Rock Solid Recrap: That'll Just About Do It

Even though I have been bracing myself for this moment since the Pittsburgh/New York road trip, it is still difficult to admit the 2010 Rockies won't be getting over the hump.

See... I can't even spell out the proper words here. I guess I'll save those for when it's official.

I admire the heart this team has shown to rise from the dead on more than one occasion. I stand it awe of the other-worldly seasons turned it by our three legitimate superstars. At the same time, when I look at those two factors, it just makes everything all the more frustrating. The Rockies were better than the results will show.

This team wasn't missing much. I know a lot of folks look back at the trade deadline as a missed opportunity. Maybe it was, I can't say for sure. But I do believe they could have and should have won with the group they had.  It just never all came together for a prolonged period of time like we saw from May 28th until the end of last season.

Injuries, inconsistencies, lack of fundamentals (who saw that rundown today?), poor decision making in the dugout and on the bases, lack of urgency in the early months.

There were so many things this team did wrong, yet somehow they found themselves well over .500. Looking at the standings, I don't feel like the Giants or Padres stood in their way at all.  The only thing stopping the Rockies was themselves, and far too often they couldn't out of their own way.

Giants 4, Rockies 2 

Today was pretty simple, though. Matt Cain overwhelmed the Rockies from start to finish. He allowed an infield single to Jay Payton and a 2-run HR to Melvin Mora in the 8th inning. There was a walk and an error earlier, a Carlos Gonzalez single in the 9th, but the Rockies mounted no serious threat to even knock Cain from the game. It was complete and utter domination.

And it came at a time when his team absolutely needed it.

Jorge De La Rosa wasn't awful himself. He started slow, but bounced back to get the Rockies through six innings and within hopeful striking distance.

The decision on Jorge in the off season will be an interesting one. For the money he's likely to be demanding, I think I would rather have a guy that I know will be efficient. The five walks today are just not good enough. Though he has improved greatly from when he was acquired, I'm not sure Jorge can be the guy we saw late last season consistently.

What happens there will all depend on what he asks for and how the Rockies view him. But you already knew that, and I think we all already feel certain he'll price himself out of range.

I hear Cody Ross likes the city of Denver. You know, I kind of like Cody Ross, too. It doesn't matter which uniform he wears, he always has a monster game and series when he visits. He plays all three outfield position (though not always smoothly). I don't know, the Rockies could do worse for a platoon partner with Seth Smith should this be the off season Ryan Spilborghs is traded.

I have no knowledge that he will be traded. Just thinking out loud.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez vs TBD

Ubaldo goes for his 20th win. That gives us all something to look forward to. Of course in the back of my mind I wonder if he does with number 20, will this be his final start of the season. I guess we'll know all the answers soon enough.

Rock Solid Recap: Satisfaction

To quote one of my favorite people on Twitter...

@Townie813 That is without question the most satisfying #Rockies victory of the season. For so damn many reasons.

Amen to that.

Rockies 10, Giants 9 (10) 

I have to start by giving Jason Hammel credit for attempting to pitch through his dead arm. It may not have been the smartest thing for him to do, or for the Rockies to allow him to do, but they almost had no choice in the matter. His performance was lacking, his guts were not.

The last 48+ hours have been a nightmare for Esmil Rogers. I don't know what has gone wrong there. It may be a confidence issue. Possibly a mechanical issue. Whatever the case, there's no reason to be concerned about his long-term outlook, but it doesn't look like he'll be a positive factor the final week. Disappointing, but understandable for a young guy.

Huston Street has been located. He was found alive and well in the Rockies bullpen tonight. He then went on to pitch two scoreless innings and found himself in the win column.

The Rockies offense was sensational tonight.

The usual suspects were involved...

• Troy Tulowitzki: 4 hits, 2 doubles, home run, 5 RBI, walk-off hit. (webgem)
• Carlos Gonzalez: 3 hits, 3 runs, scored the game-winner.  (webgem)

Had to squeeze those webgems in there somewhere.

And the veteran role players were involved as well...

• Jay Payton: 2 hits, triple, run 
• Melvin Mora: 2 hits, double, triple, 2 RBI.

In the span of four hitters in the 5th inning, those four men tripled, tripled, homered and then tripled, in four consecutive plate appearances. If anything deserves a "That Was Awesome" chant, that inning was it.

I even have praise for Jim Tracy tonight. Real praise, as I thought he managed almost every situation appropriately. Unfortunately he didn't get what he needed from Rogers again, but all the other buttons pushed made sense.

Now I have some fake praise. Warming up Franklin Morales in the bottom of 10th was his best strategic move of the season. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki looked out there, saw that, and made damn sure we never saw an 11th inning. Excellent piece of managing right there.

Tomorrow

Jorge De La Rosa vs Matt Cain

The Rockies will attempt to keep their fading playoff hopes alive... or at the very least play a roll in keeping the Giants from getting there themselves. I'd much prefer the former, but would learn to savor the latter.

Rock Solid Recrap: Giants Play Better, Win

Amazing isn't it?

Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants came into Coors Field, pitched nearly perfect baseball, and won a baseball game. Who would have thought the Rockies would allow such a thing to take place, especially with their season hanging by a thread.

Giants 2, Rockies 1

There's no sense talking about the big picture right now. Too depressing.  So let's look at some positives and negatives from this evening,

Positive: Jhoulys Chacin continues to prove himself. He's already on the cusp of top of the rotation status, and I think (hope) he will only get better as he develops better command and better pitch efficiency. When that happens, the Rockies 1-2 punch could rival any 1-2 combo in the league.

Negative: Chacin made one mistake tonight, which was sadly one more mistake than he could afford. Tim Lincecum was just better on the stage, and that's why he has two Cy Young Awards at home next to his other valuables.

Positive: No base running errors.

Negative: Only two base runners.

Positive: Jim Tracy managed a clean game.

Negative: Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson were so good that it didn't matter.

Positive: Ian Stewart returned to the hot corner.

Negative: Only because Melvin Mora's pregame meal didn't agree with him.

Positive: Ummmmm... Matt Reynolds!

Negative: Huston Street received his 5th consecutive day off. And this rate we won't need him again until early July 2012.

Positive: From all accounts the fireworks show after the game was spectacular.

Negative: The in game show sucked.

Tomorrow

Jason Hammel vs Barry Zito

So I guess that means Zito will be the one mouthing "Bleeping juiced ball bullbleep" under his breathe when the Rockies mount an offensive rally. Looking forward to that.

Rock Solid Recrap: Still Can't Count To 18

Ubaldo Jimenez is stuck on 17 wins...for all eternity.

Giants 2, Rockies 1

As I figured, the Rockies needed two big hits to win tonight's baseball game.

They only got one.

Who by? You know who... (highlight)

Ubaldo Jimenez was as untouchable as we'd seen him at any point all season for the first four innings. Aside from that CarGo HR, so was Tim Lincecum. In fact, both were so good, the first 4 1/2 innings of the game were completed in exactly one hour.

27 outs = 60 minutes. Damn.

The Giants then touched Ubaldo for one in the 5th on a pair of singles and a walk. He would shut them down again in the 6th and 7th, before walking Mike Fontenot leading off the 8th. That's never good. Pinch-runner Darren Ford (MLB Debut), would be sacrificed to second by Lincecum, took third on a wild pitch, and scored the game-winning run on an Olivo throwing error.

You know me by now, I never point to one play and say THAT decided the game. It's baseball. There is always more to the result than one play. That holds true again tonight.

The offense was awful... again. Well it's Tim Lincecum, so big deal, right? Tim Lincecum has been brutalized by every offense he's faced (home or road) in the last month. No exceptions. He has been dreadful... until tonight.

Go figure.

A lot of people before the game questioned why Miguel Olivo started all three games of the series over Chris Iannetta. Count me among those. Troy Renck explained it as a comfort situation between Olivo and Ubaldo. I don't think Ubaldo cares who's back there, just put the best player on the field.

For the first three months of the season, the best player was Miguel Olivo. It's not anymore. Hasn't been since the all-star break. Why Jim Tracy refuses to acknowledge that I don't understand, but I really don't understand much that goes through his mind.

Hindsight wasn't 20-20 on that one play. Foresight saw it all very clearly. People that like to defend Jim Tracy (there seem to be plenty) are entitled to do so (I do when warranted), but that's not really a conversation I'm interested in having at this point. I've seen what I need to see. I've consulted enough people from Pittsburgh and LA. I'm comfortable with my assessment of Jim Tracy as a non-instinctual and downright poor manager.

Nice guy. Not getting the most of his team.

Tracy is a big reason for my optimism reaching an almost non-existent level. The Rockies lack of clutch hitting is another. The third reason weighs a lot more than the first two put together, and that is the respect I have for the teams they are chasing.

Listen, the Padres are down right now. Are they going to stay down? They could, but I'm not very optimistic they will be poor enough to allow Colorado to catch them. Same can be said for Philadelphia. They are healthy now. They have a 5-1 road trip (something we can't even dream of) going. They are experienced.

If those two teams do what I expect, it really won't matter what Colorado does, or even what San Francisco or St. Louis does.

Hope to the Baseball Gods I'm wrong, but I'm not going to wave pom-poms and write things I don't believe to be true.  Sorry.  There are other sites out there if that's what you're looking for.

Tomorrow

Make-up day with Philadelphia.-- Joe Blanton vs Jhoulys Chacin.

That's a really nice test for Jhoulys.  Not that I need to see much more to be convinced he's a special talent.

Rock Solid Recrap: Disappointing

That's the word that keeps running through my mind over and over again.  

What a disappointing effort in what could have been a breakthrough type of victory.  Kinda like the win over LA was on Sunday, where you get a monkey off your back, finally win a series against the Dodgers.  Tonight could have been that game on the road.

Wasn't to be.

Giants 5, Rockies 2

Rockies have no one to blame but themselves.

A couple of opportunities arose early, but the timely hitting wasn't there, and then when a hit did come, poor base running had already wiped out the scoring chance.  They actually gave away two outs on the bases in that 4th inning.

It was at that point that I tweeted.

@Townie813 I hope the Giants give this one away like last night, because the Rockies don't look like a team that can win it themselves.

That didn't seem to go over well with some fans, but I can't pretend to be optimistic when the writing is on the wall.  There are nights you can just tell this team isn't winning unless a big a break goes their way (like last night).

The Rockies did hang around (thanks largely to Esmil Rogers and Melvin Mora), but the game-changing break never came, and the taxed bullpen crumbled.

That's why I wrote this last night...

This has to be a big offensive game for the Rockies. Rogers has struggled lately. Huston Street is a little gassed. The bullpen as a whole is tired. Best way to remedy such problems are to score early, score often, and score a couple more late.

Baseball isn't always difficult to figure out.  Sometimes you need the offense to carry you, and sometimes you reallllly need the offense to carry you.  Tonight was predictably one of those nights, and it didn't happen.

Disappointing.

Not unexpected, but still disappointing.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Tim Lincecum

We have a dandy pitching matchup.

More importantly, it's another opportunity to win a road series, regain some ground, and establish something positive.

Rock Solid Recap: Thank You Cody Ross

And Bruce Bochy. Can't believe the Giants didn't have a better, more comfortable outfielder (in that ballpark) available to play the 9th inning.

The Rockies desperately needed a break. I didn't think that break was going to come on a Carlos Gonzalez broken bat. Neither did Cody Ross. But given the way Carlos Gonzalez has played in the month of August, maybe we both should have known better.

Ross misread the bat shattering contact as a blooper into short right field. The ball continued sailing, Ross turned tail and started chasing, Dexter Fowler scored easily from first, Gonzalez slid safely into third, the relay throw bounced feebly past Pablo Sandoval into the camera well, Rockies take the lead and hold on to a 2-1 victory.

Mercy.

Rockies 2, Giants 1

Gonzalez heroics (and luck) aside, the win and game ball belong to Jorge De La Rosa. He wasn't very efficient early, but he pushed his way through the first four innings, settled in nicely, and gave his club seven innings of one run baseball.

That's why De La Rosa is going to make a lot of money in the off-season.

Rafael Betancourt is credited the official win after a 1-2-3 8th. Nice to see that clean and efficient inning from Raffy.

Huston Street, working for the third straight day yet again, needed a little help from the San Francisco atmosphere on a long drive hit by Aubrey Huff, needed a little help from a diving Jonathan Herrera, and needed a little luck on a line drive come backer off the bat of Buster Posey, but the bottom line is, Huston Street pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn his 13th save.

Besides, he was owed a little good luck after some of the tough breaks he had experienced lately.

Another thing we can't overlook is how important Dexter Fowler's walk was leading off the 9th inning. Down in the count 1-2, Fowler spit on some pitcher's pitches by Sanchez that Rockies batters couldn't resist all night. Great approach and patience, with a game-changing result.

Tomorrow

Esmil Rogers vs. Madison Bumgarner

This has to be a big offensive game for the Rockies. Rogers has struggled lately. Huston Street is a little gassed. The bullpen as a whole is tired. Best way to remedy such problems are to score early, score often, and score a couple more late.

Rock Solid Recap: Superstar Wednesday

A very solid win today over a very hot San Francisco Giants squad.

Rockies 6, Giants 1

It happened because every Rockies superstar in uniform had a BIG day.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Has cleared the mental hurdle and corrected whatever mechanical issues were holding him back. I'm very thankful for that because the start in Philadelphia had me extremely worried about his psyche (and mechanics) going forward this season.

Jimenez was in attack mode right out of the gate. He was commanding his pitches better, though not perfectly. Still ran into some extended pitch counts, but was eventually able to put those hitters away with the fastball, the slider, and a splitfinger that was absolutely filthy.

And how about those wheels in the 3rd inning? Legs out the infield hit and then scores from first on the Spilborghs double. (Highlight)

Heaven & Helton exclusive (official sounding): Why that wasn't bad baserunning by Spilborghs

Hats off to "The Chief" on his all around great day.

Heaven & Helton: More on Ubaldo.  

Carlos Gonzalez

Please please please take this swing with you to Pittsburgh and New York. Please! You don't have to swing harder on the road, just keep swinging like you're swinging right now. The ball absolutely jumps off your bat. It'll jump just as much anywhere!

Home Run #1 (Highlight)

Home Run #2 (Highlight)

Troy Tulowitzki

That longball had to feel good. A striaght up bomb to straight away center. Like I told CarGo, Tulo, please pack that swing in your suitcase. We're going to need it on the road.

Tulo's Blast (Highlight)   

Todd Helton

Flashed a little leather.

Mora Injury

Tough break for Melvin. Ugh. Hated to see that.

Bautista is an awful pitcher. No clue where the baseball is going on a given pitch. Just atrocious command and even worse poise on the mound. We saw that in Colorado. Why the Giants continue employing this clown is beyond me, but he's out there, and the Rockies will be lucky if they aren't missing Mora for an extended period of time.

Tomorrow

It's on to the second most beautiful park in the National League (behind Coors Field), PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

The Rockies send a recently rejuvinated Jeff Francis out there against James McDonald, a former Dodger that was just acquired at the trade deadline for Octavio Dotel. McDonald has a 4.63 career ERA against the Rockies in five appearances (two starts).

I'm looking for a really good start to what is a do orr die road trip.

Rock Solid Recrap: Too Much Stink, Not Enough Sink

And so it should end Aaron Cook's near eight year run in the Rockies rotation.

Say what you will about the Cook we're seeing implode before our very eyes in 2010, an eight year stay in any big league rotation is really damn impressive. Probably even more impressive in the Rockies rotation. It's just time to move on.

Actually, it was time to move on when Jorge De La Rosa was activated from the DL... but now it's REALLY time.

I don't buy that Cook is/was a luck pitcher. Sure he gets the ball put in play on him more than most, but his path to success is no different than any other starting pitcher. If he makes his pitches, he'll succeed. If he doesn't make his pitches, he'll fail. Sinker below the knees, he'll be fine. Sinkers and flat curveballs in the hitting zone, he'll get tattooed.

You don't sink (pun intended) to the level he's at now just because years of good luck are catching to you. You get to this point because you're not making pitches. Simple at that.

Cook In The Bullpen

Not sure this goes well assuming it happens. I guess we shouldn't assume anything with how this season is playing out.

To me it seems like Cook comes out that first inning struggling to find himself, his grip, his location. Sometimes he's too amped up and overthrowing. That doesn't translate to successful reliever -- long or short relief.

Giants 10, Rockies 0

Taylor Buchholz

Speaking of long relief. Not an awful job by Taylor Buchholz. Not a great job by any means, but I think Taylor's role needs to be that of a short reliever. One inning at a time. His starting and long relief days are long behind him -- and probably days he'd like to forget.

Manny Corpas

Bad Manny. He's starting to slip up again. Hard to blame overuse as an excuse now since his innings have been cut down recently, but that's still a TON of innings for a guy not used to the workload.

Offense

All this pitching talk kind of overshadows maybe the biggest problem.

No offense.

Three hits (tied for season low). Twelve strikesouts (par for the course).

Fattening up on the dumpster fire known as the Chicago Cubs bullpen may work for a weekend. It doesn't solve the problem though. At some point (like tomorrow) this team has to consistently hit MAJOR LEAGUE pitching.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez. Madison Bumgarner. Seems winnable to me.

NL West Recap: 7-26-10

I think we're getting to the point where we need to take a closer look at the direct competition in the NL West. You know, before they get too far out of reach.

San Diego Padres: Idle

After taking care of business in Pittsburgh, the Padres receive their second day off since the all-star break. The Rockies? Still no days off until next Tuesday. Thanks for that, Bud.

San Diego will host the Dodgers for three starting tonight. I guess we pull for the Dodgers? Or do we pull for the Padres because the Dodgers are a more direct threat in the wildcard race?

See that's the problem when you go 2-9 on a road trip and allow 3-4 teams to pass you in the standings. You have to start pulling for everyone to lose and unfortunately they all start playing each other and the scenarios start becoming impossible.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Idle

The pitching matchup tonight in San Diego is Chad Billingsly vs Jon Garland.  I think LA will take that one.

Marlins 4, Giants 3

Ricky Nolasco outloasted Barry Zito in a matchup of pitchers that absolutely dominate the Rockies. Yes, it's true there have been a ridiculous amount of pitchers that have dominated the Rockies this season, but these two have doing it for years. And doing it big.

Mike Stanton is really starting to standout for Florida. He impressed me a lot in the Rockies series down there. Last night he crushed a solo HR in the 5th inning, and then he provided some insurance with an RBI double in the 8th. Dan Uggla also hit a solo HR off Zito.

Those two teams will rematch tonight with an even better pitching matchup: Josh Johnson vs Matt Cain. I know where I'll be tuning as soon as the Rockies game concludes.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Idle

They're headed to Philadelphia. Looks like the Phillies win streak could reach at least eight, possibly more.

Rock Solid Recap: Time Well Spent

Unless you have a heart condition or drinking problem.

Rockies 4, Giants 3 (15)

My goal here is to focus on the positive when there are positive to focus on. I'll attempt to do that is this recap... I just have to say this first.

The Rockies are doing a much better job at winning these tight games they were giving away early in the season. That said, I can't put them in the category of a team that's playing to their ability or hitting their stride just yet.

There are still a bunch of things they need to clean up in all phases of their game. Things we'd all be very frustrated about had this game gone the other way. I just want to keep that in perspective as we celebrate this one, because it's easy to get caught up in the roller coaster ride and downplay little details.

Now... The good stuff

Dexter Fowler

Whatever Rene Lachemann said to Fowler in the Springs was genuis. The lowering of his hands at the plate was genius. The disicipline, patience, poise and confidence he's playing with right now aren't genius, but they resemble that of a 5-time all-star. It's incredible to witness the results of his transformation.

The dynamic he gives this team if he's consistently reaching base cannot be understated. You back him up with Herrera, who exhibits most of the same traits, then you're creating nightmares for opponents on a daily basis. I love these two guys at the top of the order, and my hope is that Todd Helton can accept dropping to 6th or 7th in the order. He has if he wants to win.

Jason Hammel

Pitched his ass off for seven innings today. He knew he'd have to to match up with Matt Cain. That's really a lot of pressure for a pitcher when you think about it, but he handled it again.

Unfortunately, he tired in the 8th and was unable to get his win. Anybody who wants to blame Jim Tracy for that has my permission, because allowing Hammel to bat with 105 pitches under his belt screamed of backfire. The Rockies defense also contributed to this, but we're just thankful it cost the entire team a win.

Huston Street

Is back. All the way.

Esmil Rogers

How nice is it to have a long reliever that can actually throw strikes and give you innings? This kid's arm is electric. And to pitch over Seth Smith's defensive gaffe the way he did showed incredible poise. It really was as good a relief appearance as you'll see.

Now, we just have to hope Tracy doesn't feel the need to use him every day and run him into the ground like Corpas.

*exhale* Being positive.

Chris Iannetta

Looking better with each start at the plate. It's easy to overlook him reaching base five times in this game... including a bomb off of Cain in the 6th. It's encouraging to see. Now he just needs to work on comminucating with his third base teammates on pop fouls. These balls need to get caught! And we don't need anymore injuries.

Day Off

Could not come at a better time for this team... or for any of us!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July to all of you. Be safe if you're out there having fun tonight or you're traveling back home tomorrow.

Rock Solid Recrap: Meet The New Lightning Rod

Exit: Franklin Morakes.  Enter: Manuel Corpas.  

Giants 11, Rockies 8

Manny Corpas

It pains me that Manny is receving and will continue to receive the boos that were recently reserved for Franklin Morales.  There's a really big difference between the two pitchers and their situations.

Morales' struggles were and are a product of his own mental toughness... or lack there of.  Even though I'm not a big fan of booing a guy with that fragile a mental state, at least you can point to his failures being a product of his own weakness/ability.  It's somewhat justifiable.

Manny Corpas is a different story.  His problems really have little to do with anything he's done, unless you consider him not telling Jim Tracy he needs a day off every now and then to be a crime.

Corpas has nothing left in the tank.  No short reliever could withstand the workoad Jim Tracy piled up on his arm in April and May.  Corpas had no experience as a long man, didn't really prepare for that role in ST, yet Jim Tracy kept using him for 2-3 innings at a time.  Burning precious bullets in non-pressure situations.

Manny had a lot of success in that role early, despite his lack of experience there.  Hell, I even said Manny was the second most valuable player on the team in April.  He was.  The work he did was fabulous.  So good, in fact, that Jim Tracy decided to shift him to the closer role.

There you have another type of workload. It's still physically demanding, of course, but here we're talking a 100% jump in mental demands   Manny did fine there for awhile, but everything finally caught up to him in that Milwaukee series when Tracy tried squeezing four days in a row out of him.  That idea was designed to fail from the get go, and boy did it fail miserably.

Sadly, Manny hasn't been the same guy since.  He's just a shell of the pitcher we saw in April.  His pitches are flat, and his confidence is shot.  That's all on Jim Tracy, because his job is to maximize a player's usefulness, not run him into the ground physically and drain him mentally.

Matt Belisle is in a similar spot, but has held up a little better than Manny because he has a history as a starter.  His arm is used to the workload.  That said, he will remain on implosion and fatigue watch, because you can only push these guys so far, and Jim Tracy seems far too willing to test those limits.

This is what has gotten Jim fired from his two previous managerial gigs.  He doesn't learn.  Never will.

Joe Beimel

As David Martin pointed out earlier, what makes the situation ten times more frustrating and baffling is San Francisco had three left-handed hitters due up that 7th inning, and Tracy had a fresh Joe Beimel at his disposal.

He goes to Corpas.  Why?  To keep Pat Burrell on the bench?

Idiot.

Just go with your BEST guys or your FRESH guys.  When your best guy and your fresh guy are one in the same, then the decision should be a no-brainer.

Not in the world of Jim Tracy.

Sad.

Ubaldo Jimenez 

This might sound weird.  It's almost as if Ubaldo and Jason Hammel have changed uniforms. The one bad inning bug that bit Hammel for so long is now latched on to Ubaldo's right arm.

Of course it goes deeper than that.  Ubaldo is likely fatiguing just as the guys above are.  That's to be expected though from a starter.  They go through periods of poor mechanics and other such ups and downs.

Tired arms.  Poor command.  Bad luck.  Lack of run support.  Lots of run support.  Poor defense.

I'm not worried about him.  It's just the natural flow of the season.

Besides that, If Fowler gets to that ball in the 3rd, it's a different scenario.  That ball dropping led to six runs that would not have scored.

That doesn't serve as an excuse for Jimenez, but it does emphasize the fine line every pitcher walks in a given game.  And to me it just emphasizes even more how special he was to avoid those situations entirely for two months.

Tomorrow

Jason Hammel vs. Matt Cain

Hammel needs to be good here.  The Rockies absolutety can't afford to give this series away and give the Giants any more momentum.  BIG game.

Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Finally Investing In Insurance

Insurance runs? What the hell are those? That's foreign terminology to this Rockies team.

Rockies 6, Giants 3

Or at least it USED to be foreign.

The turnaround actually began in San Diego, but we've seen the Rockies offense really step up big the 8th inning these first two Giant games.

Each game was 4-3 at the time. Rockies extended it to 7-3 last night thanks largely to Miguel Olivo, and 6-3 tonight. That's huge not only for your confidence, but equally huge for crushing your opponent's hope.

I think the term most like to use is "killer instinct".  We're starting to see it.

Ian Stewart

Stewie had a 10-pitch AB as a pinch-hitter late in last night's game. That AB resulted in a popup, but I was encouraged. Stewart then built on that tonight with good ABs against Lincecum, and another extended AB against a lefty. This time it was the veteran Jeremy Affeldt, and this time it resulted in a leadoff walk.

That leadoff walk set off the crucial 8th inning. I'd even call it a game changing AB with how the inning played out.

Clint Barmes

Sizzling hot.

A two-run bomb off Tim Lincecum in the 2nd. Then he kept the 8th inning going with a single through the left side. I don't know how long he can keep this up, but let's just enjoy this ride while it lasts. The defense will never falter, so he'll always be contributing one way or another.

He didn't do too bad in the marriage depeartment either. Hey, she's cute. She may struggle a little when the red light is on, but how many of us would do any better? At least she's willing to go on TV. Where are the other Rockies wives when it comes to making TV appearances?

Dexter Fowler

When Aaron Cook failed to get the bunt down all the pressure completely shifted to Dexter. He needed to have a quality AB to save the inning, and the kid came through. He honestly seemed unphased by the situation and very comfortable up there, which is something we didn't see at all for two months.

He battled Affeldt tooth and nail before delivering the knockout blow -- an RBI double into left field. He also pulled a triple into the corner off Lincecum. His patience is improved times ten. This version of Dexter Fowler is the one that will have a long, long ML career.

Jonathan Herrera

The pain in the ass came through with a two strike sacrifice fly against Lincecum. He then came back in the 8th and executes a PERFECT suicide squeeze.

Baseball player.

No fanfare. No hype. No nothing coming in. That's why big stats and size are so overvalued when enaluating a player's true worth. This kid just plays winning baseball.

Jhoulys Chacin

Whether it be Ryan Zimmerman or Aubrey Huff, Chacin always seems to have that one guy in the lineup that hurts him. Hey, one guy is better than nine, right?

He's progressing well from a pitching standpoint and also flashed some athleticism starting a 1-6-3 DP. Special things are right around the corner. Hopefully all of them take place in the big leagues as a Rockie.

Huston Street

Very impressed how he's quickly settled back into being Huston Street. I honestly expected some bumps in the road right off the bat, especially after Huston struggled a couple times in AAA, but he's cleaning everything up. He's as sharp as you need him to be.

Nate Schierholtz

The only big negative tonight... Rockies need to learn quickly that this guy has a cannon and it's accurate. Stop running on him! The extra base isn't there.

Tomorrow

Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Barry Zito

Hey, let's crush these Giants while the crushing is good.  They desperately need a confidence boost.  A win over Jimenez would surely qualify as that, and would likely turn them around completely.  It's important to not allow that to happen.  Big game.

Rock Solid Recap: A Solid Baseball Win

No need for overreactions today.

Rockies 7, Giants 3

We haven't seen a whole lot of these. You know, a game the Rockies play and execute well for the entire nine innings. An enitrely stress free ballgame that you never once doubted the Rockies would win. I think I can count maybe 5-6 of those at best -- and of course those were all Jimenez starts.

Bottom Line: I think we need to really savor this one!

Aaron Cook

As any good veteran should, Cook is flat out refusing to relinquish his spot in the rotation. I don't know how much trouble it was ever honestly in, but he's not losing it. Not with performances like we're seeing lately.

And the best news? I think there's still plenty room for improvement. His command is still getting away from him at times, but I slowly see him getting a handle on it (1 walk). When he is getting hit -- aside from the Matsui grand slam (bad pitch) and near Aaron Roward grand slam (bad pitch) -- it's choppers through the infield and seeing eye singles.

That's much more Cookmanlike.

This upcoming decision for Jim Tracy, Dan O'Dowd and many others will be excruciating. Chacin is the heavy favorite to be optioned, clearly, but I think of the established guys, Cook is looking more secure than Francis is right now. That's not to say Francis stinks... it's just the hitting the wall around 85-90 pitches every start.

But again, all the established guys are going to be safe upon DLR's returns, unless something significant occurs in the next week.

CarGo

Is it too soon to call Carlos Gonzalez is the best position player not named Todd Helton to wear a Rockies uniform?

A little too soon?

Alright, I'll just wait until the very second it's not too soon to say it. That home run was another bomb left on left. There just aren't a lot of guys who can swing it that powerfully left on left. It's beautiful.  It's special.  He should never leave the 3-hole until 2020.

Olivo

The life of a catcher. Miguel took another pounding tonight.

A foul tip off the cage. A foul tip off the sensitive spot. Had a strikeout go through the five-hole on him. He also had another rough slide at third, and a near collision at the plate right after that.

This forthcoming all-star selection is going to make all those ache and pains feel a whole lot better.

Melvin Mora

Is a big league third baseman. It's fortunate he couldn't materialize in the super utility role the Rockies envisioned, but that was actually a pretty poor vision. Maybe if he was 28 he could learn to play these positions, but not 38. The old saying is quite true here...

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Madison Bumgarner

Looks like a baseball player. He's a great athlete. The pitching will continue to develop as he gets used to the ML surroundings, but the makeup is clearly there.The Giants likely have themselves another gem to put in their already stacked rotation.

Damn them.

And Buster Posey ain't half bad either.

Tomorrow

Jhoulys Chacin vs. Tim Lincecum.

There's no doubt where I'll be when the first pitch is thrown out. Should be a good one.

Rock Solid Recrap: Cained Again

Giants 4, Rockies 1

So the Rockies didn't get the sweep they sought in San Francisco tonight.   There's one pretty good reason for that.

Matt Cain.

Cain, who may soon challenge Tim Lincecum for the "Giant Ace" title, was simply outstanding tonight. The Rockies could not sustain any type of offensive threat against him.  The only mistake he made was crushed by Troy Tulowitzki, but beyond that every pitch he made had a purpose and hit its spot.

When that happens, you just tip your cap and then hope your starter is Ubaldo Jimenez, or is channeling Ubaldo Jimenez.

Jeff Francis was neither.

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Rock Solid Recap: Maligned Rockies Come Up Big

If Baseball is a game of what have you done for me lately, then three of the Rockies biggest targets for criticism have taken the elevator from outhouse to penthouse in San Francisco.

I'm fully aware outhouses don't have elevators but just go with me here. It's late.

Rockies 2, Giants 1 (11)

Winning Player: Clint Barmes

Aside from Franklin Morales, no Rockie has taken more flack than Clint. Granted, some of it has been warranted, but the majority of it has been complete nonsense and/or a fabrication based on useless statisitcal analysis. .

Whatever the case, I think almost all of that criticism -- warranted and nonsense -- is going to die down for the next few weeks. He's earned a break.

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Rock Solid Recap: He's Real, And He's Spectacular

If you weren't sure, that's only because you hadn't seen him pitch yet.

Now that you have, you're sure.

Rockies 4, Giants 0

Winning Player: Ubaldo Jimenez

I don't know what I can tell you that isn't already obvious.

I could rattle off the amazing numbers, but you've already seen those a 100 times.

I could tell you he throws hard, his ball moves, and he gets stronger as the game moves along. I think you can all see that for yourself

I'll just settle for telling you it's a special thing we're witnessing. A special thing that not only Rockies fans are invested in, but after today, baseball fans from all over the world will be invested Ubaldo Jimenez.

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Rock Solid Recap: Jhoulys (yo-lees) Chacin (cha-sheen)

That's exactly how you win in San Francisco.

Rockies 4, Giants 1

Winning Player: Jhoulys Chacin

Admire this line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K

Despite the 3 walks, Chacin pounded the strike zone today for all seven innings. When he did walk a guy, he made good pitches to get the next guy out. He didn't allow innings to spiral out of control by pitching scared or getting down on himself, he went on the attack and got outs.

Without the benefit of free passes and good hitting counts to create traffic, the Giants offense was unable to string together hits, and thus they were unable to create runs.

It's a simple formula. Not always easy to execute, but that's exactly how you do it.

And did you notice how dead the crowd was? Few teams feed off their crowd like the Giants do, so eliminating that element early was a nice plus. They only got excited a couple times late in the game.

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Running Thoughts: Chacin vs. Sanchez

More Lineups Changes

That's to be expected on a Sunday, but these are fairly significant.

Dexter Fowler leads off.  Clint Barmes hits second and plays second.  Why, I don't know.

Carlos Gonzalez hits third, Tulowitzki fourth, Jason Giambi in for Helton is fifth.

Melvin Mora starts for Ian Stewart and hits 6th.  So I guess Tracy has determined that Stewart can't hit lefties?  That's nonsense and a little bit of overmanaging.  Just let Stewart play.  Or maybe Mora is turning into his new Olivo, since Olivo is now scuffling.

Ryan Spilborghs hits seventh.  Paul Phillips gets his first start and hits eighth.  Jhuolys Chacin on the mound.  We all have our fingers crossed for the youngster.

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Looking Ahead: How To Win In San Francisco

Trips to San Francisco are death to the Colorado Rockies.

It's been that way for years.

It'll likely continue that way as long as the Giants maintain their incredible starting pitching. That is, unless the Rockies learn to change their approach.

It's a different game AT&T Park. It almost has a playoff feel to it because run scoring chances are so scarse for the Rockies (and every team that plays there), that every wasted one is costly.

It also feels like every run scoring chance the Giants get, they cash in.

Why does it feel that way?

Well, that's because they realize every single run they scratch out means a lot to their pitching staff. They value each chance, not because they fear it's their last, but because they know cashing in means their chances of winning have significantly increased.  Their pitching doesn't need much breathing room.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Game. What Game?

The Rockies played this afternoon?

Giants 6, Rockies 1

Well damn.

All sarcasm and frustration aside, this one went about as bad as you'd expect it to go with the pitching matchup.

It wasn't favorable.

The Rockies just couldn't get a thing going against Matt Cain, which has happened a few times before. The one chance they did have in the second was quickly washed away by lack of contact.

Cain then finished his day by retiring 15 in a row.

It wasn't pretty (not that I could see it)... but at least it was over quickly.

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