Tag: rockies

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MLB General

The Full Count: Extra Innings madness



Now we can go home!

1. 4 hours and 55 minutes: The 16-inning Astros-Padres game on April 26 didn’t take long to get passed as the longest game of the year. The Padres and Dodgers nearly played two games back-to-back in a 17-inning marathon. The game was tied 4-4 after the seventh inning and then went scoreless for a remarkable 10 consecutive innings. Finally, in the 17th, the Dodgers were able to score after an error by a Padres backup and subsequent double by Brady Clark. The story of this contest was the bullpen play of both teams. None of the 11 combined relievers for both teams gave up an earned run in 25 combined innings. San Diego came close to a comeback in the 17th with two men on and one out, but then back-to-back strikeouts gave the Dodgers a 5-4 win. They are a half-game above red-hot Arizona for the division lead.

2. A game of craziness: The game between the Braves and Rockies turned out to be quite a unique one. The most notable occurrence was a rare unassisted triple play by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. As players on second and first for the Braves were running on a 3-2 pitch, Tulowitzki caught a line drive, tagged second base, then tagged the runner coming from first. This was only the 13th unassisted triple play in major league history, and the second by a Rockies player. Also in this game, the Braves walked an incredible 13 batters, including five free passes to Todd Helton alone. In the 9th inning with the Braves up 7-5, Bob Wickman walked the bases loaded and then gave up two runs to tie the game. Only a diving catch by Jeff Francoeur saved the Braves from defeat in that inning. But the Rockies won it anyway in the 11th, as Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer to end this wild game. The Braves still won the series, 2-1.

3. Bigger than baseball: Unfortunately, a tragic off-field event overshadowed a great day of baseball on Sunday. Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, who had pitched on Saturday, died in a car accident coming home from the game. He slammed into the back of a tow truck, which was stopped to help another car that had crashed. The Cardinals-Cubs game, scheduled for Sunday Night Baseball, was postponed as a result of the tragedy. The Cardinals will wear #32 patches the rest of the season in honor of Hancock, a reliever who was with the team for their World Series run in 2006.

Player of the Day: John Maine, Mets: 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 8 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Nationals which improved his record to 4-0.

Walk Off: It was reported by two New York newspapers that Joe Torre’s job could be in jeopardy if the Yankees continue to struggle. This would be the stupidest move the Yankees could make right now. Torre has led the team to four World Series titles and ten division titles in a row. He is at absolutely no fault for the Yankees’ last place standing. The pitching has been simply awful, particularly the starters. There is a current trend in sports right now to fire the manager/coach if the team is underperforming, no matter what success this coach has had. Why not fire the people responsible for trading away all the Yankees’ prospects for over-the-hill veterans?

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MLB General

The Full Count: Go ahead and ask Barry (Zito)


1. 18 million dollar man: Barry Zito, who is making $18 million a year as part of his new contract with the Giants. In his first two starts he looked like a terrible investment, but on Monday he showed he could still be an ace. Zito shut down the Rockies lineup at Coors Field with a 6-inning, 3-hit, no-run performance. He got his first win of the season as the Giants dominated 8-0. San Francisco’s offense helped out too with two homeruns and a 4-5 performance from Omar Visquel. The Giants are still last in the NL West at 4-7.

2. Who wants the West?: The NL West division is up for grabs this week as its top two teams play: the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. On Monday the Dodgers took a half-game lead in the division as they won 5-1. Brad Penny improved to 3-0 in seven solid innings. His ERA is 0.89 in three starts, and he’s pitching even better than last year, when he started the All Star game. Nomar Garciaparra led the offense with his first homerun of the year and two RBIs. Unfortunately this series is only a two-gamer, with the finale Tuesday that will decide who leads the division, at least for a day.

3. Beckett is Back: Josh Beckett was shaky last year, his first in the American League. But so far this season, he has regained his 2003 form, when he led the Marlins to a World Series. Beckett improved to 3-0 as his Red Sox topped the Angels 7-2 on Monday. He pitched 6 innings and allowed only one run, which kept his ERA at 1.50 in three starts. Also, the Red Sox’s David Ortiz has broken out of a start-of-the-season slump with three multi-hit games in a row, including two straight with a homerun. Manny Ramirez hasn’t hit a homer yet this season, though he did have two RBIs yesterday. The Sox lead their division by a half-game over the Blue Jays at 7-4.

Player of the Day: Pudge Rodriguez, Tigers: 2-5, grand slam, 6 RBIs in a 12-5 win over the Royals.

Walk Off: Two strong starts by a pitcher could be an anomaly. But three in a row to start the season could mean a breakout performance. There are four pitchers who struggled last year that will make the All Star game this year, at least based on what we’ve seen so far. Tim Hudson, Jake Peavy, Penny, and Beckett all seem to have shrugged off the difficulties that gave them 4.00+ ERAs last year. They are all great fantasy players who I would trade for if I needed pitching. Other pitchers who have surprised so far are Nate Robertson, Rich Hill, Ian Snell, and Chuck James. I think all of these pitchers will keep their ERA below 4.00, win at least 12-to-14 games, and be considered aces going into next year.

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San Francisco Giants

August 22 in Sports History: Baseball’s ugliest brawl


In 1965: The ugliest brawl in baseball history took place at Candlestick Park in a game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Upset that Dodgers’ pitcher Sandy Koufax would not retaliate against Giants’ pitcher Juan Marichal for hitting two Dodgers, catcher John Roseboro took matters into his own hands. When Marichal stepped to the plate, Roseboro threw the ball back to Koufax by barely missing Marichal’s head. Marichal said something, and a 14-minute melee ensued when Marichal hit Roseboro on the head with the bat. Roseboro needed 14 stitches to close the wound. Marichal, one of the best pitchers of the sixties, was suspended eight games and fined a then-record $1750. The brawl also cost him election into the Hall of Fame on his first two ballots. Check out this story for more.

In 2000: At Coors Field, Colorado Rockies’ catcher Brett Mayne became just the third position player in history to win a game on the mound. Having already used an NL record 10 pitchers, the Rockies sent Mayne to the mound, and he worked a scoreless 11th inning. He got the win when the Rockies scored in the bottom of the inning to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6. Also, in San Diego, Derek “Operation Shutdown” Bell of the Mets mopped up on the mound in a 16-1 loss to the Padres. He didn’t fare as well, giving up three hits, three walks and four earned runs. (baseballlibrary.com)

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MLB General

The Full Count: Guillen hits for the cycle


1. The kind of Cycling we care about: Who needs the Tour de France when you can see cycling in baseball? That’s right, for the first time this season a player hit for the cycle. It was Carlos Guillen, the Tigers’ underrated shortstop. Guillen finished 4-5 with a single, double, triple, and homerun. On July 23rd he finished a homer short of the feat. Now Guillen is hitting .306 with 13 homers, 64 RBIs, and 15 steals. That makes that he is one of the top all-around shortstops in the game, and he carried the Tigers to a 10-4 victory over the Devil Rays yesterday. Justin Verlander got his 14th win, giving him the major-league lead. Verlander is now 14-4, giving him a 21-win pace. He has led the Tigers to a 71-35 record, matching last season’s win total and the best in baseball by 8 games.

2. Expect the expected: This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the Yankees and Red Sox are where they usually are–deadlocked. The teams are tied for first place after a Yankee win yesterday while Boston was off. In Bobby Abreu’s debut with the team, he went 0-3 but they still defeated the Blue Jays 5-1. Toronto, after tying New York a few weeks ago, has stumbled and is 6.5 back now. AJ Burnett lost again yesterday and is now 2-5 with an ERA of 4.84. For those who care, the next Yankees/Red Sox series is an enormous 5-game set starting August 18th.

3. Different Directions: The NL West is crazy, has been crazy, and will be crazy for the foreseeable future. Remember when the Giants were in second place? Now they have dropped 9 straight and have free-falled to last. The Dodgers, a few weeks removed from the cellar, are in third after a four game win streak. Last night they downed the Reds 10-4 using a lineup that included the just-traded-for Julio Lugo and Wilson Betemit. As for the rest of the division, San Diego and Arizona are still clinging to the first and second spots while the Rockies are average as usual.

4. Reversal of fortunes: The Astros have been plagued over the last two seasons with 1-0 losses, usually with Roger Clemens or Andy Pettitte on the mound. But yesterday, they finally won a 1-0 game of their own. Pettitte pitched wonderfully in the win while the bullpen allowed just one baserunner. The bad luck went to Jake Peavy of the Padres, who fell to an eye-opening 5-11 after losing. Though Peavy was the Padres’ ace in 2004 and 2005 with sub-3 ERA seasons, this year he hasn’t gotten on track. He has a 4.81 ERA despite striking out more batters than ever. Strange.

5. Who wants scoring?: Apparently the Rockies don’t. According to Brewers infielder Jeff Cirillo, the team is using water-logged balls to decrease scoring at Coors Field. Once the best hitters’ park in the majors with 15 runs scored per game, now only 9 combined runs per game are scored at the park. Cirillo said he compared a ball from Milwaukee with a ball used at Coors yesterday. The one from Denver was apparently puffy, heavy, and water-logged. That’s in part because they use a humidor to prevent balls drying out due to the altitude. But are they over-using the device? Just hear this: Coors Field has hosted the most shutouts in the majors this season with eleven. Last night’s 1-0 game was the third of its’ kind at the park this year.

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MLB General

The Full Count: What happened to Coors field?

1. Now, what’s going on?: Memo to the Oakland A’s: you’re in Coors Field, act like it! The A’s were shut again by the Rockies, 6-0. Colorado’s Jason Jennings and two relievers held the A’s to just one hit (insert that Bob Uecker Major League quote here if you wish) in the second consecutive shutout of the former hottest team in baseball. Cory Sullivan and Garret Atkins drove in two runs each for the Rockies, who have quietly climbed back to a game over .500 in the competitive NL West. They are a game and a half behind the Padres. The A’s, meanwhile, have fallen back into a tie with Texas in the AL West.

2. It’s the balls, naturally: What might be going on, according to A’s manager Ken Macha, is the baseballs that the Rockies keep in the humidor were the main factor for the A’s impotent bats the past two nights. They are complaining that the balls are tougher to hit. “I think it should be investigated,” Macha told mlb.com. He did add that the A’s used the same ball, and that there were no excuses for his team’s magically disappearing bats the past two nights. All of this being said, it is a little surprising that the once ridiculously hitter-friendly park is now tied with Comerica Park in Detroit, Safeco Field (Seattle) and Minute Maid Park (Houston ) for the most shutouts in the majors with seven.

3. Continuing a bad idea: Quick, who won the NBA All-Star game this year? How about the Pro Bowl? Of course nobody remembers, because the games just aren’’t that important. It’s simply a reward for players who are the best in the league and just forgettable exhibition games for the fans. So why does Major League Baseball continue with the ridiculous idea of awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the Midsummer classic? We’’ll never know, but get used to the idea; because they plan on doing it for at least two more seasons, according to mlb.com. This has been in place since the 2003 season. The idea was to drum up interest in the game, which had suffered declining ratings and hit a low point in 2002 with the infamous tie game. But it needs to stop. Can anyone rationalize the possibility that say, the Mets, who might win 105 games this year could end up starting the series on the road against the A’s, who might win 90? All because say, Mark Grudzielanek of the last-place Royals hits a meaningless RBI single July 11 at PNC Park to give the AL the win? The concept of giving the team with the best record home-field advantage? Now, that’s radical.

4. A funny thing happened on the way to a baseball game: A football game broke out. At least that’s the way it looked on the scoreboard, as the White Sox bombed the Cardinals 20-6 at U.S. Cellular field. Joe Crede homered twice, including one in the 11-run third inning off Mark Mulder. Mulder lasted only 2.1 innings and gave up nine earned runs. The teams combined for 40 hits, including 24 by the White Sox. Then it got testy in the sixth. As the Sox plated six more runs to make it 19-2, Cardinals pitcher Sidney Ponson hit Brian Anderson and Pablo Ozuna (with the bases loaded) on consecutive at-bats. Everyone in the park knew what was coming in the next inning, and of course, Ozzie Guillen wouldn’t disappoint. Chicago’s David Riske plunked Chris Duncan, earning ejections for both Riske and Guillen. The teams meet again tonight and Thursday.

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Colorado Rockies

Odds and Ends: Stop calling us a Christian team, dammit!

After a USA Today cover story that claimed the Rockies are built around core Christian code of conduct, some of the team members aren’t exactly happy with that characterization, especially the Christian players.

Pitcher Jason Jennings was a first-round draft choice by the Rockies in 1997 from Baylor University, the largest Baptist university in the world. He has strong religious convictions but believes the tone of the story was not a proper view of the atmosphere in the Rockies clubhouse.

I thought the story was over the top,” he said. “I have strong beliefs, but I don’t judge others and I never will. My opinion is we look for good character guys, not Christian guys. A good teammate doesn’t have to have the same beliefs you have. A good teammate is a good person who plays to win.

In other news…

[USA Today]:Concerns raised over racism during Cup

[Philly.com]: Another reason to drop the DH

[The Golf Blog]: Russians postpone longest golf shot in outer space

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: The Score’s Mike North Wouldn’t Offend For All The Tea In China

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MLB General

Full Count for Tues May 30 2006: Prodigal son

1. Make yourself at home: Jim Thome, playing in his second series at Jacobs Field since he used to be an Indian, gave fans a flashback to the past on Memorial Day. Thome, who hit 334 homers in his career as an Indian, hit two out on Monday, giving him 20 on the year. His two two-run shots increased his RBI total to 49, and he leads the AL in both power categories. Thome was just a part of the White Sox’s 11-0 smashing of the Indians, as Paul Konerko also homered and Javier Vasquez pitched 2-hit ball through 6 innings. The shutout was the third of the year for the Indians, who are second in the majors in scoring. The White Sox improved to 33-17, but they are still 1.5 back of the Tigers.

2. Most Important Player: Albert Pujols proved once again on Monday how valuable he has been to the Cardinals and their best-in-NL 33-18 record. With the Cardinals down 1-0 in the seventh and Astros starter Roy Oswalt out of the game, Pujols jacked his 25th homerun on the season. The three-run shot provided the Cards with their only runs of the game and showcased once again how valuable this player is. The Cardinals pitchers were efficient as usual–Jason Marquis improved to 7-4 and Jason Isringhausen got his NL-leading 17th save. The Astros–who have met the Cardinals in each of the last two NLCS–fell to 26-26 on the year.

3. Guess who’s back: Randy Johnson has struggled hugely this year for the Yankees, with no quality starts since April 23. On Monday, he showed that he can still pitch well, shutting out the Tigers in 6 innings pitched. It was the first time this year that Johnson hadn’t allowed a run, and the first time this month that he has allowed less than 4 runs. The Yankees rode Johnson to a 4-0 victory over the Tigers, who still have the major league’s best record. Detroit was held to 2 hits on the day, and this was their second loss in a row after winning 15 of 16. Meanwhile, the Yankees have won 3 in a row but they still trail the Red Sox by a game.

4. The Rockies are pitching well: That’s not a sentence you hear very often, but it was true on Monday. Jason Jennings, who’s ERA hasn’t been under 5 since his 2002 Rookie of the Year campaign, shut out the Padres. Jennings allowed only 2 hits in a complete game effort, and he was supported well by the Rockies offense. Matt Holliday hit his 12th homerun, and surprising Brad Hawpe hit his 11th. The Rockies are in third place now in the jam-packed NL West, while the Padres are just a game back of them yet tied for last. Arizona and Los Angeles are virtually tied for the division lead.

5. DL Time: 2005 AL Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon had been on the DL for more than a month now, and he is about to be joined by last year’s NL winner Chris Carpenter. Carpenter, who is on pace for numbers similar to last year’s stellar season, has had shoulder problems. He will go on the 15-day disabled list and will be replaced in the rotation by promising prospect Anthony Reyes. But the news is much worse for the Blue Jays’ AJ Burnett. He was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day, which means he can’t come back until June 21. Burnett, after signing a huge contract this offseason, has only seen two starts in a Toronto uniform. However, Dodgers fans should be happy, as Eric Gagne made his final rehab start yesterday. Gagne, the record-breaking closer, earned a save for AAA Las Vegas. He is expected to be back this Thursday to fortify to Dodgers’ bullpen.

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MLB General

Full Count for April 24, 2006: Wake us up for the fight



Alou gets tossed

1. ‘Extracurricular activities’: The Giants and the Rockies aren’t exactly heated rivals, but they played like they were on Sunday. Ejections started piling up in the first inning, when Giants pitcher Matt Morris was tossed after hitting his second batter of the inning. Manager Felipe Alou was ejected automatically, and pitching coach Dave Righetti was thrown out as well after arguing. Jose Mesa was ejected for the Rockies for hitting Omar Vizquel, who in 2002 wrote a book which included a criticism of Mesa for blowing a save in the ’97 World Series. The Rockies won in 10 innings, 3-2.

2. Un-Uribe-able: Juan Uribe powered the White Sox to their eighth win in a row on Sunday. He hit 2 homeruns and 4 RBIs in the 7-3 win by the Sox, who completed a series sweep of the Twins. However, Jim Thome failed to score a run for the first time this year, snapping a record 17 game streak. The White Sox are now a major league best 13-5.

3. Yanks improve to .500: Jason Giambi is probably off the juice right now, but he’s still pretty powerful. The slugger crushed Orioles pitching for 2 homers and 5 RBIs, both season highs. Yanks starter Randy Johnson rebounded from a terrible loss last week with only 3 hits allowed over 8 innings. New York is finally above .500 on the year at 9-8.

4. The big 4-0: Greg Maddux’s best years may be behind him, but he’s sure forgotten that so far this year. At 40 years old, he has a 4-0 record so far this year, supplying nearly half of the Cubs 10 wins. After shutting down Albert Pujols and the Cardinals to no runs over 7 innings, Maddux’s ERA dropped to 0.99, best in the National League. The Cubs became the 4th team to reach 10 wins in what will be a crowded NL Central division this year.

5. Victory…at last: The Royals have been an absolute disaster this year. They have the worst record in the majors, have terrible pitching problems, and their most expensive player is hitting .173. Adding to that, they had yet to have a starter win a game all season. Until last night, when starter Jeremy Affeldt picked up the win against high-powered Cleveland. Overall, the Tribe was held to only 1 run and 7 hits in the 5-1 loss.