STREAK UPDATE: Rays in town, going for win #

As long as the goddam rain stays away tonight. I live in Denver, this shit is getting old, and I'm about to get soaked going to the bus stop.

The Good Lord Would Never Ruin the Best Winning Streak of My Life!!!

Not even severe thunder storms and tornado threats can derail the red-hot Rocks. Sort of losing track of how many wins in a row this is, but I want to say we're up to 11. This matches the win streak at the end of the '07 season. The Rays come to town next sporting a pretty decent 5-game winning streak themselves. Something has to give Tuesday night, but considering our dominance over the AL in interleague play, I like our chances. It's Guys Night Out, so let's make it a dozen in a row fellas.

On a down note, Taylor Buchholz had Tommy John surgery and is out for the year. Maybe not a huge deal, but still would've been nice to get him back in the bullpen at some point in the year. Lame.

I can't count this high....

Make That 8!!

Didn't see (not that it was on tv) or listen to today's game, so I feel kind of unqualified to say anything about the game. However, the previous post is already out of date, so something had to be done. I guess the one-run nature of the win was due to some shaky bullpen pitching in the bottom of the 9th, but H-Street wanted a save and they had to cough up a few runs to make it a save situation.

So, after losing the first three games, the Rocks end the roadie 8-3. Mind-blowing really. Will be really interesting to see how this team responds now at home. To borrow more 7-Seconds references, Regress No Way!!

Make it 6?

Who are these guys, and what have they done with the '09 Rockies?

4 In A Row?!?!

Really, what the hell is going on with this club all of the sudden? After starting the road trip by dropping 3 in a row in Houston (two in spectacular bed-shitting fashion), suddenly the bats come alive and we get four quality starts in a row from J-Hamm, DLR, Cookie, and the latest gem courtesy of Ubaldo the Magnificent. Could the Rocks be on the threshold of their first series sweep of the season? They would already have it if this were the normal 3-game series, but tomorrow's matinee game with the Cards will force the Rocks to work a little harder for it. Let's hope Marq-Dog can get win 8 of the year and that the bats remain hot as they pack their bags for the Beer City, where you know there will be plenty of scoring from the home team.

Wha?!?! Rockies victimize opponent's bullpen? DLR in line for win? Stu-bag AVG. over .200? Am I in some kind of fantastic parallel universe?

Props to the newest lil' Rockies fan, Elle B. Your sister and cousin are flat-out Real Rockies.

Not really sure how to process the opportunistic Rockies offense. I'm sure I'll not be forced to try again any time soon. Prove me wrong you idiots. Let's see if we can hold a 9 run lead. I'm still a little worried, even with Grilli safely away from the bullpen. and DLR having a little meltdown here in the 7th. Holy shit, I sincerely hope that cushion is big enough.

Yep, There's Another Weak Pop Fly

The season continues on its nosedive trajectory for the Rocks, as does the hitting reputation of one G-Pup. The dude is a straight up liability in the batting order right now. Even though he is behind Stew Bag in the race for shittiest batting average for a Rockies' third baseman, at least the aforementioned S-Bag hits an occasional HR. While most of these might be of the meaningless end-of-game solo shot variety, tonight's 3-run dong was not in that category. (Side note: That was the Rocks' first, yes FIRST, 3-run HR of the season. That should tell you something about the makeup of many of the HRs that appear on the stat sheet totals for this club.) G-Pup, on the other hand, was the master of the rally-killing soft pop-fly tonight (and much of the season). Not only that, but Brad Hawpe's bat was put on ice after starting out 2-2 because the 'Stros woke up and decided there was no sense in ever pitching to Hawper, when an easy out awaited next in the lineup. Who would've thought G-Pup would be Choice A for a pitcher to face in crunch time.

Look, I want the guy to start mashing, and history suggests that this will happen at some point, but he needs to start producing at the plate soon or we'd be better served with Q in the field at 3B and at the plate(!). The dude isn't even getting good barrel on the ball. The way he's going now, he ain't helping his trade value, or the team pick up a rare win. (Last Sat night excluded. But Tony Gwen Jr. can't be in CF every night.)

In the meantime, the Rockies go to something like 3- 28 lifetime at Minute Made Park and draw closer toward the Nats for the worst record in the league. As DT points out, this team is a joke. But tonight, my angst is directed squarely at G-Pup.

Batting skills remain lacking

"The bats will come around."

I believe I've heard that line of BS more times than I'm apt to like.

Tonight, Spilly and Tulo go oh-fer.

Spilborgh's recent run of shittiness has allowed Barmes to suddenly have a better batting average. ouch.

Cook has a fairly decent outing, not befitting a number one starter, but what should we expect? The Rockies don't have a number one starter...haven't legitimately for years. No offense, Cookie....cheap ownership forced that "job title" on you.

A farewell to Hurdle

A somewhat sad farewell to a man who was the coach of our rockies for seven years. But the Monforts certainly had to do something to shake things up, as I imagine they might be noticing a drop in attendance as this season has progressed. The team just has not been getting it done from 2008 up to now. As a fan of the Rockies I say, it's about fucking time. I imagine the infamous '07 run bought him a little time, but the team has been complete garbages since then. I'll admit he's not the one going out there and leaving runners on base and giving up 6-runs in the 7th inning. But he does make the decisions like having Tulo bat 2nd; sticking with pitchers when it's clear they're struggling; and pulling pitchers that are doing well just because of the right on right crap. To quote another fan of the Rockies "He just has no feel for the game" [GE Buenning (before the infamous late season run), 2007]. That said, I think the major issue is cheap owners who can't afford their own farm players to be TOO successful (which obviously was the case with Holiday). Nor can these owners afford to bring in real talented veterans when you know they must have made a little extra money with the '07 success (what about Kip Wells?). Anyway, those are some obvious points that I'm sure we're all thinking.

For us at the BSB, we wish Hurdle all the best and hopefully there is more barrel for him on the horizon. But I guess will have to find someone else to rip on at this site.

Floating Tracy head soon to come.

How about now?

Why Must Everybody Suck?!?!

Could've been a second straight Friday night come-from-behind victory for the Rocks, but, you, know, the Rocks find ways to do the little things to lose games. I can think of a few:

1) Fowler getting thrown out at home plate.
2) Wild pitch from Ubaldo that leads to an extra run for the Tigers.
3) Having runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and only scoring run.
4) I-Dog flat sucking at the plate.
5) Allowing a seemingly meaningless run in the bottom of the 8th that turns out to be the difference.
6) G-Dog flat sucking at the plate.
7) FowlDog striking out with a chance to tie up the game in the top of the 9th after Super Seth's clutch 2-run bomb.
etc.etc.etc.etc.

WHY MUST EVERYBODY SUCK!?!?!

Yeah, I still have a job...

Rockies bullpen gives up 10 runs? In one inning?

Well David...your worries seem pretty justified at this point, if they didn't already when you first made your concern's public.
The Rockies just lost ANOTHER series, this time to the Pirates. What a sad laugh.
What to do? Does this team really just flat out suck? They tend to fail regularly enough in every phase of the game to think that just might be the case.
Fire Hurdle? Why the hell not at this point? He's still riding the good will of Joketober '07, which let's face it, had little, to nothing to do with him in the end. It was a fabulous convergence of good luck and great play on the field that produced that magical stretch. Anyways, canning Hurdle might at least shake shit up in a season that is headed to the shitter in a hurry.
Besides that inconceivable 2nd place finish/wildcard '07, he and his team's performance have only run the gamut of mediocre to subpar during his tenure. Very few extended times that suggested a successful direction....
AARRRGGH. Does this franchise even want fans??? There are times where I'm not sure that they deserve any.
(sorry for the retread of my crappy Bowie photo. the bullpen was to blame today and I didn't have time to try and find a photo of one of our shitty pitchers looking sad and remorseful for making assloads of money but sucking the very life out of their team...then I got off on a tangent.)

Pitching of this quality will drive folks to drink...

After a triumphant Guys (and one 4 year old girl) Night Out last night, (eleven run victories are pretty fun, ya know)....the pitching staff decides it was high time to stink up the place tonight. 24 hits allowed? Really?

All the good Marquis will that was established early is beginning to fade, and Glendon Rusch is consistently looking like shit.

I-Dog with a classic meaningless granny in the bottom of the 9th, to boot.

Help me Denver Nuggets, you're my only hope.

The Kings of the 1-Run Victories

I'll admit I'm scraping egg off my face after the Rocks prove this afternoon they can win a game decided by one run. After squandering chances to add a little insurance late in the game thanks to some unclutch at bats and general non-execution by the offense (sound familiar?), the bullpen comes through (sound unfamiliar?) to preserve a win and avoid a sweep at home. Still a mighty lame weekend series with the Rocks' expansion brethren, and concerns about offensive consistency are suddenly larger than the pitching (really?). But, maybe winning a close game will propel a modest winning streak. Since most of the BSB contingency will be at Coors Tues night, is a two-game winning streak too much to ask?

Oh yeah, sounds like Tulo might have aggravated his quad injury from a year ago. A week ago this might have been good news, but the guy has suddenly been swinging the bat a little better. Would kind of like to see him at least have the chance build on that.

Now do that again

I must say I do like 11-1 wins, but there's something a little disturbing about it when you lossed 1-2 the night before. As TD loves to point out we're 0-8 in 1 run games, part of that is on the bullpen shitting the bed during games, and the other is for the lack of hitting (see DLR starts). So, would the local baseball team please put up runs like they did tonight, or least put up close to half of the runs. This 0-2 run game shit ain't going to cut-it, especially when your starter has a good outings. And I don't think I'm going out on a limb by predicting that Marq-dog is going to have a good outing tomorrow.

And finally, a message to Hurdle: feel free to put Tulo further down the lineup (not further up). That is all for now.

Recap of last few days

Quite a rarity happened last night in the Whale Vagina: a Rockie come from behind win. We're usually on the short end of the stick when it comes to a bullpen giving up multiple runs to lose the game. I-Dog's grand salami is just what this team needed (did she say that?). Also, a good start to the game as Tulo got an RBI double (also a rarity) that lead to a 2-run inning. Hopefully those two bates are now out of their slumps... hopefully. Also, a fine job by the bullpen for not giving those runs right back, a pattern that has already been too common for this '09squad (and something that '08 team loved doing).

As for the last few days:
Friday: decent start from Ubaldo, but just way too much LOB.
Saturday: game wasn't televised for some reason, which sucked because it sounded like a good one to watch (don't think the booth won't be bombarded with emails about this tonight).
Sunday: again way too much LOB; it's a reocurring theme that needs to end, and unwar Corpas (I hate to say it but he really sucks).

Tonight, I Wear My I-Dog Jersey (t-shirt)

We'll give the bullpen a little breather here and pay tribute to a certain catcher who has been struggling mightily at the plate. In light of the mini-meltdown Cookie had in the 7th (up 7-0, it's probably pretty easy to over relax) and the 'pen suffered in the 8th inning, I-Dog's two-run blast looks pretty nice in a 7-5 much-needed win today. Very nice to see Street lock down a 1-2-3 strike out the side 9th. That's what closers are supposed to do, from what I hear.

Watching a few moments of the replay of the game here tonight and it looks like there was a pretty good crowd on hand for a Wed afternoon. What, were they giving away Murton jersey t-shirts?

Great Job!

Our bullpen sucks.

Hi, Bullpen, It's Me Again

Just here to let you know, you stink, and I hate you!!

"The Fundamentals Of Our Baseball Team Are Strong"

Much like a John McCain campaign speech gaffe, the Rockies' motto coming into this season is becoming a cruel joke for all those with the stomach to watch. Stressing fundamentals in spring training has translated into inconsistent (at best) pitching, terrible situational hitting, and a multitude of perplexing errors. These are all characteristics of last season's team that was such a problem. Case in point, the Rockies have men on 2nd and 3rd in the fifth inning tonight with Hawper, Stew Bag, and Barmey due up. Two infield pop flies and a strike out later and you have nothing to show. Losers. Maybe they knew a two run home run was coming immediately in the next inning, which brings up another problem: the resistance to prosperity. Every time the Rocks scratch their way back into a game or take a lead, they seem all to eager to give it up as soon as possible. Watching this team is giving me ulcers at an alarming rate.

It's still early and having Frank-Dog suddenly exit the game during warm-ups in the third inning typifies the team's luck thus far, but all signs point to a long season and a failed campaign by the team's leader to keep his job much longer.

Swept Away

Miserable few days in the Ravine. A first game they should have won, and a couple more where they look like a downright shitty team.

Kind of going wrong all over the place.

Pitching looks horrendous pretty much down the line...this afternoon's batch were able to mark one scoreless inning on the card today. Whoo boy that Belisle is a keeper, huh?

At the plate, the copious strikeouts and runners LOB continue. Couple meaningless homers after the game was already lost is pretty classic Rockies too. Really clutch there I-dog. At least you got your second hit of the year!

The Rockies sure don't mind giving a fan a variety of losses. Heartwrenching bullpen meltdowns to lose a game they could have won. Or just flat-out getting their asses kicked and having a game out of reach by the 5th inning.

...a little afraid to head out to Coors next weekend when the Dodgers are in town. Things are starting to get ugly.

I Can't be Counted On.

No. Not the Meat Puppets song....but the refrain from a #1 starter's poorly digitally doctored visage on a Rockies blog.

"I'm back in the '09. Maddow and Bowie, take note (hell, maybe even alert Eno and Colbert). I'm just as prone to leave balls up in the zone and give up hits n' taters as any jackass in our bullpen. Why all the hate for those losers? You seen my ERA? Double digits, cocksuckers. I'll give you plenty of reason to pull your hair out and drink heavier than you should, and write derogatory blog posts.

What's that you say? I'm a sinker ball pitcher. Shit...forgot about that today, I'll write myself a note so I don't forget for my next start.

I now realize the Andre Ethier that went deep today, to totally fuck our chances, was the one who acutally plays Major League Baseball with the Dodgers, NOT the one who sings for the Deadly Snakes. Gonna have to pay attention to that next time I pitch against the Dodgers. Hopefully next time it's the Deadly Snakes guy, not the actual baseball player, that would make my job much easier.

Nice Work Bullpen

I was hoping not to have to show my mug around here, but it seems like someone is always looking for an encore performance. It's not even two weeks into the season and the bullpen can be squarely blamed for two losses (and a 4-5 record as opposed to a much nicer sounding 6-3). This time, your heroes are Matt Belisle (filling in for the '08 Herges?), Alan Embree (yes I hate Andre Either too, my man), and to some extent Grill-Dog (although the go-ahead run was scored on a very cheap-o hit, something that seems to be plaguing the Rocks in the early going).

Sure, some would point to an offense that did nothing after the first inning and squandered a great opportunity to at least tie the game back up in the 8th. But David Bowie and I are going to put this loss at the feet of the bullpen. You don't have to be perfect, but when you're given a three run lead, you should at least be able to hold it for an entire inning. Let's hope you get the chance to prove critics wrong this afternoon.

Troutdog Made Me Be Mean!

I'd like to apologize to the Das Boot family. I need to state that Troutdog had asked me to ruffle a few feathers before the season started because he thought that you guys were getting a little "soft". As an apology I have done some research and thought that this website may hold everything you need for a successful season. Good luck gentlemen.
Love,
30 Pack Thief

an almost choke job

Wouldn't have been nearly as bad as the choke job at Wrigley last year when we were up by like 50 runs, but that 9th inning was sketchy as hell. I got to believe there may be some closer controversey now with Street giving up runs in his last 3 appearances, and trying to rice up this one. I've got a feeling I won't be doing my heart health any favors by watching the Rockies in the 9th inning this year.

On a more positive note Marquis looked solid again, both on the mound and at the plate.

Back to 500? Nice ; like; get comfy.

The NL West team that fell to earth.

I guess it's safe to say that the drunken euphoria related to the home opener, and the Rox previously taking a series from the hated Snakes has subsided and has been replaced with....."yeah, this is about what I was expecting."

Multiple run leads dashed by poor late-inning pitching and "hot" bats that don't produce in the clutch to come from behind when they must.

I'm sure last Sunday I would have said that I'd have been satisfied with a 3-3 record after opening on the road in AZ and then facing the reigning World Series Champs at home. But we were 3-1 two days ago, and that seems like quite awhile ago already (this weekend has been a bit hazy, granted)...foolishly, I had become quite accustomed to having a .750 record.