http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/ This could be a long one en-us Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:36:00 PST Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST support2007@baseballtoaster.com 60 http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1064117.html The Rockies seem to be experiencing a sea change recently, starting right before the All-Star Break and continuing into the second half. They're still terrible -- Kip Wells gave up eight runs in the first inning yesterday. But they're not boring. After Wells' quite predictable meltdown, the Rockies' offense went on to score in the last seven straight innings, getting Joe Torre to sweat the use of his bullpen in the ninth. They still lost 16-10, but it was the most entertaining Colorado game since the insanity on the 4th of July. Troy Tulowitzki, on the disabled list since that game (he got shards of bat in his hand after slamming it), arrived back to go 5 for 5. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1064117.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:36:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1058763.html A possible good effect of the All-Star Game: I was waiting for this regular-season game between two bad teams to start all day, and I watched the whole thing from beginning to end. I was glad of the opportunity to do so. Maybebaseball's relevance crisis in the instant-access age stems from its overavailability. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1058763.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:27:29 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1056857.html The fascinating thing about watching the All-Star Game last night in extra innings, after making sucha furious point of not watching it at all, was the extreme knife's edge upon which the game's fate rested after the eleventh or so. If the managers ran out of pitchers and a tie was called, it would be one of the worst All-Star Games ever. If one team managed to scratch out a run in the nick of time, it would be called one of the better ones in the cable TV/ESPN/overexposure for everything era. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1056857.html Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:23:04 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1055829.html Whenchecked in to see what was going on in the All-Star Game after watching a bunch of King of the Hill and House reruns off the TiVo, it was tied in extra innings. And Aaron Cook had just come in! So pretty much the only story of possible relevance was about to happen, or not, and now I'm watching. Cook pitched quite well in bailing out Dan Uggla for two errors in the 10th, and as I'm writing he's in the midst of an even more interesting 11th. He's had one runner thrown out trying to steal second (on a pitchout! a good call by Clint Hurdle!!) and another gunned down at the plate. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1055829.html Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:24:40 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1054671.html If you've been a Rockies fan for longer than a year, you know the drill this time of the season. It's all about waiting for the trades. The other day on Around the Horn, Woody Paige started frothing randomly about Brian Fuentes in response to a question about the Tampa Bay Rays. I'm with Woody: I can't wait for all of the non-fan midsummer nonsense to get over with so we can start picking apart the Rockies' roster for worthy trade bait. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1054671.html Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:01:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1046824.html I've been slammed with non-baseball concerns lately, and it's really beginning to eat away at my mental well-being. I've been stacking up questions I have about the rest of the season and reactions to major news for days, but there's always something else on the agenda. I had a retail shift I couldn't get out of on Friday and I missed not only the fireworks but also the greatest comeback in Rockies history. The sad, unused ticket for that game could have gone into my stack of unforgettable Coors Field memories along with all of the playoff games from last season, the game I caught the home run ball during, and the game when the hot drunk girl took off her shirt and ran into center field. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1046824.html Tue, 8 Jul 2008 10:29:59 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1041831.html What Rockies fans were talking about a day or two ago, Aaron Cook's magnificent 79-pitch complete game torching of the Padres, has faded in the background as we're now experiencing the first stirrings of Clint Hurdle's inevitable firing. The Rockies actually made the Pardon the Interruption discussion the other day because of Hurdle's alleged swipe at Colorado fans. Following the story more closely in the Denver Post, it seemed as if the ESPN folk were making mountains of molehills. It's hard to say exactly which media source is to be trusted, seeing as most of ESPN's TV branch and the entirety of the Denver Post sports section are massive tools, but if you read the long transcript of what Clint said, he was more frustrated than anything else. And one can see why. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1041831.html Fri, 4 Jul 2008 13:54:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1037330.html That's one good thing about baseball -- there's no chance your team could go winless, and if you go to more than two or three games a season, you'll see them win in person at least once. That's all we've got to hang on to now, the pleasant momentary tang of one win at a time. It would take nineteen straight wins at this point to return the Rockies to .500, so small victories are all we're likely to see for the rest of this season. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1037330.html Tue, 1 Jul 2008 15:18:04 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1036149.html So much for taking revenge upon the Tigers, huh? The Rockies finished another road trip winless, something that for many franchises would be an historic oddity. Colorado seems to do it a couple of times a year. They've just finished another one of those sequences where the team seemed to be turning it around on a homestand, only to crumple the moment Coors Field was in the rearview. Your 2008 Rockies: just like every other year's Rockies, except one. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1036149.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:15:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1032694.html At the very least the Rockies won't have to face Kansas City again for a few more years. That's about the only good thing you can take away from the series completed Sunday, as Aaron Cook's quest for 20 wins suffered another setback and the Rockies retreated with their tails between their legs from one of the least competitive series they've played all year. Along with Philadelphia, the Royals have a season sweep of Colorado for 2008. The Royals! http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1032694.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:30:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1029745.html Interleague play has gotten to the point where it's no longer novel. I imagine that the attendance for NL-AL games will continue to be a little better than that of regular games. If you're a Twins fan living in Denver and the team only comes to town once every six years, you're going to make a point of being there. But as an everyday fan of the hometown team, interleague has become an accepted part of the landscape. It's been going on too long for cool things like the last time these two teams met was the 1945 World Series to be still true. Now it's the last time these two teams met was three years ago, in interleague play. Which is less exciting. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1029745.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:08:43 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1027467.html I watched Troy Tulowitzki's eagerly anticipated return game on Friday night half expecting the Rockies to look like a team reborn; sadly, it was more of the same. Aaron Cook had one of his less memorable starts on the year, Colorado's offense continued to frustrate (taking some walks would help, boys), and the equally troubled Mets got the series opener. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1027467.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:38:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1022978.html I went to see the Rockies and the Indians tonight, two young teams who have greatly disappointed this year. The pitching matchup had a least a little bit of interest to it, with Colorado'squickly-improving rookie Greg Reynolds facing Cleveland's Paul Byrd, who's been getting meals at a discount for a couple of years now with his Serviceable Veteran Starters' Club card. The Rockies lineup looks much more recognizable than those from the past two weeks and if you squint (hard), you can almost see Quintanilla morphing into Tulowitzki. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1022978.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:27:00 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1021797.html The Rockies lost 7-1 to the Braves today in a makeup game from one of Colorado's usual April snowouts. It's too early to say that the team's recent upturn in fortunes has officially reversed, but with this team a good streak seldom lasts past the end of the homestand. Hope is on the way, we're told. Some breathless reports announce that Clint Barmes and Troy Tulowitzki will be back with the big club within the week. Putting automatic everyday starters at the chaotic second base and shortstop positions might go a long way in keeping the team out of any more extended tailspins. But there wouldn't be a lot of point in rushing either back; I think it's safe to say that this is not the Rockies' year. The risk of getting hurt rushing back is the obvious reason to play it safe with Tulo (and Clint). There's also the possibility of a slump starting because the player isn't 100% and then continuing because they get psychologically frustrated. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1021797.html Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:52:11 PST http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1020739.html The Rockies won two low-scoring games in a row in Chicago, shutting out the White Sox 2-0 yesterday and triumphing 5-3 this afternoon to give Aaron Cook his tenth win. Colorado has won eight of its last eleven. That's the good news. The bad news is they're still 13 games under .500. http://badaltitude.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1020739.html Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:00:03 PST