Your Line Up for 2007

[Old Sweater]

My projected starters and batting order.

cf Willy Taveras
2b Jamey Carroll
3b Garret Atkins
1bTodd Helton
lf Matt Holliday
rf Brad Hawpe
ss Troy Tulowitzki
c Yorvit Torrealba

Pitching
1 Aaron Cook
2 Jeff Francis
3 Rodrigo Lopez ( acquired from Orioles)
4 Jason Hirsh
5 Jason Fogg

[jwkfs]

I think you might see Helton and Holliday flip depending on how Helton does at the beginning of this year.

Also look for Hawpe to platoon with a Righty, although I think he should get a chance to bat more against left handers.

It's also going to be interesting to see what happens to all the catchers the Rockies have ... Torrealba, Ianetta, Closser, Ardoin... It looks like they're partial to Torrealba and Ianetta, but I'd like to see some more of JD Closser if Ianetta struggles.

[Old Sweater]

I think you might see Helton and Holliday flip depending on how Helton does at the beginning of this year.

Also look for Hawpe to platoon with a Righty, although I think he should get a chance to bat more against left handers.

It's also going to be interesting to see what happens to all the catchers the Rockies have ... Torrealba, Ianetta, Closser, Ardoin... It looks like they're partial to Torrealba and Ianetta, but I'd like to see some more of JD Closser if Ianetta struggles.

Yeah I can see the flip flop of Helton and Holliday and Matsui is probably going to play a lot of 2nd. I think Baker is also going to get his share of playing the outfield.

No worries about Closser though.

• Oct. 13: C JD Closser lost on waivers to Milwaukee.

[jwkfs]

Guess I missed that ;) . Hopefully he'll get a chance to play there -- I thought he looked like he was showing some good improvement.

[rockiesfan4ever]

CF Willy Taveras
2B Kaz Matsui
3B Garret Atkins
LF Matt Holliday
1B Todd Helton
RF Brad Hawpe/ Jeff Baker
SS Troy Tulowitzki/ Clint Barmes
C Chris Iannetta/ Yorvit Torrealba

Pitching
1 Aaron Cook
2 Jeff Francis
3 Brian Lawrence- If his sholder is fine/ Josh Fogg
4 Josh Fogg/ Byung-Hyun Kim
5 Byung-Hyun Kim/Taylor Buccholz/Jason Hirsh/Rodrigo Lopez/ Jeremy Affeldt/Denny Bautista

[CarlCaranskiShift]

What I don't get is why Carroll and Barmes have become platoon players. Carroll was great last year, Barmes is obviously capable of good things. It seems like the Rockies sometimes have ridiculous amounts of patience with players that are obviously not improving, and have no patience with numerous promising players. Go figure?

[Old Sweater]

What I don't get is why Carroll and Barmes have become platoon players. Carroll was great last year, Barmes is obviously capable of good things. It seems like the Rockies sometimes have ridiculous amounts of patience with players that are obviously not improving, and have no patience with numerous promising players. Go figure?

I think that if Carroll has a better spring then Matsui he very well could get the job at 2nd. Barmes has been working hard on his batting I read in the off season to correct lunging at everything and being so far in front of every pitch. It's going to be very interesting to see who the starting 8 position players are going to be this year.

PS/ That is quite the #5 starter you picked out there RockiesFan4 Ever.........lol

[jwkfs]

Just thinking about this makes the Javy Lopez signing a little strange. He obviously won't play at 1B unless Helton gets hurt, and maybe not even then. Is Javy the 3rd string catcher behind Torrealba and Ianetta? Or was he brought in to be a number 2 in case Ianetta needs more time in the minors?

[Old Sweater]

Just thinking about this makes the Javy Lopez signing a little strange. He obviously won't play at 1B unless Helton gets hurt, and maybe not even then. Is Javy the 3rd string catcher behind Torrealba and Ianetta? Or was he brought in to be a number 2 in case Ianetta needs more time in the minors?

I'd say just insurance for Ianetta. That and the Rockies hope Javy can start hitting like he use to.

[CarlCaranskiShift]

I saw in the paper this morning that Barmes and Sullivan are being sent down, that answers those questions in part. I always feel bad for guys in that part of their career. Sure, they'll still make hundreds of thousands to play baseball and have a chance to come back, but in most cases it's the beginning of the end. We've all been through it, being told that are playing days are ending, that you're not good enough. Whether it's little league, High school, college or pro, it's a big blow to a guy. I still consider the day in high school when I found out it was all over to be one of the worst of my life. Come to think of it, if that's one of your worst experiences, you've had a pretty good life.

[Zito75]

I was reading somewhere yesterday and saw that Carroll was listed as the started over Kaz at 2B. I was somewhat surprised by that, but after watching Carroll this Spring, he seemed to put more effort into his game. (ie, hustling on all plays, staying late to take grounders, and even saw him play in a couple AA games) Kaz's defense looked great too, however his hitting is suspect. Lastly, Mabry and Finley were offered contracts a day or 2 ago, so expect to see them in the mix.