Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Kendrick

Preview

Lineup Card

Here we go.  This should be interesting.

Rockies lining up in their three announcer setup tonight.

1st Inning

• Shane Victorino triples on an 0-2 pitch.  Smith simply can't make a quality 0-2 pitch.  
• Polanco with the sac fly.  Hawpe made a great throw from fairly deep right.  Good try.  
• Another 0-2 basehit, this time by Chase Utley.  
• Smith strikes out Howard.  He's throwing strikes tonight, no doubt about that.  Now he just needs to find more quality strikes.  
• And then he walks Werth on four pitches.  Maybe I need to shut up.  
• Strikes out Ibanez.  High pitch count inning but limited the damage.  
• Phillies 1, Rockies 0
• Jason Giambi with a laser RBI single to even the score.  Much needed hit for team and player.  
• Rockies 1, Phillies 1
• Good first inning of baseball.  

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Lineup Card: Game 1 vs Philadelphia

Rockies Lineup

Could be a rough night defensively with Mora and Giambi on the right side.  At least Young isn't in LF again.

• LF Smith
• CF Fowler
• RF Hawpe (fresh off the DL)
• 1B Giambi
• 2B Mora
• 3B Stewart
• C  Olivo
• SS Barmes
• P   Smith

Tulo is day-to-day with his quad strain.  It's not the same quad he tore in 2008, and the MRI was clean.  That's obviously great news.  He will still be rested at least a couple days to help assure a repeat of 2008 doesn't come about.  

Lineup courtesy @TroyRenck.  Renck also tweeted some Jim Tracy thoughts on Jason Giambi.  

Phillies Lineup

• CF Victorino
• 3B Polanco
• 2B Utley
• 1B Howard
• RF Werth
• LF Ibanez
• C  Ruiz
• SS Valdez
• P   Kendrick

You know how good the first six are. Greg Smith needs to find out a way to get as many outs as he can from the 7, 8 and 9 spots.  That won't be easy because Ruiz is also a terrific hitter and pain in the ass for the Rockies.   

Looking Ahead: Rockies Unprepared For Litmus Test

I hate being a pessimist, but not as much as I enjoy being a realist.

This series doesn't look good on paper.

It didn't look good on paper on Opening Day. It didn't look good on paper the second it was official Roy Halladay would make a start. It didn't look good on paper when it was official the Rockies would start Greg Smith, Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. And amazingly, as bad as it looked at all those times, it looks a helluva lot uglier on paper now than it did 24 hours ago.

Thankfully the games aren't played on paper.

The Rockies won't make any excuses. which is good, because the Philadelphia Phillies -- far and away the best team in the National League -- come to town, and they could give crap about the Rockies problems.

Those problems, by the way, go beyond the injuries and absences.

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