Rock Solid Recrap: Too Much Stink, Not Enough Sink

And so it should end Aaron Cook's near eight year run in the Rockies rotation.

Say what you will about the Cook we're seeing implode before our very eyes in 2010, an eight year stay in any big league rotation is really damn impressive. Probably even more impressive in the Rockies rotation. It's just time to move on.

Actually, it was time to move on when Jorge De La Rosa was activated from the DL... but now it's REALLY time.

I don't buy that Cook is/was a luck pitcher. Sure he gets the ball put in play on him more than most, but his path to success is no different than any other starting pitcher. If he makes his pitches, he'll succeed. If he doesn't make his pitches, he'll fail. Sinker below the knees, he'll be fine. Sinkers and flat curveballs in the hitting zone, he'll get tattooed.

You don't sink (pun intended) to the level he's at now just because years of good luck are catching to you. You get to this point because you're not making pitches. Simple at that.

Cook In The Bullpen

Not sure this goes well assuming it happens. I guess we shouldn't assume anything with how this season is playing out.

To me it seems like Cook comes out that first inning struggling to find himself, his grip, his location. Sometimes he's too amped up and overthrowing. That doesn't translate to successful reliever -- long or short relief.

Giants 10, Rockies 0

Taylor Buchholz

Speaking of long relief. Not an awful job by Taylor Buchholz. Not a great job by any means, but I think Taylor's role needs to be that of a short reliever. One inning at a time. His starting and long relief days are long behind him -- and probably days he'd like to forget.

Manny Corpas

Bad Manny. He's starting to slip up again. Hard to blame overuse as an excuse now since his innings have been cut down recently, but that's still a TON of innings for a guy not used to the workload.

Offense

All this pitching talk kind of overshadows maybe the biggest problem.

No offense.

Three hits (tied for season low). Twelve strikesouts (par for the course).

Fattening up on the dumpster fire known as the Chicago Cubs bullpen may work for a weekend. It doesn't solve the problem though. At some point (like tomorrow) this team has to consistently hit MAJOR LEAGUE pitching.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez. Madison Bumgarner. Seems winnable to me.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Giants

Here's to hoping the four game winning streak has just as much to do with the Rockies improving as it does with the Cubs mailing in their season.  

After watching the Cubs allow 18 runs and 26 hits to the hapless Brewers last night, I must admit I'm not exactly sure how optimistic I am about that.  That Cubs team really seriously blows.

A good performance (and win) tonight would go a long way towards squashing my doubts though.

Pre-Game Notes

-- The Rockies have claimed 1B/3B off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  Steve Foster has more on Hodges and an update on Matt Daley over at Inside The Rockies.

-- Todd Helton activated from the 15-Day DL.  Jonathan Herrera optioned back to AAA Colorado Springs.  That means Melvin Mora is the backup everything again.  Barmes and Tulowitzki play everyday until they run out of gas for the stretch run.  Weeeee!

Rockies Lineup (55-50)

1. LF  Spilborghs
2. 1B  Helton
3. CF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. 3B  Mora
6. C    Olivo
7. RF  Hawpe
8. 2B  Barmes
9. P    Cook

Giants Lineup (61-45)

1. CF  Torres
2. 2B  Sanchez
3. RF  Huff
4. C    Posey
5. LF  Burrell
6. 1B  Ishikawa
7. 3B  Sandoval
8. SS  Renteria
9. P    Sanchez

Quick Thoughts on Kiszla Pandering to the Stupid

Received a couple emails asking for my thoughts on the latest Mark Kiszla column. I thought David Martin did a fantastic job breaking it down at Rockies Review.

I'll just say this.

Kiszla's MO is pretty simple. He finds a topic that people are talking about. He writes an article on the topic that caters to the bottom of the barrel, lowest common denominator of Denver sports fans. To put it bluntly... the criminically stupid. And then he collects his paycheck.

Yes, I get it. -- he's selling newspapers. That's the defense he gets from his meatball supporters on the DP comment section -- and sadly, that's the bottom line in this pathetic situation. Selling newspapers is more important than credibility.

The credible newspaper (Rocky Mountain News) no longer exists, but the one that knows how to create a stir remains in business. The newspaper with very little credibility is the one baseball fans from across the country are using to get their information on the Colorado Rockies.

That makes me very uncomfortable.

Kiszla's latest piece of junk is laddened with lies, uninformed opinions, and misguided solutions to problems that don't exist. But who cares? He's selling newspapers! We're the Denver Post! We flushed the toilet on our credibility years ago, but our heads remain above water.

Congratulations to them.

Also, F*** them.

Somebody Talk To Todd!

Excerpts taken from Thomas Harding's piece on the Rockies official homepage.  

Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said his back and legs felt good after a three-day injury rehab assignment at Rookie-level Casper, but he hasn't heard from the club whether he'll be activated Tuesday.

Somebody talk to Todd!

He returned to Denver on Monday and met with doctors, but said he had yet to consult with the club about whether he will return for Tuesday's start of a key two-game series with the Giants at Coors Field.

Somebody talk to Todd!

Helton said the decision would come after a discussion with the team.

Seriously... Somebody talk to Todd!

Am I off base in thinking it's strange Helton hasn't had a conversation with Dan O'Dowd or Jim Tracy or Keith Dugger or Dinger or somebody with a little say in the Rockies organization?

He's your greatest player ever.  Communicate with him.

I can't believe they didn't have conversations right away last night or even early this morning.  I don't get it.  What's the hold up?

Post All-Star Break Player Rankings

17 games is a very small sample size, but this is how I would rank the Rockies players and their performance so far in the second half of the season.

1. Carlos Gonzalez
2. Ryan Spilborghs
3. Manny Corpas
4. Jeff Francis
5. Seth Smith
6. Ian Stewart
7. Melvin Mora
8. Chris Iannetta
9. Jorge De La Rosa
10. Miguel Olivo
11. Dexter Fowler
12. Troy Tulowitzki
13. Jonathan Herrera
14. Taylor Buchholz
15. Matt Belisle
16. Clint Barmes
17. Huston Street
18. Jason Hammel
19. Randy Flores
20. Ubaldo Jimenez
21. Rafael Betancourt
22. Brad Hawpe
23. Joe Beimel
24. Aaron Cook
25. Jason Giambi