By Kevin Jordan

Editor’s note. This was sent into our Supreme Master last week, but our Supreme Master was off vacationing in Maui! Why isn’t he watching every pitch of every Rockies Spring Training game? I asked the same question and all I got in return was some sort of Corona induced psycho babble. In any case, we feel this is still relevant and Kevin’s opinions and thoughts haven’t changed.

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Since Root Sports decided to air more than one spring training game this year, those of us who don’t have the time (or money) to venture to Arizona get some chances (six, to be exact) to see the team in spring training. After watching Mariners crush the Rockies 16-6 on Monday, these are my initial thoughts.

Juan Nicasio threw three innings and looked awful in giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. I say “threw” and not “pitched” because the man is a pitcher in title only. If anyone can tell me why the Rockies insist he is a starting pitcher, please educate me. He threw mostly fastballs and mixed in something that vaguely resembled a curveball. Starting pitchers need two plus pitches and a third decent one to be successful and Nicasio has one. To top that off, his control was nearly nonexistent, mostly due to his body being out of control. He is a reliever at best and appears to have no idea how to actually pitch. He just slings the ball at the plate and no one is sure where it is going.

Following Nicasio’s exit, the Rockies portrayed why they were so terrible last year. First, the inning showcased another dubious acquisition by the front in office in 42-year old reliever, Miguel Batista. When I wrote earlier about what I would do if I was the GM for a day, it included releasing 42-year old Jason Giambi, primarily because the Rockies are in no place to be burning roster spots on 42-year olds. Uh…yeah. While Batista didn’t give up any earned runs, he did give up 6 unearned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. Second, it was another signature inning where one error basically blew up the game. Third, the defense completely stunk up the field, though the box score show only one error (on Cuddyer at first base). Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but two other plays should have been made that could have ended the inning. One was a fly ball to right-center that Tyler Colvin appeared to overrun, though it was by no means a routine play. The other was a fly ball to left field that Corey Dickerson caught on the run, only to drop it when he stopped himself with the wall. Again, both plays were somewhat difficult, but good defenses make those plays and stop the bleeding.

Since we’re on the subject, for those of you who can’t stop griping about Todd Helton playing first base, Cuddyer let a routine ground ball go through his legs, leading to those
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