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Early Tuesday morning, Cliff Lee made a surprising announcement that he would be returning to Philadelphia with the signing of a five year, $120 million contract proposed by the team Monday night. This announcement left the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers still looking to add a starting pitcher to their rotation.

Lets start with the Yankees.  Throughout the Winter Meetings and the offseason as a whole, the Yankees have shown little to no interest in acquiring right-hander Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals, as they already have three right-handed starting pitchers in the rotation.  It is also highly unlikely that Tampa Bay will be willing to deal Matt Garza to New York because of being in the same division.  So what is left for them?  Carl Pavano is a right-hander who also would not be a strong fit in the rotation, same thing with Brandon Webb.  Jeff Francis could likely end up as the next target on the Yankees radar if no other intriguing deals arise in the near future. 

Jeff Francis however, is definitely not who the Yankees were targeting as the season came to an end.  Francis has a career record of 55-50 in six seasons in the big leagues.  In that time, he has only recorded 603 strikeouts, with a 4.22 earned run average, and only two complete games in that span.  Should the team look to invest in younger talent, they could also look towards Andrew Miller. 

Miller was a pitching phenom while at the University of North Carolina and was a highly-touted prospect coming into the majors. He has had a few disappointing seasons, with a career record of 15-26 with an ERA of 5.84.  This would be a risk, but still a small possibility for New York.

Now for Texas.  The Rangers have C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Scott Feldman, and Tommy Hunter returning in 2011.  They are in the same situation as the Yankees as well.  With three right handers in the rotation already, the team is looking for a left hander to replace Lee.  Sources have said that the team does not have much chance to land Greinke, but there is a possibility of them working out a deal to acquire Matt Garza from the Rays.  Should this not work out they could possibly look into Pavano and Webb and go with a rotation featuring four right handed pitchers.  Another possibility is prospect Derek Holland.  Holland started ten games for the Rangers this season posting a 3-4 record with a 4.08 ERA. 

New York will be hurt the most with this announcement as C.C. Sabathia is their only proven pitcher and lone left hander in the rotation at this point.  However he is coming off of knee surgery and will be tested in the beginning of the year to see if this surgery has altered any mechanics in his delivery.  A.J. Burnett posted a 5.26 ERA in 2010 and Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova are both only 24 years of age heading into the season.  The Yankees could be scrambling to find another left handed pitcher to fill the void left with Lee’s announcement. 

Both teams are now left with three right handed pitchers in the rotation and now must look to plan B to complete their starting rotation.  Watch for some deals to be made in the next few weeks as both teams will be trying to complete a deal sooner rather than later. 

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While baseball is America’s Pastime, the game has extensive roots and deep tradition in the country to its north as well. The first documented evidence of baseball in Canada dates back to 1838 shortly after it became popular in the United States. As has been stereotyped, we Canadians are certainly very proud of our fellow compatriots in the game.

Today, the tradition lives on as in the past five years, two Canadians have won an MVP Award: Justin Morneau in 2006 (AL) and Joey Votto (NL) just recently. Larry Walker won the NL in 1997 and is perhaps the best Canadian batter in major league history, while Ferguson Jenkins is without question the greatest canuck pitcher ever.

Here is my compilation of the Ten Best Canadian Players in Baseball Today.

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This is the second of three articles looking at the Rockies at the trade deadline. The first one was on the bullpen, and the next will be position players/offense. This article will look at starting pitching.

The Rockies have been rumored to be looking at starting pitching at the trade deadline. Just to hear the Rockies as potential buyers is somewhat surprising.

Let’s look at the Rockies current rotation listed in order of ERA/2010 performance:

Ubaldo Jimenez : Has anyone not heard of Ubaldo’s amazing season? Ubaldo is the Rockies ace. He’s not going anywhere. However, he’s only had one quality start in his last six starts. I’ve heard some inside rumblings that Ubaldo is suffering from “tired arm” from his workload this season. Don’t be shocked if he needs to go on the DL for 15 days to rest.

Jason Hammel: Did you think at the beginning of the season Hammel would be a No. 2? Hammel has been the biggest surprise in the Rockies rotation. He has put up numbers of 7-6, 4.34 ERA, with a .277 Batting Average Against in 17 games started.

Hammel has had eight quality starts over his last 10 games, putting up a record of 5-3 with 4.34 ERA. His stuff is not that of a No. 2 pitcher, but he’s young and still on the upside, and could be a solid middle of the rotation player

Jeff Francis: Jeff is coming off a terrible shoulder injury that kept him out all of 2009. He’s been up and down this season—mostly down—but as of late, he’s been a little better, with two quality starts in this last road trip.

It was a terrible road trip, but you can’t blame the guy once known as “Jeff Franchise.” Jeff will be a free agent after this season. The Rockies do have an option year for next year for $7 million, but it’s doubtful they’ll pick that up.

Aaron Cook: Cook has been consistently inconsistent this season. A 4.78 ERA and a .282 BAA belies the fact that Cook has had only three quality starts in his last seven times to take the bump. Last week was a snapshot of Cooks year.

Against Cincinnati, he went seven innings, scattering six hits and giving up no runs. His next start on Friday and Cook couldn’t get out of the fifth inning, getting chased giving up five runs on nine hits and three walks.

Cook’s season would be acceptable if he were the No. 5 starter. But, Cook is one of the highest paid Rockies on the team, making $9 million this year, and has one more year on his contract when he will make $9.2 million in 2011 plus a $.5 million buyout. If traded, Cook’s salary goes up $1 million a year.

Jorge De La Rosa: If Hammel has been the biggest surprise, George of the Rose has been the biggest disappointment.

De La Rosa has only made seven starts this year while spending time on the DL with a torn tendon in his index finger of his pitching hand. Since coming back from injury JDLR has had three starts, and the first two were particularly offal, giving up seven runs in 4.1 innings in his first game off the DL, then following that up with 3.1 innings and another seven runs.

However, there was a glimmer of hope. In his latest outing, he had a quality start, going six innings and only giving up two runs and striking out eight against the Marlins. Jorge De La Rosa will also be a free agent after this season. I think the Rockies would like to re-sign him, but the injury throws his value on the open market into question.

Jhoulys Chacin: Chacin was called up to fill in for Jorge De La Rosa. As a starter he was solid, with the second best ERA as a starter for the team with 3.38. He was moved to the bullpen to make room for JDLR’s return, and Chacin was terrible in that role with a 6.32 ERA in the month of July.

That got him sent back to AAA, where he’ll go back to the rotation and prepare to be a rotation replacement in case of injuries. Chacin is a top pitching prospect, and should be a regular in the rotation in 2011, but he’s a rookie and rookie pitchers are inconsistent.

The rumors concerning the Rockies starting pitching are they want a quality starting pitcher. What I’ve heard from my sources at the Rockies and also out in the Internet rumor mill world, is the Rockies want a No. 2 type pitcher or better. Along those lines, the Rockies have been linked to a few of the biggest names for starting pitchers available in Dan Haren and Ted Lilly.

Dan Haren is strikeout pitcher, with at times overpowering stuff. He has 141 Ks on the year so far. But he has a 4.60 ERA and a .285 BAA. That’s not much of an improvement over Francis or Cook, and worse than Chacin. It’s nice to have had the Rockies associated with Haren though, before he was traded to the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles

Another name out there associated with the Rockies is Ted Lilly. Lilly is sinker-ball pitcher with the Cubs and for the most part sinker-ballers have good success in Coors Field. His record is only 3-8 this year, but that’s not a good stat anyways. His ERA is .388 with WHIP of 1.12. Lilly would be rental as he’s a free agent after the season.

Now, I had a source that told me the Rox were looking at Ben Sheets before his injury. Sheets had been getting better as the season has gone along, with seven quality starts in his last 10 starts going back to the end of May.

Sheets will be free agent after the season. However, he is now on the DL with an elbow injury, and is expected to miss a good chunk of time. Sheets has been a walking injury report over his career, and his latest setback doesn’t help his injury-prone reputation.

Are there pitchers out there who might be better than Cook or Francis? Yes. Would the Rockies be able to give up enough in prospects to get them. Again, yes. The Rockies have depth in a lot of positions to trade from in their minor league system.

Any move to upgrade over Cook or Francis will also, I assume, include Cook or Francis going back to the other team to free up a rotation spot. Cook’s salary and another year on his contract coupled with his performance leaves him un-tradeable. So we are really talking about upgrading Francis. And it’s Francis who just had the best week of pitching of all the starters.

Not So Bold Prediction : The Rockies won’t add a starter at the trade deadline. There are not many starting pitchers on the level the Rockies are wanting, and because of that their price in trade and contract will be so steep. I doubt if the Rockies will be able or willing to pay. The Rockies do have a major league level pitcher in Chacin in AAA in case of injury, so they do have depth.

However, expect the Rockies to be players in the offseason for a quality starting pitcher. If Helton retires and thus frees up salary, the Rockies could in for some top pitchers.

This article also featured on The Rockies Reporter.

And on My Team Rivals: Rockies Blake Street Baseball

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The Colorado Rockies (25-22) faced division rival Arizona Diamondbacks (20-28) Thursday afternoon in the last game of a three-game series.

For the Rockies, everything was working Thursday as a multitude of pitchers and a barrage of batters led Colorado to a dominant 8-2 win and the team’s first sweep of the 2010 season.

Jason Hammel started the game and pitched well despite not having his best stuff. Through five innings Hammel didn’t give up a run and tallied a career-high tying eight Ks against the D-Backs.

But the sixth inning was his undoing.

With the Rockies up 3-0, Hammel walked Stephen Drew and Adam LaRoche. Mark Reynolds then singled to load the bases and Chris Young singled to score Drew. Then Hammel hit Chris Snyder to walk home Arizona’s second run of the game.

Hammel left the game after five and one third innings giving up seven hits and two earned runs while striking out eight.

After Hammel went to the dugout, Colorado’s bullpen was air tight and didn’t allow a single hit while striking out six more batters.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Rockies’ bats were cracking and created fireworks at one point.

Colorado jumped on Arizona’s ace Dan Haren early, scoring three runs in the first inning.

Carlos Gonzalez stayed hot and hit a leadoff single that he legged into a double, only to be knocked home by Ryan Spilborghs a few minutes later. Then, after a Jason Giambi strikeout, Troy Tulowitzki homered to stretch Colorado’s lead to three.

For Tulo, it was his fifth home run in seven games and he continued to grow his 11-game hitting streak.

But it was what the Rockies did after Hammel’s meltdown in the sixth that showed they were not going to lose this game.

After a Clint Barmes single in the seventh, Colorado made Coors look like the ballpark of old with big blasts. Seth Smith (8), Gonzalez (6), and Spilborghs (3) hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off of Haren, the first time the Rockies had done so since April 27, 2004.

The seventh inning fireworks secured Colorado’s 8-2 win and capped off an electrifying series against Arizona.

In a way, the game was a microcosm of the Rockies on this current win streak.

Since May 20, Colorado is 6-1 and averaging 5.4 runs per contest while only allowing 3.3 runs per.

Despite missing starter Jorge De La Rosa and closer Huston Street, the Rockies pitching has been special and led them through games.

Ubaldo Jimenez was Ubaldominent in wins eight and nine versus Houston (4-0) and Arizona Wednesday (7-3), allowing zero runs in each. Likewise, Jeff Francis was stellar in his second start versus Kansas City on May 22, going six and a third innings allowing five hits, two walks and striking out three.

And when starters come out, Colorado’s bullpen has held together lately.

In the last seven games Matt Belisle has pitched on four occasions for a combined four innings, allowing two hits and sitting down seven on strikes. Similarly, Joe Beimel has been throwing well as his ERA has dropped to 0.52 and Manuel Corpas is up to four saves in relief of the ailing Street.

And while pitching has been hot, the Rox’ bats have been hotter.

Tulo“hit”zki’s 11-game hitting streak has ballooned his average to .314, just edging out Gonzalez (.313) for the team lead. Tulo also leads the team in runs (34), hits (54), and doubles (15) as he’s leading by example as the Rockies’ biggest current star.

Colorado’s fifth outfielder, Seth Smith, had three homers in the Rockies’ last two games even though he’s been sick with the flu, and their sixth outfielder Spilborghs went 3-4 with a double and a home run as he was the player of the game Thursday.

So, everything is coming together for the Rockies, and it couldn’t be happening at a better time. After sweeping Arizona, Colorado plays Los Angeles (26-21) for three games at home starting Friday, then flies to San Francisco (24-22) Monday as Tim Lincecum and Jimenez get set to see who is the best pitcher in the NL. The Rockies finish this 12-game divisional stretch with three games (June 4-6) in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.

So as they sit now, the Rockies are third in the NL West and three and a half games back of West leader San Diego and one back of LA. Come Monday, if Colorado can continue playing these winning ways, they could be sitting solely in second place at the one-third point of the season.

The Rockies have already battled tough through injuries and slumping bats for most of the season. Now they are hitting their stride as a run to the playoffs for the third time in four years seems possible if not probable at this point.

In the grueling 162-game MLB season there’s still lots of baseball to be played, but Colorado is starting to look like a contender as we approach Memorial Day.

So Denver, get out and support your Rockies—especially when Ubaldo “Cy Young” Jimenez is out on the mound (he only had around 25,000 fans on Wednesday)—because your Rockies are a special baseball team.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State University Alumnus and freelance sports journalist. Along with being the Denver Nuggets Featured Columnist here on B/R, Kurtzman is the Denver Broncos FC for NFLTouchdown.com, the CSU Rams Examiner for examiner.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.

Follow Rich on twitter and/or facebook!

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The Rockies have been disappointing this season. There. I said it.

Colorado has been average, mediocre, maybe even boring.

Some guys have been on fire from the start while others can’t seem to figure it out, ruining the party for everybody.

Read on to find out who’s been carrying his weight and who’s looked awful so far in 2010.

30. Jason Hammel (SP) – That 7.52 ERA isn’t going to cut it. Even for a fifth starter, Hammel has been nothing short of abysmal this season.

29. Clint Barmes (2B) – When your manager has to defend you in the media to justify keeping you in the every-day lineup, things aren’t going well. Barmes has been a black hole at the plate this season.

28. Esmil Rogers (SP)

27. Rafael Betancourt (RP) – After pitching lights-out at the end of last season, Betancourt has looked terrible in 2010. Add his signing to the long list of reasons why putting money into relief pitching is a bad idea.

26. Greg Smith (SP)

25. Dexter Fowler (CF) – Honestly, Fowler hasn’t done anything well this season. Do I need to be the first one to suggest that some time in Colorado Springs might do him some good?

24. Chris Iannetta (C) – I’m with everyone else on Iannetta. He looked bad in limited time this season, but he really didn’t get a long enough look to justify sending him to Triple-A. Either bring him back up or send him elsewhere for a couple of prospects. He’s too good a player to be sitting in Colorado Springs.

23. Melvin Mora (U)

22. Franklin Morales (CP) – I still have high hopes for Morales, but every time he seems to take a step forward, he ends up back where he was. Maybe this is as good as it gets for him. Maybe he’s going to be a mediocre middle reliever forever. Bummer.

21. Paul Phillips (C)

20. Eric Young Jr. (U) – Always an adventure in the outfield, EY Jr. looks like he needs some seasoning in the minors before he can become a productive major leaguer. Knowing where he’s come from, there’s no doubt he’ll keep fighting.

19. Ryan Spilborghs (OF)

18. Aaron Cook (SP)

17. Jason Giambi (1B) – Giambi has walked in a fourth of his plate appearances this year. It’s not the production fans expected, but it’s something.

16. Randy Flores (RP)

15. Matt Daley (RP)

14. Seth Smith (OF)

13. Jeff Francis (SP) – Two strong starts coming back from injury and fans are already talking about the good old days. I want so badly to believe he’ll be back to his old ways, I’m just not sure it’s going to happen.

12. Jorge De La Rosa (SP) – They hype for De La Rosa was as big as it was for anyone coming into the season, but the injury has derailed his hopes of padding the resume before hitting the open market in the offseason.

11. Matt Belisle

10. Todd Helton (1B) – At times this season, Helton has been hard to watch. At some point, we’re all going to have to admit that he’s nearing the end of the line. At least his on base percentage remains stellar.

9. Jhoulys Chacin (SP) – It’s been a really nice start for Chacin in the majors, probably better than expected. He has the talent to be a No. 2 starter in the majors and this may be the year he starts to show it.

8. Carlos Gonzalez (OF) – CarGo has been a productive middle of the order bat, but his .317 OBP ranks ahead of only Clint Barmes among regular starters. To become a real offensive force, he has to get on base more often.

7. Manuel Corpas (CP) – Corpas has filled in nicely as the team’s closer filling in for Franklin Morales, but fans should remember his struggles in 2008 and 2009. When Huston Street returns, this team will be much better.

6. Ian Stewart (3B) – Stewart is quietly having a very solid season for the Rockies. The strikeouts are a concern, but he seems to be filling out as a player. It’s nice to see.

5. Joe Beimel (RP) – Signed at the tail end of spring training, Beimel has been unbelievable this season. You can’t ask much more from a guy who holds a WHIP and an ERA under 1.00.

4. Brad Hawpe (OF) – Having Hawpe in the lineup changes the entire dynamic of the team. Coming into the season, I saw him as potential trade bait, but at this point I think he may be the key to making the playoffs for a second straight year.

3. Miguel Olivo (C) – As impressive as Olivo has been filling in for Iannetta, there is little evidence that he can keep it up for the entire year. Don’t be surprised if Olivo takes another face plant before the season is out. I don’t trust him yet.

2. Troy Tulowitzki (SS) – I hesitate putting Tulo this high because he really needs to hit for more power and his usually stellar defense has been sloppy at times this season. As usual, the team performs as Tulo does, and the team has been wallowing in mediocrity this year. He needs to produce more runs if the Rockies are headed for the playoffs.

1. Ubaldo Jimenez (SP) – Surprised to see him at the top of the list? Probably not… There’s really nothing you can say except Jimenez has done nothing but exceed fans’ lofty expectations coming into the season. He is one of the single most valuable commodities in baseball, and he looks to become Colorado’s most dominant starting pitcher ever.

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Finally!  Finally the Rockies got good starting pitching from someone not named Ubaldo.  In fact, they got two quality starts! 

Finally the Rockies picked up a timely hit. Finally the Rockies made productive outs.  Finally the Rockies didn’t have a good starting pitching outing blown by an over worked and out of place bullpen.  Finally, the SUN SHINED ON COORS FIELD! 

The Rockies won on Sunday, behind a solid outing by Jeff Francis.  He wasn’t dominant.  He will never, really be dominant.  But he can be very effective, and work out of jams.  He was vintage Francis. 

The win on Sunday by the Rockies was the 3rd win in a row!  This is the first time the Rockies have won 3 games in a row this season.  It also was the 4th win in 5 games for the Rox.   But don’t get too excited just yet.  These wins elevated the Rockies to a “winning” team, as their season record is 19-18.  But the Rockies are still in 4th place in the NL West.  The team in the rear-view mirror, well, they just blew past the Rockies, and that team is the suddenly hot LA Dodgers.  The Dodgers have won 9 out of their last 10 games.  Their only loss was to the Rockies last Saturday.

The Padres still lead the division, but they are slowing down, having dropped 3 in a row to the Dodgers.  See how that works?  One team wins, another loses.  The San Francisco Giants are in 2nd at 1/2 game behind the Padres, and the 2 teams play a 2 game set in San Francisco starting tonight.  The Dodgers are in 3rd place, 2 games off the pace.  They are followed, like I mentioned, by the Rockies who are a game behind the Dodgers and 3 games behind the Padres. The Diamondbacks are in free fall.  They are 2-8 over their last 10 games, and a full 7 1/2 games behind the Padres and 4 1/2 games behind the Rockies already this season.

Another finally, the Rockies FINALLY get to play a team with a losing record, as they travel to Chicago south-side to take on the 16-22 Cubs for 2 games, then down to Houston for 2 games against the Astros. The Astros are the worst team in the the National League, with only 13 wins to go against 24 L’s.

The Cubs series is very winnable for the Rockies.  Tonight (Monday), the Rockies have Aaron Cook who actually had a solid outing his last time out going against Randy Wells.  No one will mistake Wells for a Cy Young candidate.  He’s back of the Rotation filler (well, so is Aaron Cook if the Rockies fans take off their purple colored glasses). 

Tuesday’s game will match Jhoulys Chacin vs Carlos Silva.  This is an interesting match up.  Chacin has had 2 great starts, but his last one wasn’t so great.  That’s to be expected with any rookie.  The question is how will he bounce back? Carlos Silva has been arguably the Cub’s best starter on the year so far. Silva won’t strike out a lot of guys, with only 26 on the season in 42 innings pitched, but he isn’t walking many either, with only 9 on the year. Can Silva keep it going?

The key for the Rockies pitchers in this series will be to keep the struggling Cubs hitters struggling, especially Arimis Ramirez .167/.234/.268/.502 and Derrek Lee .238/.341/.367/.698.  It should be pointed out that Lee is starting to heat up, and has a 6 game hitting streak going on coming into this series and 3 of those games were multi-hit games. 

Finally, I think this Rockies team is pointing in the right direction.  Finally there is joy in Rox-ville in 2010.

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