Well, the stars finally aligned. Things have been heading in this direction for some time now, but it is finally here.
After Thursdays painful loss, the one that saw the Rockies fail to wrestle the lead from the Diamondbacks like two dogs with a single chew toy, Tulo made a prediction that the pitching had a bad day and some days the pitching is on and the hitting is off, but soon they will both come together and the team will go on a streak. That is a paraphrase, of course, but the day has finally arrived. The pitching and hitting are finally on the same page.
Unfortunately the “same page” is the wrong side of the score card and the “streak” is one of losing.
Coming into the game today, fan’s were hoping they’d finally seen the bottom and things would start heading up. That maybe the poor pitching and horrible hitting, that had been trading off their daily appearances, couldn’t last forever. Shoot, Christian Friedrich was on the mound. He already had two excellent starts under his belt and was ready for his first taste of Coors.
But by the time he was pulled from the game, and forced to watch the bases he loaded with no outs be cleared by Rogers in the sixth, his line was anything but hopeful. Five innings, eight earned, four walks and three strikeouts. Oh, and don’t forget the home run in the second.
His ERA jumped from 1.38 to 5.00. Just like that, Friedrich moved from the list of solutions to the problems column. He will have a lot of company, to be sure.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the other half of the equation. Hitting.
For a second night in a row the team looked like they were facing another potential Cy Young candidate. With only two hits entering the seventh, with one of those hits coming from non-starter EYj, Tracy made a move that showed his frustration might have been just a small fraction of what the fans have felt over the past few weeks.
He pulled Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki who were 0-10 over the past two games.
Sit down boys, you’ve earned it.
Whether the move sparked the bats or not, thankfully the hitting didn’t stay stalled at 2 singles. Getting shutout two nights in a row from one of the AL’s worst teams would have been too much to handle.
Wilin Home Run - photo by Rox Addict
In the bottom of the 7th Giambi doubled and Pacheco singled him home. Woo hoo, we have a run. There goes the shutout, pop the champagne cause it is only 9-1.
Then Wilin Rosario made Vargas pay for not watching more film, as he launched the fourth pitch into the left center seats. Perhaps Wilin decided he needed to make up for the 6,000 passed balls attributed to him.
Nevermind that, it just felt good to have something to cheer for after the boos were starting to drown out the Mariner fans cheers.
And why the Seattle pitchers are being praised for their work louder than the Rockies players are being blamed for their bats is anyone’s guess.
Many point to the end of last season as the moment the team melted down and really lost the 2011 road to the playoffs. Injuries and uninspired play were seen and angrily rehashed over the last half of 2011.
Unfortunately, all one has to do to view history in the proper prospective is to look at the team record last May. The month that was, “still early” and, “still had time to work out the issues”. Last May our record was 8-20.
So, what is our record so far this Month? Why, that would be 4-13. Remember, those that don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
Well, in fighting off repeating it, let’s just hope we don’t “improve” upon it.
Very nice Jared. The Rockies were awful in 2010. They were awful in 2011 and they are awful in 2012. It is just what the Rockies are. Just like your local restaurant that is no longer satisfying one must adjust expectations or move on. I have been working really hard on being okay with the former. Watching MLB teams come to our city to take batting practice for a few days still has value. Just wish we had an MiLB in town so we could enjoy some good baseball.
Yes, very tru Ike…for fun, here are a few other months of May records:
2007: 15 13
2008: 9 19
2009: 12 17
2010: 16 12
Jaredean…your analysis showed in this post is better than any Renck or Saunders article written for the Post.
IMO, the best you’ve ever written. The perfect blend of pathos, sarcasm and truth all in one concise and honest piece.
Keep you the good work. It is deeply appreciated from this “baseball nut” albeit a disappointed and frustrated one.
Kudos to you.
Thank you my friend. I really love doing the write-ups and at times it seems like they come together on the “page” the way I feel in my head. Your praise means a lot because I really respect your opinion and look forward to meeting you in person this summer!
If you don’t look at the date and squint while reading some of the specifics to blur them you’d swear this article was about this month and not last year’s May:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/05/colorado_rockies_worst_team_may.php
Don’t give up, it’s the year of the fan you know. It’s still early. Lots of baseball to be played, good things come to some those who wait. And when you wake up in the morning there will be a nice shiney quarter under your pillow.
Pass the kool-aid and anything you’ve got that’s stronger because you must be using both,for that cheery outlook.
And that’s 6,000 passed balls in less than 6 weeks.On the other hand he is second on the team in HR in only half the AB’s.Maybe we should play Wilin at third and put Pacheco behind the plate !
There is nothing good about this team at the moment, it was the mariners the worst road team in baseball and they pounded us its inexcusable, Tracy with his lame excuses once again, WE should demand Monforts to speak up i want to hear what they say about this mess of a baeball team
Pretty simple, this team from top to bottom really doesn’t give a shit. Tulo, Cargo, Helton, Cuddyer..all the veteran leaders of this team have their money and nothing else to really play for.
O’Dowd and Tracy have their jobs guaranteed…nothing to manage or coach for.
The Monforts have a never ending flow of fans who are ok going to games as long as the sun is out and the visiting team has the MLB logo on the back of the cap.
Competitive and winning baseball is of no importance.
The Rockies are leading the league in good manners. When they go on the road they do not embarrass the home team in front of their fans. When they entertain out of town guests they are very gracious to bring out the best in their opponents. We should be proud of their character, bless their hearts.
We really should be grateful for Tulo and Cargo signing long term extensions and saving this team money!
Who would want to be burdened with the chance that someone might actually outplay their contract and EARN increased market value. That’s not how the Rockies do business.
Boy, I at least thought we’d be able to watch meaningful baseball in June…I guess we can, just not our team. At least I’m such a baseball junkie I’ll keep watching.
Great post JD
Not all is bad, the Lakers lost, yea!!! But seriously, nobody is accountable in this entire organization, except the guy selling me beer.
Prog, It’s quite a leap to claim that none of the players give a shit. Giving a shit and winning do not have any kind of relationship, in fact, giving too many shits often results in playing too tight, and thus losing.
If CarGo and Tulo hadn’t signed long term deals and had outplayed their contracts we would have entered a bidding war for them in free agency, see Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols for how that works out. To be upset about a 10 year contract because of three bad games is a bit short sighted don’t you think?
I’ll take several MVP seasons and 2 WS championships and say goodbye to Tulowitzki after its done. You’d rather lock up guys at long term contracts before they do all that, if ever?
Great piece Jaredean.
This game is 80% mental. The Rockies mental fortitude has always been weak. You are now seeing the bottom of the barrel.
Physical ability alone rarely wins baseball games and I would argue has never won a World Series. The walk-off home runs, great pitching and critical double plays may appear to be due to physical talent but I will argue that strong mental and situational preparedness led to those results nearly every time.
Don’t totally agree because even Yogi said the other half[50%] IS physical.
I’ll throw you guys a curve. Good stuff that’s happened this year:
1. The Moyer thing has been fun to watch.
2. Friedrich and White have a couple good starts each, and both look to me to be keepers who may be key building blocks to a new homegrown rotation.
3. Rosario is a work in progress behind the plate, but the talent is obvious. He needs to play a lot to get better. He’s a keeper.
4. Colvin’s talent is also obvious, and he’s managed to hit line drives to all fields. Small sample size warning applies.
And that’s it. I really can’t think of any other pleasant news or unexpected good developments this year. (We expect Cargo to hit, so that doesn’t count.)
Good for you AG,I agree on all points that have gotten lost in the gloom.White has shown actual pitches and at times the ability to use them.Friederich too.Now if Pomeranz gets the msg.next year could be fun-but along way off.
5. Nicasio came all the way back. (Maybe the best news so far)
A little bit of positive news from last night:
Tyler Matzek pitching for Modesto-
7 ip, 4 h, 1 er, 2bb, 7 ks
A good friend and diehard Cardinals fan sent me this link to a 1989 SI article about The College of Cardinals. Goes a long way to explain why a team that lost a superstar (Pujols) and a starter who won 39 games in two seasons (Wainwright) but has a 5.77 ERA this year still leads their division.
But the Rockies have Bob Apodaca and Jim Tracy, so all will be well if we’re just patient, right?
PFFT
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068685/1/index.htm
Hey Pooter, you asked a question in chat during the 1st Dbacks game. Do you remember my response?
That D-Backs game that they were ahead by 5 and absolutely blew it was a very costly game!!!
That would have been three wins in a row and I bet they would have played differently in this series if that game went the other way.
But yeah, I remember your response of “No” when I asked if people felt a streak coming. I continue to be suprised negatively by this team.