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
The book on rookie pitcher Jason Hirsh says he’s got a mediocre changeup. The book, according to Hirsh, is dead wrong.
“I know that everybody says, ‘Oh, he’s got to work on his changeup,’ but I think they must be reading old Baseball America articles or something,” said Hirsh, who joined the Rockies as part of the Jason Jennings trade with Houston. “I think last year my changeup was probably a much better pitch for me than my slider.”
Hirsh said he worked hard to improve his changeup last season and now throws it with confidence.
“I’m throwing it with more consistency than at any time in my career,” he said. “I am confident I can throw it at any time in any count. I can put it up, down, in, out, anywhere I need to.”
Hirsh said he’s going to concentrate this spring on improving his hard-breaking slider.
“For me, the changeup is very much like my fastball, so it’s easier to throw,” he said. “The slider is more of a feel pitch. Once I get that feel, I can get locked into it. I had a good feel for it the other day and it was moving really well. But sometimes it takes me a while to find the slider.”
By the numbers: 4
That was the Rockies’ longest winning streak of the 2006 season. They won four straight games five times, with four of those streaks coming before the all-star break. The Rockies are the only major league team without a winning streak of at least five games over the past two seasons.
For Colorado to be in contention in 2007 it’s going to have to break that drought. It would be helpful if one of those streaks came early, because the Rockies’ first 19 games are against National League West opponents.
The desert scene
It seems that all of Tucson is captivated by Tiger Woods’ appearance in the Accenture Match Play Championships at The Gallery at Dove Mountain just outside town. Golf fans included numerous Rockies gathered around the clubhouse TV at Hi Corbett Field on Wednesday afternoon to watch Woods take on J.J. Henry.
“The guy is so good it’s scary,” pitcher Josh Fogg said.
Quotable
“A focus in the offseason was to provide us with flexibility and versatility. The competition, I think, will be real. The numbers and the volume are there and I’m really confident that we will pull seven from (spring training) that we will be real happy going into the season with. I’m confident of that.” — Manager Clint Hurdle on the prospects of developing his bullpen
Did you know?
Southpaw reliever Tom Martin threw five no-hitters – including back-to-back no-hitters in the state playoffs – during his senior season at Bay High School in Panama City, Fla.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
