Lackluster Recrap: Chacin shines again in another undeserved loss

Giants 3, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Ubaldo Jimenez could have been a 23-24 game winner in 2010 with a little help from his friends.

I don't know how many more wins Jhoulys Chacin could have realistically had in 2011 with a little help from his friends, but I assure you he doesn't deserve 14 losses. Sure, he's had his games that disappointed me and discouraged me, but not that many. Not nearly that many.

Disclaimer: I know, I know. Wins and losses aren't the end all be all for determining a starting pitcher's success. What I wrote above lends further evidence to that. But you can't discard what goes on a player's record. Until they stop keeping track, it's fine to be annoyed when a pitcher's record doesn't look as pretty as it should.

Anyway, Chacin was really good on this particular night.

His line: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Not at all discouraged by the lower strikeout total, but definitely encouraged by only one walk. Save the strikeouts for when you really need them, but consistently throwing more strikes early in counts to get quicker outs is exactly what Chacin needs to do to get on those higher levels that await him.

Of course one of those next levels would be throwing 200 innings on a yearly basis. He ended up at 194 this season. Just think of where that number could go with even a little bit more efficiency.

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Lackluster Recrap: Yay for not being no-hit!

Or as @edwscott responded on Twitter, maybe they wanted to be no-ht but couldn't do that right either. It seems plausible. 

I'll say this -- the Rockies may have only had one hit against Cory Luebke and Ernesto Frieri (Yes, those are real people, and real major league pitchers. Hell, I even started Luebke in two fantasy leagues.), but they got a 200% return on that one hit -- a two-run home run by Mark Ellis.

On the negative side, Luebke had two hits himself. And San Diego had eight runs. We lose. Again.

Padres 8, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

It was probably good that Kevin Millwood threw a clunker out there to remind people like me who are clamoring to re-sign him that he's still old, and he's only had one really quality season (2009) since 2006. Thanks, Kevin. My optimism has been adjusted.

Back to the positive side: The bullpen -- Jim Miller, Edgmer Escalona & Josh Roenicke -- did a fantastic job, holding San Diego to one run over the final 5 2/3. At least those guys are trying to make a name for themselves.

Drew Goodman: 8-time Colorado Sportscaster of the Year, and currently the Rockies best fielder...

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Rock Solid Recap: Millwood continues to be real good

Let's just go ahead and pencil Kevin Millwood in as the Colorado Rockies opening day starter in 2012.

Yes?

Oh... no?

Well, alright, that may have been generous, but all of these reports and the speculation about the Rockies giving Millwood an invitation to spring training are underselling his performance just as much (if not more) than my opening sentence oversold it.

When you look around baseball and see the lack of depth in about 25 out of 30 rotations, assuming Millwood's arm doesn't fall off in his next couple starts, someone, or many someones, will be willing to guarantee him a spot on their 40-man roster. He's been that good for the Colorado Rockies since coming on board.

He's a veteran presence. His approach to the game is as impressive as I've seen from any Rockies starting pitcher. Think about it, the Rockies haven't had many pitchers in their lifetime that have established themselves in the game like Millwood, and have had success as long as Millwood has.

And how could they? Those pitchers aren't going to willingly come to Colorado, and no pitcher the Rockies develop is going to last that long in Denver. There's just no way. So this is something different and its something positive.

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Lackluster Recrap: Two too many outs at the plate

Well hello there 2011 season. Nice of you to backhand us across the face with another long, agonizing, but ultimately predictable night of baseball.

Did you ever really feel like the Colorado Rockies were going to win?

Of course you didn't. At least not after Mark Ellis was thrown out at the plate in the first inning trying to score from third on Troy Tulowitzki's groundball. Though I will say this... nine times out of ten the contract play is stupid and drives me crazy. This was actually the one time it doesn't, because with first and third and one out, you want that run across should the infielder attempt for the double play and fail.

All you essentially have to lose are 90 feet... at most.

But regardless of whether or not it's the right play or you like it, the ultimate result is Colorado wasting a scoring opportunity. Two innings later, Ellis would be out at the plate again trying to score on a wild pitch. Of course the game ends with the Rockies losing by one.

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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: Back and forth we go

The resilient version of the Colorado Rockies showed up on Friday night, coming from behind twice to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rockies 8, D-Backs 4 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook was the beneficiary on the mound, picking up his first win since 1975 or so. But credit goes to him as well. Despite struggling early and seeming destined for another short and disappointing outing, Cook steadied himself on the mound and even contributed a pair of hits, a run and an RBI at the plate.

Good for him.

He's still pretty close to finished, but it's a feel good moment for a pitcher and person I respect a lot.

Offense

Guess who was the driving force of the offense again... Yes, Dexter Fowler. He is absolutely swinging the bat the best he has in his career. This just weeks after bottoming out, getting sent to AAA, and somehow bottoming out even more there. Seriously, the numbers he put up there the first three weeks were scary, but the Rockies showed faith, and Fowler's confidence is soaring since his return.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Chacin gives Braves free pass to victory

Braves 5, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Jhoulys Chacin: "And another walk. Make that six."

Not exactly word for word what Drew Goodman said, but close enough. Six walks is too many folks. Unless you're Ubaldo Jimenez and you're not allowing hits. Unfortunately, Chacin wasn't that good tonight. And he found out the hard way that when you walk six, it allows something fluky like Derek Lowe ripping a double into the left field corner to not only be embarrassing, but something that completely changes the game.

Afterwards Chacin said he felt too strong coming into the game, which caused him to overthrow and miss his spots. I hope that's all it is. When you see a guy that was cruising along so easily for three months just suddenly lose it, and then you hear about the forearm... I'll take his word for it, but I'm still crossing my fingers.

Chris Iannetta: The best of both worlds. One time he goes up there, works a count and delivers the big RBI single.

Next time: 2nd and 3rd, one out. He ****ing stands there and looks at three strikes. Inexcusable. I don't care if strike three looked or was outside. Boohoo. They were all strikes the entire game. He should have known that and he should have been looking to drive a run in. Terrible is the only word I can think of to describe it.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Sundays. Bloody Sundays.

You know the drill by now. Rockies have a chance to wrap up a series sweep. Rockies fall flat on their face in grand fashion. Happens every time.

Sunday may have taken the cake though. What a flat out miserable day in so many different ways. Most of which revovlve around usually dependable pitchers having their worst outings of the season. But there was so much more. So. Much. More.

Royals 16, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

Jason Hammel: I wonder if his back is still bothering him. He really hasn't looked like the same guy since leaving that start 2-3 weeks ago when if stiffened up on him. I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but something is amiss. I don't think he just went sour for no reason, but I could be way off on my speculation.

Either way, his outing was lousy. Hopefully he can bounce back in Washington.

Matt Belisle: This one came out of nowhere. Belisle allowed ONE run the entire month June. I even ranked him as the Rockies No. 1 player in June.He's not likely to repeat in July, but we must not overreact to one awful outing. As long as nothing is physically wrong, he's going to continue being a critical and effective part of the bullpen.

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Rock Solid Recap: The honeymoon continues for Mark Ellis

We're getting a really good look at how dangerous the Colorado Rockies lineup can be with an effecitve hitter slotted into the #2 spot. Of course it's anything but a guarantee that Mark Ellis will continue being that effective hitter, but his first two games give us a lot of hope that he will be a measurable upgrade over those who played before him.

And I'm not just talking about this season. I'm talking about several seasons.

On Saturday, Ellis collected three more hits -- three more doubles to be exact -- making him 6-for-10 with five extra base hits and five runs knocked in through two games as a Rockie. Something tells me he's not going to miss the Oakland Coliseum. Or anything about Oakland for that matter, but especially that graveyard for hitters.

But I think the most important part here is that twice Carlos Gonzalez has been intentionally walked ahead of him, and twice Ellis made the Royals pay with an extra basehit. If Jim Tracy wants to continue hitting Gonzalez lead-off, which I can live with, he absolutely needs a respectable hitter to protect him. Ellis will start earning that respect with a couple more clutch knocks.

Watch Ellis come through

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Rock Solid Recap: Nothing beats fun at the old ballyard

And finally the Colorado Rockies and their fans got to have a little fun at the expense of the Kansas City Royals.

The Rockies haven't been involved in too many laughers this season. That goes both ways. Just about every day we're sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for that one little thing to go wrong, but praying the Rockies can either overcome it or flat out avoid it. I prefer night's like last night, where the game is essentially over from pitch one to pitch done.

Rockies 9, Royals 0 (boxscore)

Juan Nicasio: The main reason it was over early was this kid. Now, it would be easy to joke that he continued his dominance of the Texas League with this win over Kansas City, but I honestly don't care who he owned. It was all about the confidence and command he had over his entire arsenal. It was damned impressive.

Watch Nicasio deal

I think it was an encouraging glimpse into what Nicasio's future could look like if the secondary stuff becomes more consistent. Either way this was a masterpiece. Just leave it at that and wait patiently to see how he follows it up.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies lose series to AL version of themselves

If the Rockies fired Jim Tracy tonight, it wouldn't fix everything - and very likely wouldn't fix anything - but I sure wouldn't be upset or angry. 

It's easy to say he's not the Rockies only problem or their biggest problem. That's the truth. But he certainly is a big problem. A problem that needs to be eliminated eventually. 

He was awful today. Completely overmanaged a very winnable game, helping turn it into a disaster. He used three pitches to get through the seventh, which I guess was necessary after Rafael Betancourt allowed the lead-off home run to Gordon Beckham? Or something.

He did allow Betancourt to face one more hitter, whom he retied, but then got the hook in favor of Rex Brothers. Personally, I would try to have a little more faith in Raffy. You know? You've demoted him to the 7th, which I can't argue with. But with a three-run, how can he regain his confidence getting yanked after one mistake?

Brothers came in and struggled again, which is totally on him. He needs to lock that down, but he didn't, so then we go to Matt Belisle. Belisle needs only one pitch to get the Rockies out of the jam.

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