SAN FRANCISCO -- Right-hander Jamey Wright noticed on Monday afternoon that Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle had put quite a bit of effort into preparing to spin as positive the news that Wright would not be in the starting rotation anymore this season.

But Wright had done his homework as well. He had already figured it was an opportunity to still be a relevant pitcher with the Rockies or another team going into next season, and told his agent as much. He appreciated that Hurdle was prepared to sell the plan, even though he didn't have to.

"I think he had the whole speech prepared as to, 'Well, if you don't like it, this is what we want to see, and it won't work unless you're motivated to go out there the rest of the season and do it,'" Wright said before the Rockies met the San Francisco Giants at SBC Park on Monday night. "But then I said, 'That sounds great to me.'"

Hurdle said, "All the things I had laid out there to present the thing in a positive way, I never had to bother with. Once he heard my explanation, he was very comfortable with it and understood completely. He's been the 23-, 25-year-old pitcher that's pushed people to the bullpen or pushed people out to the picture before."

The last weeks of the season can be turbulent for non-contending teams and could have been in this case. Wright, 31, whose career began with the Rockies and who came back late last season, has been an outspoken believer in the youth-based rebuilding program. But at 6-16 with a 5.71 ERA, Wright became personally affected by it.

But the new assignment went as well as possible for two reasons:

• Hurdle did not assess Wright a failure, but agreed with the pitcher that the record was as much a reflection of team performance in his starts.

• Wright has had only a brief bullpen history -- most of it at the end of 2002 during St. Louis' run to the postseason after arriving in a trade with Milwaukee -- but he believes he can be good at it. After some rough numbers due to a combination of bad luck and inconsistency as a starter, being a reliever who could start in a pinch could help as Wright enters free agency after the season.

"[Brewers pitching coach] Mike Maddux told me one time, 'I didn't know how many pitches I'd wasted as a starter until I went to the bullpen and then came back as a starter,'" Wright said. "I might like it so much that I don't want to go back.

"If I go out and pitch 14 games during the last month of the season, am pretty successful at it and bounce back every time, it's going to be tough to not want to continue doing that."

The rotation: When the Rockies return to Denver for a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday, starters will be Sunny Kim (3-2, 4.82 ERA), who pitched impressively while beating San Diego in a spot-start on Saturday, Byung-Hyun Kim (3-10, 5.12) and Zach Day, who is scheduled to make his final start at Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday night.

Scary moment: Colorado right-handed reliever Blaine Neal was hit in the face by a line drive while pitching for Double-A Tulsa on Sunday during his rehab assignment for elbow inflammation. Player development director Bill Geivett said Neal might have suffered a fractured sinus cavity, but the issue is not thought to be serious. It isn't clear how much action Neal will miss.

Spared: Hurricane Katrina, which hit the South on Monday, most affected Rockies outfielder Dustan Mohr, whose parents and grandparents live where the eye of the storm hit, Hattiesburg, Miss. Mohr said the front wall of the storm felled five or six large trees where they live, but everyone was safe.

"One big tree fell right in front of the back door of my grandparents' house, so that's a problem, but they're fine," Mohr said.

Mohr said he talked to his parents and grandparents after the front wall had passed. He didn't expect the back wall to create any damage.

Reliever Scott Dohmann's relatives in New Orleans were safe and waiting for officials to assess damage in the area before venturing out of their homes, and the storm spared the Louisiana families of catcher Danny Ardoin and reliever Mike Dejean.

Star gazing: Third baseman Ian Stewart and outfielder Joe Gaetti, playing at Class A Modesto, were named to the California League All-Star team, the Rockies announced Monday.

Stewart, 20, Colorado's first-round pick in 2003, is batting .274 with 14 home runs and 77 RBIs in 105 games, after overcoming an early-season hamstring injury. Gaetti, 24, son of former Major Leaguer and current Houston Astros hitting coach Gary Gaetti, is batting .313 with 17 homers and 76 RBIs in 105 games.

On deck: Right-hander Aaron Cook (3-1, 4.15 ERA), who has gone 3-0 with four quality starts in his last five outings after losing his season debut, will start for the Rockies against the Giants and right-hander Kevin Correia on Tuesday.