The Dog Days of Summer Approach

Well, basketball has finally wrapped up (mercifully… I thought a Lakers/Celtics final might interest me… but notsomuch.), hockey has skated off into the night, faintly smelling of raw octopus, and football training camps are still some weeks off. That can only mean one thing for a sports fan - the dog days of summer, the days where sports television outside baseball is relegated to obscure triathalons and highlights shows. Well, and the occasional pro-beach-volleyball tournament, the sport with the highest level of nudity on tv. Seriously, why isn’t the “Spice” channel picking up these tournaments?

For non-baseball fans, it is the beginning of a long summer of discontent. For the baseball junkies, it’s just the beginning of a time that no matter how old you are, makes you think back to the good ol’ days when baseball was just baseball, when your favorite players locker wasn’t stacked deeper in little plastic bottles than a Walgreen’s pharmacy counter, when a homerun hitter’s celebration consisted of simply trotting the bases, and your team was your team, no matter how bad they were.

For me, summer is probably my least favorite season. I’m one of those freaks that can’t handle the ridiculously hot weather. I hate it. I love spring and fall, and winter isn’t so bad… I’d rather live in a crazy cold climate than an equatorial sticky hot climate. Fortunately, Colorado brings 4 distinct seasons, so the summer weather is temporary. But as for the baseball… I love baseball. I love being at the ballpark, I love the smell of the food, the sound of the crowd (minus the drunk guy), and the feel of the game - knowing that the game that is being played in front of me is officially part of major league history. A tiny part, for sure, but history nonetheless. I love nothing more than to think that my son will have a hometown team, something I never had. He’ll never know a time without the Rockies… they are as historically valid in the grand scheme of baseball to him as the Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals. To him, it always has been and always will be the Rockies. I hope the memories we are creating for him are as pleasant in adulthood as my memories of driving the 150 miles up Interstate 5 to see Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson rock the Kingdome and lead the Mariners into their first shot at relevance in their short history.

So how are the Colorado boys of summer faring? It’s been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde kind of season. In the couple weeks since I lost steam on blogging due to some personal and family crises, things have taken a sharp turn. Jeff Baker suddenly looks like a superhero utility infielder. Matt Holliday is back, and while not overwhelming, is swinging a good bat. Taveras is finally starting to get on base every now and then, and Quintanilla has probably secured a roster spot for the time being as well. Tulo rejoins the team tonight, and Barmes won’t be far behind. On the mound, Cook has stayed consistently dominant (All-Star, anyone?), Francis is just now starting to throw with a hair of confidence (though I’m still not convinced… anyone can be confident with 10 runs of support), Ubaldo is sizzling, if not a bit inconsistent, and the back end of the rotation doesn’t look as scary as it once did.

So what’s the difference? Why did this team just a few weeks ago look like the worst in the majors (the distinction that clearly now belongs to my beloved Seattle Mariners… talk about a mess), now look like a team with contention possibilities that is only a couple solid win streaks away from battling for the playoffs again? What brought back the confidence? All through May, you expected them to find ways to lose. Now, they are becoming more than just a shadow of last fall’s team… you expect the clutch hit. You expect the big defensive play. In fact, since the beginning of June, the Rockies have posted the best win-loss record in baseball.

Well, I don’t claim to know the difference, but I can float a theory or two.

One theory is that the weight of expectation and a winter of thinking about it made for a team that lacked any mental looseness. Simply stated, they were trying too hard.

Clearly, the pitching is starting to settle down. The hitters are starting to see pitches. This could be a result of such a bad start lifting the weight of being a projected league leader. Or it could be a result of my second theory…

They’ve never had to make this adjustment before. The fall run to the World Series opened the eyes of the league to this team, and the scouting book on Tulo and Holliday and Francis are as thick as any player in the majors. Teams learned how to play these guys. Did you see how they pitched Tulo before he got hurt? Always to his weakness, the inside pitch. Granted, he can turn on a pitch as well as anyone, but when you have a slight chink in your armour, it’s tough to put up all-star numbers when you’re constantly being attacked in that place. The Rockies have never had such a successful season that they had the scouts breaking them down in such detail with the singular goal of shutting them down. So this was a new adjustment. How do these players respond to being constantly attacked at the weaknesses that the Red Sox exposed in front of the entire baseball world? Perhaps it’s just taken 55-60 games to adjust.

If the Rockies can take this trend of winning series and putting up runs into the All-Star break, we could find the team flirting with .500 and inducing a little bit of a nervous sweat from the Diamondbacks. No one wants this team to get red hot… 21 of 22 may not happen again, but that’s a clue of what this team is capable of, and there’s not a team in baseball (save perhaps the Red Sox) who wants to be a part of that again.

All that being said, I’m still cautiously optimistic. I want to see what they can do against the real class of the NL - namely, the Phillies, Marlins, and Cubs. They couldn’t touch the Cubbies or the Phillies before, and they have a ways to go before they can compete in that class. But until then, I’m happy to see that they are starting to win series, beat up on teams they should beat up, and generally just look like a winning ball club again.

Pitching Picks

The Rocks used three of their first four draft picks on pitchers, perpetuating the myth that someday the Rockies will have consistent starting pitching.

Is there a medical procedure that can extract some of Aaron Cook’s grit and determination and then forcefully beat it into Jeff Francis’ skull? If so, I say we scrap this season and put Francis on the DL until said grit and determination can be implanted properly. What? You try coming up with a more creative way to call Jeff Francis a pansy.

Week(s) in review: Avs Continue Going Back to the Future, Rox Back to the Cellar

Ok, it’s not quite so bad as all that. And I know I’m behind a tad on the “Week In Review” - but I’ll keep the whining about life to a minimum and just whine about the things we all care about: Colorado Sports.

The Avalanche continued the Magical Mystery Tour by bringing the old coach in to be the new coach. Now it could be argued that this was how it should have happened… more time on the bench to learn the gig. I suspect the Avs just wanted something with stability. I’m honestly ambivalent about this choice. I think it could work remarkably well, and I think it could blow up in ol’ Francois’ face. Either way, I am much more concerned that Joe comes back. I think he will, but the day he finally announces his decision, regardless of which way he goes, will be the biggest news day in Denver sports this year.

The Rox continued their slide into anonymity and irrelevance. It pains me to say that, because those of us close to the team, who attend the games, and watch these guys day in and day out, know that this is a talented roster. Maybe last year’s run was a perfect storm, but that doesn’t diminish the talent it took to execute said run. But this year, between the injuries, the inconsistencies, and the statistical settling back into expected performance levels (I think they call that ‘regression to the mean’), things aren’t quite OK in Rockies-land. Over the last couple weeks, we’ve seen some offensive spark (Barmes anyone? I tell you, if he’s not playing 2B when Tulo returns, Hurdle needs a swift kick in the teeth) and some glimmer of hope from the youngsters (Jimenez - finally pitches a sweet outing, and they can’t come up with the W). So what’s going on with the Rockies? As Ian put it, what signs are there that they can at least make the next 4 months bearable?

Here are my top reasons why the Rockies don’t suck as much as it appears:

1. Barmes. Barmes. Barmes. Did I mention Barmes? Dude is a stud.

2. Atkins. Atkins. Atki– you get the point. I fear they might not be able to sign him to a long term deal, so enjoy him this year.

3. Cookie. The other pitchers will settle in. Outside of the 2 guys above, the offense is just not doing its thing. The pitching will resolve itself. Let me take this opportunity to say that anyone who thinks we need to trade Holliday mid-season for some “quality pitching” IS A FULL-ON RAVING MANIACAL DUMBASS. I’ve never agreed with the “trade him now because the season is wasted” mentality, especially with another year left on his deal. And the “quality pitching” trade never works out in favor of the team getting the pitches. Well, rarely. Who is really available? The only pitchers I would trade Matt for are untouchables to their current teams.

So that’s the last couple weeks in review. We’ll have to do this again someday.

Ten Reason the Rockies are Due for Another Late Run

I came up with five, but I’ll just start with my number one and let ya’ll take a crack at it for a while. Remember, creativity counts. Because this first part of the season hasn’t given us much in the way of… what’s the term for it… tangible success.

1;

Clint Barmes is hitting like he did during his phenomenal (12 game) rookie year. All of his vital percentages are career bests, and his fielding looks stronger, more sure. He isn’t striking out every fifth at bat like he did in 2006.

By the time Troy Tulowitzki gets back I’d like to see Barmes at second playing as strong as he is now. Tonight he hit a two run home run in the bottom of the ninth to turn a terrible night of Rockies pitching into a mere one run loss.

What makes this number one? If Barmes doesn’t work out… there’s always Omar Quintanilla. He’s like a fantastic latino version of Kaz. All he gets are singles and doubles, but damn is he fast on the bases and at the two hole…. is there a two hole in baseball or did I forget to turn my hockey brain off? Fact check please.

Dual-Semi-Live-Blog

The danger with live blogging a game is that things you say appear ridiculous later. But how that’s different from my normal blogging, I’m not sure. (rimshot goes here)

Avalanche game. First 10 minutes was amazing. Like a different team hit the ice. The goal was great, the attack time was great, the hitting was great… then the Wings showed up, and the Avs started skating backwards again, and it looked like the penalty kill unit was just trying to clear the puck, only that was when it was even strength. Period one ends with a 2-1 Wings lead. The Avs need to bottle up what they had in the first half of the period and make the second period something to remember, or this season will be just a memory.

Rockies game: WTF?! I turn over from the hockey game, and find the lineup in a state of disarray not even Hurdle could dream up. So here’s what happened. Baker got hurt before the game. Early on, Tulo pulls up gimpy (oh crap), which means Atkins shifts over to second (ouch), Barmes takes shortstop (fine), and Iannetta comes in to play third (?!). This leaves Podsednik and Spillborghs on the bench. That’s it, folks. Things are getting dicey for the boys in purple. We’ll see how this goes. If they can’t pull 2 of 3 from the stinking Giants, things are looking sad in Rockies-land. Injuries or none, the Giants are not good, and losing 2 or 3 in a row to them is just plain sorry.

More updates to come, as the night goes on, assuming I haven’t had too much beer to write/type/spell coherently.

***edit: Well, I didn’t get back to the computer. Avs lost, Rockies won. I’d gladly flip those two if I could. I’m feeling like my game 6 tickets aren’t going to be incredibly useful. Even if they can pull out game 4 (tonight was a much better effort for sure), I just don’t see them taking game 5 away at the Joe. ***

Looking for Answers

The Rockies made some moves in the wake of last night’s drubbing - including designating Jayson Nix for assignment. The Nix Experiment is something we were all looking forward to- we were all hoping for a Tulo-like rookie season. However, at this point, we’re just hoping we can get a Tulo-like season out of Tulo right now. Nix, while a serviceable second baseman, has just been overmatched by the pitching in the bigs, and this may spell the end of his time with the Rockies, as he now as to clear waivers before he can be sent to the Sky Sox. But since there aren’t many teams looking for a .111 hitter, he could clear and get some more work at the Triple-A level.  The bright side, is that Barmes has taken advantage of the situation with some decent fielding and some of the better hitting the Rocks have seen this short troubled season with a .305 average and 18 hits, including 2 homeruns.

Secondly, Ubaldo “Wheels-off” Jimenez was put on notice– which I think is a bit of a generous move on Hurdle’s part. This guy has simply imploded at every start. It’s no wonder that the bullpen is fried beyond any ability to hold when they’re essentially being asked to pitch 6+ innings per game. What sort of bizarro world is this, when the bullpen is logging all the innings, Corpas gets lifted as the closer for Brian “Chest-High-Curveball” Fuentes, and Helton is moved into the 2-hole because Tulo can’t seem to get on base or push across a run?

Which prematurely brings me to the third move, that is sliding Helton up to the second spot, with Holliday at three and Atkins at four, and Tulo moving up to six. I’m hoping this loosens up Holliday a bit more, maybe gives him a few pitches to hit… but I fear that Holliday’s best days were back when he had Helton protecting him in the clean-up spot. Either way, I don’t see this is a world-shaking move, just the kind of thing that needs to be done to shake the roster up a bit and show the guys that this team will not take this sitting down.

Finally, I’m looking at the move that hasn’t been made officially, but is causing some stir in the clubhouse. Willy Taveras has not been the everyday starter at centerfield, and he’s been grumping about it to the media. He sure enjoyed the days when his spot was safe because the other guy on the team with wheels was an infielder. Willy doesn’t like being pushed, and I’m here to tell Willy that he needs to suck it up and bring the performance, because Podsy is the real deal. Podsednik has a 100-point lead over will in OBP, Slugging percentage, and a 50 point advantage in batting average. Podsednik can use his speed in the outfield, and he can steal a base as good as Willy - so it seems to me that Willy’s best bet is to shut his mouth and let his numbers do the talking. And what they’re saying right now, is Podsednik is taking his job. I know Hurdle says he doesn’t want a committee for an outfielder, but I say do it and if Willy doesn’t like it, ship him out and give the job to Podsednik. Maybe we could get into a deal for another starting pitcher for Taveras, or something. So in conclusion, let it be known that I’ve been a fan of Scott Podsednik since his days with the Mariners, and I’m a fan now and wouldn’t be bothered to see him in the lineup everyday. He’s certainly making a case for earning that job on the field.

This year has started tough for the Rockies, and I know it’s only April and there’s a ton of baseball to play. The Rockies, however, simply cannot count on a ridiculous 20-game surge in September to carry them to the playoffs– that kind of thing only happens once in a great while. If they hope to make a run at the division, they’re going to have to start winning series with division rivals, at least splitting with the good teams, and beating the snot out of the not-so-good teams. Right now, everyone in the league has lost their fear of this lineup and are licking their chops to take a whack at the defending NL champs. Let’s hope the shakeup can restore some confidence.

Tulo Gets Benched

Denver Post reports Tulo rides the pine tonight

Thoughts on this? Necessary this early? A quick little kick in the butt to wake him up? Will it work?

Week in Review - April 14-20, 2008

This has turned out to be an eventful week on the Colorado Pro Sports scene. So here’s the recap…

We’ll start with the Rockies, who started the week in San Diego with another crushing defeat, this time at the hands of Randy Wolf and the Padres. Ubaldo melted down something fierce. The Rocks came back with a resounding 10-2 win on Wednesday, then on Thursday they played what amounts to an unscheduled doubleheader-and-a-half, an epic 22-inning, 6-hour-plus affair that finally ended in the wee hours of morning with Tulo doubling in the winner. So much has already been said about this game, so I recommend you just take a peek at the box score and enjoy. After the marathon game, the Rocks flew into Houston, and rather than come out flat, they dropped a couple solid wins on the Astros (with Kaz Matsui and his surgically repaired posterior in tow) including another solid outing by Aaron Cook. The week wrapped up with the Rockies dropping the final game of the set. This week, the Rocks come home for a pair of two-game sets (is there anything positive about that?) with the Phillies and the Cubs before hitting the road for a set of divisional matchups with the Dodgers and the Giants.

The Nuggets found themselves in the playoffs, and had just enough time to soak in the sweet smell of victory before getting doused with the stench of The Buss Family Fortune. Anything better than a 4-1 loss will be a miracle. Thankfully, the NBA draws the playoffs out for a solid 2 months, so we’ll get to enjoy this for a while.

And, of course, saving the best of the week until last…

The Avalanche dropped an OT contest to Minnesota, which left them trailing the series 2-1. But Game 4 brought the onslaught, and after a 5 goal lead, things got messy. The Wild showed who they really are as a team, and never recovered. The Avs went back to Minnesota, and despite being brutally outshot in the game, rode an unbelievable performance by Jose Theodore to what some might term a “stolen game” victory, and the series lead. The Avs never looked back, and the Pepsi Center was rocking in playoff form again for Game 6. The Avs played tight defense, Theodore kept up his high level of performance, and the boys in maroon skated to a 4-2 series victory. Now the Avalanche wait for the result of the Calgary/San Jose game (who knew it would go 7?) to determine their next opponent. Should the Sharks win, the Avs head off to Hockeytown to reignite a rivalry that has gone a bit chilly since the days of Roy and Osgood. Should the Flames pull off the upset, the seeds get flipped over and Colorado heads to Dallas to take on the Stars, the team that formerly called Minnesota home. Either way, goaltending performance will be key. And either way, there promises to be some good hockey in the Rocky Mountains again.

That’s it for this Week in Review. It’s supposed to be a nice week, so grab some Rockpile tickets and enjoy an evening at the ballpark this week.

Rockies Burn the Midnight Oil

So last night, after jumping for glee like a kid on his way to Disneyland when the Avs smacked down Minnesota and turned Game 6 into the potential series decider, I switched over to the Rockies game that I had been keeping an eye on. Last time this happened, I switched over to a 0-0 game only to see Ubaldo get worked for a 6-spot. Tonight, I watched into the 8th, saw Francis finally sit down after a sweet performance, then I left the room to put my three-year old son to bed. It was already 10:00, and with small kids in the house, the West Coast late games are tough to stick with. So I put Sammy to bed, came down to check some email, and popped in to MLB.com to see what had happened… and it was still a scoreless tie in the 10th.

Well HOTDOG says I. Turn the TV back on, and watched this pop-fly/double-play/swing-and-miss extravaganza go on until 11:00, when the Rocks grounded into yet another double play in the top of the 13th, and at that point, I bailed. I told my wife as I turned out the lights that it’s just too early in the season to stick with the late west coast game until the bitter end. I did so figuring by midnight, it would be over and I would check in the morning to see a 1-0 game, probably ended off of a walk-homer given up by the Rocks weary bullpen.

Well HOOBOY says I this morning. 22 innings. The game went another 3 hours AFTER I bailed in the 13th. The Padres walk in a run in the 14th? Really? Then they score in the bottom half? REALLY? Then another 7 scoreless innings before Tulo drives in the game winner? REEHEEHEEHEEEELLLLYYYY?

To be honest, I never would have lasted until 2am, I would have probably given up after the re-tie of the 14th. But wow. You just don’t expect games like this in April. And to see that the Rockies hung with it, and did not give it away out of fatigue, shows shades of the character we were fortunate to witness last August and September. Every game matters, they learned last year. To play those kinds of games, and to come away from Petco with a 2-1 advantage, is solid - even if they did play 40 innings in three days to get there. Here’s to hoping they are not completely wasted in Houston tonight… but if they come out flat, I think we can forgive that.

Week in Review - April 7-13, 2008

Well let’s see…

The Avalanche split overtime wins with Minnesota, the first being a SuperJoe Miracle, the second being a well-fought game that would have been a gift win, but it’s still heartbreaking to lose in overtime. The series returns this week to Pepsi Center, and you can bet the hockey-loving hordes of Denver are clamoring for the return of playoff hockey.

The Rockies took the previous week’s beatdowns and passed on the favor to the Atlanta Braves, making little girls of them and getting the 3-game sweep, with contest number four being relegated to a random June off-day due to the April snow-dump. They travelled to PHX, hoping to reverse the bad fortunes of the opening series, and got pretty handily spanked for two games before finally unloading on the tail end of the Diamondbacks rotation, making them 1-5 against the division rivals, getting outscored 43-23 in the six games (that despite a 13-run Sunday). September will tell whether this matters, or if it’s just true early season jitters. This week, the Rox head to 3-game sets in San Diego (more 2007 missed-playoff angst to deal with) and Houston (hello, Kaz Matsui), before coming home for a pair of obnoxious 2-game mini-series with Philly and the Cubbies.

The Nuggets made the playoffs, missed the playoffs, made them again, missed them again, before finally possibly maybe if everything falls right landing in the driver’s seat for the eighth playoff seed, which earns them the privilege of playing Kobe and the Lakers in the first round. Hello, early exit. Good-bye, George Karl. I’d say we hardly knew ye, but let’s be real. We knew ye.

The Broncos argued about whether Cutler is a leader or a prick. Even John Elway got into the discussion. Draft day’s a-comin’.

That’s ProSportsColorado week in review. Stay tuned as Ian will likely talk some more hockey as the week goes on (Game 3 tonight - don’t miss it!), Dan will regale us with tales of baseball prognostication unlike any other, and I will probably cry like a little girl if the Avs lose this series.