Lineup Card: Rockies vs Brewers

Last night's recap... (here)

Thoughts on Jeff Francis... (here)

Watched a little bit of Dante Bichette Jr. in the Under Armour All-American Game today at Wrigley Field.  Strong kid.  He has committed to Georgia, but I think we'll be hearing a lot about him making a decision between college and MLB next summer.

Wouldn't be a bit surprised to see him knocking on the doors of MLB in the next 3-4 years.

Rockies Lineup (60-55)

1. 2B  Young
2. 1B  Helton
3. LF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. RF  Spilborghs
6. 3B  Stewart
7. C    Iannetta
8. CF  Fowler
9. P     Rogers

Fowler hitting 8th against the left-hander?  Alright.  I think I would have eased Young back into the lineup by hitting him 8th, but whatever Jim Tracy thinks.  Hopefully he's smarter than I am this evening.

Brewers Lineup (54-63)

1. 2B  Weeks
2. RF  Hart
3. LF  Braun
4. 1B  Fielder
5. 3B  McGehee
6. CF  Dickerson
7. SS  Escobar
8. C    Lucroy
9. P    Narveson

Jeff Francis Back To DL

Tough news with Jeff Francis headed to the DL today with shoulder soreness. He was actually pitching well again lately, but I was noticing a pattern developing of him wearing down after 4-5 starts.

He started the season building his strength and pitching well, then dropped off the earth. Rejuvenated himself over the all-star, hit another good patch, but was again on a path of wearing down.

Probably would be a wise idea to shut Francis down for the season (might be necessary regardless) and allow him to get a head start on rest, and then shoulder strengthening, and then prep for the 2011 season.

Would also be wise to never expect Francis to be a 25+ start a year type of guy again in his career. If Jeff also senses that possibility it could allow the Rockies to get him back at a reduced, low-risk salary for the 2011. If not, as tough as it is, Rockies may have to look to move on here.

This news does take a little pressure off of Esmil Rogers tonight. His spot in the rotation seems to be safe until the Rockies figure out what exactly they want to do with Aaron Cook.

Somewhat Solid Recap

So basically we know who the Rockies are and how they'll make us feel.

At home: They will make us fall in love with them and baseball over and over again.

On the road: They will frustrate us to no end.

They are your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend you wish you could get over, because you know 55/45 isn't good enough, but the good is so damn good you can't help but wait for the bad to fade away. Only problem is you keep waiting...

... and waiting.

So yeah. Tonight was good. Real good. And I really appreciate the birthday present from Troy Tulowitzki. Very thoughtful. (Highlight)

PS: Dexter Fowler would have had that.

Rockies 5, Brewers 4

Tonight's recap is only somewhat solid because I only saw a handful of outs (via MLB Network). I did, however, listen to a significant portion of Bob Uecker's broadcast on Brewers radio during a birthday gathering.

Uecker was absolutely fantastic on his call, as usual. Told some fun stories about playing in Denver as a minor leaguer back in the 60s, how much the city has changed over the years, and also touched on the insane bus rides those guys had to take from Denver to Kansas and all over the midwest. Good stuff.

I wish Bob was calling Rockies games.

No... I take that back. I wish Bob called every game in baseball on the radio side and Vin Scully handled the TV side.

Something that also stood out during the radio broadcast was how vocal, supportive, and downright awesome the crowd was. It's obvious that the core of the fan base still has a great deal of faith in the team. Nothing wrong with that. And even if you don't have faith in a comeback, still nothing better than being at the ballpark when your club wins in dramatic fashion.

That adrenaline rush makes everything in life feel possible.

My only two problems with the crowd.

STOP. THE. WAVE.

If you can't have fun at the park without the wave, the ballpark ain't the place for you. Go away.

Also...

@PostBroncos The fans in my section at Coors Field just turned the "Tulo" chant into a "Tebow" chant.

Can we at least hold off on the Tebow stuff until he proves himself to be anything more than a system QB in college? Please?

Just had to get those off my chest.

All in all though a great crowd, a fun win, and a great night had by all.

Tomorrow

More Rockies and Brewers from Coors Field.

Looking forward to seeing how Esmil Rogers fares at home against a top notch offense. His spot in the rotation is pretty clearly on the line here as Jhoulys Chacin is ticketed for the big leagues in the next week or so.

The opposition will be Chris Narveson. The Rockies once acquired Narveson in the Larry Walker deal. He was then moved with Charles Johnson to Boston for Byung-Hyun Kim.

He's not having a very good season, which I guess should scare me going in to tomorrow's game, but it really doesn't. I'm guaranteeing tacos and even feeling pretty good about double digits.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Brewers

Should be a fun night tonight at Coors Field regardless of how well or poorly the Rockies play.

It's Mustache Night.

The visuals that should provide could indeed be priceless... and timeless.

Rockies Lineup (59-55)

1. LF  Smith
2. 1B  Helton
3. CF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. RF  Hawpe
6. 3B  Stewart
7. C    Olivo
8. 2B   Barmes
9. P     De La Rosa

Brewers Lineup (54-62)

1. 2B  Weeks
2. RF  Hart
3. 1B  Fielder
4. LF  Braun
5. 3B  McGehee
6. CF  Cain
7. SS  Escobar
8. C    Lucroy
9. P    Gallardo

Lucroy was a pain in the ass last night the Brewers visited.  And how about Casey McGehee?  He enters the game with a hit in his last 9 at-bats.  Hopefully that means he's ready to cool way off.  

Jim Tracy Should Read This

This being the tweet posted directly below. Everything that follows is just me rambling again.

@closernews Mariano Rivera was unavailable after pitching in the last two and in four of the last five. David Robertson gets one out and the save.

Mariano Rivera has yet to throw on three consecutive days this season.

Yes, even the great Mariano Rivera needs days off, and Joe Girardi gives them to him.

I'm sure Joe is reluctant to do so, because that Yankees bullpen is far from deep or stable even Kerry Wood added to the mix.  Yet Girardi always sticks to his guns and leaves Rivera seated on the third day.

Of course that philosophy could change at some point in September if for some reason the Yankees are in a desperate situation (I don't see that happening), but even then, having refrained from doing earlier in the season should have Rivera as close to full strength as a pitcher can be that time of year.

Now...

Who remembers the last time Milwaukee came to town? Remember what happened with Manny Corpas (closer at the time) when Jim Tracy ran him out there four days (not games - days) in a row and all three games in the Milwaukee series?

The first two were scoreless innings. Game 3 was a near disaster. Game 4 was a complete disaster.

Manny went on to be awful for about three weeks straight.

Huston Street was successful over a four day period back in July, allowing only one run while collecting a win and three saves. However, the last time Huston was asked to go three in row, the third day resulted in possibly the most devastating loss of the season... in Pittsburgh.

Just saying.

Also just saying... Last season when Tracy ridiculously used Street four days in a row -- seven of out nine overall -- in late August, Street disappeared for three weeks in September with biceps soreness.

Street would return but struggle mightily in the NLDS. He then started this season with shoulder soreness and missed three months.

The only exception to the rule so far is Matt Belisle. He has been pushed the limit on several occasions this season, but amazingly hasn't lost his effectiveness or feeling in his arm.

Knock on wood.

Bottom line...

To me this is bigger than a win or loss issue (which is big enough on its own), it's really a common sense issue. You can't keep running guys into the ground, even if they say they can handle the load, when the risks and affects -- short-term and long-term -- are plainly obvious.