Has Joe Beimel's price tag gone down recently, and do you think the Rockies will bring him back? Randy Flores obviously showed he couldn't manage the LOOGY (left-handed, one-out guy) role last year, so why do the Rockies think he can do it this year?
-- Baker M., Fort Collins, Colo.
Beimel has been quiet this offseason, but I would not be surprised if some of the teams that still have Major League contracts available will make a play or him before camp begins. With the Rockies having filled their Major League roster, I don't expect them to be high on Beimel's priority list. That could change if a deal doesn't materialize elsewhere.
I'm looking to see how Flores does this season, now that he's fully past the shoulder surgery he underwent after the 2008 season. Last year, he didn't feel right until the latter part of the season.
When Flores succeeds, it's because he is getting the ball inside against the power hitters he is asked to face. He doesn't have the killer pitch that the game's top lefty specialists possess, but he can succeed if can hit the spots inside, which opens the other side of the plate for him.
If Flores is used early in the game and Franklin Morales, a power pitcher, handles sticky situations late, the Rockies should be in good shape. Jimmy Gobble, signed to a Minor League deal last week, also will have a chance. Gobble, who has extensive experience as a starter, has held lefties to a .268 average in his career. In brief duty with the Royals and White Sox last year, that average was .227.
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