Sunday Recrap: Chapter 17

Hello Baseball World!

What you witnessed this evening was Colorado Rockies baseball at its Sunday best in 2011. So glad all of you finally got a glimpse into the hell we've been living all season.

Cardinals 6, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What are we going to do about Esmil Rogers and first innings? It's unreal. He just can't past that hurdle of avoiding a bad start. Does he need more warm ups? Is it nerves? Someone needs to get on that and figure out some answers.

Bob Apodaca: You go first.

The good news is sometimes Esmil is able to limit the damage. The bad news is there are nights like tonight, where he gives away a quick 2-0 lead, and then proceeds to give up even more. It's frustrating, and once again, he piled up 32 pitches in the first. That guaranteed another short night. Despite recovering nicely from the slow start, that's exactly what it was.

Moving on...

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Rock Solid Recap: I'm very happy for Jason Hammel

So many people have been quick to bail on Jason Hammel. Maybe rightfully so, maybe not. Time will tell for sure.

I can't deny that he's struggled (slight understatement) for six weeks, but I'm not one that's quick to abandon a solid performer. Hopefully you've noticed that about me over the past two seasons. I like to think I'm fair and critical when necessary, but I see no reason in running a guy into the ground that has been a huge positive for this team for the vast majority of his tenure.

No, he's not Ubaldo Jimenez or Jhoulys Chacin. Few are. To expect that from him would be sorely lacking in perspective, but sometimes I feel that's the standard he's held to. Jason's in that category of a back end rotation guy. Limited upside. His stuff won't scare anybody, but he battles. And for 2009, 2010 and early 2011, the Rockies 4th and 5th rotation spots were stronger than most because of Jason Hammel.

He's one of the guys on this team that I know has fight, and I know has personal and professional pride on the line every time he goes out there. When he struggles, he's harder on himself than anyone. We've seen that in his quotes and the way Troy Renck describes his demeanor. I know that's hard to imagine, because the drubbing his takes from Rockies fans on Twitter (likely elsewhere) is brutal, but he really does take it personal and is his own harshest critic.

To see him come out and pitch a baseball game like he Saturday night in St. Louis makes me feel really good for him. We needed it. He REALLY needed it.

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