Us.
That's Mandy and you are a guy who hangs around at this place a lot.
It's what we find there.
Yeah, that would be that would be the voice of the Rockies. Jack Corgan, who.
Didn't want to introduce himself wearing wearing the purple the purple scarf.
You're looking very dapper. Yeah, very Dapper's been a tradition.
Jesse Thomas, Jerry Shemmel and myself for the home opener. Yeah, we always ties and yeah, all of that and take our picture for the year because will not be in coats and ties the rest of the year, so it's kind of a benchmark for each season.
Well, we don't work in radio because we have to dress. I'm saying, I'm very right now.
You should have known he was going to be outside for a couple of hours. He's dressed like he's you know, mid May or something.
These jeans have a fleece lining in him. They're actually pretty warm.
I'm gonna ask you one baseball question, and then Mandy's probably gonna ask you most of the rest of them because she knows more about baseball than I do. But last year wasn't great for the Rockies, and there's a fair bit of hope for this year that it was going to be better, not so great to start the year. But what are you seeing as I want to focus on the bright spots, like, what do you think could make this team better than last year?
Well, there's no question with guys like Marcus and Sensatela healthy again, the starting rotation has greatly improved. Kyle Freelance had two great starts, Sensatella has allowed one unearned run and his two starts, Marcus six shutout innings. Ryan Feltner pitched well and his game and he's going to start today,
and everything moves from starting pitching. We have seen the club struggle with the bullpen, but some of those bullpen issues are because they're walking a tightrope with the offense trying to find its footing, and that's really the biggest challenge here in the short term. I think my advice to Rockies fans is, don't pay attention.
So much here early on.
I mean, pay attention listen on a fifty KOA and the Rockies radio network, of course, but the idea of this team is going to morph as the year goes on, as more and more kids.
I mean, we don't know.
Anything for sure, but the real possibilities Sunday that Chase Dolan there are number one pitching prospect, may pitch Sunday's game.
That was going to be my first question because he was pitching when I came in and Scott to sit with you in spring training. The kid has an army. I mean, he really has an arm Why didn't he start well?
I think just you know that from the Rockies perspective, he had not pitched it a true altitude at all, so they wanted him to at least have some sense of that.
He probably if he does come.
Up Sunday, it's in part because Austin Gomber, who was going to pitch, is not ready to come off the injured list, and he's going to be the first guy up. So I mean, I think they just want him not to They don't want to rash.
Yeah, not to make too much of it early. They know the talents there.
It's an upper nineties fastball, great curveball, great competitor.
He is as composure.
Yeah, and has composure for a twenty three year old question. He is with more velocity if you could, as long as I use.
My morph word.
He's kind of a combination of a number of the good things Kyle Freeland does and a number of the good things that Ermon Marcus does.
So that's why he was, you.
Know, our number one pick a couple of years ago.
I have been and I am not alone when I say this. I speak for a lot of Rockies fans. I've been a little bit frustrated over the last few years, specifically because I I think Kyle Freeland has incredible talent, but we've often seen him get into that one inning where he gives up eight runs in that one inning. But he got himself out of a jam the other night. I was listening to you guys on the way home, and I was cheering in the car as he strikes out three great hitters in a row to get out
of a basis loaded situation. Are you seeing that kind of growth in him? Do you think he's been able to overcome that single inning yip?
Yeah.
I think last year, especially the opening day last year, when he had that horrendous game in Arizona, I don't think he was totally healthy, and obviously within a month he went on the injured list, and while he went through the physical rehabilitation, I think he also went through, you know, some self analysis and work with the you know, the coaches and all that as to.
Who you are as you age in this job. Who do you want to be?
You know, he's only thirty, but that's an old man or middle aged.
Anyway in baseball.
And I think now he has an even better mindset about how to operate.
In the intensity that he has.
He's learned how to channel him in the example you just gave, Mandy, I mean, yeah, that was an inning many times that it would have blown up, but I mean it was Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castianos bing bang boom inning over with the three punch outs.
So yeah, I'm I'm real happy for Kyle.
Kyle and Ashley do so much in the community, special Olympics and other things.
Anytime he's good, I'm a happy guy.
I want to ask you a question that Mandy asked George Will this morning. How do you feel about the automated ball and strike thing checking, you know, like.
The ABSs, the replay for baseball.
Well, I heard Mandy's response when you guys were talking about as I was driving to the ballpark, and I'm with her. You know, it's like, hey, this works, why are we going to wait a year? Yeah, some of it is they have to technology wise get all the ballparks set up for it. But it's as smooth as system. It's better than the typical video replay review of plays.
Now I mean it.
Yeah, it's ten seconds, A long one is fifteen seconds, and that's usually a mechanical problem.
And you find a lot of.
Times the umpires were right, but there are strategic times and it will become an element for teams later in games when it supplied. You know, don't waste our challenges too early because we might.
Need one in the eighth inning. That kind of thing.
The best thing I liked, and I forget who it was in Philadelphia, but it was a borderline pitch called a strike and the guy tapped his helmet, which is the sign to go to the abs, and then you could see he got embarrassed and the empires said, yeah, you know, come on, because it's not in place, but he had gotten used to it, like, yeah, you know that should have been whatever.
Yeah, let's talk.
A little bit about the Rockies offense right now. It's been really disappointing. What if anything can training staff can batting coaches, what can they do in this situation to help these guys get this offense going.
I was talking this morning on one of our other iHeart shows, Are Good, Buddy rick Lewis and I talked about the contagious nature of baseball, and I think that's some of it, with younger guys and all of that. But I mean, they struck out a lot last year, and there is a mindset that coaches and players can work with.
I mean, you do have to shorten your swing at times. You do have to be willing.
Jerry and I talked about it a number of times and Philadelphia to take a swing and put the ball the opposite way, to be willing to do anything that gets the ball and play rather than nothing good from an offense perspective happens with a strikeout, other than if the catcher misses the ball and you get on first base that way.
So let's see, can you stick around? Yeah? All right, so for a few more minutes. All right, we're going to hit a short break here.
And I don't know if folks listening to want to play along, but I'll give you the opportunity.
If you've got a question for Jack Corrigan.
You don't often have the opportunity to ask Jack a question, and we don't promise to ask Jack every question you sent in, but if you'd want to text us a question or two for Jack at five six six nine zero, we'll ask Jack some of the good questions right after this.
I'm Ross, that's Manny, and you are Jack. Keep it here on KOA