Street gets good news on bad shoulder

Rockies closer Huston Street got a second opinion on his ailing throwing shoulder from Dr. James Andrews, and the news is good. He's expected to return on schedule in May.

According to Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd, Street received positive news from Andrews.

"Everything looked great. I was told they didn't see any issues at all, so we are going to keep doing the same thing with him," O'Dowd said after the Rockies' 5-3 opening-day win over Milwaukee. "He wanted a second opinion, and everything came back really good."

Street, 26, received a three-year, $22.5 million contract this winter, the largest deal the Rockies have awarded a reliever. He admitted that a change in his winter routine could have caused the shoulder stiffness that first developed in February. Looking to increase his velocity, Street threw off a mound multiple times before spring training, something he had never done before.

Fantasy Impact: This is good news for the Rockies and fantasy owners alike, but it still means Street will miss more than one-sixth of the 2010 season. He slips to a low-end No. 2 closer until he can prove he's back and consistent as Rockies closer. For now, Franklin Morales owns the de facto closer job in Colorado. He's no more than a high-end No. 3 closer due to his erratic performance the first time out.

Grilling the Grilli angle

With Huston Street and Manny Corpas on a closer roller coaster this season, the idea of the steady Jason Grilli taking over has surfaced in Denver. No, Grilli isn't really a candidate right now, but fans posed the question to Denver Post writer Troy E. Renck, and he shot the idea down, point-blank.

Fantasy Impact: Grilli's improving ERA is quite impressive. It's down year after year after year, all the way to 1.04 this season. He owns 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. He also owns the Rockies setup role, and it doesn't appear that will be changing anytime soon. His fantasy value is extremely limited unless Street struggles again. If Grilli continues to succeed at that time while Corpas struggles, Grilli would be up against Alan Embree for save chances.

Another pothole for Street

Huston Street entered a non-save situation against the Cubs in the ninth inning and turned the game into a save situation for Jason Grilli. Street offered up a home run to Derrek Lee and two more base runners before Grilli entered to close it out. Manager Clint Hurdle said he made the move to "put the game away." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his closer.

"I'll be fine," Street said. "They're not all going to fall in. The truth is, when we win and I have a bad outing, I don't really care. I do care because my team needs me to start having good outings, but I'm going to have good outings."

Fantasy Impact: Opponents are hitting .533 against Street. Manny Corpas, available to pitch in the ninth, was not Hurdle's choice. The Rockies have issues at the back end of the bullpen that need to be sorted out. Street is the de facto closer until his problems push Corpas, or perhaps Grilli, into the fold.

Street closer

Houston Street earned the Rockies closer job over Manny Corpas. This news is proof that spring stats don't mean a thing. Street produced a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 IP, including a pair of home runs allowed. Corpas gave up one earned run in nine innings and no homers.

Then again, maybe the Rockies saw Corpas lose his closer job twice to Brian Fuentes in 2009 and headed him off at the pass, giving Street the role before Corpas could eventually lose it. Or a loss in velocity for Coraps might explain it

Don’t get me wrong: Street has pitched well since his first couple of disastrous outings in Cactus League action; he hasn’t done anything not to deserve the job. He’s a talented player, and I thought he was ticketed for big-time success after he was selected from the University of Texas.

I don’t believe it’ll be big time anymore, though. He’s inconsistent and doesn’t show the same flare he did early in his career.
Corpas deserves a closer role

Corpas deserves closer role

The main concern with Corpas is a 2 mph drop in the velocity of his sinker, easily his bread and butter. The right-hander is working through a hiccup in his mechanics and has already shown signs of improvement, though.

Given where Corpas was last season and how hard he has worked to get to this point, some minor setbacks along the way aren’t a surprise. Future? He’s the better man for the post. I believe the Rox have made the correct decision for the short term, but will it breed long-term success? I’m not so sure.

On that matter, we'll guess that the Rockies believe they have little to lose at the start of the season in terms of pushing the more accomplished closer into the role. Street's done the job better for longer, and if everyone starts with the same record, you might as well give yourself the safest chance at winning. Corpas will get his when it's time.