The Colorado Rockies 2011 Season will be spent monitoring not who is manning the sprawling lawn at Coors Field, but rather how well these young outfielders develop beyond their 2010 performances at the plate.
While the crisp chill of Colorado winter still hangs in the air, the looming approach of the Super Bowl (am I allowed to say that, or will I get sued?) can mean only one thing – spring training is right around the corner.
Carlos is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who has never given up potential free-agent market-mauling in favor of an extension. Gonzalez could have waited until 2014 to hit free agency, considerably driving up his price tag on the open market.
The season may well have been over before San Francisco ever set foot in the Coors Field clubhouse Friday night – but with a three game home set against the division leaders, the Rockies had one more chance to pull out some Rocktober-style magic.
Dear Philadelphia Phillies,
I’m glad it was you.
Just like last year, charging in to dash our hopes with your veteran band of overpaid sluggers. Seasoned pros. National League dominators. Death in Red.
I’m not going to write the in memoriam just yet, and the “what the team needs to do for next year” piece can wait until late fall – but I will say this. The Rockies are on life support.
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.
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 9th Inning comeback in Rockies history and the largest come-from-behind 9th in Major League Baseball since 1918.
With a mere 87 games remaining, the Colorado 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…
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.
