Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Follow The Script, Steal Series From Washington

Rockies 4, Nationals 3 (boxscore)

Taken directly from Saturday's Recrap:

THEY (the Rockies) have to be the team that gets those difference-making runs. THEY cannot afford to be the team that doesn't get those difference-making runs, while also giving away difference-making runs. It would be nice if they could make that a point of emphasizing that down the stretch just so they're prepared and capable of being a team that can compete next season.

I think the Rockies got the memo. They found a way to get those difference-making runs on Sunday. It doesn't matter that they got a TON of help from Washington. It's that they actually were in a position to take advantage of Washington's mistakes, and then did it. That's what matters. And they did it against a very good bullpen anchored by Tyler Clippard.

I'm very happy with that.

Winning Player: Jeremy Guthrie: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 83 pitches (54 strikes)

It's nice to know this Jeremy Guthrie still exists. Yeah, he still made that one big mistake, and Ian Desmond made him pay for it with a two-run homer. But he limited it to that one mistake, he worked deep into the game, and he afforded the Rockies an opportunity to steal a win and to steal a series. He survived, and that allowed the Rockies to overcome.

This Jeremy Guthrie will help a contender down the stretch. I just hope a contender realizes it before he throws another game at Coors Field, because that Jeremy Guthrie is a miserable mess.

Turning Point: Down 3-1 in the 8th, the Rockies found a way to scratch out a difference-making run. It came off the bat of Eric Young Jr., who homered for the first time since 2009 off Sean Burnett leading off the inning. Yes, that Sean Burnett, the one with the 1.42 ERA and strong stats across the board in the first half.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Four Errors Seems Like Too Many

Nationals 4, Rockies 1 (boxscore) 

Yes, a real Recrap this time. 

Saturday was a pretty hectic day around these parts with the weather and my duties over at Big League Stew getting most of my attention. Admittedly only got to see bits and pieces of another Rockies game this week, which kinda sticks, but doesn't really stink when you examine what happened. 

Anyway, we'll keep things relatively short since I don't feel like going back and rewatching the part I saw and the other I've read about.

What Went Wrong/Turning Point/The Usual 

The Rockies would end up with four errors on the afternoon (two each in the 6th and 7th innings). The first came on yet another errand throw by Wilin Rosario, who now has NINE E-2's on the season. His led directly to a run as you see here. Josh Roenicke then followed up with this throwing error on a pick-off attempt, allowing Ryan Zimmerman to walk home.

Just maddening blunders that expose a complete lack of team wide fundamentals. And it's tough enough to overcome one of those, when you start compounding them and stacking as they did here, it's impossible.

Also, it's embarrassing.

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Rock Solid Recap: Tyler Colvin Is Unconscious, Drew Pomeranz Is Just Plain Confident

Rockies 5, Nationals 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player #1: Tyler Colvin

Dude took Stephen Strasburg deep twice on Friday night. I wouldn't put his hot streak in the same category as Troy Tulowitzki's 2010 September, or just about any of Carlos Gonzalez's torrid stretches, but this is pretty damn special.

Watch Tyler Colvin's big night

It was also nice to see him get a little help tonight from Dexter Fowler, who also homered as the Rockies defeated Strasburg for the second time in as many weeks.

Hey, remember when everybody was arguing over Fowler and Colvin and who should play, who should sit,  and all that? It looks like everybody was right, so let's all pat ourselves on the back!

Winning Player #2: Drew Pomeranz - 6 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 81 pitches (52 strikes)

Pure brilliance from Pomeranz against a premier offense that had scored 32 runs over their last four games... against San Francisco no less. And he did it almost exclusively with fastballs (74 of 81 pitches) because he locating it with precision and Wil Nieves allowed him to stick with what was working.

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Rock Solid Recap: Josh Outman Starts Are Fun!

Rockies 11, Nationals 10 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Edwin Jackson

Only kidding. It's Tyler Colvin, who led the Rockies offensive attack with four hits (just a double shy of the cycle) and five RBIs. But he certainly wasn't the lone Rockie to have a productive afternoon. Dexter Fowler, Marco Scutaro, Carlos Gonzalez and Chris Nelson all contributed three hits apiece as Colorado pounded out an even 20 on the afternoon.

But I definitely will give Edwin Jackson an honorable mention. The Rockies absolutely brutalized E-Jax into submission during their glorified batting practice exhibition that would make even Jeremy Guthrie and Alex White cringe. But I guess we shouldn't be too surprised considering Edwin entered the game with a 13.91 ERA against the Rockies in SIX career starts.

Ugly.

Turning Point: The Rockies blew a 7-0 second inning lead and a 10-9 ninth inning lead because winning convincingly and on time apparently bores them. But it's OK, because Marco Scutaro sent the crowd home happy with a two-out, walk-off single in the 11th inning after a seven-pitch at-bat.

Way to go, Marco!

Highlight of the Night: Watch Marco Scutaro's game winner

Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 67 pitches (41 strikes)

Well, Outman should have no beef with the offense. They have staked him out to 11-1 and 7-0 leads over his last two starts, yet all he has to show for that is 7 2/3 innings of total crap, one unintentional shoulder bump with the manager and zero wins.

I vote we replace him with Drew Pomeranz soon, or maybe even one of the youth campers from Tuesday. Frankly, I'll take any replacement aside from Guthrie, White or Guillermo Moscoso.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Edwar Cabrera Roughed Up In Major League Debut

Nationals 11, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

For now I think we'll just eliminate the "What Went Wrong" and "Turning Point" categories in losses and immediately begin with the pitching lines since the starting pitching and the losing pretty much go hand-in-hand.

Edwar Cabrera's Debut Line: 2 1/3, 7 R (5 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 3 HR, 65 pitches (33 strikes)

Put me in the camp who believes calling up Cabrera was a silly decision from an organizational standpoint and not fair to the young man at this point in his development. I indicated that feeling in the Lineup Card this afternoon, and his performance tonight only made the feeling stronger. He just wasn't ready for the challenge and looked overwhelmed from the get-go.

I think the results and the photo below bear that out.

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Nationals 6-27-12

Tuesday's Recrap: More About Bob And The Great Guillermo

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (28-45)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (SS)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (1B)
5. Tyler Colvin (RF)
6. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
7. Chris Nelson (2B)
8. Wilin Rosario (C)
9. Edwar Cabrera (P)

With the Bob Apodaca news breaking yesterday, I neglected to mention the Rockies recalling 24-year-old left-handed pitching prospect Edwar Cabrera, while shipping the struggling Alex White back to Colorado Springs. 

Cabrera will make his major league debut tonight against Washington, and then enter into the circus known as the Rockies four-man rotation. And I'll be honest, I think this is a really awful way to acclimate a young pitcher you'll be counting on for years to come into the big leagues. But hey, (sarcasm) look how well it's working for White and Christian Friedrich (/sarcasm). 

Washington Nationals (42-30)

1. Danny Espinosa (2B)
2. Bryce Harper (CF)
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Michael Morse (RF)
5. Ian Desmond (SS)
6. Mark DeRosa (LF)
7. Tyler Moore (1B)
8. Jhonatan Solano (C)
9. Jordan Zimmerman (P)

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

Rock Solid Recrap: More About Bob And The Great Guillermo

Nationals 12, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Farewell, Bob: First things first, I wrote a little bit about Bob Apodaca's reassignment in the Lineup Card today. All I'll really add now is that, despite the low point we've reached now in terms of the Rockies pitching struggles, I truly do appreciate his contributions to the Rockies over his ten seasons of service. 

You can discredit the man if you want, but there's really no denying that a lot of good things happened under his watch, which peaked during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. But there always comes a time when change and fresh ideas are necessary to keep the process moving forward. I think that's especially true when you call Coors Field — the most unique and mentally taxing ballpark on the planet — your home. 

Apodaca's time to move on had definitely arrived. But I'll still pass on kicking him on his way out the door, because he took on the challenge of solving pitching at one mile above sea level for TEN years, and this is the first time he's backed away from the challenge. 

I can admire that. I can respect that. I actually appreciate that. And I truly hope the next full time pitching coach can match his patience and mental stamina when taking on this challenge.

That said, I also hope the new full time pitching coach has more effective and long-lasting ideas, because there's a lot of work to be done to get Rockies pitching back at the 09-10 level, but more importantly, to keep it at that level.

Now about tonight's baseball game...

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Nationals 6-26-12

Monday Recap: Jeff Francis Continues To Embrace Weird Pitching Gimmick

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (28-44)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Chris Nelson (2B)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Jonathan Herrera (SS)
9. Christian Friedrich (P)

Never a dull moment with these here Rockies. The USA Today — not the Denver Post, because the Rockies apparently feel it's necessary to stick it to the local media — is reporting that Bob Apodaca has asked for and been granted a reassignment within the Rockies organization. 

According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies will now split the pitching coach duties between Jim Wright (bullpen) and Bo McLaughlin (starters). I imagine that setup will remain in place at least through the end of this season. And we've also now learned that Apodaca will be taking on a role titled "Special Assistant to the General Manager", which basically means "We don't have the balls to fire you, so here's a desk, office and paycheck. Be here everyday by noon." 

But the only news that really matters is that, for better or worse, he's no longer the Rockies pitching coach. And I'm 90% sure it's for the better, because constantly attempting to solve pitching at Coors Field has a way of mentally beating people down over time. Keeping the minds (and arms, too) involved in the process as fresh as possible seems like a good plan of action to me, but it also might be impossible to keep them fresh enough to really be effective for a sustained stretch. 

Washington Nationals (41-30)

1. Danny Espinosa (2B)
2. Bryce Harper (CF)
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Michael Morse (RF)
5. Adam LaRoche (1B)
6. Ian Desmond (SS)
7. Tyler Moore (LF)
8. Jesus Flores (C)
9. Gio Gonzalez (P)

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

Rock Solid Recap: Jeff Francis Continues To Embrace Weird Pitching Gimmick

Rockies 4, Nationals 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jeff Francis - 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 66 pitches (48 strikes)

Francis pitched a terrific game tonight. He even HIT for himself in the 5th inning, which further cements how good and efficient he was to that point. 

Only, it really didn't, because Francis never took the mound in the 6th despite being nine pitches under the limit. 

I guess the whole Josh Outman thing backfiring so epically in Texas will now lead to more erring on the side of caution, rather than sending a guy out there with his pitch count and a potential win in the back of his mind. That's fine, I guess. As long as they're consistent with it, I can't bash that specific thought process (that lies within a bigger thought process that is indeed the lamest thing ever) too much. 

Also, still not a big fan of giving away free outs to a guy like Stephen Strasburg, but I can actually see the logic in not burning a pinch-hitter that early with a two out, non-scoring opportunity. 

I just used the word logic to describe a Rockies strategy. I may need a moment to collect myself. 

Done. 

I also think the only two people in the world embracing this pitching gimmick right now are Dan O'Dowd and Jeff Francis. Seriously, Francis has excelled in his three outings since the plan was put in place. And the Rockies are 3-0 in those games (1-6 in the others). 

Good for him. Good for the Rockies. They've actually managed to maximize (kind of) the talents of a starting pitcher. 

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Nationals 6-25-12

Sunday's Recrap: Alex White Falls Apart, Marco Scutaro Extends Lead In Mental Gaffes

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (27-44)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (2B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Jonathan Herrera (SS)
9. Jeff Francis (P)

Washington Nationals (41-29)

1. Danny Espinosa (2B)
2. Bryce Harper (CF)
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Michael Morse (RF)
5. Adam LaRoche (1B)
6. Ian Desmond (SS)
7. Tyler Moore (LF)
8. Jesus Flores (C)
9. Stephen Strasburg (P)

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

Sunday Recrap: Chapter 16

The Colorado Rockies have now gone one entire NFL regular season of Sunday's without a victory. The only other people who know what this feels like is the Detroit Lions. That's bad, because anytime you're compared to the Detroit Lions in terms of futility, you've arguably reached the lowest point in your franchise's history.

This probably isn't really the lowest point in franchise history, but with everything that's happened this season, it's pretty close. Granted, a decent amount of the bad has unfortunately been out of the Rockies control. That stuff you can live with. But a larger amount has been within the Rockies control, and the bottom line is they just haven't been good enough at baseball.

Such was the case again on this Sunday.

Nationals 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

This is when you know things are bad. The Rockies went 2-for-11 with RISP. That was actually better than Washington's 1-for-11 with RISP, and you still lose.

As has been the case so often, especially on Sunday, one more clutch hit likely gets the job done.

Nine hits, all singles. That's also problematic.

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Rock Solid Recap: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 run innings equal 15 for Rockies!

More times than not you'll wish the offense had saved a few runs when they score 15 for the ace. But given the way this season has gone, given the way Jhoulys Chacin labored, and given the way several key members of the Rockies bullpen have been struggling of late, nobody was saying that after Saturday's blowout win over the Washington Nationals.

Rockies 15, Nationals 7 (boxscore)

This is what you call an offensive onslaught. Colorado scored in five different innings, which is something different, but nice. Four of them result in multiple runs. That's even nicer. But the nicest part? The contributions came from every spot in the order.

Even Jhoulys Chacin had a perfect night at the plate, singling, getting hit, and scoring twice.

Even Ian Stewart reached TWICE... and he didn't enter the game until the 7th inning.

It was just one of those nights for the Rockies offense.

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Lineup Card: 8-6-11 Rockies vs Nationals

Denver Post: The update on Juan Nicasio

So, so scary. Wishing Juan a complete recovery from this serious injury. The quicker the better, obviously, but I just want to the kid to have a normal life.

More links

Blake Street Bulletin: Former Rockies pitchers in 2011
Purple Row: Saturday Pebble Report

Colorado Rockies (52-61)

1. LF Eric Young
2. CF Dexter Fowler
3. RF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. 3B Ty Wigginton
7. 2B Chris Nelson
8. C   Chris Nelson
9. P    Jhoulys Chacin

CarGo's back! And in right field tonight. Ryan Spilborgh hits the DL.

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Lineup Card: 8-5-11 Rockies vs Nationals

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 every night game and some afternoon games.

Link

Yesterday's Recap: Rockies' E's lead the way (not errors for once)

Colorado Rockies (52-60)

1. LF Eric Young
2. CF Dexter Fowler
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. RF Seth Smith
6. 2B Chris Nelson
7. 3B Ian Stewart
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P    Juan Nicasio

I love this pitching matchup tonight. Love it. Two young guys that should have bright futures.

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies' E's lead the way (not errors for once!)

Rockies 6, Nationals 3 (boxscore)

So far, so good for Esmil Rogers in his latest experiment as a starting pitcher. Alright, so technically the 5 inning performance in San Diego was a relief appearance. But in reality it was an extension of that God awful idea with Ubaldo, so I'm considering that as a start as well.

Don't argue with me. I know it's flawed.

Anyway, he pitched well there. He also pitched pretty well here, although we saw a lot of the same problems that have limited his starting potential in the past. He started slow allowing one run on two hits and a walk in the first. A total of 29 pitches in that inning.

That puts him behind the preferred starter's pace. Then he wasn't able to record enough quick outs to get back on pace and couldn't get through the 6th. But he did get the outs without allowing Washington to plate another run. Ultimately that's the most important factor, so I'll call this encouraging and something positive he can build from.

And he gets the win.

Three more positives

1. Eric Young: Eric Young had his best game in a long time at the ML level. Maybe it was his best game to date. Battling leadoff, Young was able to reach base FOUR times (one hit, THREE walks), swiped a bag and knocked in two to lead the offensive attack.

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Lineup Card: 8-4-11 Rockies vs Nationals

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 every night game and some afternoon games.

Alright, so the Lineup Card hasn't been up as much as I'd like in recent days. Chalk that up to normal temperatures and yard work that was three weeks overdue.

Phillies Series Recraps (three of them)

Monday: Street + Phillies = Sadness
Tuesday: Apparently the Phillies have 7 aces now
Wednesday: Thanks for the education

Colorado Rockies (51-60)

1. LF Eric Young
2. CF Dexter Fowler
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 3B Ty Wigginton 
6. 2B Chris Nelson
7. RF Ryan Spilborghs
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P   Esmil Rogers

Seth Smith's reward for homering against Cole Hamels? A comfortable seat on the bench against Ross Detwiler. Oy. Nothing happenin' Ryan Spilborghs gets the starting in right. EY gets left.

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Rock Solid Recrap: The story is getting old

Make that 12 straight Sunday losses for the Colorado Rockies and 5 straight failures to complete a sweep.

Bad timing? Lack of killer instinct? Lack of talent? All three?

Probably all three.

Nationals 2, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

Five hits for the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. Five singles to be exact. Which means five total bases, and only one runner advanced as far as second base all day. Don't get me wrong, Jordan Zimmerman is one of the great up-and-coming starting pitchers in the National League, but this was a pathetic showing by an underachieving offense.

But it's the same old story, especially on the road. No sense dwelling on it any further or wasting your time with repetitive words.

Three positives

1. Jhoulys Chacin: Whew. He looked healthy, strong and really effective. My biggest concern was the health, because duh, that's where it all starts. And he sure didn't look right the last two starts with that forearm issue. Hopefully that's behind him and he's ready to come out of the gates in the second half dominating and settling for no-decisions instead of stupid undeserved losses.

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Rock Solid Recap: A taste of 2010

That's how good Ubaldo Jimenez was in the Rockies second straight win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Rockies 2, Nationals 1 (boxscore)

Especially the way it started with U retiring the first 12 Nationals in perfect order. Three of those outs came via the strikeout. Seven came on harmless groundballs. When Ubaldo ran into a little trouble in the 5th, he got another groundball, and a fine double play started by the returning Troy Tulowitzki and turned over beautifully by Mark Ellis.

The only thing that kept Jimenez from challenging for a possible shutout was the boneheaded play in center field by Ryan Spilborghs. Spilly's decision to half dive, half fall down turned an Ian Desmond single into a triple leading off the sixth. The Rockies would trade Desmond's run for an out.

From there, Jimenez finished up strongly.

His line: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

The one walk certainly stands out as a positive. He had great movement again, but he was doing a better job commanding the zone and avoiding hitter's courts. It should also be noted that Jimenez was touching 97 on the gun as late as the seventh. All those concerned about velocity should feel good about that.

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Lineup Card: 7-9-11 Rockies @ Nationals

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: Return of the Rock Solid Recap

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (42-47)

1. CF Ryan Spilborghs
2. 2B Mark Ellis 
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. RF Seth Smith
6. LF Ty Wigginton
7. 3B Ian Stewart
8. C  Chris Iannetta
9. P   Ubaldo Jimenez

Tulowitzki back, Gonzalez back out as his wrist is still pretty sore. He won't play tonight and he's unlikely again for tomorrow. Hopefully the rest will allow him to be healthy when the All-Star break concludes.

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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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