Garrett Atkins has not enjoyed life away from Coors Field this year.

A little bit of World Series news to touch upon before we look at the Rockies’ lineup. The rotations for both teams have been set, with the Rockies going with Jeff Francis for Game One, as we said Monday, followed by Ubaldo Jimenez in Game Two, Josh Fogg in Game Three, and the returning Aaron Cook in Game Four. We had discussed that possibility previously, as Cook had been declared done for the season only when the Rockies thought the season would end when September did. Cook was the only starting pitcher for the Rockies to pick up a loss in the three game series with the Red Sox back in June, but he had pitched brilliantly, holding the Red Sox to two runs in 7 2/3 innings. Cook replaces Franklin Morales, who failed to pitch more than four innings in either of his two postseason starts and who has only eight regular season major league starts under his belt. Morales will move to the bullpen for the World Series.

The Red Sox’ rotation has also been set, and their news is about who is being left out, not who is being added. That would be longtime Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who do to his shoulder issues will be unable to go this round. The issues involving a knuckleball in Coors Field had to be in the back of the minds of the Red Sox staff, making Game Two in Boston a must for Wakefield if he was going to be in the rotation. Wakefield said in a press conference announcing the rotation that he was not sure if he would be ready, and he might not even know until Thursday, and that this was unfair to the team. Kyle Snyder replaces him on the roster, with Jon Lester likely replacing him in the rotation. The first three will be Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. While one might question the idea of Dice-K starting in Coors, where his pitches will not have the same break he normally relies upon, the Sox are looking to get him the maximum amount of rest here.

Now, as promised, a look at the starting nine for the Rockies. First off, we have Willy Taveras, who missed significant chunks of the season due to injury, but was an offensive sparkplug when healthy. Taveras appeared in just 97 games this season, hitting .320 with a .367 OBP, 24 RBI, 64 runs, and 33 stolen bases in 42 attempts. Following behind him is a player of similar stats and injury history, second baseman Kazuo Matsui. Matsui appeared in just 104 games, but he was very productive when available, hitting .288 with a .342 OBP, 37 RBI, 84 runs, and 32 stolen bases in 36 attempts.

Hitting third is the NLCS MVP Matt Holliday. In seven games this postseason, Holliday hit .286 with four home runs, seven RBI, and five runs scored. Holliday has struggled on the road compared to his home production, hitting .301 with only 11 of his 36 home runs and only 55 of his 137 RBI away from Coors Field.

Fourth, we have Todd Helton, the longest tenured member of the Rockies. Helton had been a superstar in years past but that luster has long since tarnished, and he has been dreadful this postseason. Helton had just one hit in 12 at-bats in the NLDS, and he had just three hits in 14 at-bats in the NLCS. During the regular season, there was little difference between Helton at home or on the road, with a .308 batting average away compared to .333 at home, with similar totals in the home run and RBI department.

Fifth, we have third baseman Garrett Atkins, who belted out 25 home runs this season with 111 RBI in 605 at-bats. Atkins has not enjoyed the same level of success in the postseason, though, with just one RBI in the seven games, no home runs, and only five total hits in 27 at-bats. His numbers suffered on the road too, with five more homers and five more RBI but 95 points less in batting average.

Sixth, Brad Hawpe, who belted out a boatload of homers and RBI too, but unlike Atkins he has been able to produce in the playoffs, hitting .304 in 23 at-bats this postseason. Hawpe also does not like being away from Coors, hitting 25 points lower on the road, and just ten of his 29 homers were outside of Colorado.

Seventh – or, at least, that is where he hit in the NLCS, and more on why we add a caveat here later – is Troy Tulowitzki, one of the favorites for the Rookie of the Year award. Tulowitzki has struggled this October, though, hitting just .179 in seven games with one homer and two RBI. Tulowitzki’s numbers take a significant hit on the road as well, with only a .256 batting average, compared to .326 at home, and only nine of his 24 homers came on the road. One area of his game that picks up away from home though is his baserunning – at home, he was successful in just two of eight stolen base attempts, whereas on the road he was successful all five times he tried.

Eighth has been Yorvit Torrealba, who was huge for the Rockies in the NLDS but has struggled since. In the three games against the Phillies, Torrealba hit .500 with three RBI and three runs scored, but he hit just .200 for the NLCS. Torrealba was horrific on the road this year, with a .212 road batting average compared to a .296 at home, and only two of his eight homers and only 13 of his 47 RBI came on the road.

The question now is where the Rockies will slot in their Designated Hitter while in Boston, and whom that will even be. The most likely candidate is Ryan Spilborghs, who picked up significant playing time while Taveras was on the shelf. Spilborghs hit .299 in 264 at-bats this year, with 11 home runs, 51 RBI, and 40 runs scored. Used as a starter in the NLDS, Spilborghs came off the bench in the NLCS, and he has three hits in ten at-bats this postseason, with no RBI and three runs scored. The DH, either Spilborghs or Seth Smith, will likely be slotted in as either the seventh or eighth hitter in the lineup.

Tonight, we finally get it on, and tomorrow we will be back here to look at Game One and break down the Game Two matchups.

Questions and comments may be sent to markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com