Rockieshome.com | Colorado Rockies News, rockies Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div> --RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched six scoreless innings for Licey on Jan. 15 and allowed one hit in a 7-1 victory over Aguilas in the Dominican winter league playoffs. Jimenez, who turns 25 on Jan. 22, walked one, struck out five and got 11 outs on groundballs and two on flyballs. The lone hit off Jimenez was a single grounded into right field with two outs in the third inning. That was also the first ball Jimenez allowed to leave the infield. In four playoff starts for the Licey, Jimenez was 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA, with eight walks and 15 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. Jimenez joined Licey in mid-December and made three regular-season appearances, two in relief, before Christmas.</div>--There's ample reason to believe RHP Jason Marquis can stabilize the back of the rotation, which is exactly what the Rockies are looking for rather than anything more grandiose. Marquis has pitched in only five of the 10 postseason series in which his team has played, but he has proven to be workhorse in the regular season. In the past five years -- which are Marquis' five full seasons in the majors -- he has won at least 11 games and a total of 65 in that span, and he has pitched at least 167 innings yearly while averaging 192 1/3 per season. Marquis' 28 starts for the Cubs last year were his fewest in the past five years, but he worked into the sixth inning in 24 of those starts. And in the past five years, Marquis has worked into the sixth inning in 117 of 158 starts. He worked into the sixth inning in 24 of his 28 starts in 2008, or 86 percent. In the past five years, he has worked into the sixth inning in 117 of 158 starts (74 percent). Rockies starters worked into the sixth inning in 101 of 162 games last year (62 percent). RHP Aaron Cook worked into the sixth in 28 of 32 starts, and RHP Ubaldo Jimenez in 22 of 34 starts. Thus, the rest of the starters managed to get into the sixth in only 51 of 96 starts (53 percent). One scout who saw Marquis pitch three times last year and thinks the Rockies made a good back-of-the-rotation acquisition suggested the environment in Colorado will be different than anything Marquis has faced in the past. Namely, when he went to the Braves, Marquis was expected to join the Big Three of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and in due time, contribute. He was traded to the Cardinals, who gave up outfielder J.D. Drew in the deal. Drew was an undeniable talent with the question being whether he could stay off the disabled list. So the Braves thought a lot of him, and Drew flourished in his one season in Atlanta. Marquis left the Cardinals after the 2006 season as a free agent and signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Cubs. That deal came with built-in expectations loftier than what Marquis will face in Colorado. --RHP Manuel Corpas will be in better shape this spring when he competes with RHP Huston Street for the closer's job. Corpas is working out in Denver this winter for the first time. After ballooning to 230 pounds, which he said made him more tired, Corpas is down to 216 pounds and said he would like to lose a few more before going to the Dominican Republic at the end of the month to work out at the Rockies' facility there prior to spring training. Corpas will be the closer for his native Panama in the World Baseball Classic. The Rockies feel Corpas, in addition to not being in shape last spring, spent too much time throwing his changeup and not enough time honing his sinking fastball and slider. Spring training will be a time for Corpas to show the Rockies he has regained the arm motion that made those two pitches so effective two years ago when he had a 2.08 ERA in 78 games. Corpas, who lost his closer's job in late April last season to LHP Brian Fuentes, finished with a 4.52 ERA in 76 games last year. He said he realized what he was doing wrong, namely dropping his arm slot instead of using the more over-the-top arm delivery he did in 2007. That caused his pitches to spin over the plate and have less bite. Street, who had been eligible for arbitration, avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Rockies. --The Rockies gave non-roster invitations to spring training to RHP Matt Belisle, OF Dan Ortmeier and C Paul Phillips, none of whom have ever been with the organization. Belisle, 28, has appeared in 132 major league games, including 43 starts, all with Cincinnati over the past five seasons. He went 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA in six starts for the Reds last year. A sore right forearm delayed the start of Belisle's season until April 21, and after his sixth start May 25, the Reds sent him to Class AAA Louisville to work as a reliever. He never made it back to the majors. Belisle went 5-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 26 games at Louisville, but a torn right anterior cruciate ligament ended his season in mid-August, and he underwent surgery to repair it Aug. 19. Ortmeier, 27, has played in 124 games in the big leagues over the past four years with San Francisco. In 38 games with the Giants last year, Ortmeier batted .219 (14-for-64) with five RBIs. A one-time switch hitter who has concentrated on batting right-handed, Ortmeier can play center field but played the corner outfield positions with the Giants as well as 13 games at first base. Phillips, 32, went 0-for-2 in four games for the Chicago White Sox last year and batted .269 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 73 games for Class AAA Charlotte. Phillips is likely to end up sharing the catching load at Class AAA Colorado Springs with Edwin Bellorin, whom the Rockies took off their 40-man roster earlier in the offseason. Bellorin also come to camp as a non-roster invitee, as will INF Jonathan Herrera, another player removed from the 40-man roster this winter. In 28 games last season with the Rockies, none after June 14, Herrera hit .230 with three RBIs. --LHPs Glendon Rusch and Cedrick Bowers and INF Luis Gonzalez were also given non-roster invitations to spring training. Rusch, like non-roster invitee OF Scott Podsednik, stands a good chance of ending up on the Rockies' Opening Day roster. He went 4-3 with a 4.78 ERA in 35 games, including nine starts, for them last year. Bowers was with the Rockies briefly in early July and had a 13.50 ERA in five relief appearances before returning to Class AAA Colorado Springs, where he finished 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA in 35 games. Gonzalez played the past two years with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and will be seeking to return to the Rockies organization. He was the Rockies' Opening Day second baseman in 2004 and 2006, and he hit .283 with 23 home runs and 98s RBI in 291 games for Colorado in 2004-2006. --OF Carlos Gonzalez was hitting .333 (12-for-36) with two home runs and five RBIs in 11 playoff games with Zulia in his native Venezuela. He had seven walks, 10 strikeouts, a .455 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage. Gonzalez's participation in the playoffs kept him from reporting to the Rockies' winter development program, which began Jan. 6. The Rockies expect him to take part in the final week of the program, which ends Jan. 23. --2B/CF Eric Young Jr. was a late scratch from the winter development program, choosing instead to continue preparing for his first big-league spring training at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) training facility in Florida. --OF Ryan Spilborghs went 2-for-16 with five walks in five playoff games with Obregon in Mexico. --RHP Matt Herges, 38, signed a minor league contract with the Indians. Herges spent the past two seasons with the Rockies and was instrumental in their march to the 2007 World Series. But lower back problems hampered him last year, finally putting him on the disabled list the final two weeks in August, and he finished 3-4 with a 5.08 ERA and five blown saves in 58 games. BY THE NUMBERS: 1 -- Extra-base hit against left-handed pitchers last year by left-handed hitting Todd Helton, who was limited to 83 games because of a disk problem that resulted in back surgery Sept. 30. Helton, who entered last season with a .307 career average against left-handers, went 17-for-69 (.246) against them with one home run -- May 30 against the Cubs' Ted Lilly at Wrigley Field. QUOTE TO NOTE: "Obviously, I love the United States. But I'm also proud of my heritage. ... Major League Baseball wants the game to grow globally, and I'm happy to be a part of that." -- Reliever Jason Grilli, who pitched for Italy in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 and will do so again this year.

--RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched six scoreless innings for Licey on Jan. 15 and allowed one hit in a 7-1 victory over Aguilas in the Dominican winter league playoffs. Jimenez, who turns 25 on Jan. 22, walked one, struck out five and got 11 outs on groundballs and two on flyballs. The lone hit off Jimenez was a single grounded into right field with two outs in the third inning. That was also the first ball Jimenez allowed to leave the infield. In four playoff starts for the Licey, Jimenez was 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA, with eight walks and 15 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. Jimenez joined Licey in mid-December and made three regular-season appearances, two in relief, before Christmas.

--There's ample reason to believe RHP Jason Marquis can stabilize the back of the rotation, which is exactly what the Rockies are looking for rather than anything more grandiose. Marquis has pitched in only five of the 10 postseason series in which his team has played, but he has proven to be workhorse in the regular season.

In the past five years -- which are Marquis' five full seasons in the majors -- he has won at least 11 games and a total of 65 in that span, and he has pitched at least 167 innings yearly while averaging 192 1/3 per season.

Marquis' 28 starts for the Cubs last year were his fewest in the past five years, but he worked into the sixth inning in 24 of those starts. And in the past five years, Marquis has worked into the sixth inning in 117 of 158 starts.

He worked into the sixth inning in 24 of his 28 starts in 2008, or 86 percent. In the past five years, he has worked into the sixth inning in 117 of 158 starts (74 percent). Rockies starters worked into the sixth inning in 101 of 162 games last year (62 percent). RHP Aaron Cook worked into the sixth in 28 of 32 starts, and RHP Ubaldo Jimenez in 22 of 34 starts. Thus, the rest of the starters managed to get into the sixth in only 51 of 96 starts (53 percent).

One scout who saw Marquis pitch three times last year and thinks the Rockies made a good back-of-the-rotation acquisition suggested the environment in Colorado will be different than anything Marquis has faced in the past. Namely, when he went to the Braves, Marquis was expected to join the Big Three of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and in due time, contribute. He was traded to the Cardinals, who gave up outfielder J.D. Drew in the deal. Drew was an undeniable talent with the question being whether he could stay off the disabled list. So the Braves thought a lot of him, and Drew flourished in his one season in Atlanta. Marquis left the Cardinals after the 2006 season as a free agent and signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Cubs. That deal came with built-in expectations loftier than what Marquis will face in Colorado.

--RHP Manuel Corpas will be in better shape this spring when he competes with RHP Huston Street for the closer's job. Corpas is working out in Denver this winter for the first time. After ballooning to 230 pounds, which he said made him more tired, Corpas is down to 216 pounds and said he would like to lose a few more before going to the Dominican Republic at the end of the month to work out at the Rockies' facility there prior to spring training.

Corpas will be the closer for his native Panama in the World Baseball Classic.

The Rockies feel Corpas, in addition to not being in shape last spring, spent too much time throwing his changeup and not enough time honing his sinking fastball and slider. Spring training will be a time for Corpas to show the Rockies he has regained the arm motion that made those two pitches so effective two years ago when he had a 2.08 ERA in 78 games.

Corpas, who lost his closer's job in late April last season to LHP Brian Fuentes, finished with a 4.52 ERA in 76 games last year. He said he realized what he was doing wrong, namely dropping his arm slot instead of using the more over-the-top arm delivery he did in 2007. That caused his pitches to spin over the plate and have less bite.

Street, who had been eligible for arbitration, avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Rockies.

--The Rockies gave non-roster invitations to spring training to RHP Matt Belisle, OF Dan Ortmeier and C Paul Phillips, none of whom have ever been with the organization.

Belisle, 28, has appeared in 132 major league games, including 43 starts, all with Cincinnati over the past five seasons. He went 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA in six starts for the Reds last year. A sore right forearm delayed the start of Belisle's season until April 21, and after his sixth start May 25, the Reds sent him to Class AAA Louisville to work as a reliever. He never made it back to the majors. Belisle went 5-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 26 games at Louisville, but a torn right anterior cruciate ligament ended his season in mid-August, and he underwent surgery to repair it Aug. 19.

Ortmeier, 27, has played in 124 games in the big leagues over the past four years with San Francisco. In 38 games with the Giants last year, Ortmeier batted .219 (14-for-64) with five RBIs. A one-time switch hitter who has concentrated on batting right-handed, Ortmeier can play center field but played the corner outfield positions with the Giants as well as 13 games at first base.

Phillips, 32, went 0-for-2 in four games for the Chicago White Sox last year and batted .269 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 73 games for Class AAA Charlotte. Phillips is likely to end up sharing the catching load at Class AAA Colorado Springs with Edwin Bellorin, whom the Rockies took off their 40-man roster earlier in the offseason. Bellorin also come to camp as a non-roster invitee, as will INF Jonathan Herrera, another player removed from the 40-man roster this winter. In 28 games last season with the Rockies, none after June 14, Herrera hit .230 with three RBIs.

--LHPs Glendon Rusch and Cedrick Bowers and INF Luis Gonzalez were also given non-roster invitations to spring training. Rusch, like non-roster invitee OF Scott Podsednik, stands a good chance of ending up on the Rockies' Opening Day roster. He went 4-3 with a 4.78 ERA in 35 games, including nine starts, for them last year. Bowers was with the Rockies briefly in early July and had a 13.50 ERA in five relief appearances before returning to Class AAA Colorado Springs, where he finished 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA in 35 games.

Gonzalez played the past two years with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and will be seeking to return to the Rockies organization. He was the Rockies' Opening Day second baseman in 2004 and 2006, and he hit .283 with 23 home runs and 98s RBI in 291 games for Colorado in 2004-2006.

--OF Carlos Gonzalez was hitting .333 (12-for-36) with two home runs and five RBIs in 11 playoff games with Zulia in his native Venezuela. He had seven walks, 10 strikeouts, a .455 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage. Gonzalez's participation in the playoffs kept him from reporting to the Rockies' winter development program, which began Jan. 6. The Rockies expect him to take part in the final week of the program, which ends Jan. 23.

--2B/CF Eric Young Jr. was a late scratch from the winter development program, choosing instead to continue preparing for his first big-league spring training at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) training facility in Florida.

--OF Ryan Spilborghs went 2-for-16 with five walks in five playoff games with Obregon in Mexico.

--RHP Matt Herges, 38, signed a minor league contract with the Indians. Herges spent the past two seasons with the Rockies and was instrumental in their march to the 2007 World Series. But lower back problems hampered him last year, finally putting him on the disabled list the final two weeks in August, and he finished 3-4 with a 5.08 ERA and five blown saves in 58 games.

BY THE NUMBERS: 1 -- Extra-base hit against left-handed pitchers last year by left-handed hitting Todd Helton, who was limited to 83 games because of a disk problem that resulted in back surgery Sept. 30. Helton, who entered last season with a .307 career average against left-handers, went 17-for-69 (.246) against them with one home run -- May 30 against the Cubs' Ted Lilly at Wrigley Field.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Obviously, I love the United States. But I'm also proud of my heritage. ... Major League Baseball wants the game to grow globally, and I'm happy to be a part of that." -- Reliever Jason Grilli, who pitched for Italy in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 and will do so again this year.