Colorado Rockies Spring Training Update

After third starter Jason Marquis struggled mightily yesterday against the L.A. Angels, the Rockies headed back to Tucson waiting to see what Jorge De La Rosa could do against the other team from L.A.

De La Rosa's spring, and career in general, can be summed up with one word; inconsistent.

Today's game was a microcosm of that. He started the first and second innings not walking anyone and only giving up one run on a Blake DeWitt double. Overall, he was pitching fine. Then, in the third he gave up five runs on five hits. Granted, only two of the hits were well struck, but at this point, De La Rosa has not been missing enough bats to provide confidence.

While there is cause for concern, with less than two weeks until opening day, fans must keep in mind that this might be exactly what De La Rosa needs. He is still young and looking to find confidence in the big leagues. He has shown the talent and ability to not only pitch well, but to dominate at this level.

De La Rosa has never been shown confidence by a ball club. When he struggles, he has either been demoted to the minors, or put in the bullpen. He pitches as if he is afraid of losing his spot in the rotation. If he realizes that he can struggle and still have a spot in the rotation, it may just be enough confidence to make him relax and pitch the way that Rockies fans saw in September.

The problems with Marquis will be figured out. He is a veteran pitcher who has been through spring training before. Although he may need to hurry up with the mechanical changes, fans should be confident that Marquis will know what he needs to do to be ready for the season.