Rock Solid Recrap: One-run losses piling up

Brewers 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

For the third time on this road trip, the Colorado Rockies dropped a one-run decision.

They're now 6-10 in one-run decisions on the season, which is a better mark than I would have guessed, but still far from acceptable. Sometimes you do tip your cap to the competition in these games, as should be the case tonight with how well Shawn Marcum pitched. But when it follows a one-run loss like last night's, it tests your patience as a fan.

Also of concern is the Rockies 2-8 record in their last ten road games. It's not like they're getting run off the field on a nightly basis, or not putting up a fight. It's just a struggle to put nine whole innings together for this team. It's been that way for close to a month. Until that changes the frustrations will keep mounting.

-- Clayton Mortensen continued his excellent work with 6 2/3, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB and 5 K. Pretty similar to the outing of Jason Hammel last night: 6 2/3, 8 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB and 1 K. You'll take that against Milwaukee's excellent offense. Especially in their ballpark when they are very comfortable. Unfortunately, they were wasted outings.

-- Dexter Fowler was caught stealing again. It's sad. So much speed. So much raw athletic ability. Can't steal a base to save his life. At what point do the Rockies invest in someone to work with him? Or do they just let it go and give away outs on the bases and/or via the bunt?

-- Matt Daley has added new life to the bullpen. And by new life I mean he's actually getting people out. Six up, six down in his first two outings. All three via the strikeout tonight.

-- Felipe Paulino has been designated for assignment. Baseball rapture at its finest!

Sounds like Greg Reynolds will get the call in his place. Reynolds will start a game at some point this week. Probably Saturday, but his early arrival could make Tuesday a possibility. We'll see.

-- Jose Lopez has been a train wreck in the field this weekend. Not much better at the dish. He may be next on the DFA hitlist if he can't find traction real soon.

-- Not much else to say after this one since 96% of us didn't get to see it. Hope the Rockies pull it together and head back to Coors Field on a winning note Sunday afternoon. Maybe we'll even get a W from Ubaldo. Would seem fitting the way this week has gone.

Rock Solid Recrap: Reoccurring nightmare strikes again

I'm not talking about the nightmare on Huston Street, although his recent string of home runs allowed is a growing concern to be sure. And I'm not talking about the scary thoughts that go through my mind between every Rafael Betancourt pitch. Believe me there's time for a lot of them.

(Both of those pitchers played their part in Friday's gut-wrenching and infuriating loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. There's no denying if they do their jobs, there's a much happier ending. But.)

I'm talking about Felipe Paulino. Very possibly the worst pitcher to wear a Rockies uniform in ten years. And here some people thought we traded that guy on Thursday. Nope. Paulino makes Franklin Morales look like Billy Wagner by comparison. Morales has major league stuff. Paulino has a straight fastball that begs to be hit 450 feet.

That's exactly what Prince Fielder did in the 14th inning. It was a moment everybody predicted would happen the second Paulino began warming up. It was his first official blown save of the season, and his fourth loss in the past three weeks. All of them have looked the same. He looked like a guy that couldn't get major league hitters out, and he didn't.

But as awful as he's been, you can't really get mad at the man himself. He's shown us who he is. We obviously don't like what we see because he's terrible and we want the Rockies to win every day. But for some reason, what we've seen for six weeks still hasn't sunk in with Jim Tracy and Dan O'Dowd. They're the ones who keep stubbornly sending a person to the mound who's not equipped to handle the job. They're the ones who come under fire for this.

Paulino = bad. O'Dowd & Tracy = clueless.

We're ****ed meter: Clueless management > Bad pitcher

And I'm putting that as kindly as I can.

If Felipe Paulino is still on this roster when I post the Lineup Card later today. So help me. I don't know what I'll write, but it probably won't be as kind as what I wrote here.

Brewers 7, Rockies 6 in 14 (boxscore)

-- Jason Hammel pitched a really nice game. He left in the 7th inning with a lead over Zack Greinke. What more can you honestly ask for? A home run? That's not really fair, but he hit one of those, too. Great game.

But it was pissed away. You have an improbable win handed to you on a silver platter and it's gone. Those are the losses that haunt you for weeks and months. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants continue winning one-run games like it's the easiest task in the world.

-- Jason Giambi hit another home run. It's an awesome stretch for him. Hope it continues.

-- Troy Tulowitzki lost his composure on a night when this team NEEDED his presence in the field and in the lineup. No Helton. No Cargo. Tulowitzki has to be the leader in that scenario. He can't lead from the clubhouse because he had to settle a pissing match with the home plate umpire. I'm deeply troubled by what happened here. He's supposed to set the tone and lead by example. If that's his leadership, it's no wonder this team gets frazzled so easily.

Rock Solid Recap: Three times a Giambi

Zero hits in five weeks. Defensive liability. Manager wasn't giving him any starts at first base in recent weeks. I'd say anybody -- myself included -- that was questioning Jason Giambi's place on the Colorado Rockies roster had plenty of validation to do so.

Heck, he probably wasn't even going to be in Thursday's lineup if not for Todd Helton's back stiffening up on him. But like any proud person does when faced with criticism and given an opportunity to prove doubters incorrect, Giambi stepped up on Thursday night in the biggest way imaginable.

Watch Jason Giambi's first home run

Watch Jason Giambi's second home run

Watch Jason Giambi's third home run

His first career three home run game. He tied a career high with seven RBI. Amazing night.

And we have to give credit where credit is due. Jim Tracy spotted a flaw in Giambi's batting stance during a film session with hitting coach Carney Lansford. Giambi listened to the suggestion to stand more upright at the dish, adjusted, and baseball history was made.

Hats off to all of them for working together to make this special game possible.

Rockies 7, Phillies 1 (boxscore)

-- Speaking of special game's, Jhoulys Chacin's performance was unreal. He dominated the Phillies from start to finish. Granted, their lineup is far from full strength, but that's not his concern. His concern is to beat who's in front of him, and he handled his business like an established ace. It was a joy to watch.

-- Jose Lopez had four hits on Thursday. I don't know if anyone helped him with his stance, but that's a pretty damn good confidence builder for him. As nice as Giambi's game was on several levels, Lopez's performance could be more important long-term if he can build on it.

-- Oh my, Chris Iannetta, 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and another wild pitch allowed that led to a run. That means all three Philadelphia runs in the series came courtesy of a wild pitch/passed ball. He did do a much better job as the game moved along at blocking pitches, so that was good. And once again he called an excellent game, so you'll take the good with the bad.

-- Felipe Paulino pitched a scoreless ninth inning. I know... this was bizarro night at Citizens Bank Park.

-- And how about this for a nightcap: Franklin Morales was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later. Good for Dan O'Dowd for making a tough decision with Morales. It can't be easy to give up on a 25-year-old lefty with a nice arm. Especially knowing if Morales turns it around this has the chance to look like a terrible move. But O'Dowd can't worry about that right now. The Rockies have to field their best 25. This puts them one step closer to that.

Gutsy call all things considered. I respect it and hope it works out for all involved.

Rock Solid Recrap: Fish or cut bait

Hey, isn't that Jim Tracy's newest favorite phrase? How about he take his own advice, get together with Dan O'Dowd and cut the dead weight from this baseball team.

I know it's a tough position for the front office to be in. Some of their decisions are going to end up looking awful. But why not just end it now? No reason to make yourself look worse in a desperate attempt to look smart.

Felipe Paulino has to go. As much as I've supported giving Franklin Morales opportunities, it's time for him to go. Jason Giambi is serving little purpose at this point. This team isn't fielding its best 25 players. Not even close, and there's no excuse for that to continue.

And I don't think Jim Tracy would volunteer to step down as manager, but that would certainly help the situation get better as well.

Padres 8, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

Jason Hammel was alright.

When the umpire isn't giving the low strike, you have to live high in the zone. That's what cost Jason Hammel on the Ludwick three-run homer. He walked Hawpe on four pitches just prior, two of them at bottom of the zone that weren't called strikes. He went up on Maybin, who popped up. But Ludwick didn't miss his.

That was the one big mistake Hammel made. He hit a wall in the 7th inning that Jim Tracy allowed him to spin his tires against, and then he eventually pulled when it was too late. But I guess when Paulino and Morales are your options it's hard to blame him.

Franklin Morales: One pitch, one double. At least it was a strike.

Dexter Fowler attempted a bunt basehit. Failed miserably. If he can ever figure that out, he could approach a .400 OBP. Seriously.

Todd Helton doesn't give away at-bats no matter the inning, the score, the standings. It doesn't matter. Professional at-bat every time.

That's all I really care to write about in terms of the Rockies on field product.

Did Bud Black really pull Mat Latos so he didn't face the possibility of losing the game? I hope not, but if so, that's absurdly stupid. Such a flawed mentality, even though it worked.

Sounds of the game:

Jeff Huson on Chris Iannetta: He's more relaxed. He's seeing about five pitches per ballgame.

Tom Helmer: Can a right-handed batter drag a bunt?

If these are the people attempting to describe the action and educate casual baseball fans, we're in deep trouble. And yes, this was a rare day where Toyota Talk actually made the broadcast better. That doesn't say a lot for Helmer and Huson, but there was a nice message for Harmon Killebrew and a couple decent baseball thoughts in there.

Troy Tulowitzki on his foul popout leading off the 6th: F*CK!

What a lousy game all around. And now the Rockies get to play real baseball teams again... like the Giants, Phillies and Brewers. Oh boy.

Rock Solid Recrap: That was bizarre

No other real word I can find to describe the action at Coors Field on Tuesday. It was one of the more bizarre games I've seen, and that's saying something coming from a Rockies fan since Day 1.

The injuries, the solo home runs, the Tarp Monster claiming another victim, the weird Dexter Fowler vs. Mike Pelfrey at-bat that morphed into a Ryan Spilborghs vs. Jason Isringhausen at-bat. And of course, the first ever Paulino vs. Paulino battle that yours truly foreshadowed in Tuesday's Lineup Card. Not that I'm proud of that fact.

I also predicted Ian Stewart would... oh, **** it.

Mets 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

-- I came away from this game knowing one thing for sure: Jason Hammel is one tough dude.

I mean that physically, and I mean that mentally.

To block out the pain after taking that line drive in his calf, and to continue pitching and pitching well for three innings afterwards. That says a lot. That was a man-sized effort. Definitely not his best from a pitching standpoint, but still an outing where your appreciation grows and you're more thankful to have a guy with his makeup representing your baseball team.

-- What a swing by Carlos Gonzalez on that home run to straight away center. Now, if we can only a) trick pitchers into to throwing him that same pitch at-bat after at-bat, or b) have him improve his pitch recognition so he can make pitchers challenge him, things will be much better for all of us.

-- Troy Tulowitzki struck out for the first time in the month of May. That's a cool little stat. But the problem is popping up the first pitch to the second baseman is just as unproductive, and it also allows the opposing pitcher to throw less pitches.

At least he hit that home run. That was nice to see. Unfortunately he didn't follow it up with anything encouraging.

-- I mentioned Felipe Paulino earlier. He pitched a scoreless inning!

-- Did I also already mention this game was strange? I believe I did.

-- Even though the Paulino and Jose Lopez lottery tickets haven't worked out for Dan O'Dowd, he's hit the jackpot so far with a reliever whose name I shall not mention for fear of jinxing his outstanding performance.

-- That was an awesome three pitch walk by Ryan Spilborghs. One of the better ones you'll ever see.

-- I really hope Dexter Fowler can bounce back quickly from fouling that ball off his leg. Obviously his legs are of vital importance to the Rockies from a defensive standpoint, so to be without him for any period of time is going to add a lot of extra stress on the pitching staff. Not to mention it would also take away one of the two or three most consistent bats in the lineup.

And then we're faced with the reality that his replacement would likely be Willy Taveras.

Now I don't feel well.

Be well, Dex. Please be well.

Rock Solid Recrap: Another Tracy gem

The frustrations keep building and building for the Rockies. The same formula has come together to beat them three days in a row. Terrific starting pitching. Offense fails to deliver the game-changing hit. Bullpen bends and finally breaks in the 9th inning.

Same formula.

Oh, and Jim Tracy over manages the bullpen, makes strange pinch-hitting decisions, and generally looks confused from the 6th inning on.

Yeah, same formula.

Giants 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

But let me get this out of the way first.

Clayton Mortensen: I salute you. You were fantastic. Your stuff was excellent, and you brought a nice calm and focus to the mound that we weren't getting from Esmil Rogers in the 5th spot.

I haven't seen a lot of you throughout your professional career, but you strike me as a guy that doesn't get rattled easily, and stays on the attack even when things go wrong behind you or when you're facing a tough situation.I admire the heck out of that. Hope to see a lot more of you going forward.

Now back to your regularly scheduled recrap.

-- 1-for-9 with RISP. Bleh.

-- Career advice for Ian Stewart: Take a step back away from the plate and swing the bat. You're getting beat by the same pitch over and over and it's ridiculous. Adjust. Try to be better. That's all I'm asking. Try.

-- Chris Iannetta can still be so maddening. Still walks a lot. Walks are good. Still strikes out looking a lot with RISP. That's not good. Be that difference maker! You watch tomorrow, Jose Morales won't be afraid to swing with RISP, and I bet he'll drive in another run.

-- 2-2 game, Matt Belisle starts the 7th inning by retiring Aaron Roward and Freddy Sanchez. On cue, here come Jim Tracy. Why? Because he's afraid Belisle can't retire Mike Fontenot.

Burn Belisle, bright in Matt Reynolds. What happens, Fontenot doubles. That was actually fortunate because it allowed them to walk Buster Posey and Reynolds retired Aubrey Huff, but seriously, why can't Belisle finish that inning?

Now you're down two pitchers. It's over managing. You're managing yourself into a position where guess what, the game is on the line and you're using Felipe Paulino again. If's awful.

And then Jim Tracy says this afterwards (via @Troy Renck).

I asked Tracy about the status of Paulino and Morales. He said that they have to pitch in those situations, that's their role.

Yeah, because Tracy manages himself into a corner. He could have at least Reynolds available to him tonight if he simply let Belisle finish his inning. Now we're in the same position we were last year where bad matchups late in the game beat us, and relievers are unavailable a couple times a week because Tracy overuses them.

Matt Lindstrom has a sore arm. It's no wonder. Tracy says it's because he's transitioning from closer, where he never had to warm up so frequently. That may be true to some extent, but I think it's more an adjustment to pitching for Jim Tracy, where everybody warms up every day and pitches to two hitters.

He doesn't learn from his past.

Could I do a better job managing the team? Of course not. But I can tell you if I did it long enough and was afforded the opportunities Jim Tracy has been, I would learn from my mistakes and be better as I went along. Jim Tracy has never improved. He's the same manager he was in LA and then Pittsburgh. Because of that, I believe he's the biggest weakness the Rockies have.

I truly believe that.

And the whole sac bunt with Dexter Fowler thing. That's mostly on Fowler. While I didn't necessarily agree with the bunting there, I understood why he called for the it and I understand that Dexter failed. But it probably would have been smarter to take the bunt off after two strikes.

I don't know why he refused to pinch-hit for Ryan Spilborghs in the 7th with RISP against a righty. He's done that 3-4 times now in Spilborghs starts. It's failed every time. He had the roster flexibility to make it work. Heck, Seth Smith for Spilly straight up. Why not? If you're going to be so meticulous with your bullpen, why not try it once with your pinch-hitters? Might actually win you a game one time.

Felipe Paulino is a failed experiment for Dan O'Dowd. He thought he could take a hard-throwing #5 starter and turn him into a late-inning power reliever and it's just not happening. I honestly think it's time to pull the plug.

But aside from all that I still feel good about the team overall. I'm confident the offense will come around. I'm confident the starting pitching will stay strong and may even improve with Ubaldo and Mortensen coming on. The bullpen can be fixed with a tweak or two. You hope Tracy doesn't run the key guys into the ground. And you hope to have an extended stretch soon where Tracy can sit back and let the players do the work.

Rock Solid Recrap: A positively maddening loss

I sneak the word positively in there because there was a glaring positive in an otherwise painful and maddening loss to the San Francisco Giants.

The postive was Ubaldo Jimenez.

I understand he still has work to do on getting his mechanics in order, and I think we'll all agree we expect more from Jimenez going forward, but just to see him hitting the high 90s on the gun and throwing a devasting splitter was a HUGE step up from where he's been.

It's encouraging. Maybe not at an overwhelming "no doubt Ubaldo is back" level, but at an "I'm pretty sure he's not hurt" comforting type level.

His next start -- especially after throwing 118 pitches in this one -- will be very interesting to evaluate. It definitely feels like it could go either way on a start-to-start basis, but I'm hopeful this game will be the foundation he starts building from.

Giants 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Not so comforting is the way the Rockies let another possible win slip right through their fingers late. Of course when these types of losses occur, people like to point fingers. When they happen on back-to-back nights, people will get downright hysterical. That's kinda where we are now.

A lot of people are angered and frustrated by the offense. Rightfully so.

Others think the bullpen is turning into a weakness before our very eyes. I understand the frustration, but let's try to be realistic. If Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez can each go through extended slumps throughout the course of a season, I think it's normal and acceptable for a reliever to have a hiccup every now and then.

They're human. It's bound to happen. That it happened on back-to-back nights with Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt is just unfortunate timing.

Is Felipe Paulino bad? He has been, yes. But he was honestly the victim of terrible luck on Friday. He made a terrific pitch down and away to Cody Ross that he poked down the line for a double. He owned Aaron Roward, as most pitches do. And that game-winning hit by Freddy Sanchez was another excellent pitch down that was pounded into the ground and somehow found a hole.

Seriously, you can dislike Paulino for a handful of failures this season. but it's difficult for me personally to beat him up over this one.

Now, you can pound the offense all you want. The lack of timely hits. The lack of situational hitting. The lack of good at-bats from the 6th inning on is staggering and disturbing. There's no doubt it has cost the team a chance to win 4-5 more games over the past two weeks.

But again, this poor stretch isn't anything different than what we've seen in previous years. They will come out of it. They will catch fire. And because they've won so many games early, in addtion to every other team in the NL West struggling offensively just as much or more, they will not find themselves digging out of a massive hole.

In fact, they may not be in a hole at all.

It's important to remember that. And it's important to know the past two days don't define who these Rockies are. Maybe the first three weeks didn't either, but don't think for a second these last two days are the Rockies we should expect the next five months.

Rock Solid Recrap: It was bound to happen

A loss.

A big, fat, stinky, smelly loss. To the Cubs. At home. That's almost as rare as the Rockies winning in New York. But hey, that's baseball.

Anyways, that loss is the Rockies first in the last eight days. The Mets could lose their sixth game in about 96 hours on Sunday. I'd say things are still going pretty well here.

Cubs 8, Rockies 3 (boxscore) 

-- 0-for-12 with RISP. That speaks for itself doesn't it?

The 5th inning was without question the most frustrating of the blown scoring chances. Fowler leads off with a double, moves to third on an error by Casey Coleman. Jonathan Herrera followed that up by swinging at a 2-0 pitch and tapping back to the mound. Definitely not Herrera's best at-bat or best approach. Especially with Coleman's iffy command. Herrera could have stretched that out and drawn a walk.

After Giambi was plunked on the first pitch, Troy Tulowitzki stepped in and took three straight out of the zone. Okay, so Coleman has missed on six out of seven pitches and thrown wildly on a pickoff attempt. He's possibly rattled or just proving to be a less than solid starting pitching option at this point.

Then came the moment that confirmed this wasn't the Rockies night. Tulowitzki offered at the 3-0 pitch and fouled out to first.

Rally dead on arrival.

-- Jason Hammel wasn't very sharp tonight, but again, he left the game only down 3-1. It wasn't pretty at any point, but he didn't kill the team in any way either. And the good news is he's going to get better as we go along. I have little doubt of that, and I'm sure it'll come at a time when the team needs it most.

-- Felipe Paulino hasn't been right since the groin injury in Pittsburgh. Tonight he was just plain wrong. Makes me wonder if the groin is still an issue and if a DL stint might in the works for him. Pure speculation. But justified speculation in my mind.

-- Chris Iannetta is still raking. For the second night in a row he provided the only real offensive highlight.

Watch Iannetta go yard

-- Troy Tulowitzki is baseball's best shortstop. How long before Chicago's Starlin Castro becomes his biggest challenger? In all honesty, I'm not so sure he isn't already. Helluva talent.

-- No sense dwelling any more on this one. Still a chance to win a series tomorrow, but it won't be easy with the unknown Alan Johnson on the mound. Then again, opponent Ryan Dempster has an 11.37 career ERA at Coors Field. I think we're looking at our first true slugfest of 2011.

Rock Solid Recap: Boomsticks & Broomsticks

Rockies 9, Mets 4 (boxscore) 

Not in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the Colorado Rockies winning a series in Pittsburgh, following that up by not only winning that elusive series in New York, but sweeping an entire four game series in New York, including sweeping a doubleheader. That sh... stuff never happens! None of it.

But you know what? When Troy Tulowitzki isn't in the mood to lose. When Jonathan Herrera muscles up for his second career home run. When you get back-to-back solid starts from both Esmil Rogers and Greg Reynolds. When your closer can be awful in a save situation and you still don't blow the game.

When all of those things come together -- you may be a little bit lucky, but -- you're not going to lose.

-- Yes, I said Jonathan Herrera went yard. He turned on a Taylor Buchholz pitch and hit a three-run missile into the right field seats in the 6th inning. That came two batters after Brad Emaus failed to turn the easiest inning-ending double play of life with Jorge De La Rosa running. Dexter Fowler also had a clutch two-out, RBI single which set the table for Herrera.

Watch Herrera's rocket

The reactions of Troy Tulowitzki, Jim Tracy and the guys in the dugout are priceless.

-- Troy Tulowitzki completed his sweep of New York. He became the first player to homer in every game of a series at Citi Field. In case you forgot, this was a four game series.

Watch Tulo's 99th career homer

-- Jorge De La Rosa's day was an interesting one. He did not have much command of anything early on. He left several flat pitches right in the happy zone and New York's right-handed bats made him pay with some good swings, but never could deliver a knockout blow. They would regret that because Jorge collected himself in innings five, six and seven.

In the end his lined looked this: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO, 1 WP. 116 pitches.

Again, considering the way he started that's an excellent line. But on a normal day under normal circumstances I wonder how long Tracy would have stuck with him.

-- Good job by the bullpen -- Matt Reynolds, Rafael Betancourt and Felipe Paulino -- to eliminate any and all drama from the second game. We all needed that little late inning breather, but no one needed it more than Jim Tracy.

-- Todd Helton had three hits. Because he's a freaking brilliant hitter.

-- Carlos Gonzalez waits patiently for Dexter Fowler to catch a flyball in Game 2.

-- Well, the Rockies will be dragged kicking and screaming back to Coors Field for a homestand beginning with the Cubs on Friday. This would be an easy series to overlook coming off this roadie and looking ahead to the Giants coming in next week. Hopefully Colorado can maintain the focus necessary to take care of business.

Spring Training Game 29: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 5, A's 2 (boxscore)

Hits

Ubaldo Jimenez

Good at pitching. Next time we see The Cheif the 2011 season will be officially underway. Relievers Huston Street and Felipe Paulino were equally outstanding in their scoreless innings.

Willy Taveras

The Taveras resurgence continues with three more hits and two runs scored. Great spring and great depth for the Rockies if he sticks in the organization.

Misses

Franklin Morales

Morales is kind of wavering between good and bad lately. Of course the bad will be overreacted to by people with bad memories from last season. And it doesn't help in people's minds that he's made the roster over Matt Daley. Problem is the Rockies want two lefties in the pen, and Daley, while talented and effective, can only pitch with his right arm.

Foul Tips

Mark Tracy

In a cool moment, Jim Tracy's son was allowed an opportunity to pinch-hit. He walked on five pitches, showing more discipline in one at-bat than the Rockies did on their entire trip through Pittsburgh and New York last summer.

Spring Training Game 25: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 6, Mariners 5 (boxscore)

Hits

Jorge De La Rosa

Good stuff from DLR tonight (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K). The K/BB is especially fun to look at when you think about some of his inconsistencies hitting the zone. At this point I feel pretty confident penciling him in for 15 wins this season. That's based on nothing other than my gut and my hope he can stay healthy the whole way through.

Carlos Gonzalez

The swing was pure. The sound was beautiful. All systems are go for Cargo.

Felipe Paulino

Paulino got the call in the 9th and protected a one run lead with a quick and flawless inning. I think he's going to be a real nice addition to the bullpen and should really help take some pressure off guys like Belisle and Betancourt. Though I still think he would have been just as helpful in the 5th starter role.

Misses

Rafael Betancourt

Speaking of... Raffy had rough time of it in his usual 8th inning, allowing a pair of runs on three hits. He was also working extra excruciatingly slow. Or maybe it just seemed that way because Seattle was fouling off all of his put away pitches.

Foul Tips

Solid play

Felt like the Rockies played a solid all around game this evening, which is something you couldn't say most of last week. Aside from a questionable error ruling on Stewart, they were flawless defensively, smart on the bases and sound in their approach at the plate. Wouldn't mind to see another performance just like it against LA tomorrow.

Spring Training Game 24: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 6, Angels 6 (boxscore)

Hits

Troy Tulowitzki

These next days 11 days are going to be awfully boring for Tulowitzki. He's ready to go.

Chris Iannetta

I'm beginning to feel really good about Chris. That line drive RBI single in the first inning added to the momentum he's been building over the last week. It started with good plate appearances. Now it's becoming good swings and good contact. The extra base hits shouldn't be too far behind.

Felipe Paulino/Rex Brothers

If these guys continue pitching as they have, along with Street, Lindstrom, Belisle and Betancourt... Damn. The Rockies would be doing themselves a major disservice if they don't seriously consider Brothers for the opening day roster. He may not be experienced, but he's proving himself to be the best lefty arm available in their bullpen. You have to roll with your best.

Misses

Esmil Rogers

Esmil started excellent and then morphed back into that five inning pitcher that struggles to put hitters and innings away. That's a little discouraging in itself, and even more so when you're staked to an 6-0 lead and can't make it stand. Hopefully a trip back to the drawing board can get Esmil focused on what made him so dominant against the Cubs earlier in the week, which simply means pitching with confidence and believing in his abilities.

Foul Tips

Franklin Morales

Morales relieved Rogers in the 6th, allowing two inherited runners to score. One of those coming on one of his two wild pitches. Yikes.

I would say the last two outings have been distinct steps backwards for Morales after a very positive beginning to his spring. Hopefully it's just the natural ebs and flows of a reliever and not a sign his confidence/focus is getting shaky as the season nears. Time will tell.

Spring Training Game 15: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 4, Padres 3 (boxscore)

Hits

Ubaldo Jimenez

Four absolutely perfect innings with four strikeouts. He's pretty good.

Jason Giambi

Today was Giambi's day to shine. His laser two-run homer to the lawn in right field proved to be the difference on the scoreboard, but more importantly showed us that Giambi has his feet under him early. As the guys on KOA noted, both Giambi and Todd Helton are further along in their preparation thanks to the shorter bus rides. That will most definitely be helpful come April 1st.

Bullpen

The Rockies bullpen pretty much picked up right where Ubaldo left off. Felipe Paulino (1 IP), Clayton Mortensen (2 IP) and Eric Stults (1 IP) were unscored upon in their innings, allowing only two combined hits. Matt Daley was on his way to a scoreless inning until right fielder Brian Rike dropped what would have been the final out of the game. San Diego went on to score three unearned runs.

Misses

Aggressive Baserunning

I don't mind the idea of taking an aggressive approach to baserunning. However, after a 2010 season which seemingly saw at least one stupid baserunning mistake a game, I'm worried more harm than good will come of this strategy. We saw a good example of why today.

Was that Rich Dauer coaching third as he usually does? What the hell is this guy thinking? Sending Ubaldo into a play at the plate... in spring training... with Carlos Gonzalez coming up. That's committing three baseball sins with one overzealous wave of the arm. It's also idiotic and inexcusable. Nothing to gain from that. Everything to lose. Just a stupid, stupid baseball decision.

And knowing the cramping issues Ubaldo has had in the past. Knowing you've lost Aaron Cook indefinitely. Knowing Jorge De La Rosa isn't feeling right. Knowing you're struggling to find a 5th starter. Stupid times ten.

You want to be aggressive on the bases? Fine. But first learn how to run the bases, and also learn situations so you know when to take your chances.

Foul Tips

More Baseball

The Rockies aren't done playing baseball today. The night game with the Arizona Diamondbacks starts at 6:40 Mountain time.

Eric Young and Wilin Rosario

It was good to have these two guys back on the field as they work their way back from injuries. Still a long way to go for both to get on track, but just nice to finally have them out there.

Spring Training Game 11: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

White Sox 9, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

Hits

Dexter Fowler

Fowler is swinging a hot bat and seemingly collecting an extra base hit in every game this spring. And the best part is he's doing it without overswinging. He's just making good contact and the ball is flying. I'm encouraged by his early results and believe a breakout year is coming if he can avoid the bad habits that held him back at points last season.

Ty Wigginton

Wigginton muscled up for his second home run of the spring, a two-run shot off Chicago's lefty John Danks. It's safe to assume Wigginton's name will be on that lineup 100% of the times against lefties, whether it be at first or third or left or right or second.

Misses

Felipe Paulino

Big step back to the pack for Paulino (3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB & 1 K) in the battle for Aaron Cook's spot. He struggled with his location, leaving his fastball in the heart of the plate far too often. His curveball also looked pretty flat and plenty hittable. He just didn't have anything going, and a White Sox lineup mixed with veterans and talented prospects made him pay.

Matt Reynolds

Reynolds is struggling to get his feet under him early on. I don't think it's anything to get worked up about yet, but again, people are worried about the bullpen lefties and today's outing isn't going to help relax those worried people.

Eric Stults

Please remove Mr. Stults from your Rockies roster card. He's not sticking around long after today's brutal (2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 K) performance. It actually looked even worse than the numbers indicate.

Foul Tips

No MLB.TV for Sox broadcast

Not sure why this game aired locally but was not available on MLB.TV or At Bat. Kind of strange, but you didn't miss much in terms of broadcast quality. The White Sox regular announcers were not on hand and the video feed like it was taken directly from the Camelback Ranch scoreboard.

Oh, and did I mention Felipe Paulino and Eric Stults stunk?

Spring Training Game 5: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Giants 7, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Hits

Todd Helton

Helton vowed to swing better today after a rough afternoon on Wednesday. He delivered on his promise, lining out to right in his first appearance and doubling in his second. So that's good.

Jordan Pacheco/Ben Paulsen

Another day. Another hit. Another RBI. Another dollar for Pacheco.

Paulsen has also been impressive in the early going. Today he contributed two hits (one triple), a run, and two RBI.

Despite the admirable attempt to comeback from a 7-0 deficit, this was a difficult day to find many true positives, so forgive me if these hits weren't all that exciting.

Misses

Jorge De La Rosa

Jorge allowed the first run by a Rockies starter all spring. And then he allowed the second, third and fourth. The damage included a solo HR by the light-hitting Darren Ford and a monster home run to straight away center by the heavy-hitting Buster Posey.

The bad news? It could have been even worse if not for a line drive that was snagged by Ty Wigginton that resulted in a 5-3 double play, and a full out diving grab by Willy Taveras. De La Rosa just didn't have it today.

Huston Street

Sounded like Huston struggled putting a couple hitters away today and it cost him. He struggled with that at times last season, and boy did that not only cost him but it cost the Rockies big time. Street's progress this spring will be worth monitoring. It he can't find that put away slider that made him so dominant in 2009, things could get a little too interesting in Colorado's 9th innings.

Hector Gomez

Upped his spring error total to four with a throw that sailed over Ben Paulsen's head, allowing San Francisco's 7th run to score. I don't think we'll ever see this once promising prospect make his big league debut at Coors Field.

Foul Tips

Felipe Paulino

A decent line (3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K) for the guy whose chances to become the Rockies 5th starter seem to increase with every update on Aaron Cook's shoulder. I've been impressed with Paulino the times I've seen him in the past. Granted, most of those were against Colorado while they were struggling and the Cubs while they were Cubbing, but I really think he can help the Rox if indeed he ends up starting.

Camp Caution

Troy Tulowitzki was the latest to leave a game for precautionary reasons after hitting himself in the foot with his bat on an awkward swing. The official diagnosis is a bruised right heel.

The Rockies are correctly taking a more cautioned approached this spring. A sign of a team that is confident and positioned for success. While some fans (too many fans) are treating this like the regular season, freaking out about scores and looking to trash talk other fans, the rest of us (including the Rockies) are holding our breath with each tweak, sprain and infection.

Sure that makes spring training a lot less fun, but that's fine with me, because the regular season is a lot more fun than it used to be. That's a trade every fan should be willing to make.