The Rockies announced Tuesday that starter Jorge de la Rosa will miss the NLDS with a sore groin. He suffered the injury on Saturday and manager Jim Tracy said before Colorado's workout day that the training staff informed him that de la Rosa's injury isn't progressing, though his season isn't necessarily over if the Rockies play deeper into October."He was scheduled to throw a bullpen today. We're not even going to take that chance. We're not going to have him do that. We're going to continue working with him," Tracy said. "If we're fortunate to advance beyond here, could he end up in the mix and be a guy that could be considered for a League Championship Series if we're fortunate enough to get there? I think that's definitely a viable possibility."
Without De La Rosa, the Rockies will go with Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, and either Jason Hammel or Jason Marquis in De La Rosa's spot as their third and fourth starters (if they choose to go four deep). Losing De La Rosa is a big blow; since he dropped to 2-7 on June 16th, he's been dominant. Over his final 20 appearances (19 starts) he went 14-2 with a 3.51 ERA, striking out 117 hitters in 115 1/3 innings against 50 walks. His turnaround was a big part of the Rockies' team turnaround.
Marquis, on the other hand, has struggled since the beginning of September and while Hammel's been fairly solid most of the year, the Rockies will certainly miss their De La Rosa, both because of his dominant second half and because he's left-handed, a big advantage against a lineup featuring Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. In Cook and Jimenez the Rockies probably still have enough starting pitching to at least challenge the defending champions, but they're starting in a big hole now without their southpaw.
