Posts tagged FranklinMorales at FanHouse

Things to watch for in 2008 is, well, FanHouse's attempt to keep track of what's worth keeping your eye on as we roll into the 2008 season, be it good, bad, or ugly.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that every good young player in baseball was a member of the Red Sox or Yankees. All of the hemming and hawing associated with the Johan Santana trade was about how the two teams didn't want to give up Joba Chamberlain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy because of how bright a future they had ahead of them. Well, as the Mets package made clear, there are good young players on other teams. Here's a quick primer on potential Rookie of the Year winners.

Evan Longoria - It's fitting that Longoria will never play for a satanically associated club because his talent is a gift from the heavens. He's going to hit for average, power, draw walks and play sound defense that will be a cornerstone of the first Tampa team to ever reach .500, be it this year or in the next few. And no, he's not Tony Parker's brother-in-law.

Jay Bruce - The name most often associated with Bruce is Larry Walker. Since he plays for the Reds he'll be putting up those numbers at sea level, which should make him a strong candidate for awards as a rookie and well beyond.

While Clint Hurdle was steadfast in assuming all responsibility and not assigning blame for his team's poor performance in the World Series, I will go ahead and say that the layoff did hurt his team. I would not go as far as to say that the Rockies would have beaten the Red Sox in the series without a layoff, but there's no doubt that they were not the same team that reeled off 21 wins in 22 games.

In Game 1, Colorado did not fare much better than any other team against Josh Beckett. On the flip side, Jeff Francis and Franklin Morales both got bombed despite pitching well in the NLDS and NLCS. Sure, the Rox got some runs on the board in Game 3 and Game 4, thanks to home runs from Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins that brought them within one run, but Brian Fuentes only followed by allowing the Red Sox to increase their lead. The big hits from Kazuo Matsui and Yorvit Torrealba that were there earlier in the playoffs were nowhere to be seen in the World Series. Fuentes failed on the biggest stage, as did Francis, Josh Fogg, and mostly everyone in the Rockies lineup. Clint Hurdle began to panic, playing musical center fielders, and pretty much every move he made looked bad because his players didn't perform.

I don't know if the Rockies became rusty, or if they let the attention and reality sink in, but I do know that the layoff did not help them. Whatever momentum they had from sweeping to the National League pennant was lost in the layoff, while the Red Sox carried the momentum of returning from a 3-1 ALCS deficit against Cleveland. I don't think the Rockies would have beaten the Red Sox otherwise, but being off for eight days certainly did not help their case.

Actually, I think this is a bit harsh. I like Josh Fogg. I like him about as much as anyone can like a middling fourth or fifth starter that isn't really very good at baseball. Amazingly, despite a sub-par career (on a scale where 100 is perfectly average, Fogg has a career ERA+ of 91), Fogg's managed to rack up a record of 60-60 with two teams that have generally been the dregs of baseball when he's pitched for them, the Pirates and the Rockies. He's always had a knack for keeping the team he pitches for in the game, and I say this from the perspective of a guy who think statements like, "He's always had a knack for..." are total bullcrap in baseball.

Enter tonight. Faced with the biggest start of his career, Fogg was tracked with keeping the Red Sox mighty lineup in check in the thin air of Coors Field on a cold night. It wouldn't be an enviable task for anyone. Still, Fogg's job was to keep the game close and he gave up six runs in the third inning tonight. That's not keeping things close and that's a recipe for disaster in Game 3 of the World Series when you're facing an 0-2 deficit.

Still, it's hard to pin this one squarely on Fogg. Sure, he gave up six runs in less than three innings. But the Rockies did claw back to within one run, only to have Brian Fuentes shut things down. And Clint Hurdle did make the decision to have Fogg pitch instead of Franklin Morales, who shut the Sox down in relief tonight (though he was awful in Game 1). Maybe I'm just making excuses because I like Fogg, who seems like a genuinely nice guy. Still, he was the Dragon Slayer for the Rockies during their incredible run and he failed to come up big in the game of this series that they need him most. If it looks like a goat and sounds like a goat, it's probably a goat (for this game, at least).
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For two days I've heard people say things like, "You know the Rockies aren't out of this series yet. If they can catch Dice-K in the thin air of Denver and pile some runs on, they can get a win and make this thing close." And yeah, that seemed vaguely possible. But no one was mentioning the alternative which was, "Umm, guys, not to rain on your parade or anything, but Josh Fogg is pitching for the Rockies against the Red Sox lineup in Game 3." So, yeah, maybe people should've been more focused on that possible outcome.

Before Fogg or the Rockies knew what hit him, the Sox had hung a six spot on the scoreboard in the third inning (lead by a two-run single from Dice-K!) and things were just about over.. To the Rockies credit, however, they certainly didn't go down without a fight. They scored a couple of runs off of Daisuke Matsuzaka in the sixth and Franklin Morales was electric out of the pen to stem the Red Sox tide at six runs for a while. Matt Holliday added in a huge three-run jack in the seventh to pull the Rockies to 6-5, but Brian Fuentes couldn't hold the Red Sox back and they piled on four more runs to put the win away. They simply got everything they need to win. Dice-K was solid, the lineup (particularly Jacoby Ellsbury and his four hits) picked up the slack they lost without the DH, and the pen was good enough.

I'll be honest, this game and this series have kind of gone the way I'd expect a fight between David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia to go. The big guy laid a massive hurting on the little guy to open things up and since then he's had his hand on the little guy's head while his arms swing wildly around, desperately trying to land any kind of blow. The Rockies are certainly going down swinging in this series, but they're still going down and I don't think anything's going to change that at this point.
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Pat Lackey already questioned Clint Hurdle's decision-making ability this morning, so file what I'm about to write under "piling on." Why in the world was Franklin Morales pitching relief in the fifth inning? Why was guy that Hurdle had just decided wasn't good enough to start a game handed the ball at a time when the game was still technically within reach? How unprepared for the situation was the rookie? Gerry Fraley of the Rocky Mountain News explains:

Morales' first major league relief appearance turned into a historic disaster. Morales retired only two of the nine hitters he faced during the fourth inning and allowed seven runs in a nightmarish appearance that enabled Boston to rout the Rockies 13-1.
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In 106 previous professional games, Morales had made only seven relief appearances. He last worked out of the bullpen in 2006, making one relief appearance that season while in the Single-A California League.

Hurdle switched Morales after he failed to make it past the fourth inning in two starts during the National League playoffs.

If Hurdle didn't trust the kid to stop that lineup as a starter, did he really think he'd perform any differently as a wholly unfamiliar role, just days after having his confidence shot by being told he was being moved to the bullpen in the first place? And when Morales started to struggle in the first place, why did Hurdle leave in there to face the heart of Boston's lineup?

You know all those freaking Dane Cook commercials that have driven us halfway up a wall and mildly insane since, oh, I dunno, like the All-Star break? I wonder if Clint Hurdle's ever seen them. The entire point of the marketing campaign is that the playoffs and the World Series happen but once a year which, for all of the commercial's annoying qualities, is true. So why do I feel like Hurdle came out on the field waving a white flag at Josh Beckett before things even started last night?

I understand how good Beckett has been in these playoffs. I've watched all of every single start he's made. Still, this is the World Series. The Rockies went into last night as one of the hottest teams ever, and yet after the Sox three run first it seemed like Hurdle threw up his arms and said, "Well, that's more than we're getting off of Beckett tonight." He left Jeff Francis in an inning too long and watched while he gave up the fifth and sixth runs in the fourth inning instead of yanking him to try and stay close. He then when to Franklin Morales, which was a strange choice because Morales had just been taken out of the playoff rotation the day before. I don't know whether he was supposed to keep the game semi-close or eat innings and save the pen, but he did neither and I wasn't really surprised.

Yeah, it's only one game. And when players are doing things like walking three straight batters with the bases loaded (all you, Ryan Speier) and Josh Beckett's on the mound, maybe there's not a lot you can do. But throwing up the white flag in the fourth inning of the first game of a best of seven series isn't a great idea because, well, there's only one World Series.
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Top of the 4th:

Todd Helton and his sexy goatee saunter into second base with a double. (Seriously, look at the fullness on that thing. Rahr.) There have been a ton of hits off the Green Monster tonight.

Beckett records his sixth strikeout of the night against Garrett Atkins. Your turn Brad Hawpe.

And you strike out, too. I Hawpe you do better next time, sir.

It's still 4-1 Boston.

Bottom of the 4th:

Tim McCarver and Joe Buck are just fawning of Troy Tulowitzki. His parents must be proud. McCarver referred to his arm as a "Howitzer" or something like that. I don't know what that means. Someone smarter than I, please enlighten. (Update: Commenter Joe alerts me a howitzer is a type on cannon. Thank for that.)

Also, this just in from the wisdom of Tim McCarver: David Ortiz = clutch.

How long do you think it takes Manny to do his hair in the morning? Speaking of Manny, he smacks a double into right-center. (It actually looks like he hustled to second!) We got Big Papi on third, Manny on second. Two outs.

This little spoons game thing in the Red Sox bullpen: does this annoy anyone else?

Jason Varitek rips one down the line. Papi and Manny score. It's 6-1 Boston. It's looking bad for the Rockies. Very, very bad. J.D. Drew strikes out. Inning over.

Call it crazy, but tonight's NLCS Game 4 is probably the least important game the Rockies have played in a month. They can lose tonight and still have ace Jeff Francis raring on full rest and ready to go on Wednesday at Coors Field to close things out in game 5. They can lose tonight and still have a nigh insurmountable 3-1 series lead. They can lose tonight and let some air out of the "20 wins in 21 games" balloon that they're carrying around with them right now. Still, I'm not counting on the Rockies losing tonight. Are you?

Clearly this game is much more dire for the D'Backs, who have elected to not go with Brandon Webb and instead send rookie Micah Owings out to counter Rockies' rookie Franklin Morales. On one hand, there's a ton of evidence against pitching guys on three days rest in the playoffs. On the other hand, we're talking about one of the best pitchers in the National League compared with a guy that had a barely average rookie year. On the third proverbial hand, Owings may well end up being the D'Backs best hitter this series. It's easy to fault Melvin for not pitching Webb, but with all the evidence that exists against pitching on three days rest, I'm just not going to do it.

Morales was shaky in his NLDS start against the Phillies and just a few months ago he was starting the Futures Game during All-Star week in San Francisco. Tonight he gets a chance to clinch a World Series berth in front of 40,000 crazed Rockies fans. Sure, it seems kind of improbable for him to come out and make a solid start in the cold weather, but the Rockies have redefined improbable here in the past month. Nothing can surprise me at this point.

I'm a bit perplexed right now. Tonight's NLCS game is an extremely important one for both teams involved. The Rockies are only one win away from the first trip to the World Series in franchise history, and the Diamondbacks are one loss away from the end of their season.

It's a big game.

So explain to me the pitching matchup tonight. Micah Owings and Franklin Morales? Two rookies? What the hell is going on here?

I can understand the Rockies choice more than the DBacks. Tonight's game isn't a must win for Colorado, and with the way they've been playing, they can afford to throw Morales out there. The Rockies could start Clint Hurdle tonight, and he'd probably shut out the Arizona offense for five or six innings.

The Diamondbacks on the other hand, I've no idea what they're thinking. Micah Owings had a good season in Arizona. Owings was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA during the regular season, but he never faced the Rockies. Still, I'm not sure I go with Owings when I have Brandon Webb on my team.

Webb is Arizona's only hope. This team seems incapable of putting runs on the board right now, and Webb is their best bet to keep the Rockies off the board as well. I know Webb would be pitching on only three days rest, but desperate times call for desperate measures. In the game of baseball, things don't get much more desperate than being down 3-0 in the playoffs.

Besides, by starting Owings, Bob Melvin is taking away his best pinch hitter should Arizona need a few runs late in the game.

You might just take a look at the headline and find it to be boring at first glance. Maybe it is. But mark my words, the aforementioned decision by Clint Hurdle will influence the series in some way or another. Remember Dave Roberts in 2004? Yeah, that could be Willy Taveras. I'm sure that's what Mr. Hurdle had in mind when he left his opening day starter off the NLCS playoff roster.

In what manager Clint Hurdle called "the hardest decision that I've had to talk [about] with a player since I've been in uniform," the Rockies will not activate right-hander Aaron Cook, their staff leader and Opening Day starter. Cook has not pitched since Aug. 10, because of a strained oblique muscle.

Southpaw Mark Redman was also left off the playoff roster. Currently, the Rockies have Jeff Francis slated to pitch game one, followed by Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Fogg, and Franklin Morales. Judging completely by NLDS performance, this rotation makes perfect sense. And frankly, I can't blame Hurdle for not wanting to take a chance with Cook. Sometimes the tough decisions are the ones that need to be made, rather than the sentimental ones.