Lineup Card: Rockies @ D-Backs 7-24-12

Monday's Recrap: Sanchez Fills The Guthrie Role To Perfection

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (36-59)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (2B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (1B)
5. Andrew Brown (RF)
6. Wilin Rosario (C)
7. Josh Rutledge (SS)
8. D.J. LeMahieu (3B)
9. Edwar Cabrera (P)

Roster move: To make room for Cabrera, Jason Giambi was placed on the disabled list with what the Rockies are calling "viral syndrome" or a "viral infection." Obviously we're pulling for improved health for Giambi as quickly as possible, but on the baseball side of things this means the Rockies won't be able to move him before the July 31 deadline. There's still a decent chance they'll be to do so in August, but if he's not on the field teams will likely look elsewhere for their bench bat. 

Arizona Diamondbacks (48-48)

1. Willie Bloomquist (3B)
2. Aaron Hill (2B)
3. Jason Kubel (LF)
4. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
5. Justin Upton (RF)
6. Miguel Montero (C)
7. Chris Young (CF)
8. Stephen Drew (SS)
9. Joe Saunders (P)

The D-Backs made a huge mistake today designating Ryan Roberts for assignment. They should have allowed him to kill the Rockies for two more games (you know he would have) and then DFAed him. But I won't complain. Rumor has it the Tampa Bay Rays are interested in his services, so it looks like he'll be out of the division all together pretty soon. That's a plus. Now, if he can take Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero with him, that would be an even bigger plus.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Sanchez Fills The Guthrie Role To Perfection

Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Well, you see, about six months ago Dan O'Dowd made a little trade that I think many people understood (and some even liked) when he moved Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom to Baltimore for Jeremy Guthrie. But, as you know, that trade done blowed up in O'Dowd's face, leaving him begging anybody to take Guthrie before May was even through.

About 500 miles east, another general manager by the name of Dayton Moore made an even worse trade, sending Melky Cabrera (yes, the All-Star Game MVP) to the San Francisco Giants for Jonathan Sanchez. Yadda yadda yadda, Sanchez is awful, so Moore finds himself in the same boat as O'Dowd.

That was, until last Friday, when O'Dowd and Moore finally found each other and ended up swapping their offseason miscalculations hoping a change of scenery, a change of clubhouse atmosphere, or maybe just praying a for miracle to turn their fortunes around.

Guess how that turned out for the Rockies on Monday night?

Jonathan Sanchez's Line: 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 82 pitches (47 strikes)

Earlier Monday at Heaven & Helton:

With a 75 (or thereabouts) pitch limit going in, I wouldn't expect Sanchez to go beyond four innings tonight. He's just not a very efficient pitcher, and seems like an extremely poor fit in this type of system.

Expect that paragraph to be repeated repeatedly for as long as Sanchez lasts in the Rockies rotation.

Spoiler: He won't be any worse than Jeremy Guthrie.

Aside from the strikeouts, that did look an awful lot like Jeremy Guthrie, but certainly not worse. I believe it's called a lateral move, although with slightly more upside.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ D-Backs 7-23-12

Weekend Recaps

Friday: Reflection, Perspective, And A Quick Recap

Saturday: Kinda fun

Sunday: Not so much fun 

Lineups

Colorado Rockies (36-58)

1. Dexter Fowler (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (2B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Michael Cuddyer (1B)
5. Tyler Colvin (RF)
6. Ramon Hernandez (C)
7. Josh Rutledge (SS)
8. D.J. LeMahieu (3B)
9. Jonathan Sanchez (P)

The most interesting angle going into this game is obviously Jonathan Sanchez's Rockies debut.

With a 75 (or thereabouts) pitch limit going in, I wouldn't expect him to go beyond four innings tonight. He's just not a very efficient pitcher, and seems like an extremely poor fit in this type of system. But who knows, maybe he'll surprise and I'll have nothing but glowing things to say afterward. 

Spoiler: He won't be any worse than Jeremy Guthrie. 

Arizona Diamondbacks (47-48)

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS)
2. Aaron Hill (2B)
3. Jason Kubel (LF)
4. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
5. Justin Upton (RF)
6. Miguel Montero (C)
7. Chris Young (CF)
8. Ryan Roberts (2B)
9. Ian Kennedy (P)

Jason Kubel — the other Minnesota Twins corner outfielder to jump to the National League West this offseason — had what you'd call a productive weekend. On Saturday, he hit three home runs and drove in six in Arizona's 12-3 win over Houston. On Sunday, he homered again, tripled, and scored twice in their 8-2 win. Going back a little more, he's connected for six homers in seven games since the all-star break and he currently leads to the NL with 71 RBI. 

He's going to be a problem this week, as are all of the other usual Rockies killers — Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero, Ryan Roberts, and so on. 

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

Rock Solid Recrap: So You Want To Be A Catcher?

Padres 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Rough day for the offense against Ross freaking Ohlendorf and company.

How rough?

Hitters 3-6 were a combined 0-for-14, with the only production coming from Carlos Gonzalez (two walks, two stolen bases). It will take a special day from the bottom of your order and/or your pitching to overcome that.

As you can tell by the score, the Rockies almost did.

Turning Point: Jordan Pacheco's second big league start behind the plate on Sunday turned out to be quite the experience, which you had to expect it would be given how this entire season has gone for the Rockies.

Naturally his day got off to a very active start in the first inning. Before the Rockies could off the field in that frame, Pacheco was forced to attempt blocking a pitch in the dirt, which did not go well at all. Rather than drop to his knees and smother it, he went backhand and baseball went to screen. He also had to go way up the line to knock down a throw from the outfield. He did that well. And then he handled a pop up right up the elevator shaft without any problems.

All in all, not the worst possible start.

Then comes the play at the plate in the 4th inning. John Baker singles to Eric Young in center, Everth Cabrera comes charging around third with the tying run. EY makes a good, strong throw home, but the ball and Cabrera unfortunately arrive at the same time, and Pacheco paid the price for it.

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Rock Solid Recap: That Game Was Quite Fun

Rockies 8, Padres 6 (12 innings - boxscore)

I'm almost a little rusty when it comes to talking positive about the Rockies, but I must say tonight was one of the most enjoyable complete game experiences of the season. It was really was a fun, competitive game, that saw both teams coming up with the timely hits and spectacular defensive plays to literally keep their teams alive.

And we're happy to report that when all was said and done, it was the Rockies who prevailed, thanks in large part to the man our resident Rockies nickname-giver Brian Smith quickly anointed #Paycheck.

Winning Player: Jordan Pacheco (3-for-6, career-high 4 RBIs, game-winning hit)

I couldn't think of a more spot on nickname for Pacheco, who continues to cash in on his extended opportunity to start games at the hot corner. Obviously, Pacheco can flat out hit. He's also an improving defender, though there's still a long way to go before we'll feel 100% comfortable over there. But it's clear he's willing to work hard at it, and it's more clear he's going to carve out a nice little career for himself regardless of where or how much he plays.

Another good hitter, Michael Cuddyer, also had a big night at the plate, tying a career-high with four hits. He scored the winning run on Pacheco's 12th inning single. Ramon Hernandez then followed with his own RBI single to make it 8-6.

Turning Point: All of those heroics wouldn't have been possible without one incredible play by right fielder Tyler Colvin. With runners on 1st and 2nd in the 9th and only one out, Mark Kotsay pulled one towards the right field line that seemed destined to fall for a game-winning double. However, Colvin was able to run it down (showing the advantage the Rockies have with a Gonzalez-Fowler-Colvin outfield) and made an incredible diving catch to save the game.

And thanks to the overly aggressive baserunning of Everth Cabrera, it turned into an inning-ending double play.

It was awesome. Like, really awesome.

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