Rock Solid Recrap: That's what a motivated Brad Hawpe looks like

See, I didn't know Brad Hawpe was the kind of guy who takes being released by the organization he grew up in personally. Now I know. Now the Rockies know. And now the Rockies are probably going to pay for it time and time again.

But this game was about a lot more than just Hawpe coming back to haunt the Rockies. This was about the Rockies shooting themselves in the foot... repeatedly, allowing a 7-1 seventh inning lead to slip away and turn into a 9-7 loss.

That's epic. That can't be done in one at-bat or on one pitch. That takes a collaborative effort from several sources to pull off. And the Rockies pulled it off almost flawlessly.

Padres 9, Rockies 7 (boxscore)

In started when Jhoulys Chacin loaded the bases to start the seventh. Eric Patterson hit one back to Chacin that bounced off his glove. When he finally collected the ball he took an ill-advised glance towards home, and then made an even iller-advised throw to first that sailed over Todd Helton's head. Chacin was charged with two errors on that play that led directly to two runs. It also put two more runners in scoring position that eventually came around to score, narrowing the gap to 7-5.

All things considered, Chacin pitched a solid game today, but that one misplay that turned into a bad decision undid most of it.

What Chacin didn't undo, Rafael Betancourt finished off by throwing an awful inning that included three hits, two runs and one balk. And to make it worse he made it last what felt like three years.

That set the stage for Brad Hawpe to absolutely unload on a 2-2 Huston Street offering in the ninth. It was not a good outing at all for Huston, who needed a little defensive assistance to prevent a lead-off double from scoring. But there was no saving him from Hawpe's second deck blast. Even more frustrating is Street was ahead in the count 0-2 and couldn't finish him off.

Awful baseball.

Offense did well to light up Aaron Harang. It was nice to see that, but no baserunners over the final four innings certainly did not help halt the momentum San Diego was gaining. Last night they were able to keep adding on and kicking San Diego while they were down, today it just didn't happen.

I've seen some frustrating Colorado Rockies losses in my day. This one here is a gut punch that can rival most of them. But it definitely reminded me of one specific loss last season. The final day before the all-star break, where the Rockies imploded against these same San Diego Padres.

A Matt Belisle error on a play very similar to Chacin's opened the door for the Padres, who ended up winning that game by the same 9-7 score. Eerily similar on many levels. Even the weather conditions were about the same, only warmer. And Chacin pitched that day as well... in relief.

Lineup Card: 5-14-11 Rockies vs Padres

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 60-90 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

• Yesterday's Recap: Confidence and aggression key offensive breakout
• Rockies Woman: Pull up a chair, offense
• Rockies Review: Rockies offense finally breaks through
• Blake Street Bulletin: Staying on an even-keel

Lineup

Colorado Rockies (20-16)

1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. 2B Jonathan Herrera
3. LF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. RF Seth Smith
7. 3B Ty Wigginton
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P    Jhoulys Chacin

San Diego Padres (15-23)

1. RF Will Venable
2. SS Jason Bartlett
3. 3B Chase Headley
4. 1B Brad Hawpe
5. CF Camerom Maybin
6. LF Ryan Ludwick
7. C   Kyle Phillips
8. 2B Eric Patterson
9. P    Aaron Harang

Rock Solid Recap: Confidence and aggression key offensive breakout

That was quite a different looking Rockies offense we saw on the field Friday night. Even when they were finding ways to win in Pittsburgh and New York, we didn't see nearly enough of what we saw here.

We saw aggression. We saw them attacking early in the count, driving baseballs back through the middle. We saw them putting runners in motion, putting pressure on the defense. We saw them taking 90 feet when it made sense, not waiting for it to be handed out or running into easy outs.

But more importantly than that, we saw confidence. Swagger as the kids call it today. They conducted themselves like a team that knew it was supposed to win, supposed to dominate a mediocre pitcher, and they went out and did it. No excuses. No questioned asked. They blooded Dustin Moseley's nose early, and they kept kicking his ass until Bud Black threw in the towel.

Where that came from I don't know. How it could appear so quickly after being nowhere to be found I can't tell you. Even the Rockies probably couldn't tell you. But it was damn nice to see for one night, and I hope it's something that sticks around for weeks and months to come.

Rockies 12, Padres 7 (boxscore)

-- Ryan Spilborghs: Three hits, two runs, one RBI -- By far his best game in a long time. I'm sure that can be attributed to getting back-to-back starts for the first time in a long time as well. Let's see if Tracy sticks with the hot hand again Saturday again.

-- Troy Tulowitzki: Three hits, home run, three RBI -- I knew his line out on Thursday was a good sign. But even when you've seen a player for so long and you recognize good signs, it's still nice to see them build on it. San Diego pitching is going to leave town with a negative attitude thanks to this guy.

-- Carlos Gonzalez: Three runs, walk, triple, two steals -- It's easy to forget that Gonzalez has game changing speed and pretty solid base stealing instincts. If he can continue showing the patience we've seen over the past 3-4 games, special things will start happening.

-- Todd Helton, Seth Smith & Jonathan Herrera: Two hits each -- Helton left the game with soreness in his left calf. Hopefully that's something that will calm down quickly. Smith and Herrera did a fantastic job setting the table and establishing the mindset with their performance.

-- Jorge De La Rosa was far from his best in this one. He struggled to put his foot down every time the Rockies offense gave him breathing room, which made the game more interesting than it had any right to be. That said, Jorge's been the victim of lousy support several times himself, so he was more deserving of having the offense pick him up.

-- It took the Rockies several weeks to blow their division lead. It only took the Giants one day. Yay us?

Lineup Card: 5-13-11 Rockies vs Padres

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 60-90 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

• Yesterday's Recrap: Everything is broken
• Denver Post: Ubaldo Jimenez and the rights and wrongs of booing
• Blake Street Bulletin: Trim the fat
• Purple Row: Know your foe: San Diego Padres

Lineup

Colorado Rockies (19-16)

1. RF Seth Smith
2. 2B Jonathan Herrera
3. LF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. 3B Ty Wigginton
7. CF Ryan Spilborghs
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P    Jorge De La Rosa

San Diego Padres (15-22)

1. RF Chris Denorfia
2. SS Jason Bartlett
3. 1B Jorge Cantu
4. 3B Chase Headley
5. CF Cameron Maybin
6. LF Ryan Ludwick
7. C  Rob Johnson
8. 2B Alberto Gonzalez
9. P   Dustin Moseley

If you're only as good as your last game, then the San Diego Padres are pretty damn good. They scored 13 runs on 23 hits in Milwaukee, defeating the Brewers 13-6. So there's that. 

Brad Hawpe gets a night off against Jorge De La Rosa. He'll have to save his first Rockie killing hit for the late innings as a pinch-hitter. 

Rock Solid Recrap: Everything is broken

That's the message I saw all Thursday night while attempting to write my Recrap. I found it to be a fitting message after Thursday's results. One that could also apply to Ubaldo Jimenez.

Ubaldo Jimenez is currently unavailable 

Ubaldo Jimenez is unavailable right now. We apologize for this interruption in his career.

All I kept thinking was "Dammit, work Blogger."

And then I started thinking "Dammit, I want Ubaldo to work, too."

I can't sit through another outing where he's htting low 90's on the gun. Where he's walking a pitcher twice. Where his body language screams "I can't do this, I have no confidence or feel for what I'm doing".

It's sad. We're past the point of excuses now. We need answers. Answers Jim Tracy apparently doesn't have or know how to find.

“I wish I knew … I wish I knew,’’ said Rockies manager Jim Tracy, when asked about Jimenez’s struggles. “I’ve done a lot of different things to try to get to the bottom of exactly where we’re at. … I wish I had an answer for you.’’

I don't care what Ubaldo is telling Jim Tracy, Bob Apodaca, Dan O'Dowd, whoever else is asking him questions, it's time to ignore him and it's time for the Rockies to charge of the situation. Make him get an MRI. Spend a sleepless night in the video room. Look back at how sound his mechanics were last season, and get them there again.

Find the answer.

Mets 9, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Finding positves...

-- Clayton Mortensen was really good again, providing 2+ innings of scorless relief. Listen, I don't know how excited I should get about this guy, or if I should even get excited at all, but the production he's giving this team in whatever role they assign him has been outstanding. He earns more respect each time out.

-- Carlos Gonzalez walked three times.

-- Todd Helton is a treasure.

-- Johnny Herrera homered again. He's no Carlos Beltran, but it's nice to know he can run into one from either side of the plate on ocassion.

-- Troy Tulowitzki was 0-for-4, but that line drive to left field his last time up was encouraging. Bad result. But keep that swing.

I hate bunting...

Jim Tracy's decision to sacrifice with Dexter Fowler in the 8th with 1st and 2nd, no outs, down 7-5 made my head hurt. Yes, it's a by-the-book move. You're supposed to play for the tie at home and the win on the road. That's fine. I don't agree with it, but whatever, that's how it's written.

But to give away an out, any out, at any point of the game with this offense? You must be crazy. Throw the damn book away. Granted, Jose Lopez was coming up, which makes a double play more likely than a hit, but still. Lopez has power. He could have changed the game with one swing. Instead, predictably, you give away the out and the inning dies soon after.

Again, Tracy didn't necessarily make the wrong call. One hit by Jose Morales or Jason Giambi makes him look smarter. I would just like to see a more aggressive mindset offensively. Go for the win. Go for the big inning.