Sunday Recrap #13: Enough is enough... no?

I realize it's just one day out of the week. I understand it's a little fluky that it's played out the way it has, but thirteen straight Sunday losses? Are you serious, bro?

That's embarrassing. There's no reason this team can't come out and finish a series stronger than this. They can't finish a sweep. They can't win a rubber match. They can't steal three out of four. More often than not, they just come out flat on Sundays.

Today was no exception to that. Three errors. 1-for-11 with RISP. Aaron Cook loading the bases every inning it seemed. So much sloppiness, so little reason to believe in this team. It's maddening.

Brewers 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Still done. Unfortunately, still no realistic option to replace him. So expect to see him on the mound again Friday in Arizona.

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Rock Solid Recrap: A night of frustration, fail and fury

Brewers 8, Rockies 7 (boxscore)

Where do we begin?

Frustration: The ninth inning. The same destructive pattern that always seems to get Huston Street got him again. Not the one where he gives up a lead-off single. He responds well to that pressure. It's the pattern where he retires the first two batters easily, walks the third hitter, and then allows a painful home run.

Happened in Florida and Pittsburgh last season. Happened once or twice this season. That's how he gets burned. But I'd much rather have this happen once every six weeks than watch what's happening in Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Baltimore, so on and so forth. And it's not like walking Prince Fielder there is a bad idea there either, so it is what it is. Weeks beat him. Tough loss.

Also, I know I promised I wouldn't go over the top to defend players because it's backfired on me so much in the past, but this has to be said about Huston Street.

If he hasn't won fans over by now. If he hasn't earned their respect as the best closer the Rockies have had in 20 years (which he is by a significant margin), then he never will. For a guy like me that has lived through Jose Jimenez, Brian Fuentes, Darren Holmes, the list goes on, it's difficult to grasp why he's not more appreciated or respected. It disappoints me to a degree, but I understand fans need a lightning rod. Closer is always the best position to find one.

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Lineup Card: 7-16-11 Rockies vs Brewers

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 30-60 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

Yesterday's Recap: One step forward: Nicasio shuts down Brewers

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (45-48)

1. LF Carlos Gonzalez
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. RF Seth Smith
6. 3B Ian Stewart
7. CF Dexter Fowler
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P    Jhoulys Chacin

Carlos Gonzalez makes his return tonight. Coming out of the break I thought Ian Stewart and Ryan Spilborghs were going to battle for the playing time once that happened, but the return of Dexter Fowler threw that one off. Fowler stays in center, which eliminated Spilborghs. So it actually comes down to Stewart and Ty Wigginton, and for tonight Stewart has earned that nod.

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Rock Solid Recap: One step forward: Nicasio shuts down Brewers

Rockies 4, Brewers 0 (boxscore)

This was a fun game for several reasons.

First and foremost, the Rockies picked up another win out of the All-Star break. That was good.

It was nice seeing them play a really good, clean, complete game. Those games have been few and far between.

And it was extra cool seeing who the big contributors were.

Like Juan Nicasio. The rookie (can't call him kid) is still looking to establish some consistency from start-to-start, but he's at least proven he can work deep into games in two of his last third starts and still have hitters fooled and off-balance. That eases my concerns about him struggling to progress beyond a 5-6 inning pitcher now or in the future.

His next start will be a big test though. It'll be the first time he faces an opponent a second time. And it's the opponent (Atlanta) that knocked him out in the third inning. It'll be very interested to see what the refined gameplan is and how he executes it.

Dexter Fowler was also a contributor in his return to Colorado. His lead-off double batting right-handed was the first of five for the Rockies, so it set a nice tone for the night. He then moved to third on a grounder to short, which was a near disaster because he should have never attempted to advance. But it worked, and one wild pitch later Nicasio had an early lead to work with.

Later in the game, Fowler would walk and score another run. Moving down to #2 in the order. Mark Ellis doubled twice and scored twice himself. That's wonderful production from the top of the order that just wasn't there before Dexter went down.

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Lineup Card: 7-15-11 Rockies vs Brewers

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 30-60 minutes before first pitch. They should be here waiting for you.

Links

Yesterday's Recap: How did the Rockies spend their All-Star break?

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (44-48)

1. CF DEXTER FOWLER
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. 1B Todd Helton
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. LF Ty Wigginton
6. RF Ryan Spilborghs
7. 3B Ian Stewart
8. C   Chris Iannetta
9. P   Juan Nicasio

More roster shakeups! We're averaging about one a day since May 1st I believe. That's not a good thing.

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