For the Rockies, March Madness is just beginning.
Most players have been in Scottsdale, Ariz., for a month, and 19 Cactus League games have already been played, but big decisions loom.
So there is plenty to watch for Sunday when you get your spring baseball fix as the Rockies host the Cincinnati Reds at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The game airs live from Arizona on Root Sports in Colorado, starting at 2 p.m.
Saturday’s split-squad spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at nearby Scottsdale Stadium will not be broadcast on TV but will air on the radio on KOA 850. Sunday’s game also gets the radio treatment.
Some questions that still need to be answered for the Rockies:
• Who will join Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, Drew Pomeranz and Juan Nicasio in the starting rotation? Perhaps it’s 49-year-old Jamie Moyer, or perhaps baby-faced 22-year-old Tyler Chatwood.
Scheduled to start for the Rockies on Sunday will be Chacin, a right-hander who needs to pitch well for the team to have a shot at contending this season.
Last season, Chacin went 11-14 with a 3.62 ERA — leading the team among Colorado’s starting corps. His 31 games started also led the Rockies’ injury-riddled rotation — no other pitcher started more than 27.
• Who’s going to win the starting third base job? Does 38-year-old Casey Blake have enough left to make the team and contribute, or will Chris Nelson be the starter at the hot corner?
Last season’s opening-day third baseman, Ty Wigginton, is long gone to the Philadelphia Phillies. And his backup, Ian Stewart, was jettisoned to the Chicago Cubs.
• What about the Rockies’ regulars? Is Troy Tulowitzki nearing opening-day form? Is center fielder Dexter Fowler ready to break out of his spring training funk? How’s the Toddfather, Mr. Todd Helton, swinging the bat at age 38?
• And can the Rockies surpass expectations? Sports Illustrated is picking your fighting Rockies to finish (drumroll, please) fourth in the NL West, but with a slightly better record than last year.
The Rockies were 73-89 in 2011. The prognosticators at SI pick them to finish 79-83 this season. SI’s pick to win the World Series? The Angels over the Giants.
So let the madness begin. Opening day is just two weeks from today at Houston. The home opener is April 9 at Coors Field against the Giants.
Reds vs. Rockies
• When: 2:10 p.m. Sunday
• Where: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• TV: Root
• Radio: 850 AM
STAY ON THE COUCH
Rapids face Red Bulls on Sunday. Through two games in the MLS season, the Rapids have, somewhat surprisingly, shot toward the top of the league power rankings.
The Rapids, after a hard-fought, short-handed victory last week over the host Union in Philadelphia and a season-opening win over Columbus, have a maximum six points in the table.
For a second consecutive week, the Rapids will play on national TV on Sunday. Colorado goes on the road to face Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls at 2 p.m.
The game airs on ESPN, with England’s Adrian Healey calling the play-by-play and former U.S. national team mainstay Taylor Twellman on color commentary. Monica Gonzalez will report from the sideline.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Trot time. Don’t misread the Stop TB Trot running race that will jog around Washington Park on Sunday.
The inflection is on “Stop TB.” Not the trot. Don’t stop trotting. Don’t ever stop trotting.
This, the fourth edition of the Trot, is a 5K run and walk to help bring attention to tuberculosis infection and disease in Colorado.
Competitive and casual racers are welcome. The run kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Check for more information.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Big series for Mammoth. Perhaps the most important Colorado vs. Philadelphia series since 2009 (when the Rockies faced the Phillies in an NL divisional playoff), the Colorado Mammoth and Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League meet this weekend in a crucial back-and-forth.
The Mammoth (8-2) leads the West Division this season with the best record in the NLL. The Wings (6-4) lead the East Division. But the Mammoth can clinch an NLL playoff berth with a victory this weekend.
It’ll have two chances. The Mammoth hosts the Wings tonight at 7 p.m. (airing on ALT), then the teams scurry to Philly for a Sunday game at 2 p.m.The home-and-home series also will pit Colorado’s John Grant Jr., left, against Philadelphia’s Dan Dawson. They each have a league-leading 68 points this season.
