Rock Solid Recrap: Fish Be Biting

Biting hard.

Marlins 3, Rockies 2

Yet the Rockies still manage to let them off the hook.

Johnny Herrera tumbles after squeezing the final out of the 6th inning.

This goes down as the 3rd lost opportunity to "steal" a win on this roadtrip.

Three one run decisions the Rockies either led late, or had more than one quality opportunity to take a lead late, and the efforts fell short.

Monday's game is the one you'll look back at if  things don't work out, but just missing a chance to beat Josh Johnson will also leave a pretty sour taste in your mouth.

Josh Johnson

He's good. Really good. Great even. Dominant.

He's just not efficient.

That's why I still hesistate to say he's the best pitcher in the league... or baseball... or the universe... or wherever else baseball is played.

Great "stats" are one thing.  He certainly has those to the max.  Workhorse mentality and efficiency are another element I value just as much.  He's not there yet.

To be fair, Ubaldo isn't all the way there either.  Lump those two in with Lincecum and a handful of others that are hovering at or around complete awesomeness.

Today

The Rockies were able to drive the pitch count up by laying off a lot of two strike waste pitches. Credit to Johnson for being consistently ahead 0-2, 1-2, but also note he was just as consistently reaching 3-2 with those batters before putting them away.

And that's what I mean.  The results are often terrific.  He just wastes so many bullets, which leads to a 6th or 7th inning exit, which leads to a no-decision, which means the Marlins lose a lot more of his starts than they should.

They just didn't lose today's.

Because Jose Veras is one lucky SOB.  (Highlight)

Jorge De La Rosa

Turns out another rehab start or two probably would have been the best route to take with Jorge just so he could get over the mental hurdle of gripping the ball without reinjuring himself.

At least that's my take. I don't blame them for wanting him back when they did, but looking back they should have done a better job evaluating his progress and recognizing he wasn't where he needed to be mentally.

Physically he was healed. Mentally he wasn't ready to trust his finger to hold up to the pressure of the grip.

Today

He started out pretty much the same way he did the last two outings. Velocity down. Location erratic. Inability to put hitters away up in the zone.

But as the game progressed he started breaking out some of the nasty swing-and-miss stuff we were accustomed to at the end of last season. The fastballs were hitting their spots, which set up the changeup. He dropped a few good breakers in there.

It was very encouraging, and it's something he should be able to build upon in his next two starts against Pittsburgh and Chicago. Two offenses who will be closer to Florida in lack of discipline than Cincinnati or San Diego were.

If you're looking for your silver lining after losing three of four in Florida, look no further than De La Rosa's start today, put together with solid starts by Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis.  That would be the first time since like January 10th that the Rockies have felt good about all five starters at the same time.

Tomorrow

Aaron Cook vs. Roy Halladay

This Halladay guy is the true definition of a workhorse. Unlike Johnson, he stands on the mound until you physically make him go away. No exiting in the 6th or 7th inning with 120 pitches. You have to light his ass on fire to have any chance of seeing a Phillies reliever in the 8th or 9th innings.

The Rockies actually did a pretty decent job of that in Denver. I don't see why they can't again.

Just to be safe though we should alert Aaron Cook that'll he needed another seven or more innings of shutout baseball.

Got that covered, Aaron?

Lineup Card: Rockies @ Marlins

Good morning.  Anyone awake?

Rockies bat?  Are you awake?

Jorge De La Rosa?  Are you alive?

Rockies Lineup (51-43)

• CF  Fowler
• 2B  Herrera
• RF  Smith
• 1B  Giambi
• LF  Mora
• 3B  Stewart
• C    Olivo
• SS  Barmes
• P    De La Rosa

Jorge De La Rosa's life doesn't depend on this start today.  His job might not either.  

How's about we just pretend it does?  That could be fun.  

Marlins Lineup (46-48)

• LF  Coghlan
• SS  Murphy
• 1B  Sanchez
• 2B  Uggla
• 3B  Cantu
• CF  Ross
• RF  Stanton
• C    Paulino
• P    Johnson

Murphy, Sanchez and Stanton can all go someplace else.  Tired of their faces.  

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Rock Solid Recrap: Hammel On The Hook

Marlins 5, Rockies 2

It's funny... well, not really funny... it's interesting to note that the Rockies offense has risen to the occasion a few times lately to ensure Ubaldo Jimenez avoids his 2nd loss of the season, while Jason Hammel hasn't been quite so fortunate in getting off the hook.

There's a lonnnnnng list of factors involved in that. Too many to get into. They aren't playing favorites, obviously, but poor Jason has been the Rockies best pitcher for the better part of six weeks and a lot of times (not always) it seems he has to be perfect to leave the mound with a chance for a W.

Tonight, though, he was from perfect. At least early.

The first inning looked like it would be a breeze. Unfortunately, he couldn't make a good enough two strike pitch to Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla or Jorge Cantu to close the door. Their three straight hits, all on pitches elevated in the zone, gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

The second inning was the same problem all over again. He couldn't put away Chris Coghlan with two outs. That opened the door for Gaby Sanchez, who promptly crushed a 3-run HR to straight away CF. And I mean crushed. There are no cheapies to be had straight away center at Sunlife.

Hammel seemed destined for a short night at that point, but to his credit, he bounced back from the early mishaps to provide Jim Tracy with five scoreless innings. You can't understate the importance of that in the big picture.

Especially when you don't know what you'll get from Jorge De La Rosa tomorrow.

Especially when you'll be spending four days in Philadelphia right before a homestand.

So my hat goes off to Hammel despite his overall clunker of an outing.

The offense again waited until Hammel was off the mound before scoring their only two runs of the game. That's what happened in his start in Cincinnati as well.

Ricky Nolasco was pretty good, allowing only four hits and striking out eight over the same number of innings. He was also pretty lucky on a couple Jason Giambi rockets. One that was flagged down by Cody Ross in deep center. Another that was snagged by tonight's biggest enemy, Gaby Sanchez.

I guess what I'm saying is Nolasco was good, but I also feel he was pretty hittable. There just weren't enough baseballs squared up like the ones Giambi hit, and then the 2-run Seth Smith HR in the 8th.

I point directly at poor ABs by Carlos Gonzalez and Brad Hawpe. Complete wastes.

Someone has to sit Gonzalez down especially and tell him you don't have to swing harder on the road. Keep the same swing you use at home. Drive the ball to all fields. Knock off these awful overswings that look like you're trying to pull every ball into the upper deck for a 6-run HR.

That's probably where the bruised finger came from. Gripping the bat too hard and swinging too hard. It looks terrible.

And the opposing pitchers are also figuring out that CarGo won't walk, so why throw him strikes. Let him get himself out until he makes the proper adjustments and learns some more discipline.

Tomorrow

Jorge De La Rosa vs Josh Johnson

Are you ready for baseball at 10 AM Denver sports fans?

I hope the Rockies bats are. If not, they'll get their wake up call on that first Johnson 99 MPH fastball at the letters.

Lineup Card: Rockies @ Marlins

The Rockies would like Todd Helton to venture out on a rehab before being activated this weekend in Philadelphia.  Are you starting to the get the feeling they're in no hurry for Todd to come back?  Or maybe just in no hurry for Brad Eldred or anyone else to leave.  

Rockies Lineup (51-42)

• LF  Smith
• 2B  Herrera
• CF  Gonzalez
• 1B  Giambi
• RF  Hawpe
• C    Iannetta
• 3B  Stewart
• SS  Barmes
• P    Hammel

Welcome back to regular playing time Chris Iannetta!  You've earned it.  

Marlins Lineup (45-48)

• LF  Coghland
• 1B  Sanchez
• SS  Ramirez
• 2B  Uggla
• 3B  Cantu
• CF  Ross
• RF  Stanton
• C    Davis 
• P    Nolasco

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Rock Solid Recap: I Like Angry Rockies

I wonder what that bag of wind Jon Miller thinks of the Rockies offense so far in Florida.

Rockies 10, Marlins 0

But the bigger story tonight is Jeff Francis.

I've been on Francis a lot after his past three starts. Let's be honest... they weren't good. They weren't average. They weren't even bad. They were just plain awful, bordering on disastrous.

I thought the matchup tonight against Florida wasn't going to provide the right opportunity for him to right the ship. No way. Way too much right-handed power for him to handle.

Wrong.

Francis not only handled those fish, he handled them with relative ease. He was confident. He was in command from beginning to end. He was in attack mode with no lead and carried that on with a 10 run lead. It really was a masterpiece we're used to seeing with Jeff when he's on his game.

The Rockies needed a great effort from him. He provided the effort, while sending a clear cut message that he's not done just yet.

Message received... but I'm still filing in my yellow folder for caution. Once the innings start piling up again without an all-star break in the middle, will he be able to sustain the effectiveness? That's the next bridge he'll need to cross when it comes.

Offense

Crredit to Jim Tracy when it's due. He put the right lineup together tonight.

I'll never complain when Melvin Mora is in the lineup... unless he's at second base. The guy is a professional hitter and he once again proved that tonight (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI).

We know his defensive skills are pretty much limited to 3B, but he did have a good showing for himself in LF tonight. Let's keep one thing in mind on that though. LF in Sunlife Stadium is one of the easier outfield positions to play in the league. Not a whole lot of ground out there to cover.

Everyone else: Amazingly, despite the 10 runs, no other Rockie collected a multi-hit game tonight. That means the offense featured balance, timely hitting, and a willingness to take a walk. The Rockies collected six of those.

Now if we can only see more of all the above on a consistent basis going forward, the offense won't be an issue.

Of course they won't face Nate Robertson again either... dammit.

Chris Iannetta

Another right button pushed by Tracy was starting Chris Iannetta. Iannetta caught his second shutout in three days. Think about that.  A month ago he couldn't get out of his own way behind the plate, now he's about to seriously challenge Miguel Olivo for playing time.

Good for Chris Iannetta.

I've always felt very strongly about his talent, much the same way I feel about Franklin Morales' talent.  It's just a matter of keeping his head on straight. Not allowing the mental grind to get the best of him.  It's clearly not right now.   Time will now tell if he's able to keep the focus and the confidence going.  I'm definitely pulling for him.

Tomorrow

Jason Hammel vs Ricky Nolasco

A couple of pretty similar pitches on the hill in that one.  I'll take my chances with Jason the way he's throwing the ball lately.  Get him 5-6 runs and you should feel pretty good.