Rock Solid Recap: Rockies finish strong, win third in last 14

It doesn't matter how awful, disappointing or discouraging a season has been, it's always nice to win games. That's especially true on the final day of the season... against the team you dislike the most.

Rockies 6, Giants 3 (boxscore)

So what if the Giants won the six matchups before the last one? Big deal! We got the last one! And really, so what if the Rockies won 3 of their last 14? They still take more momentum into this offseason than last year!

Anyway, pointless bragging aside, it sure was nice watching Drew Pomeranz finish his season strongly.

His line: 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR, 72 pitches (49 strikes)

The three earned runs easily could have been one, but Matt Lindstrom allowed two of his inherited runners to score. But the big numbers to look at once again are the 0 walks and the 0 home runs. It's not impossible, but it's MUCH more difficult for any opposing offense to beat you with 0's in both of those columns.

Right now, I'll project Pomernanz as at worst the Rockies #3 starter to start 2012, depending on who they add, but could work his way to #1 very quickly. He's a really special talent. He seems to have a head on his shoulders. That really showed in how well he bounced back from the ugly outing in Houston.

Well done, Drew.

Projecting the rotation

1. Jhoulys Chacin
2. Veteran not on the roster
3. Drew Pomeranz
4. Jason Hammel
5. Kevin Millwood or Alex White or Jorge De La Rosa or Juan Nicasio or someone else not named Esmil Rogers or Greg Reynolds or Alan Johnson

You can count on a lot of juggling again next season, especially if De La Rosa and Nicasio prove to be healthy and effective.

-- Jordan Pacheco finished the season with a 2-for-5 game and 2 more RBIs. Now check out this stat from Andrew Fisher on Twitter...

2011 w RISP: Jordan Pacheco - 27 PA, 10 hits, 2 K. Ty Wigginton - 142 PA, 20 hits, 39 K.

So, which one would you rather have on the roster next season?

-- Four other Rockies had multiple hit games...

• Kevin Kouzmanoff (3 hits, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs)
• Eric Young (2 hits, run)
• Dexter Fowler (2 hits, 2 runs, RBI)
• Tommy Field (2 hits)

Nice game by all.

-- And a nice game for relievers Matt Belisle, Rex Brothers and Rafael Betancourt, who each tossed a scoreless inning of relief. For Betancourt, it was his 8th save.

-- The Rockies finish the disappointing campaign at 73-89. What I once projected as a 92 win, division championship team, nearly finished with 90 losses and barely avoided last place.

Can I call'em or what?

Final Thought

Thank you all so much for your continued readership in 2011. We almost doubled our traffic from 2010, which tells me Rockies fans are pretty awesome, and I'm investing my time wisely. I truly appreciate all of you.

We'll be back throughout the offseason with updates, thoughts, and other things. Maybe even some player rankings at some point. Just know the month of October will be a busy one for me as I'll again be contributing to Big League Stew's playoff coverage. Check back periodically throughout the month and then make sure to be here in November when the hot stove season heats up.

Again, many thanks to all of you. Disappointing season on the field, but a damn good season here at Heaven & Helton.