The renovation of a Rockies bullpen in shambles started at Greenwood Field in Asheville, N.C., a ballpark with a batter’s eye not unlike that at Coors Field, a bank of trees behind the fence in straightaway center. No fanfare or radar guns. Just Greg Holland pitching to a backstop.
Darren Holmes, the Rockies’ bullpen coach, lives during the winter about 2 miles down the road. He was there too, watching and scouting, two rustic right-handers with paths about to cross. Holmes once revived his flickering career with the Rockies after they plucked him in the 1993 expansion draft.