Catch the daily spring training roundup each afternoon from Rockies beat writers Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders in Tucson. You’ll find insider information on players and what the team is working on as they get ready for the 2007 season. Check every afternoon for the Rockies Rundown.
Inside the game
Southpaw starter Jeff Francis arrived at spring training last year intent on developing a two-seam, sinking fastball. Now the pitch is part of a regular repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, curve and changeup. This spring, Francis is working to make his sinker a more effective pitch.
“Last year, I actually forced it in during games,” Francis said. “Especially during spring, I forced myself to use it in certain places. Later in the season it became a good tool for me and I was able to get groundball outs. Now I’m working at using the two-seamer to the inside of the plate. I want to be able to use my tools in different ways. That’s the way you get better as a pitcher.”
By the numbers: .214
That was the batting average for Rockies pinch hitters last season. It ranked 12th in the National League, was the club’s worst mark since 2001 and the third-worst average in franchise history.
“There is no question we need more production off the bench,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “I really do think we have the depth now to where we have some bats ready for the late innings. We have the talent in place.”
Kid Rock
Third baseman Ian Stewart, the MVP of last year’s spring training when he hit .396 with five homers and 14 RBIs, knows his chances of making the big league club this year are slim. But the 21-year-old insists he’s fine with that scenario, at least for now.
“I know that most likely I’m not going to make the team again,” he said. “I just want to come in, stay relaxed, have fun and show the Rockies that I can play at this level. Right now it’s not too hard to be patient because I know there are things I need to work on.”
Stewart said he must become a more consistent fielder and a more patient hitter.
“I don’t want to get up to the big leagues and not do well, I want to get up there and stay,” he said.
Quotable
“You can be in a zone like that in Triple-A, but it really doesn’t matter, to be honest with you, until you do it in the big leagues. So that gave me a lot of confidence, no question.” — Outfielder Jeff Baker on his sizzling September call-up last year when he hit .368 with five homers, seven doubles and 21 RBIs in 18 games.
Did you know?
Baker appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in the summer of 1999 after his standout senior season at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, Va.
