Charlie Monfort interview…

For those who are interested, one half of the Monfort brothers, Rockies Chairman and CEO Charlie Monfort sits down with Vista TV for an interview. Click here.

Tracy and O’Dowd to get long term deals…

OK. So It’s been a little over a week since the Rockies were bounced from the playoffs. And honestly since that day I’ve taken a few days off from the blogosphere to catch up on some other things, like classes and work. So I’m back now and over the next few days and weeks I will recap the 2009 season and then go over what I believe will be the Rockies team of 2010 and maybe even go as far as looking into the future of the franchise. So I guess we can begin with the Rockies manager Jim Tracy and general manager Dan O’Dowd both will receive long term contracts in the coming days according to the Denver Post this morning. A move that I think we all can certainly agree with seeing happening. But first if I may pose a question. How long is long term? I ask this because I all like to see stability in a franchise, but sometimes or most of the time in the sportsworld the contracts offered to managers and GMs are unnecessarily too long. I would like to see the Rockies sign both O’Dowd and Tracy to 3 year deals, nothing more. Let them both prove they can continue to work together to produce and put winning teams on the field. It’s my opinion that contracts longer than that only tend to breed complacency within a team or franchise. Sort of like the phrase, “There’s always next year!” On the other hand too short of a deal can lead to a sense of desperation in rushing to get the job done and moves being made more out of haste than out of common sense and what’s best for the team. So to me three years sounds about the right length on contracts to be given in this case.

I can sit here and tell you that I really haven’t logged a whole of TV time to watching the playoffs since the Rockies exit last week. What little bit that I have seen I can say this. In the National League, the Phillies are unstoppable really. And though I can’t stand his corny Subway commercial with Jared, Ryan Howard is becoming this generation’s Mr. October for the Phillies. On the American League side of the ball, the Yankees and Angels can’t seem to play a game less than 4 hours in length. That just shows you how more evenly matched these two teams are compared to the Phillies and Dodgers series. The Yankees will eventually move on to the World Series in 7 games, but can they find it in them to beat the Phillies if they continue to play these long extra inning games?

NLDS Game 3, Phils @ Rox recap…

For as well as Jason Hammel started game 3 aside for a solo homerun to Chase Utley, Hammel did retire 9 of the first 10. But it all fell apart for him in the 4th inning with a 3-1 lead. Hammel not able to find the strike zone, loaded the bases. Then walking Raul Ibanez to allow the Phillies to tie the game at 3. A ground ball hit between third and short and poorly played by Atkins in my opinion, gave the Phillies the 4-3 lead, resulting in Hammel being removed in the 4th with 2 outs for Matt Belisle.

Carlos Gonzalez continues to be hot in the playoffs thus far. Gonzalez was 3 for 4 on the night with a homerun, 3 runs scored and a stolen base. Not to mention a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

A series of bad calls from behind the plate and struggles of Hammel, and Contreras didn’t do the Rockies any good. Huston Street as well struggled in the 9th. The series is not over and I don’t believe the Rockies are thinking that, though some fans may be. The Rockies know they let last night’s game get away from them and though the umpiring was it’s usual, below average in quality. The Rockies can only try to bounce back this afternoon with the game 4 matchup again of Cliff Lee and Ubaldo Jimenez as we saw in game 1.

Should it happen that the Rockies lose in the game this afternoon, we can take some comfort in that the Rockies are the only team in the first round of either division series to not be swept from the playoffs. It may not sound like much, but it has to account for something.

NLDS Preview, Rox vs Phils…

So we’re back where we were two years ago this time in having to face the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs and we all know how it turned out in ‘07. Now I don’t see the Rockies sweeping the Phillies this time around, especially at Citizen’s Bank Park and the Rockies coming into this series on a 2 game losing streak. And eventhough it was 2 months ago the Rockies lost 2 of 3 to the Phillies on the road. But like in 2007, stranger things have happened.

Not that Major League Baseball needs my approval on things, but I dont like the start times for these first two games in Philadelphia. And it seems that even the fans in Philadelphia dont care for the times either. Many fans are having to sell their tickets instead of not being able to attend the games themselves, due to the 2:37 afternoon start times as read here in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Why schedule the games when the majority of fans can’t make the sacrifice to skip work and attend or when the majority of the country aren’t able to gather at their favorite watering hole with friends and watch the game. Sure you can follow it online, but it seems to me that MLB is shooting themselves in the foot from a revenue standpoint by not having these games scheduled in the early evening hours.

The pitching matchup in the first game is going to be a good one. It’s hard to say which team the matchup favors, but part of me, says it favors the Rockies, mostly because I am a big fan of Jimenez. For the Rockies to win this series they need to produce on the offensive side. That means they not only need to hit, but they need to score runs. Any opportunity they can take to put runs on the board the better their chances. That’s going to mean being more aggressive on the bases, but not taking unnecessary chances and not getting away from playing their brand of baseball. The other thing the Rockies will need to do to win this series goes along with the hitting is they have to get to the Phillies bullpen first. Lidge has had his struggles towards the end of the season and so he may not be the first one out of the bullpen to come in for a save opportunity, not to mention injuries to the bullpen overall. 

The Phillies roster has been set according to the High Cheese blog from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rockies inch closer to Dodgers and NL West title…

A 10 strikeout performance by Ubaldo Jimenez through six innings and a 2 run homerun by Troy Tulowitzki in the 7th and the Rockies move to within 1 game of the Dodgers, who themselves have now lost 5 straight. Dodgers fans have to be wondering what else can go wrong with their team. First of all the Dodgers aren’t scoring runs. Sure the Dodgers scored 3 last night, but they’ve only scored 5 over the last 4 games. Compared to the 30 runs the Rockies have scored over their last 4 games. No one thought this division was going to come down to the final week, no less the final 2 days. On paper at least from a pitching standpoint the Rockies look to have the advantage tonight. If that is the case, then we can look to finally deciding the division crown on Sunday. But like the Rockies under Jim Tracy this season, let’s take it one game at a time and not get ahead of ourselves. Go Rockies!

Rockies roll into the playoffs…

The Rockies battered the Brewers yesterday to the tune of 9-2 and are officially in the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years. The Rockies are currently on a 3 game winning streak as they head into the final regular season series against the Dodgers who lead by only 2 games. So the Rockies have a lot to play for this weekend. Sweeping this series of course means the Rockies will win their first NL West title, but if you’ve followed this team for longer than the last 6 weeks of the season then you already know the Rockies do not play the Dodgers well, especially at Dodger Stadium. So here in lies the beginning of the worry that I have going into this series. But on the flipside the Dodgers are on a 4 game losing streak and if you’re wondering the Dodgers this season are 8-9 in games after having a day off.

Who woke up Garrett Atkins yesterday? Atkins went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and scoring a run despite still batting .226. Tulo was perfect with a 3 for 3 day and Barmes and Helton also had multi-hit games. I believe it’s safe to say that Aaron Cook is certainly back from injury and in midseason form after his 8 inning performance, allowing only 4 hits, a run and a walk. I really like the fact that Tracy gave Morales the ball to finish out the game in the 9th. Franklin Morales who certainly doesn’t lack any confidence in his abilities, will take that single inning yesterday into the upcoming playoffs with an even greater confidence to get the job done. The Rockies with Street and Morales both as closers have an advantage I think than most other teams going into the playoffs. The Rockies have Ubaldo Jimenez (14-12) going up against Randy Wolf (11-6).

 

** I really don’t read the Denver Post for obvious reasons and here are two more reasons why. First of all the front page headline reads, “ROCK-2-BER”, a terrible play on the word Rocktober. We all know it’s the second time around in recent years in the playoffs for the Rockies, but come one Denver Post, you couldn’t have come up with something better?! The second reason is that one the front page of the sports section they have the nerve to put the college football section and Colorado Buffs who lost (imagine that) to West Virginia and not have the Rockies as your number one story. Even Joe Sakic’s number being lifted to the rafters at the Pepsi Center last night ranks over the failing and pathetic CU Buffs. Who’s running the Denver Post really? (I’m getting off of my soapbox now).

Rockies win, magic # is 1…

It’s October 1st, the start to Rocktober 2009 can officially begin.

The Rockies pounding of the Brewers last night 10-6 and Atlanta’s loss to the Marlins 5-4 now has the Rockies magic number for the playoffs at 1. The math is simple, win today or an Atlanta loss means the Rox are in the playoffs. Still the Rockies have a slim shot at winning the division only 2 1/2 games back of the slumping Dodgers who have the day off today.

Last night’s win gave the Rockies their 3rd in a row and Jason Hammel his 10th win on the season. Helton, Gonzalez and Tulo all homered for the Rockies and the bullpen was near perfect on the night following Hammel. Torrealba continues to tear the cover off the baseball, going 3 for 4 last night with an RBI, a run scored and a .292 batting average.

Aaron Cook (10-6, 4.32) takes the mound this afternoon against Manny Parra (11-10, 6.16) for the Brewers.

** There’s a good article over at the Hardball Cooperative website by Thom Henninger on whether or not Jim Tracy’s success this season will carry over to the 2010 season. Story here. Is it a little early to be discussing next season already? Probably, but go check out the article, it’s a good read.

3 is the magic number for Rox…

Chris Iannetta’s 2 run homerun in the bottom of the 11th was the difference in last night’s win over the Brewers. Couple that with the Braves losing to the Marlins, the Rockies have a 3 game lead in the NL Wildcard race and now only need 3 wins to secure that spot in the postseason. Also with 5 games to go the Rockies are 3 1/2 games in back of the Dodgers in the NL West as the Dodgers crumble down the stretch having lost 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5.

Jason Marquis didnt get the win, but I dont believe last night’s outing totally destroyed his spot in the rotation for the playoffs, though he still remains to be the odd man out at this point. Marquis did give up only 2 runs in six innings of work, but did allow 4 walks and recorded only 1 strikeout.

Tonight Jason Hammel (9-8, 4.30) takes the mound going against the Brewers Jeff Suppan (7-11, 5.04).

Rockies drop series to Padres….

The Rockies are doing their best to imitate the New York Mets from two seasons ago. Losing last night 5-4 to the Padres, the Rox are on a 2 game losing streak and are only 3.5 games now in front of the Braves and 4 ahead of the Giants and Marlins for the NL Wildcard. Jason Hammel had a decent outing with 6 strikeouts through 6 1/3 innings only giving up 2 runs. But after that the wheels came off for the Rockies. Remember that nuclear meltdown I mentioned the Rockies didnt have that they should go into the playoffs as the wildcard? It’s quite possible that the meltdown may have begun with these last 2 games. I say that because the Rox now have to face the Cards in a 3 game series and though historically the Rockies are 38-35 against St. Louis at Coors Field, this series unlike others in the past have playoff implications. But the meltdown for the Rockies doesn’t all take place with what happens on the field at 20th & Blake, because the Braves go into a weekend series against the Nationals in Atlanta and are playing very good baseball winning 8 of their last 10. The Marlins having won 6 of their last 10, face the Mets this weekend. Both the Marlins and Braves are playing better baseball than the Rockies are at this point.

Aaron Cook (10-6, 4.47) returns from injury tonight to face the Cardinals Chris Carpenter (16-4, 2.34) in what should be an interesting and fun series at Coors Field.

Marquis to Mets?…

OK the playoffs have not even begun and the pitiful Mets are already trying to improve themselves for next season. Jeff Francoeur tells the New York Post that Jason Marquis in his words, “desperately” would like to pitch for the Mets next season.

David Wright also chimed in saying, “He’d be a great fit. He’s from Staten Island. He’s a New York type of guy. He’ll probably be coming off the best season he’s ever had.”

Story here.

It’s quite understandable that Jason Marquis may not be with the Rockies at the start of next season, and you know now that I think about it, I’d love to pitch for the Mets too next season or any other major league team for that matter. OK except the D’backs.

My question has to be why or how does such a bit of information come to be made known to the media by Jeff Francoeur? Especially when this season has yet to be finished, unless you’re the Mets, whose season has been over for a little more than a month now. It’s not the end of the world for the Rockies but how does this now affect Jason’s focus on the upcoming playoffs? Probably not much I’d guess or at least I hope. If anything it should make next season’s starting rotation a little easier to figure out with Jimenez, Cook, Francis, De La Rosa, and Morales possibly. But let’s not look at next season right now, which is apparently what the Mets are doing seeing as they’ve made a mess of this one.