Giants 7, Rockies 0: Alex White Loses Plate, Game, 2012 ROY Eligibility

Alex White was making his final impression on Rockies fans in 2011, and it went a lot like his previous six shaky starts.  

In most of the battles within the game, White came up on the losing end.  In the battle to find home plate, he lost, walking two and throwing two wild pitches.  One walk, two wild pitches and a sac fly led to a run in the first.  In the battle to prevent home runs, he lost, serving up a two run shot to Brandon Belt.  In the battle to win the game, he lost, earning an L for the fourth time this season.  In the battle to find first base defensively, he lost, allowing Carlos Beltran to reach base on a single that should have been an out.  He even lost the ball on a 3-1 putout for an error.

Perhaps the most important thing White lost tonight though was his Rookie of the Year Award eligibility in 2012.  He needed 2.2 IP to reach the threshold.  White recorded four outs too many before leaving after four innings.  While White hasn't pitched like a ROY candidate, his lingering injury and youth is masking his talent.  Between the decision to bypass his eligibility and retain their full coaching staff for 2012, the Rockies are clearly stating today they will not pander to PR.

Esmil Rogers gave up an inside-the-park home run to Conor Gillaspie, his first home run.  That kind of night.  That kind of season.

The offense was MIA again for Colorado.  Kevin Kouzmanoff doubled to lead off the second, followed by a Jordan Pacheco single.  No runs scored, and the following three hitters struck out.  That was it for the offense, other than a Mark Ellis ninth inning single.

Colorado must score 12 runs tomorrow to avoid their lowest scoring team in franchise history.

The loss guarantees the Rockies their worst W/L record since 2005.  Their final chance to avoid 90 losses comes in the season's final game tomorrow.  If they fail, the 2011 squad will tie the 1999 team for the fourth worst season in franchise history, trailing only 1993, 2005 and 2004.  And now for a sentence I have never spoken or written before in my life:

The baseball season will finally, mercifully end in 24 hours and we will be in the sweet offseason with no baseball.

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