Rock Solid Recap: Embracing The Drama

Rockies 5, Pirates 4 (boxscore)

When you enter play at 34-54, you'll take a win any way you can get it, even if that includes suffering through an hour long delay in the 9th inning, blowing a 4-1 lead in said 9th inning through the combined efforts of Rafael Betancourt (credited with a "hold"), Rex Brothers (vultures a "win") and Pedro Alvarez (certified Rockie killer) before ultimately scoring the game winner in a dramatic bottom of the 9th.

It was miserable.

It was painful (especially seeing Jeff Francis lose a much deserved victory).

It was also quite predictable.

It was Rockies baseball at its Rockiest... right up until Dexter Fowler's sacrifice fly clinched them victory #35 (Yes, I was expecting Wilin Rosario to slip on a wet spot 80 feet down the line).

I'll take it.

Winning Player: Jeff Francis: 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 73 pitches (42 strikes)

Solid contributions from a number of players tonight (Dexter Fowler, Wilin Rosario, Josh Roenick, and even Eric Young Jr. and Jason Giambi off the bench), but Francis is simply rolling right now and deserves the nod.

Every fourth day you know you're getting at least five innings from Francis, which under our current system is like a guaranteed eight innings every fifth day. He's pounding the strike zone. He's putting up zeroes. He's also bringing a small bit of stability to a rotation that needs a lot of it, but what any little bit is definitely appreciated.

Keep it rolling, Francis.

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Pirates 7-16-12

Weekend Recaps

Friday: Rockies Rookies Roll Over Phillies
Saturday: Rockies Gonna Rockie
Sunday Snoozer

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (34-54)

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

Well, Jim Tracy is trying something new again with Jordan Pacheco hitting third and Carlos Gonzalez slipping down to clean up. I give this experiment three games.

In other news, Juan Nicasio is out for the season after undergoing microfracture surgery under his left kneecap to remove bonechips. Nothing but bad luck for him over the last 12 months. 

Pittsburgh Pirates (49-39)

1. Alex Presley (LF)
2. Josh Harrison (RF)
3. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
4. Casey McGehee (1B)
5. Neil Walker (2B)
6. Pedro Alvarez (3B)
7. Rod Barajas (C)
8. Clint Barmes (SS)
9. Jeff Karstens (P)

Andrew McCutchen is still my favorite non-Rockie in baseball and there's not a close second right now. He was just named National League Player of the Week, he's the hottest hitter in baseball since early May, and if MVP votes were tallied this evening, he'd probably win it. He's been that damn good, and if his tear continues against the Rockies this will be a difficult series to win.

Pedro Alvarez has been a Rockies killer before. He also comes to town swinging a hot bat lately, so this really could be a long week. 

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Sunday Snoozer

Phillies 5, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Looks like I picked another good (Sun)day to miss a game. The Rockies were again mystified and dominated by Cole Hamels, which is understandable. He's a motivated pitcher right now and he's also among the most talented in either league. It's not like it's a random shutout by Jeff Suppan or Chris Capuano, so that's fine. It happens.

Unfortunately, though, Hamels may soon be a fixture in the National League West (assuming the Dodgers trade for him or sign him in the offseason, which is heavily rumored), so hopefully they figured a few things out in the process of being stifled.

Get in that video room.

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 5 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 80 pitches (49 strikes)

A step back for Pomeranz today, but certainly not a big enough step to discourage me. Everything went satisfactory right up until Philadelphia's two-out rally in the 5th. The Jimmy Rollins single, the Shane Victorino walk, and of course the three-run homer by Hunter Pence.

It's the same old, tired, worn out problem the Rockies have had all season  — their inability to close out innings. It has to improve. They have to become better finishers, get themselves back in the dugouts quicker and allow their teammates to get off their feet and get comfortable at the plate.

Oh, and allow fewer runs. Also important.

But focusing on Pomeranz primarily, the feeling I get from watching him and listening to/reading his words is that he is very comfortable with his game right now, but also understands there are things to improve on to take those next 4-5 steps in his development. I think Sunday's experience gives him that next new thing to focus on, so it'll be interesting to see how he attacks it and comes back his next time out.

Turning Point: We just talked about it. The Hunter Pence home run moves a 2-0 game to a 5-0 game in those pivotal middle innings. No way the Rockies could recover with Cole Hamels dealing.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Gonna Rockie

Phillies 8, Rockies 5 (boxscore) 

What Went Wrong: They'll let you feel good and have fun watching baseball for a day or two... and then they're right back to the sloppy, lackadaisical, unfocused Rockies we've grown accustomed to over the last three seasons. Even if they only resort to it for an inning or two, it's too much, and it's difficult to overcome.

Of course it doesn't help when Jeremy Guthrie starts at Coors Field and you're darn near out of the game before even taking your first at-bat. But this still proved to be a winnable game down the stretch. A lazy pitch here. An awful baserunning mistake there. That's all it took to eliminate their chances to clinch this series.

Turning Point: The Rockies had chipped away with two runs in the 3rd and trailed only 4-2 in the 6th. That's where the currently struggling Adam Ottavino entered in relief and things got away again. And the frustrating thing about it is the inning lined up very well for Ottavino. Two outs, no one on base with the light-hitting Juan Pierre coming up. Pierre gets the single, steals second, but that's OK because you can walk Mike Fontenot (who really isn't more threatening that Pierre) intentionally to bring up the pitcher Vance Worley.

An absolutely perfect setup: Until Ottavino makes the one lazy, lousy pitch to Worley, who doubles home his first two RBIs of the season. That makes it 6-2 and puts you in a spot where even Wilin Rosario's three-run homer isn't enough. Brutal execution.

Jeremy Guthrie's Line: 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 76 pitches (45 strikes)

Ugly, ugly start. Decent recovery to keep the team in the game. Somebody please offer us a Low-A prospect or something comparable because I'm running out of things to say about Guthrie other than we're all ready to move on.

Highlight of the Night: Watch Baby Bull Sr. connect for his home run

Not Highlight of the Night: Watch Tyler Colvin embarrass himself on the bases

That crap can't keep happening.  Big league baseball players shouldn't have to be reminded to hustle and/or finish plays, but it happens so often with the Rockies over the past three seasons that at some point somebody has to be held accountable. It's not one player. It's several players. It doesn't matter how many pieces of furniture you move around, this stuff still exists because the people who are in a position to rectify the problem refuse to send the proper message the MOMENT the situation occurs.

I would start benching players for this stuff. Instantly. Why wouldn't you at this point? The message has to be sent. You can't worry about embarrassing the player, because he wasn't concerned about embarrassing the organization and the fanbase with his laziness. Make them accountable. Teach them they have a responsibility to play hard and play smart. Those are the two things they can control. Those are the two things they owe everybody. We can live with the results as long as you honor those two things.

What's Next: Series on Sunday at 1:10. I'll be at the Townsend family reunion in Wisconsin. Most of you will be watching Drew Pomeranz (1-3, 3.06) vs. Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.20). Hopefully we'll have good things to discuss tomorrow night.

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

Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Rookies Roll Over Phillies

Rockies 6, Phillies 2 (boxscore)

What a refreshing restart to the season this was. The Rockies looked sharp in their 6-2 win over Cliff Lee and the Philadelphia Phillies. I mean they looked very sharp, and they looked focused on playing team ball and fundamental ball.

Generally I wouldn't get too excited about this after watching the first three months of this season, but the Rockies played this way in Washington prior to the break, so perhaps there really is a new focus and a stronger commitment to playing smarter and playing more for each other. Maybe. We'll have a better feel for that after we examine the next 48 hours, but at the very least this was an encouraging performance and a very enjoyable game to watch.

Winning Player: Josh Rutledge

The Rockies prospect is called up to the big leagues on Friday. His luggage is lost by his airline. He has to borrow equipment from piratically everyone in the clubhouse. Oh, and he's in the starting lineup against Cliff Lee.

All of those occurrences on their own would have been enough to overwhelm me.

Rutledge? Not knocked off stride, phased, or intimidated one single bit. He finished his major league debut 2-for-2 with a walk, a sacrifice fly and  two RBIs. He was the key offensive cog. He was a professional in every plate appearance. He looked the part of big leaguer.

It's one game.

It's one damn good game.

Turning Point: Rutledge's sacrifice fly. It came in the 6th with the game tied at 1. There were runners at first and third with one out. It's a scoring opportunity the Rockies have failed to convert repeatedly this season, many times because of that damn contact play, but Rutledge was able to get enough lift and enough distance to get Tyler Colvin home with the go ahead run.

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