Just the other day, up in Phoenix, former Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday was citing Jeff Francis as a key to the Rockies' chances this season.

"I think Jeff's health, obviously, is important, but there's a lot of very talented guys over there," Holliday said. "Pitching will be key, but if Jeff's healthy, they should be pretty good, I would think."

By the time he said it, the Rocks were pretty sure Francis wasn't healthy. If his 4-10 record and 5.01 earned-run average last year weren't evidence enough, the constant pain in his left shoulder was.

Francis tried everything to get past it, including needling, which in this case did not refer to teammates making fun of his laconic personality.

"It's different than acupuncture," Francis said. "One of the physical therapists in Denver did that with little results but nothing major."

Rest, strengthening exercises, throwing through the pain - none of it worked. His left shoulder could get no relief.

"The last few days have been tough," Francis said. "I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. It really came down to it was up to me. It wasn't anybody telling me what I needed to do because nobody could feel what I'm feeling in my shoulder.

"So I'd lose sleep at night wondering what I should do. Should I try and pitch through it and grind it out or should I try to get it fixed?

"Teammates have been supportive. They're saying, 'Don't go out there and not be yourself. We want to make sure that you get it right.' You talk to teammates, you talk to your trainers, your doctors, people outside the team - doctors, therapists, surgeons - and try to make as educated a decision as you can."

In the end, it was the pain and the videotape of his only spring training bullpen session that made him decide to have surgery next week.

"It gets loosened up a little bit, but looking at the tape of my bullpen I'm nowhere near myself on the mound," he said. "My arm is following different paths to throwing a ball that I had no idea about, which I'm probably doing to avoid pain, so that could explain the loosening up."

Losing the ace of the 2007 staff is not good news, but subtracting last season's 4-10 pitcher is no great loss, as Francis acknowledged.

"I think I could really help this team if I was out there healthy on the mound, but I think in the state I'm in right now I could really hurt the team if I try to go out there without a healthy pitching arm," he said.

But before you write off the '09 Rocks, take a look back to the middle of '07. The club was barely in touch with the division leaders when three of its five starters were lost for the season in the space of three weeks. Aaron Cook, Rodrigo Lopez and Jason Hirsh went down like dominoes.

That left the club with Francis and fifth starter Josh Fogg - much more dire straits than they face now.

They responded by calling up prospects Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales and making do with an array of rejects and suspects as fifth starters, among them Tim Harikkala, Elmer Dessens and Mark Redman.

Along with a capable bullpen, this was the patchwork pitching staff that led the National League in earned-run average after the All-Star break and took the Rocks to their first World Series.

By comparison, they have a plethora of alternatives this spring. After running out of capable starters again last year, general manager Dan O'Dowd stocked up.

The Rocks return three healthy starters from last season - Cook, Jimenez and Jorge De La Rosa. O'Dowd traded for two more - Jason Marquis from the Cubs and Greg Smith from the A's.

Three more return healthy from the '07 cast - Hirsh, Morales and Fogg. Finally, for good measure, O'Dowd brought in veterans Matt Belisle and Glendon Rusch.

"They're really deep," Francis said. "I mean, there's what, six guys going for the fifth starting spot? So I'm not going to stand here and say they're not going to miss me, but I'm also not going to say that they're not going to be OK without me because there's a lot of talent out there and there's guys that can step in and fill some holes."

In hindsight, obviously, it would have been better for Francis to have his surgery shortly after he was shut down with shoulder pain in early September last year. He might be a month or two from coming back now.

But rushing into surgery always looks better in hindsight, when you know the less invasive alternatives haven't worked. Of course, you have to try them first to know that.

A former physics major, Francis is a very bright guy. Letting him make his decision in his own time was the right thing to do. And by preparing for just this outcome with his offseason moves, O'Dowd gave the Rocks a good chance to overcome it.

Back to Top