2011-07-20 06:02:02
DENVER -- Michael Cuddyer Jersey The Rockies have still not locked down a return date for right-hander Esmil Rogers, but manager Jim Tracy said when the pitcher does make his way back, it will likely be as a starter. Rogers, 25, on the disabled list since May 2 with lat muscle and oblique injuries, gave up five runs on eight hits while throwing 76 pitches over five innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Saturday. Rogers said Monday he will start again for Colorado Springs on Thursday, with a 105-pitch limit, but he is not sure what is scheduled beyond that."I'm just going to try to do my job and wait to see what they tell me," Rogers said.Rogers is 3-1 with a 7.66 ERA in five games (four starts) for the Rockies this season. Tracy wants more looks at the young right-hander as a starter. "I think, right now, you have to view him as [a starter]," Tracy said. "It's not only important as we continue to analyze our situation here, but also from the standpoint of the development of the player. "We're not doing ourselves the greatest of services to have this guy pitching out of the bullpen, if in fact there's opportunity to start. Doesn't make any sense to me to do that with that Authentic Alfonso Soriano Jersey young pitcher." Betancourt benefiting from clear head DENVER -- Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt is done tinkering with his hand positioning and no longer thinking about how quickly he is pulling the ball out of his glove. In the end, those matters aren't at the top of his list."I was trying to work on some mechanic stuff that I was doing wrong, but mentally I have to be strong and have confidence every time I come Cubs Alfonso Soriano Jersey into the game," Betancourt said. "That is more important to me than mechanics, getting my confidence back and getting focused. When things go wrong, you start thinking too much. You can't do that in this game."For the last three outings, a clear mind has produced clean results over 2 1/3 innings in which he has given up one hit, struck out three and not walked anyone. He had been touched for runs in Johan Santana Jersey seven of his 12 outings before this successful stretch. On Sunday afternoon, he threw a perfect inning with one strikeout against the Brewers."I always say one game doesn't mean anything, but that's what I want -- to have the confidence to go into the strike zone and attack the hitters," he said. "You have to keep doing it, Cubs Starlin Castro Jersey every time."Betancourt could be a major cog if the Rockies make a dramatic turnaround. But if the Rockies don't become a factor before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, contending teams could be interested. There could be payroll relief for the Rockies. Betancourt is in the first year of a two-year deal that is paying him $4.25 million this year and will pay $4 million next year plus a $250,000 buyout on a $4.25 million mutual option for 2013.Being traded from the woebegone Indians to a contending Rockies club in 2009 was a shock for Betancourt, who had spent his Major League career in Cleveland. He Authentic Johan Santana Jersey realizes it could happen again because of the way baseball works, Alfonso Soriano Jersey but he can't bring himself to believe the Rockies' hopes are anywhere near finished."If you start thinking you don't have any chance, you don't have to come to the ballpark," Betancourt said. "I don't like to think that way or feel it. This is our job, the game we love. You represent your team 100 percent. I don't think anybody's thinking that way. I know we have to do something. That's Starlin Castro Jersey all we're thinking about."I don't like to think that way. 'That's it.' In July? No. I can't tell you if we're going to do this or if we're not going to do anything. The only thing we can do is go out on the field and play, worry about what we need to do and forget about other teams. Besides that, I don't have anything else to say. If I had the right answers ... that's why this is a tough game." Wigginton steps in for Stewart DENVER -- Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart was removed from Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Brewers in the fifth inning after committing two errors, and he wasn't in the starting lineup on Monday. But Rockies manager Jim Tracy said that decision had less to do with what Stewart did wrong and more with the quality of Ty Wigginton's at-bats on Sunday -- including a run-scoring double off Brewers closer John Axford in the Mets Johan Santana Jersey ninth that cut the lead to one run. "You had a veteran player that you brought in that was very influential in putting you in a position to win the game yesterday in a game that, early on, in the first few innings, didn't look like we had much of a chance at all," Tracy said. In his third stint with the Rockies this season, Stewart has hit well since returning from Triple-A Colorado Springs on July 5. In his last five games, the third baseman is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with a pair of doubles. Tracy said Monday's lineup decision Authentic Michael Cuddyer Jersey was also based on Stewart's history against Braves starter Derek Lowe. Stewart was just 1-for-15 against the Atlanta right-hander. Twins Michael Cuddyer Jersey Wigginton was 2-for-10 against Lowe. Authentic Starlin Castro Jersey
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