AA Hitter - LF Dillon Thomas - .315/.406/.537 3 HR 15 RBI
AA Pitcher - RP Benjamin Hughes - 24.2 IP 2.92 ERA 1.26 WHIP

[bombboy85]

Tulo Tulo Tulo
June 1st, 2016

W - 32 / L - 19 / 5.5 Game Lead

It was another fantastic month for the Rockies as they went 17-11 led by team captain Troy Tulowitzki who is having a monster season. Tulowitzki ranks 3rd in the NL in batting average at .333, 2nd in home runs with 16 and tied with teammate Rosell Herrera for the league lead in RBI's at 43. He tops the league in OPS at 1.040, wOBA (.431) and WAR at 2.3. Tulo who is approaching his 32nd birthday and has always been considered a perennial all star and MVP candidate may be finally having the season that could net him MVP... if his teammates don't get in the way. Since Todd Helton retired from the team at the end of the 2014 season Tulo has become the leader of this team and the face of the franchise and is playing like a player determined to make it to another World Series, it seems that first ring last season just fueled his fire and made him hunger for more.

Injury Notes
- Backup infielder Wilmer Flores was put on the DL for 6 weeks with a sprained elbow and is expected back in a few weeks.

Top Team Performances

MLB Hitter - SS Troy Tulowitzki - .340/.405/.641 9 HR 26 RBI
MLB Pitcher - RP Joe Ortiz - 17.0 IP 0.53 ERA 0.41 WHIP

AAA Hitter - LF Charlie Blackmon - .368/.403/.521 3 HR 13 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP Wu-Sheng Mar - 16.1 IP 2.76 ERA 1.29 WHIP

AA Hitter - C Will Swanner - .293/.353/.663 10 HR 23 RBI
AA Pitcher - RP Stefan Chrichton - 15.1 IP 0.59 ERA 0.65 WHIP

[bombboy85]

2016 First Year Player Draft
June 6th, 2016

Round 1 - SP Bill "Big Red" Scott is 18 years old out of Loving High School in New Mexico. He is very raw still but grew up in Belgium, Wisconsin as a farm hand learning how to work hard and throw hard, it will remain to be seen where he fits in the big leagues either as a starter or reliever as his stamina is borderline for a starter. His last season he went 7-0 with a 0.34 ERA.

Round 2 - SS Matt Clark is 22 years old out of College in Santa Clara, CA. He is a shortstop by trade but plays very well at all infield positions. He is known for his fantastic glove and fielding skill and is a decent hitter as he hit .295/.386/.470 with 8 HR and 47 RBI in 55 games this year.

Round 3 - RP Rafael "Big Stud" Aviles continued the trend of "big" nicknames as he was drafted in the 3rd round. He is 20 years old and plays college ball at the University of Texas where he was 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA. He only has 2 pitches that are really good pitches so they profile him strictly as a reliever.

Round 4 - SP Brandon Wallace is a 21 year old player out of Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. Some feel that the Rockies reached on this pick but it's his work ethic that sold the Rockies scouts on this pick. He was 6-2 this season with a 2.84 ERA.

Round 5 - CF Steve Boesch was chosen out of Mississippi State and can play any position on the field except maybe catcher but who knows. He hit .298/.351/.479 with 8 HR and 38 RBI in 41 games this season.

[bombboy85]

Mid Summer Classic
June 1st, 2016

W - 49 / L - 25 / 10.5 Game Lead

The Rockies went 17-6 in June to widen the gap in the NL West and got a well deserved break at the all-star game where fans got to watch many of their Rockies play. The Rockies sent 6 players to the All-Star game this year including the 3 of the 4 infield positions:

SP Jose Fernandez - 8-2 2.61 ERA
Closer Rex Brothers - 19 Saves 3.41 ERA
2B Marco Hernandez - .343/.414/.478 6 HR 21 RBI
SS Troy Tulowitzki - .313/.381/.571 18 HR 54 RBI
3B Rosell Herrera - .328/.385/.568 14 HR 54 RBI
RF Jorge Soler - .332/.368/.612 16 HR 49 RBI

Jose Fernandez started the game for the National League and Rosell Herrera started at 3B. The other players ended up filling in off the bench.

Top Team Performances

MLB Hitter - RF Jorge Soler - .370/.410/.740 7 HR 23 RBI
MLB Pitcher - SP Jose Fernandez - 3-0 1.35 ERA 0.83 WHIP

AAA Hitter - 3B Cavan Biggio - .304/.324/.522 2 HR 6 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP Edgmer Escalona - 13.2 IP 1.98 ERA 1.17 WHIP

AA Hitter - 3B CJ Gillman - .274/.318/.548 4 HR 8 RBI
AA Pitcher - RP Bruce Kern - 12.1 IP 2.92 ERA 1.05 WHIP

[bombboy85]

Best in the bigs
August 1st, 2016

W - 65 / L - 35 / 13.5 Game Lead

The Rockies just continue to win as they went 16-10 in the month of July although it was nerve racking for a little while. The Rockies farm system is stacked toward the bottom but at the AAA level they do not have any major league ready pitchers so when SP Drew Pomeranz went down for 4 weeks with elbow inflammation they drew a collective breath. Instead of a weak spot in the rotation the Rockies promoted 26 year old SP Will Bateman who was the Rockies first round pick in 2013 but has tailed off on his abilities but he showed he could handle it as in 3 starts he went 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Also promoted to replace the demoted Jhan Marinez who has a 6+ ERA this season was RP Jose Suarez the Rockies 2nd round pick in 2015. Suarez had pitched 18 innings in AAA with a 2.95 ERA.

Top Team Performances

MLB Hitter - LF Carlos Gonzalez - .333/.422/.625 5 HR 13 RBI
MLB Pitcher - RP Brandon League - 12.2 IP 0.00 ERA 0.63 WHIP

AAA Hitter - 3B Cavan Biggio - .349/.391/.605 2 HR 4 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP William Rankin - 21.2 IP 0.83 ERA 1.02 WHIP

AA Hitter - RF Carl Thomore - .283/.343/.478 3 HR 15 RBI
AA Pitcher - SP Benjamin Hughes - 5-0 2.16 ERA 0.98 WHIP

[bombboy85]

Injury Bug hits
September 1st, 2016

W - 83 / L - 46 / 15 Game Lead

The Rockies finished the month of August with an 18-11 record but had a number of injuries luckily most short term. Currently the Rockies have LF Carlos Gonzalez, SS Troy Tulowitzki out for a couple weeks each. Worse though was SP Drew Pomeranz who tore his labrum putting him out for 5 months. SP Will Bateman was once a again promoted to take his spot. Luckily for them the rosters expanded to 40 players today to allow some rest to their starters coming up to the playoffs. The Rockies magic # is 25 games.

Top Team Performances

MLB Hitter - RF Jorge Soler - .325/.342/.719 11 HR 24 RBI
MLB Pitcher - Closer Rex Brothers - 6 Saves 0.71 ERA 1.42 WHIP

AAA Hitter - 1B Ben Paulsen - .302/.326/.523 5 HR 15 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP Wu-sheng Mar - 16.1 IP 0.55 ERA 0.61 WHIP

AA Hitter - 1B Correlle Prime - .357/.419/.440 0 HR 12 RBI
AA Pitcher - SP Bryant Reed - 1-1 3.0 ERA 1.58 WHIP

[bombboy85]

Back to Back?
October 6th, 2016

W - 100 / L - 56

The Rockies finished the season strong going 17-10 in the final month to claim the top record in the majors and their chance to repeat as world champions. Now is the time as they have a number of their young players facing arbitration this season and may not be able to sign all of them and with the All-star studded team they have this year it is the best time to do it.

Before we look at the stats for the regular season the Rockies extended the contract of manager Walt Weiss for 4 more years.

Starters
C Wilin Rosario - 137 Games .254/.296/.436 19 HR 77 RBI WAR -0.6
1B Anthony Rizzo - 156 Games .287/.367/.488 27 HR 99 RBI WAR 2.9
2B Marco Hernandez - 151 Games .318/.386/.451 16 HR 65 RBI WAR 4.6
SS Troy Tulowitzki - 141 Games .304/.378/.570 38 HR 111 RBI WAR 4.7
3B Rosell Herrera - 152 Games .313/.360/.554 31 HR 114 RBI WAR 4.4
LF Carlos Gonzalez - 113 Games .305/.373/.481 12 HR 46 RBI WAR 2.9
CF Jose Soto - 138 Games .276/.348/.412 9 HR 44 RBI WAR 3.2
RF Jorge Soler - 140 Games .322/.355/.616 38 HR 114 RBI WAR 5.2

Bench (minimum 30 games)
IF Ryan Wheeler - .302/.422/.396 1 HR 9 RBI
IF Jordan Pacheco - .310/.345/.496 3 HR 20 RBI
IF Wilmer Flores - .370/.381/.748 13 HR 40 RBI
OF Tim Wheeler - .252/.337/.423 13 HR 48 RBI
OF Corey Dickerson - .303/.351/.459 9 HR 38 RBI

Rotation
Ryan Verdugo - 19-9 / 4.67 ERA / 1.30 WHIP / 194.2 IP / 39 BB / 228 K
Jose Fernandez - 17-5 / 3.09 ERA / 1.13 WHIP / 218.2 IP / 38 BB / 167 K
Brandon Beachy - 11-16 / 4.59 ERA / 1.41 WHIP / 198.0 IP / 73 BB / 170 K
Kevin Gausman - 14-8 / 3.87 ERA / 1.16 WHIP / 183.2 IP / 41 BB / 162 K
Drew Pomeranz - 6-4 / 4.54 ERA / 1.39 WHIP / 109.0 IP / 29 BB / 101 K

Bullpen minimum 30 innings
Chris Withrow - 51.0 IP / 3.71 ERA / 1.35 WHIP / 21 BB / 41 K
Sean BUrnett - 58.1 IP / 2.78 ERA / 1.18 WHIP / 19 BB / 53 K
Brandon League - 56.1 IP / 2.88 ERA / 1.47 WHIP / 20 BB / 61 K
Thomas Keeling - 89.1 IP / 4.03 ERA / 1.22 WHIP / 20 BB / 120 K
Joe Ortiz - 69.1 IP / 2.08 ERA / 0.88 WHIP / 13 BB / 69 K
Rex Brothers - 38 Saves / 72.1 IP / 2.49 ERA / 1.08 WHIP / 23 BB / 99 K


National League Playoff Teams
Colorado Rockies - 100-56
Washington Nationals - 95-61
Chicago Cubs - 87-72
Miami Marlins - 82-78 (wild card)
San Francisco Giants - 81-75 (wild card)

American League Playoff Teams
Texas Rangers - 88-68
Boston Red Sox - 88-68
New York Yankees - 86-70 (wild card)
Chicago White Sox - 85-71
Los Angeles Angels - 85-72 (wild card)

[bombboy85]

Divisional Series - Rockies vs. Marlins



Game 1 - Colorado wins 5-4

With the best record in the NL the Rockies had home field advantage as the Marlins came to Coors Field but the downside to that is that with them came Giancarlo Stanton who is having an MVP caliber season as he hit .285/.379/.574 with 46 HR and 119 RBI and has a history of clobbering balls at Coors. The Rockies starter for game 1 was former Marlin Jose Fernandez who managed to keep Stanton at bay forcing him into an 0-5 night with 3 strikeouts. It was the Marlins that got out to an early lead with a run in the top of the first and they added 1 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to go up 4-0. The Rockies answered though with 4 in the 6th with a pair of 2 run doubles in the inning. The teams stayed even until the 9th when before a raucous home crowd Carlos Gonzalez started the inning with a single off Koji Uehara. Rosario and Dickerson both followed with singles but Cargo held at 3rd and the bases were loaded with 2 outs. The rally was almost killed as Jose Soto sturck out and Marco Hernandez grounded into a fielders choice that nailed Cargo at home. Jorge Soler came through with 2 outs though and hit the first pitch he saw into right for the game winning hit.

Game 2 - Miami wins - 11-1

This game was actually a pitcher's duel early on as the Rockies led 1-0 after 5 innings of play. Then came the top of the 6th when Rockies pitchers gave up a total of 3 walks in the inning plus 5 hits, 4 of them for extra bases as the Rockies gave up 7 runs in the inning. The Marlins would go on to score 2 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th.

Game 3 - Colorado wins - 6-5

It was a back and forth game early as the Rockies started the game with 2 runs in the first as Troy Tulowitzki hit a 2 run double. SP Brandon Beachy would give up 1 in the bottom half before giving up 4 runs in the second to put the Marlins up 5-2. The Rockies were able to answer in the 3rd as Tulowitzki hit a 2 run home run on a 3-2 count with 2 outs. The Rockies tied it in the 6th with a solo home run from Jorge Soler and took the lead in the 9th inning with a lead off home run from Corey Dickerson in the 9th.

Game 4 - Colorado wins - 6-2

Game 4 was not as much of a tight game as the other Rockies wins as they went up 4-2 after 5 innings including another 2 run home run for Tulo. SP Ryan Verdugo who wilted in the playoffs last season performed well in this game going 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits before letting Joe Ortiz take over. Ortiz was fantastic as he pitched 2 scoreless innings without giving up a hit to send the Rockies to the NLCS.

[bombboy85]

National League Championship - Rockies vs. Cubs



Game 1 - Colorado wins - 11-3

For the second straight year the Rockies would have to face the Cubbies in the NLCS for the chance to go to the World Series. Would the curse still hold up for the Cubs? In game 1 the Rockies made quick work of Chicago pitching as the Cubs used 5 pitchers in all and their starter Arodys Vizcaino lasting just 4 innings giving up 6 runs. After Vizcaino left the Rockies really feasted on the bullpen scoring 8 runs between the 5th and 6th innings going up 11-3 for good and taking a 1 game lead at home.

Game 2 - Colorado wins - 11-9

The Rockies offense was once again clicking at home but this time the Cubs made it more interesting as they got to starter Kevin Gausman often and early chasing him after 5 and scoring 6 runs against him. The Rockies did one better though chasing former Rockie Justin Masterson after 3 innings and scoring 5 runs. 1B Anthony Rizzo hit a solo home run off the team that traded him to Colorado, the Rockies also got jacks from Cargo and Jose Soto. The defense is what really kept them ahead in this game as they turned 4 double plays in the game.

Game 3 - Chicago wins - 4-0

As the series shifted to Wrigley Field in Chicago the Cubs took the opportunity to try to gain some momentum. Starting Pitcher Kyle Hendricks was great going 7.2 innings giving up no runs and 9 hits while striking out 7 and issuing zero walks.

Game 4 - Colorado wins 5-1

The Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Verdugo showed again in this start he was ready for the playoff pressure, much more so than last year. Verdugo pitched 7 innings, struck out 7 and gave up just 1 hit in the game. 1B Anthony Rizzo hit hit second home run of the series in the 5th and SS Troy Tulowitzki hit his 4th of the playoffs making it back to back jacks in the 5th.

Game 5 - Chicago wins - 7-3

With a chance to put the series away and head to the World Series the Rockies could not do it as the Cubs scored 4 in the second inning off of Jose Fernandez and forcing him out of the game just before the 3rd inning. Will Bateman who started during the regular season came in as a long reliever and combined with Brandon League to limit the Cubs to 1 more run the rest of the way but that was all they needed as Arodys Vizcaino was much better this time around giving up just 1 run in 7 innings.

Game 6 - Colorado wins - 3-1

The Rockies handed the ball to second year pitcher and local boy Kevin Gausman for game 6 at home and he delivered pitching 7.1 innings and giving up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 7. The Rockies strung together a number of singles as they got 10 hits but just 1 for extra bases to score their 3 runs.

The Rockies will head to the World Series once again to defend their title against the Texas Rangers who swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.

[bombboy85]

World Series 2016 - Rockies Vs Rangers



Game 1 - Texas wins 4-3

In game 1 of the big show the Rangers got to SP Brandon Beachy early scoring 2 in the 2nd inning and the 3rd inning to go up 4-0. Like many other teams in the playoffs so far the Rockies could not figure out SP Neftali Feliz who pitched 6 scoreless innings to lower his playoff ERA this season to 0.68. They were able to make some ground up against RP Derek Holland as Jorge Soler hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 7th inning to bring the game to 4-3 but that was all they could get as they could not get any base runners the rest of the way.

Game 2 - Colorado wins 4-0

The Rockies handed the ball to SP Jose Fernandez for game 2 of the series and he responded by pitching 8 scoreless innings and gave up just 4 hits before former Texas Ranger Joe Ortiz came on and got the side in order in the 9th for the win.

Game 3 - Texas wins 6-0

As the game moved to Arlington for game 3 the Rockies hitters were once again shut down this time by SP Martin Perez who gave up just 6 hits over inning and K'ed 9. The Rangers took the easy win in game 3 to go up 2 games to 1.

Game 4 - Colorado wins 8-0

This world series has been a back forth see saw of one pitcher dominating the other team as the Rockies SP Brandon Beachy turned in a complete game shutout giving up just 4 hits throughout. The offense came alive in Texas recording 10 hits including a team leading 3 hits by Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo also scored 3 runs in the game including back to back Home Runs with Rosell Herrera.

Game 5 - Texas wins 8-3

Game 5 featured the first time since game 1 that both teams scored in the game as the Rangers went up early 5-0 after the 3rd inning. SP Ryan Verdugo would last one more inning and give up 1 more run before relinquishing the ball to the bullpen. Meanwhile it was Neftali Feliz on the mound again this time but at least the Rockies were able to get to him for 3 runs and force his playoff ERA up over 1.30. With the Rockies on the brink of losing this World Series they headed back to Colorado hoping for some Coors Field Magic.

Game 6 - Colorado wins 9-3

The Rockies showed tenacity in this game as they were not ready to give up just yet as they jumped all over SP Kyle Castro chasing him out after 2 innings and 7 runs scored. Wilin Rosario played a big part in that having 2 HR and 4 RBI after just 3 innings. Rocktober was in full swing this night and with the series tied at 3 a piece a game 7 in Colorado will decide the winner.

Game 7 - Colorado wins 6-4

Much like last year this game 7 was a game for the ages as after 4 innings the game was knotted at 2 a piece. The Rockies were able to go up 3-2 in the 5th thanks to a Jorge Soler home run but quickly lost that lead in the top of the 7th as LF Jared Hoying hit a 2 run blast to give Texas a 4-3 lead. The Rockies came right back in the bottom of the inning as RP Justin De Fratus gave up a single to CF Jose Soto on the first pitch of the inning and 2B Marco Hernandez hit a 2 run home run on the second pitch of the inning. The Rockies would get a couple of base runners on and score 1 more on a Rosell Herrera double to take a 6-4 lead. RP Rex Brothers came on in the top of 9th and struck out the side to give the Rockies the Championship.


Shortly after the game the Rockies got a call from the President of the United States letting the team know he would like them to visit. Rockies manager Walt Weiss never known to mince his words said "He told us that he wants to meet the boys that won the Series and asked if we could come to the White House. I told him, "Hell Yes...er-Yes Sir, Mr. President". The date has not been decided but surely right now the Rockies are too busy celebrating.

[bombboy85]

Offseason previews
November 5th, 2016

The Rockies are looking at a very tough offseason ahead of them with a number of decisions to make outlined below.

Abitration
SP Jose Fernandez - offer $6,825,000
SP Drew Pomeranz - offer $4,600,00
SP Ryan Verdugo - offer $5,775,000
RP Jhan Marinez - offer $1,000,000
1B Ryan Wheeler - offer $750,000
3B Jordan Pacheco - offer $950,000
LF Charlie Blackmon - offer $750,000
CF Tim Wheeler - offer $3,200,000
RF Corey Dickerson - offer $4,620,000

Free Agents
RP Brandon League - requesting 3 years @ 1.3 million per

$$ for Free Agents - $6,042,000
$$ for Extensions - None

As you can see the Rockies don't have any real wiggle room, do not be surprised to see them make a drastic move or two to create budget room for the likely to come extensions for their young players.


---- Going on vacation tomorrow so no updates till earliest next thursday.---

[Scottiedog]

Congrats on the dynasty you're starting to build. Hopefully, you can keep the core together.

[bombboy85]

Offseason update #1
January 1st, 2017

Did you get your Rosell Herrera prospect trading card? I hope so because before we get into the offseason updates for the Rockies we want to look at the league award winners, one of which was 3B Rosell Herrera capturing the Rookie of the year in the national league. Herrera had an incredible season at the plate hitting .313/.360/.551 with a .913 OPS, he also hit 31 Home Runs and knocked in 114 runs. In the field he had a .987 fielding %. Let's take a look at the other awards around the league.

National League Gold Gloves
P - Joe Wieland - San Diego Padres
C - Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
1B - Ike Davis - New York Mets
2B - Dustin Pedroia - Atlanta Braves
SS - Andrelton Simmons - Atlanta Braves
3B - Joe Leonard - Atlanta Braves
LF - Brett Jackson - Chicago Cubs
CF - Peter Bourjos - Cincinnati Reds
RF - Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins

American League Gold Gloves
P - Andrew Cashner - Baltimore Orioles
C - Jason Castro - Houston Astros
1B - Mark Texeira - New York Yankees
2B - Ben Zobrist - Tampa Bay Rays
SS - Francisco Lindor - Cleveland Indians
3B - Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays
LF - Josh Hamilton - Los Angeles Angels
CF - Albert Almora - New York Yankees
RF - Ryan Boldt - Minnesota Twins

NL Rookie of the Year - 3B Rosell Herrera - Colorado Rockies
AL Rookie of the Year - 2B Odubel Herrera - Texas Rangers

NL Manager of the Year - Walt Weiss - Colorado Rockies
AL Manager of the Year - Wally Joyner - Texas Rangers

NL Cy Young - Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals (now free agent)
AL Cy Young - Chris Sale - Chicago White Sox

NL MVP - RF Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
AL MVP - CF Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels

As promised here are your offseason updates for the Rockies. The team decided not to offer arbitration to CF Tim Wheeler and RP Jhan Marinez as the asking price was too high for a backup OF and RP who spent much of last season in AAA. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the Rockies on all but 2 of their arbitration cases with SP's Jose Fernandez and Ryan Verdugo winning their cases to make $7.3 million and $6.3 million respectively. The team also offered RP Brandon League arbitration but he declined opting to go into free agency.

Just a few days after the arbitration hearings the Rockies traded SP Brandon Beachy along with 2 minor league pitchers, Will Bateman and Trevor Clifton to the Houston Astros for the #22 overall prospect Catcher Stryker Trahan. With Beachy getting older and gradually on the decline the last 2 season his $9,000,000 payroll hit was something the Rockies wanted to shed to clear some budget room. Trahan is just 22 years old and climbed the ladder for the Astros last year starting the season in single A and finishing in AAA. In 48 games in AAA he hit .255/.381/.422 with 7 HR and 23 RBI.

In free agency the Rockies didn't really make any splashes but they did sign 2 pitchers. After trading Beachy the Rockies didn't really have any major league ready prospects so they were taking a gamble but in the end signed 28 year old international free agent SP Hirokazu Araki out of Japan. Also to celebrate New Years the Rockies resigned RP Brandon League out of free agency. League had a 2.88 ERA last season and the Rockies wanted to keep him but needed to make sure that they would have money to do so after arbitration.

[bombboy85]

Let the Games Begin!
April 1st, 2017

After coming off successful back to back World Series titles the Rockies had a good spring going 16-6 and getting prepared for the season opener. New offseason acquisition SP Hirokazu Araki is important to the Rockies as he filled a void they had for starting pitching, luckily he looked good this spring going 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in the 4 games he started. Also looking good was the rest of the starting rotation as Araki's ERA was 4th out of the 5 but as we all know spring training can be misleading. Let's look at the team headed back to Colorado as the final 25 man roster.

Starters
C - Wilin Rosario
1B - Anthony Rizzo
2B - Marco Hernandez
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B - Rosell Herrera
LF - Carlos Gonzalez
CF - Jose Soto
RF - Jorge Soler

Bench
Ryan Wheeler
Jordan Pacheco
Wilmer Flores
Kyle Parker
Corey Dickerson

Starting Rotation
Jose Fernandez
Ryan Verdugo
Hirokazu Araki
Kevin Gausman
Drew Pomeranz

Bullpen
Rex Brothers - Closer
Joe Ortiz
Thomas Keeling
Brandon League
Sean Burnett
Jose Suarez
Wu-Sheng Mar


Consensus Season Predictions - 101 - 55