It sure takes a lot of offense to make one forget a Grand Slam, but Carlos Gonzalez did his best Wednesday night to give the crowd of 28,102 something bigger to talk about on the way home from the Rockies 13-5 rout of the Astros.
To say CarGo was locked in would be an understatement. His day at the plate, going 4-5 with 4 RBI’s, seemed more than routine in what Rockies fans have come to enjoy in a typical CarGo hitting fest.
What was truly amazing about the feat came from his statement post game that none of the home runs came from fast balls:
Not even one [was a fastball]…The second one off the lefty [Cedeno] was kind of like a fastball, a cutter away. The first one was a changeup on a hitter’s count, 2-1. They did it to me before, the first doubleheader [game]. That’s why you have to be smart, just always follow the sequences.
At this point, if anyone were to doubt his absolute talent with a bat they would just be trolling for an argument. Sure, he still swings at some bad pitches, but nowhere near what he did when first getting called up, even he knows that:
I won a batting title in 2010 swinging at everything, swinging at balls…When things like this happen, they happen. I have a really good swing. When the ball is close to the plate, I know I can reach any ball, inside or outside. But right now, I feel really good at the plate and I have more discipline.
One thing is sure, everyone feels really good watching him at the plate. It is beyond belief that in the past four games he has gone 10-for-16 with five home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs raising his average from .298 to .323.
CarGo isn’t the only one comfortable with his swing right now. Dexter Fowler again helped the team with his bat, going 2-5 with 3 RBI’s and another home run. Dex has been doing his best CarGo impression over the past four games racking up three homers, a triple and a double and going an impressive 10 – 15.
Another Dexter HR Trot - photo by Rox Addict
Rockie faithful were hoping to get at least two of our hitters hot at the same time, but many were thinking it would be Tulo and Cargo, not Fowler and Cargo.
Tulo has been heating up, not to quite the same extent, but all thoughts of going on a streak seemed to end with his pulling up on a sprint to first in the sixth. He strained his left groin and is worried he might go on the 15-day DL because of it. He is waiting to see how he feels Thursday morning to determine the next steps.
The injury is the same that has been plaguing him since the beginning of the season and one that could see him sidelined for the potential series sweep. He would obviously much rather be on the field than in the dugout:
It’s tough…The first thing I thought about was we’re playing well and we have a chance for a sweep [Thursday against the Astros]. But sitting there thinking about it, there’s nothing you can really do. When you’re hurt, you’re hurt…There are some other guys around the league that are dealing with the same sort of things. Only for so long you can keep going out there until you need to get it right. My groin has been bothering me. There have been tweaks here and there and I’d get a day [off], but this is worse than just the kind of tweak I’d normally felt.
So on a very bittersweet day, one that saw Moyer get DFA’d and Tulo pull up with an injury, the knowledge that we have one of the best in the business in our corner, hitting anything and everything close to the zone, makes the sweet outweigh the bitter.
"I don't care if I am lost in the footnotes. As long as it's a win, it doesn't matter." - Michael Cuddyer
Oh, almost forgot, Michael Cuddyer hit a grand slam in the first, his second of the year. How in the world can one forget that??? Thanks to CarGo, it isn’t that hard…
If anyone would be willing to do pre-game lineups and post game writeups for the next week it would be helpful…let me know through the contact page (link in the menu)…I will be traveling through California and most likely very busy with the family…
CarGo is a beast! His ability to remember and adapt is what makes him so dangerous. Sure he looks silly some times swinging at pitches out of the zone, but if you go to the well too many times against him you are going to get burned.
WOW! Excellent recap of the game.
Too bad for Moyer and Tulow…
Following some comments and what Miketober just said I want CarGo to smash into pieces one of Chapman’s fastballs…
HERE COME THE ROCKIES!!!! This is how I expected this lineup to play! Ok Fellas, I have bad news, Tulo is heading to the DL with this injury, its the nagging type that requires rest. Here is what I would like Jim Tracy to do in Tulo’s absense:
Fowler CF
EYJ 2B
Cargo RF
Cuddyer LF
Helton 1B
Rosario C
Pacheco 3B
Scutaro SS
I’m not surprised you have EYj in the lineup. I am surprised you have him batting second.
no chance EY2 at second. Despite his early hotstreak, he is hitting a less-than-helton like .225+ combined with not playing 2nd for some time. Keep using him where he excells..the role player. Not a knock on how he has been as I am “somewhat” warming up to him..just need a strong lineup for 4 at bats and he isn’t included in that.
With yesterday’s win we are now 8-0 on Wednesdays!!!
Ok…that made me laugh. Can we start playing double headers with only NL West opponents on Wednesdays!?!?
The myth continues! The Rockies lost 5-1 in the second game of the DH on April 25th…a Wednesday. You can argue that it was a make-up from Monday, but they did play it and lose on Wednesday.
Few Random thoughts:
Gotta like the lineup fielded last night. Nothing wrong with having a guy like Pacheco hitting 8th. Unfortunately, we may have to wait a few says to see that lineup again with Tulo being out.
I like the pitching matchups for the weekend series with the Dodgers. We miss Kershaw and Billingsley. So if Guthrie shows up tonight and does his job, it will be interesting to see how things look at the end of the weekend.
Tyler Matzek had his best outing as a pro last night with Modesto. His pitching line-
8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 Ks. That’s three consecutive solid outings from him. Has the light finally come on for this kid? If so, the Rox may have something special.
And Ted Lilly is on the DL. YAY!!!!!!
Cisco, thanks for tracking Matzek and some of the other prospects. That is promising. Do you think they’ll move him up to Tulsa, or will they let him try to put in a full year at hi A? Not sure what the best approach would be.
Matsek has had some control issues along the way too, so I expect to see him finish 2012 at A+ Modesto being promoted to AA Tulsa in 2013. He is still really young, so the Rockies won’t push the envelope with this one. The really great news is that he is still almost unhittable with a very high starting pitcher ceiling!
Thanks again jaredean for all you do on this site. And Rox Addict: great top of the story photo. Cargo’s swing is one of the reasons I love watching the game of baseball. His effortless power is a thing of beauty you only see from the very best at their sport. Cargo reminds me of Griffey Jr. in his prime.
Great comparison to Griffey Jr.
Seriously, I keep asking myself, why are all the prettiest swings lefties?
There aren’t many right handed swings that equal. Them. Maybe Manny Ramirez in his prime.
There are a ton of RH power hitters, but their swings are not absolute perfection like these.
Can you guys name some “pretty” RH swings that I may be missing?
Youkilis
I’ve often wondered the same thing. The Uptons are the only ones coming immediately to mind with that lithe power you see mostly in lefties. Manny Ramirez in his prime is a good example.
Mike Schmidt had a great swing where many balls left the bat looking like infield pop-ups and ended up in the outfield seats.
Its time for the quote that rings through my head EVERY year and is part of being a Rockies fan…once I write the team off, they start showing signs of life.
I’m like Michael Corleone…”Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in!”
yeah, me too. I had mostly sworn off the rocks until DOD is gone. But I enjoy the game too much….
Good report on Matzek. I’d probably keep him where he is for a while and let him gain some momentum. Tulsa seems to have a full rotation of Cabrera, Frazier, Schmidt, Houston, and Gardner, and Bettis will hopefully return at some point from whatever his injury is.
Typically, the Rox won’t move a prospect pitcher until after the All Star break. That would be a “trickle-up” type of strategy where someone from Tulsa goes up. And then, the DL would figure in for those moves.
I think Pooter broke the news (at least here) but Tulo is going on the DL and Nelson is coming off. But alas EY will not be playing 2nd. From what I heard it will be DJ Lemayhu (spelling way off).
I’ll keep watching but we’ve won 3 in a row at home against a lousy team. While I hope to jump back on the bandwagon but lets get to .500 first.
Against a lousy team??? Looking at our record, not sure we can say that about too many teams regardless of who we beat. Let’s enjoy the mini streak and go for the sweep!!
Go ROX
It’s a bummer to see Tulo go on the DL now that he has started to heat up. He’s a great shortstop, but he does end up on the DL every season. I wonder if later in his career he’ll end up playing 3B in order to lessen wear and tear on him.