San Diego Padres (1-2) vs. Colorado Rockies (2-1)
Coors Field, 4:10 P.M.
Jason Marquis (0-0, -.–) vs. Jeff Francis (0-0, -.–)

I know what you’re thinking right now.  Something along the lines of, “Wait, Jason Marquis and Jeff Francis are both still in the Major Leagues?”  That’s right, they are!  Both veteran pitchers signed low salary deals with their respective teams this off-season in order to keep their careers going strong into their mid-thirties.

An opposite story can be found in the Padres starting lineup, where only two players (Will Venable and Carlos Quentin) are in their thirties.  Heralded as one of the top minor league systems in the game the past couple of seasons, the results are finally starting to show on the big league club.  Young players like Yonder Alonso and Jedd Gyorko have already nailed down spots toward the top of the lineup, a clear sign of the offensive help that the Padres need.  Last year saw the emergence of third baseman Chase Headley as a MVP candidate; however, a thumb injury in spring training has him sidelined and the team still searching for an offensive identity.  With several more high potential prospects on their way to the Majors, it’s just a matter of time until the Padres put together a team that can compete in the NL West.  The pitching and bullpen are already in place.  Now it’s just up for the offense to get things together and we might see a different kind of baseball going on in San Diego.

Facing left-hander Jeff Francis should be anything but different for the Padres.  A fixture on the Rockies pitching staff from 2004-2010, Francis is once again back in Colorado to provide the club with serviceable innings.  Although his career numbers aren’t flattering, Francis holds a lot of value for the Rockies.  A groundball pitcher that allows very few home runs, Francis represents one of the few Rockies starters to ever put up feasible numbers at Coors Field.  Let’s face it, Coors Field is by far the worst park in the majors for pitchers as very few are able to adjust to the thin Denver air.  As Jeremy Guthrie proved last year, it takes a very special kind of pitcher to not allow many homers in Colorado and Francis luckily fits that mold.  Loaded with right-handed talent, San Diego should have no problem giving Francis a tough time today.  However, they can’t count on the long ball to do it for them.  For the Padres, putting together big innings will be key as Francis has always been prone to offensive rallies in his career.  By taking advantage of this, the Padres hitting should be able to carry them through this game.

Now on to the Rockies where hitting is the only thing that has carried them throughout their franchise’s history.  As I mentioned earlier, Coors Field is a pitcher’s worst nightmare and almost every Rockies starter could tell you that from personal experience.  On the other hand, ask a Rockies hitter what they think about Coors Field and they’ll have so much to rave about.  The list of legendary offensive performance’s is impressive: Larry Walker’s 1997, Todd Helton’s 2000, Matt Holliday’s 2007.  Even current outfielder Carlos González’s 2010 season was one for the ages.  Despite the addition of a humidor, Coors Field remains one of the league’s greatest launch pads and many hitters have had inflated stats because of it.  That’s not to say the Rockies are without stars though as González and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki represent two of the most talented players at their positions throughout the league.  What I will say though is that any opposing pitcher is ten times less excited to face the Rockies at Coors than to face them at any other park in the game.

And if any opposing pitcher has reason to hate Coors more than any other it should be Jason Marquis.  Resigned to a one-year deal over the winter after being picked up the Padres last season, Marquis represents the latest veteran pitcher to make his way to San Diego after hitting a dead-end.  Jon Garland in 2010, Aaron Harang in 2011, Edinson Volquez last year.  All these pitchers put up solid seasons for the Padres after no longer being wanted by their teams the year before.  Marquis is no different from this as last year saw him post an ERA over eight with the Minnesota Twins before making his way over to the Padres where he lowered that to four.  There’s no denying it, Petco is where the washed up pitchers go.  Maybe that isn’t as catchy as the normal slogan but it sure is true.  Returning to Colorado where he pitched well in 2009, Marquis most likely will not be in for the same success today that he had that season.  In the past three years, Marquis has seen his home runs per nine innings numbers continue to rise.  Last year, Marquis allowed twenty-three home runs in 127 2/3 innings pitched, eight more homers than he allowed in 2009 (216 innings pitched).  Relying on craft and veteran knowledge at this point in his career, Coors is not the optimal field for Marquis and that should show today.  If the Rockies are as pumped for their home opener as they should be, don’t expect too much from the Padres reclamation project.

Player to Watch – Rockies LF Carlos González

A game against a hittable right-handed pitcher at Coors?  This is basically everything that Carlos González has dreamed of.  As we learned very quickly during his 2010 season, CarGo is a MUCH better hitter at home than away.  Slugging twenty-six of his thirty-four homers while hitting just under four hundred in seventy-four games at Coors that season, González is the epitome of home-field advantage.  Against Marquis, expect CarGo to wreak havoc out of the Rockies number three spot.  Already having two homers under his belt this season, don’t be surprised if number three comes as early as today.

Player to Drop – Rockies C Wilin Rosario

Typically I don’t have many doubts about players who are hitting well above five-hundred to start the season but today I do.  Rosario burst onto the scene as a rookie last year, hitting twenty-eight home runs in 117 games at the Major League level.  A typical right-handed pull hitter, Rosario is another perfect fit for Coors.  However, his numbers against right-handed pitchers are less than convincing.  Batting over one-hundred points less against righties than lefties, Rosario is a fair bet to have a poor day at the plate today. Facing a strike thrower like Marquis, Rosario should spend most of today behind in the count and in jeopardy of striking out.  Throw in the fact that he only hit four of his home runs last year in day games and you have a pretty logical case for Rosario to struggle during today’s match-up.

Post Script

The Padres whiffed on several early opportunities to get to Jeff Francis as the southpaw held them to only one run in six innings.  Allowing runners to get into scoring position in each of his first three innings, Francis was able to settle down after that and faced little opposition for the rest of his outing.  Although the Padres had their chances, their lack of putting together a big inning is what did them in in this loss.

For Jason Marquis, the opposition wasn’t as merciful as Colorado put up five runs against the San Diego starter.  Going six innings, Marquis was victimized by two home runs, each accounting for the two earned runs he allowed (five total runs).  Pitching heavily in the strike zone as he normally does, Marquis was the victim of hard contact given up to the wrong parts of the field.  With three of his six hits he gave up going for extra bases, it’s easy to see that the Rockies were able to get some good swings going against him today.

Carlos González had a quiet day at the plate, going 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.  Grounding out in both his at-bats against Marquis, González failed to put good wood on the ball until his last at bat of the day against Anthony Bass.  Mark this down as a missed opportunity for CarGo to take advantage of two contact-driven pitchers.

For Wilin Rosario, today was a classic case of feast or famine.  Going 1 for 3 with a home run, Rosario put together one solid at-bat sandwiched between two of the Rockies weakest at-bats of the day (one pitch groundout, strikeout).  Accounting for the Rockies only strikeout against a pitcher whose career K/9 is less than six, Rosario definitely did not garner the game’s highest honors.  However, a home run is still a home run and the fact that it came from behind in the count is a good sign of development for the young catcher.