Start No. 1 for Drew Pomeranz was pretty damn impressive.
Start No. 2 fell right in line with the first, which is a very encouraging sign from a young pitcher. A little consistency is always welcomed.
Here's what I like about him: He's in command. He's not intimidated. He remains poised in the face of baserunners and small strike zones. He's always on the attack. His stuff is good. His confidence is better. Without being overly clichey, he just looks the part of a big league pitcher.
We need more guys that look the part of a big league pitcher. Because if they look like it, it means they believe it. When they believe it, everyone who sees them believes it. We need a guy people not only in Colorado, but all around baseball believe in, respect, and hopefully somewhere down the line even begin to fear.
Pomeranz's line: 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Giants 6, Rockies 5 (boxscore)
Pomeranz hit his pitch count in the 6th with a runner on first. Tracy made the move to Matt Belisle, who allowed the run to score on a two-out double. I'm 98% certain that run doesn't score in Pomeranz stays in.
The Rockies then charged into the lead in the bottom of the 6th. Dexter Folwer delivered the big hit there -- a two-run single. He was then thrown out trying to advance to second, essentially killing the rally. The good and the atrocious of Dexter Fowler in the less than 20 seconds.
Anyway, that set up Belisle for his 11th relief victory. Unfortunately, that never came about because Huston Street let the lead slip away, and then allowed the entire eighth inning to avalanche and bury the Rockies.
Street threw some very hittable pitches to the five batters he faced, but it was his silly decision to go for the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt, sailing the throw into center field, that really killed him. He has to be smarter than that. But when you're a pitcher lacking confidence as it appears Street is right now, you're not always thinking about making the right play, you're thinking about making a game-changing play.
Oh, it changed the game alright.
Overall, though, Street hasn't been too bad since returning from the DL. But there's no question he hasn't been nearly as sharp as he was early in the season since about three weeks before he went on the DL. It's also worth noting he's been on the DL all three seasons with Colorado. If you want to complain about his pitching... fine. If you want to complain about something relevant, then complain about his durability.
Of course I put a lot of that blame on Jim Tracy for the ridiculous overuse in 2009, before the biceps injury, and then again in 2010, after he returned from the shoulder soreness. I mean seriously, Tracy has used Street four days in a row at least three different time. That's an impossible workload. So not surprisingly a major Rockies issue ultimately traces back to the skipper.
Final Thought
Yeah, I saw Jim Tracy allow Hector Gomez to hit for himself with the game on the line in the 9th. But I'm done analyzing him as a manager this season. His hands are pretty much tied right now, and even before that he'd already proven he's not good at the whole pushing buttons thing.
We know what we have in Jim Tracy. It sucks, but why beat the dead horse?
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