A line drive that hit the right leg of Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh during the first inning of Tuesday night's 11-4 victory over the Brewers did more damage than originally believed. X-rays taken on Wednesday revealed a fractured fibula. ... J.J. Hardy's liner hit Hirsh's right calf. Hirsh picked the ball up and threw Hardy out at first base, then completed six innings during which he held the Brewers to three runs and improved his record to 5-7, with a 4.81 ERA.
There was even some speculation that Hirsh got picked off intentionally later in the game to keep him from running the bases. I doubt it. Well, the Rockies brass should only be too happy to hear this report; nobody can ever accuse Hirsh of not giving his all. Now they just need to make sure Hirsh doesn't miss significant time considering how close to they are in the top of the division, and that Rodrigo Lopez is done for the year.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups Philadelphia Phillies (45-44) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (40-46)-FOX 3:55PM Est.
Is today the day we've all been waiting for? Will the Phillies become the first team in the history of the world to lose 10,000 games? Yes, they will. As for whether it will be today or not, I can't tell. Considering Cole Hamels is on the mound this afternoon there's a pretty good chance that the milestone will be put off for another day. If there is a city in this country that I would think could handle something like this, it would be Philadelphia. They've been living without a winner of any kind for a while now, but it hasn't seemed to diminish their fervor for their home teams. It's as though they've gotten to a point where they relish the opportunity. The Cardinals will be sending Mike Maroth to the mound to try and help the Phillies out. Will you be watching as history is made? Do you want to take the chance of not seeing it live? I don't think you do.
On Deck is The FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Colorado Rockies (37-34) vs. New York Yankees (35-34)-3:05PM Est.
No, Roger's not high like Alexi Lalas, it's just that he's pitching in the rarified air of Colorado this evening. Speaking of being high, I think I am because I swear the Rockies have a better record than the Yankees, and that's just not possible. The Rocket's also going for another career milestone tonight, as a victory would give him 350 in his career. Roger's pitched well in his only two starts of the season, including a loss in his last outing in which he only gave up two runs. He'll be going against another legend in Rodrigo Lopez who's 3-0 with a 2.90 ERA. Wait a second, Rodrigo Lopez is 3-0 with an ERA under 3.00? I am high.
Well, the original reports from the weekend turned out to be wrong. We knew that Josh Fogg would miss his scheduled start on Sunday (Taylor Buchholz pitched in his place). However, optimistic reports from Fogg indicated he would avoid a stint on the DL. So much for that. The Rockies will play it safe and stick the right-hander on the DL, allowing Rodrigo Lopez, who is fresh off the DL, to start on Thursday.
It was one of those things where I thought this Friday was a realistic goal, but giving me the extra four or five days isn't going to hurt," Fogg said. "There was still a question mark in the trainer's mind and the team's mind. And I can't go out there and put the team in a bad position when we might already be short on relievers."
So let's see shall we, the last time we had a Rox pitcher DL party, Byung-Hyun Kim, Ramon Ramirez, Rodrigo Lopez, and LaTroy Hawkins were all invited. Now, Josh Fogg becomes the fifth pitcher to join the group. Colorado may not have been bitten as hard by the injury bug as the Yankees, but they've certainly taken the shaft this year. Luckily for them, it looks like Fogg won't miss more than his allotted two weeks.
First it was Byung-Hyun Kim to the DL, then starter Rodrigo Lopez, followed by reliever Ramon Ramirez. I couldn't even begin to list you the hodge-podge of pitchers that have been assembled to fill those spots on the big club. And now, the latest Rockies pitcher to go down, is LaTroy Hawkins, who was sent to the 15-day DL on Tuesday. However, given Hawkins' (pictured) 0-3 record and 8.59 ERA, the injury might actually help the team.
At some point there's just really nothing you can do, except for maybe figure out new pitching programs. Maybe the humidor is making the balls heavier or something and they're weighing down the Rockies' arms. Who knows what the answer is? Weird thing though, it's the offense that has failed to produce more than the pitching. They've scored just 11 runs in the past six games -- that's fewer than two per game. Look, it's already bad enough when your team isn't very good to begin with. But then you start piling on injuries like this, and it almost makes things unfair.
The Rox have been hammered recently on the injury front, although perhaps not as badly as they were hammered on Monday night, nor as bad as the Yankees and Blue Jays have been recently. Over the weekend they placed second baseman Kaz Matsui on the 15 day DL with back spasms. As Troy Renck describes it, Matsui was truly feeling pain. In his place, infielder Clint Barmes was called up.
"I didn't sleep well. My neck was bothering me. Then my thumb hurt. I didn't want to come out, though," Kim said. "In Korea, if nothing is broken, you need to be out there pitching."
If you're like me, you're probably still having a lot of trouble adjusting to the new look Rockies team which is -- as odd as it is to say -- more of a speed and finesse team. Long gone are the days of the Blake Street Bombers which used to feature half a lineup of 30 home run hitters e.g. Dante Bichette, Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Larry Walker, Todd Helton, and Vinny Castilla. So yeah, in case you haven't caught on yet, the Rockies are now built with speed at the top (Taveras, Matsui), average/speed/power in the middle (Atkins, Holliday, Hawpe), and good starting pitching. Really.
In fact, the 4-4 Rox have seen every single one of their starters throw at least six innings per start, with seven of those eight starts yielding two or fewer runs. The staff has a 3.34 ERA and has only allowed six home runs and 17 walks in eight games, and is in the top part of the league in several other categories.
Last year Colorado set a franchise record for lowest team ERA at 4.66. Between emerging youngsters Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis (pictured), and Jason Hirsh, as well as the resurgence of Rodrigo Lopez and Josh Fogg, the '07 team should blow that mark out of the water. Will they be as sharp as the season goes on? Probably not. But what really matters is that this is a completely rebuilt team, with a new look, and some pitchers that can truly keep the team in every game.
Ordinarily a pitcher winning the fourth spot in the rotation of a team widely projected to finish last in its division isn't the sort of story that greases my keyboard. HOWEVA, when no other media outlets have reported said news, it warrants a post. That being said, I happened to speak with Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd Saturday (and don't ask how -- for all you know it could've been while we were playing battlepiss at the urinals), and he was highly complimentary of pitcher Jason Hirsh's performance this spring, volunteering the news that HIrsh is their No. 4 starter. And yes, this is worthy of a post because at last report, the Rockies official website said Saturday:
As a candidate for the rotation, Hirsh knows he needs to produce results.
[Byung Hyun] Kim's inconsistency, though, makes it difficult for the Rockies to react too quickly with [Josh] Fogg: The two of them seem to be the most viable candidates for a spot in the rotation behind Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis and Rodrigo Lopez, and, based on how things have gone so far, Hirsh.
As far as I can tell, none of these outlets have officially billed Jason Hirsh as the No. 4 starter. So here you go guys, please see if you can confirm the news for me. Also, keep in mind that our conversation took place before Hirsh got bombed by the White Sox later in the day...but O'Dowd can't be that capricious could he?
I guess you can safely hand Jason Hirsh the tough guy of the day award. I mean, it would be pretty tough to top what he did against the Brewers. 
Well, the original reports from the weekend turned out to be wrong. We knew that Josh Fogg would miss his scheduled start on Sunday (
First it was 
The Rox have been hammered recently on the injury front, although perhaps not as badly as they were hammered 
If you're like me, you're probably still having a lot of trouble adjusting to the new look Rockies team which is -- as odd as it is to say -- more of a speed and finesse team. Long gone are the days of the Blake Street Bombers which used to feature half a lineup of 30 home run hitters e.g. Dante Bichette, Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Larry Walker, Todd Helton, and Vinny Castilla. So yeah, in case you haven't caught on yet, the Rockies are now built with speed at the top (Taveras, Matsui), average/speed/power in the middle (Atkins, Holliday, Hawpe), and good starting pitching. Really. 
Ordinarily a pitcher winning the fourth spot in the rotation of a team widely projected to finish last in its division isn't the sort of story that greases my keyboard. HOWEVA, when no other media outlets have reported said news, it warrants a post. That being said, I happened to speak with Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd Saturday (and don't ask how -- for all you know it could've been while we were playing battlepiss at the urinals), and he was highly complimentary of pitcher Jason Hirsh's performance this spring, volunteering the news that HIrsh is their No. 4 starter. And yes, this is worthy of a post because at last report, the 
