3 Runs in 4 Games?!

Date: 5/26/2006
Position: T-3rd NL West
Games Back: 3.0
Elimination Number: 112

It's official. Clint Barmes has dropped below the Mendoza line.

After striking out in the top of the 9th in the Giants' trouncing of the Rockies, Barmes dropped to .199 on the season.

There was nothing good about this game: The Rockies only managed 5 hits on the game, and Jeff Francis allowed 7 runs in 5IP (his first roughing up since his first start of the season (Apr. 6)), raising his season ERA to 3.86, and dropping the Rockies runs/game on this NL West road trip to 0.75 runs/game

What happened? Did we blow our wad against Toronto and expect the NL West to just roll over and play dead? Clint Hurdle needs to do something, and now, to make this team function again.

And I think he needs to start at SS.

Clint Barmes is an embarrassment at the plate. Plain and Simple. He has struck out 27 times in 43 games. Not quite as bad as Cory Sullivan (37 in 42), but Sullivan can at least back himself up with a .273 average right now. Solution? Send Barmes down. Bring up Quintanilla. Hell, bring up Stewart, see how he handles SS. Or maybe Jayson Nix. Nix is only batting .253 in CSprings, but here's a key stat: He's been walked 18 times. Barmes: 3. Just a thought.

But Barmes isn't the only one to blame. Hawpe has seen his average drop 21 points over the road trip; Sullivan's bat has dropped 29 points in the past 2 weeks. As a team, the Rockies have stranded 27 runners in the past 4 games. The worst part is that the way the Dodgers beat up our pitchers, we still would have lost those games.

Not to forget Sunny Kim, whose 3 ER in 2 IP since coming off the DL is actually lowering his ERA. Remind me why he's still wearing the black and purple?

Also good news, Danny Ardoin has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained knee, and JD Closser has been called up. While I'd rather have Marrero in the lineup, Closser is batting .313 in CSprings, with 2HR and 2RBIs in 20 games.

So, now we have injuries, callups, and zero batting right now.

The Rockies have temporarily lost that Lovin' feeling.

Something needs to stir, and soon.

Let's hope for good things out of this next game against SF, as Josh Fogg (3-2, 4.35) will attempt to give the Rockies a chance to WIN a game on this road trip, while Matt Cain (2-5, 5.47) will attempt to take another road series from the Rockies.

Until next time, the Rockies need some mojo, so if you can, tune into the game, cheer loud, send your schpadoinkle. But for now, Good night, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

2 Runs in 2 Games

Date: 5/24/2006
Position: 3rd NL West
Games Back: 1.5
Elimination Number: 116

Boy, did Brad Penny and the Dodgers Crew pitch a beauty.

And the Rockies Bats did absolutely Nothing to stop them.

Out of the 7 hits the Rockies mustered, the only one that mattered was Garrett Atkins' 6th inning solo shot, which brought the game within 3. However, after Jennings allowed another 2 runs before getting anyone out in the top of the 7th, everyone knew it was all but over.

Kenny Lofton went 3-5 with 2R and 2RBI. Nomar went 2-5 with a run and a RBI. Just add them to the list, as 7 of the Dodgers' top 8 had RBIs last night.

The only things this writer can say AGAINST the Dodgers was that Penny only spanned 5 innings before being pulled on 104 pitches, and Tim Hamulack's season ERA has jumped to 5.50 after Atkins' homer.

Although that's nothing, compared to our Sun-Woo Kim's ERA: 19.50, and still rising. After a miserable start to the season, Kim managed to get hit with a line drive that mercifully put him on the DL. Then, after a battle of "Starter or Waiver" egos, Kim and Hurdle both caved to allow Kim to return to the Rox bullpen.

And boy did it pay off! 2ER in 1 IP! That's the kind of numbers we need from a late reliever! I suppose he was put in as a refresher in an already losing effory, but still, that's hardly what we like to see after such a hubbub over playing time.

Jennings wasn't quite as dominant as we hoped, and he gave his team chances to take over. After giving up 4 runs in the top 2 innings, Jennings kept the Dodgers at bay until the top of the 7th, where LA pounded Jennings for 2 more runs before he was pulled by Hurdle in favor of lefty Ray King. Good News, King pitched a scoreless inning! I like to see him do well, as it seems to be less and less frequent as the season progresses.

Anyhow, let's hope the Rockies' bats can give Aaron Cook (5-3, 3.28) some support as he takes on Aaron Sele (2-0, 2.29) in the Battle of the Aarons: Who is the dominating Aaron?

As for now, it's time for this frustrated writer to sign off, so Good night, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

We swept an AL East team?!

Date: 5/21/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: 0
Elimination Number: 119

Sorry about the delay, I've been in a frantic process of moving to NM. Also, the best I can do to watch games is to listen to them online. So here's to hoping I can be effective and accurate in my writing.

The Rockies just swept the Toronto Bluejays to kick off the interleague play. Player of the series: I'd argue Garrett Atkins. He went 4-12 over the series, 2HR, 5R, 5RBI (including 3 today on a bases-clearing double to deep right center).

Clint Barmes went 3-10, tallying 6 RBIs. Despite this "improvement," Barmes has gone 5-for-36 in his last 11 games. Hardly numbers you'd expect from a starting SS. My opinion? Send him down, let him think about it, bring up Quintanilla. Down in CSprings, Quintanilla is batting .275 with an OBP of .347. Plus, anything Barmes can do defensively, Quintanilla can do better. Just a thought.

Helton continues to bat...well, for Helton, poorly. His season Batting average is .292 with only 3 bombs.

Hawpe got a day off today, but is continuing to bat well. In his last 10 games, Hawpe is 11-for-35, with 8 RBIs and 2 HRs.

Holliday also has been continuing to produce, going 17-for-36 (1 hit below .500, for those math whizzes among you), tallying 2 HR and 5 RBIs, and he has been driven in often for a total of 9 runs, and yesterday's game brought his OPS up to 1.012.

And for the pitching staff, Francis continues to be stellar, Cook is a dominating force, and Ramirez is the best thing to happen to the Rockies' pen since Fuentes started closing. As a team, Colorado's ERA is 4.05 after 44 games, the club's lowest ERA at any point after the first 10 games of a season.

Tomorrow is the battle of South Korea, as BH Kim (2-1, 4.62) faces Jae Seo (1-2, 5.31) in a vengance match between the Rockies and Dodgers in LA. Seo has been struggling this season, so hopefully Kim will have his game on and not have as rough of a 1st inning as he did Tuesday. Although if the rest of the game goes as swimmingly, I'm thinking Kim can do what he wants.

Anyhow, Rockies fans, that's the news. Hopefully I'll be able to give more updates more often, but we'll see what happens in the coming weeks. Until then, Good night, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

That's a mighty big salary for such a lack of clutch...

Date: 5/18/2006
Position: 3rd NL West
Games Back: 1.0
Elimination Number: 121

There is no joy in Denver, Mighty Helton just flied out to right.

I think Helton's recent slump doesn't quite leave him in the same position of respect that he still retained last year, despite his batting woes. Last year, Todd Helton dropped to roughly .250 before perking back up, but during that time, he still had an OBP of over .380. Why? Because last season, RPs would just walk him, thinking "Psh, who's this Matt Holliday guy? Preston Wilson? We can strike him out [looking]." This season, though, pitchers tremble at the triple H combination of Helton, Holliday, and Hawpe. So, Wednesday at roughly 3:45 PM in Coors Field, after 8 1/2 innings of dueling pitchers, and a 3-2 lead for the Dodgers, Cory Sullivan singled, Atkins' jersey was caught a bit by the pitch from Dodgers RP Danys Baez, bringing up Mr. Clutch himself, Todd Helton, with 2 on, 2 outs, bottom of the ninth. Helton fouled a few off before skying one that had Dodgers C Martin up with his mask off. Luckily, that pitch barely slipped out of play, giving Helton another chance to save the game for the struggling Rockies.

Instead, he popped out to shallow right field, prompting a curse and a thrown baseball cap from this writer, and the Rockies dropped 2 of 3 to the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers at home.

Helton has only driven 1 run in since May 8th, which prompts me to rephrase yesterday's question: Where have the Rockies' bats gone?

Don't give me any of this humidor crap. Yeah, that's saved a few Rockies starters from a few cheap home runs and helped the breakers break and the sinkers sink, but that doesn't excuse all the terrible flyouts I've seen from the Rockies.

The problem used to be that the dried-out balls lost some of their seams, and breakerball pitchers couldn't get their pitches to work, plus the low altitude and lighter, drier balls would leave the park on what should've been an easy deep-center flyout. So this way, the Rockies learned to hit straightball after straightball, and then on the road they'd get burned by the sliders all day long. But now that the breakers are breaking again, and only earned homers leave the park, does this mean that the Rockies' bats really aren't worth more than 3-4 runs a game? Is Coors Field really a pitcher's park after all?

Nah.

Hawpe is 3rd in the NL for batting average, sitting on a cool .338 right now, and Holliday is 4th in RBIs at 36, 3 behind Andruw Jones, and....12....behind Albert Pujols.

The Rockies will have Thursday off, and Friday, Aaron Cook (4-3, 3.27) plans to embarrass Josh Towers (1-7, 8.45) in an evening interleague matchup. The real humor? Let's see Towers try and bat. Towers has been factored into every decision he's had an opportunity at this season, and with that high ERA and a 1.85 WHIP, maybe it's a good night for Atkins and Helton to find their bats in raging form.

If there's no Friday night postgame, it's because I'm moving into a summer residence.

So Good night, Rockies Fans, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Back after such a long absence

Date: 5/17/2006
Position: T-2nd NL West
Games Back: 0.5
Elimination Number: 123

Bob Apodaca made an early trip out to the mound tonight.

Byung-Hyun Kim started tonight's matchup by walking Rafael Furcal, letting him steal 2nd, walking Kenny Lofton, and then walking Nomar Garciaparra to load up the bases with no outs, and then gave up the game's first run to JD Drew right after that.

And interestingly enough, that was the only run the Dodgers could manage.

7 innings, 5 strikeouts, and no further runs later, the Rockies led 5-1.

Hawpe had a career-tying night with 4 RBIs (1 on a single, driving Holliday in in the 2nd, and the other 3 on a homer that scored Holliday again and Helton), and Matt Holliday went 4-4 with 2 runs scored.

The Purple Glove has started getting his groove back. He pitched a strong 8th, striking out one, and giving up one hit on a double to Aybar. Scott Dohmann finished the 9th in similar fashion, giving up a deep triple to Martin, but not allowing him to reach home.

And they only left 5 on as a team.

An interesting, if not decent, start from BH Kim, and some good batting to complement it.

As many of you may be asking as well as I, When did Coors Field become a pitcher's park? The trend is seeming to be big pitching duels, and that is very very strange for the thin air of Colorado.

As a down note, Clint Barmes' batting average has dropped to .208. Clearly unacceptable for a starting SS. Suggestions? Bench him, start Jamey Carroll. Also, utilize Smith more at 2nd. Hell, bring up Stewart, see how he can handle SS.

As a preview, tomorrow Jason Jennings (2-3, 5.05) will start the third game against Dodger no-neck ace Brad Penny (3-1, 2.66) in this back-and-forth series. Look for Penny to walk 3, strike out 4, give up 6 hits and 2 ER. Expect Jennings to strike out 5, walk 2, give up 4 runs on 8 hits. I'm banking on the LA bullpen to tank.

Well, it's late, and I hate the computer I'm using. So for now, Good night, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

A Postgame/Pregame post all in one! What a deal!

Date: 5/15/2006
Position: 2nd NL West
Games Back: 1.0
Elimination Number: 124

The Colorado Rockies were EXACTLY what Andy Pettitte wanted to see.

Pettitte struck out 7 in his complete game 3-hit shutout. Pettitte, before last night, had posted an ERA of 5.55.

Quoting Houston Manager Phil Garner, "I think this was the Andy Pettitte of old." The Rockies woefully agree.

Jeff Francis had a good outing, despite the result, pitching a solid 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 on solo homers) on 6 hits while walking only 2 and striking out 5. David Cortes pitched a scoreless, hitless 8th.

Lance Berkman contributed one of the homers, in his typical batting-well-against-the-Rockies form. And continuing to spite Rockies pitchers was Morgan Ensberg, who enjoyed his slow trot around the bases.

Matt Holliday's hitting streak was snapped at 8 games, and the Rockies' 3 hits came from Brad Hawpe, Choo Freeman, and Luis Gonzalez. I'd start to rant about the LOB problem again, seeing how 100% of our runners were stranded...but it was a 3-hitter. I'd credit Pettitte more than fault the Rockies.

"He was awesome," Francis said. "It was my first time to see him. We have a pretty good offense and for him to shut us down today like he did shows a lot."

The Rockies loss, along with SD's recent tear, has resulted in the Rockies yielding the division lead, falling to 2nd in the NL West (1.0 Games Behind), with Arizona nipping at the Rockies' heels in 3rd, only 1.5 GB.

Tonight, Josh Fogg (2-2, 4.50) will square off against Brett Tomko (4-1, 2.93). Fogg has been roughed up 3 of his last 4 starts, excluding the most recent start against St. Louis, where Fogg went 7.0 IP, allowing only 1 run. Tomko, however, has been all but perfect, having not allowed a run in his past 13 IP, striking out 12 and walking only 5 in that stretch. This will be a big game for the Rockies, whose road trip was less than successful, and they hope to turn it around back on Planet Coors.

A big goal for the Rockies tonight is to capitalize on baserunning. Several players are still sitting on healthy .300+ averages, and with numbers like that, the Rocks should be scoring more than 4 runs in a series. Especially when Jeff Kent has a history of roughing up Josh Fogg, Nomar Garciaparra is putting up NL Player of the Week numbers, and JD Drew and Rafael Furcal all have excellent career numbers against Colorado.

So here's to the pitching staff, may they be merciless and unforgiving. Here's to the bats, may they be refreshed and angry. Here's to the Rockies, may they sweep the Dodgers at home!

So for now, Good evening, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

[All quotes from KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer]

All Hail Aaron Cook, the man who outpitched Roy Oswalt!

Date: 5/13/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 125

Aaron Cook pitched his way into the seventh inning tonight, striking out 6, walking only 2 and allowing only 5 hits. The only run earned off of Cook came in the bottom of the 6th inning, when Preston Wilson hit an RBI single to bring home Mike Lamb. Another excellent start from Cook, showing more and more that Cook might be the anchor of the starting rotation that brings this team to victory.

The Rockies' 2 runs both came in the 3rd inning, from Luis González (driving in Danny Ardoin) and Todd Helton (bringing Cory Sullivan home). The team left 7 on base tonight, an improvement from the 11 last night, but still far more than should be stranded. To compare, Houston only left 6 on base. This shows that the Rockies CAN hit well (no fooling?), which is a good start, but the consistency is becoming more and more of an issue.

To add to the good news, Todd Helton went 2-4 tonight, and his average is slowly creeping up (currently sitting at .317). Matt Holliday extended his hitting streak to 8 games, and Ramon Ramirez was flawless again, pitching 2 1/3 innings tonight to pave the way for closer Brian Fuentes. Ray King got the lefty he faced to fly out, before being pulled in favor of Ramirez. Brad Hawpe went 2-4 tonight, having been hitless in his last 3 games. Also, Danny Ardoin extended his hitting streak to 4 games, having safely hit in 6 of the last 8 games played. Additionally, Ardoin has broken back above the Mendoza line, finally!!! Break out the champagne, folks, I'm hoping this means Ardoin may someday reach .250!!!

Oswalt pitched an excellent game as well, pitching 7 innings and striking out 4. (By the way, I called Oswalt going 7+ innings, striking out 5, and allowing maybe 1-2 ER, I'd say I pegged that pretty well!)

While the Rockies won tonight, I'd credit this game almost exclusively to the pitching staff. The Rockies bats were quiet tonight, but one would expect no less from Roy Oswalt. Both bullpens were perfect, and this pitchers duel surprisingly came down to the 3rd inning, where Colorado put its two tallies on the scoreboard. Well, perhaps not surprisingly, judging by how well the bullpen has been pitching (up until recently).

The strength of this team, as has been noticed throughout this season, is clearly the bullpen. King has been improving of late, having not had a run earned since April 23rd, and with the exception of last night, Scott Dohmann has been great since April 19th. And David Cortes has been all but perfect, still holding an ERA of under 1.50. Tom Martin's ERA, however, has jumped up to 6.00, and he has not pitched in a winning endeavor since April 18th against San Diego. Mesa has allowed runs his last 3 appearances as well, pushing his season ERA from 0.55 to 4.15. Every pitcher slumps, but when Mesa slumps, he slumps hard. His last two appearances resulted in 3 runs being scored, including what would prove to be a game-winning 3-run homer from a certain Albert Pujols. (But can you really blame him? It's Albert Pujols.)

I have faith that the bullpen will hold, and we just need to wait and see the bats start coming back around (looking at You, Barmes), and the bullpen will have some room to breathe in games.

Coming up tomorrow, Jeff Francis (2-2, 3.16) will take the mound against the banged-up Andy Pettitte (2-4, 5.66). Pettitte, over his last 3 starts, has an ERA of 8.33 and a WHIP of 1.98. Here's to hoping the Rockies will be able to give the pitchers some run support tomorrow, considering Pettitte's struggles, and be able to take another series from the Astros. (I'd like to think that beating their ace in a 2-run effort is something that might break their spirits). As for now, it's time to sign off, so Good night, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Bring on Oswalt?

Date: 5/13/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 127

Quick pregame post, the Rockies face off against the Astros for Game 2 of the series in Houston. Cook against Oswalt, and after last night, boy, they really have something to prove. Hopefully Hurdle gave the team a nice chewing, namely young shortstop Clint Barmes, and maybe that will light a fire under their seats.

Watch for Oswalt to throw a long game, possibly going 7+ innings, tallying maybe 5 strikeouts, and 1 or 2 earned runs.

On the upside, look for Cook to throw the same game, but drop the Ks to perhaps 2.

The Rockies seriously need to capitalize on RISP tonight, as they hit the ball all over the park, but never when we could score on it.

Anyhow, enjoy the game, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Definitely NOT one for the record books.

Date: 5/12/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 127

Matt Holliday extended his hitting streak to 7 games, and drove in the first run of the game.

Luis González hit a solo shot in the 9th.

And those were all the runs the Rockies scored.

Jason Jennings pitched 5 2/3 of excellent ball, only allowing 3 hits and 1 run (solo shot by Craig Biggio).

And then hell broke loose.

After a Biggio single and a Berman single, Jennings worked his way to a 2-2 count against a fighting Morgan Ensberg, Jennings threw a fastball in that barely missed the outside corner. Thinking he had gotten the strike, Jennings jumped off of the mound, only to realize that the ump hadn't called anything, and the count was now full. Hoping to catch the corner this time, Jennings threw a nice pitch to the outside of the plate...

And Ensberg rocketed it to left.

Jennings then gave up another run on 3 straight hits before Hurdle pulled him in favor of Scott Dohmann. Dohmann finished the inning, grounding out Adam Everett, but the score was now 5-1.

Dohmann then proceeded to give up 2 more runs in the 7th.

In the 8th, Mesa gave up 2 more before being pulled himself, and left one aboard for Mike Lamb's 2-run shot off of Tom Martin.

Despite giving up a solo shot to Luis González, Trever Miller was able to preserve the remaining 10-run lead to get a win for the Astros.

....

This was not a game where the Astros simply outplayed the Rockies. The Rockies simply stunk.

Nevermind Jennings' 5 earned runs. Jennings was DOMINATING Houston batters until that Ball 3, and then it was over. I sincerely believe that had Jennings struck out Ensberg to finish the inning, he would have pitched into the 8th.

Not that it would have done any good.

The Rockies left 11 stranded today.

5 of them belonged to Barmes.

The Rockies could have blown this game open by the 4th, but poor batting resulted in only 1 run scored in the first 8 innings. The pitching of Fernando Nieve was merely good enough to close down the 2-out batter. Which, really, is all you need. No, this was a case of poor, poor batting.

And tomorrow, it doesn't get any easier.

Aaron Cook (3-3, 3.51) squares off against Roy Oswalt (5-2, 3.62), in what should prove to be a well-fought battle.

Cook, in his last outing, went 8 innings, giving way to Fuentes with 2 aboard in the 9th.

Oswalt was lit up, giving up 7 runs (6 earned) in 4.2IP.

Here's to hoping that he repeats his performance.

As for now, it's time to cut this update short. Good night, Good Luck, and Go Rockies!

Down in the East Texas town called Houston, I fell in love with a Colorado team...

Date: 5/12/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 128

Tonight, Jason Jennings (2-2, 4.70) faces off against Fernando Nieve (1-1, 5.55) in a cross-division matchup between the Houston Astros and your Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies swept the Astros last week at Coors Field, including a 9th inning collapse by Brad Lidge, an 8IP, 2ER effort from Aaron Cook, and a complete game shutout from Jason Jennings.

Jennings hopes to recreate that magic in Minute Maid Park, against the recently struggling Astros. The Astros are coming off of a 1-2 series in LA against the Dodgers, where they were beaten overall 17-23.

Last outing at Coors, Nieve gave up 5ER in 5.2 IP, including a Todd Helton 3-run homer.

Cook gave up a 2nd-inning single run shot to Jason Lane, but spent the rest of the day thwarting Houston bats.

Matt Holliday hopes to extend his 6-game hitting streak, during which he has 4HR, 5RBI, and 8 runs scored.

So here's to Jennings, may his arm lead the Rockies to more glory over Houston. Enjoy the game, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

StL eats Kim's lunch

Date: 5/10/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 129 (Pending results of ARI-PIT game)

Kim ER: 7

Suppan ER: 3

Final Score: 4-7, StL

Players of the game:

Albert Pujols (1B StL, 2-4, HR, 2RBI), Juan Encarnación (RF StL, 1-4, 1R, 2RBI), Matt Holliday (2-4, R, RBI, 3B), Cory Sullivan (2-4, R, RBI), Ramon Ramirez (2.0IP, 1H, 3K, 0R, Season ERA 0.00)

Letdown of a start from BH Kim. After a week of excellent pitching across, the board, the rotation came full circle and Kim struggled again. Kim allowed 7ER in 4.2IP, including an Albert Pujols two-run jack and the same from Juan Encarnación.

This game wasn't evidence of Rockies' lack of skill, but rather of the excellence of the Cardinals' bats. Their lineup just read Kim like a book, and then hit that book over the left field fence.

There were good points to the Rockies game, though. Through 14IP this season, Ramon Ramirez still hasn't allowed a run. Holliday has a 5-game hitting streak going, and has safely reached in 7 of his last 8 games, to the tune of .530. Ardoin went 2-3 today, with a run (his 3rd consecutive game with hits), Carroll is still hitting the ball, Helton doubled and scored, and a few other good things. The team only had 5 LOB today as well, 3 with RISP.

Overall, I don't think there's much I can say against the team right now, they've been playing some excellent ball. And don't forget, last season's team split the season with the Cards, so I'm hoping this series here is just a fluke.

I just wanna mention Ardoin for a minute. I'm thinking Hurdle threatened him with designation, and he's finding a way to hit. I'm not sure what had him so preoccupied, but I'm very impressed with his recent production. He's getting hits so the bigger hitters at the top can drive him in. Which is how batting lineups are supposed to work.

However, I do want to gripe about Clint Barmes for a little while. Wasn't this Clint Barmes fellow supposed to be the best thing to happen to the Coors Field infield since Neifi Perez? Well, he's down to about .236 around now, been dropped in the lineup to 7th, and to top it off, has 4 errors and a .969 Field% so far? Yeah, 4 errors isn't that bad, but when the Utility infielders are all playing more efficient ball, it starts to worry me. Here's to hoping he finds his bat again, and we don't have to begin thinking of the word "Tradebait."

Here are stats to cheer everyone up.


Coming up after a Thursday off, the Rockies continue their NL Central road trip in Minute Maid Park against the recently swept Astros, where Jason Jennings (2-2, 4.70) will square off against Fernando Nieve (1-1, 5.55) in a GRUDGE MATCH. Ok, not really that, but I'm sure the Stros are a little sore getting swept on the road by the Rox, and then dropping the next two as well. Here's to hoping the Dodgers keep beating them real good so when we venture down to Houston we'll have a tired, browbeaten team to take on.

Anyhow, that's enough for this postgame report. Andrew signing off. Good evening, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

There is no joy in Denver, mighty Pujols blew one over the fence.

Date: 5/10/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 128

Fogg pitched 7.0 innings with only 1 ER.

Holliday homered again.

Tom Martin and Scott Dohmann combined for a scoreless inning.

The Cardinals had 3 errors.

...

...

...

And the Rockies lost.

To lead off the 8th, Josa Mesa gave up consecutive singles, zero outs, and then Albert Pujols pounded one to deep left.

You know, I'm not even mad. I'm impressed. That's clutch right there. And then Isringhausen came through in classic Izzy form, striking out 3 for the save.

Not the best game of baseball the Rockies have ever played either. 10 LOB, 6 RISP.

Not much more to add on the game last night. But you have to expect the Pujols wrecking crew to come through at some point. He's just that good.

In a "Preview", BH Kim (1-0, 3.29) faces Jeff Suppan (3-2, 4.46) (in progress during this writing), and boy, it's not looking good thus far. But I'll delve into that after the game.

QUICKEST PREGAME EVER

Sorry, no big pregame today, both of the authors are going to the Avalanche - Ducks game 3, and don't have time to post much.

Fogg vs. Carpenter tonight, let's hope Todd can find his steady bat again and the 4-6 can go 7-for-13 again!

Good afternoon, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Hoo-rah Jeff Francis, part II

Date: 5/8/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 129

Worst...news....EVER. THE PURPLE GLOVE'S ERA HAS DOUBLED.

Well, sorta. It's 1.08 now.

Anyhow, another HUGE win for the Rockies. Francis went 7 2/3 IP, and left the final out to the Purple Glove. Mesa started out the 9th inning, let two on, and then Hurdle turned to King in the pen. King, eager to show his old club what's he's amounted to...didn't really do too much. He did however blow his DP chances by means of a wild pitch, and then let Edmonds sac fly to CF allowing the runner at 3rd to score the Cards' 2nd run of the game. Then, despite the desire to keep him on the bench, Hurdle was forced to turn to Fuentes, who lined Taguchi out to 2nd and grounded Miles out to SS.

Prediction compared to reality

*	Andrew's Predictions	Reality
Francis Hits	5-8	6
Francis BB	3	3
Francis K	5	1
Francis ER	2-4	1
-	-	-
Marquis Hits	7-8	10
Marquis BB	3	3
Marquis K	4	0
Marquis ER	4	6

OK, so I was a little off. So sue me. Apparently I have the BB category nailed shut, though.

But seriously, what a night for Francis. Not only did he only allow 1 run, he also forced 2 double plays on the quieted Cardinal bats.

Sorry about the bad Marrero call, Apparently Ardoin's 2-4, 1R performance on Sunday was enough for Hurdle to take another risk and keep him in the lineup. And apparently, it paid off, as Ardoin singled in the top of the 3rd. Regrettably enough, though, Danny got caught taking just a little lead, and well, he's a catcher, so he's not exactly Ricky Henderson on the basepath. The problem with that was that the 4th had the pitcher leading off, rather than the top of the order.

To wrap up the bad news, Helton went 0-4. It happens.

In the good news category, the middle of the lineup (Atkins, Holliday, Hawpe) went 7-13 tonight, with 5RBIs, 5 Runs, and 2 homers, both from Matt Holliday. HELL of a game for those boys. And continuing his streak of impressing Andrew, Jamey Carrol went 1-3 with a Run.

Oh, and the pitching staff held Pujols 1-3 with no Runs or RBIs.

This was a fantastic game for the Rockies. Completely. To quote StL manager Tony LaRussa: "How good were the Rockies? They just played a good game from their side in all facets of the game." (from JIM SALTER, Associated Press Writer). Coming from such a successful Manager, that comes off as quite the compliment.

As a preview, tomorrow Josh Fogg (2-2, 5.18) looks to regain his early success on the mound as he squares off against the Cardinals' Cy Young winning Ace, Chris Carpenter (3-2, 2.35). The Rockies hope to take advantage of the Cardinals' batting struggles and claim another victory at Busch Stadium.

That's all for tonight, Andrew signing off. Good night, Good luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Into the Lion's Den: The Cardinals

Date: 5/8/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 130

Quick preview: Francis (1-2, 3.60) vs. Marquis (3-3, 5.50) in StL. Expect to see a good game today. The Cards are not playing their best ball recently, despite sweeping the Marlins, remember that WE swept the Marlins as well. Prior to that, the Cards were on a 4-game losing streak. In their last 10, the Cards are 5-5, while the Rockies are 7-3. However, we can't take the Cards recent struggles for granted, as they scored 23 runs in that series, they now have the taste of blood in their mouths and want more. But the Rockies have overcome the Astros, possibly the biggest thorn in the Cards' collective sides in the past 2 years.

Francis only has 1 career start again StL, in which he pitched 6 innings of shutout ball. Also, Francis is coming off of 3 strong starts, during which he has posted an ERA of 0.95 with 15 punchouts. Expect to see Francis give up in the range of 5-8 hits, 5K, 3BB, and my best guess is 2-4 ER.

Marquis, however, has the benefit of experience on his side, and has 36.0 innings in which he's posted a 4.50 ERA. However, Marquis has been struggling at home this season, with an ERA of 7.41 and opponent's batting average of .328. Helton has a history of lighting Marquis up as well, with an average of .429 and 2 HR against the righty. Expect Marquis to give up 3BB, 7-8 hits, 4K, and I'm gonna shoot for 4ER.

Holliday has hit well against StL for his whole career, to the tune of .400+, while Atkins and Hawpe have regrettably not. However, Hawpe is at roughly .430 on the road this year, and Atkins is .350 on the road. Hopefully starting Marrero at C won't bite us, but rather, bring us another run or two.

On the other end, Pujols the Mighty has a career average of .363 against the Rockies, including 13 bombs. His .352 at home isn't much encouragement, either. Not to mention Rolen, who's batting .294 at home (career .276 against the Rox). Edmonds has been slumping this season, thus far. Small favors, huh? (As an afterthought, doesn't Pujols have at least a .363 average against everybody?)

As a team, the Rox are batting .279, while the Cards are batting .264. So let's be hoping the Rox can really turn this series into a visiting mortar range.

That's all for now, Andrew signing off, Good day, Good Luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!!

No good teams, huh?

Date: 5/7/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 130

Aaron Cook pitched 8 innings with 2ER.

Todd Helton sent one yard good for 3 runs.

Danny Ardoin went 2-4 with a run.

I'd call this a good win today.

The only complaints I had were:

A. The wind. It only came up once, seriously, DURING THE 9TH WHEN FUENTES WAS TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAME!!

B. Fuentes giving up 2R. One for him, one for Cook. But then I remember, what's the job of a closer? Preserve the win. Did Fuentes accomplish just that? Yes he did.

Hell of a game for Cook though. 6H, 2K, 2BB, 2ER, all in 8IP. And the only run that actually scored while he was on the mound was a leadoff homer to Lane in the 2nd. After that, it was groundball-flyout-groundball-flyout-popup-flyout-etc-etc. 104 pitches, 67 of them for strikes.

Fuentes came in with a man on 1st and 2nd, no outs, and immediately grounded Brad Ausmus into a nice 5-4-3. Only downside was that it advanced the runner on 2nd to 3rd, and the ensuing Adam Everett triple scored that runner (Morgan Ensberg). A followup single from Eric Bruntlett then scored Everett. But, Fuentes finished the game off in Brian Fuentes style: A strikeout.

"I probably wasn't as sharp as I would like to have been," Fuentes admitted. "I was behind in the count a little more than I would like to be. I was pretty happy getting the double-play ball coming in. That was huge. I made it interesting [after that]." - Brian Fuentes (from coloradorockies.com)

But you know who my hero the last few games has been? Jamey Carroll! The guy's a freakin' workhorse! If he keeps batting this way, we have ourselves yet another starting 2B. Carroll went 1-2 with a sac bunt and a walk, and scored on Helton's 3 run jack, along with Cory Sullivan who had doubled the previous at-bat.

Ardoin led off the 6th with a double off of Mike Gallo, and then Cook and Sullivan combined perfectly to sacrifice him home. We would've had a SECOND Ardoin run in the 7th, but some poor baserunning decisions left Ardoin in a pickle between home and 3rd that resulted in not only him getting tagged out but Sullivan also getting caught stretching his double into a triple. This isn't the first time the Rox have been caught getting greedy on the basepath this year, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Bad news for Ardoin, however. While nothing official has been said, Eli Marrero will be suiting up as a starting catcher for the 1st time in almost 3 years against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hurdle figures that with Marrero's hot bat, and Ardoin rivaling AL pitchers for OBP, maybe he should take advantage of their third catcher.

Speaking of Catchers, Torrealba is very slow in his recovery. Don't expect to see him for at least another week or 3.

As an afterthough, this homestand was huge, for many many reasons.

Reason the 1st: Our rotation really showed its strength. With the exception of a poor start from Josh Fogg on Thursday against the Reds, the Starting Rotation gave up a grand total of 6 ER. 2 today from Cook, and 4 on Friday from BH Kim. Francis threw 7 innings of shutout ball and JJ went a complete game shutout on Saturday night. And noteworthy, despite giving up 4ER on Friday, Kim also threw his second consecutive game with 9K. This rotation is something we can really start to rely on.

Reason 2: The Bullpen is something we can rely on on a day-to-day basis! We have 7 relievers in the pen with sub-4.00 ERAs, namely: Brian Fuentes, Ray King, Scott Dohmann, Ramon Ramirez (how about that kid, huh? 12.00IP, not a single earned run!), Mike DeJean (lord knows when He'll be back), David Cortes (whom I'd argue is one of the top 3 in the bullpen), and of course, the Purple Glove, Joe Table, with his 0.55 ERA. This is a bullpen we can actually steadily fall back on! And imagine, when we get Chin-hui Tsao back, we'll have another pitcher with closing potential there to snap innings shut.

Reason 3: We won 4 of 5 at home. Before this homestand, the Rox were only 5-7 at home, 10-5 on the road. We've since improved that to 9-8 at home, bringing us to the sole possession of the NL West.

Reason 4: We swept the goddamn ASTROS. Before this series, the 'Stros were tied with the Mets for 2nd in the NL. After this series, they've dropped to 3rd in the NL Central, behind Cincinatti and St. Louis. And before the Astros, we split 2 with the NL-best Reds! We took 4 of 5 from high caliber teams, and how did we do it? Did the Blake Street Bombers return and knock a zillion out of the park, ending every game 11-9? No! We did it with good pitching, and good team play. In fact, we only scored 15 runs against the Stros, 5 in each game, which was just enough as our staff was able to keep the Stros under the 5 run tally. But the point of this 4th reason is that the Colorado Rockies are turning heads in the NL. We're not a joke of a team, trying to match bats and hurlers with the Big Boys, we're outright competitors! The Rockies do NOT suck! (Try saying it out loud. Your mouth fumbles with it a little, but it'll start rolling off of your tongue, I promise)

Anyhow, I'm gonna call it a night. I have a final tomorrow, and I can't stop thinking about Helton bombing it into the bullpen. Good night, Good luck, and GO ROCKIES!!!

Simulated Game

I figured I'd throw my 2 cents worth in.

My guess is in a simulated game, they have Mike DeJean standing in line at Coors with all the little kids using the speedometer to measure how fast you can throw it. Then he'll take batting practice from either Dinger or the Philly Phanatic.

2 innings of observations

Date: 5/6/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 131

In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that neither Andrew nor I were able to watch much of this game. I was on my way back from rafting down Royal Gorge. I will discuss the 2 innings of the game I did see. Jason Jennings. What more can you say? The guy was killing it. CG, 0 R, 7 H, 9 K, 1 BB. Through 20 batters he had thrown pitch one strike to sixteen of them.

*TIME OUT*

Ok as I write this I am watching the end of Lakers-Suns Game 7. The Suns are killing the Lakers. The scrubs are knocking down 3's from 4 feet beyond the arc. This is ridiculous.

*TIME IN*

Getting ahead of hitters is paramount for any pitcher. Doing it that often sets you up to go deep into games because you can shorten the AB. Another key stat in this game for the Rockies is 2 LOB. Leaving men on has been killing the Rockies all season, not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, MATT HOLLIDAY. Choo Freeman got the start in center and went 2 for 4 with a RBI, 2 runs scored and a swipe. Choo seems to be rounding into a decent utility guy/pinch hitter. In the good news column Mike DeJean pitched a simulated game today without pain. And if some could PLEASE explain to me what a "simulated game" is I would appreciate it.

Who schedules Finals on Saturday anyhow?

Date: 5/6/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 131

Andrew here.

This is gonna have to be a quick update, I'm supposed to be studying now anyhow.

Jennings against W-Rod today.

Things to watch for:

Hits. Jennings is posting a 1.62 WHIP, and Rodriguez just started eating again YESTERDAY after a week with a virus. I'm very surprised that Garner is starting him, despite his weakened state. At the risk of sounding sick/cruel, let's hope that the Rockies can take advantage of his state(moreso an interesting managing decision) and score a few more runs and claim a victory.

Jennings' key to success is to start throwing those good strong 0-1 pitches and claiming early command of the mound and the strike zone. The Astros have a history of roughing our boy up, to a tune of an ERA of 12.05.

Rodriguez...well, let's hope he doesn't puke on the mound. You can't wash that off.

Other things to watch for include a Helton 2B, a Preston Wilson K, an Atkins RBI (and let's hope no DP balls), and Brad Hawpe being reliable.

In Short, Go ROCKIES!!!

Thank God for small favors

Date: 5/5/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 131

Andrew here.

I wish I could come in and say that the Rockies completely overpowered Buchholz. I'd love to say that Kim was a dominant pitcher tonight. I'd love to say that the Rockies were the better team on the field tonight.

But it was close, either way. What the Stros had in general-team-goodness, they gave up in Fielding Errors.

The Rox and Stros both put 8 hits on the board. Kim was charged with 4 ER, and Buchholz with 3R, 2ER, and then Lidge with 2R, 1ER. The game-ending run was walked in by RP Wheeler, after walking Cory Sullivan to load the bases and hope to ground Jamey Carroll into a DP.

However, 2 strikes and 4 balls later, the winning run came trotting across homeplate for a satisfying, yet anticlimatic, win.

The Rockies looked somewhat better in the LOB category. Only 8 tonight. But they managed to score a few in there, as well.

Atkins REALLY needs to stop grounding into DPs in scoring situations.

Helton looked like he was coming back off of an injury - go fig.

Holliday went 2-4 with a run. Not a bad performance, I'd argue.

Ardoin was held hitless again. Lord, do I love his arm, but the minute Torrealba comes off of the DL, if his BA hasn't started perking up again, I smell a trip to the minors. I mean, members of our pitching staff have better BAs. It's like a dead out, it's not even fun.

Carroll came off as the big hitter tonight, going 3-4 with a RBI and the winning run.

As a complete bonus to the team, Barmes and Freeman laid down PERFECT sac bunts in the 9th. PERFECT.

The Rox scored 2 of the 5 runs on throwing errors, one from Lance Berkman and one from Morgan Ensberg.

Overall, coming from a 'Stros fan and myself, the final score should've looked like this:

Colorado: 5
Garner: 4

I'm inclined to agree. Putting Brad Lidge in the 9th was a bad call. Lidge has been shaky lately, and has also been pitching quite a few innings. Giving him the night off and sticking with Qualls might have given the 'Stros the win.

Anyhow, coming up tomorrow, Jason Jennings (1-2, 5.84) faces off against Wandy Rodriguez (4-0, 2.61). Rodriguez has a 1.38 ERA on the road this year, so the Rox are gonna have their work cut out for them. With any luck, Helton will come back doubling, Atkins won't ground into any DPs, Holliday and Hawpe will stay hot, and Barmes will sit well in the 7-hole.

Speaking of Barmes, where did this .245 nonsense come from? It's obvious why he was placed in the 7 hole now, but what is wrong with the guy? Wasn't he still batting like .400 this time last year? Sheesh.

Anyhow, go Rox, and let's hope to take another from the 'Stros!!!

Damn You Aaron Harang!!!

Date: 5/4/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 133

12K. Did I NOT JUST WARN THE TEAM?! 12 FREAKING STRIKEOUTS!!!!

Oh, and that's a Career High for him.

Well, thanks to an OUTSTANDING pitching performance by the Reds' Ace, Aaron Harang, the Rockies got Leveled tonight, 7-1.

And some good play by the Arizona Dbacks has brought them up into a tie for 1st in the NL West. And we have the tied-for-2nd-in-the-whole-NL-with-the-Mets Houston Astros coming up as well. Lord God, please let them start hitting the ball, even with runners in scoring position.

In the team's defense, Ardoin had his 2nd straight RBI. Although that's hardly defense of the team there.

Fogg didn't look TOO terrible out there, he threw a LOT of strikes, but apparently LaRue and Dunn thought those strikes were good enough to send yard. Larue for 3 runs in the 2nd.

Tom Martin didn't do too much to reinforce his position. His 2ER in 1.1IP brought his season ERA up to 5.79. Now, don't get me wrong, I really like Tom Martin. But we're only 29 games in, and he's already starting to slip. I'm really looking forward to Mike DeJean to get off of the DL. He's still out with Right Shoulder Discomfort. Stupid "discomfort", it's such an arbitrary term, and it really means that he's gonna be out for freaking ever because "discomfort" is so hard to diagnose. The only downside of less time for Martin is that all lefty duty is dumped on King now.

Although, bullpen discussion can take up its own post itself.

Coming up tomorrow, we see Byung-Hyun Kim (1-0, 1.35) facing Taylor Buchholz (2-1, 2.05). Buchholz has really done no wrong thus far this season, putting up strong start after strong start. Not really a strikeout pitcher, we might have a better chance of getting some runs against him, counting on that Coors Field effect.

BK's last outing was downright fantabulous. He matched a career-high 9K in 6 1/3 IP, only allowing 1ER.

And boy, did I miss that weirdass delivery. Ever so much. I'm so glad we have him back in the 5 spot instead of Day. It sucks, too, I kinda liked Day. He was that kind of pitcher that needed one bad inning to get a groove, but that one inning just kept getting worse and worse. So I guess good riddance.

The best news ever about tomorrow's game is that Helton is returning from the DL. This is huge for a floundering Rockies' batting lineup. We all know how clutch Helton is every single at-bat.

So here's to you, BK, and let's hope that weirdass submarine sidearm of yours is sneaky enough to penetrate the 'Stros bats. And here's to Helton, may his glorious swing bring power and victory to the Colorado Rockies!

GO ROCKIES

I'm not gonna say that I've been drinking all afternoon, but...well, you can read.

Anyhow, Fogg faces off against Harang tonight, in a rainy afternoon game that apparently like everyone in the world has tickets to and wants to offer me tickets to. Boy, I'd love to go. BUT OF ALL THE AFTERNOONS IN THE WORLD FOR MY DAD TO COME DOWN.

Well, I asked him to because I want to move things out of the room before checkout week, therefore making the move easier. And I'm going to watch the Rox spank the Stros on Sunday anyhow.

ANYHOW, Helton should be back at first tomorrow, that's always good, and we still don't really have a steady 2B. All of our options are defensively sound, but the question really is whose bat is strongest.

Anyhow, Boo Harang, Yay Rockies, Let's kill the Reds!!!

Hoo-rah Jeff Francis!

Date: 5/3/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 134

Andrew, signing on.

Great victory at home for the Rox, 3-0 over the NL-best Cincinnati Reds.

Francis pitched a strong 7 innings of shutout, 4 hit ball, tacking on 5K and only 1BB. Downright impressive. The Purple Glove entered in the 8th, giving up no hits, no walks, no runs, no questions, no answers, no problems, no guff, no backtalk, and no shortage of purple-glove-awesomeness. His season ERA is now 0.55 . Fuentes came in the 9th then, walked one, gave up no runs, but strangely enough, didn't strike anyone out, and earned a SV.

On the Offensive, Matt Holliday was the big hero. I've been pretty down on him, purely because of the fact that whenever I watch him, he seems to ground out 6-4-3 with bases loaded and 1 out. Basically, he would strand everyone everywhere. Kind of like Royce Clayton back in 2003. However, Holliday went 3-4 with 2RBI. The 3rd RBI came from our sub-Mendoza catcher, Danny Ardoin, who knocked Choo Freeman in in the bottom of the 5th inning.

It was an interesting lineup tonight. With Barmes and Helton gone, we had an infield of Marrero at 1st, Gonzo at 2nd, Carroll at SS, Atkins at 3rd. The outfield consisted of Holliday (obviously), Freeman in CF, and Spilborghs at RF. The thing I noticed is that they fielded the wheels today. Spilborghs, Freeman, Carroll, all lightning fast, and it seemingly paid off, as Freeman stole a base and ended up scoring on Ardoin's single. Holliday also got himself a stolen second. Interesting that Sullivan, who leads the team with 3SB, sat tonight, but he's been doing a lot of playing lately anyhow. Guess he's been tired. I mean, he's batting .311, Hurdle can't be putting him in timeout again, can he? Did I miss something in ATL?

Speaking of SB, there seemed to be a lack of flow b/w Francis and Ardoin tonight, as the Reds stole 3 bags off of us. Managers usually don't send runners with Ardoin behind the plate. Well, it proved to all be for nothing, as we took the game in the 5th.

Francis should feel good about this start. 7 strong innings where he took command of the game and felt comfortable with the pitches he can throw.

Tomorrow, Josh Fogg (2-1, 4.72) will match up against Aaron Harang (4-1, 4.35) in a 6:35 PM matchup at Coors Field. Harang had some early season troubles, but is starting to tack it down. Harang has notched 33 punchouts this year, so certain members of the Rox staff should definitely be on their guard. Fogg is looking to rebound from a couple of rough outings in Florida and Philly.

Good game boys, let's sweep 'em at home!

Andrew, calling it a night.

Andrew Update

Update:

Jorge Piedra has been optioned to CSprings. Basically, this will be his Spring Training. Piedra led the Majors last year, batting .455 in Pinch Hitting situations.

Clint Barmes will miss the first 2 games of the homestand, as he will be attending a funeral. Expect to see Jamey Carroll and Jason Smith picking up the slack.

Reds@Rockies

Date: 5/3/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 135

The Rockies are currently in a stretch that will really determine what this team is made of. Tonight the Rockies return home from a 9 game road trip on which they went 5-4. The last two games were a sweep at the hands of the Braves. The Rockies will square off against the Red Hot Reds (shudder), followed by a solid Astros team over the weekend. Canadian Wunderkind Jeff Francis goes against South Dakotan Loser Brandon Claussen. Francis is 0-2 on the year with an ERA of 4.50. While the ERA is not bad he has received no run support zip-zero-none. This has been the story of the Rockies season especially at home where they are averaging a paltry 4.41 runs per game. No Rockies starter has won a home game yet. Claussen is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.04. These stats are aided by his home performance and belie his performance on the road. So far this year in 2 road starts he is 0-2 with an ERA of 13.5, WHIP of 2.25 and a BAA of .351. Hopefully, the Rox can find their home bats tonight against questionable pitching. Brian - OUT.

WTF BULLPEN!!!!!11

Date: 5/2/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 135

Greetings from the other side of the blog, this is Andrew, here to inform you of any other news that Brian fails to tell you.

It's roughly 9:00 PM right now, and the Purple Glove has failed. The Rockies drop a 4-3 lead to the Braves and lose 4-5. Ray King is charged with the Loss, Scott Dohmann with the blown save, and stunningly, Chris Reitsma earns a save! Buy a lotto ticket, folks, and avoid airlines, because this is a goddamn once-in-a-lifetime!

The Rockies' lack of offensive production wasn't OVERLY apparent tonight, as Brad Hawpe sent one yard and Matt Holliday 2. However, Luis Gonzalez and Jamey Carrol left a combined 9 on base.

Cook pitched a notworthy 6 2/3, giving up 3R and then Scotty Dohce let in the tying run. Cook finished the game with 4ER, 3K, and 3BB.

The Braves didn't even pitch that well. Sosa gave up 4ER in 6IP, leaving the Bullpen to pick up the win. Their bullpen apparently was enough to keep the Rox at bay. Weird.

There is good news, however.

Helton's eligible to return on Friday, he started his rehab assignment in CSprings tonight. Rockies 1B prospect Ryan Shealy sent one yard in his first at bat down in CSprings.
And the Rockies are coming back home. Is that really good news? Colorado is 10-5 on the road, and only 5-7 at home. And in those 12 games, they've only managed to put up 4 runs or less in 7 of them. Not to mention the fact that the Red Hot (hurrrr) Reds are coming in with an NL best 19-8 record. Oh, and they're 9-4 on the road.

Our boys have their work cut out for them. But if Hawpe, Atkins, and Holliday can continue with their hot bats and Helton comes back raging, I think we have a good chance at winning a few.

136

Date: 5/2/2006
Position: 1st NL West
Games Back: --
Magic Number: 136

Welcome to the Rockies Magic Number blog. This will be your place for continuing updates on the Rockies playoff picture as well thoughts on previous games. I will be your humble host, Brian.

So last night the Rockies took on the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta. Jason Jennings squared off against Tim Hudson. Jennings pitched well only surrendering 2 runs on 8 hits. Unfortunately, Hudson decided to pitch out of his mind. He surrendered only one hit. That hit was to, none other than, Jason Jennings. So a more accurate description of last night's game would be Jason Jennings vs. Atlanta Braves rather than Colorado Rockies vs. Atlanta Braves.

Tonight Aaron Cook goes against Jose Sosa. Sosa has been roughed up on the year going 0-4 with an ERA of 6.89 and a WHIP of over 2. Meanwhile Cook has looked solid so far though the run support has been sorely lacking. Against a pitcher like Sosa look for the Rockies to have a big game.