It won’t be long before Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado will be swinging his bat during spring training.(Rob Tringali, Getty Images)
Cleaning out my Rockies notebook as I start prepping for spring training. I head to Scottsdale on Feb. 18.
* As I noted in the Rockies were historically bad on the road last season, winning just 21 games.
But this I didn’t realize: Of the Rockies’ 21 road victories, eight of them came in April when the Rockies went 16-13 overall and 8-9 on the road. That means that between May and September, the Rockies went 13-51 on the road. Thanks to Rox fan Robby Laitos for pointing out that statistic.
I talked to manager Walt Weiss about his club’s road woes the other day. He knows the Rockies absolutely have to play better away from Coors Field. How will they attempt to do it? That’s something I’ll explore in-depth when I get to Scottsdale.
* The Rockies’ schedule, at least on the surface, is kinder this season. There are no three-city, nine-game road trips to the East Coast; trips that traditionally doom the club. The Rockies do have two, three-city road trips, but they are relatively mild. In late June and early July, the Rockies travel to San Francisco, Oakland and Arizona. In September, they travel to San Diego, Seattle and Los Angeles.
* The Padres were one of baseball’s most boring, unwatchable teams in 2014. That was reflected in their attendance. They drew an average of 27,103 fans per game at Petco Park, ranking 20th in the majors. There were plenty of nights when a lot of fans failed to use their tickets.
But, just in case you missed it, the Padres have undergone an extreme makeover under new general manager A.J. Preller. The Padres now rank with the Dodgers and Giants as tri-favorites in the NL West. The Rockies and Diamondbacks, on paper, are clearly over-matched.
Here’s what had to say about the Padres’ transformation:
The Padres’ tidal wave of moves has advanced them from unwatchable to a team that we’ll all be paying attention to in 2015, because of the stature of the players involved. Matt Kemp, MVP runner-up. Two-time All-Star Justin Upton. All-Star catcher Derek Norris. And now All-Star James Shields, who started games in the World Series a few months ago.
* I know some fans are upset that the Rockies didn’t make a run at Shields or another top-tier pitcher. Sorry, the only way the Rockies will land a hot free-agent pitcher is if they grossly overpay or if they make a major trade. Owner Dick Monfort is never going hand out big money to a free-agent pitcher.
* The 2015 MLB draft order is officially set. The Rockies have the third, 27th, 38th and 44th overall picks. The 27th pick comes as the result of Michael Cuddyer rejecting the Rockies’ qualifying offer and signing with the Mets.
* In case you don’t look at the minor transactions, the Rockies recently signed free-agent right fielder Jeremy Barfield to a minor-league contract. Barfield, drafted by Oakland in 2008, has been in the A’s farm system for his entire career, but he’s never played above Triple-A.
Tags: 2015 spring training, James Shields, MLB draft, Padres, schedule, Walt Weiss
