Lineup Card: 9-16-11 Rockies vs Giants

Links

• Big League Stew: Detention Lecture: Your 2011 Colorado Rockies (with yours truly presiding)
• Last night's Recrap: Chacin falters, Panda cycles, things be bad
• Purple Row: How the Rockies Helped Make Moneyball (great read)
• Rockies Review: Rockies lack of discipline is their biggest failure
• Rockies Woman: Jhoulys Has The Jitters

Lineup

Colorado Rockies (70-79)

1. LF Eric Young
2. CF Dexter Fowler
3. 2B Mark Ellis
4. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff
5. 1B Jordan Pacheco
6. RF Seth Smith
7. C   Wilin Rosario
8. SS Tommy Field
9. P   Alex White

This team. This lineup. My God. 

San Francisco Giants (80-70)

1. CF Cody Ross
2. 2B Jeff Keppinger
3. RF Carlos Beltran
4. 3B Pablo Sandoval
5. 1B Aubrey Huff
6. LF Brandon Belt
7. SS Brandon Crawford
8. C  Chris Stewart
9. P   Madison Bumgarner

Lackluster Rercap: Chacin falters, Panda cycles, things be bad

September baseball can be a lot of different things: Exciting, compelling, nerve-wracking, encouraging are some of the more positive ones.

None of those would describe the Colorado Rockies this September. We're more in the horrendous, disturbing, fundamentally challenged and embarrassing category.

Some of that is due to injury. Too much of it is due to the Rockies not having enough baseball players playing up to their potential.

Giants 8, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Unfortunately, one of the first guys we have to list when talking about players not performing to potential is Jhoulys Chacin. Thursday was another tough night for him, and it comes again against one of the weakest offenses in the league in San Francisco. Chacin has had a good history against the Giants, but much like we've seen from him this season, he comes up short in a matchup he should dominate.

His line: 5 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R (4 ER), 4 BB, 1 K

Read more »

Rock Solid Recap: Millwood continues to be real good

Let's just go ahead and pencil Kevin Millwood in as the Colorado Rockies opening day starter in 2012.

Yes?

Oh... no?

Well, alright, that may have been generous, but all of these reports and the speculation about the Rockies giving Millwood an invitation to spring training are underselling his performance just as much (if not more) than my opening sentence oversold it.

When you look around baseball and see the lack of depth in about 25 out of 30 rotations, assuming Millwood's arm doesn't fall off in his next couple starts, someone, or many someones, will be willing to guarantee him a spot on their 40-man roster. He's been that good for the Colorado Rockies since coming on board.

He's a veteran presence. His approach to the game is as impressive as I've seen from any Rockies starting pitcher. Think about it, the Rockies haven't had many pitchers in their lifetime that have established themselves in the game like Millwood, and have had success as long as Millwood has.

And how could they? Those pitchers aren't going to willingly come to Colorado, and no pitcher the Rockies develop is going to last that long in Denver. There's just no way. So this is something different and its something positive.

Read more »

Lackluster Recrap: Two too many outs at the plate

Well hello there 2011 season. Nice of you to backhand us across the face with another long, agonizing, but ultimately predictable night of baseball.

Did you ever really feel like the Colorado Rockies were going to win?

Of course you didn't. At least not after Mark Ellis was thrown out at the plate in the first inning trying to score from third on Troy Tulowitzki's groundball. Though I will say this... nine times out of ten the contract play is stupid and drives me crazy. This was actually the one time it doesn't, because with first and third and one out, you want that run across should the infielder attempt for the double play and fail.

All you essentially have to lose are 90 feet... at most.

But regardless of whether or not it's the right play or you like it, the ultimate result is Colorado wasting a scoring opportunity. Two innings later, Ellis would be out at the plate again trying to score on a wild pitch. Of course the game ends with the Rockies losing by one.

Read more »

Lineup Card: 9-13-11 Rockies @ Brewers

Links

RoxPile: Top 10 Rockies Pitching Performances of 2011

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (69-77)

1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. 2B Mark Ellis
3. RF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. LF Seth Smith
7. 3B Jordan Pacheco
8. C   Wilin Rosario
9. P   Esmil Rogers

After the Rockies played one of their best games in recent months without them in Sunday's win, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton are magically healed now.

Little worried about that job security fellas? Huh? Huh?

Milwaukee Brewers (86-62)

1. RF Corey Hart
2. CF Nyjer Morgan
3. LF Ryan Braun
4. 1B Prince Fielder
5. 2B Rickie Weeks
6. 3B Casey McGehee
7. SS Yuniesky Betancourt
8. C   Jonathan Lucroy
9. P   Zack Greinke

Did you know the Brewers have not lost a home game this season started by Zack Greinke? Will the Rockies be the team to break that streak? Will they? Not likely, but stayed anyway because it's a Tuesday and what else is there to do on a Tuesday?