Sunday Morning Rockpile:

after we fell to being the worst team in baseball after last night’s loss and the Padres win. I’m going to try to stay on the positive side of things:

1) Willie T is really hot and raising his trade value! leads the league in Stolen Bases AND played amazing D last night
2) Brad Hawpe actually had a multi-hit game. It would be nice to have an extra bat in the line up.
3) De La Rosa, and Grilli really fit in well with this pitching staff.
4) Rockies scored 7 runs…...Taco Bell for dinner tonight!

Is there any truth that if the Rockies win today, Cook will pitch tomorrow as the Rockies try to go for a 2 game win streak to turn this Lusitania (hey Russ how about that historical reference, Sure most people would have gone for the Titanic reference. The Maine, might be more applicable as it just blew up and sank sitting still) of a season around?

the Rockies are the only team that plays in the mountain time zone. This really affects our team. To better understand this affect you need to see this:

Video

Cook on the mound, and watching the Celtics get smoked. (hopefully)

I wasn’t happy with O’Dowd’s offseason “improvements” at all. It seems to me like he’s going back to his old modus operandi, which is pick up all the other team’s old castoff and very bad relievers. Why was Grilli even CLOSE to an improvement? Why are we wasting time on a Juan Castro? What is he thinking?

Then there’s Hurdle and who he pitches….and how long he waits to take them out. Sure, I can see that you don’t want to tax the bullpen and all that, but how can you sit there and watch a reliever give up four runs, pull him, and watch another give up three? Joe Torre, I noticed last night, was out of the dugout after ONE, let alone four. Not to mention that we’ve finally been able to get close in games and then he puts in a Newman or Grilli, and the game goes south to stay. Last night Goodman mentioned that the best relievers we have, Bucky and Fuentes, have not pitched in quite awhile. How should that be possible? Why do you wait to use them when you are winning? We need them to keep games close.

Let’s just say that I’m really unhappy with some decisions that are being made. Don’t get me wrong: The Rockies look lost out there. They aren’t holding up their end of the bargain either. I’m not sure I like Hurdle’s lastest sermon, either, of patience. The Rockies shouldn’t panic, but they need someone to be a leader, step up, and say that this level of play is entirely unacceptable. Hurdle’s giving the old “it’s early” sermon and it’s true, but every game really does count and they really need a leader.

I’ll get off my soapbox now, but before I do, let’s just say that as far as I can tell, they’ve lost the winning attitude they had last year that says we’ll win every single game we play or they’ll be hell to pay. There’s that same old “it’ll get better, we’re just developing” kind of mentality, which is much better suited for the minors than the bigs. This is The Show. You don’t develop here. You either win or you go somewhere else in life.

< end rant >