Phoenix – The Rockies will add speed to their lineup, but not an old face to their rotation. Center fielder Willy Taveras was added to the National League Championship Series roster today and will bat leadoff when the Rockies open the NLCS on Thursday against the Diamondbacks. He cleared a final hurdle by taking batting practice and fielding flyballs during their last workout at Chase Field.
Opening-day starter Aaron Cook proved he was healthy, though concerns about possible rustiness became too hard to ignore. He hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since Aug. 10. He threw seven innings against Arizona Diamondbacks’ instructional league players in Tucson today, allowing just one run. General manager Dan O’Dowd watched Cook and called the outing “OK”.
Manager Clint Hurdle said that not adding Cook to the playoff roster was one of the toughest decisions he’s had to make as a manager. But Hurdle said he didn’t feel comfortable trying to force Cook into the rotation, especially with Rockies pitchers performing so well over the last month.
Even without Cook, the Rockies tweaked their rotation order. Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez will start the first two games followed by Josh Fogg, who worked in the bullpen in the last series, and rookie Franklin Morales. Fogg pitched effectively against the Diamondbacks, going 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He beat Brandon Webb at Chase Field on Sept. 2, which at the time, was one of the season’s biggest wins.
With Taveras batting leadoff, Kazuo Matsui will bat second and rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will now bat in the No. 7 hole.
