Next Up: The Colorado Rockies

Having taken two out of three from the Dodgers, the best team in the National League West, the Pirates will attempt to defend their two-game lead over the Cubs for the first wild card position against the worst team in the National League West, the Rockies.

How Are They Doing Lately? Over the last 30 days, the Rockies are 14-15, placing them in eighth place, exactly in the middle, in the 15-team National League. They've scored 4.4 runs per game during that span, seventh in the league, while giving up 4.5, the eighth most (and eighth fewest). The Rockies aren't a great club--they're tied with the Brewers for the third worst record in baseball--but it's worth noting that in their division, the National League West, only the Dodgers have a better record over the past 30 days.

What's Going Right? Rockies relievers have been good over the past 30 days. Their 3.35 ERA is fifth best in the league, tied for second best adjusted for Coors Field. They've struck out batters at a below-average rate and walked them at an above-average rate, but they've been the fourth best in the league at keeping fly balls in the park, quite a feat considering where they play their home games. At the plate, the Rockies are fourth in the league in homers (36) and tied for second in triples (9) over the past 30 days, and they're the league's most efficient base stealers, going 16-for-18.

What's Going Wrong? Rockies batters have the fourth lowest batting average in the league over the past 30 days at .247, and their .295 on base percentage is second worst. Their slugging percentage is better, .402, ranking ninth, thanks to those home runs and triples. Rockies batters have the second-lowest walk rate in the league over the past 30 days, explaining the low on base percentage. They're free swingers, the only National League team to have swung at over half of all pitches over the past 30 days That includes the highest percentage of swings on pitches outside the strike zone, helping explain why they're below average at making contact. When they do make contact, they've hit the fourth-lowest percentage of batted balls on the ground and the fourth-highest percentage of fly balls--the right approach for Coors Field--but their high proportion of soft contact has yielded the highest rate of infield fly balls in the league.

Rockies starters have a 5.27 ERA over the past 30 days, the fifth highest in the league. As always, playing their home games in the most extreme hitters' park in the game affects that figure. Adjusted for Coors Field, the starters' ERA improves from fifth worst to seventh worst.

Who's Hot? Acrobatic third baseman Nolan Arenado is getting love from Rockies fans as an MVP candidate (he doesn't have a chance), and over the past 30 days, he's batting .298 with a .320 on base percentage and a .579 slugging percentage (seventh in the league), with nine homers (third), 19 runs scored (tied for ninth), and 23 RBI (tied for fourth). Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez has hit eight homers but contributed little else, with a .222 batting average and .262 on base percentage. Former Pirate Justin Morneau, who returned at the beginning of the month after nearly a four month absence due to neck and concussion issues, has a .306/.390/.472 slash line in eleven games since his return.

The Rockies starter to watch is tonight's pitcher, Jonathan Gray, a highly-regarded rookie who's pitched better than his 4.19 ERA over the past 30 days would indicate: 21 strikeouts, six unintentional walks, and no homers over 19.1 innings. He'll be on a short leash, probably not exceeding five or six innings pitched. The Rockies' other best starters over the last 30 days are Jorge de la Rosa (3.00 ERA) and Chad Bettis (3.29 ERA). on Sunday. This being September, the Rockies have called up a lot of youngsters and have used 16 pitchers in relief over the past 30 days. The best has been closer John Axford, with seven saves, a 0.84 ERA, and 14 strikeouts over 10.2 innings pitched.

Who's Not? Rookie outfielder Kyle Parker is 5-for-47 over his last 20 games (that's a .106 batting average). Another rookie, first baseman Ben Paulsen, has a .239 batting average and .268 on base percentage over the last 30 days; he's been largely spelled by Morneau. Starters other than Gray, de la Rosa, and Bettis have combined for a 7.39 ERA over the past 30 days. 

What's the Outlook? The Pirates took two of three from Colorado when the teams met at the end of August. With the Cardinals (four games ahead of the Pirates) and the Cubs (two games behind) hosting three-game series against the Reds and Brewers, respectively, the Pirates will be hoping to take their four-game set in Denver. 

One of the risks of playing in the thin air in Colorado is the idea that it screws up pitchers' and hitters' mechanics such that they play poorly in the games immediately following a trip to Coors Field. Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs examined this earlier this year, and found little evidence to support it. The Pirates had better hope that's the case: After Thursday afternoon's game, they fly to Chicago for three games against the Cubs, then head home for three against the Cardinals. Those games will likely determine where they open their postseason play. The Pirates have the second best record in baseball this year. But since the Cardinals have the best, and the Cubs the third best, the Pirates appear likely to have to win the wild card play-in game, possibly on the road, in order to reach the Divisional Series.

Next Up: The Colorado Rockies

On Monday, I wrote, previewing the Pirates' next ten games:

With the Pirates playing ten games against three of the worst teams in the league at the same time the Cardinals play ten against teams with winning records (the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Nationals), there's an opportunity for the Pirates to pick up ground heading into a Labor Day weekend matchup in St. Louis.

Well, that plan's been only half successful. The Pirates did indeed take three of four from the Miami Marlins, but the seemingly unstoppable Cardinals went to Phoenix and took four straight from a Diamondbacks team that had been on an 18-9 run. The Pirates now host the Rockies, with the third worst record in baseball, for three games while the Cardinals face the Giants, who trail the Dodgers by 2.5 in the West and the Cubs by 5.5 for the second wild card.

How Are They Doing Lately? Over the last 30 days, the Rockies are 8-19, tying them with the Braves for the worst record in the National League. Despite playing in the best hitters' park in the majors, they've scored only 4.1 runs per game over the last 30 days, the sixth lowest total in the league, while giving up 6.0 per game, easily the most. They're 9-19 since trading shortstop/franchise icon Troy Tulowitzki to the Blue Jays on July 28.

What's Going Right? Rockies pitchers are never as bad as their raw numbers, as they have the handicap of playing half their games in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the majors. Adjusted for their home park, their starters' ERA is fifth worst in the league over the past 30 days, and the relievers' ERA is second worse. That's not good, of course, but it's better than their unadjusted ERA.

What's Going Wrong? One Rockies batters are in the middle of the National League pack in slugging percentage over the past 30 days, at .417, but they've been hurt by an inability to get on base. The team's .295 on base percentage is the worst in the league over the past 30 days, the only team below .300. They've walked the least frequently and struck out the second most frequently in the league, swinging at 34% of pitches outside the strike zone, the second most in the league. The starting pitchers' ERA over the past 30 days is 5.89. Only the Phillies have been worse. Sort of the mirror image of the hitters, Rockies starters have struck out batters at the third-lowest rate and walked them at the sixth-highest rate. The relievers have been worse, with a league-worst 6.24 ERA, the lowest strikeout rate in the league, and by far and away the highest walk rate. Rockies relievers have issued free passes to 15% of the batters they've faced over the last 30 days. The next worst  team, the Marlins, are below 10%. The Rockies bullpen has four saves and six blown saves in the past 30 days. 

Who's Hot? Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez has put on a slugging show of late, leading the Rockies with ten homers, 20 RBI, 18 runs scored, a .337 on base percentage, and a .630 slugging percentage over the past 30 days. The Pirates will face the Rockies' most dependable starter of late, Jorge de la Rosa, on Sunday. Over his past five starts, he has a 3.41 ERA. Highly-touted rookie Jonathan Gray has his fifth start tonight. In his first three starts--all no-decisions--he compiled a 2.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 15 innings, but he was lit up for seven runs in an inning and two thirds against the Mets last Friday.

Who's Not? The Rockies got shortstop Jose Reyes in the trade for Tulo, and he's struggled with a .258 batting average and .284 on base percentage since coming over. He's also been caught stealing in half of his eight attempts. The team's most successful base stealer is center fielder Charlie Blackmon, with eight steals over the past 30 days, though he's been successful in 62% of his attempts, negating his swipes. Slick-fielding third baseman Nolan Arenado, first baseman Ben Paulsen, and catcher Nick Hundley join Reyes among regulars with on base percentages below .300 over the past 30 days. Over the past 30 days, the team's six most frequently used relievers have combined for a 7.30 ERA and have walked 16% of the batters they've faced; the league average is a 3.91 ERA and an 8% walk rate.

What's the Outlook? Playing the Rockies at altitude in Coors Field is said to mess up visiting hitters' and pitchers' timing. Hosting Colorado at PNC Park entails no such risk. (The Pirates visit Denver in September.) Picking up ground on the division-leading Cardinals, whom the Pirates trail by 4.5 games, is a tall order, though, as long as the Redbirds keeping winning every damn game they play.

Bizarro Baseball

The season's only a week old, and you can't conclude anything from five or so games. That being said, the National League standings as of this morning are weird.

• In the West, the Los Angeles Dodgers, picked by most people (including me) to lead the division with one of the best records in baseball, are in last with a 2-3 record. The Colorado Rockies, expected to battle with the Arizona Diamondbacks for last, are leading the division with a 4-1 record.
• In the Central, the Cincinnati Reds, largely viewed as a last-place team, are 4-1 and in first. The Pirates, seen challenging the St. Louis Cardinals for the division lead, are tied with the Brewers for last at 1-4.
• In the East, the Washington Nationals are the consensus pick for first and a strong World Series candidate. They're tied with the Miami Marlins, who are expected to battle for second and a wild card spot, for last at 1-4. The Atlanta Braves, a rebuilding club anticipated to battle the Philadelphia Phillies for the worst record in the National League, are the senior circuit's only undefeated team at 5-0.

None of this, of course, will last. But it's been an exceptionally unpredictable start of the season.

This instability hasn't carried over to the American League. The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, playoff teams last year, are undefeated at 5-0 in the Central division. The Boston Red Sox, seen as candidates for a worst-to-first bounceback season, lead the East at 4-1. The West, a hard division to predict, is a muddle, with two teams at 3-3 and three at 2-3.

The NL West: Time Zones, Ballparks, and Social Investing

My latest FanGraphs post is here. I talk about the National League West, which I view as the most idiosyncratic division in baseball, due to three factors:

1. Four of the five teams in the Pacific time zone and the fifth in the Mountain zone, resulting in more games played late for those of us in the Eastern and Central zones than in any other division
2. The most eccentric mix of extreme hitters' parks and extreme pitchers' parks in baseball
3. The decision by two teams (the Diamondbacks and Rockies) to pursue specific character types, which I liken to social investing

Some of my FanGraphs posts get pretty numbers-heavy. This one isn't.

The Most Hopeless Teams of 2014

From the 2015 Bill James Handbook: Teams that didn't spend a single day in first place in 2014

• Astros
• Cubs
• Diamondbacks
• Mets
• Reds
• Rockies
• Twins

If we also include teams that didn't ever have first place to themselves (the best they could do was tie for first), add the Indians, Padres, Phillies, and White Sox.

Not that that's necessarily a measure of hopelessness, though it pretty much was for the teams in question: Cleveland finished three games behind Oakland for the second American League wild card.

Speaking of Oakland, here are the teams that spent the most days in first place:

• Tigers, 153 days: Lost Divisional Series 
• Brewers, 150 days: Missed the postseason, six games behind the second wild card
• Athletics, 129 days: Lost Wild Card

Sweet Play of the Day - July 2

Your basic 4-6-3 double play turned by the Rockies, DJ LeMahieu to Troy Tulowitzki to Justin Morneau. Except...that's usually second baseman's glove to throwing hand, to shortstop's glove to throwing hand, to first baseman's glove. They skipped a couple steps.

Sweet Play of the Day - May 4

Nolan Arenado is getting to be a regular here. (Incidentally, he's still top 10 in the majors in assists - currently eighth.)

Things I Didn't Know: NL West

In coming weeks, you will have innumerable opportunities to read previews of the upcoming season. I dug through last year's results and came up with items for each team that you probably won't see in the previews but that I thought were interesting.

National League first, going left to right, so starting with the NL West.

Los Angeles Dodgers, 92-70: There were only four teams in the National League with winning records on the road. Of them, the Dodgers had the best record, 45-36, even though their overall record was only third best in the league. Often teams that play in idiosyncratic ballparks (Dodger Stadium is one of the league's more extreme pitchers' parks) have a hard time on the road. Not the Dodgers.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 81-81: The Diamondbacks had the best record in the league in one-run games, 34-21. Despite what you hear about that indicating tenaciousness, clutch ability, or a strong bullpen, a lot of it's luck. Arizona led the league in one-run wining percentage in 2011, with a 28-16 record. In 2012 they finished 13 games lower in the standings as their one-run game record cratered to 15-27. The best teams in one-run games in 2012 were the Reds (31-21) and Giants (30-20), who lost 7 and 18 more games in 2013, respectively. Winning one-run games is generally not a repeatable skill, so doing well at it one year often results in a slide in the next.

As an aside, remember the big trade before last season in which the Braves sent Martin Prado and four others to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson? Everybody laughed that one off after Upton had a huge April, with a .298/.402/.734 slash line and 12 homers, while Prado struggled to .217/.266/.348. Well, for the rest of the season, Upton hit .256/.343/.409 while Prado hit .298/.348/.433. Take away April and Prado was the better hitter! But Johnson, who was viewed as almost a throw-in in accounts highlighting Prado and Upton, was as good or better: .321/.358/.457 for the season, tipping the trade, so far, in Atlanta's favor.

San Diego Padres, 76-86: San Diego had a disappointing team ERA of 3.98 last year. The league average was 3.74. It's tempting to blame that on Petco Park, as the fences were brought in last year and the Padres hurlers gave up 80 home runs compared to 62 the year before. But the problem wasn't Petco, it was the pitchers. Away from Petco, Padres pitchers had a 4.78 ERA, the worst in the NL. Petco's still a pitchers' park, and it helped mask the pitching staff's shortcomings.

San Francisco Giants, 76-86: Giants pitchers were fourth in the league in strikeouts with 1,256. Cain, Lincecum and others throwing heat? Hardly. The team threw fewer fastballs (four-seam and two-seam combined) in the league, 50% of pitches thrown, at the lowest average speed, 90.0 MPH. The Giants threw a ton of sliders, 26% of pitches thrown, easily the most in the league.

Colorado Rockies, 74-88: As I noted, there is evidence that the best pitches for Coors Field, the Rockies' hitter-favoring thin-air home park, are sliders and cut fastballs. The Rockies apparently didn't read the whole article I referenced. They threw 19% sliders, tied with the Brewers for the third most in the league, but only a little over 1% cutters. Then again, their only pitchers who used a cutter much were Chad Bettis (5.64 ERA), Jon Garland (5.82), and Jeff Francis (6.27), so maybe we need more evidence that the pitch can work at Coors. In the meantime, perhaps they should talk to the Giants' pitching coaches about slider proliferation.

Coors Field and Ground Already Trod

Back in November, I wrote about Coors Field. I noted that it's favorable for hitters not only because batted balls carry better there, which is kind of Physics 101, but also that pitches with movement, like curveballs, don't break as much, making them easier to hit. 

It turns out I wasn't being particularly original in my analysis. Last April, this article appeared by Dan Rozenson at Baseball Prospectus. It gets into some technical detail about how pitches move (you'll learn the term "spin deflection," among others), with the conclusion that: 

There is strong evidence that the slider performs in absolute and comparative terms better than the curveball in Coors Field . . . Sinking fastballs also have a sharp drop-off in performance at Coors, and there is some evidence that using a cut fastball would be a good alternative.

With that in mind, let's break down the Rockies' starters last year, using pitch type analysis from Brooks Baseball, with a particular eye toward slider usage:

• Jhoulys Chacin (31 games started, 14-10, 3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP): 34% fastballs, 29% sinkers, 24% sliders, 9% changeups, 4% curveballs. His slider, a good pitch for Coors, was particularly effective (.171 batting average, .286 slugging). He may not fare so well in 2014 with his sinker, though (.250 batting, .359 slugging) given that pitch's Coors performance.
• Jorge de la Rosa (30 GS, 16-6, 3.49 ERA, 1.38 WHIP): 44% fastballs, 28% splitters, 14% sliders, 7% sinkers, 7% curves. The BP article doesn't reference splitters, but since they rely on a lot of horizontal movement, you'd think they'd fare poorly at Coors. It was OK last year, though (.255 batting average, .358 slugging) and, combined with his outstanding slider (.165 batting, .194 slugging), he seems to have the right arsenal for his ballpark.
• Juan Nicasio (31 GS, 9-9, 5.14 ERA, 1.47 WHIP): 67% fastballs, 20% sliders, 7% sinkers, 6% changeups. Nicasio's slider is his primary off-speed pitch and he used it far more at home than on the road He's only 27 but his strikeouts were down, his walks up, and his fastball velocity ebbing (average 94.7 mph in 2011, 94.1 in 2012, 92.6 in 2013), so pitch selection doesn't tell the story of his 5+ ERA.
• Tyler Chatwood (20 GS, 8-5, 3.15 ERA, 1.43 WHIP): 42% sinkers, 30% fastballs, 12% sliders, 12% curves, 4% changeups. Chatwood's go-to pitch is his sinker, which isn't a great pitch at Coors. Batters had a .327 batting average and .467 slugging percentage against it, while is slider had the best results (.183 batting, .217 slugging, and an outstanding 41% rate of swings-and-misses on swings). More reliance on the slider, which he used primarily only when ahead on the count, would help, because that ERA and won-lost record look lucky given his high WHIP.

Predictions based on this: Chacin regresses a bit, de la Rosa doesn't much, Nicasio improves a little provided he isn't hurt, and Chatwood, if he goes to his slider more, is able to avoid some of the seemingly inevitable rise in his ERA.

Incidentally, did you know that in their 21 years, the Rockies have had only seven winning seasons? The only teams (among the 28 that existed in 1993) with fewer are the Orioles, Royals, Marlins, Brewers, and Pirates.

Rockies Fans, Meet Justin Morneau

The Colorado Rockies have signed 32 year old Justin Morneau to a $12.5 million two year contract. He will be the team's first baseman, replacing the retired Todd Helton, who played 108 games there in 2013. 

What's Good About Him? The narrative about Morneau is that the 2006 American League MVP was having another MVP-caliber year in 2010 when he suffered a concussion sliding into second base hasn't been the same since. Sadly, that's true. Finding positives in his game since 2011 is pretty hard. He was OK with the glove last year and he played 152 games, his most since 2008. He had a couple pretty good months (June and August) and batted .292 in the postseason for the Pirates.

Morneau bats left. With the lefty Helton retired and switch-hitter Dexter Fowler traded to the Astros, Morneau and Carlos Gonzalez are the only lefthanded bats in the Rockies' lineup (depending on who replaces Fowler). Morneau is a lot more effective against right-handed pitchers, of which the righty-leaning Rockies lineup is likely to see a lot. He batted .280 with a .352 on base percentage and .467 slugging percentage against right handed pitchers compared to .207/.247/.278 slash line against lefties. He got 15 of his 17 homers against righties as well.

What's Not So Good About Him? Through 2010, he had a .286 batting average, a .358 on base percentage, and a .511 slugging percentage. He hit home runs in 4.6% of his plate appearances, struck out 15.1% and walked 10.0%. Since the injury, he's batted .256/.319/.406. His home run rate's been 2.7%, strikeouts 17.2%, walks 7.9%. He's made less contact, putting 30% of strikes in play compared to 33% prior to the injury, with more swinging strikes and foul balls. His batted balls just aren't going as far: before the injury, 12% of his fly balls and line drives went over the fence and 12% were infield outs; since the injury, only 7% have left the park and 14% have stayed in the infield. He's done worse against fastballs (.524 slugging percentage before the injury, .344 after) and breaking balls (.448 slugging against sliders before the injury, .370 after; .622 slugging against curves before the injury, .390 after). I'm going to stop, this is depressing. 

So What Should Rockies Fans Expect? First base is a hitter's position. The average major league first baseman batted .261 with a .337 on base percentage and .436 slugging percentage last year, .262/.336/.442 in 2012 and .271/.345/.452 in 2011. Since his injury, Morneau's .267 batting average in 2012 represents the only time he's been above-average in any of the three key batting statistics. He'll get a lift from Coors, as most hitters do, but adjusted for the park, the Rockies are most likely getting below-average production from first base for the next couple years, albeit a pickup from Helton's .249/.314/.423 last year.

Coors Field: Easy on Hitters or Tough on Pitchers?

Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, is the best hitters' park in the majors. The new Bill James Handbook gives it a Park Factor of 127 for run scoring, which means that 27% more runs were scored in Rockies games at Coors than elsewhere last year. And this isn't a surprise. Denver, as you may have heard, is a mile high. The higher the altitude, the thinner the air, and the better a baseball carries. This is Physics 101. Fly balls and line drives at Coors go farther, inflating offense.

I thought that was the whole story, but recently, while listening to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, one of the morning hosts, former major leaguer Todd Hollandsworth, said that pitchers are challenged additionally because their secondary pitches don't have as much movement. In other words, everything pitchers throw other than a fastball is straighter at Coors. That makes it more hittable, and forces pitchers to rely more on their fastball, which hitters can time better...all bad. 

I hadn't heard the pitch movement theory before, so I decided to test it. We can do that now. Every pitch in the majors is recorded: its speed, whether it's a strike or a ball, whether it's hit, and, relevant to this question, how much it moves.

Specifically, the system, called PITCHf/x, is a set of cameras installed at every stadium that measures, among other things, the horizontal and vertical movement of every pitch. I looked up the logs of every game pitched by the Rockies' principal starters and checked how much their non-fastball pitches moved, home and away. (The source for all data in this article is Brooks Baseball.) For example, the Rockies' No. 1 starter was Jhoulys Chacin (31 games started, 14-10, 3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP). His main secondary pitch is a sinking fastball. In 18 home starts, he threw 449 sinkers. In 13 road starts, he threw 388. At home, Chacin's sinker moved, on average, 0.94 fewer inches horizontally and dropped 1.31 fewer inches vertically. Here's the whole story on what Coors did to Chacin's secondary pitches:

Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Sinker         449/388        -0.94              -1.31
Slider         420/289        -2.22              -0.45
Changeup       166/92         -1.15              -1.01
Curveball       37/70         -2.50              -2.02
The impact is the change in inches between Coors and road games. A negative number means less movement, a positive number means more. Looking at these numbers, the thin air appears to make it harder to get side-to-side movement and to make balls sink, at least for Chacin. Let's check the rest of the staff:

Juan Nicasio (31 GS, 9-9, 5.14 ERA, 1.47 WHIP)
Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Slider         255/310        -0.84              -1.95
Sinker          37/170        -0.56              +0.50
Changeup        85/88         -0.36              -0.78

Jorge de la Rosa (30 GS, 16-6, 3.49 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)
Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Splitter       400/380        -2.13              -0.42
Slider         190/206        +0.09              -0.83
Sinker          89/99         -2.89              -1.71
Curveball       65/118        -0.36              -2.10

Tyler Chatwood (20 GS, 8-5, 3.15 ERA, 1.43 WHIP)
Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Sinker         420/314        -1.75              -1.14
Curveball      121/94         -1.38              -2.99
Slider         126/84         -0.97              -1.72
Changeup        32/34         -1.76              -0.68

Jon Garland (12 GS, 4-6, 5.82 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) 
Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Sinker         145/161        -0.72              -1.51
Cut Fastball   116/66         +0.69              -1.52
Curveball       65/90         -3.33              -2.04
Changeup        49/47         -0.61              -1.71

Jeff Francis (12 GS, 3-5, 6.27 ERA, 1.61 WHIP)
Pitch Type   # Home/Away  Horizontal Impact   Vertical Impact
Sinker         283/219        -1.37              -0.95
Curveball      138/80         -1.09              -0.83
Changeup       121/64         -1.01              -0.78
Cut Fastball    62/24         -0.89              -0.39

What can we learn from this? I'd say four things:

1. There sure are a lot of negative numbers in the horizontal column! Coors does appear to impair side-to-side movement on pitches.
2. Same with the vertical column. Pitches thrown at Coors stay up in the strike zone more. That's not necessarily bad with some pitches, which are designed to stay high, like a fastball. But a curveball that doesn't drop is a slow pitch in the middle of the strike zone. 
3. The least affected is were Juan Nicasio and Jeff Francis, who lost an inch or less of movement on most pitches. They didn't have particularly dominant seasons, though. It's not like they cracked the code.
4. I'm definitely paying more attention to Todd Hollandsworth going forward, because he nailed this one. Coors definitely helps batted balls carry, but it also makes it harder for pitchers to get movement on the pitches, making the hitters' job easier still.