Clips for 7-12-10

MEDIA CLIPS – March 4, 2016 CarGo's extra cargo no cause for concern Bigger biceps won't affect throwing, says right fielder By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | March 3rd, 2016 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez worked out with several current and future football stars in Orlando, Fla., but he insists he didn't develop the type of muscle that inhibits a baseball player. Specifically, Gonzalez appears larger in the biceps. It's not cartoonish, but still it is noticeable and could be concerning. If big biceps helped a player throw -- and the ability to erase baserunners is one of Gonzalez's many attributes -- pitchers would have them. But Gonzalez, who trained at speed and performance coach Tom Shaw's center with coaches Brian Stamper and Bert Whigham, took special care to make sure bigger arms don't lead to shorter throws. "What's important for me when I'm lifting hard is I want to be flexible, so I stretched a lot with my upper body and my lower body," Gonzalez said. "After working out, I was sure that I'd run and I always played catch. It was part of my routine. "It can affect you if you don't throw. I'd lift in the mornings, work pretty hard, then run. And in the afternoon, I'd do my whole baseball program so that it doesn't affect me." Of course, arm strength is part of power hitting. If Gonzalez can add a few more feet in distance and height -- with the fence in front of the bullpen increased in height from eight feet to 16 feet, six inches -- more power to him. He finished last year with 42 home runs. 1 Rockies first-base coach and outfield and baserunning instructor Eric Young noted that he paid no attention to the larger arms, but he was happy to see that the rest of Gonzalez remained lean. "I watched him throw when he came here, and he's good to go," Young said. "And you see his waist and all that, and he's really trim and quick. I think he's in for a big year." Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter@harding_at_mlb, listen to podcasts and like his Facebook page. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. 2 Rox scratch Rusin due to finger inflammation Carle to get start against A's; prospect Musgrave to follow By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | 11:17 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies scratched lefty Chris Rusin from Friday's scheduled start against the Athletics because of inflammation of the left middle finger, manager Walt Weiss said. There is no timetable on when Rusin will be ready for Cactus League action. Non-roster right-hander Shane Carle, acquired from the Pirates for reliever Rob Scahill after the 2014 season, will start. He'll be followed by lefty prospect Harrison Musgrave. Rusin, 29, is seeking a spot in the starting rotation after going 6-10 with a 5.33 ERA in 24 games, all but two of them starts, last season. It was by far the most action in a season for Rusin, who went 4-9 with a 4.97 ERA for the Cubs in 24 games (20 starts) from 2012-14. Carle went a combined 14-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 27 starts with Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Albuquerque last season. The Pirates took Carle in the 10th round out of Long Beach State in 2013. Musgrave, who amassed 136 combined strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings last season at Class A Modesto and New Britain, was an eighth-round choice out of West Virginia in 2014. The situation becomes intriguing because Rusin is out of Minor League options. Most forecasts have the rotation consisting of lefty Jorge De La Rosa and righties Chad Bettis, Tyler Chatwood, Jordan Lyles and Jon Gray. However, Rusin threw two complete games last season and had some of the Rockies' best starts. The Rockies are preparing Rusin as a starter, but they often carry eight relievers -- one more than most teams. Rusin could be used as a lefty complement to righty long reliever Christian Bergman. Also, righty David Hale, who also hopes to have a say in the starting-rotation race but can pitch out of the bullpen, threw 10 pitches off a mound to a catcher -- who was standing rather than squatting -- on the sixth day since suffering a right hamstring injury in a running drill. Hale has stayed on his throwing program, and should be able to slide into game work once cleared from rehab. 3 Rox prospect Story shows raw power with HR By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | March 3rd, 2016 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Until a year and a half ago, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story struggled with staying even during the professional season's highs and lows. Now, with a chance to earn a Major League starting job, Story has to deal with a high -- an eye-catching three-run homer in his first Spring Training start during a 6-5 victory over the D-backs on Thursday. Story, 23, a supplemental first-round pick out of Irving (Texas) High School in 2011, launched his homer to dead center on a cutter by D-backs righty Zack Godley on a 2-2 pitch with one out in the third inning. The shot was estimated at 442 feet by Statcast™ and was a stunning early impression, but early nonetheless. "The more you play, you realize it's a long season and this is a long Spring Training, too," Story, the Rockies' No. 11 prospect, said. The homer came after a double by Cristhian Adames, who is competing for shortstop but started Thursday at second, and a walk by Charlie Blackmon. "I'm not even worried about results, really; just having solid at-bats and effective at-bats," said Story, who hit 20 combined home runs at Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Albuquerque last year. "To be honest with you, I was just trying to hit that ball to right field. My two-strike approach is to just stay inside it." The thought process is what manager Walt Weiss wants. "You always want to get off to a good start, make a good first impression, and he certainly did," Weiss said. "It's where the big boys go -- he's shown that power, has got ability to hit the ball a long ways. The key with Trevor is to set his sights to the big part of the field and not try to do those things. With his ability, it'll happen." Worth noting • The Rockies are adding coated chain-link fencing to raise the height of the right-center-field wall at Coors Field by eight feet, to 16 feet, 6 inches, to prevent line-drive home runs that make it unfair for pitchers. But balls hitting a fence of that composition will tend not to carom far from the wall. 4 But what if the Rockies had gone with taut netting? Theoretically, a net would create a carom that could give the outfielder a chance to steal an out with a strong throw. Also, with the netting starting 7 feet, 9 inches off the ground, it would not be a safety issue for a fielder who could have his spikes caught in the net. But general manager Jeff Bridich said there are reasons the Rockies went with fencing. "There was just a need for material consistency in what we already have," Bridich said. "At some point, you have to consider the aesthetics of what's already out there, what's been out there, and make that decision. It's pretty rigid fencing. "We'll just have to see how it plays." • Righty Jordan Lyles yielded a first-pitch triple to Nick Ahmed in the first inning and a leadoff double to Jason Lamb in the second in his Cactus League debut. Lyles, who was limited to 11 starts last season because of a right big toe ligament injury that required surgery, yielded two runs on three hits, and struck out two with no walks. "Next time out, I'll work on the curveball and changeup again; I would say I'm going to get three innings," Lyles said. "My changeup was pretty good, for the most part, today and I threw the curveball for a couple of strikes." • Rockies righty Eddie Butler hit 98 mph during his two innings. He yielded two runs on four hits, with a strikeout and strikes on 22 of his 34 pitches. The runs scored on three straight hits with two outs in the third inning, Butler's first. The lessons were clear. "Last year, I was behind a lot, and I started getting hit around and that's when they scored the runs," said Butler, a supplemental first-round pick in 2012 who went 3-10 with a 5.90 ERA in 16 Major league starts last year. "Today, all those counts were hitters' counts, every one of them. If you get ahead, you can attack with what you want." • Center fielder David Dahl, the Rockies' top pick (10th overall) in 2012, doubled in a run and singled during the ninth- inning rally. Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter@harding_at_mlb, listen to Podcasts and like his Facebook page. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. 5 CarGo, Story power Rockies past D-backs By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | @SteveGilbertMLB | March 3rd, 2016 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

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