Rock Solid Recapping A Sweep Of The Redbirds

Sweeps don't get any sweeter in the early portion of July.

Game 1 -- Rockies 12, Cardinals 9

Game 2 -- Rockies 8, Cardinals 7

Today -- Rockies 4, Cardinals 2

I know it bothers a lot of people when the opposing team brings a huge following with them to Coors Field.

Me?

I love it.

Why?

Because the Rockies play their absolute best baseball when that stadium is packed and the emotions are running high. This team feeds off the atmosphere, especially when it seems to be a 60/40 Rockies split or 50/50.

And better than that?

You get to witness the frustration and anguish of your rival's fans as they trudge back to their hotels or sewer drains. Seriously... does it get any better than that?

Actually... it does.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Jimenez was absolutely on his game today. The splitter was, as Jim Tracy mentioned postgame, the best it's been all season. It was unhittable. He was confident in his fastball. He was efficient with his pitches. Only 94 through 8 innings.

I was extremely shocked when Tracy decided to pull Jimenez after eight, but with Huston Street back in the fold, Tracy elected to save some bullets while also showing confidence in his closer. For Jim's sake I'm glad it worked out because he would have faced some tough questions had that 9th inning blown up on him.

Jason Giambi

First of all, congratulations to the big man on career game #2,000. That's an awesome number and accomplishment.

Second, does he know how to celebrate in style or what? 4-for-4 today with 2 RBI and a run? It's only the third time in his 2,000 games that he's had 4 singles in one game. It was his 17th four hit game overall.

Meanwhile, Todd Helton rests at home as his replacements combine for 7-for-8 the last two nights. I'm sure no person in the world is happier about that than Todd.

Highlights: Giambi's 1st RBI & 2nd RBI

Dexter Fowler

On base again three times. Started the game off with a hit and scored right away. If he felt slighted by not being named NL Player of the Week last week, he's going about his anger in the proper way. He's an early contender for the award this week, along with Giambi, and a handful of others around the league.

Brad Hawpe

Returned to the lineup with two hits and an RBI. The RBI came with two outs in the first. Those are always nice to get, and that counts doubly with Ubaldo on the mound.

Highlight: Hawpe's RBI Single

That just about covers today's game. I tweeted last night that I wouldn't be offended if the Rockies won a simple 5-2 game every now and then. Today was 4-2, so I'll definitely take that as well.

Of course I'm not opposed to high stress wins. I'll take the wins any way you can get'em. I'd just like them spread out a little more over the course of a season!

Bonus Highlight: Yadier Molina comes through

Tomorrow

The first place Padres come to town. Let's see if we can't change that wording by the time the Padres leave town on Sunday.

We'll also welcome Jorge De La Rosa back to the rotation. He defeated San Diego in the Rockies home opener back in April.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Cardinals

Rockies Lineup (46-38)

• CF Fowler
• 2B Herrera
• LF Gonzalez
• 1B Giambi
• RF Hawpe
• C   Olivo
• 3B Stewart
• SS Barmes
• P   Jimenez

Hmm.  I thought for sure we'd see Brad Eldred again.  Then again, this is Chris Carpenter on the mound for the Cards today.  Giambi has seen Carpenter 25 times -- 5 hits and 6 walks -- so having that experience in there isn't the worst idea.  No complaints here.  

Cardinals Lineup (45-39)

• 3B Lopez
• CF Rasmus
• 1B Pujols
• LF Holliday
• RF Jay
• C   Molina
• SS Ryan
• P   Carpenter
• 2B Schumaker

No rest for the weary here. Cardinals pretty clearly do not want to get swept today in Coors Field.

Best of luck to them on that.  Or not.

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Rock Solid Recap: Iannetta Welcomes Another Rookie To Coors Field

And then kindly walks the overwhelmed youngster off the mound in game-winning HR fashion.

Highlight: Welcome to the bigs, Mr. MacLane

Bonus Highlight: Iannetta's Walk-Off against the Mets

Rockies 8, Cardinals 7

Wow.

Remember when the Rockies couldn't hit themselves out of a paper bag from the 6th-7th inning on? When was that? 2004? Sure seems that long ago with the way this offense is firing right now.

It's impossible to even imagine the team went through a stretch that awful for such a prolonged period of time.  But that's baseball.  Just when you think you have the answers, the game changes the questions.

There's a common threat holding this entire offensive turnaround together.

That thread? The Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Jonathan Herrera. Chris Iannetta. Dexter Fowler. Brad Eldred.

All men who came up from AAA or were shipped to AAA to fix their swing and returned with an improved offensive mindset. Rene Lachemann deserves a lot of the credit for this. The young men thmselves also deserve the credit for their hard work and dedication, but Lachemann is a truly professional baseball man that the Rockies are very lucky to have in their organization.

Let's see how the Four Horsemen of the Springs fared tonight.

Brad Eldred

In his Rockies debut, Eldred hit three baseballs extremely hard. Each resulted in a hit. Each hit led to Eldred scoring a run. That's making an impact.

Jonathan Herrera

Three more hits. Didn't score a run or knock a run in but kept the lineup moving. Made the opposing pitchers throw extra pitches. He's a professional pain the ass.

Dexter Fowler

There aren't going to be many situations where you'll want to see Dexter Fowler swing for the fences. Down three in the 8th inning with two men on base is one of those rare times. Fowler came through, as he seemingly has everyday since his recall.

Highlight: Fowler's 3-Run Blast

This is the guy we all prayed Fowler would become. We had our doubts through all the struggles. Of course there's always still work to be done to improve and remain consistent, but he's in a great place right now. Just going through a stretch like this will give him confidence in the future that he can overcome any and all slumps.

Chris Iannetta

Well, you already know about the walk-off bomb.

He won't be reclaiming everyday catching duties any time soon, but he's not the lonely lost kitten out there anymore either.

In total: 8-18, 2 HR, 2B, 6 R, 4 RBI

Ian Stewart

Is tonight's overlooked star of the game.

Stewart didn't even start the game, yet by the completion of the 6th inning he was 2-for-2 with 3 RBI.  Seriously.  And both hits came against a lefty.  Those two knocks set the stage for another special comeback.

Highlight: Stewart's Tough Grab

Aaron Cook

Not good again tonight for Cook. I'll say this in his defense, in Jeff Francis' defense, in Jhoulys Chacin's defnese and in Esmil Rogers' defense... the Cardinals can flat rake.

I'm still less worried about Cook right now than Francis, but maybe all involved should get a little pass for having to deal with a Cardinal offense that is as hot as it's been all season.

Matt Belisle & Huston Street

That said, these two men, along with Manny Corpas last night, deserve all the more credit for holding St. Louis down and allowing the Rockies offense to peck away and eventually finish the job.

Huston Street gets his first win of the season.  Matt Belisle gets another huge pat on the back from all his appreciative teammates.

Team Wins

These past 7-10 days have been all about winning team baseball. Guys picking others up. Guys coming up from the minors and contributing immediately.  It's incredibly fun to watch and it's satisfying to watch because you know your favorite baseball team is doing their work the right way.

There are just some teams and organizations that win constantly whose fans can't honestly experience that feeling.  That's great for them that their team wins, but I think it has to be a little bit of a hollow enjoyment compared to teams like the Rockies and Twins.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Chris Carpenter

Seems like Ubaldo needs to be pretty special to wrestle the all-star starting gig from Josh Johnson.  That should serve as great motivation.  Chris Carpenter will just be motivated to pitch a complete game so the St. Louis bullpen can't implode again.

Gonna be a fun afternoon at the yard.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Cardinals

As exciting as these last couple games have been, I'd gladly settle for a simple 4-1 win with Huston Street grabbing a 1-2-3 9th inning save.

Who's with me?

Rockies Lineup (45-38)

• CF Fowler
• 2B Herrera
• LF Gonzalez
• 3B Mora
• RF Spilborghs
• C   Iannetta
• 1B Eldred
• SS Barmes
• P   Cook

Eldred?  Say what?  This is actually good news and bad news.  The bad news is Todd Helton needs a stint on the DL.  The good news is the Rockies are actually putting him on the DL so he can attempt to rest up and come back effective.

The timing works out well with the All-Star break coming next week.  That said, I think it's fair to wonder whether the name Todd Helton and the word healthy will ever go together again in the same sentence.  It's sad, but it's clear the toll on his body at this stage is pretty overwhelming.  

Eldred has huge power to all fields.  Decent defender.  An upgrade over Giambi and Mora to be sure.  I'm confident he'll help out a lot more than he hurts during his stint.  

Cardinals Lineup (45-38)

• 3B Lopez
• CF Rasmus
• 1B Pujols
• LF Holliday
• RF Jay
• C   Molina
• SS Greene
• P   Garcia
• 2B Schumaker

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The Day After: How Much Does Jeff Francis Have Left?

Whew.

Everybody recovered was last night's insanity?

Hopefully the Cardinals aren't over it yet and I hope they don't get over it until Friday at the earliest.

Blog: We Have Angry Cardinals Fans Tweets 

As amazing as last night's comeback was, there were still 8 1/2 innings of less than satisfying baseball played by the Rockies. Yes, they wiped it all away; but yes, it can't be ignored entirely either.

Jeff Francis

Turns out my overreaction to Jeff Francis' last awful outing probably wasn't really much of an overreaction.

Maybe he's just going through that period all pitchers go through.

Maybe.

Maybe he isn't though.

I'm concerned about him. Last start he was afraid to challenge hitters. That cost him. Last night he may have showed why he didn't want to challenge hitters. His stuff was flat. Just about everything was hit hard against him.

He was able to work around it for a couple innings, because he's still a professinal, but again, he hit the wall early. He seems to hit that wall a little earlier each time out. Cardinals batters were able to do pretty much anything they wanted to him in those 3rd and 4th innings.

That can't keep happening to the Rockies every 5th day. The loss in San Diego could have been demoralizing. Thankfully it wasn't. Last night's game could end up being the symbolic win of the season, but the bottom line is you need more from your 5th starter.

This isn't me questioning anything Jeff Francis has in his mind or his heart, he's proven to have everything you need in both those departments. I just really question what he has left in his left arm/shoulder.

After his excruciating comeback that lasted 18 months, maybe Francis has already given all he can give.

Jhoulys Chacin

Deserves to be in the Rockies rotation, not their bullpen. He's not cut out to be a reliever.

I love that he wants to help the team any way he possibly can, but the fact is he doesn't belong in the bullpen. If the Rockies are determined to roll with Francis, which I'm sure they are, then allow Chacin to continue his growth and progress as a starter in the minors.

Please?

This may be an extreme comparison, but I really don't want to risk another Franklin Morales type situation where you take a young starter and turn him into reliever out of necessity. All the sudden you're forcing him to do something he's neither good at or comfortable with, and now you're just hoping you can restore something resembling the old Franklin Morales.

I also don't trust Jim Tracy to use Chacin properly in the bullpen.

So again, I beg the Rockies to put Chacin back in their rotation or allow his growth to continue in AAA. There's no gain for anybody having in the bullpen.

13 LOB

That pretty much speaks for itself. 20 LOB in the 15 inning game, but 12 of those came after the 8th inning. Thankfully the floodgates opening in the 9th last night.

It would be nice if that inning led to much better and more relaxed ABs with RISP. A comeback like that should tell Rockies hitters they don't need to press in those spots early in the game. Just give the good AB, hopefully it works, but don't go in with the mindset you have to do too much.

Then again, maybe this team doesn't know to win when they're relaxed.  Don't change a thing!