Jason Hammel News

ROTATION : In a sense, the Rockies are in excellent shape. Left-hander Jeff Francis struggled through soreness in 2008 and missed '09 after shoulder surgery, but he is healthy.

Now that teams are starting to finalize their rosters prior to today's deadline, I thought it might be fun to create a thread and look at some of the players who will be available to us in this year's Rule 5 draft.

Last week, Dan Oa TMDowd was named the Major League executive of the year by Sporting News.A His off-season moves and in-season decisions helped the Rockies reach the postseason for the second time in three years.A It seemed Oa TMDowd made all of the right moves at a time when the Rockies needed some leadership at the top.

Didn't agree. Not one bit. When the Rockies declined reliever Rafael Betancourt's $5 million option last week, making him a free agent, I cringed.

Chase Utley ducked near second base. The rest of the Philadelphia Phillies never flinched.

The snow in Colorado scrapped plans for Pedro Martinez's first postseason start in five years.

The last time the Phillies saw Colorado Rockies righthander Jason Hammel, he was rebounding from an atrocious start and, it turned out, beginning a 2-month push to the postseason.

Rockies starter Jason Hammel leaves the field after being pulled in the fourth inning Sunday night.

DENVER It was the sort of night made for Chase Utley. Made for his swing. Made for his reputation.

The scene in last night's sixth inning played out like something from a bullfight.

Colorado pitcher Jason Hammel will get the nod Sunday, while the Phillies will go with J.A. Happ instead of Pedro Martinez, who was supposed to start Saturday.

Jorge De La Rosa sat at his locker Thursday afternoon. The bruise on his left leg was ugly shades of red and purple.

The Rockies have made their riveting run due to a series of unexpected contributions from unusual sources.

Thursday, three teams lost games because their managers made terrible, terrible decisions.

Good news for the Phils: Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that Rockies lefty Jorge De La Rosa will not pitch in the NLDS due to a left groin strain.

Pitcher Jason Hammel was 10-8 with a 4.33 earned run average in his first season with the Rockies.

Sixteen-game winner Jorge De La Rosa will miss Colorado's first-round playoff series against Philadelphia because of an injured left groin.

Jason Hammel delivers to the plate in the third inning. The Colorado Rockies hosted the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field Wednesday night, Sept.

On Wednesday, Jeff Suppan will get one final start to put a positive finish onto an injury-plagued year.

Todd Helton hit a two-run homer to give Colorado the lead Wednesday and the Rockies moved to the brink of a playoff berth with a 10-6 win over Milwaukee.