DENVER -- Bud Black is taking his pitching expertise to hitter-friendly Coors Field.The highly regarded mound guru has been hired as manager of the Colorado Rockies, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday night because the move had not yet been announced.The Rockies scheduled a Monday news conference to introduce their new manager, but the release did not reveal the teams choice.Black takes over for Walt Weiss, who stepped down last month when his contract expired after four years in charge of the Rockies. They finished 75-87 last season, their best record since 2010.The 59-year-old Black managed the San Diego Padres for nearly nine seasons before he was fired in June 2015. He compiled a 649-713 record and was voted NL Manager of the Year in 2010 after the Padres went 90-72, their most wins since a franchise-record 98 in 1998.Washington nearly hired Black last year before contract talks broke down and the Nationals gave the job to Dusty Baker.After a major league career that spanned 15 seasons on the mound, Black became a respected pitching coach for the Angels. He brings a wealth of experience to a team thats long struggled to get outs in Denvers thin air a mile above sea level.Colorado had a 4.91 ERA this past season, tied with Cincinnati for 13th out of 15 National League teams. Arizona (5.09) was the only club that was worse.Yet the Rockies boast young talent in a starting rotation led by Jon Gray, the third overall pick in 2013 draft. Tyler Chatwood had the best road ERA (1.69) in the majors last season, while Chad Bettis and Tyler Anderson made big strides. The team will more than likely lose Jorge De La Rosa, the franchises all-time winningest pitcher, in free agency.One of the biggest challenges will be shoring up a shaky bullpen that blew 28 save chances in 2016. Colorado finished 24-36 in games decided by no more than two runs.Black was lauded for the way he ran bullpens with the Angels and Padres.On offense, Black inherits an NL batting champion in second baseman DJ LeMahieu, an all-around star in third baseman Nolan Arenado, an up-and-coming shortstop in Trevor Story and a feared hitter in outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.I like the group that we have, Arenado said after the final game of the season. I think we are close. But basically when I say that its for the fans. I want fans to know that so they dont lose hope. I feel bad. They come out every day, to see us lose the way we do sometimes.Arenado led the NL in RBI (133) and tied for the home run title with 41. He played stellar defense at third base again and could be in line for his fourth straight Gold Glove.Black spent a large portion of his career with Kansas City and was part of a Royals rotation that helped the team win the 1985 World Series. He won 121 games with Kansas City, Seattle, Cleveland, San Francisco and Toronto.After his playing days, he became the pitching coach for the Angels and spent seven seasons under manager Mike Scioscia. Black helped the team to the 2002 World Series title before taking over the Padres heading into the 2007 season.Black rejoined the Angels as a special assistant to the general manager last November.Custom San Francisco Giants Jerseys . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Cheap Giants Jerseys .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. https://www.cheapjerseysgiants.us/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. San Francisco Giants Store . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Giants Jerseys 2019 .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco.In eight games last season, new Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler put together a pedestrian stat line: 10 TDs, six interceptions and a below-average Total QBR of 48.8. And the film meshed with those numbers. It was OK, even underwhelming at times, as Osweiler managed the system under Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, with the NFLs best defense taking the pressure off the quarterback. Quick throws, boot action and limited shots over the top.However, since the Texans are restocking their offensive talent and adding more speed to complement the smooth skill set of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, is Osweiler in a position to produce better numbers with Texans coach Bill OBrien? Lets discuss how the Texans can accelerate the development of Osweiler after giving him $37 million guaranteed after just seven NFL starts.Osweilers résuméOsweilers tape from the 2015 season doesnt jump off the screen. Sure, there are some big-time throws when Osweiler holds the free safety and delivers a strike to target the seam, post or deep crosser (heres one example).dddddddddddd And his footwork/pocket management is better than I expected. For a big man (6-foot-8, 240 pounds), Osweiler is pretty well-groomed in the pocket with his ability to slide, climb or throw the shoulder forward versus edge pressure. Plus, he can get to the edge of the pocket on boot schemes. Hes athletic.But Osweiler is not a true deep-ball quarterback. In 2015, on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield, he ranked 30th in completion rate (25 percent) and 31st in Total QBR (35.7). Based on the tape, he lacks accuracy and deep-ball velocity on throws over the top of the defense. Instead, his production -- and his fit under OBrien -- will come in the short-to-intermediate game. ' ' '