Cargo's bat was a big factor in the two game sweep. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
I grew up the youngest of three boys. My brothers are four and five years older than me and they never let me win at anything. When I wasn’t taking physical beatings, I was receiving them on courts, fields, and video game consoles. I eventually caught up with my brothers, but not before they turned me into an over competitive idiot.
Lately, the Giants-Rockies rivalry has had the vibe of a big brother-little brother dynamic. Against the Giants, the Rockies always seem to find a way to lose. When they hit, they don’t pitch. When they pitch, they don’t hit. So far this season, the Giants have fended off the advances of Tulo and company by using the old school trick of a stiff arm to the forehead. That all changed today.
Over the last two days, the Rockies have recaptured the grind-it-out style of play that made them so successful in April. On Monday, they beat the great Tim Lincecum. Against the Giants’ ace they scored seven gritty runs in five plus innings. The highlight was when Cargo hit a three run bomb that landed in Roosevelt National Forest. Then, today, they hung in against a very effective Jonathan Sanchez for seven plus innings. Sanchez was dominant for most of the game, but couldn’t finish the job, finally succumbing to a relentless Rockies’ approach in the eighth.
The Rox are now back in first place, and, even though it’s still May, that is significant. After squandering a four game lead in just two weeks, a lot of teams would’ve failed to bounce back. What’s more, coming into this series, the Giants were one of the hottest teams in baseball. But, this time it was the Rockies that did the bullying. Hopefully, these last two wins will help them to exorcise their San Fran demons.
Tulo lands a punch. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
While this was a great start, this team still has its issues. Today’s game was probably the most important contest of the young season. It was an opportunity for the Rockies to fight back into first place. However, Tracy started an awful lineup. He spread the Rockies’ third base black hole over to first base by starting Ty Wigginton and Jose Lopez on the same day. I understand that Todd Helton needs an occasional day off, but Wiggy and Lopez should never be in the lineup together. That fact that they were signifies a problem with bench depth. Predictably, Wiggy and Jose went a combined 0-7. Luckily the rest of the lineup came through.
Obviously, the Rockies have a special core of players, but they’re still developing into a true contender and they need to deal with a few weak links. Ubaldo made a lot of progress today, but he’s not quite where he needs to be. Third base is a huge hole that needs to be filled. Also, there are a couple of relievers that they would probably be better off without. However, every team in baseball has their flaws. The Rockies are fortunate. Their problems can be overcome. I still like their chances.
Enjoy this one Rockies’ fans. The boys rose up against big brother and went into bully-mode. Watching the Giants leave Coors Field with their heads hanging low was a beautiful sight. Now they need to build off this success and take care of business against the vaunted Phillies.
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6 comments
Gail Burdine
May 18, 2011 at 10:16 AM (UTC -6)
Was it really that bad? Love you, Mom
Logan Burdine
May 18, 2011 at 10:21 AM (UTC -6)
It drove me into blogging.
Love you too!
T.O. Owens
May 18, 2011 at 12:24 PM (UTC -6)
is this a baseball blog or a lovefest
Logan Burdine
May 18, 2011 at 12:33 PM (UTC -6)
TO, that’s my mother, man! (He says as he cries behind his aviator sunshades)
Hey, I know you guys are locked out, but any idea where you’re playing next year?
To answer your question, I think there is a place for both on this blog.
Ken
May 18, 2011 at 12:50 PM (UTC -6)
Haha- I like the comment above!
My thought is that if the Rockies are not going to use Ian Stewart, they should let him feast on AAA pitching to up his value, and then try to cash in on him by the trade deadline (July 31st?) to plug holes in the bull pen. The alternative is that the Rockies give Ian a fair shot at 3rd. Jeff, in reply to “Trim the Fat,” explained that option very well, I thought. To add to Jeff’s comments, I was reminded this past weekend of how a player can turn the corner and get back on track with the performance of Brad Hawpe. Hawpe has a similar swing to Stewart, and the Rockies could very much use that swing in their lineup. Ian needs to learn to hit the inside pitch (or at least to fend off the inside pitch) and hopefully, he can sort that out in AAA.
As an aside, there seem to be several players that, for whatever reason, fall in to a troubling category with Rockies’ management. Chris Nelson, Ian Stewart, and Eric Young Jr. are the players that come to mind. None of these guys seem to have the confidence of Tracy (and possibly of O’Dowd). I wonder if Nelson is ever going to get a chance to be an everyday player with the Rockies? It seems to me that Nelson could step up and challenge Lopez for a position on the team right now. Last year, he had 25 at bats (low, I realize) and batted .308. This year with AAA Colorado Springs, he has 159 ABs and is batting .308. If not Nelson, then EY jr. EY is batting .373 with 134 ABs in the Spings. I favor Nelson over EY Jr. for the energy his brings: he is aggressive and when he gets on base, you never know what’s going to happen (recall the steal at home last year).
The point is, I would argue, that we have solutions in the organization right now. It seems like we should at least give these guys a fair shot to see if one of them can do better than Lopez and/or Wigginton.
Logan Burdine
May 18, 2011 at 1:11 PM (UTC -6)
Ken, I think EY deserves a shot. A 1.100 OPS is ridiculous even for the Springs. Also, I think he’s experience on the big league level, though slight, gives him an advantage over Nelson. I don’t get how Jose Lopez is a better option than either though.