Reflection, Perspective, And A Quick Recap

The past 24 hours have served as a sobering reminder of just how precious life is, and how quickly lives, outlooks and perspectives can change.

Around 11 PM on Thursday night, I began working on an article for Big League Stew that centered around the Colorado Rockies spinning their attempts to silence fan discontent as a security issue. I felt passionate about this topic and believe me, I didn't hold back on my feelings in one of the lengthier posts I've written this season.

A couple hours later, I put the finishing touches on the article and submitted it to our editor.

Not 10 minutes after that I saw the first flashes of breaking news on Twitter. I immediately turned the television to CNN and found a couple local Denver news streams to get a better idea of what was happening. Once I understood the scale of the horrific event, I immediately felt retroactive guilt for writing the article I'd just completed on the Rockies. Hours later, I would be relieved when the obvious decision to shelf it was made, because that story just wasn't important anymore .

Their decision to ban fans from wearing paper bags on their heads, which had been my sole focus for the past several hours, was just that quickly reduced to it's actual level of importance in mine, yours and our world: Zilch.

The Rockies dismal season and road to 100 losses: No fun, but it won't truly change our lives one way or the other. It's baseball.

I was reminded again of what's really important.

Over the past 36 hours I've collected maybe three good hours of sleep because I sure as heck wasn't able to after hearing the news. In the morning, I made time for an hour long conversation with my dad, I saw my mom is the afternoon, which is a fairly frequent occurrence, and then I spent a few minutes with my sister around dinner time. I also touched base with several of my closest friends and my cousin Ashlee, who is actually in the Denver area this week visiting friends. I didn't know if she was a Batman fan, I just knew she was in the area, so it was good to know she's safe.

Those are all things I should do much more often, but I always get caught up in the grind or put something silly first that doesn't really need my attention. Someday I think I'll learn. Hopefully this is the time I actually do, because these reminders always hit with the same impact and send all of us the same message. I never want to find myself feeling like I didn't do enough, while knowing I can never go back and fix it.

Because even now, knowing all of the friends and acquaintances I've made in the Denver area over the years are safe, I can still barely put into words the sadness I feel for those who really lost someone they loved or cared about in the senseless tragedy.

May God give all of them the strength to carry on and celebrate those lives lost in the manner they deserve.

* * *

And now we do move on to baseball because one of the main reasons I've gone into writing and created this blog is to provide people with a distraction from the world around them. Lord knows we all need them. So yes, we will delve just a little bit into the Rockies latest loss on Friday night in San Diego, and I will throw a quick thought out there on the Jeremy Guthrie trade news that broke in the afternoon.

Padres 9, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 3 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 53 pitches (36 strikes)

If his last outing was a step back, this one qualifies as several steps back. But I still can't get down on Pomeranz at this point because we're not seeing him being used properly. 

He doesn't deserve to be thrown out there every four days as a part of an experiment. He's a legitimately talented and potentially game changing pitcher for the organization, and I can't emphasize enough how much I hate that they're sacrificing developing him in a major league system for the hope of squeezing out a few extra wins.

Hate it. 

Highlight of the Night: The Rockies definitely had one highlight — a grand one.  

Watch Carlos Gonzalez's Granny

What's Next:  We thank the Padres for moving up Saturday's first pitch up to 6:35. Very cool.

Also cool? Jeff Francis (2-2, 4.76) will get the start for Colorado. Perhaps not as cool? Kip Wells (1-3, 2.82) starts for San Diego. He shut out the Rockies for seven innings just a few weeks ago. 

Final Thoughts: Well, Friday marked the end of the Jeremy Guthrie debacle in Colorado. (Woohoo!) He was traded to the Kansas City Royals for another pitcher who has struggled on nearly unprecedented levels this season, but definitely possesses more talent and upside in Jonathan Sanchez.

Yes, the same Jonathan Sanchez we saw for years with the San Francisco Giants. It's an interesting little deal. On one hand, I'm relieved Guthrie is gone and we can all move on from that experience. On the other hand, I'm not very optimistic Colorado will be the place Sanchez turns it around, and I'm also 86% certain Guthrie will be above average in KC, meaning we spent the next 10 weeks banging our heads against the wall.

But what the hell, we've been doing that for 20 years already. What's another 10 weeks?

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