The Rockies went 3-3, splitting a two game series with the Giants at home and a four game series with the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The game that stuck out was the heartbreaking extra inning loss to the Pirates when Huston Street surrendered a 3-run walk-off blast to Pedro Alvarez. Read Troy Renck's recap of the game here.
What went right:
1. Carlos Gonzalez will make a strong push for back-to-back NL Player of the Week honors. He batted .423 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI's. He currently sits as the National League leader in batting average and has surged into the conversation for MVP.
2. Troy Tulowitzki continued his success since returning from the disabled list, going 9-17 with 4 RBI's in the Pittsburgh series. He and CarGo make for a formidable 3-4 combo in the middle of the order, and the two need to continue producing in bunches if the Rocks are to make a run. Also, his mullet is in fine form and was on display last month in Colorado Springs.
3. Todd Helton. So far so good. First of all, it is great to have his glove at first once again. At least to the fan's eye, his swing does not look nearly as helpless and he is clogging up the bases in front of the boppers (we'll call that a good thing, for now). His home run Saturday night felt like another "don't bury us yet" moment, circa Rocktober 2007. Sadly, it got away...
What went wrong:
1. Continued inconsistent starting pitching left the team in holes in the opener of the Giants series when Aaron Cook was chased after just 3 innings and in the opening game of the Pirates series when Jeff Francis couldn't get through 6 innings and allowed 5 runs. Jorge De La Rosa could not get out of his own way on Saturday, losing command in the 5th inning, throwing well over 100 pitches and ultimately giving up an authoritative home run to Chris Snyder. Cook's continued inability to get outs forced Jim Tracy to pull him from the rotation and he landed on the disabled list (Jim Armstrong - 'All Things Rockies').
2. Huston Street. He ended last week by giving up 3 runs to the Cubs in what should have been mop-up duty. That outing could have ended in true disaster had Dexter Fowler not made a catch leaping into the wall to rob Alfonso Soriano. Street then gave up the gut wrenching home run to Alavarez on Saturday. Even with a converted save Friday night, he is leaving everything up in the zone and his pitch selection has left many baffled. Renck tweeted, "My concern with Street is that it seems that he has lost confidence in his fastball at times. You can't be on a changeup to Alavarez. He shook off FB (fastball)." In a snarky moment, Tracy Ringolsby said, "Your closer thinks he's Trevor Hoffman and throws a change-up, and it costs you a game."
3. Miguel Olivo. He is slumping badly, including a stretch this week where he struck out in 7 of 8 at-bats. His inability to smother a Joe Beimel 3rd strike also cost the team a run in Saturday's game.
What's next:
3 game series at the nose-diving New York Mets, followed by 3 at home with the Brewers. Both teams are beatable, and the weekend series with the Brew Crew is especially important because the Giants and Padres will be playing each other. It would take a lot of the pressure off if they beat the Mets Tuesday and Wednesday, as Johan Santana will go in Thursday's matinee.
Divison update:
San Diego Padres - they split a 4 game series with the Dodgers and dropped 2 out of 3 games at the Diamondbacks. This week they host the Pirates for 3 games and then travel to San Francisco for a 3 game weekend series.
San Francisco - the Gigantes split 2 games with the Rox, then dropped 3 out of 4 to Atlanta. This week they'll enjoy a 7 game homestand, hosting the Cubs for 4 games and then the Fathers over the weekend.
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem like a sinking ship - sadly for Rockies fans, they are in about the same place in the standings. They enter the week 7 back of the Padres and 5 back of the Giants. This week they have a brutal east coast swing, playing at the Phillies and then at the Braves.
The Rocks sit 6.5 back of the Padres and 4.5 back of the Giants in the wild card.
Other thoughts...
...The Rockies continued an annoying trend in Colorado sports - losing to bad teams. Anybody else remember the Nuggets going 1-3 against the Sacramento Kings and scratching and clawing against the likes of the Timberwolves and Grizzlies? How about the Broncos needing to beat the lowly Chiefs at home to make the playoffs in week 17, only to give up nearly 300 yards rushing and lose? Besides losing the season series to the Pirates, the Rockies dropped home series to the Astros and Diamondbacks earlier this year.
...No disrespect to Melvin Mora, but Ian Stewart brings too much pop to be a platoon player. He is streaky, and his seemingly endless strings of strike-outs can be maddening, but it is still enticing to think what he could bring if he had a chance to play every day and become more consistent. He is also a wiz defensively. If the Rockies are going to make one of their patented second half runs, Stewart has to be in the middle of things. Talking about Stewart's tying 3-run home run, Ringolsby said he "has the most raw power on the team."
...When Mora does play, can he please, please, please not bat 5th? He is a great veteran who grinds out at-bats, but he does not produce nearly enough to justify batting in the middle of the order. Jim Tracy deserves the benefit of the doubt, but here's hoping Mora is batting 7th next time he starts.
...What's up with Torii Hunter? He is always said to be a universally liked player, as well as a class act and a fixture on the "all-interview team," but he has found himself in a surprising amount of controversy this year. In the Spring, he made an edgy comment about Latin players being willing to play for a "bag of chips," and his eruption this week cost him a 4 game suspension.
...Everybody please plan ahead accordingly. Friday night is 'Mustache Night' at Coors Field, sponsored by Jason Giambi and Ryan Spilborghs. There is going to be professional facial salad on display.
The week's links:
Must read on Rockies trio of stars: http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_15706882
