Hiatus

I thought I posted this about 3 weeks ago, but Blogger didn't take it. Here it is again, though:

The amount of time the blog is taking isn't worth it considering the number of readers. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, I doubt many people will be interested in the Rockies while the playoffs are going. So, the blog is on hiatus.

I'll post if there are major offseason moves, but otherwise there will be nothing regular until spring training.

See you in the spring...

Mick

Off the Snide

The Rockies finally won a game last night. Jamey Wright did what he needed to do to keep himself in the running for a place in the Rockies future. Wright pitched 7 excellent innings and Shawn Chacon got a clean save: no sweat, no nerves, just coming in and taking care of business.

However the Rockies have been taking flack from the national media. What!? That's right, the Rockies got a mention on ESPN's PTI today. But it not for anything good (of course). In case you haven't watched or listened to the Rockies games against the Giants, Clint Hurdle has adopted the strategy of intentionally walking Barry Bonds in almost every circumstance. And it has worked. Of the 19 times Bonds was intentionally walked, he only scored on three. But the Rockies have been attacked for not pitching to Barry.

So what is to be made out of this issue? There are two questions to consider here. First, is it worth it to put Barry Bonds on base and second, is it sportsmanly? There is no arguing with the numbers: it is without a doubt effective to put Barry Bonds on base. He is such a dangerous batter that giving him first is called for in a majority of situations.

That means the real question is if walking Barry Bonds is good sportsmanship? My personal belief is similar to the famous Huey Long quote "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax the guy behind the tree". Simply: It's bad sportsmanship... even when the Rockies do it effectively.

Yes, I know that, to quote Herman Edwards, we play -- to win -- the game. But putting Barry Bonds on base is a violation of everything baseball, and possibly sports in general, is about: competition. Sports is about competition, courage and, most of all, athletic abilities. Walking Bonds cheapens the competition, shows a lack of any courage and takes the athletic ability of both Bonds and the Rox pitcher completely out of the game.

Clint Hurdle: pitch to Barry Bonds. Please. We're 21 games out of first place and a mile from the wildcard. Losing isn't a huge deal at this point in the season. Keeping the integrity of the game and the honor of the Colorado Rockies intact is more important than potentially giving up a homerun to Barry Bonds. Yes, yes, it's within the rules of the game, but its still cheap. Man up and pitch to Bonds.

L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L

The Rockies continue to suck. Jeff Francis continues to give up homeruns in parks much more pitcher-friendly than Coors Field, surrendering four of his eight runs to the long ball. Worse, the homeruns are coming from people like Eli Marrero and Yorvit Torrealba. All Rockies fans should really hope he can reign in the homers before he gets back to Coors or things could get ugly...

Even though I continue to believe that taking these losses don't really matter as much as getting experience for the youngsters (like Francis), this constant losing is getting very irritating. In a time of year when the Rox desperately need to compete against the Broncos for control of the Denver sports audience, they come up short. Waaaaay short.

And it's so confusing. Don't get me wrong, here. The Rox aren't a great team, but they are definitely not this bad either. The last two months of Rockies baseball are both difficult to believe and to are especially difficult to rationalize with each other. The Rockies aren't the 16-10 team they were in July, but they really aren't the team that we are seeing right now. Maybe September is when we can see the real Rockies. You know, the maddeningly mediocre Rockies we've come to know and love.

Tonight, the Rox will face Barry Bonds and Co. in San Francisco, trying to break out of this cursed funk while on national TV. If Jamey Wright wants a chance to prove himself worthy of a roster spot, now is the time...

Also, for anyone who cares: Yours Truly has been selected to participate in a webmasters discussion over at the MLB Center forums. Look for that this September!

No News

No real news for the Rockies. Yesterday was an off-day and the Rox don't play until this evening. Hopefully, Jeff Francis won't get eaten alive by Barry Bonds and... well, Bonds is really the only one in the Giants lineup to worry about...

Perdre

The Rockies are off today and it's Monday, so this will be a short post.

The collapse continues as the Rockies lost again, this time 8-4 on the 29th. A.J. Burnett was dominant in his eight innings, Shawn Estes was awful in his five and the Rockies never got off the ground.

With this horrible stretch, the Rockies have fallen below the Milwaukee Brewers and are now tied with the Montreal Expos for the second-worst record in the NL. How pathetic is that?

The series against the Giants starts tomorrow with Franchise against Brett Tomko (3-5 with .263 BAA in his career against the Rox).