Lineup Card: Rockies vs Cubs

No trade news to report so far today.  Just a lot of rumors circulating in perfect 360 degree circles that don't really lead to anything other than extreme confusion.

It's important to remember some trades could come after the July 31st non-waiver deadline and before the August 31st playoff roster eligible deadline.  I assume guys like Aaron Cook and Brad Hawpe would clear waivers allowing them to be moved during that time period.

Rockies Lineup (52-50)

1. CF  Fowler
2. RF  Smith
3. LF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. 1B  Hawpe
6. C    Iannetta
7. 3B  Stewart
8. 2B  Barmes
9. P    Francis

Cubs Lineup (46-56)

1. RF  Colvin
2. SS  Castro
3. 1B  Lee
4. 3B  Ramirez
5. CF  Byrd
6. LF  Soriano
7. C    Soto
8. 2B  Theriot
9. P    Dempster

Return of the Rock Solid Recap

But first, I have to nitpick...

The handshake line was a little sloppy and out of sync. Need to work on that after all three games in the Cubs series.

Rockies 9, Pirates 3

Pretty basic formula: Great starting pitcher + Timely hitting.

Ubaldo Jimenez

We can back away from the ledge here. While Ubaldo wasn't exactly dominant or as efficient as you'd hope today, I think we would have had to be satisfied with any marginal improvement over the last start in Philadelphia.

This was more than marginal.

He stayed in control of himself. He didn't rattle. His mechanics were solid. Stamina was good. This was a very good first step back to the Ubaldo form we saw the first 2 1/2 months of the season.

He'll get yet another crack at the Giants in his next outing. In two previous outings this season, he's had a complete game shutout and a complete meltdown. I'm betting this one rests somewhere in between, but hopefully closer to the shutout.

Timely Hitting

All it takes is a couple well-timed basehits to give a scuffling offense a little of confidence.

It's not like the scoring chances haven't been coming, they just haven't been accompanied by those timely, confidence building hits. When you don't get those timely hits, you need a lot of home runs (or lucky breaks) to score your runs. Those haven't been coming either.

So those timely hits are essential in being successful. That's why they're called timely hits.

Dexter Fowler had the biggest one.

His bases loaded, 2-out, 2-run double in the second inning got that proverbial monkey off the offense's back. You could just feel the sigh of relief and the building of confidence all at once. Fowler had 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI in the game. His best in a long, long time.

Clint Barmes rode the wave started by Fowler, following immediately with a 2-run single. I know I joked about Clint Barmes hitting second today in the pregame. Credit where it's due, the move worked. Barmes had his best offensive day (2 hits, 3 RBI) in quite some time.

Later in the game, Miguel Olivo also had a 2-out, run scoring single that extended the lead to 6-1. Like Fowler and Barmes, Olivo is another guy that has been struggling of late, so I'm hopeful this is something he can build on as well.

Oh, and I couldn't conclude without mentioning CarGo's home run to left center.  Absolutely gorgeous swing.  When he's focused on driving the ball to the opposite field, he's deadly.  The Rockies will need a deadly Carlos Gonzalez to have any prayer of making any type of run.

Tomorrow

Cubs are in town. It's the battle of the Canadians! Ryan Dempster vs Jeff Francis.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Pirates

The sun keeps rising.  That's the good news!

Rockies Lineup (51-50)

1. CF  Fowler
2. 2B  Barmes
3. LF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. 1B  Mora
6. RF  Spilborghs
7. C    Olivo
8. 3B  Stewart
9. P    Jimenez

Barmes moves up to second?  Yeah... that'll turn things around offensively.  Tracy keeps the Olivo/Jimenez combo together.  Great.  Iannetta crushes lefties... but that's no factor in Tracy's mind today apparently.  

Pirates Lineup (36-64)

1. CF  McCutchen
2. RF  Young
3. 2B  Walker
4. 1B  Jones 
5. 3B  Alvarez
6. LF  Church
7. SS  Crosby
8. C    Jaramillo
9. P    Maholm

I don't know... McCutchen and Jones looked kinda tired last night.  I might have given them a day to catch their breath.  

Rock Solid Recrap: For The 8th Day In A Row

Eight losses in a row. Two in a row at home to Pittsburgh... a team that hadn't won two straight road games since May 14th & 15th in Chicago.

Chicago... yeah... the Rockies lost both of their games in Chicago. I remember that. I remember thinking THAT road trip through Chicago, Houston and Kansas City was going to be rock bottom of the season.

Wrong.

Honestly, I kinda wish the Rockies could go back to being as average and underwhelming as they were then, because the team we're seeing now is actually several notches below the they were at that point.

Seriously. Not even joking. This team is awful at baseball.

Pirates 6, Rockies 2

The Aaron Cook/Miguel Olivo combo didn't work out again tonight.

Alright, I give, it doesn't matter who is putting the fingers down for Cookie at this point -- he's missing the target, elevating the sinker, hanging the curve, walking the pitcher, doing just about anything wrong a pitcher can do wrong.

That begs the question... what has better sink right now: Cook's sinker or Cook's trade value?

The pitching wasn't the only problem tonight.

No, no, no, no, no, no... offense.

Well, early offense -- three hits in the first inning, one that struck Pittsburgh's SP Ross Ohlendorf in the head, ending his evening early. Thankfully he's okay, but the moment he exited, so did the Rockies offense.

Sean "f'ing" Gallagher throws three hitless innings.  He walks three, but strikes out four.  Rockies can't score.

Wil Ledezma, out of baseball since 1995 it seems, throws a perfect inning and a third.  Javier Lopez allows a solo HR to Carlos Gonzalez, but DJ Carrasco, Joel Hanrahan, and Octavio Dotel all throw a scoreless inning to finish the Rockies out.

Nary a whimper (or base runner) over the last nine outs.

Let me run this by you...

The two-time defending National League Champions fired their hitting coach last week. Why? Because their offense had completely stagnated for almost two months.

They didn't make any damn excuse for Chase Utley being hurt, or Jimmy Rollins being hurt, or Carlos Ruiz being hurt. They demanded results from their offense. When they didn't get those results, they made the move.

What happened after they fired Milt Thompson? They won eight in a row. That winning streak is still on-going.

Meanwhile, the Rockies offense has been stagnant since Day 1 of the season. Do they have the guts to make a move? Of course not.

Blame injuries? Sure, why not? The national media can't mention the Rockies without mentioning the injuries, so that excuse seems like a pretty convienient one to lean on. Don Baylor, underachieving and apathetic offense... off the hook.  Free passes for all of you.

Ridiculous.

I could probably rant all night about what we're witnessing with this team. I figure I might as well save a little bit of it for later. This thing isn't turning around tomorrow, or Friday. The frustration is only going to keep building. Might as well let it out slowly.

Lineup Card: Rockies vs Pirates

A different look for the Lineup Card.  No simulation.  Numbers.  We're trying everything we can to get this team out of their slump.  

Rockies Lineup (51-49)

1. LF  Smith
2. 2B  Herrera
3. CF  Gonzalez
4. SS  Tulowitzki
5. 1B  Hawpe
6. RF  Spilborghs
7. 3B  Stewart
8. C    Iannetta
9. P    Cook

I'm happy to see them put Cook & Iannetta back together.  Things just don't go very well when it's Cook and Olivo.

Pirates Lineup (35-64)

1. CF  McCutchen 
2. LF  Tabata
3. 2B  Walker
4. 1B  Jones
5. 3B  Alvarez
6. RF  Milledge
7. SS  Cedeno
8. C    Kratz
9. P    Ohlendorf