Rock Solid Recap: Josh Outman Starts Are Fun!

Rockies 11, Nationals 10 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Edwin Jackson

Only kidding. It's Tyler Colvin, who led the Rockies offensive attack with four hits (just a double shy of the cycle) and five RBIs. But he certainly wasn't the lone Rockie to have a productive afternoon. Dexter Fowler, Marco Scutaro, Carlos Gonzalez and Chris Nelson all contributed three hits apiece as Colorado pounded out an even 20 on the afternoon.

But I definitely will give Edwin Jackson an honorable mention. The Rockies absolutely brutalized E-Jax into submission during their glorified batting practice exhibition that would make even Jeremy Guthrie and Alex White cringe. But I guess we shouldn't be too surprised considering Edwin entered the game with a 13.91 ERA against the Rockies in SIX career starts.

Ugly.

Turning Point: The Rockies blew a 7-0 second inning lead and a 10-9 ninth inning lead because winning convincingly and on time apparently bores them. But it's OK, because Marco Scutaro sent the crowd home happy with a two-out, walk-off single in the 11th inning after a seven-pitch at-bat.

Way to go, Marco!

Highlight of the Night: Watch Marco Scutaro's game winner

Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 67 pitches (41 strikes)

Well, Outman should have no beef with the offense. They have staked him out to 11-1 and 7-0 leads over his last two starts, yet all he has to show for that is 7 2/3 innings of total crap, one unintentional shoulder bump with the manager and zero wins.

I vote we replace him with Drew Pomeranz soon, or maybe even one of the youth campers from Tuesday. Frankly, I'll take any replacement aside from Guthrie, White or Guillermo Moscoso.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Edwar Cabrera Roughed Up In Major League Debut

Nationals 11, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

For now I think we'll just eliminate the "What Went Wrong" and "Turning Point" categories in losses and immediately begin with the pitching lines since the starting pitching and the losing pretty much go hand-in-hand.

Edwar Cabrera's Debut Line: 2 1/3, 7 R (5 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 3 HR, 65 pitches (33 strikes)

Put me in the camp who believes calling up Cabrera was a silly decision from an organizational standpoint and not fair to the young man at this point in his development. I indicated that feeling in the Lineup Card this afternoon, and his performance tonight only made the feeling stronger. He just wasn't ready for the challenge and looked overwhelmed from the get-go.

I think the results and the photo below bear that out.

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Nationals 6-27-12

Tuesday's Recrap: More About Bob And The Great Guillermo

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (28-45)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (SS)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (1B)
5. Tyler Colvin (RF)
6. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
7. Chris Nelson (2B)
8. Wilin Rosario (C)
9. Edwar Cabrera (P)

With the Bob Apodaca news breaking yesterday, I neglected to mention the Rockies recalling 24-year-old left-handed pitching prospect Edwar Cabrera, while shipping the struggling Alex White back to Colorado Springs. 

Cabrera will make his major league debut tonight against Washington, and then enter into the circus known as the Rockies four-man rotation. And I'll be honest, I think this is a really awful way to acclimate a young pitcher you'll be counting on for years to come into the big leagues. But hey, (sarcasm) look how well it's working for White and Christian Friedrich (/sarcasm). 

Washington Nationals (42-30)

1. Danny Espinosa (2B)
2. Bryce Harper (CF)
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Michael Morse (RF)
5. Ian Desmond (SS)
6. Mark DeRosa (LF)
7. Tyler Moore (1B)
8. Jhonatan Solano (C)
9. Jordan Zimmerman (P)

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

Rock Solid Recrap: More About Bob And The Great Guillermo

Nationals 12, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

Farewell, Bob: First things first, I wrote a little bit about Bob Apodaca's reassignment in the Lineup Card today. All I'll really add now is that, despite the low point we've reached now in terms of the Rockies pitching struggles, I truly do appreciate his contributions to the Rockies over his ten seasons of service. 

You can discredit the man if you want, but there's really no denying that a lot of good things happened under his watch, which peaked during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. But there always comes a time when change and fresh ideas are necessary to keep the process moving forward. I think that's especially true when you call Coors Field — the most unique and mentally taxing ballpark on the planet — your home. 

Apodaca's time to move on had definitely arrived. But I'll still pass on kicking him on his way out the door, because he took on the challenge of solving pitching at one mile above sea level for TEN years, and this is the first time he's backed away from the challenge. 

I can admire that. I can respect that. I actually appreciate that. And I truly hope the next full time pitching coach can match his patience and mental stamina when taking on this challenge.

That said, I also hope the new full time pitching coach has more effective and long-lasting ideas, because there's a lot of work to be done to get Rockies pitching back at the 09-10 level, but more importantly, to keep it at that level.

Now about tonight's baseball game...

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Nationals 6-26-12

Monday Recap: Jeff Francis Continues To Embrace Weird Pitching Gimmick

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (28-44)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Chris Nelson (2B)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Jonathan Herrera (SS)
9. Christian Friedrich (P)

Never a dull moment with these here Rockies. The USA Today — not the Denver Post, because the Rockies apparently feel it's necessary to stick it to the local media — is reporting that Bob Apodaca has asked for and been granted a reassignment within the Rockies organization. 

According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies will now split the pitching coach duties between Jim Wright (bullpen) and Bo McLaughlin (starters). I imagine that setup will remain in place at least through the end of this season. And we've also now learned that Apodaca will be taking on a role titled "Special Assistant to the General Manager", which basically means "We don't have the balls to fire you, so here's a desk, office and paycheck. Be here everyday by noon." 

But the only news that really matters is that, for better or worse, he's no longer the Rockies pitching coach. And I'm 90% sure it's for the better, because constantly attempting to solve pitching at Coors Field has a way of mentally beating people down over time. Keeping the minds (and arms, too) involved in the process as fresh as possible seems like a good plan of action to me, but it also might be impossible to keep them fresh enough to really be effective for a sustained stretch. 

Washington Nationals (41-30)

1. Danny Espinosa (2B)
2. Bryce Harper (CF)
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Michael Morse (RF)
5. Adam LaRoche (1B)
6. Ian Desmond (SS)
7. Tyler Moore (LF)
8. Jesus Flores (C)
9. Gio Gonzalez (P)

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