The 2009 season hasn't gone according to plan for Manny Corpas. He had hoped to act as the Rockies closer, but Huston Street beat Corpas out for that role early on. Corpas also planned to stick around after returning from the disabled list on July 16. Disappointment seems to be the trend for Corpas as it was announced on Wednesday that he'll undergo surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
Corpas, who is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA this season, made two appearances after returning from the 15-day disabled list. The first was a one-inning, one-hit outing. The second, however, didn't go well. He gave up three earned runs on three hits in one inning, including a home run.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Angels and Cubs -- two overwhelming favorites to win their division entering 2009 -- finally seem to have their mojo back.
A day after Chicago rallied from four down in the eighth inning to beat the White Sox, they climbed out of a 7-0 fourth-inning hole to beat the Indians, thanks in part to another dramatic home run from Derrek Lee -- a drive that came off of longtime Cub Kerry Wood no less.
Not to be outdone, the Angels' Juan Rivera snapped a 4-all tie in the eighth inning of the Freeway Series opener with a decisive solo home run. The Halos have now reeled off seven straight wins, and, despite all the hard luck (and tragedy) they've had to deal with so far this season, are a 1/2 game behind the division-leading Rangers in the AL West.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle called his late-inning relievers into his office on Friday night to make another change.
"I want to change closers once a month, and it's May 1, so I figured it was appropriate," Hurdle joked later to reporters.
In all seriousness, Hurdle said that he's back to using Huston Street in the ninth inning. Street opened the season as the closer, then lost his job to Manny Corpas. Corpas since pitched so poorly that he's not only lost the closer job, he's not even the setup man.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Washington Nationals will be looking for a new closer as Joel Hanrahan has been fired. He was given the opportunity to close out five games and blew saves in three of those. His ERA is an unhealthy 8.64. The team will look to use a closer by committee approach for a while, waiting to see if injured Joe Beimel can return and flourish.
Tuesday, one day after Hanrahan surrendered a game-losing grand slam, Manager Manny Acta said that his team would now finish games -- or at least try to finish them -- with a committee of relief pitchers that includes Julián Tavárez and Kip Wells, both signed in March to non-guaranteed minor league deals. Once Joe Beimel (left hip flexor) returns from the disabled list in the first week of May, he could either join the mix or claim the job for himself.
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. Each week The Closer Report will give you that information. And if that wasn't good enough we'll rank the closers from top to bottom.
Here's an interesting statistic. Somewhere between 30 percent and 40 percent of the closers who are listed as the the team's official closer will not be in that role by the end of the season. It's the case every year. Whether a closer loses his job due to injury or just plain can't get the job done, you're going to learn that you can find saves on the waiver wire throughout the season. You just have to know where to look.
It wasn't even 24 hours ago that I, in my infinite wisdom, proclaimed that Huston Streetwouldn't be losing the job as Colorado Rockies closer any time soon. This came after Street came close to blowing another lead and had to be replaced by Jason Grilli to preserve a Rockies win.
You have to be asking yourself how long Street can hold down this job. I wish I knew the answer myself. The Rockies have been reluctant in the past to give Corpas a whole lot time to show that he can do the job for any extended period of time. And as long as Corpas isn't pitching "lights out", he's not going to force the hand of the Rockies to make a switch.
Another determining factor in keeping Street in the closers job might be more of an off-field reason. Street's name pops up quite frequently in trade rumors. I've heard many people say that as soon as Colorado feels they are struggling, Street will be shipped to the highest bidder. By keeping Street in the closer's role, the Rockies keep his value higher than if he were the set-up guy. So, it may be a while before Corpas can get this job from Street.
When the Rockies received Huston Street in a trade from Oakland they felt they were getting a relief pitcher with more closing experience than anyone on their roster. That much is true. Street entered the season with 94 career saves versus 24 for Manny Corpas, who was Street's competition for the closer role in Spring Training. It's looking, however, that experience isn't enough.
Street, last night against Chicago, allowed a Derrek Lee home run, a Mike Fontenot walk and gave up a single to Reed Johnson in the ninth before Clint Hurdle yanked him, and more importantly, before Street recorded an out.
Huston Street, who came to Colorado in the Matt Holliday trade, started the spring slowly as he suffered from a quadriceps problem. But he caught fire of late and has pitched five scoreless innings in his last six pitched. For the spring, Street has a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 innings with four strikeouts and two walks.
Atlernate, theme-friendly titles for tonight's Dugout include "Footprints in the No: Colorado Rockies" and "Better Know A Prospect: Everyone On The Rockies." Can you "preview" something that is not there? The Rockies don't even have a team this year, they have a guy in a dinosaur costume and some purple shirts.
The end of the NL West is (almost) upon us. Spring Dugz are after the jump.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ... Humidor!Seriously, didn't you hear that Colorado now stores their baseballs in a humidor and Coors Field is no longer a hitter's park? If someone in your league really believes that, just let them. You'll know the truth -- which is that Coors Field bore witness to the third most runs scored and third most home runs in baseball last year. In 2007? Third in runs, fifth in home runs. You can't just negate thin air with a cigar-housing device. It's a hitter's park, and it's consistently one of the most hitter-friendly.
The 2009 season hasn't gone according to plan for Manny Corpas. He had hoped to act as the Rockies closer, but Huston Street beat Corpas out for that role early on. Corpas also planned to stick around after returning from the disabled list on July 16. Disappointment seems to be the trend for Corpas as it was announced on Wednesday that he'll undergo surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
Starting Five
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rockies manager 
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. Each week 
It wasn't even 24 hours ago that I, in my infinite wisdom, proclaimed that 
When the Rockies received 
In one of the final closer battles to be determined this spring, the Colorado Rockies today announced that Huston Street 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
