Braves at Rockies, 4/27 - 4/29

[RMF]

Mullet Power

Just ask Steve Finley the key to his longevity is his awesome Canadian style mullet. It's been a favorite dew of Rockies play for years. I had thought we were a mullet free team finally. But Clint just had to have the mullet look.

[RMF]

Am I going to have to sit through an entire year of watching Hurdle's man crush behind the plate? Get Iannetta the reps. Torrealba isn't going to take us anywhere. This is obviously a developmental year so let's see the kids.

[RMF]

Here we go Rockies here we go!!

[RMF]

And a fantastic Rally falls short.

[hiaspire]

Man... what a heart-breaking catch by Francour. At least the bats haven't gone cold after the recent breakout.

Originally Posted by drew

hurdle should have pinch hit for francis(who already had 80 pitches) in the bottom of the 5th

I would vote for that being non-controversial. To pull one of your top pitchers with only 80 pitches and not the best bullpen in a tight ball game would have drawn the criticism much more reasonably.

Frustrating kind of Coors ballgame, but it is good to see Tulo get the HR and continue to look better at the plate since the criticized recharging and coaching sessions.

Also glad Taveras has almost dug him self completely out of the early hole with another multi-hit night and up to .286 now. He'll be over .300 this year. People may not have believed that in the first few weeks of the season, but that's where he's headed and hopefully to stay.

[indianadrew]

Originally Posted by hiaspire

I would vote for that being non-controversial. To pull one of your top pitchers with only 80 pitches and not the best bullpen in a tight ball game would have drawn the criticism much more reasonably.

with a men on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs, there were much better options than francis to send to the plate. IMO, that was a poor decision.

[hiaspire]

I didn't see that part of the game. This is what the game play-by-play report says:

Bottom 5th: Colorado
- Y. Torrealba grounded out to second
- J. Baker grounded out to pitcher
- J. Carroll walked
- J. Francis grounded out to second

I think there are very few managers who would pull one of their top 2 pitchers in that situation in a close game at that time and not approaching 100 pitches even yet.

[indianadrew]

my mistake on the number of baserunners.
roxpert corrected me as well. i am mistaken and totally admit it. i was still very surprised that he batted. he ended up getting pulled aearly in the 6th. exciting game though. i think that we are gonna really get em tommorow.

[hiaspire]

Originally Posted by indianadrew

i think that we are gonna really get em tommorow.

I hope so too. Most here seem overly pessimistic, and perhaps justifiably so just by the black-and-white numbers, but I'm more optimistic about how they are playing and the talent on the field this year to improve as the season goes along.

It's going to be tough beat Smoltz, but doable in Coors historically where he's 2-2. He hasn't been horrible here, but giving up .306 average to the Rox here in his career with 4.44 ERA. He's given up hits here, but really kept the walks down with a nice 48K:7BB ratio in 48.2 innings.

I heard him on a radio interview this afternoon speaking about his philosophy on pitching having been around veterans like Glavine and Maddux. He said he learned from Maddux not to waste pitches trying to set guys up too much. Go after them and if they hit you, they hit you. Mentions he loves golf here but hates pitching here.

It is tough to expect Hirsh to continue to be your most reliable starter as a rookie on the Rockies pitching staff, and he's going to have a blow-up every now and then giving up some long-balls, but he needs to match Smoltz tomorrow which is a tall task. Thankfully he's 6'8.

[GerryInCS]

It's time to send Speier, Keppel and McClellan back to the minors. None of those three have any business being in the majors.

[Rankal]

It's sad that my only faith in Rockies pitching right now is with Jason Hirsh, who hasn't disappointed me (yet he wasn't all that dominating last weekend, threw a lot of balls to batters).

Maybe we can trade for Shawn Chacon...?

I kid, I kid.

[RMF]

Hirsh set to face Smoltz at Coors Field
Atlanta (14-8) at Colorado (9-14), 6:05 p.m. MT

As the Scientist has already pointed out, Hirsh is eventually going to deliver a subpar performance. Let's hope it isn't tonight. Hirsh will be facing a tough Braves lineup. Helton and Holliday remain hot. Taveras is slowly bunting his way towards respectability. Look out .300 Slg% here we come!

[RMF]

That's about as well as I've seen Affeldt pitch. That fastball is a weapon use it.

[Roxpert]

Was there a baseball game here in Denver tonight? It was a frustrating loss, but thoroughly entertaining. And it's great to cheer a fine defensive player.

Of course, I am talking about the Nuggets and DPOY recipient Marcus Camby.

The Rockies? Irrelevant.

[hiaspire]

Does everyone get to do this stuff? And people called my direct response answer in a recent thread tangential...

As the [insert sarcastic name-calling if we are going to do that for posters as well as managers] already pointed out, Helton and Holliday do remain hot with both getting multi-hit nights tonight. Helton's up to .383 and Holliday approaching .400. Tulo's showing why he should not have been sent down, and getting another HR and his own multi-hit night in the 2-hole again. It was a good move by the manager to move him up, at least for now while that spot was open. He wasn't showing much selection at the plate before, and with a pitcher often behind him he wasn't going to get too many fastballs down the middle of the plate while he was swinging away at whatever was thrown up there earlier. Not only did they work with him on some of those things and other mechanical issues, but also put him into a role that further emphasized those lessons. Looking back, this will be a positive experience for the kid even if the manager needed to be grilled for it.

A great start to the game with Taveras's walk and Tulo's shot. The Rox got more hits than the Braves, but just didn't do enough with them.

At least we have some potential good news on paper for salvaging tomorrow's matchup. Cook isn't going against an NL West opponent, and Davies was rocked in his only Coors Field appearance. He only lasted 2.1 innings and gave up 12 hits and 9 ER in a start last year. He's not that bad, of course, but isn't off to a great start this season either. Should be a hot afternoon, and hopefully lots of batted balls from the Rox side carrying out. Maybe Davies has nightmares about his last start here, or the Rox get off to a good start and help him remember.