padres at rockies

[BigRapidsJackass]

Remember how I said that Affeldt and LaTroy are classic losers who are at their worst when the game is on the line? Herges too?

I was wrong.

Proof positive tonight that they suck equally in any situation.

[Roxpert]

Originally Posted by Heltonfan

11%, and that's not nearly as extreme as it was a week ago. We've seen enough of a correction that I doubt the ball has been altered. And the early April weather this year really was unlike anything we've seen in a long time.

I won't quibble about that. The point is offense is way down. Look at the AL composite AVG. of .248 (through last night). That is the lowest batting average in the AL since 1972, the year before the DH rule was installed. Since then, the AL AVG. has been about .265 (over a 33 year period from 1973 through 2006). Even if that number rises to, say, .253, it will be the lowest AL AVG. in the DH era.

Yes, it's early, but to be cavalier about these early numbers is to miss something potentially remarkable going on. I'll be more convinced of this trend if it continues through Memorial Day, but I suspect this is more than cold and rainy weather.

[Dante Bichette]

We should have offered Helton and Atkins to the Yanks last year for ARod. I bet they would have done it.

[Dante Bichette]

Originally Posted by BigRapidsJackass

Look, at this point it should be starting to sink in: guys like Finley, Hawkins, Mabry, Torrealba, Tavares, Lopez, Fogg, and Kim were all on this roster in the desperate hope that veteran players would help this club get off to a good start (just like last year), rekindle fan interest, and maybe keep things close until some of the youngsters (Tulo, Iannetta, even Ubaldo Jimenez) start to shine.

It ain't happening. The Rockies will be 7-10 after tonight, with 2 more against the Padres followed by a road trip starting at Shea. 8-14 after that trip is the most likely scenario. 9-13 the second most likely.

So what do you do? You play the guys who have nothing left to learn at AAA. That means Iannetta and Spilborghs. Tulo could possibly benefit from more time at AAA, but so could Barmes, so it doesn't really matter who plays SS. That means you let Buchholz start and see whether he can turn the corner and become an effective #3 man. That means you let Corpas and Ramirez get the key relief work since Affeldt and Hawkins won't be around in '08. That means you start thinking trade as soon as the opportunity arises for guys who don't fit into your future plans: Lopez if he can prove he's healthy, Kim and Fogg if they can prove they have any value whatsoever. I think Fuentes is a superb trade candidate come June. I doubt he'd be re-signed next year, so get some value for him now. And that means you get Ubaldo ready to make a June -- not August -- debut. And you hope that by September you're looking at the so-called rotation of the future right here at Coors: Cook, Francis, Hirsh, Jimenez, Reynolds.

EDIT: By the way, Yorvit is fine trade bait now, too. He's off to a fine offensive start, and his arm seem o.k. for now. Last year Doug Mirabelli brought Meredith and Bard to the Padres. Yorvit could bring a very nice AAA player as soon as someone's catcher goes down ... and they always do.

The future is most definitely not now. This club could get lucky and pull back to .500 and hang around there. So what. One thing we know is this: the Padres, D'backs, and Dodgers are probably 3 of the 5 best clubs in the NL. This club cannot compete with them this year.

So stop trying. You know what? A youth movement may not only get you ready for '08; I think it will probably make you better right now.

Because what they're doing now isn't accomplishing anything.

I agree. I'd like to see more of Baker, too. Give him a start in right, then 3rd, left, 1st, maybe even try him at 2nd. He has shown he can get incredibly hot for short periods of time (like last september and the beginning of this year). Let's see what positions he can really hold down defensively and how his hitting is at the MLB level on a day-to-day basis.

[RMF]

Cruz must be one heck of a dancer. I wonder who leads.

[BigRapidsJackass]

Order is restored in the universe, and the Colorado Rockies assume their familiar position:

NL WEST GB RUN DIFFERENTIAL
LA 12-5 -- +30
SD 11-7 1.5 +12
AZ 10-9 3.0 -1
SF 8-8 3.5 -4
CO 7-11 5.5 -18

[DieHardRoxFan]

I was just thinking with the Mets and Braves coming up the Rockies are now 6 games out and could be 8 to 10 out by the end of April and done for the season. The meat packers should be run out of town.

[indianadrew]

maybe it is just a coincedence, but it seems to me that this room is quieter after games that we won.

[PurnGoldy]

No coincidence, that's been the case for years on this board.

[hiaspire]

Complaining is probably more fun. Or at least there is probably more passion about what is wrong than when something goes right perhaps. Good things get in the way of the preferred message.

I'll cheer for them as a hopeful FAN but didn't see the game and was away for the day. Go Rox! Hirsh had another good one today it looks like, and arguably our best starter thus far this year. Most wouldn't have thought that in spring training. Need some other players to pick it up.

Rox just need to stay somewhat within a handful of games or so from .500 while they are "struggling" to come together early in the season and hopefully things start clicking at some point if the rookies start contributing more as experience builds. They can make a run at .500 and possibly the best record in team history if a couple things go right.

A nice day for sports in Colorado with Rox winning and Nugs getting a big win.

[BigRapidsJackass]

Hirsh has been a nice surprise. I expected the BB rate to come down from his MLB debut last year, but where did the new strikeout prowess come from?

(I will, however, point out that my prediction was that he would actually outperform Jennings this year ... )

I missed this one, which is too bad since it seems like one of the best played games of the year for the Rockies.

[Dante Bichette]

Originally Posted by indianadrew

maybe it is just a coincedence, but it seems to me that this room is quieter after games that we won.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we lose more than we win, and this has been a consistent pattern for over ten years now?

[indianadrew]

i would prefer that they start off slow as opposed to start off on fire last year and falter after all-star break. lets hope that that is what is happening.