Kuzul

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice.

The Colorado Rockies almost disproved that in the span of five days. 

After Tim Lincecum and the division rival San Francisco Giants took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning Monday night, Anibal Sanchez and the Florida Marlins did it again on Friday night, taking a no-no into the ninth inning before outfielder Dexter Fowler led off with a base hit to right field.

Not an easy week for the Rockies.

While this by no means is an excuse for the Rockies or their fans to hit the panic button, it’s not a good sign. 

While their defense and the bullpen continue to be strengths of this team, there is one big problem facing the Rockies—the team is severely lacking at the plate. It goes without saying that without a successful offense, winning a championship is nearly impossible. 

For the first time in 2011, the Rockies have lost four out of their past six games after winning seven straight. They still maintain a two-and-a-half game lead over the Giants, who began a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves on Friday. 

Manager Jim Tracy said in an interview with the Denver Post’s Jim Armstrong on Friday that he believes the key to success on the field lies in the players’ camaraderie off the field.

Just being on the road is no exception.

After a miserable 31-50 road record in 2010, the Rockies currently hold the best road record in baseball in 7-2. They will not, however, hold that record for long playing the way they did on Friday night. 

They still face challenges on Saturday and Sunday. Javier Vazquez and Josh Johnson will pitch the next two nights for the Marlins, respectively. They get a bit of a break when they travel to Chicago to face the Cubs for three, but playing at Wrigley in the cold is never easy. The Pittsburgh Pirates come to Denver for a three-game set and, if the Rockies can take care of business at home, they can send April out on a high note.

Before they can worry about Chicago and Pittsburgh though, or any hopes of a solid finish to April, they had to get past Sanchez.

Easier said than done. Sanchez was lights-out Friday night. That may the understatement of the year for the Rockies so far.

At one point Friday night, he sent down eight in a row before Todd Helton managed a walk in the seventh inning. The Rockies did have one offensive bright spot, however. Unfortunately, it came in the form of a Florida error.

Fowler led off the game with a walk and an advance to second base on a John Buck passed ball. Then on third, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki grounded to third, but an errant throw caused Marlins’ first baseman Gaby Sanchez to drop the ball. Fowler subsequently scored, giving the Rockies an early 1-0 lead. 

That lead, however, evaporated fast in the humid Florida night when Jhoulys Chacin gave up home runs to both Sanchez and outfielder Chris Coghlan. A dropped ball at the plate gave the Marlins their fourth run, on their way to an eventual 4-1 win. 

On Monday night, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez broke up Lincecum’s no-hit bid with an infield hit. The Rockies went on to add three more hits and one run en route to an 8-1 loss at home. 

Somehow, through this rough week, the Rockies are still tied with Cleveland for the Major League lead in wins. Their play the past week hasn’t backed that up at all. 

If Colorado wants to hold on to any hope of finding success in 2011, they absolutely must find a way to continue to put up the offensive numbers they’ve proven they can. If they can find their swing again, Friday night can be remembered as a fluke instead of a red flag. 

They can only keep playing with lightning so much before they get burned.

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Everyone has a bad day at the office.

Ian Stewart is no exception. 

The Rockies third baseman was optioned to AAA Colorado Springs on Tuesday in a move that was, unfortunately, a long time coming.

Rockies brass is steadfast in saying that this is not a demotion for Stewart. Instead, they encourage him to view it as an opportunity to improve. 

It’s no secret that Stewart has been struggling lately. In 26 at-bats so far this season, Stewart is hitting a paltry .077 (that’s just two hits for those of you doing the math at home) with just one stolen base. He doesn’t have any other offensive stats, other than he’s struck out 11 times. 

Ouch. 

If anyone embodies the work ethic that the Rockies promote, it’s Stewart. Things just haven’t clicked for him this season.

It doesn’t help that he missed nearly half of spring training with a knee injury. He and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez collided in the outfield in the Rockies’ first spring training game back on February 26th. After examination, trainers confirmed he had sprained his right knee. 

He didn’t see the field again until late March. 

That cost Stewart a lot of at-bats. The lack of playing time in Arizona showed from the very beginning. Stewart, who homered on Opening Day last year in Milwaukee and was one of the Rockies keys to a successful 2010, barely made the Opening Day roster this year. 

Nearly three weeks after the Rockies opened the season, Stewart has just two hits.

Something had to give, and it finally did on Tuesday.

Manager Jim Tracy noted that he wanted Stewart to play in Colorado Springs for anywhere between two weeks to a month, to make up for the time lost during spring training. The hope is that Stewart will get his swing back against Triple-A pitching, have time to work on his mechanics and solve problems with his timing that have doomed his batting average this year. 

The Rockies won’t make another roster move until Thursday at the earliest, one day before they travel to Sun Life Stadium in Miami to face the Florida Marlins. The most likely move will be an infielder, such as Chris Nelson, Eric Young Jr. or Willy Taveras. Outfielders Cole Garner or Charlie Blackmon could also fill the spot come Thursday.

Pitcher Clayton Mortenson, who worked five scoreless innings of two-hit baseball in relief of Esmil Rogers against the San Francisco Giants on Monday, will remain with the team until then, though he is not available to pitch Tuesday night. 

The Rockies want Stewart back as soon as possible. 

Simply put, the team is better defensively with Stewart in the lineup. His glove is the best at third base the Rockies have seen since Vinny Castilla, a member of the famed Blake Street Bombers. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t “arrive” like he was supposed to last year until 2012. 

Why so long, you ask?

Look no further than catcher Chris Iannetta. 

Iannetta was having an offensive year similar to Stewart’s this year. He was sent down on April 29th, 2010 in an attempt to give him time to fix his mechanics. He did, and on May 25th, he was recalled. He played well throughout the rest of 2010, but because Miguel Olivo was swinging a better bat, he didn’t get a chance to shine.

Much the same could happen with Stewart. Because the Rockies have Ty Wigginton and Jose Lopez to spell him at third, it’s not unreasonable to think Stewart might not show his growth at the plate until the start of next season. 

The key with Stewart is patience. As long as he’s in a place where he can get constant at-bats, fix his timing and adjust his mechanics, he can thrive. Playing with the Sky Sox in Colorado Springs will help him do just that.

A few years ago, Stewart was hailed as the Rockies third baseman of the future. 

It’s coming soon, but it seems the future is still a little ways away. 

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The Colorado Rockies will arrive at Coors Field today in a historically unusual position. 

Before their game on April 18th against the San Francisco Giants, the Rockies find themselves with a four-game lead on the Giants, who sit at second place in the NL West.

Last year on April 18th, the Rockies were fresh off Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, the first in their young history, but they sat two games back of San Francisco, eventual division champions and World Series title holders. 

This year, however, the Rockies can make a statement this week. They are arguably the best team in baseball with a major-league leading 12-3 record. The Giants sit at 8-7, just one game north of .500. 

The Rockies have been playing some of their best baseball ever recently, and if they can take at least two of three from the defending world champions, the Rockies can send a message to the rest of the baseball world:

“We’re for real and we’re here to stay.”

The Rockies will send Esmil Rogers to the hill today against Tim Lincecum, who some still argue is the best pitcher in the NL West. Tomorrow, fans can look forward to the much-anticipated return of Ubaldo Jimenez against Jonathan Sanchez, who is second in that power rotation for a reason. Wednesday, Jorge De La Rosa will face Matt Cain in what could be the best pitching matchup of the series.

This won’t be a walk in the park, though. 

The Giants will be the first team the Rockies face in 2011 with a winning record. While it may not be a great record, it’s better than the combined 26-32 record of the previous four teams they’ve faced thus far. The Rockies haven’t lost a series all year, and they don’t want that to change. 

Division matchups have been another weak point for the Rockies for years now. They’re already 4-1 in the NL West, and have a chance to put themselves in even better position with this three-game series.

Currently, the Rockies hold the largest division lead in baseball at four games. If they can win this series and extend that lead, the Rockies have a chance to send a very powerful message throughout the Major Leagues. 

That message?

It’s very hard to move mountains. 

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Another day, another one-run road win.

What was the Achilles’ heel of the Colorado Rockies in 2010 has turned into one of their biggest strengths thus far in 2011. 

The Rockies swept the New York Mets on Thursday, taking both games of the doubleheader 6-5 and 9-4. This marks the first time the Rockies have swept the Mets since 1994, and just their third series win ever against the Mets in New York.

The big story coming out of Queens is Troy Tulowitzki. 

Who else?

Watching Tulowitzki so far this April has been like watching a video game. Over the four-game series, he went a combined 10-16 with 9 RBI. Oh yeah, he also hit home runs in each of the four games. 

The Mets as a team have five home runs at Citi Field this season.

He also became the first player in Major League history to hit home runs in each of a four-game series against the Mets.  

The MVP favorite has followed up his record-setting September 2010 with an April 2011 that has potential to set records. Going back the last six weeks of regular season play, Tulowitzki has 22 home runs and 54 RBI. 

It doesn’t matter who you root for, that’s unreal. 

Tulowitzki needs four more home runs to tie Larry Walker’s record of 11 in the first month of the season. 

The Rockies return home to Coors Field at 10-2 record, the best record in Major League Baseball. They lead the NL West by four games over the Dodgers and the Giants.

If the other teams in the NL West aren’t careful, the Rockies could be 25-5 before you know it.

The Rockies are a major league best 7-1 on the road, and 4-2 in one-run games—also good enough for best in the big leagues.

The starting pitchers are also 9-0 so far this season. Best pitching staff in baseball? Decide for yourself, but the Rockies make a convincing case.  

This weekend, the Rockies return home to face the 6-6 Chicago Cubs for three and the 6-6 San Francisco Giants for three. If they keep this level of play up, they could be 16-2 next time they hit the road. With the way they’ve been playing, teams welcoming in the Rockies need to be very careful.

With trips to Miami to face the Marlins, to Wrigley to face the Cubs and a three-game set with the Pirates in Denver, the Rockies could nearly eclipse the 25-win mark before the calendar hits May.

Not something to put money on, but if you’ve followed this team for any amount of time, you know it’s possible. 

Watch out for this team. Being the first team to 10 wins is only the beginning for the 2011 Rockies. 

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Move over, AL East. Major League Baseball has a new premier division. 

It’s true the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays may get the bulk of the national media attention, but talent-wise, the NL West is better than the AL East so far in 2011. 

It’s not like the NL West has the defending World Champions or anything. Except they do.

Much to the chagrin of Giants fans everywhere, the defending champs are 3.5 games back in their own division. 

Not the best way to repeat your world championship.

It’s not all the Giants’ fault, though. The NL West will once again challenge the AL East for the title of “Toughest Division in Baseball,” and this year, they could easily win that title. Any team could come out of the NL West. There’s a changing of the guard this year.  

Look at this objectively.

This division is talented all the way through, from top to bottom. As of April 11, the NL West standings are as follows:

Colorado Rockies: 7-2
Los Angeles Dodgers: 6-4, 1.5 games back
San Diego Padres: 4-5, 3 games back
Arizona Diamondbacks: 4-5, 3 games back 
San Francisco Giants: 4-6, 3.5 games back

The Rockies have been red-hot so far, off to their best start in franchise history.

Troy Tulowitzki, if he stays healthy, is the odds-on favorite to bring home the NL MVP award, Carlos Gonzalez looks to have another sensational season, and Ubaldo Jimenez, should he return to form after his return from the disabled list, will rejoin a rotation that could set pitching record after pitching record for the Rockies. 

The Dodgers need to get this season off the ground before it’s too late, but if they do, watch out.

Matt Kemp could very well throw his name in the ring for NL MVP, Andre Ethier and James Loney look primed for solid seasons on the plate, and either could easily make the NL All-Star team come July. Clayton Kershaw has the potential to be the Dodgers’ best southpaw since Sandy Koufax, and could be untouchable on the mound. 

The Padres will have a tough time recovering from the loss of Adrian Gonzalez, but could still be competitive in the division.

Mat Latos will dominate on the hill, and Heath Bell could be one of the best relievers in baseball. The Padres have always played the NL West tough, and that shouldn’t change, even with the loss of Gonzalez.

The Diamondbacks, while still a few years away from contending, are building up a nice core in Phoenix.

If manager Kirk Gibson can help his young players develop into stars, and if the team can hold on to players like Kelly Johnson to build up a veteran leadership, they shouldn’t be slept on.

The Giants are just off to a rough start.

While an outfield consisting of Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and Aaron Rowand may have their defensive issues, they’re still among the best in the National League.

Obviously, they have a ring to back it up. Plus, anyone who has Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey on their roster is going to be very tough to beat. They’re too good to disappoint. They may not win another World Series this year, but they’ll be among the best in baseball again this year. 

By no means will this division be won by the All-Star Break. Make no mistake, this race will go down to the very last day of the regular season. Granted, the Rockies are in first place now, but that may not hold true for the rest of the year.

One of two things will happen: Either one team will take hold of first place and hold onto it for much of the year (See the 2010 Padres), or the race will come down to the final few series of the year (See the 2009 Rockies and Dodgers). 

Many experts will say the latter will ring true. 

Though they may sit in last place right now, the Giants will eventually get their act together and will once again be very tough to beat.

The Rockies and the Giants meet for a three-game set in San Francisco to close out the regular season, and there’s a better than average chance that series turns more or less into the NL West Championship Series. 

You couldn’t script a better ending to what is shaping up to be a season for the ages. 

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On a cold and rainy night in Pittsburgh, the Pirates downed the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in 15 innings. 

Yes, Franklin Morales gave up a walk-off RBI double to José Tabata. Though it may be harsh, let’s face facts. They’re still the Pirates. (Don’t worry, Pirates fans. You get kudos later—keep reading.)

The same Pirates who haven’t had a winning season in almost two decades. Manny Ramirez wasn’t even playing in the majors the last time they rose above .500.

Yet for some reason, the Rockies had trouble Friday night.

Some may see this as a red flag for the team in 2011. While it does raise a few questions, there are certain things that must be remembered. 

One, the Pirates are better than you think.

While they won’t contend for an NL Central title anytime soon, Clint Hurdle has these Pirates on the upswing. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is among the best young players in the majors, and while the pitching isn’t great, it’s definitely solid.

Just look at their track record this year—they took two of three from division rival Chicago at Wrigley, and two of three from the hated Cardinals in St. Louis. Both those stadiums aren’t easy to win in if you’re not the home team.

Good news for the Pirates faithful in Pittsburgh—they’re only half a game back in a tough division, and if they keep playing like this, they could join Baltimore and Cleveland (Charlie Sheen must be so proud) among the surprise division leaders. 

The could very well break their streak of shame this year and actually finish north of .500.

Told you I’d give you props, Buccos. 

The Rockies simply had an off-night.

Jorge De La Rosa was good, though he wasn’t spectacular. He went five innings, giving up only two hits and two runs. He did walk three, but that’s not a bad sign. His ERA is still south of two, so give him another chance, Rockies fans.

Everyone has a bad day at the office.

What may be more of a worry is the fact that outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, catcher Chris Iannetta and outfielder Seth Smith went a combined 0-for-20. Those kind of games easily kills a batting average.

Poor offense is what led to tonight, and if they can pick up and move on from tonight, this should be a non-issue.

This storm cloud has a silver lining, though. The bullpen looked very strong having to work 8.2 innings. 

Lindstrom, Reynolds, Paulino, Betancourt and Street pitched well, only giving up four hits scattered over seven innings. That’s not bad at all. 

One bad night doesn’t kill a season. What the Rockies must do is simple. They must forget what happened tonight. It never happened.

The offense absolutely has to learn the lessons they take away from this loss, apply them to tomorrow and move on. That’s the beauty of this game—one bad night doesn’t kill your season.

Unless you’re Charlie Sheen. 

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There were a few concerns for the Colorado Rockies, the team that many experts picked as the favorite to unseat the defending world champion and division rival San Francisco Giants.

One week into the 2011 season, those expectations don’t seem too out of reach. 

With all the positives that this season could potentially bring, there are, of course, some things the team still needs to work on.

The Rockies have one of the league’s best records in 4-1 and that is a good representative of how they’ve performed this past week. Rockies fans were quick to find the panic button after Ubaldo Jimenez’s less-than-stellar outing on Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He suffered through six hard innings, giving up six runs on seven hits while striking out one and walking one.

Rocktober dreams seemed to dim before they even started. 

The Rotation is Successful All the Way Through

Coming into the season, the pitching rotation was one of the major concerns the national media and Rockies fans had. One cycle through the rotation, those worries have turned into high expectations. 

Jorge De La Rosa had a brilliant outing and looks to continue the dominance he had last season, Jhoulys Chacin could be as good as Jimenez, Jason Hammel looks to continue the success he found in 2010, and Esmil Rogers surprised many with his gem Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Pitching has never been a strong point for Colorado since their inception in 1993. If Jimenez can return to form after his stint on the disabled list, this rotation has the chance to be the best the Rockies have ever seen, bar none. 

The Bottom Third of the Lineup is Producing

Another concern that Rockies brass had was how well players like Chris Iannetta, Ian Stewart and Seth Smith could hit. All three had a disappointing year at the plate last season and many say that the success of the Rockies’ offense hinges on the success of these three at the plate.

Stewart is still looking for his first hit of the year, and while he hasn’t been benched, he has seen decreased time at the plate while the Rockies have opted to go with infielder Ty Wigginton, especially against left-handed pitchers.

Smith is currently hitting .412, as of Friday before the Rockies’ matchup with the Pirates. He has responded well to increased pressure to perform offensively. He hit left-handers well in spring training, which was something the Rockies’ coaches wanted him to improve upon. 

Iannetta is the biggest success story coming out of spring training. He is currently hitting .313 with one home run and two RBIs so far in 2011. He has embraced the catcher’s role, instead of babysitting it for someone else like last season. Chris Iannetta, if he keeps hitting like he’s proven he can, could be the key to the bottom third of the Rockies’ lineup. 

Tulowitzki is Off to a Good Start

The odds-on favorite for the National League MVP has never gotten off to a hot start in April. This April, Rockies fans thought that wouldn’t change. His 0-for-10 stretch to start off the season was not a good sign for the team, but he broke out against the Dodgers last week. Since April 5th, Tulowitzki is hitting .500 with three home runs, six RBIs, and one double. 

Since the two-game sweep of the Dodgers, Tulowitzki has been on fire. The question is whether or not he can keep up the offensive production. He can’t keep up the .500 pace he’s on now–no one is asking that of him. But for this to be considered a successful April, Tulowitzki will need to hit at least .270 before May rolls around.

All Signs Point to a Healthy Todd Helton

Mr. Rockie has been up and down the past two years. In 2009, he had a very successful year, hitting .325 with 15 home runs and 86 RBIs, finishing 13th in the NL MVP race. In 2010, however, he hit a paltry .256 with eight home runs and 37 batted in. 

This offseason, he noted that a combination of healthier eating and P90X have made his ailing back feel young again. Thus far in 2011, it seems to have paid off. Through five games, Helton is hitting .294 with one home run and four RBIs. He’ll be spelled at first base by both Ty Wigginton and Jason Giambi, but if he can keep up the pace like he did in 2009, a successful year for Helton might be the key to another postseason berth.

Can the Team Stay Healthy?

The Rockies’ biggest problem the past few years has been avoiding the injury bug. Entering his sixth year in the bigs, Troy Tulowitzki has only played in 150 games twice. Todd Helton needs to regain his 2009 form, instead of what he looked like last year.

The pitching rotation, once Jimenez returns, needs to stay healthy and dominant. A strong bullpen can help alleviate some of the pressure on the rotation, but there needs to be a fine line between the two, instead of overusing one or the other. 

Barring any major injuries and a complete shutdown by the pitching staff, Colorado looks to be the team to beat in the NL West. Once they hit the playoffs, everyone knows that they’re capable of anything. If these five things ring true, Rocktober 2011 is all but in the bag. 

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The Colorado Rockies completed a two-game sweep of their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday afternoon to take a half-game lead in the NL West over the San Diego Padres.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run shot in the fourth and first baseman Todd Helton added a solo bomb to right field, driving in three combined runs. Tulowitzki now has two homers in as many nights, while Helton’s home run was his first of the year.

Left fielder Carlos Gonzalez added another two hits, including a double and an RBI. Chris Iannetta, Jose Lopez, and Ryan Spilborghs each added base hits of their own, while Seth Smith had a double. 

Jason Hammel recovered from shaky outings in the second and third innings to throw five quality innings, allowing the Dodgers to only four runs on five hits. Reliever Matt Lindstrom gave up one run in his inning of work, while Franklin Morales and Huston Street both pitched clean innings. Morales gave up one hit and Street gave up two, but kept any Dodger runs from crossing the plate.

The Rockies offense worked the count well against Billingsley, chasing him after four innings. Billingsley ended up taking the loss, while Hammel earned the win, and Street took the save. 

While the Rockies earned their first series win and sweep of the 2011 season, the day didn’t come without bad news. 

Ace Ubaldo Jimenez was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Rockies, to aid in the recovery of his ailing thumb.

He will miss his scheduled starts against the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets during the Rockies upcoming road trip. 

In a pregame interview with the Denver Post‘s Troy Renck, Ubaldo noted that while missing time is tough, this is the right decision. 

“It’s never good to go on the DL, but I need to be able to help the team,” Jimenez said. “It’s getting better, but I still feel pain when I grip the ball.”

Jimenez has a cut on the cuticle of the thumb on his pitching hand, which is causing him to lose most of the command on his pitches.

Right-handed pitcher Greg Reynolds was called up from the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Rockies. He was scheduled to pitch the Sky Sox’s Opening Day matchup against Tucson, but will now pitch on April 9th against Pittsburgh. 

The Rockies will take on the Bucs in a four-game set before traveling to New York to face the Mets. First pitch for tomorrow’s Pirates home-opener is set for 11:35 am Mountain time. Esmil Rogers will take the hill for the Rockies and face Pirates’ starter Paul Maholm. 

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Mother Nature likes to play tricks on you, especially when you live in Colorado.

One day after the Colorado Rockies took the field to unseasonably high temperatures for Denver in April, they were forced to put their Opening Week series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on ice. Literally.

Freezing temperatures and driving snow and rain forced the Rockies to postpone their rubber match with the Diamondbacks on Sunday, sending many expecting a game home frustrated. 

In a way, this is a blessing for the Rockies.

Yes, they were scheduled for a day off Monday anyway, but with pitching ace Ubaldo Jimenez and No. 2 starter Jorge De La Rosa ailing, the Rockies welcomed an extra day before welcoming the Dodgers to 20th and Blake.

Jimenez has a cuticle cut on his right pitching index finger, which messed with his control on his usually-filthy fastball on Friday.

The Diamondbacks took advantage of that, lighting him up for two home runs and chasing him down 6-3.

De La Rosa threw 5.3 sharp innings Sunday before leaving with a blood blister on his right throwing finger. 

Head trainer Keith Dugger attended to both, and while he is optimistic they will make their next scheduled starts in Pittsburgh, he won’t be afraid of holding them back for a start if they’re not completely healthy.

Divisional Battle

The Rockies are preparing for yet another NL West rival when the Dodgers come calling for a quick two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday.

Second-year sensation Jhoulys Chacin takes the hill for the Rockies Tuesday against Dodger lefty ace Clayton Kershaw while Jason Hammel, who enjoyed a nice upswing in 2010, takes the ball for Colorado against Chad Billingsley.

The Rockies have had trouble against the Dodgers of late, going 7-11 against them last year. To continue the hot start the Rockies wanted coming out of spring training, they will have to play well against Los Angeles. 

First pitch for Tuesday night’s game is set for 6:40 p.m. Mountain time, while the Wednesday afternoon affair is set to begin at 1:10 p.m. Mountain time.

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