DENVER (AP) -Rockies backup catcher Chris Iannetta now knows what it feels like to get nailed by teammate Ubaldo Jimenez’s 100 mph heater.
“It hurts,” Iannetta said with a laugh.
The Rockies went through a simulated game Friday, and Jeff Francis and Jimenez took turns pitching to hitters.
Jimenez hit Iannetta and Willy Taveras with pitches.
“Luckily, it didn’t get me in the ribs or the elbow, just in the side,” Iannetta said.
Same with Taveras, who returned to the roster last week and played a key role in the Rockies’ sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks with his speed on the bases and in center field.
In the lighthearted, four-inning scrimmage, former Rockies slugger Vinny Castilla played third base while manager Clint Hurdle played some in left field.
“It’s fun watching these guys,” said Castilla, who’s an assistant to Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.
Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs said it was good to face live pitching again. The Rockies haven’t been in a game situation since wrapping up their first pennant on Monday.
“You can’t simulate live pitching in a cage,” Spilborghs said. “You’ve got to get out there and have our guys throw.”
Spilborghs came away with admiration for Jimenez and Francis after the scrimmage.
“They were filthy,” he said. “Good luck to the other guys because we have a real tough time hitting them.”
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STRIKE A POSE: First, it was Manny’s pose. Then, it was Kenny’s drop.
Two seemingly harmless moments near home plate have raised the intensity level between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians in the AL championship series.
In Game 4 at Jacobs Field, Manny Ramirez irritated some Indians – and angered many of their fans – for raising his arms in triumph and admiring a solo home run, a shot that only pulled his team to 7-3 in a loss.
Cleveland manager Eric Wedge shrugged it off as a “non-issue.”
“I think people know Manny well enough that there isn’t an agenda tied to it,” he said.
Maybe not. But Ramirez’s act certainly intensified the atmosphere in Game 5, which reached a boiling point when Kenny Lofton and Josh Beckett exchanged words in the fifth inning, sparking a benches- and bullpen-clearing summit.
Lofton had flipped his bat to the ground at what he thought was ball four, but umpire Gary Cederstrom called it a strike. When Beckett retired Lofton on a fly ball to left field on his next pitch, Boston’s ace screamed at the Cleveland outfielder, who returned a few profane words of his own.
The two have a history dating to 2005, and don’t like each other.
“I’ve been doing it my whole career,” Lofton said. “I guess he’s been in the game for 20 years and he can tell guys what they can and can’t do. That’s who he is, he’s that kind of guy.”
On Friday, Wedge did his best to downplay the Beckett vs. Lofton conflict.
“I don’t think there was any more to that,” he said. “I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of it when it comes to the postseason because emotions run high. … But nothing really happened.”
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CURT ON CALL: The camera zoomed in on the speaker phone on the table. No one sat behind it. A familiar voice came out of it – as strong and opinionated as ever.
Usually, Curt Schilling loves to appear before cameras. But on Friday he answered questions from another location about his start Saturday night in Game 6 of the ALCS. Trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, Schilling and the Boston Red Sox must win or the Indians will go to the World Series.
“I’m scared to death to not do well tomorrow,” he said. “But I’m also very cognizant of the fact that that fear is something that has always driven me and always pushed me.”
Schilling returned home before Thursday night’s 7-1 win in Cleveland to rest and prepare for what could be his last start in a Boston uniform. A potential free agent after this season, he’s not likely to be a top priority for the Red Sox, who have several young starters poised to play bigger roles.
Schilling said it was tough to watch Thursday’s game from afar, especially since there was a chance he’d never pitch for the Red Sox again if they had lost.
“Last night, it did dawn on me,” he said. “I don’t dwell on it. I have so much going on mentally right now to get ready for tomorrow.
“No matter how badly I want to come back here and how badly I want to be a part of this, it takes two to tango, and if it’s not in the cards on their end, then it’s not going to happen.”
Schilling wanted a contract extension during spring training, but the Red Sox declined.
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DOMINANT DEFENSE: The Colorado Rockies set a major league record for highest fielding percentage this season, but that was no surprise to utility infielder Jamey Carroll. He noticed the emphasis on defense when he joined the Rockies two years ago.
“I reported to spring training what I thought was early, what normally was early for spring training for where I’d been, and I was one of the last position players there,” Carroll said.
“And the first day out there it wasn’t just to go out there and take groundballs. It was TO GO OUT THERE AND TAKE GROUNDBALLS,” Carroll said. “And right then, I knew that there was a lot of determination and pride. I thought I worked hard. But when I got over here and saw it collectively, I thought this is a good place for me to be.”
The Rockies committed just 68 errors in the regular season – matching the 1999 New York Mets for the fewest by an NL team.
The Rockies have improved dramatically, from .9806 in 2005 to .9854 last year and .9892 this year, which bested Boston’s short-lived record of .9891 set in 2006.
“I think the big thing is it helps our pitchers realize they don’t have to be perfect, they don’t have to strike everybody out,” third baseman Garrett Atkins said. “They can let guys hit it and we’re going to catch it. That hadn’t always been the case.”
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