With last night's loss, Colorado is now 125 games into the season with a 49-76 record, one game behind Texas for the #1 draft pick next year. Because they were also terrible last year, the Rockies hold the tiebreaker with the Rangers.
CarGo has surgery, might not be ready by spring | Rockies.com: News
Thomas Harding's daily notes column contains a plethora of good information. First, Carlos Gonzalez had the middle third of the patella tendon repaired and a bursa sac removed in a surgery on Monday. Here's some more details per Rockies trainer Keith Dugger:
"The fatty pad [bursa sac] was beat up and torn up," Dugger said. "they cleaned that out. The middle third of the patella tendon was where the actually diseased tissue was. They cut that out and sewed it back together."
Dugger further stated that it won't be known for quite some time whether CarGo would be back in time for spring training from the surgery. I think I speak for most Rockies fans when I say that I hope CarGo takes all the time he needs and that this surgery is the answer to getting his body healthy for 2015.
Also in the above link, Harding writes about Michael Cuddyer's sore hamstring, Justin Morneau's mentor role in Corey Dickerson's hitting, Rafael Betancourt's promotion to AAA, and Matt McBride's 2014 debut with the Rockies.
Rockies unravel in late innings vs. red-hot Royals
The bullpen implosion on Tuesday was hardly a rare occurrence for the Rockies, nor was it particularly rare that they allowed their opponents cheap tacos (if Kansas City has that promotion as well). In any case, the game drove me to look way too in-depth at Colorado's propensity to score or allow at least seven runs. Look for that later this morning.
Royals journey from cellar to contender provides hope for Rockies fans - The Denver Post
Nick Groke's game recap includes some interesting tidbits on the Royals (as does this excellent Grantland profile by Rany Jazayerli), but I'm a little uneasy with the title of the piece. After all, the Royals have been absent from the postseason for 28 years - I'm not sure anyone should be emulating their model. Per Jazayerli, Kansas City is succeeding on a razor's edge this year and mortgaged their future to get in this position. Still, it's good for Kansas City fans to finally see their team in a playoff race.
Jack White is hanging at Rockies' batting practice at Coors Field - Reverb
At least Colorado got the rock star treatment Tuesday. The day before his sold out Red Rocks show, rocker Jack White, decked out in Rockies gear, stopped by Coors Field to take batting practice and shag flies with the Rockies. He looked considerably more happy in this game than he did at Wrigley Field a few weeks back.
Leverage Matters: When to Invest in the Bullpen – The Hardball Times
Finally, Matthew Murphy at the Hardball Times tries to unravel the tricky problem that is evaluating relievers and looks at when it might make sense for teams to spend heavily on their bullpens.