November 14, 2008 9:53 AM
More strikes from Morales
The Rockies are encouraged by the fact Franklin Morales is throwing far more strikes in winter ball in Venezuela than he did at Triple-A Colorado Springs this year.
Does that guarantee anything come spring training? The Rockies know it doesn't. They're guardedly optimistic about the left-handed Morales, realizing he'll have to prove definitively he's ready to pitch in the big leagues. That's something Morales has yet to do.
That said, Morales is more mechanically sound now than he was during the season, thanks to extensive work in the Rockies instructional league program. His alignment, which was horribly out of whack, is consistently better in winter ball. If nothing else, Morales, who turns 23 in January, has become more efficient, a quality that was painfully elusive this year.
Morales is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in five starts for Caracas. In his past three games, he has allowed four runs, one earned, in 15 2/3 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. Particularly notable are Morales ratio of balls and strikes. He's finally throwing about twice as many strikes as balls, a necessity for success in the majors.
On Oct. 29, he threw 66 pitches, 43 strikes, in four innings. On Nov. 4, it was 74 pitches, 52 strikes, in six innings. In his last start Tuesday, Morales threw 83 pitches, 55 strikes, in 5 2/3 innings.
Contrast these games to some of Morales' final outings this year at Colorado Springs when he was throwing about as many balls as strikes _ 94 pitches, 52 strikes, in six innings Aug. 21, 111 pitches in 5 1/3 innings Aug. 16 and 67 strikes and 111 pitches again on Aug. 10 and 57 strikes in five innings.
Morales is scheduled to stay in winter ball until December 20 and soon thereafter come to Denver where he can get ready for spring training in the Rockies winter development program.
At Caracas, the Rockies have Marty DeMerritt looking after Morales. DeMerritt, 55, was the pitching coach this year at Tampa Bay's Rookie Princeton affiliate in the Appalachian League. He has extensive experience as a minor league pitching coach and held that role in the majors with the Cubs and Giants.
DeMerritt's role at Caracas is to oversee the younger pitchers. Caracas' pitching coach is Bill Moloney, 52, another veteran minor league pitching coach who this year filled that role at Tampa Bay's low Single-A Columbus affiliate.
Morales seems to be building on the work he did in instructional league with Jim Wright, the Rockies roving minor league pitching coordinator who is about to become their bullpen coach, and Butch Hughes. The latter retired after this year as high Single-A Modesto's pitching coach and worked at Modesto with Morales when he had success there in 2006.
Hughes spent about half the time in the instructional league where he and Wright worked extensively with Morales in nothing short of a back-to-square-one mode.
They literally put Morales on his knees and had him throw curveballs from that position to regain his feel for that pitch. Both Hughes and Wright were encouraged by the progress Morales made in instructional league as far as correcting his delivery. Morales seems to be on the right track in winter ball, as evidenced by the number of strikes he's throwing.
That's a good sign to the Rockies and, really, all they could expect at this point. They know hard proof that Morales is ready to confront major league hitters won't come in November in Venezuela.
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