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MEDIA CLIPS – May 8, 2018 Inbox: When will Tapia rejoin Rockies in bigs? Beat reporter Thomas Harding answers fans' questions Thomas Harding / MLB.com | May 7, 2018ng_at_mlb DENVER -- The Rockies have won five straight because of standout starting pitching, but the offense, which hasn't found its groove, generates questions for this week's Inbox. Let's take a look at some of your questions: Thomas Harding @harding_at_mlb Let's try this again. Send me your #Rockies questions and I will answer in a story before tosay's series finale with #Cubs Adam Arias @Adi2zz6le How come we have not seen tapia up yet ? And is there a chance we trade Desmond, cargo and parra? We could clear room to resign DJ Raimel Tapia homered four times in the first seven games with Triple-A Albuquerque this season, but he was struggling with strikeouts -- 15 in his first 11 games. He has been far better over his past 18 games -- .346 with 18 runs scored, one homer, seven doubles and two triples. Now it's just simply a matter of finding a place for him. He's in that tough position of having to force the organization's hand, or at least stay hot until an injury occurs. 1 Despite the shouting about the slow starts of Ian Desmond and Carlos Gonzalez (Gerardo Parra has been respectable with a .263 average and a .327 on-base percentage), teams don't drop veterans they've invested in after a bad month. And with Desmond, who's owed a good chunk of money in the second year of a five-year contract, and Gonzalez struggling, it's not like there is huge grade value. Thomas Harding @harding_at_mlb Taking your #Rockies questions for today's @EdwardJones Beat Reporter's Inbox. Please tweet me questions now. Judd Miller @MyPurpleFamily What adjustments has Dezee made; what adjustments is Cargo making? It's a lot easier to pinpoint with Desmond. He tried to change his swing during the offseason, then abandoned that project. The lesson: Commit to something, whether it's the old swing or a change. Desmond has recommitted to his old swing. Gonzalez is a little harder to figure out. It looked as if he was finding some rhythm during a late-April road trip, but he injured his right hamstring, missed nine games and is 1-for-12 since. In Chicago after coming back, the rollover ground balls were a bad sign, and I thought CarGo wasn't moving well. He didn't start two of the games on the trip, and the Rockies had Monday off. The hope is that the rest has helped and he'll find rhythm at home -- where the Rockies must find their offense. Matt Swartz @swartzie6 @harding_at_mlb Do you think the #Rockies keep Castro up and send Valaika down for a spell once DJ is healthy? @EdwardJones DJ LeMahieu, the Rockies' standout second baseman, is eligible to return from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, so we can find out sooner than later. 2 First, give general manager Jeff Bridich credit for making some good roster management signings. Daniel Castro and righty reliever Brooks Pounders had been to the Majors with other teams. But the Rockies signed them to non-roster deals, knowing they each still have a Minor League option. So the club isn't stuck if it sends either of them down. Castro would have some value on Colorado's bench for his ability to put balls in play. He has done so all 16 of his Major League plate appearances. It's a small sample size, and a .188 average isn't burning up the diamond. But you can see Castro moving a runner or dropping a bunt or performing a hit-and-run in a clutch moment. Things being equal, Pat Valaika has more pop, as he demonstrated last year. But with a .103 average, 16 strikeouts and five walks in 64 plate appearances, it's been a rough go. The Rockies will have to decide whether Valaika will need regular playing time in Triple-A or if they'll function better once LeMahieu returns and the roster is finally somewhat normal. B.A. Friesen @bafriesen @harding_at_mlb the Mets DFA Harvey. Any chance #Rockies take a chance to pick him up? Need a more veteran presence in rotation. I have heard of no intention on the Rockies' part. The disagreements with manager Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland would give me pause, especially after some rifts when Terry Collins ran the Mets. The team that would take a flyer on Harvey would be one that built a relationship with him before the 2010 MLB Draft, when the Mets took him seventh overall, and believes it can make a connection that wasn't made with the Mets. I have no knowledge of any scouts, front-office members or coaches with the Rockies who have made that kind of connection. Thomas Harding @harding_at_mlb #Rockies fans, please send me your questions for today's @EdwardJones Beat Reporter's Inbox. 3 Hot Stove Stats @HotStoveStats Do you think Larry Walker will get into the Hall of Fame, and if so, will it be during eligibility or through the modern era committee? There is a warming to Larry Walker's credentials, as his 34.1 percent finish last year suggests. But that's a long way from the 75 percent needed. I'm thinking any enshrinement will come after he is off the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot. 4 NY native Ottavino talks pitching in Big Apple Bill Ladson / MLB.com | May 7, 2018 Rockies right-hander Adam Ottavino is one of the best setup men in baseball this season. He has allowed just one run in 19 innings, while striking out 35. MLB.com caught up with the Brooklyn native after he defeated his nephew, Davis, in a chess match at Citi Field. He had a lot to say during a 20-question interview. MLB.com: You pitched against the Mets this weekend. Describe the feeling you have when you pitch in New York. Ottavino: Right now, I try to treat it like it is normal, like nothing is different. I think the first couple of times, it was definitely different, just aware that people I knew were watching me. Not a lot of people watch Rockies games in New York. I'm definitely a little more nervous than [I probably should be]. Right now, I try to think of it as the same. MLB.com: As a kid, did you ever dream about playing in New York? Ottavino: Definitely. Going to games at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium, I always wanted to be out there. The first time I played [in New York as a professional was in 2012]. It meant a lot to me. MLB.com: Did you grow up a Mets fan or a Yankees fan? Ottavino: I grew up a Yankees fan. I was a little bit of a front-runner. At that time, they were so good. They were good at everything. I loved watching them play. I love baseball history, so they are a team with a lot of it, so I followed it. MLB.com: You hear Billy Joel say, "I'm in a New York state of mind." When you are in New York, what's on your mind? Ottavino: I don't know. That's a tough question. I just feel comfortable here. I grew up in the city. Until I started traveling for baseball, I thought the whole world was a giant city. I didn't know anything else. It feels natural to me to walk around, take the train, see the different culture. I just always felt comfortable here. 5 MLB.com: What was it like growing up in Brooklyn? Ottavino: It was great. Being an only child, you would think I would be lonely, but being that there are so many people around, so many kids, I thought I had a huge family in my neighborhood. I had a ton of great friends. I was always doing activities. MLB.com: This might sound like a strange question, but being from Brooklyn, did you ever say, "Man, I wish I could have seen the Dodgers play in Brooklyn?" Ottavino: Absolutely, 100 percent. My grandmother told me she went to Ebbets Field and how special it was. I lived pretty close to where it would have been. A lot of the old-timers that I knew growing up were Dodgers fans, and their hearts were ripped out when they left. MLB.com: Let's talk about the Rockies. In the past, they had a tough time winning on the road. The past two years have been a different story. Why? Ottavino: Our pitching has done a really great job. Hitting-wise, we have guys with more experience when it comes to the difference between Coors Field and outside of Coors Field. Our guys, who have been around the altitude longer, have made better adjustments this year and have been able to manufacture some runs. MLB.com: The pitching is outstanding this year. It didn't matter who was pitching, say, 10 years ago. The road was bad for the Rockies. Ottavino: No disrespect to the guys 10 years ago, but we have a lot of good pitchers now. Our pitching is really strong across the board. We don't throw out any bad pitchers. It's as simple as that. We have a lot of talent. MLB.com: The starting pitching has been awesome and you add you and Wade Davis to the back end of the bullpen, and it's even better.