Three Thoughts On Rockies Opening Day Loss To Brewers

1. Give Wilton Lopez a fair shake: Denver sports fans aren’t the most forgiving people when professional athletes struggle wearing their team’s uniform or decide to skip town for greener pastures, but it’s only one outing. Ugly, horrendous and disastrous, yes, but still only one outing. The Rockies brought Lopez in to be their 8th inning guy (if you hate set roles in the bullpen, I understand but we'll have to cover that later) and one magnified bad outing on opening day isn’t going to change that. Nor should it. 

2. It wasn’t Walt’s fault: Yes, Matt Belisle only threw one pitch in the game. (It was a damn fine pitch, too.) But when you spend all spring establishing roles you don’t just change them on opening day for no reason. Belisle did his job. The 8th inning is entrusted to Lopez. Everyone on the team knows this. Why would you then change that for the sake of changing it on opening day? There’s no logic in that. Lopez had done nothing yet to lose the role coming in, so you roll with him as planned.

Did Weiss stick with him too long? Maybe. Maybe he should have had Rafael Betancourt or someone else ready. That could have worked. And maybe next time he will. But you can’t panic and stray from the gameplan on Day 1. Especially when you're a BRAND new manager just establishing yourself. That’s not an impression you want to leave on players because they‘ll start second guessing him quickly.

When Walt Weiss feels like he needs to change a player's role, I don't think he'll hesitate to do it. It's just not going to happen in the middle of Game 1.

3. Jhoulys Chacin: The offense packed a nice punch. That was encouraging. Of course we also had a lot of the same lousy base running and poor execution in run scoring situations, but the potential to score runs in bunches will be there. I have little doubt about that.

As good as that was though, I think we all had to be pretty pleased and encouraged by Jhoulys Chacin’s performance. Granted, it could have ended up a lot different had Milwaukee not made three strange outs on the bases, but he looked great once he settled down and those middle innings into the 7th were fun to watch. If we could just get him to bottle that up and hold on to it, we’d had no worries at the top of the rotation.

But it’s one step at a time, so we’ll say he moved forward here and leave it at that.

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

Rock Solid Recap: A Sweep! A Sweep!

Sad but true, there have been more perfect games than Rockies sweeps this season, but it was still pretty cool to see both go down this afternoon. 

Congratulations to 'The King' Felix Hernandez for his DOMINANT 27 up, 27 down performance in Seattle against the Tampa Bay Rays. And congratulations to the Rockies for earning only their second sweep (first three-gamer) with an exciting 9th inning rally and a walkoff.

Those never get old regardless of the circumstances or placement in the standings.

Rockies 7, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

Winning Players: Eric Young Jr. & Tyler Colvin

EY2 was without question the best player on the field this entire series, which is saying quite a bit when you're sharing it with Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun, among others. Two more hits for him today, including his third home run in the past week and a critical single in the 9th inning that set up...

Watch Tyler Colvin's walk-off two-run double

How freaking fast is Young to score from first base on that ball? He was about halfway to second when the ball rolled past the base, yet still managed to score fairly easily without the ball getting to the corner. That's crazy speed. It's also another big hit and big game in a Rockies uniform for Colvin. What an addition he continues to be.

Turning Point: Will Harris had a rough Rockies debut on Monday night, allowing a three-run homer to Rickie Weeks in the 9th. He bounced back nicely in his second outing on Wednesday, retiring all six Brewers he faced in the 8th and 9th innings, which allowed the Rockies offense to rally and ultimately secure the first career win for Harris.

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Rock Solid Recap: Early Offense Carries Rockies Again

Rockies 8, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

This should not be newsworthy, but since we're grasping for positives this season, I'll proclaim it loud and proud anyway.

The Rockies have won back-to-back games TWO weeks in a row!

Absorb that for a moment...

Good? Now absorb this tweet from Purple Row's Andrew Fisher.

That's obviously not Reynolds' fault... but wow.

Winning Players: Eric Young Jr. & Carlos Gonzalez

For the second straight night, EY2 got the offense started with a lead-off double and scored the first run... this time on a Carlos Gonzalez single. Young would go on to produce a three-hit night that included his second home run (this time over the fence and off the facing of the second deck) in less than a week. As for Gonzalez, he would go to on have a 4-for-4 night at the plate with two RBI, a run scored, and a couple caught stealings (the aggressiveness is appreciated).

Great production from two guys at the top order, with Dexter Fowler (two hits), Wilin Rosario (two hits, home run) and Jordan Pacheco (two hits, two RBI) providing enough support to earn Rockies fans tacos and the team a victory.

Watch EY2's highlight reel

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Brewers 8-14-12

Monday's Recap: D.J. LeMahieu's Career Night Paces Rockies Attacks

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (42-71)

1. Eric Young Jr. (RF)
2. Josh Rutledge (SS)
3. Dexter Fowler (CF)
4. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
5. Wilin Rosario (C)
6. Jordan Pacheco (1B)
7. Chris Nelson (3B)
8. D.J. LeMahieu (2B)
9. Tyler Chatwood (P)

Milwaukee Brewers (52-62)

1. Norichika Aoki (RF)
2. Rickie Weeks (2B)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Corey Hart (1B)
6. Martin Maldonado (C)
7. Carlos Gomez (CF)
8. Jean Seguar (SS)
9. Randy Wolf (P)

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

Rock Solid Recap: D.J. LeMahieu's Career Night Paces Rockies Attack

Rockies 9, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

All I wanted for my birthday was some cake, ice cream, and a lot of Rockies runs (enough to win at least). Low and behold, I got all three!

Winning Player: D.J. LeMahieu

I singled out LeMahieu on Sunday for his excellent play on the entire road trip and he follows that up with a career-high four hits on Monday. Granted, all four were singles, but singles can be very effective when everybody in the lineup is contributing. Monday was one of those nights for the Rockies, as all eight position players had at least one hit (Eric Young Jr., Dexter Fowler, Tyler Colvin and Chris Nelson each had two) and all eight position players had at least one run scored or one RBI.

Those nights are the best.

Turning Point: It was nice to see the offense come out swinging against Mike Fiers, who had an incredible 1.02 ERA over his last 10 appearances (9 starts). He's a good — potentially great — young pitcher that I figured this Rockies lineup would struggle against. They didn't struggle at all, and I credit EY and Jonathan Herrera for getting that started in the 1st, as well as Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez and Wilin Rosario for not letting the inning go to waste (Rockies jumped up 3-0).

Jeff Francis's Line: 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 77 pitches (44 strikes)

How nice of Francis to allow a two-run homer to Carlos Gomez on his 77th pitch. That made life easy on old Jim Tracy, who immediately brought the hook.

Of course what else would you expect to happen when a starting pitcher has become conditioned to throwing 75-85 pitches, but all of that just plays right into the hands of Rockies management. They can continue selling the 75 pitch thing by pointing at a result like this. Unfortunately for them, though, we're not idiots.

Unfortunately for us, they just might be.

By the way, overall it was a very nice outing for Francis. Happy for him to get a win out of it.

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Rock Solid Recap: A Rare Sunday Recap!

That's not to say there wasn't some of the usual Sunday crap on display, but the Rockies overcame it! 

Here's how. 

Rockies 4, Brewers 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jeremy Guthrie needed a good outing this afternoon after struggling through his first two starts at Coors Field.

Needless to say, he came through.

Guthrie's Line: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 101 pitches (55 strikes)

The ball-strike ratio wasn't sparkling by any means, nor was his groundball-flyball (7-5), but Guthrie somehow managed to avoid a significant threat all afternoon and notched his second victory of the season.

I'd provide more analysis but I'm not exactly sure how to explain his success today. And sometimes it's better to not over analyze and just accept results. So there they are. Good enough.

Turning Point: Jim Tracy avoided using Matt Belisle in last night's loss. I didn't quite understand the thought process in that situation, but at least it paid off this afternoon as a fresh Belisle was able to clean up the mess — 1st and 2nd, no outs — left by Rex Brothers in the eighth.

And we're not talking about cleaning up at the bottom of Milwaukee's order here. Belisle had Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart staring him down, and he retired all three to keep it a 3-1 game. Just a beautiful piece of pitching to shut down a potential game changing inning.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ Brewers 4-22-12

Saturday night's Recrap: Tracy, Bullpen fall apart in seventh

Colorado Rockies (7-7)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Tyler Colvin (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Jason Giambi (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Jonathan Herrera (3B)
9. Jeremy Guthrie (P)

This Sunday lineup is fine. Dexter Fowler still hasn't found himself at the plate despite his early home runs, so why not run Tyler Colvin out there? Chris Nelson is hitless on the road in 14 ABs and was an easy to predict sit today. And Todd Helton is Todd Helton. I think Tracy has handled him very well early on.

Milwaukee Brewers (7-8)

1. Rickie Weeks (2B)
2. Nyjer Morgan (CF)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Corey Hart (RF)
6. Mat Gamel (1B)
7. Alex Gonzalez (SS)
8. Jonathan Lucroy (C)
9. Yovani Gallardo (P)

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

Rock Solid Recrap: Tracy, Bullpen fall apart in 7th inning

Brewers 9, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies bullpen has been a strength in the early going.

Tonight, not so much.

It started in the sixth inning as Jim Tracy called on Esmil Rogers to protect a one run lead. Rogers, who had put together four scoreless relief appearances — retiring at least four batters in each — to begin the season, was greeted by a game-tying Ryan Braun home run.

That you could live with. However, Tracy elected to stick with Rogers (18 pitches in the sixth) into the seventh, and the wheels promptly fell off as three of the first four Brewers reached, including a Rickie Weeks RBI triple.

So Rogers gets the hook with Colorado now trailing 5-3. In comes Edgmer Escalona, who proceeds to throw gas on the fire beginning with a Ryan Braun RBI triple and ending with an Alex Gonzalez three-run homer.

9-3 Brewers. Game over.

Other problems: Managing only two hits and striking out nine times against injury fill-in Marco Estrada wasn't exactly inspiring. Marco Scutaro was one of those victims, striking out for the first time in 2012. Maybe he'll only strikeout against pitchers named Marco.

Oh, and remember how I was praising Wilin Rosario for his work behind the plate in his early starts? BIG step back tonight with some lousy (perhaps lazy) footwork leading to a pair of passed balls and a wild pitch. He needs to bring it every night.

Turning Point: Back to Jim Tracy's odd use of the bullpen in the seventh.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ Brewers 4-21-12

Friday's Recap: Chacin and Cuddyer play hero in Milwaukee

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (7-6)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Drew Pomeranz (P)

Milwaukee Brewers (6-8)

1. Rickie Weeks (2B)
2. Carlos Gomez (CF)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Corey Hart (RF)
6. Alex Gonzalez (SS)
7. Mat Gamel (1B)
8. Jonathan Lucroy (C)
9. Marco Estrada (P)

This right-handed powered Brewers lineup is going to provide quite a challenge for Pomeranz tonight. It wouldn't be surprising at all if they touch him up a bit, but I'm just looking for him to be sharper than he was on Sunday against Arizona.

Quicker innings would be great, but most of all keep what is likely to be an aggressive baserunning team in check and do a better job of not allowing the opposition to create opportunities for themselves. Make them earn every bit of their offense. 

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

Rock Solid Recap: Chacin and Cuddyer play hero in Milwaukee

Rockies 4, Brewers 3 (boxscore)

Winning Player(s): Whenever the Rockies steal a game from a quality team on the road, there are going to be several candidates. For tonight, though, I've narrowed it down to just two.

1. Jhoulys Chacin: We'll get into his performance a little later.

2. Michael Cuddyer: Even on a night when he's not in the starting lineup (nursing that bruised toe) Cuddyer finds a way to make a difference for the Rockies. As a pinch-hitter in the ninth, Cuddyer came to the plate needing to hit a flyball to score Eric Young Jr. as the go ahead run from third. Cuddyer played it a little safer, instead ripping a solid single right back through the middle.

Clutch!

Highlight of the Night: Watch Michael Cuddyer's game-winning knock

Turning Point: Jason Giambi's pinch-hit single leading off the ninth, which essentially turned into a double with pinch-runner Eric Young Jr. taking over. That, and Marco Scutaro doing his usual professional job of moving the runner to third with another productive plate appearance (still hasn't struck out) to set up Cuddyer's heroics.

Honorable Mention: I can't help but look back to Jhoulys Chacin's two-out, bases loaded single in the fourth that pushed Colorado's lead 2-0, and probably should have made it 3-0 if not for the missed call at the plate. Yes, the Brewers would later tie the game up, and the Rockies impressively responded to that, but this hit from the nine spot could easily be seen as the real difference maker.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ Brewers 4-20-12

— Wednesday's Recap: Bottoms Up

Lineups 

Colorado Rockies (6-6)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Ramon Hernandez (C)
7. Tyler Colvin (RF)
8. Chris Nelson (SS)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

Ramon Hernandez returns from his minor hand ailment, Michael Cuddyer replaces him on the sideline with his bruised big toe suffered on his own foul ball on Wednesday. I don't think that would keep him out more than a day or two, but I do know big toe pain sucks. So we'll see. 

Milwaukee Brewers (6-7)

1. Rickie Weeks (2B)
2. Norichika Aoki (CF)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Corey Hart (RF)
6. Mat Gamel (1B)
7. Alex Gonzalez (SS)
8. Jonathan Lucroy (C)
9. Shawn Marcum (P)

Ryan Braun was 0-for-11 in Milwaukee's just completed series vs Los Angeles. I'm going to look at that as bad news for Rockies pitching this weekend. Really bad.

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

Spring Training Hits & Misses: Split Squad Sunday

Hits

Jamie Moyer vs. White Sox

He's 49 years old. He can't touch 83 MPH on a good day. Yet he's retiring major league hitters with efficiency so far this spring, and he's NOT walking anybody. Lessons definitely to be learned there for young Rockies pitchers. I don't know how much Moyer has to give on the field, but I'll continue tipping my cap to him for professional performances like this one (Three innings, one run, three hits and two strikeouts).

Marco Scutaro & Jason Giambi vs. White Sox

Speaking of professional performances from veterans, Marco Scutaro and Jason Giambi each delivered one of their own against Chicago. For Scutaro, it was a double, two walks and a run scored. For Giambi, a single, double, one run and one RBI. At this point, the only question for either heading into the season is how many games they'll be asked to play.

Misses

Dexter Fowler vs. Milwaukee

Fowler hit a long right-handed home run the other day (I was impressed but not thrilled), but has done little else this spring. In fact, his 0-for-3 dropped his average to .071. It's not something to get worried about yet, but there's little doubt Fowler wanted to get off to a stronger start than this. We'll keep a close a eye on his progress.

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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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Lineup Card: 9-13-11 Rockies @ Brewers

Links

RoxPile: Top 10 Rockies Pitching Performances of 2011

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (69-77)

1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. RF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. LF Seth Smith
7. 3B Jordan Pacheco
8. C   Wilin Rosario
9. P   Esmil Rogers

After the Rockies played one of their best games in recent months without them in Sunday's win, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton are magically healed now.

Little worried about that job security fellas? Huh? Huh?

Milwaukee Brewers (86-62)

1. RF Corey Hart
2. CF Nyjer Morgan
3. LF Ryan Braun
4. 1B Prince Fielder
5. 2B Rickie Weeks
6. 3B Casey McGehee
7. SS Yuniesky Betancourt
8. C   Jonathan Lucroy
9. P   Zack Greinke

Did you know the Brewers have not lost a home game this season started by Zack Greinke? Will the Rockies be the team to break that streak? Will they? Not likely, but stayed anyway because it's a Tuesday and what else is there to do on a Tuesday?

Sunday Recrap #13: Enough is enough... no?

I realize it's just one day out of the week. I understand it's a little fluky that it's played out the way it has, but thirteen straight Sunday losses? Are you serious, bro?

That's embarrassing. There's no reason this team can't come out and finish a series stronger than this. They can't finish a sweep. They can't win a rubber match. They can't steal three out of four. More often than not, they just come out flat on Sundays.

Today was no exception to that. Three errors. 1-for-11 with RISP. Aaron Cook loading the bases every inning it seemed. So much sloppiness, so little reason to believe in this team. It's maddening.

Brewers 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Still done. Unfortunately, still no realistic option to replace him. So expect to see him on the mound again Friday in Arizona.

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Rock Solid Recrap: A night of frustration, fail and fury

Brewers 8, Rockies 7 (boxscore)

Where do we begin?

Frustration: The ninth inning. The same destructive pattern that always seems to get Huston Street got him again. Not the one where he gives up a lead-off single. He responds well to that pressure. It's the pattern where he retires the first two batters easily, walks the third hitter, and then allows a painful home run.

Happened in Florida and Pittsburgh last season. Happened once or twice this season. That's how he gets burned. But I'd much rather have this happen once every six weeks than watch what's happening in Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Baltimore, so on and so forth. And it's not like walking Prince Fielder there is a bad idea there either, so it is what it is. Weeks beat him. Tough loss.

Also, I know I promised I wouldn't go over the top to defend players because it's backfired on me so much in the past, but this has to be said about Huston Street.

If he hasn't won fans over by now. If he hasn't earned their respect as the best closer the Rockies have had in 20 years (which he is by a significant margin), then he never will. For a guy like me that has lived through Jose Jimenez, Brian Fuentes, Darren Holmes, the list goes on, it's difficult to grasp why he's not more appreciated or respected. It disappoints me to a degree, but I understand fans need a lightning rod. Closer is always the best position to find one.

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Lineup Card: 7-16-11 Rockies vs Brewers

If you're looking for Rockies game lineups and you don't feel like searching all over Twitter or waiting for MLB.com to post them, check back to Heaven & Helton about 30-60 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

Yesterday's Recap: One step forward: Nicasio shuts down Brewers

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (45-48)

1. LF Carlos Gonzalez
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. RF Seth Smith
6. 3B Ian Stewart
7. CF Dexter Fowler
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P    Jhoulys Chacin

Carlos Gonzalez makes his return tonight. Coming out of the break I thought Ian Stewart and Ryan Spilborghs were going to battle for the playing time once that happened, but the return of Dexter Fowler threw that one off. Fowler stays in center, which eliminated Spilborghs. So it actually comes down to Stewart and Ty Wigginton, and for tonight Stewart has earned that nod.

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Rock Solid Recap: One step forward: Nicasio shuts down Brewers

Rockies 4, Brewers 0 (boxscore)

This was a fun game for several reasons.

First and foremost, the Rockies picked up another win out of the All-Star break. That was good.

It was nice seeing them play a really good, clean, complete game. Those games have been few and far between.

And it was extra cool seeing who the big contributors were.

Like Juan Nicasio. The rookie (can't call him kid) is still looking to establish some consistency from start-to-start, but he's at least proven he can work deep into games in two of his last third starts and still have hitters fooled and off-balance. That eases my concerns about him struggling to progress beyond a 5-6 inning pitcher now or in the future.

His next start will be a big test though. It'll be the first time he faces an opponent a second time. And it's the opponent (Atlanta) that knocked him out in the third inning. It'll be very interested to see what the refined gameplan is and how he executes it.

Dexter Fowler was also a contributor in his return to Colorado. His lead-off double batting right-handed was the first of five for the Rockies, so it set a nice tone for the night. He then moved to third on a grounder to short, which was a near disaster because he should have never attempted to advance. But it worked, and one wild pitch later Nicasio had an early lead to work with.

Later in the game, Fowler would walk and score another run. Moving down to #2 in the order. Mark Ellis doubled twice and scored twice himself. That's wonderful production from the top of the order that just wasn't there before Dexter went down.

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Lineup Card: 7-15-11 Rockies vs Brewers

If you're looking for Rockies game lineups and you don't feel like searching all over Twitter or waiting for MLB.com to post them, check back to Heaven & Helton about 30-60 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

Yesterday's Recap: How did the Rockies spend their All-Star break?

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (44-48)

1. CF DEXTER FOWLER
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. LF Ty Wigginton
6. RF Ryan Spilborghs
7. 3B Ian Stewart
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P   Juan Nicasio

More roster shakeups! We're averaging about one a day since May 1st I believe. That's not a good thing.

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