Rock Solid Recrap: A Staggering Blow

The Rockies have been on the receiving end of some powerful overhand punches over the years, but I'm not sure any have been placed as squarely on the chin as the one dealt out by the Philadelphia Phillies this evening.

More specifically... Chase Utley... (no highlight)

The Rockies are staggered, woozy, and one punch away from eating some canvas.

Phillies 12, Rockies 11

This game was the entire Rockies season presented to you in one four hour roller coaster ride of emotions. It was crazy, thrilling, frustrating, nerve-racking, back to thrilling, disappointing, still crazy, with a heart-breaking result.

The punch to the chin. The realization that our team falls one step short of where they could be, where they should be, and above all, where they need to be.

Our 2010 Rockies have all the talent in the world. They have a resilience few other teams can match when they play games at Coors Field. I love that. I love feeling like anything is possible, like no deficit is too much, like the Rockies control their own destiny and everyone else will know when it's time to get out of their way.

But that feeling disappears the moment this team hops on a plane. If they could pay with even 1/10th of the resilience on the road that they have at home, the Rockies wouldn't be absorbing any punches right now. They would be blocking and taking the fight right at everyone else.

That is what makes this season frustrating. The pieces, the talent, the intangibles, the attributes of a winner are all there. It's just the inability to put them all together for nine innings, day in and day out, especially away from Denver.

I'm proud of the team for continuing to battle through everything tonight. I'm disappointed the bullpen couldn't hold a lead for Jhoulys Chacin, who again pitched his backside off and gave the Rockies a chance to win. And I'll still be watching them tomorrow in San Diego.

My optimism may be overtaken by my honesty and the reality of the situation, but I don't give up. I still love tuning in. I will continue to do so until someone tells I'm staring at a blank screen.

It's happened before.

Tomorrow

Aaron Cook vs Cory Luebke (MLB Debut)

That probably doesn't mean many good things for the offense.

Rock Solid Recrap: That Didn't End Well

Didn't really start well or get well at any point either.  

Riddle: How do you render an 8-2 home stand completely meaningless?

Answer later in the post.

Phillies 5, Rockies 4

I can sum up this game in four sentences.  Count along.

1) Ryan Spilborghs lost a ball in the sun.

2) Carlos Gonzalez and Seth Smith ran into each other allowing backup catcher Brian Schneider a two-run triple.

There really are no words to describe that.

3) Jason Hammel a made poor throw to first and Giambi made an even worse attempt to catch it.

4) Jason Giambi threw a possible double play ball into LF.

That all happened in one inning... wiithin about five batters.

That's really all you need to know.

Oh, and this was Joe Blanton's first start all season where he didn't allow at least three runs.  So the Rockies run of making average-to-miserable pitchers look like all-stars continued.

Jason Hammel was pretty alright.  Not great, but he didn't really have a chance to be great because his defense had him behind the 8-ball early and those extra pitches needed had him all out of whack.  I'd give him a B for his effort and a C for the overall results.

Riddle Answer: By following it with a 2-9 road trip.

I know... that was an easy one.

Tomorrow

The Rockies begin a 10-day, 9-game hom estand against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After three with them, the Rockies play the Cubs for four and the Giants for a quick two.

This cannot be a 5-4 home stand.  It has to be no worse than 7-2, 8-1.  The Rockies are by no means done or eliminated from playoff contention, but realistically speaking, they have to again play insanely good baseball for 2 months straight just to make that season-ending four game series in St. Louis a meaningful one.

There's literally no margin for error left for a team that can't seem to get out of bed without tripping themselves.

Rock Solid Recrap: Which Way To Home Plate?

Phillies 4, Rockies 3

The winning run scores on a wild pitch that gets no more than 10 feet from home plate while Rafael Betancourt stands there pointing.

Welcome to our baseball hell.

Seriously.

Just when you think this team can't possibly look any less focused or fundamentally prepared. Just when you think this team couldn't play with less urgency. Just when you think this team has reached rock bottom.

They find a way to sink a little bit lower.

But wait! There's more!

How about some of those late ABs with RISP?

We have Carlos Gonzalez trying to pull everything 25 rows up the RF bleachers. That's actually a positive, because if you recall in Cincinnati he was trying to pull everything over the Ohio River. So at least he's toned it down a little bit. The results still suck, but the swing is closer to normal.

On the other end of the spectrum... What was Ryan Spilborghs looking for? He's challenging you! Fight back! Swing even.

We have guys overswinging with the bases loaded. We have guys up there taking two pitches right down the middle with the bases loaded. And then we have Ian Stewart coming up with the bases loaded, two outs in the 9th, and he does a liittle bit of both.

What the hell is going on?

How does Don Baylor continue to steal money while our hitters regress or flatline?

Today's Silver Lining

Real nice job by Jeff Francis.

Maybe not the length you'd hope for out of a starting pitcher, but he limited his damage against a very good lineup and obviously kept his team in the game. As always the key was avoiding the extra traffic with walks. The only walk he did issue was intentional, which helped get him through a tough 4th inning jam.

He was aggressive. He pitched inside and without fear of contact. He made the Phillies string enough hits together to score their runs. That's not something we saw during his rough three game stretch prior to the all-star break. This is the type of pitcher Francis needs to be if he hopes to contribute the final two months of the season.

I would give his start a solid B.

Tomorrow

Do we have to?

Rock Solid Recrap: The Large Pink Elephant

Can we finally acknowledge him?

Can we finally say Ubaldo Jimenez has lost his luster, or at least admit he's been regressing with each start for about six weeks? That his mechanics are getting more and more out of whack. That his confidence is seemingly sinking with each ball put in play.

Wouldn't it be silly and irresponsible to not acknowledge all that?

Ubaldo was historically untouchable for the first 2 1/2 months of this season. Maybe too untouchable. Maybe he was so good short-tern, that'll be bad for him long-term. Because it seems like once a couple teams touched him up for a few runs, he regressed back to the old maddening Ubaldo.

You remember him, don't you? The Ubaldo that doesn't work out of jams. The Ubaldo that compounds jams with furious panic and fear of contact. The Ubaldo that tries to strike every batter out on strike one. The Ubaldo with painfully little composure.

We never wanted to see that Ubaldo again.

A large part of my excitement over his early season dominance was that it appeared he turned the corner in his development. It seemed like we were finally seeing an Ubaldo that was confident enough in himself and his ability that any mark against him wouldn't send him into a downward spiral. That he had gained the mental toughness to fight through a jam to make that one quality pitch needed.

That is all seemingly undone now. In the words of radio man Jack Corrigan... you can kiss it good-bye.

Now you have to wonder if you're back to square one with him mentally. You know physically his stuff is off the charts crazy good, but how far gone is he mentally? And how do you reel him back in?

By the way, I know Troy Renck likes to argue this is mostly a physical issue. I don't think so. To me it's a clear mental issue, leading to poor mechanics, which is a physical issue, which leads to less confidence, which is another mental issue, and it just keeps compounding itself and getting uglier.

Ultimately it's a mental issue. Anything physical is born directly out of that fact.

This is truly a messy situation for the Rockies. This is their ace and their guy they rely on (too much) to carry the load and keep them afloat. He seriously did it all by himself for 10 weeks. Now that he can't do it anymore, what becomes of this team?

I don't think we're going to like the answer to that question.

Phillies 10, Rockies 2

I don't want to hear about heat and humidity either. If the Rockies can't play through that, then what the hell are we doing considering them contenders? Man up.

If these guys can't play without their leaders (Tulo & Helton) in the dugout, then what the hell are we doing considering them contenders?

If the Jim Tracy, Don Baylor and Bob Apodaca can't start finding solutions to problems that have been apparent all season, what the hell are we doing considering them contenders?

Tomorrow

Jeff Francis vs JA Happ

Hey Jeff. Guess what? Pressure's all on you again.  Lots of luck.

Rock Solid Recrap: Cook & Olivo Go Together Like...

Like...

Fire and Gasoline.

Have you noticed that?

I started to notice it on Sunday when Cook was completely in charge against the best offense in the NL. Chris Iannetta called all those pitches.

Get Miguel Olivo back out there against another good offense -- though one that's been struggling -- annnnd we're back to the Aaron Cook who looks lost on a pitching mound.

I'm not the stat guy around here... but here are those numbers updated after tonight.

• Cook with Iannetta -- 5 starts, 32 IP, 3.09 ERA

• Cook with Olivo -- 13 starts, 74.2 IP, 5.30 ERA

That's a pretty dramatic difference. Dramatic enough that you would think a manager that "pushes all the right buttons" (as Troy Renck likes to remind us only when Tracy's decisions work out), would notice it and maybe adjust his catching rotation to match Cook up with the catcher he's comfortable with.

Anywho...

Phillies 6, Rockies 0

Wouldn't have mattered much tonight anyways. Roy Halladay was in cruise control from pitch #1 to pitch #116.

Not even sure he broke a sweat until he covered first base on Fowler's groundout in the 8th.

The Rockies offense had maybe one almost significant threat that really didn't stand a chance with Miguel "Gun Show" Olivo and Brad Hawpe hitting with RISP.  They are the opposite of locked in right now.

Silver Lining?

Well... again... I like what Manny Corpas is doing.  I don't know what his role is exactly.  As David Martin pointed out on his Twitter tonight, Jim Tracy might not know Manny's role either.

Dear Mr Corpas, You are going to be my mop up guy, my one inning guy, and every now and then a setup guy. At the same time. -Jim Tracy

But I do like that Manny is at least throwing the ball well.  He will continue to do so until Jim Tracy wears his arm again sometime in the second week of August.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Kyle Kendrick

Do I even need to tell you how important the game is?  This pitching matchup (on paper) is a huge mismatch in the Rockies favor.  But can they take advantage of that?  Or will Kyle Kendrick just be the latest scuffling pitcher to baffle the Rockies lineup?

Tune in to FOX... yes, FOX... to find out.

Couch Time: Stealing Signs

A lot of talk yesterday centered around the controversial binoculars and the possibility of Philadelphia stealing signs.

I sensed a lot of anger and bitterness from Rockies fans over the situation. Not only Rockies fans, but I read many comments from Mets fans and others piling on to accuse the Phillies of cheating.

On the other side, the Phillies faithful got defensive and lashed out with the predictable "durrr we beat you, you're just a bunch of whiners, we're better than you" school yard crap.

That included the manager of the Phillies, Charlie Manual, who has proven the "any dope can manage talented players to success theory" to be correct for many years now. I've never considered him to be a great or even average manager. I thought that was proven rather convincingly when Clint Hurdle managed circles around him in the 2007 NLDS.

Read more »

Rock Solid Recap: Halladay Serves As Olivo's Slumpbuster

Rockies 4, Phillies 3

As I said earlier... to call this a big win would an understatement.

The Rockies didn't beat Roy Halladay, but they knocked him around quite a bit. Great swings up and down the lineup. High pitch counts. Bascially they made him work harder for his money than any other Halladay opponent this season. This approach needs to carry over to every pitcher, not just the elite ones.

Aaron Cook pitched a fantastic six innings. Seriously. I'm not a fan of the quality start stat, because I think it needs to be adjusted for ballpark and opponent, but this qualifies as a quality start on any scale. He kept the Rockies in the game and held down a terrific offense. I'm very pleased with Cook.

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Running Thoughts: Cook vs. Halladay

Lineup Card


It's what?  39 degrees?  As if Roy Halladay didn't have enough going for him.  

I don't know what approach the Rockies should take in this one.  Maybe they should hand out binoculars to everyone in the first five rows of the stands.  Even that probably wouldn't help.  

Top 1st

Aaron Cook gets through the first unscathed.  It was difficult though, as Melvin Mora failed to turn yet another routine double play ball.  I mean this was tailor made for 4-6-3, he bobbled it, fell on his ass, and recovered to throw out Howard at first.  Cook struck out Werth to end it.

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Lineup Card: Doubleheader Game 1

Let's try this again!

Rockies Lineup

• CF Gonzalez
• LF Smith
• 2B Mora
• RF Hawpe
• 1B Helton
• 3B Stewart
• C  Olivo
• SS Barmes
• P   Cook

Nice to have Carlos Gonzalez.   Tulowitzki wisely ruled out because of the cold.  That makes me hopeful that all Rockies have stretched out probably in this weather.  

Phillies Lineup

• CF Victorino
• 3B Polanco
• 2B Utley
• 1B Howard
• RF Werth
• LF Ibanez
• C   Ruiz
• SS Valdez
• P  Halladay

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Mother Nature Sides With The Rockies

At least for tonight.

Let's face it, they needed another day to get healthy.  And maybe they needed another day to look in the mirror and get their stuff together.

Doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow.  If Mother Nature really liked the Rockies, she'll start the Halladay game on time.  Maybe play an inning or two, and then open the skies again.  Get Halladay out of there early and then we'll go from there.

The Denver Post has more information on the doubleheader.  I invite you to check that out.

Lineup Card Game 2 vs Philadelphia

Rockies Lineup

• LF Smith
• CF Fowler
• 1B Helton
• RF Hawpe
• 2B Mora 
• 3B Stewart
• C  Olivo
• SS Bamres
• P   Cook

I don't disagree with starting Mora against Halladay (he's 22-for-76 lifetime).   I just find it strange that Tracy was so desperate to get Eric Young in the lineup last week that he had him play LF.  Now that 2B is open for a couple days, he turns to Mora and Young is planted on the bench.  

Who else is ready for Chris Iannetta to return?

Also, the Rockies have placed Franklin Morales on the DL and recalled Edgmer Escalona (love that name).  His stay should be a short one (unless someone else gets hurt) as Jason Hammel will be activated to start tomorrow.  Of course it's possible Esmil Rogers will go down to resume starting at AAA.  

Phillies Lineup 

• CF Victorino
• 3B Polanco
• 2B Utley
• 1B Howard
• RF Werth
• LF Ibanez
• C  Ruiz
• SS Valdez
• P   Halladay

We''ll have the rest later, but that's scary enough as is.

Read more »

Rock Solid Recrap: Several Bullets Lodged Firmly In Foot

Phillies 9, Rockies 5

The Rockies hung around and hung around. It even looked promising a couple different times. But the reality is that the Phillies never lost control of the baseball game, and the Rockies never were in a realistic position to win it.

That's because the Phillies were never going to shoot themselves in the foot. They were just waiting for the Rockies to shoot themselves in the foot, and then they jump all over them for their mistake.

In the 5th, Melvin Mora couldn't turn a double play (again) which led directly to a run on that play. This allowed the inning to contunue, and then another run scored one hitter later as Seth Smith booted one in LF.

In the 6th, a two out, two strike wild pitch by Matt Daley gave Philly another gfit.

In the 8th, Brad Hawpe drops a flyball that should have ended the inning. That did NOT lead to a run, but folks, it was costly. That meant Randy Flores had to come in to face one batter (Chase Utley), whom he retired.

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Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Kendrick

Preview

Lineup Card

Here we go.  This should be interesting.

Rockies lining up in their three announcer setup tonight.

1st Inning

• Shane Victorino triples on an 0-2 pitch.  Smith simply can't make a quality 0-2 pitch.  
• Polanco with the sac fly.  Hawpe made a great throw from fairly deep right.  Good try.  
• Another 0-2 basehit, this time by Chase Utley.  
• Smith strikes out Howard.  He's throwing strikes tonight, no doubt about that.  Now he just needs to find more quality strikes.  
• And then he walks Werth on four pitches.  Maybe I need to shut up.  
• Strikes out Ibanez.  High pitch count inning but limited the damage.  
• Phillies 1, Rockies 0
• Jason Giambi with a laser RBI single to even the score.  Much needed hit for team and player.  
• Rockies 1, Phillies 1
• Good first inning of baseball.  

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Lineup Card: Game 1 vs Philadelphia

Rockies Lineup

Could be a rough night defensively with Mora and Giambi on the right side.  At least Young isn't in LF again.

• LF Smith
• CF Fowler
• RF Hawpe (fresh off the DL)
• 1B Giambi
• 2B Mora
• 3B Stewart
• C  Olivo
• SS Barmes
• P   Smith

Tulo is day-to-day with his quad strain.  It's not the same quad he tore in 2008, and the MRI was clean.  That's obviously great news.  He will still be rested at least a couple days to help assure a repeat of 2008 doesn't come about.  

Lineup courtesy @TroyRenck.  Renck also tweeted some Jim Tracy thoughts on Jason Giambi.  

Phillies Lineup

• CF Victorino
• 3B Polanco
• 2B Utley
• 1B Howard
• RF Werth
• LF Ibanez
• C  Ruiz
• SS Valdez
• P   Kendrick

You know how good the first six are. Greg Smith needs to find out a way to get as many outs as he can from the 7, 8 and 9 spots.  That won't be easy because Ruiz is also a terrific hitter and pain in the ass for the Rockies.   

Looking Ahead: Rockies Unprepared For Litmus Test

I hate being a pessimist, but not as much as I enjoy being a realist.

This series doesn't look good on paper.

It didn't look good on paper on Opening Day. It didn't look good on paper the second it was official Roy Halladay would make a start. It didn't look good on paper when it was official the Rockies would start Greg Smith, Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. And amazingly, as bad as it looked at all those times, it looks a helluva lot uglier on paper now than it did 24 hours ago.

Thankfully the games aren't played on paper.

The Rockies won't make any excuses. which is good, because the Philadelphia Phillies -- far and away the best team in the National League -- come to town, and they could give crap about the Rockies problems.

Those problems, by the way, go beyond the injuries and absences.

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