The Rockies continue to have big injury problems as Matt Holliday has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Holliday has played in 46 games this season for the Rockies and he is 60 for 187 (.321 avg, .952 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers, 26 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Holliday will be replaced on the roster by 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Cory Sullivan. Sullivan has played in 39 games in AAA ball this season and he is 45 for 158 (.285 avg, .777 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sullivan has played in 337 games in his major league career and he is 254 for 904 (.281 avg, .725 OPS) with 130 runs scored, 8 homers, 74 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Even though Sullivan is a decent player the Rockies will miss Holliday’s bat big time as the injuries are really starting to mount on them.

The Rockies have placed starting right fielder Brad Hawpe on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. He has played in 42 games for the Rockies this season and he is 33 for 143 (.231 avg, .706 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. Hawpe will be replaced in RF by Ryan Spilboroghs who has played in 37 games this season for the Rockies. He is 25 for 82 (.305 avg, .849 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Rockies have recalled 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Seth Smith to replace Hawpe on the active roster. Smith has played in 1 game for the Rockies this season and he is 0 for 4. Smith has also played in 45 games in AAA this season and he is 51 for 159 (.321 avg, .951 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 6 homers, 30 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Smith will likely do a decent job as he got some real key hits for the Rockies late last season and in the playoffs.

The Rockies have placed shortstop Clint Barmes on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee. Barmes has played in 39 games for the Rockies this season and he is 46 for 134 (.343 avg, .958 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 20 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This was a bad break for both Barmes and the Rockies as he was doing a great job filling in for the injured Troy Tulowitzki. Barmes will be replaced as the starting shortstop by Omar Quintanilla. Quintanilla has played in 17 games this season for the Rockies and he is 13 for 50 (.260 avg, .635 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Rockies have recalled infielder Ian Stewart to replace Barmes on the active roster. Stewart has played in 1 game this season for the Rockies and he is 0 for 3. Stewart has also played in 46 games in AAA ball this season and he is 48 for 171 (.281 avg, .988 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 12 homers, 43 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Stewart is a 3B by trade but he will likely get some P.T. at 2B for the Rockies as Garrett Atkins is entrenched as the starting 3B of the Rockies.

Taylor Buchholz has been great out of the pen for the Rockies. He has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this season and he is 2-2 with 1 save, a 1.27 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. Buchholz has only allowed 14 hits in 28.1 innings this season which shows how dominating he has been. He has been a beacon of light in a dark season to this point for the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies have signed lefty Glendon Rusch to a minor league contract. The 33-year old Rusch pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Padres this season and he was 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Rusch has now pitched in 308 games (211 starts) in his major league career and he is 61-96 with 4 saves, a 5.03 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Don’t look for Rusch to make a big impact for the Rockies at any point in the 2008 season.