"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"

King Richard III made this pathetic plea - his crown for a ride - after his own steed was killed and he was surrounded by enemy troops. If I remember my high school Shakespeare - and it's been awhile, so no guarantees - Richard didn't make it.

"A pitcher! Maybe two pitchers! My franchise for a pitcher or two!" one imagines Rockies owner Charlie Monfort calling to the heavens.

Like Richard's horse, Rodrigo Lopez and Jason Hirsh have fallen, and the kid Rocks desperately need replacements before their National League West rivals do to them what King Richard's enemies did to him.

So let's look at some options. They may not be good options, but they're no worse than David Wells, whom the Padres designated for assignment Friday. Boomer, 44, was 5-8 with a 5.54 ERA in 22 starts.

"I don't think he's a good fit for what we've got going on right now," manager Clint Hurdle said. "The bottom line for me was, if you can't pitch at Petco . . . "

He was referring to the Padres' pitcher- friendly home field and let the thought go unfinished. I believe I mentioned that other starters now clearing waivers aren't much better.

"It's not a pretty market," Hurdle agreed. "You're basically hoping more than anything. If they were really good, they wouldn't be available."

Nevertheless, the injuries to Lopez and Hirsh leave the Rocks little choice but to explore this market. Rookie Ubaldo Jimenez's horrendous outing Thursday means they may actually need two starters. Jimenez gets one more chance to avoid a return trip to Colorado Springs. In his last two starts, he's thrown 171 pitches to get through 6 2/3 innings.

Franklin Morales might switch places with him if he has another good outing for the Sky Sox this week, but he's given up nine walks in 12 2/3 innings at Triple-A so far, so he has the same issues as Jimenez.

Clearly, the Rocks are rushing these guys out of need, which is seldom a good idea. Better to bring in two veteran suspects and let the rookies work on their command in the Springs.

Taylor Buchholz is now out of the conversation. As a matter of mental makeup, the Rocks have decided he belongs in the bullpen.

So Sunday's starter - still listed as TBA - is not currently on the roster. It is likely to be 36-year-old Tim Harikkala of the Sky Sox, who last pitched in Korea and is not to be confused with 33-year-old Dan Serafini of the Sky Sox, who last pitched in Japan. If these guys don't work out, there's always Taiwan.

Another suspect is 36-year-old Elmer Dessens, recently released by the Brewers, who threw three innings of one-hit, shutout ball in his debut for the Sky Sox on Friday night.

Meanwhile, the Rocks continue to explore a waiver/trade market that features back-of-the-rotation veterans pitching for teams out of contention who hope to steal top prospects from contenders in need. For example:

• Kip Wells, 30, Cardinals (5-13, 5.27)

• Josh Towers, 30, Blue Jays (5-9, 5.36)

• Steve Trachsel, 36, Orioles (5-7, 4.88)

• Odalis Perez, 30, Royals (6-11, 5.87)

• Jose Contreras, 35, White Sox (6-14, 6.49)

Yes, it's a motley crew. On our annual ballpark trip, The Dude and I saw Trachsel pitch at Fenway last week and he was pretty good. Kip Wells also has been pitching well lately, although the Cards, despite being seven games below .500, are still in touch in the mediocre NL Central, so they may hold onto him a bit longer.

When the Rocks call, these also-rans invariably ask about Morales or Jimenez or third baseman Ian Stewart or shortstop Chris Nelson (41 RBI in July at high Single-A Modesto) or flashy shortstop Hector Gomez (low Single-A Asheville) or center fielder Dexter Fowler, who is out for the year after breaking a bone in his right wrist for Modesto.

That's pretty much the list of Rockies minor league untouchables, so a lot of these conversations are pretty short.

Knowing firsthand how bad the Orioles bullpen is, I would suggest offering a couple of young relief prospects, maybe including Ramon Ramirez, for Trachsel, and see what happens.

The Rocks are in the process of proving how quickly these issues could sour a sweet season. Coming off their sweep of the Brewers, Jimenez was rocked Thursday, Aaron Cook was mediocre Friday and now they serve up Josh Fogg and TBA.

Nevertheless, they should not give up a prized prospect for a journeyman starter. The kid Rocks are an up-and-coming young team that was below .500 just last season. The future is not now.

I'm guessing Harikkala and the bullpen will be asked to get them through Sunday's finale against the Cubs. By next week, you might see Dessens and somebody else nobody wants.

Still, the Rocks should keep in mind what happened to Richard III before offering their kingdom. Perhaps a more modest ad on craigslist would do the trick:

A pitcher! A pitcher! Our weird-looking mascot for a pitcher!

kriegerd@RockyMountainNews.com

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