Sunday was supposed to be a day of celebration.  The Rockies star player, Carlos Gonzalez, was selected to not only play in the All-Star game, but to show off his incredible power in the Home Run Derby.  Not to mention the return of Pomeranz to the team, bringing with him his new arm angle and can-do attitude.

So, why did the game feel more like a funeral than a celebration?  Other than the obvious, getting shutout by the 2nd worst team in the MLB at home in front of your near capacity crowd, by Kip Wells.

REASON #1: Carlos Gonzalez, on HIS day of celebration, was relegated to warming the bench instead of in the lineup to greet the 31,829 in attendance.

REASON #2: For all of the talk about pitching being the reason why this team hasn’t performed well, when finally given pitching worthy of a wining team, they couldn’t muster up enough runs to get the win, let alone avoid a shutout.  Drew Pomeranz, in his first game back after being sent down to work on some mechanical issues, showed why he should be the ace of this team for now and in the future.  Going six innings on 80 pitches while only giving up two hits and no earned runs, Pomeranz was saddled with the loss thanks to the team treating Kip Wells like he was untouchable.  The same Kip Wells that owns a 8.13 ERA at Coors.  The same Kip Wells that allows the opposition to hit .336 at Coors.  Yeah, that Kip Wells.  Mr. 15 game pitcher for the Rockies was able to shutout this powerhouse of a team.

REASON #3: A Sunday lineup that included Herrera at short (0-3 on the day), instead of playing Nelson, who is hitting .351 over the last 15 games.  Also the whole Gonzalez sitting thing.

REASON #5: Jim Tracy’s stubbornness when it comes to playing small ball.

REASON #6: Jim Tracy not letting CarGo hit in the 8th with Dex on first, but waiting until the 9th, and the still not letting him at least go in and get a swing on HIS day.

Amazingly, even after dropping two games to the 2nd wost team in the MLB, the Rockies still find themselves in 4th place in the NL West.  With the Rockies and the Padres battling it out for last place perhaps that should be the race everyone gets excited over.  Who can play poorly enough to find themselves holding the booby prize at the end of the night.

The way the team played this series there is no doubt the Rockies are serious about winning that one.