Lackluster Rercap: Chacin falters, Panda cycles, things be bad

September baseball can be a lot of different things: Exciting, compelling, nerve-wracking, encouraging are some of the more positive ones.

None of those would describe the Colorado Rockies this September. We're more in the horrendous, disturbing, fundamentally challenged and embarrassing category.

Some of that is due to injury. Too much of it is due to the Rockies not having enough baseball players playing up to their potential.

Giants 8, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Unfortunately, one of the first guys we have to list when talking about players not performing to potential is Jhoulys Chacin. Thursday was another tough night for him, and it comes again against one of the weakest offenses in the league in San Francisco. Chacin has had a good history against the Giants, but much like we've seen from him this season, he comes up short in a matchup he should dominate.

His line: 5 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R (4 ER), 4 BB, 1 K

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Lackluster Recrap: No words, just pictures

Dodgers 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

Lackluster Recrap: Hammel's struggles continue

D-Backs 12, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Let's keep this short and sweet tonight.

Wish I could tell you what was wrong with Jason Hammel. Some people think he's distracted and disengaged. I wouldn't be surprised if he was hurting. Either the back injury that knocked him out a handful of starts ago, or something that developed because he pitched through that. Maybe it's a dead arm, or maybe he's just regressed to being a fringe rotation guy.

I don't know, but whatever it is is coming at the worst time. With Aaron Cook struggling. With Juan Nicasio learning on the fly. With Ubaldo and Jhoulys trading off being good, the Rockies need Hammel to ascend to and sustain being a dependable middle of the rotation guy. Instead, he's bouncing back and forth between decent outings and ugly outings.

Here's the line: 5 2/3 IP, 12 H (ick), 8 ER (career high), 4 BB, 7 K (not bad)

He actually rallied in the final 3+ innings to make the numbers look more respectable, but this was still a flat out ugly outing. He desperately needs a rebound next weekend in San Diego.

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Return of the Rock Solid Recap

Every now and the Rock Solid Recap goes on a vacation. For example, the entire second half of last September, it was all Recrap all the time. But it's always nice when the Recap makes it triumphant return!

Welcome back Recap!

Welcome back Rockies!

Rockies 3, Nationals 2 (boxscore)

Let's get right into the three positives

1. Jason Hammel: A huge, HUGE bounce back effort from Hammel. I admit I was getting a little concerned there might be a lingering back problem or something else that was bothering him. And maybe there was. But this performance helped suppress those worries, and should help to inflate Hammel's confidence. If he'd lost any that is.

Line: 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

2. Jonathan Herrera: The professional pain in the ass is back to being just that. Herrera reached base three times (two hits, one walk) and was the catalyst in Colorado's three-run fourth inning (the only inning they scored in). He also had a solid night in the field.

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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 Recap: Pitching holds strong, Tulo steals the W

This is what happens when you put an underachieving team (Rockies) and mediocre team (White Sox) together for a baseball game. A long game full of fans from both sides wondering how their teams is going to blow it, why the other team refuses to win it, and why they're staying up into the late evening hours to witness it.

Rockies fans are glad they did, because it was shown there is one big difference between these teams, and, quite frankly, the two leagues.

The Colorado Rockies have a superstar by the name of Troy Tulowitzki. A superstar who's athletically gifted and can change a game any number of different ways, including with his legs. The Chicago White Sox have no such player. In fact, most American League teams don't.

Watch Troy Tulowitzki steal the baseball game

Now listen to Hawk Harrelson's non-call

And the Jim Tracy drinking game

Rockies 3, White Sox 2 in 13 (boxscore)

That game could have gone on for 20 innings without a resolution if not for Tulowitzki's instincts and hustle, but let's make no mistake about where this game was truly won for the Rockies...

Pitching. Pitching. Pitching.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies run out of steam in Bronx finale

At the beginning of the series I said I would take one win out of three based on the pitching matchups goings in. That's exactly what the Rockies got, winning the Ubaldo matchup and losing these final two. So I can't say I'm too upset over the results, but there's no question the past two days were disappointing.

Disappointing that Tracy didn't take a better shot at CC Sabathia yesterday. Disappointing that today started off very well, but they couldn't collect themselves or regain their head of steam once the Yankees started fighting back.

Yankees 6, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

Juan Nicasio: Started off very impressively. But once the Yankees got a second look at him, things went a little more like I was anticipating. Still, you can't take those first four innings away from Nicasio. They were brilliant. Now you just hope he can learn from his struggles later and continue working towards developing his secondary stuff.

Also, an outing like today sure doesn't change my prediction that he's going to end up being the guy the Rockies envisioned Felipe Paulino as. He's proven he can be deadly on even the most elite hitters when they only see him once.

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Rock Solid Recrap: We both mailed it in

By we I mean me and Jim Tracy.

Rather than get up at a decent hour to post this morning's Lineup Card, I slept in. Hey, I was up until six this morning writing up my Saturday morning recaps for Big League Stew, so I give myself a pass this time. But I kind of wish I had dragged my ass out of bed anyway, because it would have been fun commenting on that lineup Jim Tracy filled out.

Geez.

So here's the deal on that. Wednesday I defended Tracy for sitting three starters in the series finale in Cleveland. I'll still defend that. It was obvious Todd Helton, Charlie Blackmon and Chris Iannetta needed that day off. With the off day Thursday, I was completely in favor of how Jim planned that to buy Todd and Chris especially 48 hours of rest.

Today: I wasn't too surprised to see Seth Smith and Blackmon benched. That's the norm for Smith against any lefty, especially one of CC Sabathia's caliber. But when that leaves you with Eric Young in the outfield, are you really gaining anything? Are you really doing your players right when you're not only putting one out of position, but pretty much telling the rest I'm waving the white flag today. Here's my 25th man in right. My 24th man behind the plate. And my 23rd man in left field to support my 5th starting pitcher.

How else can you take it?

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Rock Solid Recrap: No sweep for us... again

Well crap, one of these days the Rockies need to go ahead and sweep somebody just to see how fun and satisfying it can be. Like that time in New York when...

I'm digressing already. A series victory on the road is something I'll definitely accept with a smile on my face. That makes two straight winning series on the road, and five unbeaten series overall with the home split with the Dodgers mixed in there.

Definitely a lot better baseball than we saw in May.

Indians 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Jason Hammel: Alright, aside from the balk, which was bizarre and possibly the most herpy derp moment of the season, was Hammel really all that bad? I didn't think so. Frustrating in a couple innings? Of course. But who isn't?

He lost command for a short time in the third inning. Then the balk.

I don't know? Brain cramp? Thought the batter called timeout? Back spasm?

Jason?

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Rock Solid Recrap: No sweep for us

That's okay. Justin Verlander vs. Aaron Cook? Nine times out of ten that's not going to go your way. The important thing is they took care of business in the first two games, took the series, and should leave town feeling pretty good about themselves.

Tigers 9, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Pretty standard Cook day when you think about it. Which I'll actually take against Detroit. 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. It may not look pretty, but it matches up well with Ubaldo's line and better than Jason Hammel's. The difference was his margin for error was zero. We knew that going in, so that made every hit and run allowed a little more frustrating than the one before or any hits allowed by Ubaldo or Hammel.

7th inning: Ouch. Rough day for Rex Brothers' ERA. Rough day for Rex Brothers period. Spiked on the arm covering home plate? I've been spiked on the ankle a time or two. But **** that would hurt to take one on the forearm. Thankfully it was his non-throwing arm, but he was still forced to leave due to bleeding. The wound took four stitches to close up. Did I mention ouch?

Watch in the injury if you dare

Also, Seth Smith... Well, that was embarrassing. Jim Tracy should consider benching him for three weeks. Oh... he was already considering that.

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Rock Solid Recap: 35 up, 35 down

Back to .500. Good. If they stay at .500 come July 1st I can finally look at the standings with interest.

See, for me there are two rules when it comes to looking at the standings and watching the scoreboard.

1) It has to be July.

Why July? Because it's usually just past the halfway point and the finish line is finally closer than the starting line. To get worked up about it before that point is a waste of energy for me.

2) The Rockies have to be over .500.

Because how many times has a team under .500 realistically contended for anything? Be over .500 and you're almost always in a position to matter.

So that's how that breaks down.

Rockies 5, Tigers 4 (boxscore)

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Rock Solid Recap: Nicasio embraces run support in home victory

This something we haven't seen a lot of lately. A solid offensive performance, coupled with an outstanding pitching effort. AND the bullpen made it stand up. That's three phases of the game clicking at once. Plus they stole three more bases. I'm almost overwhelmed with positives.

Rockies 6, Padres 3 (boxscore)

Juan Nicasio: Well hot damn. Nicasio allowed a home run to the first batter of the game. Hit the second batter. Had lousy command early, which led me to believe this was going to be a short night at the office for him. Yet the kid absolutely owned this game for six innings once he got his feet under him.

Nine strikeouts. That ties a season high for Rockies starters. The breaking ball looked like a solid strikeout pitch at times. Great poise and confidence on display. This was a damn good 4th major league start for a 24-year-old.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Splitting headache

Yeah, splitting that four game series with the Dodgers was not what I had in mind, especially after the Rockies came out and played so well in the first two. Very, very frustrating results these past two days. A blown opportunity to not only gain on or stand their ground with the front-runners, but more importantly to me, create some space from a Dodgers team that I think has a good run in them during the second half of the season.

Dodgers 10, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

Ubaldo Jimenez: Listen, allowing three home runs is never a good thing for a pitcher. That much is pretty clear and obvious, but it's beyond the numbers to me. Where I'm more concerned is Ubaldo's confidence/mindset. Once something has gone wrong for him this season, like Ty Wigginton's error, he loses it. Fast. And he rarely gets it all back together.

That kinda tells me everything we've seen with him this season has been more mental than physical. I can't prove that. I'm not a licensed doctor or psychiatrist, but that's my diagnosis from afar. And I don't know how you can fix that if it really is the root of the problem. You can work on his mechanics. You can review scouting reports over and over. But how do you teach a pitcher to get over mental hurdles?

Bullpen: Well, we saw the entire lineup struggle together for a month, so it's only appropriate the entire bullpen struggles at the same time. Hopefully they get it straightened out a lot quicker than the offense did. And I don't mean to lump Rex Brothers in there because he's been excellent, but even he had a rough go of it today.

Ty Wigginton: I've seen enough of the limited range and routine grounders clanking off his glove. This team desperately needs to tighten up the defense. If that means bringing back Ian Stewart sooner than later, I'm all for it. Giving opponents extra outs and opportunities has to be addressed and eliminated. It's wearing on everybody.

Jonathan Herrera: The bloom is off the rose with Johnny, which is unfortunate, but not totally unexpected for a major leaguer who survives on guts, intelligence and ability to execute. I'm not saying he needs to go, because I don't think that's the case. But given how well Chris Nelson has played, and given the need for dynamic offensive performers, I'm not sure he's going to fit in if he's not excelling at the things he does best while in a bench role.

This could be a big week for him to get it turned around. And this is coming from Herrera's biggest supporter since he was called up last June.

Offense: All of the Rockies runs scored on homers. Seth Smith had a three-run shot in the 1st, which hopefully served as a reminder to Jim Tracy that he needs to play EVERY DAY. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki each had two-run homers in the 7th, and then Todd Helton hit a solo shot in the 9th. 8 runs. That should have been enough, but once again, it wasn't.

Overall: Any confidence in the Rockies I had built up over their three-game winning streak is wiped away. Today was a big, big, big game in my mind, especially with Ubaldo out there, and they fell short. Yeah, it's promising the offense has turned it around, but we're learning again that the problems for this team run much deeper than one thing. On any given day, they can do a number of different things poorly that puts them in a position to lose.

Until all of those are cleaned up, the ups will always be followed with disappointing downs.

Rock Solid Recap: A breath of fresh air

The Colorado Rockies are 1-0 in June.

So is Ubaldo Jimenez.

Of course I don't really believe a simple change on the calendar makes a baseball team better. And it's only one little game out of 162, but damn does this feel good for those 25 players in uniform, the coaches, and the fans. It really was a breath of fresh air after five weeks of inhaling polluted air and horse****.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 0 (boxscore)

What can you say about Ubaldo Jimenez? He had everything working from pitch 1 to pitch 106. Which by the way is a really, really efficient number for a complete game shutout. That's what happens for you when you walk ZERO.

No walks!

If I had to make a report card.

Velocity: 93-96ish. B+. (Grading on an Ubaldo curve)

Command: A+

Mechanics: A

Movement: A

Efficiency: A+

Results: A+++

As I tweeted afterwards, I was more nervous in this 9th inning than I was in his no-hitter. Seriously. That performance last season was special. Maybe once in a career for him. Maybe once in a lifetime for Rockies fans. Trust me, I was nervous then. But for all the problems Ubaldo has gone through this season, I wanted this one for him even more.

He needed this badly. I wanted this for him, because I know he needed it that bad and I know his teammates and other fans wanted it that bad for him. Several fist pumps in the air when he set Matt Kemp down with this 7th and final strikeout.

Watch the final out

But like I said at the top, it's one game. Where he goes from here who knows, but it's nice to finally have some genuine optimism and positive energy heading to his next start in San Diego.

Tip your cap to Bob Apodaca as well. He's stuck by Ubaldo the whole way through and very likely played a role in tonight's performance.

-- Baby steps forward for the offense in the early going. More of the same later. But overall if was nice to see them move runners 90 feet, and especially nice to see them cash in two runners from third with sacrifice flies. The offense may not be the juggernaut we figured it could be, but they can still be effective if they produce (hits or productive outs) in those situations.

-- Todd Helton: Still the man. (Watch his home run)

-- I think Ty Wigginton is still catching his breath after that triple. But hey, impressive gear change heading from second to third. That hit and hustle set a nice tone for the evening.

-- Jose Morales: Solid all around game. Sac fly, basehit, called a great game. Who knows, he might find himself catching more Ubaldo starts going forward. They had a nice chemistry working.

Watch Jose's sac fly

-- Bullpen: Enjoy your two days off. See you again on Friday.

-- Be looking for my second player rankings of the season sometime Thursday afternoon. It will cover May, but I might have to bump Ubaldo up a spot or two.

-- Rockies needed a win Wednesday and got it. Now they need a series win just as badly. No better place to find it and take it than San Francisco! Let's see what we have on Friday night.

Rock Solid Recrap: Say good-bye to May

As I tweeted during the game, the Dodgers might be wise to print May 32nd everywhere they possibly can on Wednesday. Just the sight of the word could having the Rockies sucking their thumb in the fetal position. Which is almost where I was watching Tuesday's disaster.

Katie Martinez of Blake Street Buzz had a beautiful description of this game without even breaking down any specifics.

Envision the Dodgers logo. Now add arms, legs, angry eyes, and a mocking mouth. And give it a baseball bat to hold.

Got it?

Now picture the Colorado Rockies logo, also with arms and legs, but with eyes stretched wide in fear and a mouth gaping open in disbelief.

Got it?

Finally, animate the images. Let the Dodgers hit the Rockies repeatedly with the bat until the Rockies logo is raising its arms to fend off the blows while rolling impotently on the ground and crying.

Bingo.

Dodgers 8, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

Some quick thoughts.

-- Clayton Mortensen is good enough when he throws strikes and attacks the zone. When he walks four in four innings, obviously that won't be good enough. Nothing surprising about that. I still like him and think he deserves a role on the team. That will change quickly if the walks continue piling up.

-- Bickering on Twitter over who should have been in the outfield with Ryan Spilborghs and Seth Smith battling groin strains. Ty Wigginton got the assignment in RIGHT field, while Carlos Gonzalez stayed cozy in left, Fowler in center, Eric Young at second and Jonathan Herrera seat belted to the bench. You'll never guess how it all worked out. (Watch)

Personally, I think it's a toss up between Wigginton and Young. Both are not outfielders. Not even close. But what can you do when one has to be out there?

Where I'm annoyed is this whole Gonzalez MUST play left field every day nonsense. It needs to become more flexible. As in, it's time for Gonzalez to make some starts in CF or RF immediately. It's what's best for the team. And it's probably blocking Charlie Blackmon's path to big leagues. That definitely isn't making the team better.

-- By the way, Ty Wigginton has an eight game hitting streak.

-- Chris Nelson created a run with some aggressive and smart baserunning. He doubled, stole third without a throw (something I thought only Rockies opponents could do), and then read a popfly perfectly and was able to tag and score when Jamey Carroll caught the ball running away from the infield. It didn't make a difference in this game, but having the ability to steal a run like that will benefit them sooner or later.

-- On to June we go. I don't expect anything magical to happen, but here's hoping the change on the calendar allows some relaxation from a mental standpoint. That's the first step to finding that success again.

Rock Solid Recap: Why so mad?

Rockies 14, Dodgers 11 (boxscore)

Todd Helton led the way with three hits as the Colorado Rockies outslugged the Dodgers...

Oh, hold on.

Sorry, that was the hits column.

Let's see here.

Dodgers 7, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

That explains that. So I guess this is a recRap then.

(I just gave the Rockies their next slogan there. Total accident.)

UPDATE: I see Purple Row's Bryan Kilpatrick used a variation of the same bit. I didn't steal or borrow, and I'm too lazy to rewrite, so we'll just go with great minds think alike.

-- Can this please be rock bottom? Please? Fourteen hits, four walks and one run. Only the Rockies. Well, the Cubs could probably pull that off just as easily, but this is a Rockies blog. So ONLY the Rockies.

The Rockies had the lead-off man reach base I believe it was seven innings in a row? None of those scored. The lone run came on Ty Wigginton's solo home run in the fourth, which was perfectly timed right after a Seth Smith GIDP.

Overall the Rockies went 1-for-12 with RISP. An ugly number. And there was little to no bad luck involved here. Just a lot of terrible at-bats and swings with expected results.

Honestly, I'm tired of hearing the unlucky bit. Yes, Troy Tulowitzki hits baseballs hard and they get caught sometimes. He also pops up all the time and hits Taylor made double play balls. Yes, umpires blow calls. Yes, weird things happen, but weird things always happen to everybody. Every team gets screwed now and then.

They get magnified when you're not doing the little things right. The Rockies simply aren't doing the little things. And they aren't doing a lot of big things right either. Throw out any stats that may suggest differently. The team is a mess right now. It's that simple.

-- Jason Hammel made some good pitches to Andre Ethier with the bases loaded in the third, but that piece of garbage Joe West screwed him. There's no other way to say it. He screwed him. That was a strikeout two different times, but Cowboy Joe was too busy being his usual arrogant self. Embarrassing the game of baseball.

Then Ethier hit that ball right back through the box than Hammel couldn't handle, and the route was on. Unfortunately Hammel unraveled, but when you're making good pitches and not getting calls, that's what will happen. Chad Billingsley faced the same problem. He allowed a career hit 11 hits. The Rockies did nothing with them.

-- The Fowler/CarGo Play

Center fielders are taught to take every ball they can get to. It was left-center, Fowler got there, it looked like he called, so Gonzalez has to clear out. Yes, Gonzalez has the better arm, but they weren't throwing anyone out at the plate from that depth. Fowler wasn't in the wrong there. It's tough to come down on Gonzalez though. They are both centerfielders in mind and ability, and he wanted to make a play.

-- So the Rockies lose 20 in May. 20 recraps in a single month, with a good chance for 21. Talk about challenging a blogger to stay engaging, interesting, motivated, funny and creative. Good lord. Thanks a lot!

Rock Solid Recrap: Dreadful homestand concludes

The Rockies scored 41 runs on their seven game homestand!!! That's like an average of six runs per game! 

Not bad, huh?

Well, 27 of those came in the TWO wins. The other 14 came in the FIVE losses.

Nope, not bad. More like sad. And absolutely maddening.

Cardinals 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore) 

-- Jhoulys Chacin padded his team lead for home runs allowed when Jon Jay and Colby Rasmus took him yard. That's nine on the season and definitely a problem. Even more so when he walks the guy directly in front of the home run, as he did on Jay's in the first.

The Rasmus solo homer was also frustrating because it came right after the offense pushed across a run with a double, bunt and sacrifice fly. But Chacin still did a nice job of holding the Cardinals in check. That's a great offense and holding them to four with Kyle Lohse opposing you should set you up well.

-- Matt Reynolds, Matt Lindstrom and Rafael Betancourt were nearly untouchable in three innings of scoreless relief. Another day at the office for Reynolds and Lindstrom. Another positive step towards being himself again for Betancourt.

-- Ty Wigginton, Ryan Spilborghs and Chris Iannetta reached base a total of eight times. You would think that would really spark another offensive outburst. Not so much.

-- You know, it would be easy to nitpick Jim Tracy today.

Bases loaded, no outs, down by two in the 7th. Tracy pulls pinch-hitter Seth Smith off the on-deck circle and plays the Jason Giambi card, which obviously means he's looking for the four-run homer. Of course that's not a situation where a grand slam is necessary. A basehit or productive out would be very helpful, which Seth Smith has a better chance of providing, but Tracy has his way of doing things.

Of course Jason Giambi struck out and Eric Young lined into a double play. Rally killed.

Next inning, Tracy allows Ty Wigginton to hit for himself against the St. Louis closer, Fernando Salas, with two on and two out. He struck out on three sliders. May have been a good spot for Smith there as well. Especially when you have Chris Nelson and Jonathan Herrera available to play third.

Then Seth Smith strikes out as the tying run in the ninth, so who knows what the right call is in each situation. I would have definitely set things up differently, but sometimes it just is what it is. And what it is is the players need to have better at-bats.

Especially Carlos Gonzalez in the 9th inning. His entire mindset was to swing away at anything close. Turned himself into an easy final out of the game.

-- Eric Young had another nice game by the way. He knocked in two of the Rockies three runs.

-- Dexter Fowler still struggles with those liners directly at him. Gap-to-gap, he's still terrific. But he needs to read and track those liners a lot better. It's cost him several times.

I linked to Troy Renck's (Rock-Hard decisions at hand) piece earlier. I'll mention it again here. Renck really did a great job with this, but I specifically enjoyed this paragraph...

And finally, end the shock theater with bunts and baserunning. It's alarming how bad the Rockies have been at basic fundamentals, especially since they practice them as much as any team in baseball. Simply put, the Rockies can't win when they don't hit. They have proved incapable of playing small ball.

He had a lot more to say. I'm sure most Rockies fans have read it already. But even non-Rockies fans can get a good feel for the Rockies struggles by reading that piece.

-- Dreadful homestand over. Road trip from Hell now looming. Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego here they come. Nine big games in ten days. I hate to say it at the end of May into early June, but if the Rockies tank this trip (2-7, 1-8), well, any and all optimism would be rightly tossed out the window.

Is it possible they could rebound? Of course. But to expect it or even hope for it would be pretty close to unrealistic.

3-6 or 4-5 would be frustrating, but not totally demoralizing depending on the order they come in. 5-4 or 6-3 would be very encouraging. I would be downright giddy even. Anything better than that isn't going to happen. Sorry. I wouldn't even expect the best Rockies team ever to win seven on this trip. Just hope for a winning one.

Rock Solid Recap: Todd (expletive) Helton

And Jorge De La Rosa, too. Co-MVPs for tonight's win.

Rockies 4, Cubs 3 (boxscore)

-- We'll start with Todd Helton, because he is after all, Todd ****ing Helton.

Helton delivered his first multi-HR game since August 7th, 2007, and his 27th multi-HR game of his borderline Hall of Fame career. I hate having to phrase it that way but that's where he is right now.

Watch home run #1

Watch home run #2

Both homers were solo shots, and both came off a lefty in James Russell. Granted Mr. Russell is, as one Cubs fan noted on Twitter, possibly the worst pitcher to ever make three consecutive starts in the Majors. From what I've seen I can't form an argument against that.

The first was definitely aided by the wind blowing out towards right. No problem with that. I think the second one to straight away center leaves pretty much any ballpark save for Petco and Minute Maid in Houston. That ball was struck with some serious authority. That was a vintage Todd Helton year 2000 swing.

And he had another decent swing that he felt he just missed based on his reaction. So needless to say he's feeling pretty comfortable.

Will Todd get another start in the three-hole based on Tuesday's results? I'm going to say no to Wednesday, but I'm sure next time Jim Tracy needs a guy there, Helton will be the choice. It's really nice being able to say that and know it's not wishful thinking.

-- Jorge De La Rosa had a really good plan of action against the Cubs tonight with the wind blowing out. Credit Bob Apodaca as well. They knew they were facing a strictly right-handed lineup in less than favorable pitching conditions, but it's also a very undisciplined lineup. De La Rosa was able to take advantage, striking out nine, walking NONE and allowing one earned run over seven innings.

Very impressive outing that improves Jorge to 4-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.61.

-- Ty Wigginton also provided another key hit on the road. His 4th inning solo homer put the Rockies ahead for good. He also doubled, singled and stole a base to round out his impressive game.

Watch Wiggy's blast

-- Damn, Jose Lopez has hit the ball hard and given good at-bats dating back to Sunday against Josh Johnson. All that has gotten him is an 0-for-11. The game really isn't fair sometimes.

-- Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street. You know the drill.

-- No sense settling for a series win in Chicago. Let's hope the Rockies can finish strong here, finish off the sweep, and go home with TWO winning road trips to start the season.

Rock Solid Recap: Rockies win again on road with simple formula

Execution + Good Pitching = Winning

I'm not talking about Charlie Sheen's definition of winning. I mean actually winning. Succeeding. Combining terrific effort with great results. That type of winning.

Rockies 3, Marlins 1 (boxscore)

Execution

It boiled down to two at-bats for the Rockies on Saturday night. Both of those at-bats resulted in outs, but both were very productive outs.

After Todd Helton led off the sixth with a double, Seth Smith immediately followed with a double of his own. However, Helton was unable to score on Smith's double because he's not exactly Dexter Fowler and because Marlins left fielder Emilio Bonifacio, while completely lost on the play, managed to confuse Helton enough to not stray too far from the base.

So that set up 2nd and 3rd with no outs for Ty Wigginton. The guy I've applauded in the past for his clutch two out hits in Pittsburgh and Wednesday at Coors Field against Matt Cain. This time it wasn't a clutch two out hit, but a well struck flyball to right center field. It was plenty deep enough to score Helton, and also positioned well enough to allow Smith to take third. That's a big 90 feet to get with less than two outs.

Watch Wigginton's sacrifice fly

Jose Morales was walked intentionally which brought up Jason Hammel. Immediately the thought of the squeeze comes into play, and without any hesitation, Jim Tracy called for it and Jason Hammel executed it.

Watch Hammel's suicide squeeze

Looking back at it Hammel may have squared around a bit early. I'm a little surprised Vazquez didn't step off, but with a slider away called, he probably figured it would be a difficult pitch to get down fair. So credit Hammel again for bunting a tough pitch.

Good Pitching

But where Hammel makes his money is pitching, and tonight he earned his paycheck.

6 2/3, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 109 pitches (67 strikes).

Again, it wasn't an outing where Hammel wowed you with stuff. He dealt with his fair share of traffic and wasn't exactly efficient closing out innings, but when the big pitch was needed, he made it. When the Rockies finally jumped ahead, he put that big zero on the board. It was an excellent outing and a very well deserved second win for Jason.

His ERA now sits at a healthy 3.80.

Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt and Matt Lindstrom took over and retired the final seven Marlins in order without a single Rockies fan having to break a sweat. That's always much appreciated by this fan.

Sign of the Night

Oh look, it's everybody's favorite Denver sports tweeter @cheryltweedy.

Seriously, even if that wasn't her, that sign would make the blog. Creative and hilarious.

Rock Solid Recap: No Sweep For You, Champ

The Rockies may have dropped their first series of the season to San Francisco, but they sure as hell weren't going to be swept.

Rockies 10, Giants 2 (boxscore)

-- The offense really provided a great lift, scoring just as many runs today (6) against Cain as they did in his four starts against them last season.

Obviously Cain wasn't at his very best, but I didn't really think he was bad either. The Rockies offense just took it to him. They did what made them successful on the road trip, and that's maximize their scoring opportunities. A pair of four run innings certainly bears that out.

-- The biggest swing came from Ty Wigginton. His three-run second inning homer, which was also his 1,000th career hit, was the big hit the Rockies can never seem to find against Cain. Wigginton also had the two-out, three-run double in Pittsburgh which is a big hit the Rockies can rarely find on the road.

What I'm saying: Mr. Wigginton has been a fantastic addition even if the average doesn't overwhelm you.

Watch Wigginton's three-run homer

-- Nice job by Jorge De La Rosa to minimize the Giants first inning damage today. They did score one, but it looked like it could be a three-peat of the last two games. He put an end to that, and then pitched aggressively and effectively with a nice lead.

His final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. That's as Rock Solid as it gets.

-- It could be time for Seth Smith to shed the Mr. Late Night nickname. It's a fun one to be sure, but he's a starter now, and he's hitting at all hours of the day.

Watch Smitty do work

-- Really impressed with the at-bats Jose Morales takes. Working counts. Driving pitches the other way. Looks like he may strike out quite a bit, but doesn't do so without putting up a decent fight. Really nice guy to have as a backup.

Watch Jose's RBI double

-- Carlos Gonzalez looked pretty lost against lefties Dan Runzler and Jeremy Affeldt late in the game. He was bailing on some pitches and just looked really uncomfortable. His reactions after both at-bats tell you he's fighting it mentally. Hopefully he finds a good answer to his problem during the off day.

-- Troy Tulowitzki had a very professional day at the plate. Three hits, three runs scored. Didn't look like he was thinking about hitting that 100th career home run, just looking to find a way on base and help his team that way.

-- Ryan Spilborghs came through with the three-run homer the Rockies could have used last night down three. The home run extended the lead from 7-2 to 10-2. Oh well, like I tweeted when it happened, he needed it more than the team did. Hopefully it'll jump start him on a hot streak.

Watch Spilly find the Rockies bullpen

-- And we'll just call it a day with this wonderful screencap courtesy CSN Bay Area.