Wyoming?!
Greetings, sportsfans! This is Andrew, reporting from Casper, WY, home of the Rookie league Casper Rockies! Regrettably, their season hasn't even begun yet, so we'll have to suffice with points from last nights' defeat by the Astros.
Personally, I hate the Astros. Our boys seem to have so much trouble with them, and they just always have that knack to do exactly what we need them NOT to do. For example, last season, Jason Jennings took a game where he had allowed only 1 run into the 7th, where on a crucial 2 strike count, painted the corner beautifully against Morgan Ensberg, only to have it called a ball. Ensberg watched for that pitch again, and drove it over the LF wall for a 3-run jack.
Jason Hirsh pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 4. Jorge Julio, Jeremy Affeldt, and Yorvit Torrealba bailed Hirsh out of a 2nd and 3rd, nobody out jam in the 7th. Torrealba picked off a runner at 3rd and Affeldt forced a 463 DP from PH Mike Lamb. LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless 8th, striking out 2, allowing no hits. Corpas had an off inning, allowing a 2-run homer to Luke Scott to leave the Astros' run tally at 4. He also pitched behind Carlos Lee, eventually plunking him. We'll touch on that later.
This is the point where I'd love to say "And despite that 2-run homer, it was too little too late, as the Astros were already down by 6." Not this time. The Rockies stranded 7, wasting a double by Willy Taveras AND one from Garrett Atkins, and two of THREE triples. Holliday was driven in on one of Atkins' 2 doubles, and Helton was left stranded at 3rd on BOTH of his triples. Overall, the Rockies left 7 men on base while only scoring 1 run.
Touching on Corpas pitching behind and hitting Carlos Lee, give me a break. Do you see any real hostility there? Corpas is a young pitcher and hasn't really had time to work up any rivalries. Phil Garner must have had a mouthful of bitterness after the game. It sounded like he said "There wasn't any (history between Corpas and Lee). There is now." - when we all know it was "Corpas is a young pitcher, and it was a tight game. I doubt it was personal." Please, Phil. Give it a rest. Your team isn't going anywhere for awhile here, and I know you're just protecting your overpaid star, but take the dramaqueen routine somewhere else. We're not interested.
Back to the team though.
Something's gotta give. The series win against Cincinatti came in exciting fashion, with the Rockies rallying from a 2-8 deficit to win 10-9 in extras. Very exciting. It would just be nice if we could beat up on starting pitchers a little earlier, and maybe support our own for a change of pace. I know that's not the team philosophy, but I think it should really become one. These bats just aren't firing. I've seen too many bases-loaded 2-out popouts to end rallies before they start. This team isn't pitching badly, even Tom Martin has an ERA under 4, but the bats just seem to hate producing.
Yes, I'm aware Colorado just got off of a 7-game winning streak, but if you look back at them, it's a lot of late rallies, and a lack of consistent offensive production. As a Rockies' fan, I'll take the wins where they come, but I'm still looking for real improvement from the team before I can say we're even remotely contenders.
It'll come around, I'm sure. But honestly, I'd rather see big things happen in the front office before I expect to see them on the field.
Until later, this is Andrew, signing off.
Personally, I hate the Astros. Our boys seem to have so much trouble with them, and they just always have that knack to do exactly what we need them NOT to do. For example, last season, Jason Jennings took a game where he had allowed only 1 run into the 7th, where on a crucial 2 strike count, painted the corner beautifully against Morgan Ensberg, only to have it called a ball. Ensberg watched for that pitch again, and drove it over the LF wall for a 3-run jack.
Jason Hirsh pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 4. Jorge Julio, Jeremy Affeldt, and Yorvit Torrealba bailed Hirsh out of a 2nd and 3rd, nobody out jam in the 7th. Torrealba picked off a runner at 3rd and Affeldt forced a 463 DP from PH Mike Lamb. LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless 8th, striking out 2, allowing no hits. Corpas had an off inning, allowing a 2-run homer to Luke Scott to leave the Astros' run tally at 4. He also pitched behind Carlos Lee, eventually plunking him. We'll touch on that later.
This is the point where I'd love to say "And despite that 2-run homer, it was too little too late, as the Astros were already down by 6." Not this time. The Rockies stranded 7, wasting a double by Willy Taveras AND one from Garrett Atkins, and two of THREE triples. Holliday was driven in on one of Atkins' 2 doubles, and Helton was left stranded at 3rd on BOTH of his triples. Overall, the Rockies left 7 men on base while only scoring 1 run.
Touching on Corpas pitching behind and hitting Carlos Lee, give me a break. Do you see any real hostility there? Corpas is a young pitcher and hasn't really had time to work up any rivalries. Phil Garner must have had a mouthful of bitterness after the game. It sounded like he said "There wasn't any (history between Corpas and Lee). There is now." - when we all know it was "Corpas is a young pitcher, and it was a tight game. I doubt it was personal." Please, Phil. Give it a rest. Your team isn't going anywhere for awhile here, and I know you're just protecting your overpaid star, but take the dramaqueen routine somewhere else. We're not interested.
Back to the team though.
Something's gotta give. The series win against Cincinatti came in exciting fashion, with the Rockies rallying from a 2-8 deficit to win 10-9 in extras. Very exciting. It would just be nice if we could beat up on starting pitchers a little earlier, and maybe support our own for a change of pace. I know that's not the team philosophy, but I think it should really become one. These bats just aren't firing. I've seen too many bases-loaded 2-out popouts to end rallies before they start. This team isn't pitching badly, even Tom Martin has an ERA under 4, but the bats just seem to hate producing.
Yes, I'm aware Colorado just got off of a 7-game winning streak, but if you look back at them, it's a lot of late rallies, and a lack of consistent offensive production. As a Rockies' fan, I'll take the wins where they come, but I'm still looking for real improvement from the team before I can say we're even remotely contenders.
It'll come around, I'm sure. But honestly, I'd rather see big things happen in the front office before I expect to see them on the field.
Until later, this is Andrew, signing off.
posted by rockiesmagicnumber at
7:04 AM
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