Arms Race

by Alexander Tam

Editorial. Photos by AP News

It has finally come. The AL has taken the All-Star crown once again and we find ourselves at the second half of the baseball season. This year has shaped out to be one of the most interesting in baseball history. Nearly all divisions in both leagues are at a close race.

This story rings true across all divisions except for one; the wild, wild NL west. If you had told me that this season the Rockies would have one of the best pitching rotations in the majors, while pitching at Coors mind you, even I would have called you a little crazy. But guess what? It’s true ladies and gentlemen.

At first glance you may not be impressed or convinced, but take a closer look. The Rockies honestly and truly have one of the best rotations in baseball. To start it off Cook, Marquis, and Jimenez rank 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio in the NL, a perfect statistic to have when pitching in Coors. All three also have complete games and 2 have shut outs.

What about elite teams? What about the Yankees you may ask, a team with a better record and infinitely bigger payroll. Their ERA leader is at 3.81 and a paltry 102 K’s. Compare this to Marquis’s 3.65 ERA and Jimenez’s 111 K’s. The Phillies and the Mets rotation? We won’t even go there. Yes the Giants have better 1-2 pitchers, but past that, the rest of their starters have an ERA above 4.7. Only one Rockies starter has an era above 4.7, but Jorge De La Rosa has 99 K’s and his young strong arm gives promise for the future.

If you look closely, there are very few teams with better rotations than the Rockies. Here is what I rank the top 5 rotations in baseball, in no particular order: the Red Sox, the Braves, the Mariners, the Cardinals, and the Rockies. A case can be made for Tampa Bay and the Dodgers since they have somewhat similar numbers than the Rockies, but the Rockies do their pitching in Coors and it does make a difference when their team ERA away is more than one run fewer. The fact that the Rockies pitchers can perform so well in Coors puts them above the Rays.

Colorado is 3^rd in saves and 2^nd in quality starts (a quality start is defined has a pitcher who goes at least 6 innings and gives up no more than 3 runs). The Dodgers, while they are 1^st in nearly all NL pitching categories, are 15^th in quality starts. Since the Dodgers have a team ERA of 3.62 (2^nd in the NL, you can guess who is 1^st) that means that the Dodgers turn to their bullpen early and often. And no matter how good your bullpen is, it is always vulnerable to a bad day, and your bullpen is only as strong as your weakest pitcher.

The Rockies have been on a recent tear, and nobody seems to be able to figure out why. Here’s one reason: batters around the league better watch out for young man who has finally figured it out, Ubaldo Jimenez. He averages the fastest fastball in the majors at 95.7 mph, has one CG to his name and 111 strikeouts. On top of all that, he has only given up 5 home runs all year compared to King Felix’s 8, Dan Haren’s 12, and Lincicum’s 5 as well. It is difficult to say who is truly the Rockies ace, but compared to the Dodgers ace Billingsly, Ubaldo has fewer walks and only 9 less Ks, and is less than .10 points away from matching Billingsley’s ERA. Coming off a stellar performance in the WBC, its finally looking like this is Ubaldo’s year.

All-Star Jason Marquis has been the Rockies work horse and savior. He has a team leading ERA of 3.65. He’s no 2.27 ERA Tim Lincicum, sure. But manager Jim Tracy (the true Rockies savior) sees a change in his pitcher and has confidence in him. Marquis has 2 complete games and 1 shutout and has often gone 8 innings. His best start was against the Dodgers when he held them two hits with only 86 pitches in his complete game performance. He has made remarkable changes considering his past career stats and the fact that he is doing better in Coors field is even better. He has 11 wins to his name and simply put, he finds a way to get it done. He’s no strikeout king but he induces ground balls at will keeping an improving Rockies defense on their toes and in the game. He also helps out the bullpen tremendously by dealing 2 complete games, 1 shutout, and consistently going deep into games.

Aaron Cook had a great season and was magic during the 2008 All Star game (giving up only 4 hits and 0 runs in 3 innings against the AL’s finest bats) and the surrounding weeks. If we want to talk about a man who truly produces ground balls at will, it is Aaron the sinker-ball master Cook. His pitching style is ideal for a field like Coors. In the month of May, Cook let up 0 home runs. In July he walked only 7 and pitched 12 more innings resulting in an ERA of 2.36 compared to May’s 2.93.

My prayers have been answered. The Rockies finally having a pitching staff to match our offense. There’s a new sheriff in town, and Joe Torre better keep his eye on Jim Tracy.

Come September, mark my words, the Dodgers won’t have a comfortable lead over the Rockies, who are one of only eight major league teams with a winning record on the road.

And as for the wild card, its about to get a lot more wild. As Jason Marquis once said, "I'm not a guy who tries to prove the doubters wrong. I'm a guy who proves the believers right." And that's just what he and the rest of this Rockies rotation are doing.