Rock Solid Recrap: Doubleheader Tuesday ends with a thud

Everybody knows by now the Colorado Rockies have lost starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa to a completely torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. The Rockies, De La Rosa and his agent will evaluate the next logical steps on Wednesday, but all signs and symptoms point to Tommy John Surgery and a recovery period starting at 12 months.

*Sad face*

Obviously, this is a terrible loss to the Rockies on several levels. De La Rosa has been their most steady and consistent hurler. He's their lone left-handed starting option, which carries a lot of significance. Not to mention they just locked themselves into a possibly damanging contract with Jorge that should see him exercising an expensive player option come 2013.

But most of all you just feel bad for Jorge. The Rockies brought him in as a guy that was on his way out of the majors if things didn't work out. From there he's worked hard to develop into a rock solid number two option on a contending team. That's a nice leap and a good indication that the character of the player is strong.

So we wish him the best and hope a year from now we're welcoming him back and celebrating a successful return. All the best, Jorge.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

-- Jhoulys Chacin was pretty good for the five first frames. Unfortunately, Arizona was able to square him up a bit in that 6th inning when they scored three times on three doubles. Kelly Johnson had one of those doubles. He also homered in the first. The guy is pretty much Arizona's version of Cody Ross or Pedro Feliz back in the day. A serial Rockies killer.

-- Owned by Joe Saunders. Where did this one rank on the scale of awful pitchers tying Rockies hitters in knots? I saw a comparison to Mike Pelfrey. That has to be right up there. But I think Casey Coleman has to top this dubious list.

-- Didn't help that Jim Tracy trotted out a less than inspring lineup in the nightcap. He must have known it too, because he was ready to head home by the 3rd inning.

-- Why did he need to give Jonathan Herrera and Seth Smith a game off. I mean really, it's necessary that Alfredo Amezaga gets his at-bats (hitting LEAD-OFF) and Ryan Spilborghs has to spell Smith against every lefty? The old platoon system isn't working. Time to feature your best players as much as possible.

-- On a positive note, Jason Giambi homered again. Not positive, he also left with a bruised elbow after a HBP.

-- That wraps a discouraging doubleheader Tuesday. A day that felt like it could be a positive turning point, ended up to driving us closer to a rock bottom we hoped we'd already reached. But that's baseball. The game constantly challenges you.

Good teams/players respond.

Lesser teams/players fold.