The Rockies have placed righty reliever Ryan Speier and lefty starting pitcher Franklin Morales on the D.L. Speier has a injured left hamstring and Morales has a strained shoulder. Speier has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) this season for the Rockies and he is 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He has pitched in 90 games (0 starts) in his career with the Rockies and he is 7-3 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Morales has started 2 games for the Rockies this season and he is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Morales has whiffed 9 batters and only walked 1 in 8 innings for the Rockies this season. The Rockies have recalled 26-year old righty reliever Matt Daley for his first taste of the majors. He has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has whiffed a stunning 15 batters this season while only walking 1 in 8 innings.

The Rockies have purchased the contract of 28-year old starter/reliever Matt Belisle and they have designated 25-year old righty reliever Juan Morillo to make room on the roster. Belisle pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Reds last season and he was 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. He has now pitched in 132 games (43 starts) in his major league career and he is 16-22 with 1 save, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Belisle could start or relieve for the Rockies giving the pitching staff more options. Morillo pitched in 52 games (0 starts) last season for the Rockies and he was 1-0 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. Morillo whiffed 55 batters but he walked a stunning 56 in only 59.2 innings last season. He also pitched in 1 game for the Rockies last season working a scoreless inning allowing 1 hit.

The Rockies have acquired 26-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Hammel in return for 21-year old righty Aneury Rodriguez. Hammel will likely join the rotation for the Rockies at the outset of the 2009 season. Hammel pitched in 40 games (5 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 4-4 with 2 saves, a 4.60 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He has now pitched in 73 games (28 starts) in his major league career and he is 7-15 with 2 saves, a 5.90 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He does have good stuff so the Rockies are banking on him improving in 2009. Aneury Rodriguez was the #16 prospect in the Rockies’ minor league system according to Baseball America. Rodriguez pitched in 27 games (all starts) in A-ball last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.

With the loss of Matt Holliday and lefty starting pitcher Jeff Francis out for the season it’s hard to fathom the Rockies winning more than the 74 games they won last season. Despite the National League West being a relatively weak division it’s hard to see the Rockies winning more than 77 games. I would take the under with confidence.

Sure, Clint Hurdle led the Rockies to the N.L. Pennant in 2007 but that seems like a long time ago after last season. Hurdle led the Rockies to a 74-88 record (45.7%) and a third place finish in the N.L. West. He has now been the manager of the Rockies for 7 seasons compiling a 516-597 (46.4%) record with a average division finish of 3.7. The Rockies likely won’t tolerate another poor season under Hurdle’s direction.