Re: Kendrick out

We are finished. Finished. Plain and simple. I am so ****ing furious right now. Guarantee the hitters start pressing again.

SERIES...OVER...

by FuquaManuel on Oct 4, 2007 4:41 PM EDT

I find it difficult to explain to wise baseball friends how important Kazuo Matsui was for the 2007 Rockies, as his statistical record simply did not paint the complete picture of how he stabilized the team. He didn't come up big often, but the moments he did were typically important, energizing bursts that acted as catalysts for the rest of the team. His grand slam off of Kyle Loshe in this game was the defining moment of the series. In one swing he turned what was looking like a back and forth, brutal dragout fistfight into a rout. The sentiment expressed above at the Good Phight just after Matsui's blast could be heard echoed throughout Phillie Nation, and as the poster predicted, the Phillies hitters seemed to get hit by it too and never recovered.

The outcome of this game was supposed to revolve around which potent lineup feasted most off of which untested rookie. It didn't disappoint. Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday started things with a bang and back to back homers in the top of the first. Franklin Morales was hit hard by Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz. He gave up a pair of walks and plunked Ryan Howard before successfully picking him off. The foreshadowing of his performance in the World Series and perhaps even his early season 2008 struggles were pretty apparent, but as a fan I wanted to ignore them. In retrospect, Clint Hurdle was probably right to pull him for Josh Fogg after the third inning in this contest when the opportunity for a big inning presented itself. Seth Smith was more lucky than good in rewarding Hurdle for that decision before Charlie Manuel was faced with a devil's bargain of his own. Bases loaded with two outs, he could have Kyle Kendrick stay in against the switch hitting Matsui or pull him for the right hander Kyle Lohse. He chose the latter.

Matsui hit seven homeruns while wearing a Rockies uniform, five of the seven broke up scoreless ties (four were in the first inning), one tied the game at five and started an important four run rally against Houston in the bottom of the seventh in June of last year,  and then there was this laser just over the right field wall which will likely be the biggest hit of Matsui's career. The Rockies roll continued right though Philly without a detour.

We will do some more Rocktober reminiscing through the weekend, but I wanted to put something up today. We've got two AL contests tonight, the White Sox are currently out in front of Tampa Bay and the Angels/Red Sox Game 2 starts later. While the NL is off tonight, the Dodgers have made the NL West 8-0 against the rest of the league over the last two seasons by going up two games on the Cubs. Ha! That'll show all you East Coast elite punks for dissing our division in a down year.

Tracy Ringolsby put the brakes on the fire Hurdle speculation. Further indication that Willy Taveras is likely to be non-tendered if he isn't traded is given later in the notes section as well as a rundown of the five prospects in Tulsa and Colorado Springs to get recognition by Baseball America for being among the top 20 in their leagues. Chief among them Dexter Fowler, who was voted as the Texas League's top prospect over a couple of solid alternatives.

"I don't think the lineup struggled so much because of nerves. Yeah, when you first get in there, you're nervous. But I think that kind of subsided. We just ran into a team that was hot. The Rockies were on a tear last year."

Ryan Howard, before facing the Brewers in this year's NLDS

The Rockies were supposed to be exposed in always sunny Philadelphia. The lucky run which had inexplicably brought the team to the playoffs was supposed to run out. After all, these same Phillies had piled up the runs against these same Rockies less than a month earlier when the teams split a crucial four game series in Philadelphia in September. As it turned out, if either team had managed to flip just one of those losses, the other would have been left home. Instead, however we we wound up having the rematch, and the Phillies were counting on three factors to allow them to come out ahead this time:

1. The Rockies would have to face their ace Cole Hamels, whereas they had luckily avoided him in September.
2. Phillies hitters owned Jeff Francis in the regular season, scoring 14 runs and racking up 20 hits in just over 8 IP over his two starts and the Rockies were starting a pair of untested rookies in the next two games.
3. The East Coast consensus held that the 2007 Mets were a better team than the Rockies, and therefore, since the Phillies were able overcome their divisional rivals, the NLDS should have been an easier accomplishment.

So with that backdrop, a tone had to be set that destiny wasn't quite finished with the Rockies. The one to set that tone would be Francis. For the first three pitches, it looked like the Rockies might be in for a replay of the misery of Jeff's previous starts against the Phillies. Three fastballs were taken by Jimmy Rollins, two low, one high for a quick 3-0 count. Rollins had been Philly's spark all season, letting him on base more often than not of late also meant letting him score. Francis came back with another fastball that Rollins took down the middle for strike one. Rollins' best chance for a hit was on that fifth pitch, the fifth straight FB to start the game, but he it off for strike two. For pitch six, Francis unlocked the changeup, a beauty down and away that had Rollins way out in front. Thus began a sequence of nine straight strikes for Francis, the three to Rollins, three quickly to Shane Victorino, and three more to Chase Utley, both of whom got themselves into 0-2 holes before getting fooled by offspeed pitches at their feet. Message sent. This wasn't the same Francis, these weren't the same Rockies that the Phillies had seen a few weeks earlier.

In the top of the second Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins got our scoring started by tripling and doubling off of Hamels, on our way to a three run inning and the game and the series from that point forward seemed well in the Rockies control. When Francis gave up back to back homers to Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell later allowing the Phils to come back within one, he quietly put out the fire and our bullpen, with a little insurance from Matt Holliday, took us the rest of the way home.

I watched this game in a local pizza pub because I don't get cable. I was the only Rockies fan there. Actually, on a Wednesday afternoon in Cincinnati, I was the only baseball fan there period, and the bartender wasn't even aware there was a game going on. I didn't let that stop me from screaming anyway, and a couple of UC coeds getting ready to hit the town probably thought I had started happy hour a few hours early with my euphoria. I weathered their judgmental glances, and only screamed louder. Screw them. This was my Rockies team, in the playoffs, this was me loving every minute of the ride they were taking me on. That only I knew about it in my little sphere in the Midwest didn't diminish that at all.

I can't say that I'm sorry to see 2008 go. One more game this afternoon and then we can get serious about what needs to happen to fix this team.

Let's look at some of 2008's bright sides, though:

1. Ubaldo Jimenez, NTaylor Buchholz and Chris Iannetta proved they were for real

Remember heading into this season that there was still some doubt for a couple of our younger players that they were ready to be contributors to a contending MLB club.

2. The Rockies may yet emerge victorious with Jorge De La Rosa.

This one was in doubt well into the season, and still is as Ramon Ramirez has been a very valuable reliever for Kansas City this season, but a turn was made and De La Rosa has been a stable force in the rotation late and has become a legitimate answer for one of two questionable slots in the rotation for 2009.

3. Matt Holliday followed 2007 with another great year.

Whether we're able to miraculously sign Holliday to an extension or trade him for a healthy chunk of talent, his 2008 enhances the value of either decision. By defying the gravity of age and regression, Holliday's bat shows a lot of forward value. Next question will be whether we benefit from it directly or via trade.

4. Jeff Baker and Seth Smith as able bench players.

To a lesser extent Clint Barmes deserves attention here, too. Depth is crucial, now if only we can shore up the front line talent.

Let's end this on a high note.

Go Rockies!

Rusch last started for the Rockies on August 14, against the Diamondbacks, and he gave up Chris Burke's first homerun of the season. The next day against his former team in Houston, Burke hit another shot, but he's had a grand total of two hits since and just eight extra base hits all year. What this all means is that Burke isn't any good, and ergo ipso facto, any pitcher giving up HR's to Burke also isn't any good. The next step in the logic would dictate that since the Rockies have no pitcher better than Rusch to start tonight.., well we see why we're sitting home this year. I don't know what the Snakes' excuse is, this Webb guy's supposedly pretty good, some say he's in line for some hardware this offseason.

• May: .273/.333/.455
  
• June: .182/.250/.485
  
• July: .432/.519/.614
  
• August: .295/.412/.526
  
• September: .152/.188/.273
  

So, ascribing to the theory that baseball is as much a game of miniscule adjustments as much as it is of big time skills, Ian Stewart's dismal performance this month leads to one of two likely conclusions:

1. Stewart has relapsed into the player he was early in the season, a Mark Reynolds wannabe who K's a bunch but doesn't homer quite enough to make up for it.

2. Pitchers have figured out a new way to approach Stewart that has him looking exactly like the player he was early in the season even though he's not, really. No really, he's not.

My sarcasm probably tells you which way I'm leaning, but I don't necessarily feel that either is a terrible sign for the Rockies or Stewart just yet. Backsliding happens early in a career. Struggles happen. Stewart's just 23, he's talented, he'll gain more of the good kind of consistency as he goes along. The real problem that the Rockies face with this is that the 2009 team can't afford to muddle through June/September Ian if we're dealing both Matt and Garrett this winter. The possible upside here is that while backsliding does happen, if Ian's as good as we think he is, then the other side of this slump ought to  leave him in a position where he'll be better able to quickly identify and correct his errors and the next down phase shouldn't last as long. The hope here is that the corrections will be made over the winter and he comes back more like July/August Ian.

Troy Tulowitzki's showing that he's broken through his own sophomore slump with a .329/.389/.549 September. Similarly to JDLR, that progress needs to be locked in for next season. In all, the lineup is shaping up decently as long as Ian can get back aboard.

The Rockies have been using Seth Smith in center field frequently of late, with good results offensively and at least passable results on defense. Dexter Fowler remains a wild card, so it seems that the club is trying Smith as a sort of backup plan. It seems to be showing that the club is seriously considering trading Willy Taveras this winter.

Jason Hirsh has spent a long season on a journey of rediscovery, almost entirely in Colorado Springs, and will therefore be making his first 2008 start for the Rockies tonight. Greg reynolds showed five nights ago that he still isn't ready to step to the MLB plate, far from it, let's hope Hirsh shows himself a little closer tonight.

Haren's had a solid season for the Diamondbacks and isn't to blame for the team's inability to hold their divisional lead, but clearly Arizona had more in mind when it traded for him last winter. It's been my theory that the Haren trade amounts to an inversion of an hourglass for Josh Byrnes, wherein the team now has a limited window -about three seasons, I would say- to accomplish success before the effects of age start ravaging the current team and a weak farm system will cause it to collapse inward. Year one has gone by and already some symptoms of this inward tumble have materialized. The Diamondbacks lacked the depth to deal with injuries to Orlando Hudson or the tired arm of Brandon Webb, while the Dodgers had enough to acquire useful parts and surge to the finish.

The Rockies scored once the first time they faced Haren, twice the second, three times on Monday, let's see if they can get at least four tonight,

Go Rockies!

Somewhere between his last start in 2007 and his first start in 2008, something went horribly awry for Franklin Morales and in turn helped push the Rockies season in the same disastrous direction. Similar in consequence if not in origin, Jeff Francis' struggles early this season after a break through performance last year also derailed the Rockies hopes of reclaiming the NL title. Now the team faces that same wide offseason gulf with another lefty starter that has emerged as a strong spot in the rotation. As a fan, I lack confidence that the team will be any more successful this time than they were last year. Why should they be? The Rockies employ the same navigators that led Francis and Morales aground; there has been no discernible shift in coaching philosophy or the offseason conditioning regimen.

The result of the Rockies game last night made the following point emphatic: De La Rosa has been the team's best, most consistent starter over the second half of the season. His second half has been so good that by most measures it's been better than Aaron Cook's All-Star worthy first half was. Here are the four starters that we're likely going to carry into next season by second half ERA:

• De La Rosa 3.08
• Francis 3.50
  
• Jimenez 4.00
• Cook 4.71

If the Rockies want to retain any hope of competing next season, they must do a better job as an organization of bridging the four and a half months between Sunday afternoon and when pitchers and catchers report in the middle of February. Having the De La Rosa we have right now next April would put us right back in the middle of the division chase without having to make a major financial commitment to a free agent starter, especially if Cook can rebound and Jimenez continues to mature. Of course, I advocate getting some decent FA starter anyway to account for a few more of the what-ifs, but if you're talking about making a financial investment in better coaching and conditioning of the young, talented and generally healthy starters like the Rockies have over the winter break versus committing to $17 million plus a year for five or six seasons to some gifted but fragile starter like Ben Sheets or A.J. Burnett, I think the wise fiscal choice becomes obvious. That said, it does involve making as serious a commitment to insure its success. Anyway, look at this as a plea to the front office to be a little more proactive this offseason with the rotation.

Yep.... lots of meaning in this game tonight

Go Rockies!

Last night Clint Barmes performed like he was meant for the 2009 starting second base and lead-off role, pushing the Rockies to a 15-6 thumping of the San Francisco Giants. Barmes homered, doubled, hit two singles, walked once and stole two bases. Unfortunately, even with last night's performance, Barmes was only able to raise his road OBP to a paltry .285, which is just a notch below Houston's .286, the worst lead-off OBP in the National League this season. The league lead is Florida at .387, over the course of the 350 PA's representing a full season of full time Barmes on the road, you're talking about an extra 30 outs or so that Barmes would generate over the league average. So in spite of Clint's work yesterday, it's no wonder that the Rockies will be looking for an offseason upgrade at second. John Perrotto mentioned Mark Ellis and Dan Uggla yesterday, both players who have had somewhat the  opposite experience of Barmes this season in that their home parks have served to suppress the production that they have shown on the road. Ellis should be a reasonably priced free agent, while Uggla figures to be awarded just south of $5 million in arbitration and would cost a couple of valuable young players in a trade to the Marlins to boot.

Todd Helton has made the decision to undergo back surgery, with the expectation that he'll be ready to resume baseball activities by Spring Training.

Congratulations to the Diamondbacks Mark Reynolds for breaking the single season strikeout record. Way to go, Mark, here's hoping for even greater achievement in this category next season. I just don't think he's reached the pinnacle of his whiffy awesomeness yet. In losing, the Snakes also gave the Dodgers reason to celebrate.

Jhoulys Chacin ranked as the SAL's fourth best prospect and the California League's fifth best prospect according to Baseball America. Darin Holcomb ranked #17 in the SAL. Subscribers can see where league managers and scouts took issue with Chacin, it mostly comes down to not consistently cracking 90 mh on his sinker.