Colorado Rockies

DENVER - Jamie Moyer has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with an invite to the Colorado Rockies' spring training, pending a physical. The 49-year-old lefty didn't play last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Moyer has played 24 major league seasons, starting with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. He went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010. Moyer, who was 56-40 in 4 1/2 seasons with the Phillies, is 267-204 in his career with a 4.24 career ERA.

In a move to bolster their rotation for the stretch run, the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired veteran righthander Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Times reported last night. The newspaper cited an anonymous person close to the deal. It was not known who San Diego would receive in return. The 42-year-old Maddux is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA this season. He is 353-223 in a 22-year big-league career, having won four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992 to 1995.

Going from the World Series-champion Boston Red Sox to the lowly Colorado Rockies - and their hitter-friendly ballpark - doesn't bother Blaine Neal. Fact is, Neal, a Bishop Eustace graduate, sounded excited after learning yesterday that the Rockies had claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox. "I'm happy because I'm going to get an opportunity to pitch," said Neal, 27, who was 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances with the Red Sox this season. At one point, he went seven days between appearances.

Kevin Malone resigned yesterday as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending a 2 1/2-year tenure in which his mouth and questionable baseball decisions kept embarrassing the team. Malone quit five days after threatening a Padres fan who heckled Dodgers outfielder Gary Sheffield in San Diego. "I absolutely refuse to allow myself to become a distraction," Malone said at a news conference, reading from a letter addressed to Dodgers chairman Bob Daly. "He really believed he was a distraction, and we agreed with that," Daly later told reporters.

LOS ANGELES - Two years ago, the Colorado Rockies won 14 of their last 15 games to make it to the playoffs, where they faced the Phillies in the first round. This season the Rockies went 74-42 after a horrendous 18-28 start to make it to the playoffs, where they'll face the Phillies in the first round. The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . Here's a look at the similarities and differences, then and now: 1B Todd Helton Todd Helton 2B Kaz Matsui Clint Barmes SS Troy Tulowitzki Troy Tulowitzki 3B Garrett Atkins Ian Stewart LF Matt Holliday Seth Smith & Ryan Spilborghs CF Ryan Spilborghs Dexter Fowler RF Brad Hawpe Brad Hawpe C Yorvit Torrealba Yorvit Torrealba & Chris Iannetta SP Jeff Francis Ubaldo Jimenez Franklin Morales Aaron Cook Ubaldo Jimenez Jorge De La Rosa Jason Marquis C Manny Corpas Huston Street Notes: Carlos Gonzalez also rotates among all three outfield positions; De La Rosa left Saturday's game in the fourth inning with a tight groin.

Wipe that astonished look off your face, Joe Girardi said. The Colorado Rockies are for real. Girardi had a career-high six RBI to tie a club record yesterday as the Rockies rallied to beat the visiting San Diego Padres, 12-7. With 37,193 fans looking on and regular umpires back on the job, Colorado recorded its second series sweep of the season and ran its record to an unprecedented 7-1 in its third year of existence. "We're making a statement to ourselves first, and to other people second, that we're for real," Girardi said.

The thing that Troy Tulowitzki loves most about the Colorado Rockies is that nobody is hung up on individual statistics. So long as the team wins, everybody is happy. They've been winning a whole lot lately. The numbers Tulowitzki is putting up have a lot to do with it. The sweet-swinging shortstop clobbered home runs in each game of a doubleheader yesterday, and the visiting Rockies wrapped up a four-game sweep of the New York Mets in style. They won the opener 6-5, hanging on through a wild ninth inning, before taking the second game, 9-4. "A lot of times you can come on the road, you get down late - sixth, seventh inning - and you shut it down, get ready to go home," Tulowitzki said.

The first casualty of the Colorado Rockies' losing season was Don Baylor - the only manager the team has had in its six seasons. "After a long, thorough and very difficult evaluation, we feel a change in chemistry is necessary on the field and in the clubhouse," Colorado owner Jerry McMorris said yesterday after firing his manager. Despite the high-priced additions of pitcher Darryl Kile and second baseman Mike Lansing, the Rockies finished 77-85 - their first losing season in four years.

Roy Halladay is going to do something Tuesday that he's never done before. For the first time in his illustrious career, the Phillies' ace will pitch in the town where he was born when he goes against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. Other than requiring some extra tickets for family and friends, Halladay, who will turn 33 on Friday, said the start in Denver will not be a big deal for a couple of reasons. "I've been gone so long that now it's a normal road trip, which is good - less distractions," Halladay said.

As a formula for success, the one chosen by the Phillies yesterday could use some refinement. Giving up four runs in the opening inning, then relying on a couple of bench players to pick up a sputtering offense usually doesn't yield anything other than a mess on the laboratory floor. It worked on this occasion, however, as outfielder Jason Michaels and infielder Tomas Perez led the attack, and Vicente Padilla survived a shaky beginning in what turned out to be a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies at Veterans Stadium.

DENVER - Jamie Moyer has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with an invite to the Colorado Rockies' spring training, pending a physical. The 49-year-old lefty didn't play last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Moyer has played 24 major league seasons, starting with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. He went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010. Moyer, who was 56-40 in 4 1/2 seasons with the Phillies, is 267-204 in his career with a 4.24 career ERA.

The thing that Troy Tulowitzki loves most about the Colorado Rockies is that nobody is hung up on individual statistics. So long as the team wins, everybody is happy. They've been winning a whole lot lately. The numbers Tulowitzki is putting up have a lot to do with it. The sweet-swinging shortstop clobbered home runs in each game of a doubleheader yesterday, and the visiting Rockies wrapped up a four-game sweep of the New York Mets in style. They won the opener 6-5, hanging on through a wild ninth inning, before taking the second game, 9-4. "A lot of times you can come on the road, you get down late - sixth, seventh inning - and you shut it down, get ready to go home," Tulowitzki said.

Roy Halladay is going to do something Tuesday that he's never done before. For the first time in his illustrious career, the Phillies' ace will pitch in the town where he was born when he goes against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. Other than requiring some extra tickets for family and friends, Halladay, who will turn 33 on Friday, said the start in Denver will not be a big deal for a couple of reasons. "I've been gone so long that now it's a normal road trip, which is good - less distractions," Halladay said.

LOS ANGELES - Two years ago, the Colorado Rockies won 14 of their last 15 games to make it to the playoffs, where they faced the Phillies in the first round. This season the Rockies went 74-42 after a horrendous 18-28 start to make it to the playoffs, where they'll face the Phillies in the first round. The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . Here's a look at the similarities and differences, then and now: 1B Todd Helton Todd Helton 2B Kaz Matsui Clint Barmes SS Troy Tulowitzki Troy Tulowitzki 3B Garrett Atkins Ian Stewart LF Matt Holliday Seth Smith & Ryan Spilborghs CF Ryan Spilborghs Dexter Fowler RF Brad Hawpe Brad Hawpe C Yorvit Torrealba Yorvit Torrealba & Chris Iannetta SP Jeff Francis Ubaldo Jimenez Franklin Morales Aaron Cook Ubaldo Jimenez Jorge De La Rosa Jason Marquis C Manny Corpas Huston Street Notes: Carlos Gonzalez also rotates among all three outfield positions; De La Rosa left Saturday's game in the fourth inning with a tight groin.

In a move to bolster their rotation for the stretch run, the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired veteran righthander Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Times reported last night. The newspaper cited an anonymous person close to the deal. It was not known who San Diego would receive in return. The 42-year-old Maddux is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA this season. He is 353-223 in a 22-year big-league career, having won four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992 to 1995.

Paul Hagen: Red Sox in seven: There are plenty of reasons to believe the Rockies can win, but Boston gets the slightest of nods here. The guess is that it will take Colorado a while to shake off its long layoff, and the overall inexperience of its roster could also be a factor. While anything can happen in a short series, there is no doubt that the American League has the better teams. And as hot as the Rockies were at the end of the season, the Red Sox are also on a roll, after rallying to beat the Indians.

He grew up following the Phillies, but now his job is to help his employers - the Colorado Rockies - knock Philadelphia out of the National League division series. So far, Will George has done his part. George, 48, is a Colorado scout who, many moons ago, was a Pennsauken High pitcher who later was Cal Ripken's roommate on Baltimore's single-A, double-A and triple-A teams. He is a man who has played a major role in the Rockies' development, a man who has filed major-league scouting reports this summer with a heavy heart.

Going from the World Series-champion Boston Red Sox to the lowly Colorado Rockies - and their hitter-friendly ballpark - doesn't bother Blaine Neal. Fact is, Neal, a Bishop Eustace graduate, sounded excited after learning yesterday that the Rockies had claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox. "I'm happy because I'm going to get an opportunity to pitch," said Neal, 27, who was 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances with the Red Sox this season. At one point, he went seven days between appearances.

Playing in Colorado for the first time since sexual assault charges against him were dropped, Kobe Bryant was expected to have a big night. The Denver Nuggets never gave him much of a chance. Denver built a big early lead and held Bryant mostly in check, ending a five-game losing streak with a 95-83 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Bryant had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, but took just 14 shots. Bryant's teammates didn't help much, going 5-for-29 on three-pointers and shooting 37 percent against a team that spent 10 hours getting back from Sacramento the night before.

As a formula for success, the one chosen by the Phillies yesterday could use some refinement. Giving up four runs in the opening inning, then relying on a couple of bench players to pick up a sputtering offense usually doesn't yield anything other than a mess on the laboratory floor. It worked on this occasion, however, as outfielder Jason Michaels and infielder Tomas Perez led the attack, and Vicente Padilla survived a shaky beginning in what turned out to be a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies at Veterans Stadium.