What's more popular than stupid baseball injuries? Nothing, really, unless you count baseballs to the groin, which aren't really enjoyable. Add Troy Tulowitzki to the list of players who have hurt themselves doing something stupid, as the Colorado Rockies shortstop is headed to the disabled list after hurting his hand while slamming a baseball bat in frustration.
After being taken out in the seventh inning as part of a double switch, Tulowitzki walked down to the dugout hallway and smashed a bat to the ground in frustration. The bat cracked in his right hand, causing a laceration that stretched from his palm to his index finger.
"I'm obviously sorry to my teammates because I feel like I'm letting them down more than anything, [and] the organization," Tulowitzki said. "Hopefully, it's not too long before I'm back out there, but it's hard to take."
Doh. That's why ... you never slam a baseball bat to the ground in frustration. They are, after all, still made of deadly, sharp and splinterable wood. And yes, palm --> index finger laceration does not sound particularly enjoyable either.
Tulo's injury kind of sums up the Rockies season pretty well though. Chock full of potential and expectations, only to be painfully overhyped once we realized what was going on.
Fantasy Spin: Tulo will hopefully only be out for a few weeks, but this kind of laceration seems like the type of thing that could end up really bugging him down the stretch, given that "hand" is one of those things that is generally considered useful when fielding a baseball and/or batting.
He's already gotten in five games in Class-A without lingering complications and is headed to Triple-A this week to complete his rehab assignment.
So basically as fast as all the injured Rockies went down, they're coming back just as quickly ... after Brad Hawpe and Matt Hollidayrecently returned and having Clint Barmes back shortly as well. It sounds ridiculous to say, but with the entire NL West sputtering: they actually have a shot. The defending NL Champs are only 8.5 games out of first entering Monday night. Crazier things have happened, and we learned last year to not give up on this bunch.
Fantasy Spin: Tulo really struggled early in the season (.152, 1 HR, and a horrifying 19 OPS+ ... not a typo), but he's a better player than that. Last season he went .291-24-99 as a rookie. Yes, he also brings stellar defense ... but that's of no consequence in fantasy.
Regardless, he's a must-start shortstop in all but the shallowest fantasy leagues ever invented. Even in those he's a consideration. Rank him no worse than 10, and possibly higher; depending on the format.
Things are not looking "good" for the Colorado Rockies, but they are certainly not as bleak as they were a few days ago. That's what the return of a few disabled players will do for you. And given that, the Rockies should be in pretty good spirits come Tuesday night, when Matt Holliday plans on making his return from the disabled list.
A left hamstring strain on May 24 forced Holliday to the disabled list, but after three games at Triple-A Colorado Springs he is ready to return. Holliday is slated to return Tuesday for the opener of a three-game set against the Giants at Coors Field.
He finished his stint on Sunday by hitting a home run in his first at-bat and going 2-for-4 in the Sky Sox's 6-3 loss to Salt Lake City. In three games, Holliday was 6-for-10 with a home run, a double and three RBIs during his rehab.
Holliday is clearly the most important player in the Rockies lineup; his home/road splits aside (he's average outside of Coors) he is still their MVP candidate and all world masher. While trade talks have been discussed, it seems unlikely that Holliday will get shipped out just yet.
The chance the Rockies actually make the postseason are pretty slim, but one has to think as long as a chance is there, Holliday will remain in a Colorado uniform. Oh, and everyone knows about his splits too. Which doesn't help his trade value.
Fantasy Spin: Get Holliday active tomorrow morning, obviously. The guy's a masher and a homestand against the Giants is a pretty nice welcome back present. On the other hand, if/when he comes off hot, you should go ahead and shop him, given the aforementioned splits. If he gets dealt this season, his value takes a hit.
Just a few short hours after I mentioned that Ian Stewart was getting no love from fantasy circles -- or real world circles -- he might suddenly be getting a lot more value in both worlds. With the return of Garrett Atkins, and the continued absence of Clint Barmes, Troy Tulowitzki and about eight other middle infielders, Stewart is getting starts at second base.
Stewart field five ground balls, including a pair of impressive plays in the sixth inning, in Colorado's 7-4 loss to Philadelphia, and finished 1-for-3 with a double. It was Stewart's first career start at second base.
'Is he going to be as athletic as Jonny [Herrera] or Q [Omar Quintanilla]? Probably not," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "They're just a little more nimble. As far as athleticism, he did some nice things in Spring Training. We'll see how it works out. He made plays that were there for him.'
If Stewart can step in and play second, and one would think he could, he would instantly become a tremendous asset to the Rockies on the offensive end. He would also instantly have everyone saying "It took you this long to figure this out?"
Stewart has been -- pun intended -- pining on the bench behind Atkins for some time now and despite no real power option at second, the Rockies decided to develop him in the outfield.
Fantasy Spin: If Stewart is going to start and stick at second for the Rockies, he is a must add. Unless you have Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips or something. He has a ton of power and positional eligibility there would give him the upside of being a pretty stout option for fantasy owners.
Fantasy owners are constantly sweating Ian Stewart. He is a tremendously talented prospect who has flashed power, a little speed and decent discipline throughout his career as a minor leaguer. More importantly though, he has always been blocked from playing at the MLB level, mainly because of Garrett Atkins' emergence.
This season, in 171 ABs at the Pacific Coast level, he hit 10 taterjacks, stole six bases and rocked out a .281/.374/.614 line. And now suddenly, because of the rash of Colorado injuries, he has been in the bigs for close to a week, and there has been little to nothing said about his promotion.
Part of the reason for that is he has only one hit, so he hasn't set the world on fire. The other part is that Atkins should return to a starting gig soon and Stewart is seen as a future outfielder. But the Rockies are horrible this year and are not getting any better with those injuries and Atkins has to be seen -- especially when you consider his full season home/away splits from 2007 -- as a pretty tradeable commodity.
The Rox might not move him, but Stewart might get some playing time anyway. And he is talented. And he is the future. But the future isn't shining particularly bright right now, and that makes him a pretty cheap buy option.
You can't reasonably expect huge returns from the young Rock right now and he could be headed back to the AAA sooner than later, but his owner has to at least be concerned, and that means you have a shot to creep in and steal him away while the getting is good.
The recent news that Rockies young superstar Troy Tulowitzki will hit the disabled list just got a lot worse. Doctors realized today that the tear in Tulowitzki's right quadriceps is going to keep him out much longer than the originally prognosticated two weeks, according to a statement from his agent.
'Best case scenario is six weeks. The realistic one is a few months,' agent Paul Cohen told The Associated Press on Thursday. 'We're hoping it's a couple months, but we won't know until they do further medical tests.'
Cohen said team doctors will have a better feel for a timeline next week after 'massive swelling and bleeding' subside. 'It's a non-surgical tear, which could be a good thing.'
The combination of "massive swelling" and "bleeding" is about as pleasant and hopeful as "barely broken" and "light hemorrhaging". This a massive blow to the Rockies, of course, who also recently lost Jeff Baker for an unknown amount of time.
The injuries forced Clint Hurdle to put catcher Chris Iannetta at third and Garrett Atkins at second for the remainder of the game on Tuesday. It's a shame too, because Tulowitzki, even if he is slightly overrated on offense because of his monster season last year, is one of the best defensive players in the game. He's like reverse Derek Jeter, really.
It's a shame, that right after Clint Hurdle's bench-him-to-spur-a-hot-streak move got Troy Tulowitzki's bat working a little bit, that it appears the second year shortstop appears likely to head to the disabled list with a strained quadriceps injury.
Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said Tulowitzki will fly to Denver on Wednesday morning, and the club hopes to arrange an MRI for him by the afternoon. He's likely to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
'He is in a lot of pain and discomfort, and a lot of spasm after the injury,' said Dugger, who refused to speculate on how much action Tulowitzki will miss.
Tulo being forced to leave early on Tuesday resulted in a crazy shift of the Rockies infield, with catcher Chris Iannetta playing third base, Clint Barmes playing shortstop and third baseman Garrett Atkins playing second (note that Jeff Baker's injury also caused this). Clearly, losing Tulowitzki affects the Rockies both offensively, and more importantly, defensively.
There should be some roster shifting -- MLB.com reports that Omar Quintanilla has been called up -- and clearly the Rockies are going to need someone to step up in order to try and keep pace with the Diamondbacks.
Fantasy Spin: If Atkins gains 2B eligibility in your league because of this, well, you need to pounce on him before his owner figures it out. Iannetta's third base eligibility would actually make him less useful, since he's a catcher anyway, but he's starting to come on pretty nicely. Tulo meanwhile, should be benched until further notice.
Well, that didn't take very long, did it? Manny Corpas is out as closer, according to MLB.com, and Brian Fuentes will replace him. Fuentes, as you likely remember (from a few hours ago), was the closer last year who lost his job immediately after being named to the All Star team. Corpas took over and never let go of the gig, helping to shut down opposing teams in the midst of a ROX-tacular ROX-tober. But, clearly, he has faltered this year, going just four for eight in save opps.
'I think what you need to do is what's best for the club and that's to give the ball to Brian right now, get the heat off Manny and give him an opportunity to work his way out,' Hurdle said.
While Fuentes had accepted his role as a setup man and not complained, it was no secret that he wanted to close. He has made the All-Star team each of the past three seasons as a closer and was off to a good start last year before his bad run in June eventually led to a stint on the disabled list.
I like this move. A lot actually. As much guff as I gave Hurdle for benching Troy Tulowitzki in what I thought was a premature manner, it's refreshing to see someone with a quick hook on his closer, and an unwillingness to recognize when someone just isn't working out. (Pointing fingers all up in your face, Ned Yost.
Bonus Fantasy Spin: Fuentes is an immediate add, obviously, given that he will have the opportunity to save games for the Rockies (for the rest of the season, presumably, if he doesn't screw it up.) I would not drop Corpas in larger leagues just quite yet though -- he can be a dominant setup guy who provides nice middle relief K's and while Hurdle made the switch now, there's no guarantee it stays like that all season. Smaller leagues can dump Corpas immediately though.
What's more popular than stupid baseball injuries? Nothing, really, unless you count baseballs to the groin, which aren't really enjoyable. Add Troy Tulowitzki to the list of players who have hurt themselves doing something stupid, as the Colorado Rockies shortstop is headed to the disabled list after hurting his hand while slamming a baseball bat in frustration.
Remember when 
Things are not looking "good" for the Colorado Rockies, but they are certainly not as bleak as they were a few days ago. That's what the return of a few disabled players will do for you. And given that, the Rockies should be in pretty good spirits come Tuesday night, when 
Just a few short hours 
Fantasy owners are constantly sweating Ian Stewart. He is a tremendously talented prospect who has flashed power, a little speed and decent discipline throughout his career as a minor leaguer. More importantly though, he has always been blocked from playing at the MLB level, mainly because of Garrett Atkins' emergence. 
The recent news that Rockies young superstar 
It's a shame, that right after 
Well, 
