Troy Tulowitzki strikes out with vigor in his first return to the plate since suffering a broken wrist in June

In order to understand the Colorado Rockies you need to have been there in 2007 when Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki willed their team to the playoffs.

To really get the depth of suffering in Colorado baseballand you will have waded through an abysmal 2008.  You would remember watching, helpless, as every dependable player from that magical ’07 run declined, even the ones that went to other teams (Fogg, Taveras & Matsui.)

You will have stared blankly at a post-All Star Break club that has sucked in every conceivable way that a baseball team can suck, rolled snake-eyes in every conceivable situation that requires luck, and lost eight straight games, alternately in gut-wrenching blowout fashion and then with fist-pounding inadequacy in close contests.

And the only reason you believe that there is a ghost of a chance that the Rockies can make up 9 games in their remaining 55 is that you saw them charge back in two of the last three seasons after everybody, including you, had written them off as well done… cooked.

But you will have also watched this Colorado team repeatedly threatened with its postseason life in the last week respond by committing a litany of mistakes; from formerly dependable starters to typically shutdown fielders to otherwise intelligent management.

And you will believe again, as I do, that the Rockies’ season is finished before its time.

Oddly, though, it would seem that this team thrives on its own dysfunctional countenance.

The Rockies are deeply, characteristically humanistic in their approach to baseball.  Even by comparison to similarly streaky teams.

What I mean here is that the Rockies feel like they’re on an epic losing streak right now, and it shows in every movement, every anxious swing.  Each driving hit straight into a defender’s glove seems scripted by the very demeanor of the club, and the only way out is an equal, opposite and, yea, inevitable resurgence in the opposite direction.

The Colorado Rockies are a team of players whose most defining attribute is their inherently natural approach to the game.  Brad Hawpe, Carlos Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez and Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ youth core, are very simply a band of gifted naturals.

Hawpe has one of the most beautiful swings ever created by the baseball gods, but struggles mightily to control its intricacies.

Gonzalez is so intensely gifted at finding ways to drive a baseball thrown anywhere near the strike zone that he dooms himself to low-percentage, awkward swings in high-pressure situations.

Jimenez didn’t start playing baseball until his teens, and his otherworldly physical talents still seem underdeveloped at times.  His incapability to cope with a mechanical glitch, in fact his tendency to exaggerate the motion that is blowing his pitches off-course, is sophomoric by comparison to his level of experience in the major leagues.

And poor Troy Tulowitzki had gotten it all figured out after two years of struggle when a brush-back pitch broke his wrist in mid-June.

Before that injury, Tulo had finally found a way to harness his obvious natural skills, to take advantage of his de-facto confidence, and to do so while still allowing the game to come to him.  In his two games back, Troy has been wound so tight trying to make plays that he has committed a fielding error and a major base-running gaffe, and frustratingly driven the ball hard straight at opposing fielders.  (He has also struck out dramatically– see picture above.)

But where they Rockies have a tendency to perpetuate their own bad fortunes, they are also capable of waking into a flurry of ferocious winning at any time.

Those ’07 & ’09 teams needed catalysts in the form of an emotional game-winning home run by Helton for the former and an intensely personal managerial change for the latter.

The Rockies’ front office has very publicly pursued not just good, natural baseball players, but also good, natural human beings.  We’re talking good people here, with strong morals and well-developed character.  The result has been a team that moves as one through the season, sometimes slipping into a self-perpetuated depression, and sometimes rising to unbelievable heights of excellence.

The Colorado Rockies are a family unit with well-defined roles, desire and passion throughout.  Their collectivism is their greatest strength and most damning weakness.

So even if I have to believe, statistically… rationally, that the Rockies are done in 2010, there is still a chance for resurrection.  And even if the ’10 Rocks don’t make it rain, the ’11 Rocks look mighty potent given a healthy pitching staff.

Even as we give up on the boys in purple pinstripes, they are yet a dynamic ball club full of potential for greatness.  Even if the season fades to an untimely black, it is still good to be a baseball fan in Colorado.

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The St Louis Cardinals finished their scoring in the top of the 6^th Inning on Tuesday night.  Former Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holiday launched a 3-run shot over the left field fence as he had done so often in purple pinstripes from 2004-2008.

That 418-foot blast put Holiday’s Cardinals up 9-2.  It seemed that the rout was on.

The Rockies had stranded 10 runners through five innings (0, 3, 3, 2 & 2) a game after setting a franchise record for most stranded runners with 20.  But as is often the case in baseball, the law of averages finally tilted in Colorado’s favor.

Holiday’s left field replacement (via trade to Oakland) Carlos Gonzalez had three RBI of his own to match Matty’s.  Cargo’s three, however, came on four hits in six at-bats.

After a 427-foot 2-run bomb to left center in the Bottom of the 3^rd, Carlos added a single and a double to leave himself a triple short of completing the cycle.  Instead, his final swing was a lining single to right that scored Dexter Fowler with two outs in the bottom of the 9^th.

Gonzalez would come all the way home from first to score the tying run two pitches later when Jason Giambi drove an 0-1 pitch to deep right field.  Ironically, Giambi did not get credited with an RBI on the play, as Cardinals right fielder Randy Winn was charged with an error for mishandling the ball.  Giambi’s biggest run-scoring drive of the season will not register on his stat sheet as anything more than a single.

The game-tying sprint by Cargo set the stage for Colorado’s other left fielder, Seth Smith.

Playing in right field for the ailing Brad Hawpe, Smith came to the plate with Giambi’s pinch runner, Aaron Cook, stationed at 3^rd base.  Cook, the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rockies tonight, had taken two bases when Miguel Olivo grabbed a low sliding pitch and sent it to shallow right for a single.  Smith needed only a single to steal the walk-off win for Colorado.

Instead, Seth powered a 2-2 split-finger fastball over the right field scoreboard for a 3-run game-winner.  Smith’s shot completed the biggest 9^th Inning comeback in Rockies history and the largest come-from-behind 9^th in Major League Baseball since 1918.

With the San Diego Padres losing last night in DC, the Rockies climbed within four games of the division lead.

After Tuesday’s statement win, Colorado will have a chance to put major pressure on the Padres as Cook and staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez take the mound to round out the St Louis series today and tomorrow.

Colorado victories in both those game could set up a winner-take-all for the NL West when San Diego comes to Coors field for a three-game series this weekend.

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Reality is starting to settle in and it’s not pretty.

The bottom line is the 2010 Colorado Rockies are just not good enough.

This is a deflated, injury-riddled shell of the last year’s bunch, minus any semblance of timely hitting and solid defensive play.

Already sitting 6 games back of the surprising San Diego Padres, the Rockies will go to San Diego with the daunting task of winning games in a ballpark where they infrequently hit the ball and seldom win. The prospect of losing all three games (despite Ubaldo Jimenez’ scheduled start on Monday night) is very real.  The fate for such costly failure would be the Rockies finding themselves on late Wednesday night sitting an almost insurmountable 9 games back of the division with three superior baseball clubs to leapfrog to fulfill lofty pre-season expectations.

The NL Wild Card, the Rockies’ competitive salvation in 2007 and 2009, will not be so easily claimed with late-season heroics this year. Not with the Braves, Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Reds, Dodgers, Padres and Giants all executing far more effectively and far more consistently than the Rockies. For those of you keeping score at home that is 10 teams fighting it out for 4 playoff spots, and one of them will almost certainly trade for pitchers Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt in the next 10-14 days.

With a mere 87 games remaining, the Rockies need to act and they need to act now.

The list of shortcomings on this suddenly flawed and underachieving team is long, but dramatic improvements could be made by doing the following…

1. Send Franklin Morales to the minors. The talented but errant left-hander is now a documented liability; blowing saves, blowing holds, and failing to keep a losing game close. This is no longer 2007 and this is no longer a developmental ballclub. Morales should work out his woes in AAA and have his fate decided in the off-season or in Spring Training next year. He should not be recalled in September for any reason, under any circumstances. The experiment, thus far, has failed.
2. Trade. Somebody. Anybody. Trade either for Florida’s Dan Uggla or Baltimore’s Ty Wiggington, either of which would instantly become the club’s homeruns leader, if not also the team’s RBI leader. Trade for Prince Fielder; gamble some of the team’s young stock of pitching on this Scott Boras represented mercenary. No one will blame the Rockies for having no part in Boras’ well-known desire to make Fielder one of the highest paid players in all of baseball. But to waste the Colorado Rockies best starting pitching staff in franchise history on a mediocre offense would be utterly shameful, if not deeply ironic.
3. Sit Todd Helton. I’m not going to waste words describing what this man has meant to the franchise or Rockies history. But to argue that the lineup wouldn’t be better served from a power standpoint is now statistically ludicrous. It would just as preposterous to contend that, defensively, the Rockies would be better served with Hawpe, Iannetta, Mora or even Smith at first base. But a .250 singles hitter who has no chance to lace a double or smack a 3-run homer is costing the team games. Period.
4. Hope. Hope that Jorge De La Rosa can return from the DL and be what he was before his torn tendon: one of the best pitchers in baseball. Hope that Tulo comes back and finally provides the offensive leadership that led some to call him the favorite for the NL MVP in the preseason.

And, most importantly, hope that in a mere three days it’s not too late for the 2010 Colorado Rockies.

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It was a roller coaster of a game, to be sure. In the first couple innings, Ubaldo was his normal self – mowing down opposing batters, and looking like a dominant force that is careening toward Cy Young glory. Even after giving up a couple runs, he didn’t appear fazed. Then, suddenly, Ubaldo showed something we haven’t seen all season: his humanity. Ubaldo’s first loss against the Dodgers really wasn’t his fault. He pitched a stellar game, only to be let down by his offense. It appeared we were on the same track last night, as the Rockies put up 5 quick runs on Lackey, only to go cold from the 5th inning on. They had exactly one baserunner in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th innings combined. The offense that seemed to be stepping up the pace suddenly disappeared, replaced by the soft grounders and numerous strikeouts and general inefficiency we’ve come to expect from this Rockies team thus far this season.

Then came the ninth inning. Jonathan Papelbon steps to the mound, facing the bottom end of a Rockies lineup that had become rather anemic. To be honest, the only thing that kept me from clicking off the TV was the remaining euphoria from the last minute goal scored by Landon Donovan in the morning’s USA World Cup soccer match against Algeria. Could the Rockies possibly put together a closing rally of their own, to cap off a sports day unlike any I have experienced in recent memory?

Ian Stewart, through many struggles this season, has remained optimistic that his swing will return, and return it did. In his first round-tripper at Coors Field this season, Stewart sent a fastball towering into the Colorado night sky, finally coming to rest on the second deck in right-center field, tying the game and guaranteeing at least an extra inning for the Rockies to try to take the interleague series. Improbable as one homerun against Papelbon seemed, we could hardly dare to dream for more heroics. Barmes singled on a soft hit, and was advanced by an almost accidental sacrifice bunt by Ryan Spilborghs. Ready to take his shot or go home trying, Jim Tracy sent Giambi to the plate, in a bold move that indicated he had no intention of playing extra innings. Giambi, with the runner on second, only needed a solid line drive to the outfield. Instead, he took a split finger fastball and launched it almost as far as Stewarts bomb minutes earlier, depositing it in the stands and leaving the crowd in a frenzy. While the ratio of Red Sox fans to Rockies fans might have been embarrassing for the home squad, the Rockies faithful got the last word in a raucous celebration that left the Red Sox Nation wondering what had just happened. They got to the Rockies ace, set him down earlier than any game this year, and then watched helplessly as their star closer got taken deep, not once, but twice, culminating in Giambi’s walk off shot.

I’m not ready to declare this the turnaround point of the Rockies season just yet, it’s an indication that this team really is as good as we thought it was. When summer comes, so do the Rockies bats. Also lost in the Giambi heroics was the quiet late innings return of Huston Street. Street was effective in his first appearance of the season, giving hope that the back end of the bullpen will finally get the consistency it needs. When De La Rosa returns in a couple weeks, the rotation will be back in shape, leaving Tulowitzki as the only major glaring injury blemish.

Tonight, the Rockies close the series out by sending the recently stellar Jason Hammel to the mound against the once sensational Japanese starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Angels loom next, so a series sweep against one of the beastly AL East teams would be a quite the confidence builder to take into the rest of this year’s interleague play and the homestretch into the All-Star Break.

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It wasn’t the kind of home stand that makes legends. Stories of this conquest will not be passed down from generation to generation of wide-eyed children, begging their grandfathers to tell more stories from Rockies lore.

In the end, it was a homestand that started horrifically, and ended respectably, with a torrential downpour in between to make things interesting.

After Jason Hammel put down the Astros in the series opener, the hapless Rockies offense and shaky bullpen went and dropped three in a row at Coors to the Astros, a team not exactly destined for post-season glory, at least in the near future. It was with this memory, and possibly a fair amount of desperation, that the Rockies entered their first interleague contest of the year with the Toronto Blue Jays, a solid team with a great offense whose major flaw is playing in the AL East with New York, Boston, and Tampa.

Game One – Ubaldo sports webbed feet, escapes with a semi-CG win

Friday night, the spring storms were a force to be reckoned with in Colorado. While I gave up on it by abandoning my outdoor seat on the upper deck of Lodo’s Restaurant, Ubaldo and the Rockies stayed the course and came away with a rain-shortened 6 inning victory. Ubaldo wasn’t his normal sharp self, possibly having grip issues thanks to the deluge from the skies. But in the end, the offense came through, putting the ball in play and allowing the Rocks to come away with the victory. Looking back at replays, the game probably should have been stopped earlier than it was, there’s no possible way that last line drive could have been seen by the shortstop. But either way, 6 innings is an official game, and the bullpen got its day of rest, and Ubaldo became the first pitcher in the bigs to notch his 12th victory.

Game Two – Old School Pitching Duel, Hammel stands strong

Saturday, with the conditions much more acceptable but still a bit chilly, Jason Hammel finally decided he’d had enough. While he was certainly laughing and joking in his post-game interview saying “I’ve got to do everything around here”, there’s just enough truth in that statement for the rest of the team to cringe. Hammel threw 8 innings of shutout baseball, allowing only three hits. Corpas mopped up the save, but the real story here was again the inability of the Rockies offense to generate any sort of scoring. It’s a good thing that one run was all they needed, because that’s all they got, thanks to a Carlos Gonzales sac fly that scored… that’s right, Jason Hammel, who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning.

So while what we all really want to do is admire Hammel’s performance (and make no mistake – his performance was quite admirable), most Rockies fans are left shaking their heads wondering why the offense seems so intent on hibernating when the dog days of summer are just around the corner.

Game Three – Bats wake up

So, in game three on Sunday afternoon, the Rockies bats finally awoke. Granted, Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch was making his first start since returning from Tommy John surgery, but either way, this was the kind of team effort we expect from the Rockies. Jeff Francis threw seven innings, looking in command of his pitches for the majority of the day. While you wouldn’t call his outing dominant, he allowed only 5 hits over those seven innings, and pitched very relaxed, as you might expect when your offense spots you a four run advantage in the first inning.

Ryan Spillborghs went yard twice, while Todd Helton notched three hits out of the 2-hole, and Iannetta and Barmes each added 2 RBIs each.

The 10-3 victory allowed the Rockies to complete the sweep of the Blue Jays and salvage a 4-3 record on the home stand, saving June from being a complete disaster. As it stands, they sit only 4 games back of the division leading Padres, although LA and SF are both nipping right at the heels of the surprising San Diego squad. The Rockies now head to Minnesota for a tough 3-game road set at the new Target Field in Minneapolis before stepping back into the NL for a 3-game weekend series against the Brewers in Milwaukee. With the Red Sox and the always tough Angels on the docket following Milwaukee, not to mention a massive divisional matchup against the west-leading Padres to close out the month, the Rockies need to play some complete baseball. The pitching seems to be strong, although the bullpen is hit or miss. If the offense can hit its stride, the next several series provide some games against tough opponents that will likely give us the most realistic barometer yet as to the viability of this  year’s Rockies. There are no slouches left in June (that’s what the series against Houston was for), and the Rockies have their work cut out for them to keep pace in a tough NL West division.

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On his 1-year anniversary with the Colorado Rockies, manager Jim Tracy recorded his 100^th win as head honcho.  To little fanfare Saturday evening (perhaps because the win was sandwiched between two losses to the hated Dodgers), Jim touched on an important landmark in his career with Colorado.

The landmark win, though, means less than a big picture painted by Tracy through his first year of leadership.

Jim Tracy took over a troubled Rockies club on May 29^th, 2009 and coaxed the talented lineup into a winning fervor.  Under Tracy, the 2009 Rockies won two, lost four, and then rattled off 17 wins in their next 18 games.

Tracy mixed up the batting order often (as he has done consistently throughout the 2010 season) to take advantage of hot bats and isolate cold ones.  He brought out the best in Bob Apodaca, the Rockies’ Pitching Coach, whose staff had struggled under close friend Clint Hurdle’s watch.  Jim brought a no-nonsense, winner’s mentality to a Rockies club already possessing of a general swagger and excellent team chemistry.

The results were electric.

From the dregs of the National League in late May, the Rockies battled for the NL Wild Card and an opening round playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rockies bowed to the eventual NL Champs in four mostly hard-fought games, their only win coming in Game 2 at Philadelphia.  That 5-4 road victory was followed by a cold-weather postponement that allowed Philly ace Cliff Lee to pitch in a tight Game 5.  Philadelphia closed out both Games 4 & 5 in Colorado with 9^th Inning scoring that the Rockies simply could not overcome.

The Phillies won their second consecutive NL Title, and the Rockies were made to look like a young club lacking some final element.

Lacking was a confident closer, as Huston Street melted before the deadly, lefty-heavy Phillies lineup.

Lacking was the clutch scoring that is the hallmark of Championship-caliber teams.

Lacking was a solid postseason pitching rotation after left-handed dynamo Jorge de la Rosa went down with a groin injury late in the season.

But the Rockies were not lacking in leadership.  The Rocks never looked disorganized or scattered as a team, and throughout both their regular season recovery and postseason battling they took on the businesslike demeanor of their stalwart manager.

Gone were the sloppy, streaky days of Clint Hurdle.  The Rockies looked whole.

And despite an off & on start to this season, Colorado has held a certain form; maintained an edge missing at times under Hurdle.  Losing streaks have been brief and often altered by the kind of workmanlike performance that wins big games… playoff games.  Jim Tracy’s fingerprints are all over this club.

So, still in the early stages of a season that could still go either way, I want to propose a toast to Mr. Tracy.  Something about that 100^th win on the 1-year anniversary of his ascension to manager just feels right, and we need to make sure that we take a moment to notice.

Because Jim knows he’s got something special in these young Rockies… and it’s important to recognize that the Rockies have something special in Tracy.

Cheers to Mr. Jim Tracy, may this be a Junetober to remember.

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Despite all the injuries to speedy position players.

(Dex, Tulo, Cargo, EYJ)

Even while missing a crucial starting pitcher in lefty Jorge de la Rosa.

Still without their 2009 closer, 35-save righty Huston Street… the Rockies soldier on.

Colorado Rockies History 401 :  Playing Possum or the Great .500 Deception

Colorado has managed a 22-22 record just over a quarter of the way into the season.  Many have wondered, with all the pre-season hype that accompanied this team, why the Rockies have struggled.  Chalk it up to experience.

The Rocks have failed to lose or win more than three games in a row this year.  They have incidentally metered out a perfectly uninteresting first fourth of the season without breaking a sweat.  They have, by virtue of their historical early-season sucking, managed to not dig themselves an enormous 5-10 game hole.

In fact, their only two 3-game streaks came back-to-back as they gutted out three Coors Field wins versus Washington, then hit the road and lost a two-game stint to the Cubs before dropping the first of two in Houston.

And that little piece of history brings us full circle…

It was exactly one year ago today that the Rockies were 18-26 after losing the first of three home games (all losses) to the LA Dodgers.  That dreadful home showing against the NL West’s elite club portended great changes in Rockieland.

Clint Hurdle, the Rockies’ manager for 7+ seasons, was abruptly dismissed and replaced with bench coach Jim Tracy.

Sportswriters and fans alike wrote off the season as finished.  Hurdle declined to stay in the organization as a front office role player.  And overnight, despite the ‘interim’ tag associated with his managerial title, Jim Tracy took control of the Colorado Rockies.

The team responded by winning two of three over the Padres in the latter half of their homestand, then took their 20-29 2009 record on a fateful trip to Houston for a 4-game series against the 20-29 Astros.

In the last game of that San Diego series Jorge de la Rosa pitched another foul outing and dropped to 0-6 on the season.  The first game in Houston, Aaron Cook dropped to 3-3 with a loss.  Game 2 at the Astros the Rockies lost a heartbreaker in 11 Innings when Miguel Tejada hit a solo home run off Colorado reliever Josh Fogg.  And as a final ringing insult, Jason Marquis, the Rockies’ only winning starter in the first part of that ’09 season, got creamed for three first inning runs on the way to a 6-4 Game 3 loss.

Then, like the crack of a bat, the Rockies turned their season around.

The story goes something like this.

10-3 @ Houston, 11-4 @ St. Louis, 10-1 @ St. Louis, 7-2 @ St. Louis, 5-2 @ St, Louis

The Cardinals were a dominant 31-23 going into that series, and the Rockies swept the whole 4-game set in St. Louis with a sort of righteous and overwhelming chorus of hits.

Colorado followed that performance with a tight 3-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee, winning two of the three by a single run.  Some versatile winning on the road.

Then came a homestand versus Seattle, Tampa Bay & Pittsburgh, where Colorado sandwiched one 12-4 loss to the Rays between three wins over the Mariners, three wins over the Pirates, and two squeaker wins over Tampa.

By the time the Rockies rolled out of town for their annual trek along the California coast (Anaheim, Oakland, Los Angeles), they were a respectable 36-33.

Now, this lesson in Rockies history is good for posterity’s sake.

More than that, though, it is an important reminder that the Colorado Rockies work in a definitive cycle…

They stink it up in April & May, wait for the weather (and the bats) to warm up, and make mincemeat of opponents throughout June.

So certain is this information that it’s in the Farmer’s Almanac.  Migrating birds are called from 600 miles away by the faint ringing of late-inning crowd noise emanating from Coors Field on warm nights in late May.  The Mayans even predicted the last five years of Rockies history in their little known Calendario de Béisbol, accurate to within 5 games on a 162 game season.

And so, we know that it’s coming.  Like the tides, it’s coming. ‘Junetober’ is nigh upon us.

And this time, the Rockies are not 8 games below .500 and considering a mid-season overhaul.  No, this time the Colorado Rockies are just waiting for all the pieces to be in place.  Waiting for J-Dealer.  Waiting for Mr. Street.  (Waiting, perhaps, for Jim Tracy’s 1-year anniversary as the Rockies’ manager this Saturday night versus the Dodgers.)  Watching as Jeff Francis rises phoenix-like from the ashes and hints at a future rotation featuring three bona fide #1 pitchers.

So this time, when the bats come around, even the East Coast sports media may notice.

The Black-chinned Hummingbird certainly will.

Rocktober is Colorado history.  Junetober is the present.  The Rockies are ready to prove themselves a perennial contender by virtue of their ‘strong’ start, and a time-honored tradition of warming up with the weather.

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Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo took the first pitch of the 10^th Inning deep into the left field bleachers for a huge walk-off 4-3 win on Wednesday afternoon.  Olivo was 5 for 5 in the game, and turned a hanging curve ball into a no-doubter for the win.

Roy Halladay got a no-decision in his home-coming trip to Colorado with the Phillies.

Halladay pitched for Arvada West High School northwest of Denver, and this was his first game at Coors field since joining Philadelphia.  He is widely considered one of the top three starting pitchers in baseball, but the Rockies hammered Roy for 3 runs on 10 hits.

The Rocks had plenty of motivation to excel.

The Phillies were caught illegally stealing signs at Coors Field on Monday night in Game 1 of this three-game series.  MLB failed to issue anything but a warning to the Phillies, who have been accused of illegally stealing signs four times in the last three years.

Couple that with Jim Tracy’s ejection from Wednesday’s day game, and Colorado was ripe for a statement win.

Tracy was ejected after vociferously arguing a bad call in the bottom of the 9^th Inning.

Eric Young, Jr appeared to have beaten the throw on an infield hit to short, but First Base Umpire Cory Blaser called him out.  EYJ immediately yanked his batting helmet off in frustration, but walked briskly to the dugout to let his manager handle the verbal war.

Tracy laid into Blaser, getting ejected almost immediately.  Jim continued to berate the young Umpire until crew chief Phil Cuzzi wandered over to chase him away.  Blaser was just called up from Minor League Service, and, oddly enough, is another Colorado native.  Blaser was born in Denver and currently resides in Westminster.

Aaron Cook started for the Rockies, giving up 3 runs to break even through 6 Innings on 123 pitches.  Joe Beimel pitched to three batters in the top of the 10^th for the win.  Beimel gave up a lead-off hit to Ryan Howard.  However, Jayson Werth hit into a fielders’ choice grounder to nip Howard at 2^nd, and Raul Ibanez grounded into a double play to end the Philadelphia threat.

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  Seth powered a 2-2 split-finger fastball over the right...

The Philadelphia Phillies already boast the worst fans in sports.

In baseball alone, Philadelphia has given us a field-charging taser-target and a projectile vomiter who intentionally puked on a little girl that asked him to stop cussing.  See a list of the 12 worst fan-related moments in Philadelphia’s long, embarrassing history.

Now Philly can add “cheaters” to the list of detractors from the “City of Brotherly Love”.

Philadelphia Phillies bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught peering through binoculars to steal signs from Colorado Rockies’ catcher Miguel Olivo during Monday night’s game at Coors Field.  Billmeyer mumbled a lame excuse about using the binoculars to check the defensive setup of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.  An oddly lame excuse considering Ruiz was sitting in the Phillies dugout when FSN Rocky Mountain cameras showed Mick and his binoculars leering from the center field bullpen.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel added an odd remark of his own to the controversy saying that, “We were not trying to steal signs.”  Manuel followed that comment immediately with, “Would we try to steal somebody’s signs? Yeah, if we can. But we don’t do that. We’re not going to let a guy stand up there in the bullpen with binoculars looking in. We’re smarter than that…”

Apparently not.

This is the fourth time in three years that the Phillies have been charged with sign-stealing.

In 2007 the Mets accused the Phillies of setting up a center-field camera to steal signs.  The Boston Red Sox made the same complaint in 2008.  The Mets leveled another complaint against the Phillies after a May 2^nd game this year.  (Philadelphia was not caught stealing signs in 2009.  A major victory for the team and the city.)

The Rockies did catch the Phillies on Monday night.

Somebody in the Colorado dugout noticed Billmeyer early in the game, and asked FSN to zoom in on the visitors’ bullpen after the first inning.  Two videos from FSN Rocky Mountain show Billmeyer spying on Colorado catcher Miguel Olivo followed by Phillies Center Fielder Shane Victorino on the bullpen phone from the Philadelphia dugout.  Victorino hit two triples in the game.

The end result of FSN’s in-game investigative journalism is video proof of what league insiders have suspected for years… them Phillies be cheatin’.

Rockies Manager Jim Tracy had plenty to say on the subject.

Tracy sounded off after exchanging words during Monday’s game with Manuel, and then listening to Charlie’s half-baked excuses through the media.

“As far as I’m concerned it’s out of line. It’s one thing to go out and play a club as tough as you can possibly play it within the framework of the way they’ve structured things to be done. … Nobody says that you don’t explore something like that, but if you’re cheating and you get caught, then you know what? Then you’d better do something about it. That’s my reaction to that,” said Tracy.

Jim continued, “But a pair of binoculars staring down the gun barrel of the hitting area? You know what, I don’t think any club in baseball that’s competing against that team would take too kindly to that. Now you can come up with all kinds of reasons as to why you had them and what you were doing with them. Are we to believe them all? Or is it OK for us to think maybe there might be some sort of competitive advantage that you might be gaining for yourself? And then you start reflecting back on some of the things that have taken place in previous games and it makes you sit and wonder a little bit.”

Major League Baseball issued a warning to the Phillies on the issue.

While sign-stealing is a time-honored tradition in baseball, using any kind of technological enhancement to steal signs is a violation of MLB rules.

Binoculars apply, but try telling that to Charlie Manuel.

“I told the umpire, ‘No, we don’t have anybody out there with binoculars.’ I come to find out that we did… he used them to watch Ruiz set up and his catching and things like that.”

Next up, Manuel explains why Victorino, the best hitter on the night, spent time in the dugout talking on the bullpen phone with the guy handling the binoculars.  Ready Charlie?  Go.

“Keep crying,” were Manuel’s final words on the subject according to CSNPhilly.com.

If MLB wants to avoid another cheating controversy in baseball, perhaps they should come down harder on the cheaters right out of the gates.  The more likely scenario has MLB waiting for the crisis to become widespread and full-blown before going on their wrist-slapping spree.

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It’s gut check time for the Rockies.

Yes I know it’s only May, but check the schedule… May is the toughest month of the year by a wide berth.  16 road games vs. 13 home games, 15 division games, 8 plane trips, and 3 series against 2009 playoff teams.  If the Rockies survive the month of May they stand a better than good chance of coasting to the division title.  Keep in mind that it is a well-documented fact that the bats in Colorado don’t warm up until the temperature does.

To borrow parlance from another sport, right now the Rockies must ice the puck.

Of course, there is an obvious benefit to winning outright right now.  A series win would deliver the Rockies their first winning road trip of the 2010 season.  And it would put the Dodgers definitively in the basement.  (Oh how I hate the Dodgers.)

As far as current game judgments go, Hiroki Kuroda has been the best (strike that… only) pitcher for the Dodgers so far, and it’s a tall order to get more than 3 runs on him or knock him out before the 6^th.  The bats probably don’t stand a chance tonight the way they’ve been working lately.

Esmil Rogers, on the other hand, probably will have a better outing than last time.  He’s a location guy and that requires focus.  It’s tough to focus if it’s your first start in a while.  I think he’ll be sharper today.  Of course, he’ll need to be about perfect if the bats don’t get going.

Top 1^st

Kuroda is a pitcher a lot like Aaron Cook.  He doesn’t nip corners, or blow it by you, or trick you into chasing pitches outside the zone.  He pounds the strike zone with a heavy sinker and waits for the ground balls.  So far so good for him; 2 ground outs and a strikeout on Todd Helton.

Bot 1^st Tied 0-0

With Manny Ramirez out of the lineup with a re-strained right calf (or maybe you could call it a “haven’t done steroids in a while” right calf) the Dodgers have put Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier next to each other.  I’ve always thought they should do this.  (Don’t tell them.)

But Rogers is spot-on in the first.

He is a corner-nipper and he pitched like he intended to.  It took him a batter to find the strike zone (walk), but after that he was ahead in the count with corner strikes for the next three batters.  Strikeout on Kemp, flyout on Ethier on the first pitch (he swings at the first pitch too much (don’t tell him)), and a strikeout on James Loney.

Top 2^nd Tied 0-0

Troy Tulowitzki may be getting a name for himself as a good enough player to get the break on close calls.  He stayed off a full count high slider that looked like a strike (even according to the Fox Sports computer) and got a ball/walk.  Gary Darling totally botched the call in Tulowitzki’s favor.  And then got the call on a Stolen Base attempt.  That one was too close to know for sure but he might have been out.  Add a Sacrifice and a Sacrifice and that’s the first run of the game.

In other news, add in 2 two-out ground ball hits against Kuroda that go to waste with a Rogers foul out.  I didn’t see his first game but he looked like he swung the bat well.  Kuroda soused him out quickly though.  He can’t tell the distance of the plate and will swing at pitches just outside.

Bot 2^nd Rockies 1-0

Jason Blake is the type of hitter who is useless when you serve the ball right up the middle and amazing when you give him an impossible pitch.  Rogers locates a fastball pretty well at the hands and Blake finds a way to fit it through the hole at third base for a double.   Then after a Sacrifice and a Pop out, Rogers made his first mistake of the game.  He left a fast ball up over the plate to Jamie Carroll for a single.

Top 3^rd Tied 1-1

The best way to work Helton has always been to go inside, outside, inside, outside.  (Yeah I know he can hit it any direction at any time, I didn’t say it was a good way, I said it was the best way.  The best way can still be bad.)  That’s just what Kuroda does and manages a strikeout on a very well-placed Sinker on the inside.  We’ll see what Tulo does, but runs may be hard to come by after this.  Kuroda is dealing.

Bot 3^rd Tied 1-1

Rogers made another mistake after something bad happened that wasn’t his fault.

This time an errant throw by Ian Stewart on a Kemp grounder gave up a base.  Then, after a stolen base, another fastball left up in the zone is hit by Ethier (poorly hit) and finds the second base hole.  Rogers seems to be having trouble dealing with the base runners.  Or maybe he’s unable to gather himself immediately after he gets the shaft for doing nothing wrong.  Either way, that’s two runs on fastball pitch mistakes; his only two fastball pitch mistakes.

Top 4^th Dodgers 2-1

They just flashed a Hot Zone breakdown for Tulo after his double off Kuroda’s hanging slider.  It’s a “T”.  He hits everything down the middle and everything high and nothing else.  I wonder if that’s a sign.

After a fairly lucky bloop single to tie the game by Carlos Gonzales, Darling lets the world know that the call Tulo got in the second is nothing special.  Kuroda cannot get the high drop-in slider to fall for a strike (even when it does).  That’s  his K pitch.  If the Rockies get that call all game, it will severely limit (and probably mess with) Kuroda.

Further proof of the preceding: Rogers put together a pretty good two-out 7-pitch at bat before a ground-out deep in the SS hole.  Kuroda threw another high slider I thought was strike 3.  It was called ball 3.

Bot 4^th Tied 2-2

Say what you will about Rogers’ stuff… he certainly challenges well when he needs to.  A Walk to Russell Martina and then three ground outs; one battling back from 2-0, one working with an 0-2, and the final an easy pitch served to the dreadful .000 average of Kuroda

Top 5^th Tied 2-2

Dexter Fowler MUST begin to threaten bunt at any time.  This inning held the point and case to that argument.  Fowler put the bunt down foul on the first pitch and every following pitch Casey Blake played in.  The result: soft ground ball through the hole at SS goes for a double.  Blake possibly could have turned it into a double play had he played back.  At the very least he could have stopped the runners at one base.  Add in a Sac (to an already Sac heavy game) and the Rocks have the lead back.

Bot 5^th Rockies 3-2

A pair of very well thrown pitches that go for doubles set up Rogers’ final mistake of the game.

First, a fastball outside that somehow Xavier Paul gets a hold of goes for a double and then Ethier does what he does with an impossible to hit low and away changeup for a double.  That scores one.

Then with two outs Rogers lets a low fast ball drift to the center against Blake who singles up the center.  Immediately following, Martin finds the Second base hole with a ground ball for another run.  2 runs he could do nothing about and 3 runs due to fastball mistakes.   He could be a very good pitcher if he just finds some control.

Randy Flores comes in to clean up the mess and gets Blake DeWitt to foul out on the second pitch.

Top 6^th Dodgers 5-3

Eric Young Jr. needs to be playing Major League Baseball not AAA baseball.

So far all he has done since his call-up is get on base and then burn around the bases.  On the first pitch of his one-out at bat he puts the ball in the right field corner (literally, not bounce around in the corner, I think he made the ball stop in the corner) and legged out a triple.

Seth Smith hits a nice little single to left center to score EYJ, and then Dex follows my instructions.  He lays down a bunt into the first base line no man’s land on the first pitch of his at bat and Kuroda unwisely throws the ball into right field.  That’s 4 bases today (6 if you count the two bases Seth Smith got) on Dex’s bunt threat.  And he knocked Kuroda out of the game.

George Sherrill comes in to pitch and it’s Helton’s turn to Sacrifice.  Tie game again and Sherrill’s taking a seat on the bench.  Three pitchers used in the 6^th inning in the first of a 3 game series.  This is a very good inning for the Rockies’ bats.

Jeff Weaver put an inside fastball on the low corner and Gonzales grounds out, but damage done to both the scoreboard and the long-term LA bullpen.

Bot 6^th Tied 5-5

Good pitching countered by great hitting is the story of the 6^th.

Matt Daley puts a great pitch in on the high inside corner on leadoff hitter Carroll, and Carroll somehow finds a way to get the ball fair down the right field line.  Then with 2 outs Kemp takes an inside ball to the opposite field (?) for a triple.  How he wasn’t jammed I don’t know.

Joe Beimel throws one pitch for an Ethier ground out.

Top 7^th Dodgers 6-5

The deep curve ball pitcher Ramon Troncoso comes in to pitch the 7^th.  Sometimes he can get that curve to go for strikes, sometimes he can’t.  Tonight he can’t but it doesn’t hurt him.  Long story short: Strikeout, Walk, Fielder’s Choice, Infield single, and then Seth Smith gets a hold of a poorly placed fastball and hits right at Loney at first base.

It would have been a tie game if it had been hit anywhere else.

Bot 7^th Dodgers 6-5

Matt Belisle pitches a pretty boring inning; 9 pitches (none of them anything to write home about) 3 ground outs.  I kinda like boring pitchers though.

Top 8^th Dodgers 6-5

Rough night for Helton: 0-4 with 1 sac and 2 Ks.  The Rockies can’t find a way to get even in the 8^th against Troncoso, which means they must score on Jonathan Broxton.

Bot 8^th Dodgers 6-5

Once again, there is nothing interesting about Belisle except that he gets quick outs.  I look away from the screen for maybe 20 seconds and he goes from 1-1 with one out to 2-2 with two out.  And he does this without throwing hard, throwing nasty, throwing with perfect location, or throwing with a funky delivery.

Top 9^th Dodgers 6-5

Last chance Charlie for the Rockies against a pretty good hard-throwing closer.  But he does have 2 Blown Saves on the year.

CarGo falls behind early against fastballs and then fights against sliders to stay alive.  On the 11 pitch of the at bat he slaps a low and away fastball through the hole at SS.  Runner at 1^st.

On an 0-1 pitch to Stewart, CarGo breaks for 2^nd and Russell Martin guns him down by 5 feet. One Out.  Russell Martin is one of the catchers you just don’t try to steal on.

Stewart falls behind on fastball too, but cant’ fight off the sliders. K. 2 Out.

Jason Giambi pinch hitting.  Falls behind chasing outside pitches.  Can’t make the bat find a high fastball.

Game Over. Dodgers 6-5

This is about as close a game as you will get… the Dodgers just got the breaks.

If I were to hang it on one thing, the clutch hitting against good pitching in the 6^th is what this game hinges on.  The Dodgers can’t do that night-in and night-out.   Also, Helton being useless at the plate hurt a lot.

But like I said, the Rockies need win only one game this series, and with Ubaldo Jimenez pitching Sunday we can feel good about the odds.  This series probably hinges on Jhoulys Chacin vs. Charlie Haeger tomorrow.  I’ll be watching and so should you.  Jhoulys is a high-potential young starter for these Rockies.

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