Home Opening Lineup Card: Rockies vs. Giants

Colorado Rockies (1-2)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

The regulars return for this afternoon's home opener. I'm sure Jhoulys Chacin is thrilled... especially from a defensive standpoint. 

San Francisco Giants (0-3)

1. Gregor Blanco (LF)
2. Melky Cabrera (RF)
3. Pablo Sandoval (3B)
4. Aubrey Huff (1B)
5. Hector Sanchez (C)
6. Angel Pagan (CF)
7. Brandon Crawford (SS)
8. Ryan Theriot (2B)
9. Barry Zito (P)

Everybody looks at Barry Zito as the perfect opponent to break out against. I agree that he fits the bill, but I also would have put Lucas Harrell in that category and little happened there. Maybe Zito, coupled with a return to Coors Field, will be enough to do the trick. If not, there will be plenty of early head-scratching going on in Denver.

Also, no Buster Posey or Brandon Belt in Bruce Bochy's line up? That's very accommodating.

Links

— A look back at yesterday's disappointing rubber match in Houston. Heaven & Helton

— A big thank you goes out to Josh Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell, who recently co-authored an update to their popular book The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, for including a mention of Heaven & Helton during the Rockies section of their book. I'm very appreciative of the acknowledgement and certainly encourage any and all of you to check it out at some point. You can find it at amazon.com.

— Woody Paige has a... well he really likes Jim Tracy.  Denver Post 

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Sundays are back in Colorado

Astros 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore) 

What Went Wrong: Same as last night. Same as practically every Sunday from the 2011 season. Colorado's offense mounted few relevant threats against Bud Norris and the Astros bullpen. They were awful with runners in scoring position — 0-for-5 (3-for-17 in the series). And they backed that up with defensive letdowns at the absolute worst possible time.

That's the formula we've grown accustomed to. That's the formula Dan O'Dowd desperately tried to destroy with his string of offseason changes. It's not off to a promising start.

Of course Jim Tracy is going to catch a lot of flack for his usual Sunday lineup antics. Understandably so. But I have to admit I understood his thinking today (scary I know) initially, and didn't hate it, either. Of course my 20/20 hindsight vision hates it now, but five hours ago I was willing to give him a pass.

Yes, it would be ideal to spread the off days out. (Hopefully he does from now on) But the opening weekend congest things a bit. I think Tracy wanted to show consistency starting the same lineup on both Friday and Saturday, which is fine. You're obviously not going to bench regulars in the home opener. And he didn't want those bench players — most of whom were swinging hot bats at the end of spring — sitting idle for an entire week.

It's a tough thing to balance. For all his faults, I won't go after him for his thought process or the actual lineup. His late game strategy is much easier for me to target.

He made the call to bring in Dexter Fowler for defense with a one run lead in the eighth. That was a good start. Colvin shifted to right, upgrading that position as well. Cuddyer moved to first leaving Todd Helton on the bench. That proved costly. But the biggest move was the one he didn't make, leaving Jordan Pacheco to man third while Chris Nelson stayed glued to the bench.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ Astros 4-8-12

Colorado Rockies (1-1)

1. Tyler Colvin (CF)
2. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Jason Giambi (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Jonathan Herrera (2B)
9. Juan Nicasio (P)

As always, Jim Tracy empties the bench for a Sunday game. But you know something? This lineup doesn't appear to suck. This lineup is actually intriguing. This lineup is, dare I say, a little bit exciting. Now I hope they're a lot bit productive.

Houston Astros (1-1)

1. Jordan Schafer (CF)
2. Jose Altuve (2B)
3. J.D. Martinez (LF)
4. Carlos Lee (1B)
5. Brian Bogusevic (RF)
6. Chris Johnson (3B)
7. Jason Castro (C)
8. Marwin Gonzalez (SS)
9. Bud Norris (P)

Here's something to think about; If the Astros win this game today, they will have a winning record for the first time since July 29, 2009. I'd really prefer the Rockies not be the team directly responsible for that.  

Links

— Recrap: Rockies Off Little Support For Jamie Moyer. Heaven & Helton

— Rockies bumble and get bombed... Purple Row

— Always a good idea to check in with Michelle Hoag after Rockies games. Here's what she had to say about last night's setback. Rox Pile 

— Looking for a thorough review of some baseball apps for your iPhone or iPoc Touch? Frank has you covered over at Rox Blox.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Offer Little Support For Jamie Moyer

Astros 7, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Rockies fans search for offense in Houston.

What Went Wrong: Well, for one thing, the Rockies offense simply couldn't figure out Lucas Harrell.

Yeah, that Lucas Harrell. The one you've never heard of.

In his seven innings of work, the Rockies managed only three hits against the 26-year-old right-hander, while striking out four times. So if we're going to make an official list of unknown or really bad pitchers that the Rockies inexplicably struggle against in 2012, that list is going to start on April 7 with the name of Lucas Harrell.

In addition to an inept offense, the Rockies committed three official errors behind Jamie Moyer, with several other sloppy misplays on both sides of the field interspersed throughout.

Read more about them starting... now.

Read more »

Lineup Card: Rockies @ Astros 4-7-12

Colorado Rockies (1-0)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Jamie Moyer (P)

The same lineup two days in a row? Against both a left-handed and right-hander pitcher? Is Jim Tracy feeling well? 

According to Troy Renck we can expect to see both Jordan Pacheco and Wilin Rosario starting on Sunday. Wouldn't shock me if we also saw Tyler Colvin and/or Jason Giambi in there against Bud Norris. 

Houston Astros (0-1)

1. Jordan Schafer (CF)
2. Brian Bixler (2B)
3. J.D. Martinez (LF)
4. Carlos Lee (1B)
5. Chris Johnson (3B)
6. Brian Bogusevic (RF)
7. Chris Snyder (C)
8. Marwin Gonzalez (SS)
9. Lucas Harrell (P)

This is the mostly right-handed version of the worst lineup in the National League. It's an excellent opponent for Jamie Moyer to start off against as he seeks to become the oldest winning pitcher in MLB history.

Links

— Eric Young Jr. talks about his critical eighth inning steal and the Houdini act that followed. Denver Post

— David Martin looks at the impact Dan O'Dowd's offseason acquisitions had in the Opening Day victory. Rockies Review

— Our friend Frank (@druidlove) checked in with his first official blog post of the 2012. As always, an interesting perspective from one of the Rockies most loyal fans and customers. Rox Blox

— How Ubaldo's suspension turned into a joke. Dave Krieger

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