"In an attempt to become more of a pitcher, Aaron Cook has become less of a man.

Of all the sights and sounds at the Rockies' spring training camp, none is more startling than Cook's 18-pound weight loss. Add in his retro red hair, a dramatic departure from his shaved-head ways, and Cook is a candidate for one of those "Hi, my name is . . ." stickers that were all the rage at the Rockies' first-ever camp at Hi Corbett Field.

Make no doubt, this isn't about aesthetics. It isn't about a new look so much as a new outlook. Given his injury and health history, there will always be a certain what-if aspect to Cook's career. But having turned 31 during the offseason, he wanted to get in better shape to give himself a chance to pitch an entire season.

"I just figured, if I could lose a little weight, it might take some pressure off my body so I could make it through the season without missing any starts," Cook said. "I've had a lot of nagging stuff, and I wanted to do what I could do to maybe alleviate those things.

"I'm getting up in age a little more, so I felt like I should do it. We'll see what happens. I did it by design, but it's always a gamble as far as whether it's going to work."

This much is certain: After another season cut short by an injury, this time a shoulder strain, Cook had nothing to lose but weight. He wants to make 30-plus starts and throw 200-plus innings as he did in 2006 and 2008, not be on the disabled list for much of the pennant stretch, as he was in 2007 and 2009.

"He's blue collar all the way," Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. "He doesn't give in to counts, he doesn't give in to hitters, and he wants to be out there for 200 innings. If you're anticipating throwing 200 innings, the majority of the work comes in the offseason. The maintenance part comes during the season, but the majority comes in the offseason.

"He's a smarter young man now. He's a young veteran who's figured things out. You look at him now, you see a more sculpted body. He's actually underweight right now, but he realizes that. He'll probably put on five or 10 pounds before the season.""