Rockies starting pitchers were under orders to throw a first-pitch fastball away. If the pitch was a strike, the next two pitches were inside fastballs. The purpose of this regimen was to emphasize the importance of fastball command and claiming the inner half of the plate. If the first pitch wasn't a strike, the pitcher had the liberty to deviate from the plan.

Rockies hitters were told not to swing the first strike. They were allowed to do so starting March 2, but not if the batter ahead of them did. Manager Clint Hurdle said, "The best way to score runs in spring training is to jump on pitchers early in the count, but we have set up a different template."

The reasoning for this is the Rockies were horrible last season when hitting with runners in scoring position -- .256 average, which was 10th in the National League, and a .343 on-base percentage, which was 12th -- so some patience initially was mandated.

"This is a spring training thing," hitting coach Don Baylor said. "It's not guys being defensive, because I am all about offense, and so is Clint."