May 2009
Morales Looks Good in Four Innings of Work
Franklin Morales was just relieved by Damian Moss to start the top of the fifth inning ending his rehab start. Morales looked pretty good today as he mixed up his pitches and had very good velocity. On the radar gun here in the park, which is admittedly not the most accurate in the world, had Morales topping off his fastball in the 92-94 range. He buckled a bunch of knees as well with his curveball as he racked up five strikeouts in his four innings of work. His final line for the day was 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K on 72 total pitches, 48 strikes.
Stu Cole Era Begins in Colorado Springs
Sunday, May 31st marks the beginning of the Stu Cole managerial era with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Cole becomes the 12th manager in the history of the Sky Sox and the second former Sox player to lead the team. He joins Paul Zuvella who played for the Sox in 1988-89 and then later managed the team in 1997-98. Cole played for the Sox as an infielder for three season from 1993-95 and hit .286 with 13 homers and 97 RBIs in 277 games.
So, with Cole officially here in Colorado Springs and running the show, here’s a look at his first lineup, which looks very similar to yesterday:
Eric Young Jr. – 2B
Jonathan Herrera – SS
Mike McCoy – RF
Carlos Gonzalez – CF
Matt Miller – LF
Kenny Perez – DH
Mark Bellhorn – 1B
Christian Colonel – 3B
Sal Fasano – C
Franklin Morales – SP
Today’s lineup is actually identical to yesterday’s lineup with the only exception being the starting pitcher Morales. Speaking of Morales, this will be his second start of the season with the Sky Sox and first of his Major League rehab assignment as he recovers from a left shoulder strain. He’s expected to throw between 75-80 pitches today.
The Space Between
Today’s contest will be the first game in three and a half years that Tom Runnells will not have some kind of direct impact on. Even yesterday, the day he was promoted to be the Rockies new bench coach, Runnells actually made out the lineup. It sounds odd, but Runnells had actually filled out the day’s lineup the night before and left it on his desk in his office. After Runnells got the call to head up to Denver the lineup was still used that night. So, technically, last night’s lineup was Runnells’ last as the Sky Sox manager. With new manager Stu Cole not arriving in Colorado Springs until Sunday, today’s lineup was put together by interim skipper Rene Lachemann.
So here’s a look at Lachemann’s lineup for today’s match up with the Tacoma Rainiers in game two of the four-game series:
Eric Young Jr. – 2B
Jonathan Herrera – SS
Mike McCoy – RF
Carlos Gonzalez – CF
Matt Miller – LF
Kenny Perez – DH
Mark Bellhorn – 1B
Christian Colonel – 3B
Sal Fasano – C
An interesting move in the lineup today is McCoy playing in right. It’ll be his first start in the outfield this season but McCoy has played the outfield throughout his career having played 60 total games in the outfield before this season. On the season, McCoy has been an ultra utility player for the Sky Sox. Not only has McCoy been raking at the plate but he’s also played games at second, third, shortstop, designated hitter, pitcher and now outfield.
With McCoy in the outfield, that also makes room to get Colonel in the lineup again today at third which is good to see. Colonel, who has been battling a slump for most of the season, had a break out game last night going 2-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs and his first homer since May 5. An All-Star for the Sky Sox last year, Colonel comes into today hitting a very uncharacteristic .214 with just two homers and 15 RBIs.
Runnells Promoted, Cole Joins Sky Sox
What a whirlwind day Friday, May 29th turned out to be! The day started like any other day really. The Sky Sox bused back from Albuquerque after their victory last night and didn’t roll into town until around 6 AM. As the team headed home to get some sleep, the Rockies had a lot action going on up in Denver.
As the day unfolded, reports from the Denver Post and ESPN started to filter in that Clint Hurdle’s tenure with the Rockies might be coming to an end. At that point the speculations began to float around and the phones began to ring. The Rockies announced a 2:30 PM press conference for a major announcement and from there the dominoes began to fall.
Once Jim Tracy was announced as the Rockies new interim manager the announcement that Sky Sox skipper Tom Runnells was going to be the new bench coach soon followed. The Sky Sox family couldn’t be any happier for Runnells and his family. After having him steering the ship here in Colorado Springs for three and a half seasons, we really do consider him a friend and he will be very much missed.
Later on in the evening the Rockies announced the replacement for Runnells in the form of Double-A manager Stu Cole. Cole is expected to be traveling up to Colorado Springs tomorrow morning and be here to take the helm on Sunday. The Stu Cole era officially begins as he becomes the 12th manager in Sky Sox history.
Suspended Game
With last night’s suspended game, the Sky Sox have now had two contests stopped and put on hold because of weather issues this year. In Triple-A baseball, suspended games happen from time to time and here’s the way it works. In general, the suspended game rule provides for the completion of any game which has not become a regulation game (five innings or four and a half innings with the home team leading) and has been stopped because of weather, curfew or other reasons. A game will also become suspended if it has progressed far enough to be a regulation game and is tied at the point play is stopped. The suspended game is essentially stopped where it is and then resumed before the next game between the two teams (schedule permitting).
Last night’s game was suspended in extra innings and thanks to Sky Sox historian Chris Moyer we have the following interesting notes:
Only two times has a Sky Sox game been suspended in extra innings, both happening during the 1996 season, and both at home.
August 14th, 1996 – Phoenix at Sky Sox, tied 4-4 in the top of the 11th, suspended due to rain. Resumed August 15th. Phoenix won in 11 innings, 5-4.
August 29th, 1996 – Calgary at Sky Sox, tied 9-9 in the bottom on the 10th, suspended due to rain. Since this was the last meeting of the season between the two Clubs, the game was ruled a 9-9 tie and all stats counted from the game.
Matt Miller Update
Several people have e-mailed in asking why Matt Miller has missed the past few games when he’s obviously been playing very well. Rest assured that things are fine with Miller and he has only missed the past few games because of some flu-like symptoms. He should be back in the lineup and playing left field again soon.
80 Degrees And Sunny
Today’s weather here in Colorado Springs is nothing short of fantastic! The thermometer currently reads 81 degrees and with a slight breeze out to left field the conditions couldn’t be better for baseball. The Colorado Springs Convention & Visitor’s Bureau must be smiling and hoping that weather like this will come around often this summer. For the Sky Sox, it currently makes great weather for some early work. Veteran infielders Kenny Perez and Mark Bellhorn are out early today with skipper Tom Runnells working on their swings as they hit off a tee.
As the Sky Sox get their early work in this afternoon, here’s a look at Runnell’s lineup for tonight’s 6:05 PM game against the Omaha Royals.
Eric Young Jr. – 2B
Mike McCoy – 3B
Carlos Gonzalez – CF
Matt Miller – LF
Dan Ortmeier – RF
Kenny Perez – DH
Mark Bellhorn – 1B
Sal Fasano – C
Jonathan Herrera – SS
Jason Hirsh – SP
The big news today is the return of Carlos Gonzalez to the lineup after the center fielder missed the past three games with a minor hamstring injury. Gonzalez has been the team’s best offensive player thus far this season (after Matt Murton was called up by the Rockies) and currently leads the team in homers (5), RBIs (40), Slugging (.629) and triples (6). In his absense, the Sox did go 2-1 but Gonzalez’s dynamic abilities clearly make the Sky Sox a much more dangerous team when he’s in the lineup.
In other developments today, the Rockies purchased the contract of Sky Sox reliever Joel Peralta to take the place of Matt Daley who was very unforutnately hurt in his outing yesterday. To make room for Peralta on the 40-man roster, the Rockies designated for assignment Sky Sox closer Steven Register. Register will be on waivers for the next 72 hours and therefore exposed to any other Major League team. While he is on waivers, Register will be unavailable to play for the Sox. To take the place of Register, the Rockies promoted reliever Ryan Mattheus from Double-A Tulsa.
Today’s pitching matchup pits Sox right-hander Jason Hirsh (3-2, 5.27) versus the O-Royals’ lefty Heath Phillips (1-4, 8.72). Hirsh is coming off his roughest outing of the season when he gave up eight runs on 11 hits over a season-low 4.1 innings against a hot-hitting Iowa on May 13. That outing came after three very solid games (two starts) for Hirsh in which tossed at least 6.0 innings and gave up two runs or less in each appearance.
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