Inside the Humidor...

We've Moved...

2008-11-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

Check out Inside the Humidor at www.insidethehumidor.wordpress.com

Holliday in the Bay Area?...

2008-11-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

Moments ago mlb.com is reporting that the Rockies are close to a deal with Oakland for Matt Holliday. Read about it here. The deal would send Holliday to Oakland for 3 players Huston Street, Greg Smith, and Carlos Gonzalez. Stay tuned as the hot stove is beginning to heat up.

If this happens, at least it would be to the A's and not the other Bay area team, the Giants. Still the Rockies travel to Oakland for interleague play this season June 26-28th.

A Disbanded Band of Brothers and Fans...

2008-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking of what or how I wanted to write about what has been in the newspapers all week long here in Denver about the Rockies and Dan O'Dowd and the potential trades of Holliday, Atkins and others. If you're following this closely, meaning no more than reading the paper, or online, then you already know what to expect next season as a Rockies fan. And that is a season of rebuilding. Two seasons removed from the World Series and these bozos at 20th and Blake cant seem to get it in their heads that you cant continue to scream and rant about being a small market team and thus believe this is a reason to not sign players developed in your farm system that have brought great results and fans out to watch this talented team, soon to be disbanded.

I will give the Rockies this and that is they have had a top rated farm system over the last decade according to Baseball America, and we've seen this come to fruition over the years. So to get inside the heads of the braintrust, more specifically the brain of O'Dowd. He and others believe that he can somehow sell off his best players for pitching and still put a productive team on the field through the farm system that is so highly rated. Based on rankings of the farm system, I dont blame them for having this idea, but either you want to win now or you want to win every 3-4 years, if not longer. You either want to keep the fans you currently have built up over the last 5 or so years when season tickets sales were at their worst or you want to act as if nothing else matters to the organization than your already fat wallets.

It's apparent to myself and others that the Rockies are destined to be nothing more than the Los Angeles Clippers of Major League Baseball. Not going more agressively after Matt Holliday is unforgivable and inexcusable, even if Scott Boras is his agent. So you're telling the fans that a 6 or 7 year deal for how ever many millions of dollars for Matt Holliday is not worth as much as an aging, declining and injured first baseman in Todd Helton and the millions of dollars and years left on his contract? Sure you more than likely are not going to be able to move Helton now and he'll have to spend the remainder of his career swinging a bat that seems to be made more of balsa wood than maple. What if Ian Stewart has a horrific second season in the majors? (See Troy Tulowitzki and Franklin Morales 2008 season) Who gonna back him up at 3rd? Are we still believing and hoping that Manny Corpas is gonna be the reliver that he was in 2007? What if it doesnt happen again, then what? Another year of reliver by committee? We all know how well that worked out, until Hurdle settled on Fuentes to do most of the heavy lifting. And now he is gone due to free agency. O'Dowd you messed up when you gave Corpas and Tulo contracts that are not deserving of a first year player after a World Series run. The contracts were way too much and some of that money could've gone to signing Matt Holliday, so that we wouldnt have to hear every day how much he being currently shopped. How funny it is that both of Tulo and Corpas had more than subpar seasons in 2008.

I will look forward to spring training and the start of the season with much lesser excitement than I have recently. I will welcome the new players with open arms and hope that they will eventually see what they've gotten themselves into here at 20th and Blake.

I will say my goodbyes to Fuentes, Holliday, Atkins, Taveras as it looks more likely every day that they will not return next season wearing Rockies uniforms. I will greet you with cheers when you return to Coors Field with your respective teams. I applaud you for no longer having to put up with an organization that after 15 seasons still cant seem to get it right. Best wishes.

Jayson Nixxed, Signs with the White Sox

2008-10-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Out of the Chicago Tribune this afternoon the Rockies lose frre agent 2nd base prospect Jayson Nix to the Chicago White Sox today. Nix will compete for the starting job at second base with Chris Getz. Story here.

It's a big loss, but not a major loss in my opinion. It frees up the logjam at the infield position and some money as well.

You Know the Economy's Bad When...

2008-10-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

Clint Hurdle keeps Bob Apodaca on as pitching coach while letting 3 other coaches go this afternoon, according to the Denver Post. Read about it here.

Now maybe it's just me but when pitching throughout the season has not been all it was cracked up to be at the beginning of the season then Bob should have been the first guy out the door. Maybe along with the Rockies front office or at the least Dan O'Dowd. His failure to go after better pitching during the season while still stockpiling prospects in the farm system is inexcusable. Reassigning bullpen coach Rick Mathews brings little comfort if any, he too should be gone. Why not reassign Apodaca instead? Permanently! Mike Gallego the third base coach, letting him go was a good idea. I never really cared for him in that position. What does a third base coach do anyway? That's like asking Joe Biden and Sarah Palin what it is that a Vice President does. Gone too are bench coach Jamie Quirk and hitting instructor Alan Cockrell. I'm truly not sorry to see any of them leave.

You cant blame Hurdle for what he ultimately had to do in hopes of saving his job next season. Dan O'Dowd put the pressure on Hurdle a few weeks ago in trying to also save his ass, uh, I mean job also. But neither of them are out of the woods yet and wont be until probably the end of the 2009 season. If the Monforts, O'Dowd and Hurdle care about this team, then the only results that are acceptable are getting back to the playoffs. An improvement over this season's 74-88 record simply will not cut it. The Rockies must get into the playoffs in 2009.

This also just in from the Denver Post. The Rockies lineup is starting to change, The Rox exercised their buyout option of Matt Herges' contract.

Playoff Predictions, Division Series...

2008-10-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Brewers vs Phillies - Can the Phils make up for last season's sweep at the hand of the Rockies? We'll have to see. There's something about the Brewers that I do like, that can't quite put my finger on. Can Philadelphia finally get to the promised land and win the World Series? As any well versed Philly native will tell ya, Philly teams always find a way to choke. If the Phils win today, then they would've already made up for last season's playoffs. My heart says the Phillies win this series, but my gut for some reason says the Brewers in 4.

Dodgers vs Cubs - 100 years later can the Cubs win the World Series? Sure it makes for a great heartwarming story and the Cubs have a team this year that finally looks like it can end the long century old drought. But it will not be easy. The Dodgers are different and better since the Manny factor came to LA and Torre on the bench as manager is a major plus. It's going to be an interesting series, probably the most watched outside of the Boston metro area. Manny and Company take the Dodgers to the next round, the Cubs will have to wait another year.

Red Sox @ Angels - The Angels, are hard to deny when it comes to the playoffs with Scioscia at the helm. The Angels should give the Red Sox more for their money this time around now that they're healthy. But the Red Sox are seriously not to be denied. They seem to turn it up a notch when it comes to playoff time. All Rockies fans, like Yankees fans will want to see the Red Sox lose. Angels take this series in 6, but please... no rally-monkeys.

White Sox @ Rays - Imagine if only the Rays had changed their uniforms and name a few years ago. The Red Sox may not have won the World Series in 2005 and 2007. No seriously the Rays have always had a load of talent but not anyone to bring that talent to the forefront until this season. The White Sox played 2 extra games to get in the playoffs, so are they legitimately on enough of a winning streak to move past the Rays? I'm not too sure. But if you take the Rockies from last season who needed an extra game to get into the playoffs, then as you know anything is possible. Sure the whole state of Illinois is wishing for an all Chicago World Series, but let's take it one series at a time. The Rays, another feel good story this season is as it seems almost destined to win it all, but it wont be easy getting by Thome, Swisher, and Dye. If the Sox go down early in this series look for Ozzie Guillen to say something stupid to motivate his team to move on to the next round.

My picks....Angels, White Sox, Dodgers, Brewers

Saying Goodbye...

2008-09-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday night the Yankees and their fans said goodbye to Yankee Stadium as next season they move across the street to new Yankee Stadium. Sunday afternoon the Rockies and their fans said goodbye to Coors Field and to a season of great expectations that were hardly fulfilled. Sure the Rockies finish out their season as they started it, on the road and Sunday was the time when we as fans have said our final goodbyes. And based on the number of empty seats on Sunday some fans have already said their goodbyes long ago. So in attempt to bring closure to a season that wasn't what it should have been, allow me to say goodbye on behalf of the fans.

Goodbye to the 2008 season, early on we basked (maybe too much) on the 2007 season and what transpired, a trip to baseball's promised land, the World Series. We all relished in winning 21 out of 22 last season and in our heart of hearts we hoped the Rockies had it in them to do it again or something similar in their fight towards this seasons playoffs. I say goodbye to leadership lost. Hurdle failed to lead this years team in the same manner that he had last season. Todd Helton who is the leader of this team by measure of experience was lost in July to injury and up and coming leader, Troy Tulowitzki also failed to lead on the field as he had in 2007. I say goodbye to a bad pitching staff that seemed to only be held together by Aaron Cook and at times Ubaldo Jimenez. Goodbye to Brian Fuentes, literally and fuguratively. Say what you want about Brian but imagine how much worse this team would've been without him. It's almost certain he will get a multi-year deal elsewhere and the Rockies will have to again rely on Manny Corpas next season. Goodbye to Eric Young's previous team record of 53 stolen bases that was broken by Willy Taveras, who was exciting to watch this season. Goodbye to Livan Hernandez who was brought in to help bolster the starting rotation and it didnt happen. Goodbye to impatient at-bats, inning ending double plays, errors in the field and numerous trips to the mound by pitching coach Bob Apodaca. Very few times this season did the Rockies excel at all aspects of the game at the same time. And a final goodbye to the frustrations of the 2008 season overall as we turn the page to a new season in 2009.

The Final Three...

2008-09-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

So here we are down to the final three games of the season at Coors Field. I will admit that my last post was written mostly out of frustration with the team and the season more than anything. Greater expectations are to happen once you've made it as far as the Rockies did last season, to the World Series. Expectations were really high coming out of spring training, but I believe that as the season went on and the team improved in the standings and on the field that the expectations, became more. This is where the base of my frustrations lie and it's the same for many other fans of this team. My other frustrations come from the front office and their pathetic attempts at squashing any rumors of trading Matt Holliday and as of late Garrett Atkins. Management, being Hurdle and mostly Apodaca both get a pass from me on this season, but next season I wont be so forgiving. The season blew up in both of their faces, especially the pitching and at times so did the hitting. Hurdle's inconsistenicies in fielding a stable everyday lineup were a joke, as if we never left spring training. And while I'm mentioning spring training, it will be back here before we know it, but for right now I want to enjoy the final 3 games this weekend at Coors Field sweeping the D'Backs and then sit back and watch them finish out the season on the road. Expect to see Helton in pinch hitting role this homestand and maybe even start at first base for a game.

Counting Down the Days...

2008-09-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Let's be real for a minute can we? Last night's game was as boring of a game as I have seen in a while. Greg Reynolds who has good stuff, was predictable to say the least on the mound. He likes to keep the ball down low in the strike zone and rarely does he mix things up by going up unless it's a mistake in his pitching. We all know that at Coors Field ground ball pitchers are what you want in order to keep the ball in play and not soaring out over the fences and into the bullpen. He lack of mixing it up last night was not in order. Taylor Buchholz who made his second appearance of the season due to injury, did ok until the 2 run shot he gave up. All and all the pitching made it into a really long night at Coors Field. Tulo's grandslam made the game more interesting, but the game did seem to go on forever.

Watching this game made me start to count down the days left in the season, although I've been counting down now for a little over 2 weeks. The Rockies are done this year and 2007 World Series seems like a distant memory though not yet faded. There is still some hustle going on on the field, Taveras, Holliday, Hawpe and others. The Rockies want to show the fans that though they're not making it to the playoffs this year that they are still a team to be proud of and will fight til the bitter end. That's good, but I also hope to see promises of whats to come positively next season. And surely as the season closes Hurdle will pepper the lineup with the youngsters of the organization, thats to be expected. I am excited about the future of the Rockies, but for me the possibilities of next season are what I care about most. But until then I will be counting down the days until the final game of the season at Coors Field, 5 more to go.

A "Giant" Loss...

2008-09-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

After last night's 12 inning game it wold really be hard to expect the Rockies to follow up and be ready to play an afternoon game. But they are professionals and they should be ready every game and this afternoon that didnt happen as the Rox failed to sweep the Giants losing 9-2. Again the Rockies are 6 games back of Arizona. With the day off on Thursday, they should be well rested for their 3 game series with the Houston Astros this weekend. This series will be the litmus test to see whether the Rockies will make the playoffs or not. The Astros have been hot as of late, though the playoffs for them are a stretch. Astros second baseman and former Rockie Kaz Matsui returns to Coors Field for the first time this season to be presented his NL Championship ring. The Rockies will need to take at the least 2 of 3 from the Astros and hope that some help comes their way in losses for the Dodgers and D'Backs.

If you haven't heard already Clint Hurdle is no fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers as reported in the Denver Post. Foxsports.com readers have a few interesting comments on Hurdle's dislike of the Dodgers, here.

Rockies phenom and Olympian Dexter Fowler made his major league debut Tuesday night as a pinch runner, only to be thrown out trying to steal second. It just boils down to him not yet adjusted to being in the big leagues and also maybe some nervousness. We'll see plenty of Dexter as the season winds down especially if the Rockies are out of playoff contention. But I dont believe he will be in a Rockies uniform at the start of the season in 2009. But that will depend alot on what happens in spring training and whether the Rockies will hold on to Willy Taveras in the off season. If I were a betting man, I would say that the Rockies will trade Taveras for prospects and Cory Sullivan will move to center. The Rockies will lose too much in the way of team speed in trading Taveras, who at times though not often can be a liability in the outfield, but is a serious threat when at the plate and on the basepaths. Trading him would be a mistake. Taveras currently sits at 66 stolen bases on the season, 4 away from his own personal goal of 70 set at the beginning of the season.

The minor leagues wrap up their seasons this week, with the Rockies single A teams, Asheville Tourists and Modesto Nuts both making playoff appearances beginning tonight. Asheville losing tonight 1-0 to Augusta. As of this post time Modesto versus Stockton have not started.

Our final "Chad Report" of the season on Rockies prospect Chad Jacobsen will be this weekend as the Casper Ghosts finish their season this Friday.

Enjoy the day off tomorrow and get ready for the Houston Astros on Friday.

Rox win, but so do the D'Backs...

2008-08-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

Aaron Cook picks up win number 16 as the Rockies cruise to a 9-4 win over the Padres moving them a game and a half behind the second place Dodgers. It looks like Jake Peavy's start for Saturday has been moved back to Sunday against Jeff Francis. In Jake's place on Saturday will be Josh Geer (0-0) making his first major league start. The D'Backs got a win over the Dodgers, who have now lost 8 in a row. The increased confidence the Rockies are showing should in turn relate to an increased if not consistent attendance for the upcoming homestand against the Giants.

Haven't We Been Here Before?...

2008-08-29T10:07:00.001-07:00

This time last year the Rockies were in the same position they currently find themselves in this year, 6 games out of a playoff spot. We all know what happened last season. But do we know what will happen this season? We know what we would like to see happen, but that is up to the players and what happens on the field and in the standings.

Rockies fans, beware of a team that has played well as of late on the road as the Rockies have been doing, but at the same time finds a way to play down to the level of lesser teams. We have that this weekend in San Diego. The Rockies should win all three games in San Diego and that's important as the Dodgers and D'Backs are battling each other both on losing streaks. The Dodgers have lost 7 straight and the D'Backs lost 4 in a row, 3 of them at the hands of the Padres. The best we can hope for as Rockies fans is that Arizona loses all three and the Rockies sweep the Padres. That will create an I-25 like traffic jam for the NL West division if that scenario should play out that way.

The Rockies have thier three best pitchers going against the Padres and if the bats continue to stay hot, then the Rox should come away with a sweep. The matchup I'm most looking forward to is Saturday's matchup, Ubaldo Jimenez against Jake Peavy, but a win tonight for Aaron Cook gets the momentum rolling, setting up the matchup on Saturday night.

Another Giant Step...

2008-08-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

The Rockies are looking really good at the moment with another win tonight against the Giants and losses by both the Dodgers and the D'Backs. The Rockies are currently 6 games back of Arizona and 3 back of Los Angeles going 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Rockies finish off their series tomorrow with the Giants then head to San Diego, which should be at least on paper an easy series for the Rockies.

Following the Leaders...

D'Backs @ Padres
Dodgers @ Nationals

The latest "Chad" Report...

Following Rockies prospect Chad Jacobsen with the Casper Ghosts. Chad is currently batting .254, 3, 23, playing in 36 games this season. Chad did not play in tonight's game against Orem.

Reds Alert...

2008-08-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

Eight was enough for the Reds Friday night against the Rockies. Livan Hernandez was roughed up through 4 innings. The Rockies left 13 runners on base, including bases loaded with no outs and ended the inning to a small chorus of boos from the crowd not having scored in the 5th. Used to be the Rockies couldnt win on the road, but took care of business when at home, but as of late that hasn't happened. The Rockies over the last 2 road trips have gone 11-5 and over the last two homestands including tonight's game having gone 3-8. If this trend continues, the Rockies can go ahead now and pack their bags before September gets here as 15 of the first 18 are at home.
I'm an optimistic person and tonight I've told a few people that I believe we can still get into the playoffs. But with nights like these, the more I begin to look like I'm going to have to eat my words of optimism.

Saturday night is Todd Helton Bobblehead night and the first 10000 will receive one. But some people may want to possibly attend Saturday night for a different reason. Though nothing to my knowledge has been confirmed, but there are rumblings around Coors Field of possibly a certain person of extreme importance this week here in Denver could maybe be attending a Rockies game. I will keep my eyes open.

The minor leagues are wrapping up their seasons over the next 2 weeks. So if you havent made it to Colorado Springs, Tulsa, Asheville, Modesto, Tri City or to Casper your window of opportunity is getting smaller.

Team USA...Rockies in Beijing...

Team USA after being throttled by Cuba 10-2, beats Japan to capture the bronze medal 8-4. Stats were not available at time of posting.

Dodging a Bullet...

2008-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Rockies win again over the Dodgers 4-3 last night but not without a little help from the Dodgers themselves and gamw winning RBI by Brad Hawpe. The Rockies have now won 5 in a row and look to sweep the Dodgers this afternoon. With a win today the Rockies would be 6-0 against manager Joe Torre in the last 2 seasons, sweeping the Yankees in 3 games at Coors Field last season. The last time the Rockies came home from a winning record on the road, they tanked at home going 3-7 mostly against lesser teams in the Nationals and Padres. So let's hope that doesnt happen this time when they are home for 3 games this weekend against the Reds. The Rox are now sitting 6 games back of the 2nd place Dodgers and 8 still behind Arizona, who keeps winning by beating the Padres (something the Rockies couldn't do) 8-6.

Rockies in Beijing... Team USA update...

Team USA 4, Japan 2

Dexter Fowler went 2 for 3, scoring a run.
Casey Weathers in 1 inning of work threw 24 pitches, 16 for strikes, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, a walk and struck out 1.

Next opponent...Cuba on Friday

Gaining Ground...

2008-08-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

The Rockies gain a half game on the Dodgers after beating them 8-3 tonight, while the D'Backs win 7-6 over the Padres. Tonight's win gives the Rockies something I wasn't sure was possible anymore and that was winning their 4th game in a row.

Read Rockies prospect Dexter Fowler's journal here from the Olympic Games in Beijing. Next up for Team USA is Japan on Wednesday.

Sweeping Victory...

2008-08-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

DAMN! I Just watched the Dodgers beat the Brewers in the bottom of the 9th on a walkoff homerun by Andre Ethier. The Rockies did gain some ground today by sweeping the Nationals along with Arizona's loss in Houston. The Good news is that the Rockies cant lose any ground tomorrow as they are off along with the Dodgers and D'Backs. It was good to see Aaron Cook get back in the win column, getting his 15th of the season. Willy Taveras is literally running away with the team record in stolen bases, swiping his 58th of the season today.

Rockies prospect, Dexter Fowler went 0 for 4 with a run scored in Team USA's victory over Canada on Friday. Team USA faces China on Monday.

Rockies...Down But Not Out...

2008-08-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

It's not often that you can say the Rockies had better roadtrip than homestand. Well it happened. Rockies were 6-4 on their previous roadtrip and finished this 10 game homestand 3-7 and are now 9 games out of first place in the NL West as they begin a 6 game roadtrip in Washington against the Nationals. With a little more than 6 weeks left in the regular season the Rockies still have a chance, albeit a slim one at the moment if the current lack of production continues to become more of a trend.

Willy Taveras is now tied with former Rockie, Eric Young for the team record in stolen bases in a season with 53. Taveras has said that his goal at the start of the season was 70. Congrats to Taveras on reaching it and let's hope he gets 70 bases along with some Rockies wins.

Team USA loses to Cuba in extra innings and is now also a man down. Rockies prospect Jayson Nix is out after he suffered a laceration above his eye after trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Nix will miss the remainder of games played by Team USA.

There's no predicting what this series will be like against the Nationals. On paper the Rockies should win all three, but pitching is suspect, hitting and run production are sparse and both teams are playing relatively bad baseball. So instead I'm going to go right into Following the Leaders for what should be a more entertaining matchup in LA...

Brewers @ Dodgers
D'Backs @ Astros

The Rox need to win in Washington and Los Angeles and can use some help from both Houston and Milwaukee. Who knows? By this time next week the Rockies could be in a better position than they currently are...or not.

Winners...

2008-08-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Team USA routs Nederlands 7-0 in a rain shortened game and the Rockies get back in the win column beating the D'Backs 6-5. Team USA stats were not available online at post time this morning.

Just when you think the Rockies were going to put away Arizona in a decent fashion, Brian Fuentes adds some drama in the 9th inning with the bases loaded before finishing off the D'Backs for the win. Jeff Francis had a good outing overall, definitely his best since returning to the rotation. The notion that switching Barmes and Taveras in the lineup helped in the win is ridiculous. Simply put the reason the switch looked good last night was that they actually had Taveras do what he's best at, laying down the bunt and using his speed to get on base, something the Rockies failed to do with Taveras the game before, going 0-4.

Willy Taveras' steal of 2nd base last night puts him 1 away from tying the team record (53) in steals. If Taveras gets on base this afternoon, expect him to tie that record today, if not break it.

Following the Leaders...

Dodgers beat the Phillies 7-6
Dodgers and D'Backs are tied for first in the NL West.

D'Backs @ Rockies 1:05pm(MT)
Phillies @ Dodgers 8:10pm(MT)

Casper Ghosts first baseman, Chad Jacobsen (.270, 3, 23) went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored in last night's win over Billings. Ghosts host Billings beginning Thursday through this weekend for 4 games.

Team USA vs Nederlands...

2008-08-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Against Korea, Team USA players and Rockies prospects Jayson Nix went 1 for 5 with a double and scored a run, and Dexter Fowler also scored a run as a pinch runner. Can Team USA rebound from their first loss of the Beijing Olympics to Korea 8-7?
You can follow Rockies prospects Dexter Fowler, Casey Weathers, and Jayson Nix and the rest of Team USA as they face the Nederlands tonight at 8:30pm (MT) online only. Click Here.

The "Chad" Report...

2008-08-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

In keeping up with Rockies prospect Chad Jacobsen at rookie A level Casper, I present to you the "Chad" Report. For the remainder of the season I will follow the progress of Colorado native and Casper Ghosts first baseman, Chad Jacobsen. Jacobsen did not play in last night's loss 8-3 in Billings. Chad is batting (.270, 3, 22) with an OBP of .362 and slugging percentage of .405.

Casper @ Billings 7:05pm

Rockies in Beijing...

2008-08-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

As of this post this morning Team USA is down 3-1 to Korea in the 4th inning of their first Olympic game in Beijing.

Follow Rockies prospects Jayson Nix, Dexter Fowler, and Casey Weathers and the rest of Team USA here.

Jayson Nix (1 for 2, double, run scored in the first)

Zoned Out....

2008-08-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

Let's start here, 7th inning, you're down 4-2, runners on first and third, 1 out and your leadoff hitter and fastest man on the team is at the plate in Willy Taveras who is 0 for 3 on the night and not much better in the homestand. He hits into a double play to end the inning. Are you kidding me?! Whose idea was it for Taveras to hit and not instead lay down a bunt towards third to advance the runner from first to second and possibly get himself on as well? Thus giving Tulowitzki a shot to drive in a run or two with a base hit. These are the kinds of decisions that make nights at Coors Field at times frustrating and leave one to wonder if the team is expecting to run off another 21 out of 22 like they did last season. Even if Taveras doesnt make it to first safely, you would now have two runners in scoring position with the better chance of tying the game.

It looks to me that the Rockies aren't playing using basic fundamentals of the game. There doesnt seem to be that killer instinct. Consistency is key here and when you look at the lineup that Hurdle puts on the field, you dont see any. One day Tulo is batting in the 8th spot, the next he's batting in the two spot. Put the best players on the field and stop managing the game from what at times feels like a spring training standpoint. This isn't little league so stop managing the team like it. These guys are old enough to not be upset if they aren't in the game every day and Hurdle, you sure aren't going to have to answer to any upset parents if their kid doesnt play.

I mentioned that the Rockies look like they aren't playing with a killer instinct, well emotion seems to be another thing lacking as well. I dont want 21 out of 22, I'll be happy with winning 5 out of 6. This town really wants to get behind this team and if you look at the attendance, you will see that it has. But the reality is this, the wildcard is not going to get the Rockies into the playoffs. The Rockies are too far below .500 for that to happen. Once they realize that winning the NL West is the only way to get in, maybe we'll see more of a fight to make the playoffs, but at the moment, I don't see that happening. There's still time left to make a run and plenty of games against NL West teams to end up on top, but today it has to start with a win. Francis makes his second start since his return from Doulble A Tulsa.

Following the Leaders...

Dodgers win over the Phils, 4-3.

Dodgers host Phillies @ 7:10pm
Rockies host D'Backs @ 7:05pm

A 'Nationals' Disaster...

2008-08-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

Wow! Who would've thought the Rockies would not only play down to their competition, but also go on to lose 3 of 4 to the Nats. The worst loses of this series were the ones that came Thursday afternoon at Coors Field. The pitching wasn't as bad as the hitting or lack of hitting was. Run support was almost nonexistent. Again it was the issue of getting men in scoring position and not being able to get them across the plate.

Now the next 6 games are of the utmost importance this season. The Padres will test the Rockies within their division despite not being close in the race for the NL West title. The Rockies need to get back on the winning track and use this series against the Padres to gain some momentum before taking on the Diamondbacks next week. The more the Rockies continue to play like they did during Thursday afternoon's doubleheader, the more they are going to need help from other teams playing the D'Backs and the Dodgers. Can the Rockies bounce back Friday night and through the weekend? Let's hope so.

Following the Leaders...

Dodgers win over Cards Thursday 4-1
Braves beat D'Backs Thursday, 6-4

Friday's games...
Dodgers @ San Francisco
Braves @ D'Backs

Let's Play Two...

2008-08-07T02:23:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Mother Nature, Jeff Francis' first start since his recent stint on the DL and three rehab starts in Tulsa, will have to wait one more day. The Rockies will play a doubleheader Thursday. Francis will start game 1 and Ubaldo Jimenez will start game the second game.

Following the Leaders...
D'Backs and Dodgers both lose Wednesday night.

Thursday's games - Dodgers @Cardinals, Braves @ D'Backs.

Nationals @ Rockies (doubleheader) - 1:05pm

Walking the Line...

2008-08-06T09:57:00.001-07:00

What looked like another night of subpar baseball by the Rockies came to be a comeback desperately needed if the Rockies are going to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot come October. Nationals pitching fell apart and the Rockies for once in this series were able to take advantage of it. The Rockies will have to play better than .500 ball the rest of the season, take care of beating the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, to in reality get into the postseason. They're too many games right now below .500 to think about a wildcard, but that still can change. They need to think about catching the 2nd place Dodgers then the Diamondbacks. They can seriously close that gap with the D-Backs in town next week.

Jeff Francis returns to the mound for the Rockies tonight after 3 rehab starts in Tulsa. Jorge De La Rosa had a solid performance in last night's start, but now with the addition of Livan Hernandez off of waivers, dont expect to see De La Rosa up with the Rockies for the rest of the season. The pickup of Hernandez should certainly be a lift to the pitching rotation and with having Jeff Francis back as well. Hernandez overall has had solid outings at Coors Field in his time with the Marlins, Giants, D'Backs, and Nationals.

After last night's victory, I 'm looking for the Rockies to have a little more of a swagger tonight. There will be more excitement with Francis back and starting and pciking up from where they left off last night should not be a problem. Francis who is known for having troubles in the first inning of most games, has to get through the first inning (and maybe the second), once he does that (crossing fingers) things should be fine after that.

Following the Leaders...
Dodgers are at the Cards and the D'Backs are home against the Pirates.

After meeting Casper Ghosts first baseman, Chad Jacobsen last weekend. I have decided to do something where I will following the progress of a particular player throughout their season at least once a week. So Chad will be the single prospect to follow for the rest of the Ghosts season. The Ghosts do not play tonight, but Chad Jacobsen went 1-4 in last night's game against the Owlz, batting .265.

Down on the Farm (part 3) Stadium Photos, Casper Ghosts

2008-08-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sign at the entrance to parking lot.

The only entrance into the stadium is outside left field. This is prior to Saturday night's game. Ticket office is also located here.

The main grandstand.

From the 3rd base side.

Needing information? Here's where to go!

Main grandstand and concessions.

Lineups from Friday night's game posted outside the "Ghost Town" the souvenir store.

Visitors dugout.

Player's clubhouses and locker rooms for both teams are in this facility.

I will post game photos and video clips from the weekend at a later date.

Down on the Farm (Part 3) Casper Ghosts...

2008-08-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well the first day here in Casper has been pretty good. I made a phone call this morning to the Ghosts office to see if the gift shop was open before the game. Though the store was not open there wasn't any problem getting someone from the front office to allow me into the gift shop so I could buy some of the hottest selling souvenirs in minor league baseball before game time. If you don't have a Casper Ghosts cap, then you should get on the ball, cause they literally cant keep them in stock. The team wears 3 different caps and each cap features a glow in the dark logo, which is part of the reason these are hard to keep in stock.

I met some really great baseball people this weekend. One chance meeting was that of meeting and talking to team owner, Kevin Haughian. Later during the game I was seated behind the proud grandparents of Ghosts first baseman and Colorado native, Chad Jacobsen, His grandparents mentioned that Chad had been swinging a bat since he was 6 years old. Chad Jacobsen (6'1", 210lbs) played college ball at the University of South Carolina at Aiken and was drafted by the Rockies in the 18th round of the 2008 draft. I was able to meet and talk to Chad before Sunday's game against the Orem Owlz. Chad went 3 for 5 Saturday against Ogden and 2 for 3 on Sunday against Orem. He is currently batting .265 with 3 homers and 19 runs batted in. Certainly someone to keep an eye on in the future.

Getting photos at Mike Lansing Field before the game isnt a chore by any means. I will post more photos on Monday. You can really do your own self guided tour and get some photos that you aren't able to get at most ballparks, major or minor league. It's one of the things I like about the minor league atmosphere. The Ghosts have a well run organization and are proud of what they bring to the Casper community. The in-game promotions are fun and the PA announcer is hilarious to say the least. There's a raffle to help raise money for little league baseball in Casper, which I was more than happy to donate to. The small and unique stadiums, members of a front office with one title but many many duties and responsibilities, the fans who support the young team, the sometimes one man groundscrew, the tireless hustle of the players, the raggedy old team bus, goofy mascots, these are all things that I still appreciate in minor league baseball having worked in it at one point in my life. The game in it's purest form can still be found in the minor leagues.

On the Road Again...

2008-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

As the Willie Nelson song goes. Well the bags are packed, and the humidor has been loaded in the car and this afternoon I will be hitting the road on my way to Casper, Wyoming for some minor league baseball. The Rockies rookie A-ball team the Casper Ghosts are playing the Ogden Raptors tonight and Saturday and on Sunday they take on the Orem Owlz. I wont get to Casper in time to see tonight's game or to watch the Rockies game in Florida, but the radio will be tuned into 850 KOA to listen on the drive up.
I dont have much of an idea of what to expect, cause I've never been to Casper, as this is only my second trip to the state of Wyoming. And I haven't been to a class A rookie league game in a number of years. Though I'm pretty sure Casper is nothing like the roadtrip I took to Kansas City back in June.

Tickets for Saturday night's game have already been scored, mostly because there is a giveaway that night. Sunday will probably just be a walk up purchase. From looking at previous home dates for the Ghosts it doesn't look as though they have completely sold out a game, even on Fireworks nights which are on Fridays. Mike Lansing Field, home of the Ghosts has a capacity of 2500. It doesn't mean that baseball isnt big in Casper, it just isn't everyone's cup of tea. But I'm sure the people of Casper are happy to have a team and happy to be a part of the Rockies farm system. This will be the third feature of the Down on the Farm series beginning with a post tomorrow and again on Sunday. though it will be really late. I will probably not post again today, due to being on the road, so tomorrow night expect some pictures and analysis of the team, the stadium and the game. Hopefully I can get some Rockies stuff posted as well.

Quitters never win....

2008-07-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

5th inning Rockies are down 11-1 and Kip Wells is causing me to pull my hair out, not that De La Rosa is getting a free pass seeing as he didn't fare any better in the start. Wells looks as if he isn't sure of what to do out on the mound. He's spending too much time looking up into the stands between pitches and not concentrating on the job at hand. It's a wonder that he's still in a Rockies uniform. Marlins outfieder Hanley Ramirez continues to pound Rockies pitching and this time around the Marlins have a healthy Dan Uggla who was on the disabled list when the Marlins were at Coors last month.

Yea sure the reason the Rockies losing this game has to do with De La Rosa and Wells, but more importantly it has to do with Clint Hurdle quitting on his team. Even if you're down 9 runs, you dont take your best guys out of the lineup to rest in order to give playing time to those who aren't your everyday players. No we dont want to see the Rox have to play catch up every game and playing from behind 9 runs isn't an easy feat, but the Rockies did it against the Marlins at Coors Field when they were down 13-4. So I look at what happened last night as Hurdle's exhibition game in order to give time to the Omar Quintanillas, Seth Smiths, and the Cory Sullivans. Nothing against these players at all, but even when the night started off the way it did, with De La Rosa not having any control and not being able to find the plate. Wells only made it worse and then you remove your big hitter in Holliday and others as the game progresses or in last night's case regresses. Plain and simple Hurdle quit on his team by not giving them a chance to win the ballgame.

103 Reasons...

2008-07-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

"Reasons" a song by famed group Earth, Wind and Fire came into my head as Brian Fuentes recorded another save in last night's game over the Pittsburgh Pirates. I dont think it needs to be explained in great detail, but there are now 103 reasons that the Rockies should not trade Brian Fuentes. I've said it before, the Rockies should they make it in the playoffs, will not advance in the playoffs without Fuentes. Manny Corpas has gotten better over the past few weeks, but he's still not as effective as he was last season in the role as a closer. Sure the trade deadline is only hours away and anything still can happen, but I just dont see it. The Rockies front office has done stupid things in the past and we shouldn't be surprised should a trade take place. The need for a fifth starter is a little evident, but I'm not so sure that maybe the Rockies are looking at that need a little more than they need to. Once Francis returns to the starting rotation, assuming he returns to his form of last season, the Rox will be fine. Cook, De La Rosa, Jimenez, Francis and I will say Glendon Rusch as the fifth, should help to take the Rockies closer to making the playoffs. The idea of trading for clubhouse favorite Josh Fogg isnt my idea of a proven solution and the only reason this trade could happen is that the Rockies would be giving up very little to bring Fogg back.

Keep your eyes open as the deadline is as of right now less than 4 hours away, but I dont see the Rockies making any moves.

1 day til the humidor and I hit Casper for some baseball with Rockies rookie A-ball team the Casper Ghosts.

Play It Again...

2008-07-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

I know I wasnt the only person who felt as though watching tonight's game against the Pirates was a virtual repeat of last night's game. Briefly....Rockies jump out first to lead, pitching suffers and somewhere in the 5th and 6th innings, the Rockies completely fall apart. It was the same game two nights in a row. I was beginning to feel as though I had tivo'ed Monday night's game. The Rockies will need to make up for tonight's game tomorrow. Glendon Rusch did a good job on the hill tonight, but what followed wasn't up to par, causing the Rockies to drop their second straight and currently 3-2 on the roadtrip so far. I dont want to say it but the Rox need to win 3 of the remaining 5 road games to come home to Coors Field over .500 for the trip. This will keep the team in the running for the NL West title. It's still too early to panic, but if the Rox continue t0 play as they have these last two games then the title will certainly be out of reach.
Last month I made mention of the fact that the Rockies haven't worn their purple alternate jerseys this season. Well if you were watching the game George Frazier answered that question the same way I did in my earlier post, that the starting pitcher chooses what jersey the team wears. Then later coming back after being informed and saying that the purple jerseys are out all together. Which in my opinion is a shame, cause the purple is what sets this team apart from other teams in that they're not the usual red or blue you see on most teams. The Rockies have hardly worn their road grey jerseys this season, still opting for the black vested jerseys which are hideous in my opinion, looking like cheap knockoffs of the Oakland Raiders football jerseys. It's like they're scared of wearing purple. Why? When so many of the winning streaks the team had last season came with the Rockies wearing their purple jerseys. Major League Baseball should ban all teams from having a black jersey with the exception of the Pirates, Orioles and maybe the White Sox. We know the reason most teams do it is because of marketing, but that doesnt always translate into a good idea or better jersey sales. Example, the New York Mets. I was a Mets fan at one time in my life, during the days of Strawberry and Gooden, the '86 World Series and beyond. The Mets blue and orange colors was all there was, there wasnt an ugly black jersey or a black cap like you see today. I'm hoping the Rockies someday will bring back the purple jersey but maybe as a vested jersey instead and get rid of the current black jersey.

3 days until the humidor travels to Casper, Wyoming for a weekend of Casper Ghosts games.

Down on the Farm (Part2), Colorado Springs SkySox photos...

2008-07-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

While the Rockies were pounding and sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati, I was burning up in Colorado Springs watching the Rockies triple A SkySox lose to the Oklahoma Redhawks, 4-2. Here are more photos and a short video clip from my time yesterday at Security Service Field. Enjoy!An hour before first pitch. A gorgeous day for baseball in Colorado Springs.
Stupid mascot get outta the way!!!

The future of Rockies baseball? Chris Frey, Adam Melhuse and Kenny Perez.

SkySox First baseman, Joe Koshansky.

Second baseman Jayson Nix on deck.
SkySox centerfielder, Cory Sullivan on deck while shortstop Mike McCoy leads off.

SkySox Starting pitcher Josh Hall's work through 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits.

Chris Frey's attempt to steal 2nd base during a 9th inning rally.

Down on the Farm, (Part 2) Colorado Springs SkySox...

2008-07-27T18:41:00.001-07:00

There are three things that I hate at a ballgame. First would be kids who won't sit in their seats during a game. Second, women who feel as if they must put their legs up over the seat in front of them to tan their beautifully painted toes. And third, the wave. Hasn't someone killed this idea of it being a part of any sporting event let alone baseball?

Overall Security Service Field, home of the Colorado Springs SkySox is an ok stadium. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give it a 7. There are a few issues I do have with the stadium and some of what it offers. But there are definitely some positives as well.

Like for instance today was 50 cent hotdog day, which is their promo every Sunday home game. You cant beat this anywhere else in baseball I'm almost sure of it. Sure the Rockies, Aramark and Coors Field have $1 hotdog nights once a month but their dogs are not as good as the ones offered by Hebrew National and the SkySox. And besides they're 50 cents cheaper! What a bargain!

There are no bad seats within the stadium, though I was not really impressed with the entrance into the ballpark. There was nothing "grand" about it. In my opinion if you didnt know the SkySox were a triple A ballclub you could easily think by looking at it from the outside that Security Service Field were a double A ballpark or even high level single A ballpark.

My next issue is the souvenir store inside. My office cubicle is just as big as this store. And their selection of merchandise is not impressive to say the least. They only offer the basics, caps, t-shirts, balls bats and a few keychains and mugs. Maybe if it were better stocked the size of the store wouldn't be an issue. On the plus side of things one thing that I noticed and appreciated was that Aramark was not involved in any concessions or souvenirs. I will reserve further comment on that. There are plenty of different offerings as far as food and beverages are concerned.

As for what the ballpark offers during the game. There are probably more bad points than there are good, but here it goes. On field hosts are really not needed in any baseball game. If I wanted that kind of stupid entertainment, and I use that word lightly, I would turn to watching Wipeout on abc. Another thing and this is important. If you dont really care for mascots and their antics. If youre that person I would suggest that you do not sit behind the first base dugout as I did today. The SkySox mascot, Sox(the fox) jumps up on the dugout from the very first inning, and today it was twice as bad as Dinger was a special guest this afternoon. So along with a kid who couldn't stay seated(see again first photo), I had to try to see around and through a fox and a dinosaur too.

Another thing that the SkySox could do during the game on their scoreboard is between innings display scores from other games in the Pacific Coast League and also the Rockies score. I waited all day long to hear what the score was and I got nothing. Instead having to wait until the game was over and I was in my car listening to the SkySox flagship station to hear the final score between the Rockies and the Reds.

Overall I had a good time at the ballpark and for $11 a really good seat (minus the visual interruptions), the food was well priced and although the SkySox lost this afternoon, I would definitely return for another game. So if you're hungry for some baseball while the Rockies are on the road, make the short drive down I-25 and catch a SkySox game.

Look for more pictures to be posted tomorrow...

A Great Day for Baseball...

2008-07-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Goose Gossage who is being inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY today.

The Rockies are playing inspired baseball right now winning 8 of their last 9 by beating the Reds 5-1 yesterday. The series sweep is expected to happen today with Ubaldo Jimenez on the hill against former Rockie Josh Fogg.

5 days before I take the humidor on another road trip, this time to Casper, Wyoming to take in a couple of games of the Casper Ghosts, Rockies rookie A ball affiliate. But while the Rockies are finishing off the Reds this afternoon, I've decided this morning to take the humidor on a roadtrip down to Colorado Springs for a SkySox game against the Oklahoma Redhawks. This will be the second feature of "Down on the Farm" for this season. If you remember the first feature was not Rockies related but still baseball related when I took in a game in Durham, NC home of the Durham Bulls and the movie "Bull Durham" back in April. Look for photos and blog entry from the second feature of "Down on the Farm" later today or early tomorrow morning. Then of course the third feature will be from Casper this coming weekend.

The Blame Game...

2008-07-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Despite giving up 7 runs in a third of an inning for Rockies starter Kip Wells, last night's loss falls totally on the shoulders of Clint Hurdle. Wells coming off of the injured list, delivered one hell of an inning not too soon to be forgotten by Rockies fans. Hurdle managed the first inning as if it were a intra-squad game in February by allowing Wells to pitch himself out of trouble. Which more than backfired on Hurdle and the team 7 runs later in the opening half of the first inning before pulling Wells. Hurdle failed to realize that this team can make up considerable ground in the NL West against the Dodgers in this series by leaving Wells in for too long. Sure the Rockies made some noise later in the game by scoring 10 runs, but the damage was too severe for the Rockies to overcome. Did Hurdle think that Wells, who hasnt pitched since April was going to come out and stifle the already weakened lineup of the Dodgers? That may have been the case with the Dodgers having no speed on the basepaths with Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal both out due with injuries. Andruw Jones has been nothing but awful at the plate since doning Dodger blue this season and the only possible threats in the lineup is Russell Martin and an off and on again Jeff Kent.

The Rockies were able to make strides last night with Troy Tulowitzki fresh from his double A stint in Tulsa, going 5 for 5. But one game back from the disabled list doesnt make a season despite his average going up 26 points. Nonetheless it is an improved start in the right direction for the 2nd year shortstop phenom. Holliday continues his hot hittng (3 for 3) with his 17th homer last night. He would easily be right around 23 or 24 homers if not for his 2 week stint on the DL in May.

So the players did their part to win last night's game with the exception of Wells and Hurdle's indecision to pull him earlier than he did ultimately did the team in. The 18-17 come from behind win over the Marlins a couple of weeks back was incredible, but you cant continue to go the rest of the season expecting to win games in that fashion every night especially in a division as bad as the NL West, and when the Rockies as of now clearly still have a realistic chance to win it.

Look ahead to September and if this team is 3-4 games out there is a more than legitimate chance to win the division with 15 of the first 18 games played at Coors Field and not to mention that 6 of the final 9 games of the season are against the Diamondbacks. But Hurdle has to put this team in that position now for September and stop managing games like he did last night like it was spring training. Hurdle should've owned up to the loss in last night's press conference but he didn't. Instead he offered those typical baseball cliches on what happened in the game and what needed to be done. Who did he learn how to handle questions at a press conference from George Karl? What needed to be done was pulling Wells before giving the Dodgers a touchdown lead and that didnt happen. Wells should be sent back down to AAA or maybe even AA or maybe just given his release. There's no excuse for what happened last night and clearly Hurdle is to blame.

Off to a Good Start (so far)...

2008-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Last night the Rockies got the second half of the season off to a good start thanks to Chris Ianetta's 2 run shot to take the lead from the Pirates as they would hold on to win 5-3. Brain Fuentes gets his 100th save in a Rockies uniform and for all of the trade talk out there I will say that though he has had his problems some nights as the closer, this team doesnt even come close to the playoffs without Brain Fuentes to close out games. Manny Corpas still isn't where he needs to be to regain his position as closer and right now losing Fuentes will hurt the Rockies, maybe just as much as losing Matt Holliday, though I dont see that happening this season. Besides nobody from the bullpen has really stepped up to assume any sort of dominance and who do you think the Rox could get that would immediately come in to help the team, that's not going to cost them big in the long run? I'm almost at the belief that the Rockies will remain intact as we know them for the remainder of this season. Remember the NL West is atrocious at best and this is the same team that got hot at the right time to put themselves in the position to make the playoffs last season albeit with a little help from the Milwaukee Brewers and the Padres Trevor Hoffman. Should the Rockies lose Fuentes, Manny Corpas or somebody had better be ready to be the "bullpen ace" and shoulder the team if not to the playoffs, at the least to a respectable second half of the season.

Looking Back...and to the Future...

2008-07-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Let's get right to it and get into the Good, the BAD, and the UGLY of last night's all-star game.

The GOOD - The pitching was great for both teams overall last night. Aaron Cook's 3 scoreless innings were certainly a highlight and NL starter Ben Sheets 2 innings of work were as well. Holliday's homer to give the National League a 1-0 run in the 5th. Yankee fans keeping the rivalry alive and well by booing Red Sox players and manager Terry Francona. Terry Francona allowing Yankees fans to give ovations to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera throughout the game. The Hall of Famers in their respective positions during player introductions.

The BAD - JD Drew winning the game MVP(not to mention that ugly white Chevy hybrid SUV), when he didnt win the game for the American League. Sure if it wasnt for his 2 run shot they wouldn't have been in the position to tie the game at 2. The award should've gone to Texas Ranger shortstop Michael Young who drove in the winning run in the 15th. Listening to Tim McCarver ramble on during the all-star game or any game for that matter. Scott Boras smiling as Matt Holliday's stock just went up even higher after hitting a homer in the 5th.

The UGLY - This one is simple. Florida Marlins infielder, Dan Uggla committing 3 errors in the game which was the turning point and not to mention his going 0-4 at the plate. Should've stayed on the DL a little longer.

OK now on to the rest of the season for the Rockies. Looking at the rest of the schedule for July the Rockies seem to have things in their favor, at least on paper anyway. The Pirates are at Coors Field tomorrow for 4 games and the Rockies should take at least 3 out 4. Then they should be able to make up some ground within the division with the Dodgers in right after that for 3 games. Then they hit the road and finish up the month in Cincinnati and at Pittsburgh, which despite previous road woes, they should finish the month on a positive note before heading to Florida.

Gimme A Break....

2008-07-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

The next 3 days will be a much needed break for the Colorado Rockies, with the exceptions of Aaron Cook and Matt Holliday. Having come out of spring training 3 and a half months ago with greater expectations than the 39-57 record currently at the break, the Rox are in need of some serious help for the second half of the season. Luckily the one thing in the Rockies favor is that the NL West is severely weaker this season than last, so there is still a sliver of hope, but even that may not be enough for the truly faithful.

Here's the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY...of the first half of the season.

The GOOD - Aaron Cook, an all-star this season with an 11-6 record and clearly the only one on the pitching staff that can actually pitch and win. Chris Ianetta is actually hitting the ball this season, but the arm behind the plate still leaves a little more to be desired. Dinger's antics have at times distracted us from the miserable play on the field. Sweeping Cleveland in interleague play in June. The fans have shown up this season despite the erratic play at times of this team, kudos to the fans.

The BAD - These are numerous, so this may take a while, now where should I begin? The starting pitching staff sounds like a good place. "Ace" starter according to Hurdle and Apodaca, Jeff Francis has pitched terrible. Greg Reynolds and Ubaldo Jimenez havent fared much better, but still better than Francis. Losing LaTroy Hawkins and Josh Fogg in the offseason. It's time to pack your bags Apodaca.

The bullpen, Manny Corpas, who's ERA is bigger than the contract he received in the off season is not even close to where he was last season. For all of you who want to see Fuentes gone, imagine how much worse off the Rockies would be if we didnt have Brian Fuentes with the way Corpas started out the season. Bullpen by committee doesnt usually work too well in the majors. Luis Vizcaino, who came over from the Yankees for slightly more than the Rockies front office were willing to offer LaTroy Hawkins has also been horrible this season. I will give the fact that he was on the DL for most of the first half, but so far what I've seen hasnt been impressive even in a high school game.

Troy Tulowitzki coming off of an awesome 2007 season, is hitting below .170 and his time on the DL this season hasnt helped him, so maybe after his second and current stint on the DL he will turn things around and be able to salvage something out of this season.

Losing Jamey Carroll and Kaz Matsui during the offseason.

Injuries have not made this season anything to write home about. About the only person who hasnt been on the DL so far are Aaron Cook and Rockies mascot Dinger, though there are those who wouldn't mind seeing Dinger on a more permanent disabled list.

The UGLY - Watching Todd Helton who is clearly on the downside of his career struggle at the plate. Two losing streaks of 8 games apiece so far this season. A road record of 14-36, second worst only to the Padres. The front office allowing the continuing distraction of trade rumors by not yet signing Matt Holliday to a long term deal. The money was there but you gave 30 million of it to a rookie shortstop who should currently be sent down to the minor leagues, but because of his salary it wont happen, until he comes off of the DL for rehab. The front office did good in keeping most of the team together, but it clearly didnt think things through at the time. You let your then rookie (Tulo) play out his contract, sign your big hitter(Holliday), then later sign your shortstop, when it's time. It can still be done, Todd's contract is almost up and they can still give Holliday the maximum, just not upfront in the next 2 years. The amount of money per year would be smaller in the beginning but once Helton's off the books, Holliday's will increase from that point on. Just dont make the mistake of another 12 year contract, 6-8 years will do just fine. Just get it done already!

NOTE - I'm again loading up the car and taking the humidor on another road trip here in the next few of weeks up to Casper, Wyoming to watch the Rockies rookie A ball affiliate play. More details as it gets closer.

Like a Fish Outta Water...

2008-07-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

OK, who unplugged the humidor before the game Friday night?

8 homeruns between both teams, 6 for the Rox and 2 for the Fish.

Something smells really bad in here? Oh yea, found it! It's the pitching. The Florida Marlins pitching staff was dead, there's no other way I can put it. Though at times the Rockies pitching staff didnt seem to fare much better. The bats were alive and certainly helped provide a major spark and a win. Last night's game was memorable to what the playoff games were like at Coors Field in the 2007 season, the excitement, the anticipation, the celebrations.

I cant tell you how many people became restless and left their seats to walk around the ballpark after the Rockies were down 13-4 after the fourth inning. Ye of so little faith. Ok I'll admit I didnt have a whole lot of faith either, except that the game was here at Coors and anything is possible.

Spilborghs is on fire right now and Willy Taveras (day to day) will more than likely have to wait for him to cool off or either be penciled into the starting lineup to give Spilly a rest before seeing time back at centerfield. But that's not such a bad thing, his quad will heal and he can resume his quest for the teams stolen base record of 53, with only 15 more to go. I dont think the Rox can afford to trade Taveras though the rumors are out there, simply because there is no other speed guy on this team except Podsednik, who has shown flashes at times when he's played.

Take a good look at this team over the next couple of weeks, because what you are looking at is a glimpse into the future, a team with life after Todd Helton. It's looks like the future will be ok after Todd is done playing. I cant help but think that the game would've had a different ending last night had Helton been in the lineup. Clearly the back injury (that no one knew about) has made him look bad at the plate and at times a slow in the field and it hurt the team during their last road trip where they were winless. I'm not blaming all of those losses on Todd, that's not what I'm saying at all. Get some rest Todd and some treatment for that back and get ready for the second half of the season.

Mentally last night's game has to really weigh heavy on the Marlins, at least on the pitching staff and the same can be said about the Rockies, but there were bad plays in the field by the Marlins that unless they can quickly erase it from their minds, I think they lose again tonight and the Rox complete the sweep on Sunday. See ya at the ballpark!

Great win! And the fireworks werent so bad either...

2008-07-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July America!

The Rockies have now won 3 in a row and things seem to be falling into place, though I will probably have to bite my tongue should they prove me wrong over the next 3 games here at home. Mark Redman who is replacing Jeff Francis who is on the DL had a strong outing overall, despite not getting the win. The key thing in last night's win is that the bullpen didnt falter for once. Another win and they'll be over .500 for the homestand, but let's not set our sights so low. I think the Rox can take 2 of the next 3 from the Marlins, maybe even sweep the series, and maybe just maybe more fans will come out to see the Rockies for more than just fireworks. It was great to hear the "Tulo" chant last night, like we heard alot during the playoffs and World Series last season. Speaking of the playoffs, you must admit last night's game had alot of similarities of a playoff game. And with the way the Rockies were celebrating after Spilly's 2 run single to win the game, you would've thought we'd just won the World Series. Hopefully this translates into more consistent play both here and on the road for the remainder of the season.

The Rox are sitting 3 games behind the Giants for third place and by the looks of the rest of the NL West, the eventual division winner will be lucky to be over .500 at the end of the season.

I cant say that there were a lot of Marlins fans in attendance last night, though I did see a couple of fans dressed in Marlins gear.

In my opinion the game and the win clearly overshadowed the fireworks celebration at the end of the game, let's hope it continues tonight.

Rockslide...

2008-07-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

There was a new species of animal discovered last evening at Coors Field, the boo-birds. They came out in the 9th inning as the Padres pounded the Rockies for 7 runs to come back and win 15-8. It the 3rd straight loss the Rox have suffered (as well as the fans) where they lose a lead late in the game. Clearly this loss falls on the shoulders of the pitching staff. Clearly Brian Fuentes' trade value took another hit with last night performance or lack thereof, as rumors are speculating that he is being shopped around the league.

I dont think that Clint Hurdle will be fired as a couple of fans last night had mentioned that they didnt think it would happen until after the all-star break. The Monforts and O'Dowd clearly like Hurdle and injuries are the one thing Hurdle has on his side, other than playing in a weak division, but the guys on this team are professionals and stepping in shouldn't be a problem. Let's just say Hurdle is fired, who could the Rockies bring in? No one immediately comes to mind. Quirk would for sure be the interim manager. Would bringing Don Baylor back be an option? It's one that I personally like, but I'm not too sure if his relationship with O'Dowd and the Monforts would be as cozy as Hurdle's appears to be.

This team has underachieved this year much more than it has in the past and maybe it's because the appearance in the World Series last year seriously raised the expectations of the fans, the media, even the homeless guy on the corner of Colfax and Vine, etc.

Anyone notice that the Rockies havent worn the purple jerseys at all this season? Alot of you may not know this but it's the starting pitcher who chooses what jersey the team wears, and no one this season has opted for the purple jersey. Why not? They wore it last season and if you remember alot of their winning streaks early in and throughout the season came with the purple jersey being worn. I'm pretty tired of seeing the Rockies look like the White Sox with the black vested jersey all the time. This team is purple and it should be shown more than just with pinstripes. I dont know where to find the answer to why the purple jersey isnt being worn this season, but if I find out, I will be sure to let you know.

Road-tripped...

2008-06-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

After going 0-6 on the road and in the middle of a 7 game losing streak the Rockies come home sort of with their tail between their legs. The good thing is that the rest of the NL West hasnt fared much better this past week and we're still within plenty of reach of the first place Diamondbacks, only 9 games back.

The second half of the season doesnt begin after the all-star break, for the Rockies it begins tonight as they take on the division foe Padres who aren't doing a whole lot better than the Rox and currently half a game behind the Rockies in last place.

Is it me or does it seem like every time the Padres come to town that Greg Maddux is the starting pitcher of the first game of a series?

THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY...

The GOOD - Not a whole lot good can be said about this series, except if you're looking for a needle in a haystack, then we'll say that the Rockies seem to be on the edge of breaking out of their offensive slump going off of what we saw in the last two games in Detroit. Or we can say that at least their not on the road anymore. But is that a reason for any team to start playing well just by being home?

The BAD - Despite a 2 run homer, Tulo's still batting .157 and the bullpen has blown saves in the last two games. The homestand doesnt get any easier with the Marlins coming in on Thursday.

The UGLY - Hopefully the errors in the field have gone away and the Rockies can minimize the number of runners left on base or this could be a series of really bad baseball. Nothing to have your kids learn from except maybe what not to do. With both teams struggling we can expect a number of runs to be scored between both teams.

The KC Experience...

2008-06-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Despite the Rockies losing three games to the Kansas City Royals, I really enjoyed my time in KC. The Royals staff is very friendly and the same can be said of the Centerplate staff that runs concessions and novelties. I met some great people from both organizations had many discussions about both of our teams and how they're similar, and the ongoing renovations to Kauffman Stadium. There is an excitement about the happenings to Kauffman and to the Royals, though if you base it on the number of fans that show up to the stadium night in and night out, you may be hard pressed to find it. The fans that do show up everyday are very loyal to their team and those I was fortunate to meet were a pleasure to get to know and talk to. Ican say that I too am excited that things are looking up for the Royals organization and I hope to get back there next season to see the finished product in the new Kauffman Stadium.

I found that there are a few things that I liked that the Royals do that the Rockies dont do. The Royals do not have a lot of corporate goings on prior to the start of the game. It could be due to a lack of corporate participation and sponsorship in the area, I dont know, but they dont seem to waste the fans time with all of that before a game. Another thing that I like is they dont waste alot of time after the singing of the national anthem, like the Rockies do. The Rockies sometimes do the anthem around 15-20 minutes before a game and then go into doing all of this special presentations and crap. When the Royals do the anthem, they then announce the Royals defensive lineup then they're ready to play ball. Every ballclub does their pregame rituals differently, but the Rockies could learn a few things from the Royals.

As for the city itself, I do like Kansas City, but dont get me wrong, I wouldn't trade living in Denver for it. They have alot to be proud of. The Liberty Memorial and National WWI museum are true gems as to is the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. I was able to check these places out and along the way met up with other Rockies fans who made the trip for the 3 game series. Bryant's Barbecue is outstanding in it's own right and if you've never been trust me, the numerous celebrity photographs on the walls and the full stomach you leave with are sure signs of proof of how good this place is.

Thank you Kansas City for your hospitality and allowing myself and other Rockies fans to enjoy your city. Hope to see you again next year.

A Royal Sweep...

2008-06-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

The best seats of the 3 game series as ths photo shows the new scoreboard showing tonight's matchup of the two teams.

Todd Helton warming up before the game. Helton has not had a great series against the Royals, errors in the field and hardly any production at the plate. Is it now time to trade Helton?

Willy Taveras waits to start off the game with his first at-bat.

Holliday batting third in the lineup, waits his turn in the first inning. 2 homeruns in the series, Holliday has been one Rockies player who's efforts has produced anything positive at the plate.

Aaron Cook's second attempt to win his 11th of the season would not happen tonight, as he is leaves in the 6th.

It's been a great roadtrip to Kansas City aside than the Rockies not winning a game out of the three. I've talked to numerous Rockies fans here and throughout other places in KC. Met a couple of fans who are on the way to Detroit after this series. I've spoken to several fans who agree that Barmes or Tulo maybe shouldnt have come back to starting so soon, while Omar Quintanilla was playing so well at shortstop. Will the rumors of Holliday being traded rear their ugly head again? I'm hoping not. So far on this roadtrip the Rockies have seriously underachieved. Take nothing away from the Royals, they came into the series hot and they continue the same way as they move on to hosting the Cardinals on Friday. The Rockies head to Detroit for 3 games beginning on Friday, while I am hitting the road back to Denver Thursday morning. I'll look at the series against the Tigers and post more pictures of my time here in Kansas City. I'll cover my perceptions on things here in Kansas City, their fans, renovations and what they do differently from the Rockies as an organization that maybe the Rockies should look at changing. Thank you Kansas City, and to the Royals for you hospitality.

Rockies vs Royals, Game 2...

2008-06-25T03:51:00.000-07:00

This is not what I was hoping to read in Tuesday morning's Kansas City Star newspaper sports page, if you had asked me prior to Monday's game.

So now it was on to game 2 of the three game series and De La Rosa who was acquired earlier in the season by the Rockies from KC, made his former home fans proud (the few there are) as he only began to faulter in the 5th inning. Chants of "De La Rosa!" from the KC fans were heard throughout the inning as once again Clint Hurdle left a pitcher in for longer than he should have. Some I'm throwing some of the blame Hurdle's way for last night's loss.

There were a few more fans at Kauffman Stadium last night, but mostly because of a free giveaway of a Kansas City Royals vintage t-shirt as they called it (pictured below with my ticket stub). Nothing really vintage about it, but hey it was free. Announced attendance was a bit over 19000, which means the Royals cant even give away the 20000 t-shirts they had on hand for last night's game, pathetic. It's really a shame that a team that has won now 10 of their last 12 cant draw more than 20000 fans, even on a free giveaway night.

Well thanks to great pitching by the Royals who again offered me another free 32oz drink and a Snickers bar by striking out 6 or more batters last night, which I did go and get after the game was over. Though this time around my options were more, as a homerun in the 7th allowed anyone with a ticket stub a free hot fudge sundae anytime over the next week at a place called Sheridan's, or a $2, 6 inch sub from a local sub shop.

Here are some of the 19000 plus down the third base side of Kauffman Stadium, alot of those are Rockies fans who made the trip. So why cant Royals fans do the same?

The Royals congratulate themselves after their 2nd win over the Rockies Tuesday night.

The scoreboard tells some of the story from last night, but not everything, like Ramirez throwing behind Torrealba twice in the 9th inning for some strange reason, or Tulo's throwing error early in the game, or even Todd Helton's throwing error, or was it Barmes getting over to first base late that caused the throw to go into right field? No matter what, the Rockies will need to right the ship tonight. Our best chance to win with Aaron Cook on the mound. Tulo's .152 batting average is awful and I expect to see Quintanilla in for either Tulo or Barmes, whose average means nothing right now as his above .300 average happened before his injury and he hasnt done anything close to that since returning to the lineup Monday night.

Rockies vs Royals, Game 1...

2008-06-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

You couldn't have asked for better weather than what we had in last night's game. What we could've asked for was a much better outing from starting pitcher Jeff Francis. The first game of the 3 game series against the Royals, started off in a not so fine fashion with Francis giving up 4 runs in the first inning, and eventually being charged with all 7 runs in the game. Francis has a history of inconsistency when it comes to first innings. It looks as though he is lacking that killer instinct to go out there and just take care of hitters.

It's good to see lots of Rockies fans here in Kansas City upon arriving at the stadium last night. I'm not sure how many made the trip from Colorado, but I was fortunate to meet and talk to numerous Rockies fans, even with a couple who made the drive in from Wyoming. There were alot of Rockies jerseys amongst the only 12000 fans in attendance.

Needless to say the night ended in a loss for the Rockies, but the only thing to be gotten from it was a free 32oz drink and a Snickers bar from any Circle K convenience store if the Royals strikeout 6 batters in a game. Hopefully the next night I wouldn't have to want the need for another candy bar and drink.

The fans and staff of Kauffman Stadium are very friendly and it's a shame that in a city of such a rich baseball history, that fans dont take to their team more seriously. Sure the product on the field has alot to do with it, but fans should be showing up to Royals games to support the baseball culture in this town and stop reliving the 1985 World Series and the legacy of George Brett and embrace the team they have.

George Brett statue

1985 World Series Trophy

Checking In From KC...

2008-06-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Some 10 hours and 617 miles later we're arrive at our hotel at 4:30 this morning. And needless to say sleep was my first priority. It's now 9:30 in this morning and the day is about to begin shortly. We drove throughout most of the night with little problems with the exception of a major thunderstorm with some hail, having to pull off the highway for a few minutes.

Our hotel is 4 miles east of Kauffman Stadium, which we got a glimpse of on our way in. Surely the players had a much easier and more comfortable trip than we had. This I'm sure is how players in the minor leagues must feel, after a night of traveling from town to town, except without the assistance of a GPS unit, thanks Garmin.

The Rockies could've and should've won against the Mets yesterday afternoon before leaving Coors Field, losing their first series out of their last 5. Greg Reynolds did well for the most part but again the haunt of leaving men on base and cold wood (except for Torrealba's homerun late in the game) does in the Rox once again.

Tonight the Rockies face a Kansas City team that has been hot as of late, so this series worries me a bit. This is the Rockies first trip ever to Kansas City, as it is mine also. The difference being I get to relax and watch them play and they have to go out there and try to beat the Royals who are 8-2 in their last 10 games which includes a sweep of the Cardinals. This going to be a tougher series than what it appears on paper. The one thing that is in the Rox favor is that the Royals record at home is 15-19.

Checking in tonight after the game hopefully with some photos.

Indians Swept, Mets Revisited...

2008-06-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

10 strikeouts by Jorge De La Rosa, another homer by Jeff Baker(his 3rd in as many days), Omar Quintanilla superb at shortstop, and another stolen base for Willy Taveras giving him 32 on the season, 1 short of his total for the 2007 season and 21 behind Eric Young's Rockies team record of 53, a series sweep of the Cleveland Indians, and Todd Helton with the night off.

With Tulo ready to come back to his position of shortstop I had a discussion with a fan last night about how his return would affect Quintanilla. Omar has been outstanding at shortstop and I credit some of that to Hurdle being consistent with Omar starting more recently every day. I believe Quintanilla knows what he is capable of and has shown it to the team and to the fans. I also believe that "Q" (as the radio guys like to call him) knows when Tulo is ready, that his new position will be on the bench and more of a utility infielder in key situations or maybe to give a break to whomever is playing 2nd base or a break for Tulo. The same cant be said though about Clint Barmes when he returns, his job will be a little tougher to get back. Jeff Baker has been on fire at the plate as of late and has done very well at 2nd. I think Barmes and Quintanilla will both remain on the roster and I expect to see Ian Stewart sent down to AAA along with recent callup infielder Doug Bernier.

The Mets return to Coors Field tonight minus manager Willie Randolph who was relieved of his duties on Monday. There probably wont be any sightings of Mets GM Omar Minaya, who's trip here last time helped to further fuel specualtion a month ago of Randolph's firing. Can the Rox keep it going? They've won 7-3 of their last 10 and the Mets have gone 5-5 in their last 10. Pitching matchups I think favor the Rockies, but the most interesting matchup should be Ubaldo Jimenez up against Pedro Martinez on Saturday. Aaron Cook will be going for his 11th win tonight.

The GOOD, the BAD & the UGLY

The GOOD - Tulowitzki is back. Aaron Cook starts off the series tonight. Can Jeff Baker hit his 4th homer in as many days? Taveras on the basepaths is nearly unstoppable, only caught stealing twice and leagues the league is stolen bases with 32.

The BAD - Jose Reyes is lightning fast also on the bases with 26 steals. Facing Wright, Reyes, Delgado, and Beltran, Rockies pitchers must stay away and limit their chances.

The UGLY - That was already done on Monday when the Mets fired Willie Randolph.

3 days til Kansas City!

Another Series Win, Shirts vs Skins, etc...

2008-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Though not as exciting as Tuesday night's game, it was a win and that's what mattered most. Last night's win gave the Rockies their 5th series win in a row and puts them 3.5 games behind the second place Dodgers in the NL West and above .500 at home this season at 18-17. Willy Taveras stole his 31st base of the season last night and is now 22 behind the Rockies team record set by Eric Young in 1996.

Indians fans looked very dejected for the second straight night as the Indians have been outscored so far in the series 14-4. Indians pitching has not been up to par, though last night they were able to keep the Rockies from exploding for another set of double digit runs. This game was closer, and there were numerous wasted opportunities by both teams, but by the Indians especially. The Rockies go for the sweep tonight with De La Rosa (1-3) on the hill.

We've all seen them everywhere, the guys usually with the beer bellies wearing no shirt at football, baseball games and most any other outdoor sporting event, just enjoying nice weather (even at Lambeau Field in the winter) and a nice time. I dont know if you saw it or not, but in yesterdays Washington Post there was an article about the Washington Nationals not allowing fans to go shirtless at Nationals Park. If I can find the link I will post it here. I looked on the Nationals website and in their guest conduct policy page there is no specific reference to fans not being able to sit and enjoy the game shirtless. It does state that "Tops, bottoms and footwear are required for admission".
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ballpark/guest_conduct.jsp

So it got me wondering as to what exactly the policy is at Coors Field, though I already feel like I know the answer. So I asked an usher what the policy was for fans who want to go shirtless at the ballpark. And the answer I received, that going shirtless is fine anywhere in the stadium except for up on the Club Level. As for the Rockies website there is reference that states, "Obscene clothing or indecent clothing with not detract from the Guest experience." But that statement you'll find is on every teams website.

Winning Big, All Star voting, etc...

2008-06-18T08:22:00.001-07:00

Where was this offense Monday night against the Braves? A 10-2 drubbing of the Indians. Greg Reynolds pitched his best game of the season for his second win, and further helped his own cause by going 2 for 3 at the plate, and also scoring a run.

It was also a much better atmosphere at Coors Field last night than the night before against the Braves. Jamey Carroll did receive his ring in a pregame ceremony and we greetly with nice applause by the Rockies fans. Does this mean we have to go through this when Josh Fogg and the Cincinnati Reds come to town in August and again in September with Kaz Matsui and the Astros? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Today is the final day for fans to turn in the All-Star ballots at Coors Field with a chance to win a free trip to San Diego to watch the Rockies take on the Padres in August. Well by the looks of it the promotion in an attempt to boost the chances of any Rockies player getting into the all-star game seem to have backfired. Currently Matt Holliday is the only Rockies player in the top 10 at his position. But he is in 9th place among outfielders with over 621000 votes. Blame some of it on an East Coast bias to any team west of the Mississippi excluding Los Angeles, the slow start the Rockies got off to this year and Holliday being on the 15 day disabled list recently.

It's good to see some stability at one of the two positions between shortstop and second base. Omar Quintanilla has been starting at shortstop recently and has done a very good job in place of Tulowitzki being out. It's just too bad Jeff Baker didnt start at second base Monday night against the Braves after the night he had last night against the Indians going 2 for 5, against Ian Stewart's failure to adjust to major league pitching going 0 for 5 the night before.

Coors Field, Home of the Braves...

2008-06-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last night it seemed that anytime the Braves did anything positive there were louder cheers coming from their fans than from Rockies fans anytime the Rockies did anything positive. And if you were at last night's game or you watched it on television, you know there were few positives for our Rockies.

A 6:05 start and a makeup giveaway of the replica National League trophy, brought out those fans who were probably there more for the giveaway than the game or the team itself. Simply the Rockies were outpitched and outhit last night as has been the case a number of times this season, but hardly in the same ballgame. Maybe it's a good thing this was just a makeup game and not a three game series. After what happened last night I dont know if the Rockies would've recovered. The Rockies were nearly shutout by Braves pitcher, Jair Jurrjens. Chipper Jones goes 2-4 and is still hitting over .400. Ian Stewart was 0-5 at the plate and currently hitting .204. The Rockies have a lot of stock in Stewart, who has great upside, but still cant seem to hit major league pitching.

In what could've been last season's World Series matchup, tonight the Indians make their appearance at Coors Field, and returning is a familiar face in former Rockies 2nd baseman, Jamey Carroll, who should receive a nice round of applause from the fans.

The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY...

The GOOD - The Rockies not having to face C.C. Sabathia or Cliff Lee. The probable pitching matchups over the next 3 days, dont really seem to favor either team on paper, so the Rockies have a chance...either to lose big or to win big.

The BAD - Rockies pitching staff having to face Grady Sizemore of the Indians who despite hitting .266, leads the Indians in homeruns with 17 and stolen bases with 16.

The UGLY - 3 losses to the Indians for the Rockies would be ugly, but this should be an entertaining series.

Another Series Win...Braves makeup game...

2008-06-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Rockies have now won 4 straight series after beating the White Sox yesterday and giving Aaron Cook his 10 win of the season. The Rox are now sitting 8.5 games out of first place, but only 3 games out of 2nd place in the division eventhough they are still last in the NL West. If they keep winning series after series like I've said the movement within the standings will take care of themselves. The season is not over by any means.

Tonight's game is a makeup with the braves from April 10th. Still to win this game is a must before continuing interleague play on Tuesday with the Cleveland Indians.

The GOOD, the BAD, & the UGLY...of tonight's game against the Braves

The GOOD - The Braves have a horrible road record, 9-25 and have lost 7 of their last 10 games.

The BAD - Chipper Jones is hitting .402, but depending on how good Ubaldo Jimenez is on the mound tonight, he may be below .400 by the time the Braves leave town tonight for Texas. With a road record as bad as the Braves have, it's almost too bad this isnt a 3 game series.

The UGLY - Not having the scheduled day off before taking on the Indians on Tuesday, but not having the break in momentum should be a plus for the Rockies.

7 days until insidethehumidor.blogspot.com invades Kansas City...

Fighting Mad...All-Star game, and more...

2008-06-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ever since Yorvit Torrealba's fight with Matt Kemp on Tuesday night, the Rockies have now won 3 straight, including last night's 6-4 win over the Brewers. I'm going to keep saying it, the current win streak is great, but this team cannot get down on itself should it end tonight or anytime in the near future. Their concentration should be on winning each upcoming series and things will take care of themselves in the standings. If win streaks are a part of that then that's the icing on the cake.

Taking a look at the NL West and how poor as it has been so far this season, the Rockies though currently in last place are only 6 games out of 2nd place in the division. So by no means is this season done and things can change rapidly if the Rockies play within themselves and win series after series, especially against their division opponents, starting with the Giants at Coors Field beginning on Tuesday.

In what is a critical election year for the Oval Office, it is also critical that you vote your Rockies players into the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. Currently no Rockies leads at any position in voting and Matt Holliday so far has the best shot and as of Tuesday is 4th in votes for the outfield position behind Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Ken Griffey Jr. Matt Holliday trails Ken Griffey Jr by 120,000 votes. So make your votes count and get Holliday into the all-star game.

NEWS & NOTES - Great to see Brad Hawpe back in the lineup last evening, whose 2 run homer in the 8th helped lift the Rockies over the brewers.

Yorvit Torrealba is currently appealing his 3 game suspension handed down by Major League baseball.

Other than 2 back to back homeruns given up by Ubaldo Jimenez, he had good command of his pitches, striking out 6 through six innings of work, four of those strikeouts were Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (2) and Ryan Braun (2).

Willy Taveras stole his 21st base last night and is 32 away from tying the Rockies team record. Though he's still a ways off, it's something to keep your eye on as the season progresses.

Great gesture by the Rockies manager Clint Hurdle by naming former Rockies manager Don Baylor to his all-star staff.

Rockies draft LHP, Christian Friedrich, 25th overall out of Eastern Kentucky University. According to scouting reports is the 2nd best left-handed pitcher in the draft.

Last but not least, I'll be taking the Humidor on the road in 2 weeks to Kansas City to watch the Rockies take on the Royals in Interleague play at the newly and currently renovated Kauffman Stadium. If you're going to be in KC that week also let me know. Look for lots of photos to be posted from the road.

Just What the Doctor Ordered...

2008-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

A more than solid outing which turned out to be a complete game by Aaron Cook on 4 days rest, proves once again that Cook is the ace of the pitching staff and not Jeff Francis. The Rox took the series from the Mets 2 games to 1 and what the Rockies need to do is concentrate on winning series. Forget about trying to go on a 7, 8, or 9 game winning streak. If that happens, that's just the icing on the cake. Winning series after series is the only way the Rockies will be able to get back to .500 and make a push at division leading Arizona, but it's still to early to worry about the Diamondbacks.

The Rockies got a huge lift yesterday from Seth Smith (3 run homer) and it's gonna take others on the team to step up when it is needed, especially with 9 players currently on the DL. No more feeling sorry for themselves, it's time to put on the hardhat and go to work.

Those of you looking for Hurdle's head on a silver platter, you can forget about it. It's not Hurdle's fault with the number of players suddenly on the disabled list. He's having to juggle the lineup to see where which players fit best, depending on whom they're facing each day. He's done a good job with the lineup and at times the results are good and other times they're not. But overall Clint has done a great job.

The GOOD, The BAD, & The UGLY

The GOOD - No real threats on the basepaths for the Phillies, though Shane Victorino leads the Phils with 8 stolen bases, still nothing to worry about. Other than wins and losses between the probable starters for both teams over the next 3 days, their ERA suggests that the games should be closer than expected, giving the Rockies a chance to compete at the plate and on the hill and at least take 2 out of 3.

The BAD - Rockies pitchers having to face Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell. Having Holliday, Hawpe, Bamres, Tulowitzki and 5 others on the DL.

The UGLY - The pitching matchup in this series could mean a lot of runs will be scored this series. Dont look for any 1-0 games.

Bring on the Mets!...

2008-05-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Rockies with thier play, have a chance to get a manager fired after this weekend. No not Clint Hurdle, though some would like to see him fired because of the Rockies bad start in the first two months of the season. But who I mean to say instead is Mets manager Willie Randolph. The Mets have been in the news alot this week and not for anything good. They were just swept by the Braves in 4 games and are currently 3-7 in their last 10 games. Randolph has been criticized about his Tony Dungy-like demeanor as manager of the Mets and of course is still blamed for the Mets collapse at the end of the 2007 season. Change is coming soon, Mets fans. I dont know if you should wish for the Mets to be swept by the Rockies or hope for a turnaround to what happened in Atlanta? As a fan of NBC's The Apprentice, I'm sure that if Trump were head of the Mets organization that Randolph would certainly have been fired by now, twice.

As for the Rockies they really need to turn things around with this series and bounce back from losing 2 straight against the Giants. 2 out of 3 against the Mets would be good, but a sweep would be even better.

The GOOD, The BAD and the UGLY...

The GOOD - The Rockies will not have to face Pedro Martinez who is home with his father who is ill. Also not having to face Johan Santana, who pitched Thursday in Atlanta. Moises Alou going on the DL. The Rockies are on national TV Saturday on FOX. Willy Taveras will test Mets catcher Brain Schneider on the basepaths.

The BAD - The Rockies pitching staff having to face David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Ryan Church. The arm strength of catchers Yorvit Torrealba and Chris Iannetta will be no match for the Mets speedy Jose Reyes.

The UGLY - We could be in for a really long weekend of bad baseball. And the Mets could have a new manager by next week.

A Day Off or An Off Day?...

2008-05-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Rockies are resting today with no game scheduled, but yesterday and maybe even the day before the Rockies were having an off day. Or did they take those days off as well? The Rockies had a chance yesterday to take the series over the Giants 2 games to 1, but once again the bullpen blows the lead and the Rox go on to lose in extra innings. Though the Rox are not scoring enough runs and playing from behind alot of the time, there are slight signs of the starting pitching beginning to solidfy itself. Now if we could get some help from the relievers, things will begin to look up like they did during the 3 game win streak earlier in the homestand. They have a chance to redeem themselves and finish the homestand 5-4 by taking at least 2 of 3 from the Mets beginning Friday. Can the Rockies repeat what they did last season to the Mets at home and sweep them again?

A Twin Killing...

2008-05-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

This series against the Twins, at least the last two games showed me something in that the Rockies are able to turn close games into wins. Both this afternoons game and yesterday's were games in which pitching was better than it has been for anybody not named Aaron Cook. And in both games the Rockies scored first and when they fell behind they were able to fight back and win each game. Greg Reynolds has made 2 solid starts so far since his call up and I'd like to believe his performance yesterday maybe rubbed off on Francis to net his first win of the season in 9 starts. And with today's win and the Padres and Giants losing, the Rox are in now 3rd in the NL West, 5 and a half back of 2nd place Los Angeles.

Coors Field was very well attended this weekend. 35000 plus Friday, 43000 plus Saturday and a little over 40000 today. The also Rockies had their biggest day in walkup tickets sales in team history on Saturday. If I get the figure, I'll be sure to let you know. So kudos to Rockies and Twins fans for making the trip down to 20th & Blake. Maybe we can do this again sometime in the near future.

The Giants come into to Coors Field after being swept by the White Sox and maybe the Rockies will be able to take advantage of that. The Giants are 6-13 on the road so far this season.

What to expect... No Barry Bonds, so that will cut into the attendance figures for this series and also cut into the number of boos from Rockies fans. No mound sightings of an overpaid Barry Zito (0-8, 6.25), though maybe it would be to the Rox advantage if they were to face him. Rockies win 2 of three to take the series.

News and notes and what? a win!!!

2008-05-05T09:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the Rockies stopped the bleeding, if only temporarily with a win over the Dodgers. Aaron Cook getting his team leading 5th win. The Rockies are currently 12-19, tied with Pittsburgh for the 3rd worst record in the majors. Cincinnati and San Diego are worse, both sitting at 12-20. Tonight the Cardinals (20-12) having the 2nd best record in baseball, roll into CoorsField having won 7 of their last 10 and lead the NL Central by a game and a half over the Cubs. The Rockies need to at least gain a split in this series, before they hit the road to San Diego and Arizona next week.

It's unfortunate due to Tulowitzki's injury, but I do like Hurdle's shuffling of the lineup, particularly the infield. Yesterday it was recent triple A callups, Omar Quintanilla at shortstop and Jonathan Herrera at 2nd. And Saturday night it was Barmes at shortstop and Baker at 2nd. The opportunities are there for these guys to make plays and help strengthen not only their careers but the depth at the infield positions as well.

If you get a chance take a look at the Rockies website and go to the schedule for the month of May. There is a picture of Indiana Jones on the 22nd, an off day for the Rockies. One can only assume that this is a cross promotion between Major League Baseball and Lucasfilm Ltd, as the new Indiana Jones movie opens in theaters that same day. What exactly the promotion is or has to do with Major League Baseball is not clear, as there is no reference to MLB on the Indiana Jones website. http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html

Tonight's pitching matchup Ubaldo Jimenez(1-2, 5.90) against Joel Pineiro(2-2, 3.75)

It's good to get out of April...

2008-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

With an off day today, the Rockies finished April one game better than they did last season at 11-17. So with Tuolwitzki possibly headed to the DL, if you look at what transpired last season, then you know we're not in such bad shape. let's just hope we dont have to win another 21 out of 22 at the end of the season to reach the post-season, but if it happens, it happens. Here are the current standings.

TEAM W L % GB

Arizona 20 8 .714 -

L A 14 13 .519 5.5

San Fran 13 16 .448 7.5

Colorado 11 17 .393 9.0

San Diego 11 17 .393 9.0

The D-Backs are off to a hot start, but it's not going to last, or will it? Once the Rockies pitching catch up to the hitting, or is it the other way around? Then there's no reason why this team shouldn't finished no lower than 2nd in the division. Dont be fooled by the Dodgers record, take away their 3 wins over the Rockies and they're sitting at 11-16. They arent playing great baseball right now, it's that the Rockies were playing worse baseball during their visit to Chavez Ravine. The Giants will certainly at the end of it all, finish last in the NL West. I think we are a better team overall than the Padres. The Rockies can make up for last week in LA tomorrow night against the Dodgers at Coors Field. Note to fans....bring a jacket!

On a lighter notes of sorts, if the current standings in the NL West were left up to readers of Sports Illustrated, the Rockies would be in first place at least according to a poll SI had in March ranking the major league ballparks. The Rockies overall ranking was 7th, highest of any of the NL West teams. Padres finished 11th, Giants 17th, Dodgers, 22nd and D-Backs 27th. SI ranked the ballparks using 10 different categories. The Rockies best category was "Traffic" where they finished 2nd. The worst ranking was in "Fan IQ" where they finished 24th. What?! Other categories the Rox did well in were "Neighborhood" (3rd), "Team Quality" and "Affordability" were both ranked 6th. The not so well categories were, "Tradition" (22nd) and "Promotions" (21st). See the entire results of survey below.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/specials/fansurvey/2008/index.html?eref=T1&eref=T1

Tomorrow night it's Brad Penny (4-2) against Jeff Francis (0-2).

Streaking...

2008-04-24T07:29:00.001-07:00

Well the Cubs win streak is now at 6 games, while the Rockies losing streak is at 4 games. Clearly the pitching has not caught up with the hitting for the Rockies. For the second night Manny Corpas blows the save opportunity and the Rox have to again play from behind in the extra frame. The pitching staff is missing pitching coach Bob Apodaca who is away from the team on personal or family matters.

The starting pitching settles down after a couple of innings, but the bullpen doesnt seem to be able to close out a game. A fan last night posed a question about Kip Wells and whether you try him at closer for a game or two, since Corpas is having troubles. If you know how Clint Hurdle thinks, you know Clint likes for his players to try and play their way out of their slumps, as he's done in the past. As for Kip Wells(1-1, 2.12), he is technically a starter, who is in a set up reliever's role and doing a pretty good job of it currently, despite taking the loss in last night's game.

I think the case could be made that if Corpas continues to struggle, you have to go to Fuentes as a closer for a game or two and if that doesnt work then you maybe give Wells a shot to be the closer for a game, but I dont see that scenario (Wells) happening until Vizcaino comes back off the DL, cause right now Wells, Fuentes and Buchholz are your set-up guys. Hurdle knows how to tinker with the team on both sides of the ball and has given them his vote of confidence. The players just need to show him that he's making the right choices.

The failed Philadelphia Experiment...

2008-04-23T07:25:00.001-07:00

Who do you blame? Bullpen? Francis? No, this loss falls on the shoulders of Willy Taveras late in the game last night. His throw to third base to try and get lead runner So Taguchi was a bad idea, cause it allowed Chase Utley to advance to second, instead of holding both runners on the corners with a throw to second base. Then again in the 9th, with the great speed that Taveras has he wasnt able to catch up to long shot by Pat Burrell that went just out of his diving reach in the 9th inning.

Did anyone notice the starting lineup for yesterday's game? Barmes was at shortstop and not Tulowitzki. I will give credit to Hurdle for giving Tulo the night off, though he did come in later in the game.

The Rockies will need Taveras' speed on the basepaths against the Cubs, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Podsednik starting in centerfield tonight. The Cubs (14-6, 1st NL Central) who are currently on a 5 game winning streak, look to also become the second team to win 10000 games in history. The way things are going right now with the Rockies it looks like it just may come tonight.

Player to watch in this series, Cubs rookie outfielder, Kosuke Fukudome who has reached base in his last 7 plate appearances. Expectations this series, an increase in Japanese media and more Cubs fans at Coors Field than Rockies fans.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda...

2008-04-22T06:59:00.001-07:00

But didn't. The Rockies have been playing decent baseball lately, despite problems in the bullpen. Example, last night's game against the Phillies, where the 8th and 9th innings must have seemed like a 22 inning game by itself. Redman who despite giving up 3 homeruns in the game and increasing his ERA to 5.23 pitched a ok game, striking out 5 through 5 innings. Still who knew that Redman coming out of spring training would be in the starting rotation and at this early point in the season would be tied on the staff in wins with Aaron Cook, both 2-1.
It also seems like this season the Rockies could lead the league in hitting into double plays to end the inning as they hit into 3 double plays and left 8 on base. Tulowitzki who is struggling at the plate, couldn't help the team as he slammed his helmet in disgust after being thrown out on the back half of a double play at first base last night earlier in the game.
Something we saw early in the season last year that I dont think we've seen so far is that Hurdle wasnt afraid to take a player and sit him, when slumping. You can maybe make a case for Jayson Nix, but not a great one. Tulo is a leader on this team, a rising superstar and defensively the best shortstop in the National League, so it's not easy for Hurdle to just sit him down, but it looks like he's trying too hard when at the plate. He's clearly frustrated with his performance (0 for 5 last night) and his batting average(.165). It's good to see him show that emotion, but Tulo needs to take a game or 2 off and maybe do some extra work in the batting cage and maybe Hurdle can bring him in to pinch hit in late game situations. Tulo should relax and let the game come to him at the plate as he does so well in the field.
I'm not blaming last night's loss of Tulo. This was clearly a loss shouldered by the bullpen late in the game and untimely hitting. Let's see if the Rockies will bounce back tonight with Francis (0-2, 5.89) on the hill.

Down on the farm...

2008-04-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Though not the Rockies farm system, here are a few photos as I.T.H. was on a brief vacation last week in North Carolina. Durham Bulls are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

One of the finest ballparks in minor league baseball. 3 hours before first pitch.

The key to getting inside, begins right here.

Still hours before gametime, looking in at the new office building overlooking left field.

Closer to gametime a crowd is forming.

Finally inside, I get a better shot of the office building, and the blue monster in left field.

a closer shot of the smoke blowing, tail wagging bull, made famous in the movie Bull Durham 20 years ago.

Looking across the field at the first office building to overlook the field.

Closeup of the seats in right field, the Herald-Sun homerun patio and office building.

Looking back at homeplate and the former American Tobacco Campus in the background, which is now lots of office space and bars and restaurants.

Grounds crew working, though it looks like one guy is just watching.

More fans entering the stadium.

2nd inning action. The Bulls wore pink jerseys to support breast cancer research.

Redemption......?

2008-04-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in postings. I.T.H. was on vacation the last 5 days of the past week and so following the Rockies from the East Coast is alot more difficult, than it is here in the Mile High City. I was at least able to check the scores the next day online, but not being able to stay up late to watch the games was not easy to do. But I was able to take in a minor league game while back East. I will share those pictures here a little later today hopefully, but on with the Rockies versus the Padres.

OK so the Padres are going to looking for "payback" from last season's playoff game that they lost after Holliday's slide at homeplate to advance the Rockies to the NLDS. If the Rockies have learned anything, I hope it's that last season is over with. But it's not going to be that way for San Diego. I'm sure we'll see clips over and over again of the controversial play and the announcers and commentators will pound it in our skulls over and over all series long. Consider yourself warned.

The fact is that it comes down to Trevor Hoffman not being able to close out games in Milwaukee the final week of last season when it counted the most. Otherwise the Rockies wouldn't have made the playoffs, let alone have a one game playoff. So what could've been shouldn't be of concern for the Padres. Many of their fans place the blame solely on Hoffman's shoulders for the letdown and rightfully so. But that wont stop them from possibly booing Holliday at each at bat during the series.

It should be an entertaining series to say the least. Rockies should take 2 of 3.

Letter to the Rockies Front Office....

2008-04-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Rockies Front Office,

I understand that your wanting the fans to share in celebrating last seasons NL Championship. Maybe it's your way of making up for last season's playoff ticket screw up. But and here is the BUT and it's a big one. Last year was great, awesome even, but.... IT'S OVER! Forget about it and leave it to the fans to remember all that happened last season. Spreading out celebrations over 3 days was the worst idea you've had thus far this season. All of it, the pennant unveiling and the ring ceremony all should've been done on opening day in front of a packed house. It's time to stop living in the 2007 season and its accomplishments and move on into the 2008 season and get off of the a better start than the 1-5 you're currently sitting at. You've allowed the players to not focus on this season, though we're only a week into it, but face it you got not only swept by the Diamondbacks you got beat badly in each game. Sloppy play in the field, and 5 of your starters are currently, batting .200 or less, inclding Holliday and Tulowitzki. Sure there's 156 games to go, but if you believe that you're going to pull off another 21 out of 22 like you did last season then you're kidding yourselves. I'm not saying it's not possible, but why put yourselves in the position to go down to the wire to make the playoffs? So for the love of the players and the coaches on this team, please if you have anymore celebrations about last season, keep them to yourselves or just forget about them and let this team focus on this season and not last.

Sincerely,
A Fan

Blame it on the rain...

2008-03-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

It's opening day! Forget about the Red Sox opening in Japan last week, even last night's opener in our nation's capital, between the Nationals and the Braves. They count in the standings, but to me they dont count as true openers to a new season of what is going to be an exciting year of baseball! The Rockies are looking to repeat their successes from last year and then some.

The reason for the Milli Vanilli reference in the title, is that today's opener in St Louis for the Rockies will probably be in a bit of a rain delay, if not eventually called all together according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch. They're are under a flash flood watch throughout the entire area, so by the start time of 3:15 (central standard) there may a longer wait to start the Rockies season. See radar below.

The only good thing is that since it's an early start and opening day there is still a chance though it may be a slim that this game will be played today at some point. Keep your fingers crossed.

Here are the starters and their batting orders for both teams according to the Post-Dispatch.

Cardinals:
Skip Schumaker, LF
Ryan Ludwick, RF
Albert Pujols, 1B
Troy Glaus, 3B
Rick Ankiel, CF
Yadier Molina, C
Cesar Izturis, SS
Adam Wainwright, RHP
Aaron Miles, 2B

Rockies:
Willy Taveras, CF
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Todd Helton, 1B — a switch back to the spot from last season.
Matt Holliday, LF — was the No. 3 hitter till this spring.
Garrett Atkins, 3B
Brad Hawpe, RF
Yorvit Torrealba, C
Jayson Nix, 2B
Jeff Francis, LHP

St Louis weather - http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/weather.nsf/SS/News-Weather?OpenDocument

Get a life, you moron!

2008-03-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Antifeminist and moron, Stephen Horner really needs to get a life. His current and ongoing suit against the Rockies for gender discrimination because he wasnt handed a voucher during Ladies Night promotion at the Coors Field that offered tickets to an upcoming game is absolutely ridiculous. Maybe his mommy didnt love him enough as a child or he got shot down when trying to pick up one of the many women that attend Ladies Nights at the ballpark.

So do the Nuggets and Avalanche stop promoting "guys nights out" at the Pepsi Center of 2 tickets, 2 t-shirts, 2 pizzas and Coors Lights? I would hope not. Or if I were such a nimwit as Mr Horner, maybe myself being a single person should start a lawsuit against the area teams that offer Family Night packages, since I have no family of my own. Do cat owners get upset when baseball teams have a "Paws at the Park" night, where fans are allowed to bring their dogs? Probably, but there's been no lawsuit, at least to the best of my knowledge. Besides why in the hell would you want to bring a cat anywhere in the first place? My apologies to those cat owners out there.

Clearly Mr Horner is looking for an additional fifteen minutes of fame. He's on tv again and he's in the papers this morning and though he probably doesnt read this blog, he's fortunately being given time here as well. but certainly not to his credit. Really in our overly p-c world, some of us have become way too sensitive about nothing. He really isn't a fan of the game or the Rockies or such stupidity as this lawsuit wouldnt even exist. Mr Horner, speaking on behalf of the male population out there, "You're not one of us, so quit pretending that you are!"

Here's to hoping the Rockies will either appeal this lawsuit or that they maybe tweak the way they will promote Ladies Night, but please dont stop on Mr Horner's account.

Wait A Minute, Mr Postman...

2008-02-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

Borrowing from the 1961 hit by the Marvelettes. I was in my local post office (951 20th St) the other evening which I rarely have a reason to go to anyway and I came across these souvenir envelopes that are being sold commemorating the Rockies and their NL Championship and them being in the World Series. Needless to say I left the post office spending more than I had anticipated. I asked the clerk behind the counter and he mentioned that they had them right after the series was over and had sold out, but recently gotten more of them back in. I guess I'll be going to the post office a little more often from now on. The envelopes are $10 a piece and they do come in the clear plastic covering you see them in. My only gripe with these, especially the NL Champions envelope is that all of the players are not shown, not to mention Clint Hurdle. The back side of the envelope should've been used for that, but then the envelopes would've cost more, but still it would've been worth it in my opinion. Anyway I dont know if this is the only post office that carries these, but I would guess that this may be the only location since it's the closest post office to Coors Field and is in the same zip code.

Signed....not signed...which is it?

2008-02-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

Ok this morning now it's being reported that the Rockies did not after all sign Neifi Perez. It seems an agreement couldnt be reached. I dont know about you, but I dont see this as any big loss.
http://cbs4denver.com/sports/perez.colorado.rockies.2.663762.html

Rockies play their 1st spring training game today against the White Sox at 1pm(MT).

The Good Ol' Days...

2008-02-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

Wow! Who says you can never go home again? In the last 24 hours we here in Denver have gotten the news of Peter Forsberg returning to the Avalanche and this morning Adam Foote is also returning. Then the Rockies who must've been feeling left out, have to add to it by bringing back Neifi Perez! Perez signed a minor league deal and is at the least added veteran depth for the job at 2nd base. I'm not going to discuss the current suspension Perez is still serving.

While we're in such a let's turn back the clock to the glory days mood, let's have the Nuggets bring back David Thompson, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo and Voshon Leonard(the Nugs still need an outside shooter). Since Rod Smith is on the retired/reserved list, the Broncos should resign Ed McCaffrey who apparently has "good feet", cause we keep seeing him in all of those commercials, or how about Craig Morton to play QB again since at times Cutler doesnt seem to be on the same page with his receivers. Better yet, Dan Reeves, cause surely the Broncos are not buying into Shanahan's coaching as of late. Maybe CU can convince Chauncey Billups to play for them again as Jeff Bzdeliks team has done little to bring any excitement about basketball up in the Boulder Republic.

This not to say that Forsberg or Foote will not be of help to the Avs, cause ticket sales alone will be a boost to the teams bottom line, but what happens on the ice is another story, and I hope they will turn the team around. Note to Nuggets and Avalanche - DEFENSE!
But I do have to question the return of Neifi Perez. Why? Or as teenagers or anyone who texts regularly would say, WTF? Perez was popular in the clubhouse and to fans, but his play wasn't always so.

So I will take a wait and see attitude, and I hope I am wrong

True Love...

2008-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day has come and gone and while some of you may have sent flowers or candy to your loved one or made dinner reservations in advance to your favorite restaurant, there are some who aren't able to share in such festivities. So I got to thinking about this and decided that for some of us our loved one is not necesasarily a person. In some cases it's the car we drive, the house we live in, a favorite vacation spot or our favorite sports or sports team we cheer for through thick and thin. My true love is baseball and has been since I was a boy growing up in North Carolina. Sure it was minor league baseball I was brought up on mostly in my early years, but it was still baseball. The Durham Bulls were my local team, my dad took me to numerous games and later I was fortunate enough in my adult life to have worked many seasons for them. I remember the crackled and buzzed nights of AM radio listening to home and away games on AM 620 WDNC.

I followed most of the popular teams in major league baseball, the Reds, Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, etc in my youth. But as I got older I began to discriminate. I didnt follow all the same teams, more it was certain players. Rod Carew was one of my biggest heroes. Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose as well to name a few. I remember crying when I'd heard Thurman Munson died in a plane crash. Then later along came Ripken, Eckersley, Vince Coleman, Strawberry, Gooden, Schmidt, Ozzie, Lasorda, Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog, Kirby Puckett, the voice of Vin Scully on Saturday afternoons, the list goes on. My list of heroes grew with every inning played. The current NBC hit television series 'Heroes' has nothing on these guys.

Just like people in love often do, we too fought about money. Who deserved a bigger contract and who didnt. Why 1991 high school phenom Brien Taylor got a 1.5 million dollar bonus to sign with the Yankees after being drafted and never making it to the major leagues? Or how it's not always the size of the payroll, that determines who wins the World Series. It didnt stop there, later it became the cost of a hotdog and a beer, parking, or even the cost of playoff and World Series tickets.

Today I am alot more discriminatory in what players I follow and what teams I follow. The heroes list today is alot smaller than it was 20 even 30 years ago, as baseball heroes are few and far between. I still follow the Orioles and the Durham Bulls, though even in the internet age when you're not living on the East Coast it's not an easy thing to do.

Baseball, plain and simple, I love you. There's no Hallmark card, flowers or candy that can express it any other way. There's no candlelight dinner reservation or a night spent at the Brown Palace Hotel either. I love the Rockies, Coors Field, the Rockpile seats in center field. I love the Blake Street Bombers, a walk off homerun by Todd Helton in the 9th, I love the leadership of a young Troy Tulowitzki. I love it when we disagree on who should be in the starting rotation or why you didnt bunt to move the runner over instead of hitting into the 50th double play to end the inning of the season. I love a Matt Holliday 2 run blast to left center field, or Brad Hawpe throwing a runner out at home plate from right field. I love it that time doesnt matter when we're together, there's no 2 minute warning, or 24 second shot clock.

You've done some stupid things over the years and I have criticized you for them. I am only looking out for your best interests. I only want what is best for you. It's what you do when you care. Though I dont approve of all of your friends, especially the one's who try to screw with your integrity, it doesnt seem to bother you. You just continue being you. Though we may fight over money, and have disagreements on our ideas about the future, I am glad to know that you're still here.

Pitchers and catchers report today for spring training...

Apologies...Accepted?...

2008-02-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Finally, it's been two months since the infamous Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball, and the Rockies own Matt Herges and Glenallen Hill have both released their public apologies. Now see how easy that was? That didnt hurt one bit, did it? I dont know why other players haven't learned to follow Jason Giambi's footsteps from a few years back. Giambi was accused, then denied, then later admitted it, then he apologized and all was forgiven, maybe not forgotten, but at least forgiven and he went right back to playing baseball with the Yankees. It will more than likely be the same for Herges and Hill as in some cases it should be, though I still wouldn't mind seeing an imposed suspension by the league or the team. The Rockies have the chance to set a precedent for the rest of the league, by suspending both Hill and Herges, but that's not likely to happen. In the age of "What about the children?" it would set at least a good example for them. Again it's not likely to happen. Maybe it's punishment enough to have to be called to Washington for a hearing, which is possible in the not too distant future for either of these guys.

Their "poor decisions" as they put it were not poor in any means. Let's call them what they were at the time, "clever" decisions to enhance and prolong their careers and in turn make more money, so there's nothing "poor" about it. Stupid, dumb or bad decisions in retrospect would be more like it, but "poor", is not a term I would use. At the time who could blame them? We all want to have and make more money, provide for our families create better lives for our children etc, be it legally or illegally. We look for that quick fix or shortcut to get what we desire and that is simply what we have here.

All and all, these both Herges and Hill are deserving of the fans forgiveness, though everyone may not be so quick to forgive. They've come to terms with their indiscretions and have come clean in admitting their mistakes. We forgive you, not let's move on and learn something from this and see what we can do to insure that it doesnt happen again.

2 days until pitchers and catchers report...

2 down, 1 to go...

2008-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

According to Tracy Ringolsby (Rocky Mtn News)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/11/rockies-agree-with-atkins-hawpe/
Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe were both signed today to one year deals, leaving Brian Fuentes the only player left going into arbitration. Fuentes is asking just over 6 million, but I dont see him getting that, besides it's called arbitration for a reason. Certainly credit goes to the Rockies front office for keeping nearly all of last seasons roster intact and to making some reasonably valuable additions and creating competition for spots on the roster during spring training, should they pan out in 2008.

It's good to have Atkins' (.301,25,111) bat back for another season, but it is a one year deal which means he probably won't be in a Rockies uniform for 2009, making room for Ian Stewart to take over full-time at 3rd.

Hawpe (.291,29,116) defensively has one of the strongest arms at his position in right field and he should see a greater than a year extension after this season. I'm not going to read too far into the future and wait to see what the 2008 season brings. 4 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Off season grade so far: A

Counting down, Birthdays, and Spring Training...

2008-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

As of Friday February 8th, it will be one week before pitchers and catchers will report for Spring Training in Tucson. February 8th is also Aaron Cook's birthday. Other February birthdays are as follows.

2/20 - Jason Hirsch
2/21 - Edwin Bellorin
2/26 - Josh Towers

Keep your fingers crossed, it's a 50/50 chance, but we are hoping to do some blogging from Tucson during Spring Training sometime next month. Stay tuned for further details should this happen.

Prospects and the Windy City....

2008-01-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Baseball America as it does every year about this time lists it's Top 10 Prospects each Major League organization. The Rockies organization is listed as follows.
1. Franklin Morales -LHP
2. Ian Stweart -3B
3. Dexter Fowler -OF
4. Hector Gomez -SS
5. Greg Reynolds -RHP
6. Casey Weathers -RHP
7. Chris Nelson -SS
8. Brandon Hynick -RHP
9. Pedro Strop -RHP
10. Chaz Roe -RHP
See article http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/265327.html

It seems baseball in the windy city of Chicago isn't interesting enough during the offseason to write about so they must instead write about the Rockies. Tribune writer Phil Rogers has written 2 articles himself on the Rockies in the past week. See articles below.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-071229philrogersbaseballcoloradorockies,0,708658.column

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-30-rogers-insidebaseballdec30,0,869569.column

Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes!!!

2008-01-04T20:35:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Rockies fans albeit a belated one. And with every new year comes resolutions or changes that we all try to make. Well we here are trying to make changes for the new year and the upcoming season as you may have noticed. You may have noticed a poll question in the upper right-hand corner. We will try to provide a new poll question each week to gauge our readers opinions. We've added new baseball related links and visitors information links for those out of town visitors to Denver and Coors Field. We're taking baby steps at the moment, but there are certainly more things on the way for the site.

While we're on the subject of changes, the Rockies Class A Rookie team, the Casper Rockies announced a name change back in October. They are now known as the Casper Ghosts, go figure. Wonder where they got that idea from? They're have been worse name changes in professional sports.

As for other organizational changes, since our last update of roster changes, the Rox have added Kip Wells (1 year contract) to the pitch staff, resigned Mike Redman to a 1 year deal. Signed reliever, Luis Vizcaino from the Yankees to a two year deal to replace LaTroy Hawkins in the bullpen. The Rockies signed 5 minor league free agent contracts, all non-roster invites to spring training. Pitchers Micah Bowie, Chris George, John Koronka, infielder Matt Kata and catcher Mike Rose. And as of today signing pitcher Josh Towers to a 1 year deal to compete for the 5th spot in the rotation or as a long reliever in the bullpen. Though hardly any of these moves are anywhere close to Earth-shattering, I do like the Vizcaino signing and the Kip Wells signing. Wells' numbers in St Louis were horrible due to poor run support, let's just hope it's better for him here than it was in St Louis, and Viz brings that durability and experience that we had in Hawkins, maybe even better. Time will tell what these changes will bring for the upcoming season. The Rockies havent lost any more major pieces since losing Hawkins, Carroll and Matsui earlier this off-season and they've replaced Hawk with Vizcaino in the bullpen and the jury's still out on who will be at 2nd base to start the season.

Grade so far this off-season still: B-

Selig's actions...or lack thereof

2007-12-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

OK Major League Baseball "commissioner" Bud Selig waited until the release of yesterday's Mithcell report to say that this report is a "call to action." Well no shit Sherlock. The problem here Mr. Selig is again you're too late. One has to wonder what Bud Selig has been doing since the investigation was going on. He's had months now to figure out what the ramifications would be if any, based on the findings of this report and all he can say is that he will handle each on a case by case basis. What?! So we're going to go through months of press releases on what player got what punishment handed to them and why. Does he really want to drag this out any further, no less into the upcoming baseball season? Bud, the solution should you choose to accept is simple. Cue the Mission Impossible theme music.

Mr Selig's press conference yesterday following the Mitchell report should've have contained immediate suspensions or something for any active players, coaches, etc, later to be amended based on further findings or details. The player's association right now doesnt have a leg to stand on to fight most anything the commissioner wants to see done. Selig's reaction to this is like FEMA coming in after Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast and saying, "We should've done something about this sooner."

If Selig wants to "act" he has to hit the teams, players and the league where it hurts the most, the wallet. Do it as he would say for "the integrity of the game." In order to control the problem he has to make everyone within the league responsible. Personally, I think Selig himself should step down, but he does deserve a chance to correct baseball's image though he himself is part to blame, along with the owners, the players and coaches. Zero tolerance should mean just that. Selig's legacy will be the steroid issue in baseball and the other side of that legacy will be what he didnt do to stop it. Anything he does now is only in pathetic reaction to the Mitchell report and will be too little too late.

The Axe Has Fallen....

2007-12-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

The federal investigation on steroid use in baseball press conference just ended and the Smith report is quite lengthy, 409 pages to be exact in pdf fprmat. http://assets.espn.go.com/media/pdf/071213/mitchell_report.pdf

In brief, every team in major league baseball has a name or names of players that have been tied to steroid use. So far in looking at the report there is a photocopy of a US Mail delivery receipt from Kirk Radomski who was an employee of the NY Mets and distributed steroids, and other performance enhancing drugs to major league baseball players from 1995 to 2005, to current Rockies relief pitcher Matt Herges, from November of 2005. There are copies of checks written by former Rockies pitcher, Denny Neagle between 2001 and 2004 and current Rockies first base coach Glenallen Hill in 2001. These of course do not prove use of a steroid or any other performance enhancer, but they do constitute posession.

What will happen to current Rockies staff is yet to be seen, in Hill and Herges. Let's not be surprised by any names we see that continue to appear or by whatever the Rockies staff may or may not do.

Playing catch up...

2007-12-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

Let's take a look at what the Rockies have done so far this off-season since the ending of the Winter Meetings last week in Nashville.

Losing second baseman, Kaz Matsui to the Astros for 3 years 16 million. This hurts the Rockies in many ways. They lose the best one, two hitters combo in Taveras and Matsui in the National League. Matsui's clutch hitting and defense and they will surely miss his speed on the basepaths.

Losing relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins to the Yankees. This hurts simply because Hawk wanted to stay and the Rockies reportedly wanted him to stay. LaTroy struggled early in the season but after coming off the disabled list he was the solid veteran reliever they needed him to be. Hawk wanted a multiyear deal of at least 2 years and the Rockies let him slip away to the hated Yankees for an extra $500,000 more than what the Rockies offered in a one year deal. They should've made this deal work, but simply didnt.

Losing utility infielder, Jamey Carroll to the Cleveland Indians. Certainly a fan favorite, a solid infielder and a sparkplug off the bench in key situations. These reasons alone will hurt the Rockies. Carroll was traded for a "player to be named later" and more times than not this usually means it will be someone of very little worth to the Rockies in the future. But with the logjam in the number of players in the infield you can see why this move was made. I would've rather the Rockies moved Clint Barmes and gotten more in return, maybe a young prospect or two that you could groom down in the minors for a few years and either Carroll or Quintanilla as your starting second baseman in 2008.

Resigning catcher, Yorvit Torrealba to a new two year deal. The Rockies got a reprieve here thanks to things falling apart in New York with the Mets. Why would you risk losing the one player who was probably the most valuable at keeping your young pitchers under control in the latter half of the season and during the playoffs. Morales, and Jimenez learned to trust Torrealba and that in turn at times made them effective and sometimes dominant pitchers. Losing Torrealba would mean having to rely on Chris Ianetta who the Rockies believe is the future at that position. Ianetta batting average hovered around the Mendoza line for the entire season, finishing with a .218 average and no appearances in the post-season. Torrealba also provides the team with the emotional lift it sometimes needed in 2007.

Resigning starting pitcher, Aaron Cook to a 3 year extension. It's good the Rockies are looking the starting rotation intact. Cook is a solid ground ball pitcher, something that is needed when playing at Coors Field. I have to question the amount of money over the next 3 years. I'm not so sure Cook would've gotten that amount of money as a free agent somewhere else, but it's totally possible. Baseball owners have proven many times before they will spend money foolishly on players, i.e. the Dodgers and Kevin Brown, the Yankees and Kevin brown, and let's not forget our own Rockies and Mike Hampton. I could go on, but you get the picture. Cook struggled early last season in a few games and bounced back strong after coming off the DL. But looking at his record over the past 4 seasons, Cook is 24-24 and 34-34 if you go back 6 years. 34 million is hardly the amount of money you spend on a pitcher who is average in wins and losses. But maybe the Rockies front office is sending a message to their youunger players in their commitment to building and maintaining a winning ballclub. I guess it's better to spend your money on what you know you're getting rather than what you dont know, again see Mike Hampton.

Resigning relief pitcher, Matt Herges. This is a good resigning. Herges had his best season out of his last 5 in major league baseball with a 5-1 record and an ERA under 3. Herges may fill the shoes left behind by LaTroy Hawkins as a veteran reliever. Let's just hope the results will be the same if not better.

Signing Jose Capellan from the Tigers. Dont know a whole lot about this guy other than he's a relief pitcher. His record is 5-7 in his 4 year career with an ERA of 4.90. Going into his 5th season in the majors, the Rockies will be his 4th team. I'm not going to get too excited over this acquisition, just yet.

Grade so far this offseason: B-

Losing streak continues...

2007-11-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

The Rockies will enter the 2008 season having lost 7 straight. Yea I know the season has been over for a month or so now, but let's rewind a bit. The Rox entered the World Series winning 21 of 22 before losing 4 straight and being swept by the Red Sox. Loss number 5, Troy Tulowitzki losing the Rookie of the Year. Loss number 6, Clint Hurdle finished 3rd in NL manager of the Year, though he was never really considered a candidate for this award until the last month of the regular season and into the playoffs. And loss number 7, today Matt Holliday loses the NL MVP to the Phillies shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.

Now we could say that this is East Coast bias, and to some degree we would be correct. Most of the writers and such who vote for these awards dont stay up late to watch a West Coast game. It's part of why there are 2 writers per major league city that does the voting. But those who are in LA, San Fran, etc, dont and havent paid any attention to baseball in Colorado. And before this season who could really blame them. Just look at ESPN's Baseball Tonight, it a decent but not a great program, but the only time there go "around the league" is to do scoring updates. You get very little information of the teams in the West and the goings on within their organizations, unless you're the Giants, or the Dodgers and it's not just about the NL West, you can certainly include the AL West. Maybe they should reconsider naming the program East Coast Baseball Tonight and let the rest of us fend for ourselves as we have done anyway when it comes to our teams.

The other problem here is that these post season awards are done before the playoffs begin and should be announced at that time. If you watched any of the playoff games on television, how many times did you hear a commnetator say, "Tulowitzki would be my Rookie of the Year." or "Holliday with his numbers and how he's carried this team this season would be my MVP?" We get all of the buildup in the post-season only to be let down a month after the Series is over? If the Division and the Championship series awards can be announced after a series is complete then there is no reason why the regular season awards can't also be announced at the end of the regular season. What's the holdup? There aren't that many votes that need to be counted, but if it were left it up to the Denver Election Commission then we'd understand why it takes so long for the votes to be counted.

Got Tix?

2007-10-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the Rockies dropped the ball on their handling of tickets for games 3, 4, and 5 of the World Series. First there was the lottery to be at the ticket windows and the Rockeis Dugout stores. Then that idea was changed to only online sales of tickets. well we know the disaster there on the first day of the server going down to a malicious attack of some kind. Yeah right. The only malicious attack was their inability to understand what they were about to get themselves into and that because they were able to handle the sales of NLDS and NLCS tickets without a problem they failed to realize that World Series tickets are a totally different ballgame, that involves the entire country trying to get their hands on a pair of tickets for whatever reason, whether it's to actually attend the game or reselling them to make a profit.

Sure there are alot of angry "people" who weren't able to get tickets and there will probably be a lawsuit of some sort against the Rockies because of how they handled or mishandled the selling of World Series tickets. But notice I said angry "people" and not angry fans. There were plenty of angry fans who were not able to get tickets yesterday, and there were those angry "people" who also didnt get tickets. But these "people" are the ones who havent been to a Rockies games since '93, if at all and only want to be a part of the scene so they can say "I was there when..." and proclaim their "undying love for the Rockies" and how they've been fans "since day one", blah, blah, blah. Yeah, whatever. And now today those "people" who didnt get tickets are now pissed at the Rockies, and all they know about the Rockies being in the World Series is what they've seen and heard over the past 8 or 9 days since the Rockies beat the D'Backs to get in. I've overheard (more than once) one person in my office who doesnt like baseball, complaining over how the Rockies now suck and has become a Bronco fan now instead, all because they weren't able to get tickets. As I've said before there is plenty of room on the bandwagon. And we all cant get into Coors Field to watch it in person, watch it at home with your friends, or at your favorite sportsbar or watering hole instead. It's a great and exciting time to be a sports fan in Denver, whether you like the Rockies or not.

Something to think about.....

Former New York City Mayor and current Republican Presidential candidate, Rudolph Giuliani a couple of days ago proclaimed that he is pulling for the Red Sox in the World Series. Huh?! How does a New Yorker proclaim his "loyalty" to the enemy all of a sudden? Is this the latest scheme in politics to win over votes by claiming an allegiance to a particular sports team? What does Giuliani hope to gain? Is he hoping that because the Red Sox are red, the color of the Republican party that he may sway a few more votes his way? Does he not remember that in both the 2000 and the 2004 Presidential elections that both New York and Massachusetts were both blue states along with most of the New England part of the country? He probably assured himself more lost votes than anything, no matter Democrat or Republican, just on his sudden allegiance to the Red Sox alone no matter how temporary it may be. Hillary Clinton was in town yesterday, why wasn't she wearing a Rockies cap or jacket? Are we going to see Barack Obama or John McCain decked out in Red Sox or Rockies gear over the next week of World Series play? I certainly hope not, though let's not be surprised when it happens. Is there going to be universal health care for all Americans, but only if the Rockies win the series? Will there be an end to illegal immigration but only if the Red Sox win the series? Will your taxes be lower depending on number of runs scored by the Rockies in game 3? There's already enough politics in the sports today that we dont need any candidate declaring his or her love for one team, just for a little extra TV time or for a few more votes.

World Series...here we come!!!

2007-10-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

What a night it was! Another series sweep, another celebration for fans and players, another team destroyed and the Rox have captured the pennant and are now the 2007 NL Champions!

It has seemed appropriate that this series was televised on TBS, whose channel slogan is "We know drama". This team has provided plenty of drama, not only in game 4 of the NLCS, but over the last month. The Rox finished off the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 to again sweep another team in their playoff run and win the NL pennant and be crowned 2007 National League Champions.

I'm not sure who celebrated more, the players or the fans. The stadium was rocking from start to way beyond the finish, with their thunderous chants of "Tulo!" and the waving of rally towels, to the chants of "M.V.P." when Matt Holliday was presented his trophy for being named Playoff Series M.V.P.

It was clearly obvious that the Monforts weren't used to the limelight as some of their postgame comments to the fans and the world, contained little if any consistent flow in what they were trying or wanting to say. But I wont be too critical of them, because they are in unfamiliar territory of being in the playoffs let alone the World Series.

Now the Rockies and their fans get to rest for the next few days and keep an interested eye on the Indians/Red Sox series in the American League which the Indians currently lead 2 games to 1. I'm pretty sure the Rockies don't care who they have to play or would even dare say who they would rather play, but my guess is that most fans would like to see them play the Red Sox, mostly because of the tradition behind the RedSox and though the Sox aren't the Yankees, in some aspects it would make a great 'David & Goliath' storyline for TV execs to play upon. Big market team vs small market team, 135 million dollar payroll vs 54 million dollar payroll, the kids vs the veterans, you get the picture. If you did know the Rox did take 2 of 3 from Boston in Fenway earlier this season and were the only NL team to have a winning record against the AL in interleague play this season.

Snakebitten....

2007-10-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

With all respects to the world of science and animals, I am not a scientist or veterinarian in any form or shape, but I've watched enough animal shows and documentaries over the years to use what little knowledge I have about the animal world to write this.

As most of us know if not all of us, venomous snakes such as the rattlesnakes, diamondbacks or the copperheads to name a few are immune to their own venom. And their venoms are used in creating anti-venoms. The one exception to that rule would be the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose 'venom' throughout the season allowed them to lead the division for a good part of the season and eventually win the NL West. Well now as of the last 3 games that 'venom' has seemed to poison or work against the D'Backs. They've been outscored 12-4 so far in the 3 games, Valverde, the over-emotional closer for the D'Backs who lead the league in saves with 47 has only been seen once so far in the series. And the overconfident and sometimes wreckless Eric Byrnes hasn't done his part at the plate or in the field to back up his claims.

The Rockies on the other hand have become the 'anti-venom' to the D'Backs venom. Pitching has been extraordinary and the defense has been phenomenal to say the least. But what has separated this team more than anything throughout the playoffs and the 2 weeks prior is the patience. Some would say confidence, but they wouldn't be a major league baseball players if they weren't confident. It's the patience, at the plate and in the field and just throughout any game. They wait for the opposition to make that mistake and then they capitalize. Or in case and point of last night's soaker of a game. Numerous times they got the lead off man aboard and couldn't get him home to score and we as fans sometimes if not most of the time's get frustrated and yell or scream at the TV, radio or at the game if were're so lucky to be there. And the players themselves get frustrated, but it doesn't affect how they've played the game thus far. You see them in the locker room and it's been referred to as being "businesslike" and they're "taking one game at a time", that my friends is called patience. Patience has been the key, and from what I've seen, will continue to be the key to their success. It's on the field, it's in the dugout, the bullpen and also in the clubhouse. See ya in the World Series.

A few days rest, now back to the diamond...

2007-10-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Well let's see the last time we were here the Rockies had taken 2 from the Phillies in Philly, and came home to finish the job by sweeping the Phils in three games to move on to the NLCS. A quick recap of what's been happening since then. The Broncos forgot how to play football last Sunday as they got pummeled by the Chargers 41-3 at home in front of an estimated 15000 fans by the start of the 4th quarter. The Avs have been hot to start the season and Paul Stastny is showing no signs of slowing down in his second season with 4 goals and 8 points in 3 games so far. Denver police yesterday arrested a man for scalping NLCS tickets (58 total) for three times the cost right outside of the Coors Field ticket office, with hopes of making 14000 in profit according to a spreadsheet the suspect had on him. Talk about dumb. Willy Taveras has been added to the NLCS roster for the Rockies. Marion Jones admitted to using steroids. What did you expect, she is a Tarheel graduate. Lindsay Lohan refers to her recent stint in rehab as "sobering". Here's a newsflash for ya Lindsay, "That's why they call it rehab". Alex, I'll take "Overpaid Young Hollywood Stars with No Brains or Common Sense for $400." And somewhere in North Carolina there's been a Vinny Testaverde sighting as he will start this Sunday for the Carolina Panthers in his 45th season in the NFL. It's great to see that we've had plenty to keep us busy before tonight's game in Arizona.

Speaking of tonight's game both the Rox and D'Backs have had some days off to rest and should be more than ready to get the series started in the best of 7. Francis vs Webb on the hill tonight and this game early on may be one where the pitching dominates. Webb was the last pitcher to beat the Rox in the last 18 games.

As of last evening, it was reported that tonights game still had around 4000 tickets available and Friday's game about 2500. What not anymore room to fit any extra walkers for retirees at Chase Field? Maybe it's not as important this time around to D'Backs fans since they already have a World Series title, while the Rockies are trying to get to their first World Series. It will be fun to watch. Keep your fingers crossed that the Rockies will break the curse of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/1015.html

Another item that happened earlier this week while the Rockies were home resting before today's game, was Monday night at 9:28pm at the Jenny's Market Conoco station on Park Ave West, I witnessed a certain homeless man who frequents this location often, was standing a few feet from behind a black Cadillac Escalade waiting to ask the driver for some spare change, as this is his usual routine. As I made my way through the parking lot I noticed the driver to be Matt Holliday. Holliday reached into his vehicle and proceeded to give the man a bill of some denomination and the man went on his way. I dont know if the homeless man knew who he was approaching or not. Maybe he did. Holliday could've told him no or been a jerk like so many of today's athletes do like it's second nature. Whether it was a one dollar bill or a twenty dollar bill, or even a hundred dollar bill, to me having been a witness to this transaction that clearly Matt Holliday is more than just an MVP candidate, and a 2 time NL all-star, he is what most of us always forget when it comes to our star athletes, he is human.

Rockies take game 1 tonight 4-3

Here we go again...

2007-10-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

By that I dont mean another win or another series win on the season. What I mean is the Rockies are again being accused of cheating. Earlier this season it was the Pirates who accused the Rockies of stealing signs and now apparently Rox closer Manny Corpas possibly putting a "foreign substance" on his jersey. According to philly.com, a TBS camera caught Corpas throwing a cup of water or possibly soda in the front of his jersey then rubbing dirt on it while warming up in the bullpen. Then later reaching at the area on his jersey a few times while in the game, as t oget a better grip on the ball.
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/20071004_Umps__keep_an_eye_on_that_Rockie.html

Are you kidding me?! So now water and/or dirt are foreign substances? Soda if that was what Corpas used I could maybe see. But you're going to tell me now that players shouldn't sweat, since sweat is water, players shouldn't get thirsty either or want to cool themselves off in the sweltering humidity of the East Coast? Or that players dont all reach down and swipe their hand in the dirt to get a better grip on the ball or to add grip to their gloves when in the infield? Players do it all the time whether it's at the plate or in the infield. But because a pitcher does it, it's all of a sudden wrong? Back to the soda for a minute, sure it could be considered a foreign substance since it technically isn't a part of the game, but and here's the but, what about Powerade or Gatorade? It's in every bullpen and dugout and can be just as effective as soda in gripping a ball. Should it be removed? NO! And if Corpas is guilty of doctoring a ball, then so be it, the umps will eventually catch him and he will be tossed and/or suspended. It wont change the outcome of yesterday's game. It wont hurt the Rockies chances, we've got Brian Fuentes who has gotten back on track since his 4 straight losses after the all-star break and was the team's closer before Corpas took over. So chill out Phillies fans, you're a great sports city, but lousy when it comes to losing! Rox will take game 2 today, 6-3.

Next stop....Philadelphia!!!

2007-10-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, we've seen the replay 17 million times already! To use the NFL's replay rules the call would be deemed as inconclusive, "so the call on the field stands, Touchdown!" Nevermind the fact that Barrett never had the ball and never made a second tag on Holliday as the umpire called him safe. Should we have instant replay? This has been and will continue to be argued over the next quarter of a century. It's the only thing that myself and Bud Selig agree on, that no there shouldn't be replay in baseball. Though like a quivering political candidate running for president who's looking for extra votes, I will say that I am wavering a little bit on the issue. Though truly I have no interest in running for President of the United States anytime soon.

If baseball were to have instant replay I would only like to see it in cases of the Garrett Atkins homerun that was ruled a double. At that point the only fact is that the Rockies would've taken the lead. Maybe the game wouldn't have needed to go into extra innings, maybe Hoffman would've never taken the field., Maybe Holliday wouldn't have busted his chin. These things we dont know and can only speculate. It all boils down to this, Peavy was not at his best Monday night even on 4 days rest by giving up 6 runs, and "the greatest reliever in baseball history", in Trevor Hoffman only re-enacted his Saturday performance in Milwaukee. If you even go to the San Diego newspaper website and take a look at the comments, Padres fans dont even bring up whether Holliday touched the plate or not, it mostly about Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy not being as solid as they're being paid to be, to put it nicely. It's not a good time to be a sports fan in San Diego.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20071002-9999-7s2padres.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20071003-9999-1n3pain.html

On the other hand, it's a really great time to be a sports fan, particularly a baseball fan in Denver. Fans here have taken back their Rockies in fine fashion as displayed Monday night at Coors Field. Hell, even the homeless here in Denver are on the bandwagon. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7066459

And now the Rox will take on the Phillies, a team whose biggest story during the regular season was losing their 10000th game in franchise history. And now as NL East Champs thanks in part to the Mets collapse, this should be an entertaining series. There will be many extended lunches taken this afternoon in Lodo to watch game 1. As of this morning the Phils are a 3 to 1 favorite to win the World Series, behind the Yanks and BoSox. The Rockies are an 8 to 1 favorite. It all begins today!!! No doubt, both Phillies fans as well as Rockies fans are excited! With Francis on the mound today for the Rox and Morales scheduled to go tomorrow, both should be able to limit the Phillies chances of course depending on which Jeff Francis comes to play today. All the champagne showers are done now and Holliday's chin is bandaged up. (I dont know that for sure, but it sounded good). And I expect the Rockies to come home with at least a split.

Takin' care of business...

2007-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you Milwaukee!!!!!!!!!

Other than the last 3 days, I've never really been a Brewers fan or a fan of Milwaukee either. Sure maybe in the days of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, but that was for more of the players themeselves than the team. Sure the theme song to Laverne and Shirley on television was catchy, but it didnt make me move there. And though I'm not a beer connouseur by any means, I can attest the Milwaukee's Best beer is false advertising if there ever was. And as a detractor to Bud Selig, there is another reason for me to not follow the Brewers. But the last week or so the Brewers fell apart in their chase of the Cubs for the NL Central. And though Milwaukee fans will certainly disagree, they in the eyes of Rockies fans have more than made up for their recent slide this last week by beating the Padres this afternoon 11-6. Albeit certainly temporary, the Brewers awoken to at least 50000 new fans in Denver this morning as the sun came up. There was a handful of fans this afternoon at Coors Field wearing Brewers t-shirts. Also a small sprinkling of Diamondbacks caps and jerseys were seen as well. The make up today as it was last evening was totally that of Rockies purple and black. Young, old, big or small, bought today or 10 years ago, it was out there for the world to see, that at least for the last 2 nights and especially today Denver was again a baseball town. Sure the Broncos were in Indy this afternoon to take on the Super Bowl Champions Colts, but this was maybe the one time if ever in Denver sports history that the Rockies were the team to watch instead of the beloved Broncos. Dont get me wrong this is still a football crazed town, this is of course "Broncos Country" and they were here long before the Rockies were even a thought anywhere in the minds of Major League Baseball executives.

All and all the fans were on edge most of the afternoon. Ubaldo Jimenez struck out 10 through 6 with a shutout, before getting into some trouble and relief was brought in. Rockies fans stood and cheered every time an Arizona batter had 2 strikes in the count. Fans chanted "M.V.P." when Matt Holliday came to bat. "Tulo!" was heard whenever rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki stepped in the batter's box. Cheers also went up whenever the manual scoreboard in right field showed the Brewers run total had increased over San Diego. The lines after the game at every ticket window inside or outside Corrs Field was long and no one seemed to care how long they needed to wait for tickets to tomorrow night's single game playoff for the NL Wildcard. That's all the fans have asked over the last 12 years is the chance to make it to the playoffs. Thanks in part to the Brewers and to the resilient Rockies, that chance comes tomorrow Oct 1st at 5:37pm. Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.36) against Josh Fogg (10-9, 4.79), it's not going to be easy, but miracles do happen.

On a sidenote, Matt Holliday (.340) finished as the NL batting champion over Chipper Jones (.337).

A minor setback, now time for recovery...

2007-09-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Billy Joel's song "Pressure" best describes tonight's game against the Diamondbacks. 50000 hearts fell at 20th and Blake as Kaz Matsui struck out ending the Rockies current 11 games winning streak. Though not totally out of it, I'm sure the Rockies know what they need to do, as they've known for the past 2 weeks...win! For most of the season the Rockies have been able to bounce back after a tough loss, and tonight should be no different. Sure Francis struggled last night, but he's done that a handful of times at Coors Field. It's too bad they couldn't have played last night's game on the road. From the outcome of the past roadtrip things would've turned out certainly in the Rockies favor. And maybe that was it last night. Maybe the Rockies got a little too comfortable being back at home, in front of their crowd and while on the road slaughtering everything in sight without hardly any recognizable fan support in Los Angeles or San Diego. I'm also sure that after last night's game the Rox will be more ready to do their part knowing that 50000 fans can't win the game for them, that they and only they must do it themselves. Sure the fans can bring great atmosphere and give the players life and energy, but only the 9 guys on the field can put a "W" in the win column and added pressure on the Padres and Mets. Tonight should be no less exciting as last night was for any fan or staff worker at Coors Field. It's not over 'til the fat lady sings.

Superstitious?...maybe

2007-09-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well we all know that baseball players more than any other professional athlete are very superstitious. They have their pre-game routines and rituals and when things are good you dont want to do anything different and when things go bad you make some changes to those routines. Though not a professional athlete, except when playing video games, I too have taken on that superstitious persona. And currently right now things are going very well with a certain baseball team (no need to mention names, remember superstition) and when that changes, then updates will resume. So whatever else any of you fans out there are doing or not doing to in your daily routines, keep it up.

I second that emotion...

2007-09-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and last evening fans at Coors Field saw something they dont often see from the Rockies. 10 strikeouts from Jeff Francis and raw, often somewhat hidden emotion from Todd Helton that came to the surface after blasting a 2 run shot to right field to sweep the double header from the Dodgers. http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/frontpage/index.cfm A yell, a fist pump would've led one to believe Tiger just sank a 50 putt to win another major. But instead it was Helton who put the team on his back in the 9th to keep the Rockies playoff hopes alive. This bit of unexpected burst of emotion from Todd has got to be a good thing for his teammates to see from him. it should give them even more incentive to follow their leader and play some even more serious basbeball and put a nail in the coffin of the NL Wildcard and maybe even the NL West. Of course with a little help from the Phillies would be appropriate too.

The Rox will have to be careful not to get too emotional, though with Fogg on the hill that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Fogg is certainly a very slow pitcher and this will be a long game because of it, maybe longer if he isnt in any kind of rhythm. Not knowing what you'll get when he takes the mound the fans themselves may have to provide the fire and emotion tonight instead. It wont be easy for the Rockies tonight as they will have to face Brad Penny.

Decisions, Decisions...

2007-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

The next couple of weeks are basically going to come down to decisions. Decisions on whether or not this team wants to really make it to the post season. Decisions on whether or not Clint Hurdle will stop tinkering with a different starting lineup almost every night. Decisions like the one Hurdle made last night on not allowing Taylor Buchholz to pitch more than 2 scoreless innings, when starter Ubaldo Jimenez went 3 innings and gave up 5 runs, then to only have follow-up reliever Morillo come in and really stink up the place pitching two thirds of an inning and giving up 4 runs. I've said it before and I will keep saying it, "PUT BUCHHOLZ BACK IN THE STARTING ROTATION BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" I think Hurdle forgot that this kid was once a starter earlier this year who pitched pretty well until he ran into some trouble. But he's still more effective than Morales, who is on the hill today. Morales despite his last start and getting the win is clearly not ready to pitch in the big leagues. But leave it to Hurdle to leave a struggling pitcher in the game or the rotation to "pitch himself out of it", as we've so often heard Hurdle say many times this season.

I am certain that the players on this team want to make it to the post season, but their play at the plate, in the field, and on the basepaths overall is clearly not making it look that way. And what is it with Florida teams that come to Coors Field this season? They can sweep both new York teams, but they can't win either series against the Devil Rays, losing 2 of 3 earlier in the season and after last night's loss, they've now lost the series against the Marlins.

The team needs to decide today that they are going to win against the Marlins and win 4 against the Dodgers next week. Even the Duke University football team decided to stop Northwestern University on their final drive of the game to win their first victory in over 2 years 20-14! Should the Rox not make it to the post season then the decisions in this upcoming off-season will be something to keep an eye on.

Many people in this city have a decision to make, and I know most have long already made their decision. And that is Broncos or Rockies? Since the Broncos home opener today, there will be many empty seats at Coors Field today, more than usual with the Broncos game starting today at 2pm and the Rockies starting at 1pm. Well I was planning on being at Coors Field this afternoon, but a late invite has since swayed my decision and I will be at Invesco this afternoon cheering on the Broncos to beat the Raiders! It's all about decisions. Let's hope like last Sunday that both home teams can win on the same day.

Who's your Padre?...

2007-09-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

On an afternoon of the opening day in the NFL most baseball fans in this town especially, were glued to their television sets to watch the Jay Cutler and the Broncos rather than be at the ballpark watching the Rockies try and move their way up the difficult ladder called the NL West pennant race.

The Rockies and the Broncos both took care of business and came away with wins. The Broncos winning on a game winning field goal at the end of regualtion and the Rockies holding off the Padres with an insurance run in the 8th on a homer by Matt Holliday (.331, 111, 26). Josh Fogg (9-9, 4.90) was effective enough to keep the Padres held to a single run through 5 innings of work. I will certainly give Clint Hurdle credit for quickly getting between Matt Holliday and homeplate umpire, Rick Reed in the 5th after Holliday began to argue a called strike 3 to end the inning. Thus giving the Rox the insurance run in the 8th and also keeping Holliday from being ejected which would have cost himself and Hurdle 2 games in the week to come, when the team will really need both men on the bench and in the lineup as they head off to the land of cheesesteaks and Rocky Balboa for a 4 game series against the Phillies who are a game ahead of the Rockies in the wildcard.

This is not to show any disrespect for what Todd Helton has done during his career, but to show that in the game of baseball that there are way too many statistics in the sport. Helton went 2-4 today with a double that happened to make him the first player in baseball history to hit at least 35 doubles in 10 consecutive seasons. Who in the hell comes up with this crap? Some 45 year old computer geek, who happens to still live in his parent's basement and watches baseball all day and night just to create a new statistical category for major league baseball? Sure everything that happens in a game is indeed by nature a statistic of some sort, but let's take a moment and drink some decaf! Congratulations to Helton on this feat, but I'm sure that Todd himself would tell you that it's really no big deal. And I would agree that it isnt such a big deal.

Please remember to vote for Matt Holliday for the Aaron and Clemente Awards as often as possible. (See previous post or go to http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=col)

Catching up...

2007-09-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, we're offering apologies for not having been blogging lately. But we're back with a renewed spirit after the Labor Day weekend. A quick recap. The Giants avoided being swept by the Rockies Wednesday night winning 5-3. Bonds hit #762 in the 1st inning, and the Rockies were pretty much held in check until late in the game similar to Tuesday's game which resulted in a Rockies win.

The day off gave the Rox a chance to prepare for the Padres, who came into Coors Field 3-3 in their last 6 games. Well last night the Rox showed that they were ready to play with the big boys of the division the past two seasons by pounding the padres 10-4, though only to an announced crowd of just over 27000, which looked more like 21000 to me. We wont go into baseball attendance policies anytime soon. But we will say this. Rockies fans who were not in attendance at last night's game should be ashamed. Here you have a team in the middle of a wildcard race as well as a pennant race in their division and we cant get at least 30-35 thousand butts in the seats! If you're not a Rockies fan for whatever reason, don't worry there is plenty of room onboard the bandwagon! I know I know football season is here and everyone in this city want to focus on the Broncos. That's great, but the Broncos play on Sunday and not last night or tonight. So unless you're studying a playbook for Mike Shanahan for Sunday's game in Buffalo, you should be at Coors Field watching the Rockies play their guts out for a chance at the playoffs! This only happens once every 12 years ya know.

Sure the pitching staff is being held together with a piece of yarn, especially now the Aaron Cook too has been lost for the season. Francis, and Jimenez are the anchors of the starting rotation. We still say that Taylor Buchholz (listed as day to day, inflammed elbow) needs to go back into the starting rotation and we will keep saying it until Hurdle and Apodaca hear us and act accordingly. The problem continues to be in the starters and not necessarily the relief. Although last night the relief wasn't much with Serafini on the hill.

These games are bigger than the Yankees series sweep back in June or the trip to Fenway before that where the Rox took 2 of 3. The next week is as crucial as F.E.M.A. needing to aid hurricane victims, or Duke University's football program needing a win. The Rockies are 5 games out of first in the West and 3 back in the wildcard tied with the Phillies after they lost yesterday to the Marlins. We need at least 2 of 3 against the Padres, some help from the fish in Miami (not the Dolphins) against the Phillies and they need to be able to go to Philly next week and at least come away with a split of the 4 game series. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. Tonight it's Francis (15-6, 4.12) and Maddux (11-9, 3.75) on the hill and the Rockies and their fans need to continue to show the Padres and the rest of the division that they're not going away quietly. And speaking of not going away quietly. Last night there was a group of fans just left of center field chanting, "M.V.P. Holliday". That's certainly a good sign to see and hear from the fans, that they have acknowledged what their 2 time all-star left fielder is doing this season. If you havent done it already please vote for Matt Holliday who is a candidate for the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. It's funny how we never hear these stories on or in the media in this town. http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/clemente_form.jsp
And also the Hank Aaron Award for best offensive player.
http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/ha/y2007/index.jsp

We've placed our votes, have you?

Work to do...

2007-08-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's Labor Day weekend and speaking of labor it seems that the Rockies have a lot of work to do over the next month starting tonight against the Diamondbacks with Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2, 4.03) going against Livan hernandez (9-9, 4.86). If it were the very early days of baseball then Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez would have to pitch just about every game for the Rockies to have a chance at the NL wildcard. We still say that Taylor Buchholz needs to go back into the starting rotation because it clear that Josh Fogg and Franklin Morales are not the answers. We don't see anyway that Fogg will be a part of this pitching staff next season. But we'll give our predictions on who will be here and who won't be towards the end of the season.

The Rockies are 6 games out of first (Arizona) and 5 games behind 2nd place and wildcard leader San Diego. The hardhats, and lunch pails need to be on the next 3 days if the Rox have any hopes or aspirations of narrowing the lead and getting into the playoffs. Have a great Labor Day weekend and go Rockies!

Putting It Back Together Again...

2007-08-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

It's just too bad this sort of play didnt happen earlier in the homestand against the Pirates. The Rox swept the Nationals no problem in games two and three of the series and in a heart pounding, "Rocky Balboa" comeback type of fashion on Friday night. It's what we've expected to see out of the Rockies against Pittsburgh as we have seen it most of the season this year. Solid pitching, both starting and the bullpen and timely hits along with few mistakes on the basepaths by the Rockies. Defensively they were good overall but there were a couple of errors during the first series that were costly, but still finishing out the homestand, 4-3 after starting it out 1-3 against Pittsburgh. Now we wait to see if the Dodgers lose tonight against the Mets, as the Padres have already lost earlier today against the Phillies 14-2.

We saw solid pitching performances from the starters Francis, Jimenez, and Dessens in all three games against the Nationals and hopefully that will continue tomorrow on the road as the Rox face the Giants with Josh Fogg (7-9, 5.27) facing Barry "It's not about the money" Zito (9-11, 4.74). Right now that investment in Zito by the Giants hasn't been getting the best returns all season. Kinda the same return on the investment the Dodgers got in Kevin Brown a number of years ago.

The Rockies need to continue their current run as they hit the road for six against their division foes, San Francisco and division leader, Arizona. Boy how things could really change for the Rockies in the division if they can continue playing well.

There was a Chris Iannetta sighting today at 20th and Blake. Iannetta gave Yorvit Torrealba a rest today and started his first game since being sent back down to the Springs to retool his swing. Ianetta did go 2 for 5 today with 2 RBI's and a run scored. We'll wait to hold judgement on whether or not the time in triple A did him some good, but today was a good start for him at the plate. We dont see there being a whle lot of changes in the lineup, except maybe when Willy Taveras returns from the DL later during the roadtrip. Speaking of the DL, Aaron Cook should be back in the rotation soon, which will mean Morales will probably be sent down to the Springs. Brian Fuentes who we saw Friday night looked good in his first appearance, getting the win in result since coming of the DL. As some of the key pieces are coming back in place will this team continue their exceptional play and move up within the division and the wildcard race as well? With 30 plus games to go, it's sure to be exciting all the way to the end, and when was the last time we've been able to say that about the Rockies?

If it ain't broke, dont fix it...But this needs fixing

2007-08-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Let's go out on a limb here are say that the Rockies are in trouble. Ok so not much of a limb to go out on, but bare with us. The Rox lose 3 of 4 to the Pirates. Part of the trouble is the names that are currently on the disabled list. The other part is the makeshift pitching staff as of late, and the final pieces of the equation are the front office who didn't make a trade for a quality starter before the deadline and manager Clint Hurdle's skills managing Wednesday night's game. The front office has done little, bordering on almost nothing to help bolster the bullpen and the starting rotation. Adding Dessens and Ortiz isn't much of a bolster to either, but we'll give the front office credit for trying.

Clint Hurdle is apparently back in spring training and early season mode with the way he handled Wednesday's game by allowing Josh Fogg to "pitch himself out of trouble" as Hurdle so often has said this season, by waiting until Fogg gave up his 4th homer in 4 innings, 2 to Nate McClouth. Fogg is done, and way overrated by the coaching staff in our opinion and somewhere Byung Hyun Kim is smiling as you may recall these two battled for the 5th spot in the rotation during spring training. Move Buckholz back into the rotation, who can't seem to do any worse and Fogg to the bullpen. The problem is in the starting rotation and not the bullpen. There's also too much tinkering in the starting lineups in our opinion, so that throw the idea of consistency out the window. This is not Tucson and spring training, this is a playoff race, which this team is definitely still in and Hurdle and the front office need to act like it.

Let's borrow something we saw in the sports section of the Boston.com website http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/ the other day that said, "Are you a glass half full fan or a glass half empty fan?" We would say that after the way this homestand has started out that most people in this town anyway are "half empty" fans. There are those who are definitely "half full fans" though and I know and have met alot of them. I too am one of them. I certainly believe this team can still get into the playoffs and it hurts me to no end to see this team play the way they've played 3 of the last 4 games. Hurdle has done a good job up to this point but too much tinkering to the lineup and not enough to the starting pitching is hurting this team really bad right now.

The Nationals are next up for the Rockies, we're not going to even try to figure out where this team or this next series is headed.

We meant to do this sooner in the month but here are our birthday wishes for August to...

Geronimo Gil 8/7
Brian Fuentes 8/9
Cory Sullivan 8/20
Todd Helton 8/20

ARRGH!!! Pirates are a' comin'...

2007-08-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Far from it for the Pirates who invade Coors Field to be anything close to the Johnny Depp phenomenon, "Pirates of the Carribean", but let's try to have fun with this anyway. How about Pirates - Curse of the Stolen Signs, since last series in Pittsburgh they accused the Rockies of stealing signs. Whether or not the Pirates still believe the Rockies stole signs when they were in Pittsburgh, we'll see. These guys are "Shipwrecked", 18 games below .500 and they have nothing to play for other than their pride so there might be some display of payback coming from the Pirates. Though this accusation is certainly not enough to have fans rushing to by tickets for this "Clash of the Titans". (Not a pirate movie I know.)

This series if anything is one that the majority of fans could really care less about. Again it's only the Pirates. Besides with schools starting this week in the Denver metro, the attendance numbers will be down a little anyway, despite the fact the Rockies are still in a pennant race despite finishing the road trip 2-4 after a bullpen collapse in Los Angeles yesterday. The Rox should rebound this homestand with the Nationals coming in on Friday having lost 5 of their last 6. Ubaldo Jimenez makes the start tonight for the Rockies. Rockies should finish this homestand no worse than 5-2.

Needed...medical attention

2007-08-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, is it me or does it seem like the Rockies front office and coaching staff have reverted back to spring training mode? And if so then someone had better call in Dr. McDreamy, Dr. Meredith Grey and the rest of the cast of Grey's Anatomy to administer some medical help to the DL, shock some sense back into the front office and save the season, cause the Rockies right now are on life support!

The DL is as follows. Aaron Cook, Willy Taveras, Sean Barker, Jeff Baker, Rodrigo Lopez (60 and done for the season), Jason Hirsh, Zach McClellan (60) and Edwin Bellorin. Since then the Rockies have acquired Ramon Ortiz, Elmer Dessens and are calling up 3 game starter from Triple A, Frank Morales to start tonight's game. Are you kidding me? Dessens I can see being put in the rotation, Ortiz I dont know a whole lot about so I cant really question his part out of the bullpen. Morales is supposed to have stuff like Ubaldo Jimenez, whether that's good or bad, we'll know after tonight's game. Right now it looks as if the Rockies brass are filling the leaks in the pitching staff with tissue paper and not anything more solid. Which in turn means the Rockies bats will have do the majority of the work in order to keep them in most games.

The Rox are currently in 4th place in the division and half a game behind the Dodgers and 7 games out of 1st. We're not saying to jump ship now, that's not what we would do anyway, but at least get the life jackets ready. Besides there's too much baseball yet to be played and anything in this division can happen as it has most ofo the year. Let's hope Morales can get the Rockies back on track with a fine pitching performance tonight and Francis starting tomorrow.

A Split Decision and the Future...

2007-08-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Rockies are off today and travel to San Diego for 3 and then to LA for 3 more in what will be another crucial week for them in the NL West division. The Rox came away with a split of the 4 game series with the Cubs after what started out to look like the Rockies were back playing little league baseball after the first two games. The third game was the only sellout of the series, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday all had 40000 plus in attendance.

For anyone paying close attention, Saturday night the Rockies front office and coaching staff showcased their 2008 starting lineup on the field. Todd Helton did not play. Jeff Baker who started 1st base the night before didnt play either. Instead it was Garrett Atkins at first and recent call-up and hot prospect Ian Stewart was at third. No need to fear yet Rockies fans, I'm not saying Todd is leaving because certainly he holds the power to veto any trade attempt made by the Rockies. But it's been more than clear that they want to move Todd, though they've never come out and said it point blank. So much for loyalty.

Helton's not leaving, because the Rox had their chance during spring training this year and couldnt get it done with the Red Sox. The only way I could see Helton leaving is if he gets frustrated with the bozos in the front office while they continue to try and "quietly" shop him around the league to other teams during the upcoming off season. There's no way Todd will come out looking like the bad guy in this situation should this happen, because the front office has played that role for a long time already.

Unexpected sightings from the weekend.

Clint Barmes in centerfield 9th inning Saturday night and starting CF Sunday afternoon. WHAT?
Tim Harikkala who was the starting pitcher Sunday for the Rockies. His first start since 2005.
Ian Stewart starting at 3rd base Saturday night, Garrett Atkins at 1st base.