Mark J. Rebilas/US Presswire

Franklin Morales provides the Rockies with a powerful, though young, arm late in games.

By Peter Gammons, ESPN

Franklin Morales' pitch was one of those mistakes the Rockies will live with. It's all for the sake of development.

The 21-year-old left-hander, who on Sunday had thrown a blowaway set-up inning by touching 97 mph, on Monday night threw a changeup that Fernando Tatis hit into the night for a grand slam that gave the Mets the win. But, of course, that win turned out to be a sidebar from a long, confusing day of press briefings to explain a news conference to explain a firing that should have been handled with a one-page press release. The madness that stemmed from general manager Omar Minaya's handing of the ousting of vice president of player development Tony Bernazard certainly loomed larger than any win -- or any one pitch.

And one pitch doesn't end the Morales project. He had thrown 15 1/3 previous innings with a 1.76 ERA and 15 strikeouts. Oh, there were some shaky moments, but his stuff has been dominant. The four gopher balls are part of the process.

This past weekend, the Rockies brought up their best pitching prospect, 21-year-old Jhoulys Chacin. He had been a starter in Double-A, but the decision was made to break him in, along with Morales, in the majors.

"We want to give them a chance to develop, and this may be a good way to do it," says Colorado general manager Dan O'Dowd. "We may have two exceptional arms in front of Huston Street."

And while O'Dowd is looking for a veteran to throw into the mix, the idea is clear: get as many power arms as possible for the wild card run. "This is the way Baltimore used to develop their young pitchers," says O'Dowd. "I remember they did it with Storm Davis and Mike Boddicker."

Earlier, the Orioles did it with Mike Flanagan, Dennis Martinez and Scott McGregor.

And while developing future starters, they are looking for the next 2002 Francisco Rodriguez, who showed up in Anaheim in September and powered the Angels to a World Series title.

The Rays will soon bring up Wade Davis and put him into that seventh/eighth-inning role. The Rangers will soon do the same with Neftali Feliz. The Yankees have done it with Phil Hughes, who essentially turned their season around and went into Tuesday with 22 1/3 straight scoreless innings in 16 appearances dating back to June 10. The Red Sox have done it with Daniel Bard, who, according to Inside Edge, is the second-hardest thrower in the American League and is beginning to be the eighth inning guy. That happens when you have 36 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.

The 30-something veterans with their sinkers and sliders are fine and dandy, but if you've got a Hughes or Bard, Davis or Feliz, Morales or Chacin, why not try them in the eighth inning?

"They may be a lot better years from now as starters," says Yankees manager Joe Girardi, "because they know how to get important outs."

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: July 27 | July 26 | July 24 | July 23 | July 22

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	SITUATION
Adrian Gonzalez, SD	27	Arroyo	Top 3: 0-1, 1 Out. None on.
Adam Dunn, WAS	26	Villanueva	Top 4: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on.
Jermaine Dye, CWS	23	Baker	Top 6: 3-2, 2 Outs. None on.
Ryan Braun, MIL	21	Balester	Bot 6: 2-2, 2 Outs. None on.
Evan Longoria, TB	20	Sabathia	Bot 5: 2-1, 2 Outs. None on.

The complete list of Tuesday's homers

ON DECK: WEDNESDAY'S BEST MATCHUPS

Blue Jays at Mariners, 4:40 p.m. ET

Roy Halladay is scheduled to take the mound for the Blue Jays. You know what question is coming next, right? Will this be his final start with Toronto? One thing is for certain: Halladay doesn't really seem fazed by all this trade talk. With all the rumors swirling, Halladay has tossed back-to-back complete games.

Yankees at Rays, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Matt Garza is coming off a complete-game, nine-strikeout, zero-walk win against the Blue Jays. It was only the second time this season he has not permitted a walk. Joba Chamberlain has won his past three decisions and has not lost since June 18.

Dodgers at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. ET

The two starters, Joel Pineiro and Clayton Kershaw, both enter with ERAs lower than 3.00. Kershaw (2.96) has won his past five decisions despite leading the National League in walks. Pineiro (2.95) has won his past three starts.

For the rest of Wednesday's schedule, click here.