Will it be a September  to remember? Or how about a "Rocktember?" Davie Krieger's not really buying into the "Rocktember" thing, but he offers one or two positives to be taken from the season if the Rockies wind up doing their own thing in October instead of playing ball.

If Jorge De La Rosa can turn it around, as he continued to demonstrate yesterday, then maybe, just maybe. . . .

News and notes from Tracy Ringolsby:

• Call-ups: Dexter Fowler already, and to include Edwin Bellroin, Oscar Villarreal, Jason Hirsh, and Joe Koshansky
• Torrealba will have surgery on Wednesday.

So, yeah, Hirsh will finally make it back to the bigs this year, but the big story to follow from the call-ups is Dexter Fowler. Is the future now?

Colorado Springs, L 6-7: Ryan Spilborghs is a good player--a good player for the Rockies. But last night, he did well for the Sky Sox. He collected three hits last night, one being a homer. It actually tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, but Steven Register allowed a run in the eighth to lose the game. Jason Hirsh allowed six runs in six innings. Four of those runs scored on two two-run homers.

Tulsa, L 1-3: Tulsa only had four hits last night. Chris Nelson had one of them and also walked  twice. Chaz Roe went seven innings and allowed the runs (one on his 15th homer allowed). He did strike out seven. Zach McClellan needed only six pitches to get through his inning of work.

Modesto, L 4-5 in 10 innings: Will Harris was charged with the loss since he allowed the eventual winning run on base to start the 10th by walk (he allowed the next batter to reach on a single). Tommy Baumgardner replaced him and struck out the first batter he faced. Then Baumgardner committed a throwing error (the ball went into center field) to allow Lancaster the victory.

Simon Ferrer allowed three runs in five innings and struck out four. Jon George had two innings of clean relief after that before Will Harris entered. Harris allowed the other two runs. Mike McKenry hit his 16th homer.

Asheville, L 2-5: Jeff Cunningham collected both RBI when he hit his 18th homer of the season in the eighth inning. Mike Mitchell and Bo Bowman both had two hits, just like Cunningham. Mitchell, however, was caught stealing and picked off twice.

Bruce Billings allowed all four runs in 6 1/3 innings, two off a two-run homer and one each on a sac fly and a double. The former two runs scored in the first and the latter two scored in the eighth. Billings allowed a triple to start the eighth. He walked three and struck out five.

Tri-City, W 5-2: Juan Nicasio went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs. His six strikeouts were the most since he K'ed eight on July 9. That was the last time Nicasio won, but he didn't pick one up last night. Carlos Luna won the game after pitching the next 2 1/3 innings, He allowed two hits and struck out two. Michael Marbry alloweda hit and struck out one in the next inning, and Tyler Trice recorded his first save.

Chad Lembeck's solo homer (3) and Jordan Pacheco's two-run double in the sixth proved to the important inning. Those runs were sandwiched in between a Patrick Rose RBI single in the fourth and a Kordan Pacheco RBI single in the eigth. Rose swiped his 11th base and Charlie Blackmon his 13th. Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Casper, W 15-4: The heart of the Casper lineup turned things on during the heart of the game. The Baby Rockies (they'll always be that to me--damn Ghosts!) scored five runs in the fifth and the sixth and three runs in the seventh. They also caused Orem to use six pitchers.

Maikol Gonzalez and Orlando Sandoval led the way with four hits each. While Gonazlez drove in three runs, Orlando Sandoval, who drove in two, fell a triple short of the cycle. Wilin Rosario, Jose Gonzalez, and Jimmy Cesario, who collected three hits, each chipped in with two RBI. Carlos Martinez went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two stolen bases (18). Sandoval stole his eighth, Gonzalez and Rosario their fourth, and Cesario his second.

Dan Houston went four innings, allowed three runs on five hits, and struck out three. Brandon Dill allowed a hit and struck out two in his two innins of work. Juan Rodrgiuez picked up the save after pitching the final three innings of the game. He allowed a run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out four.

Miscellaneous: Rox Girl does a team-by-team review of the minor league system over at her RMN blog, but I'm sure we'll go a bit more in-depth here once the minor league seasons end (playoffs included).

The Springs, L 4-5 in 10 innings: Scott Podsednik collected two hits, stole a base, scored once, and drove in one in another game for the Sky Sox. His on-again-off-again teammate Cory Sullivan hit two doubles and drove in two runs.

Jason Hirsh allowed four runs over seven innings, walked two, and struck out five. Juan Morillo came in and pitched solid eighth, allowing two hits and no runs. Unfortunately, Matt Daley surrendered a homer in the bottom of the 10th to Salt Lake's Bobby Wilson to lose the game.

Tulsa, L 4-5: Chaz Roe allowed four runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out five. He allowed two home runs (a two-run and a solo). Ryan Mattheus allowed a homer in the top of the ninth, which turned out to be the winning run.

Tony Blanco, Daniel Carte, Justin Nelson, and Gary Cates each had two hits. Nelson drove in two and Cates knocked in one.

Modesto, L 4-11: Wins have been rare lately for the Nuts, and last night was no exception. Simon Ferrer allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, walked three, and struck out six. Chris Malone gave up three more over the next 1 1/3 innings. James Burok struck out five over the last 3 1/3 innings of the game.

Daniel Mayora hit a three-run homer in the third inning, but then the run scoring died. Brian VanderBeek tells us a bit about Modesto's newest player, Angel Cabrera, and that the July 24 game that was cancelled will be made up only if necessary to complete the playoff picture.

Asheville, W 10-6: It was a big night for 6-8 in the lineup. Helder Velazquez went 4-for-5 with three runs, Kevin Clark drove in two (one on a solo homer), and David Christen went 2-for-3 with five RBI and a homer. The homer was a two-run shot.

Bruce Billings allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Edgmer Escalona allowed the other four runs, but Ethan Katz held things down in the ninth.

Tri-City, W 8-4: Charlie Blackmon and Jordan Pacheco both hit their first homers of the season last night. Blackmon's, a solo shot, led off the eighth inning, and Pacheco's was a two-run shot with two outs in the eighth. The Dust Devils also had a big fourth inning. Leonardo Reyes had a two-run double, then scored a little bit later on a fielding error on a Ryan Peisel-hit ball, and Blackmon singled in Thomas Field. Pacheco had a sac fly in the sixth.

Juan Nicasio pitched four innings and allowed two runs. Brad McAtee was charged for two runs in 1/3 of an inning, but both runs scored while Hector Luna pitched. J.R. Murphy struck out five in two innings, and Sean Jarrett struck out two over the final two innings of the game.

Casper, W 9-1: Delta Cleary and Alex Feinberg both drove in three runs. Feinberg joined WIlin Rosario in the doubles category with two each.

Dan Houston had one of his best starts this season by going six innings and allowing an unearned run on five hits and two walks. He struck out five. Kurt Yacko struck out three to complete the ninth.

Colorado Springs: W 12-5

Perhaps I'd be more excited for the play of the Sky Sox if they had been this good earlier in the year, but right now I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. Over their last ten games they've won nine and outscored the opposition 93-41. Needless to say, they're sort of cruising right now and they've gained five games on division leading Salt Lake in that span. Of course, that still leaves them in fourth place and nine and a half out with 19 left to play, so don't be purchasing your Security Service playoff tickets just yet.

Jason Hirsh pitched two outs into the seventh and allowed just three runs while six Sky Sox had at least two hits.

Tulsa: L 1-5

Derek Holland before the season began sort of got lost in a deep Rangers system, but given many Rangers fans love of their prospects, he's certainly getting some deserved hype now. He did a number on the Drillers last night in his AA debut, but the good news for us is that Keith Weiser kept pace with him before Edward Valdez and Tulsa's well in character shoddy defensive work let Frisco run away at the end. I gave Justin Nelson some hype for his second half hitting in my most recent blog post with the Rocky Mountain News, but his poor work in the outfield remains a fairly substantial hang-up. A missed catch error last night aided the Frisco rally off Valdez.

Weiser finished seven innings with four hits allowed, a walk and an HBP, and just one run with four K's.

Modesto: L 3-4

Even with the loss, the Rockies have to be pleased with Aneury Rodriguez's strong seven innings, wherein he struck out nine and gave up just three runs on four hits, an intentional walk and an HBP. It would be nice if he could get a couple more starts like that before the end of the season.

Despite there not really being that much difference between hitting .298 and hitting .300 (a couple lucky bloops into no-mans land or a line drive or two being miraculously shagged by an infielder can easily make the difference either direction) the symbolic importance of reaching that latter figure in baseball can't be denied. This is probably especially true for a hitter like Michael Paulk, who doesn't have the HR power or even enough doubles power to stand out in any particular way except in his ability to get on base via the batted ball. In fact, if he does the contact game well enough, his other offensive numbers will start to look more acceptable even to somebody like me. So three singles yesterday to get him to that .298 mark and tantalizingly close to .300 have to be nice for Paulk and will probably keep him in the company's good graces, but my own magic number for a contact hitter like him is closer to .325 unless he can turn a few more of those 66 K's into walks instead. The good news is that his Post All-Star numbers are pretty close to that benchmark of what would be an acceptable contact oriented player, the bad news is that the numbers don't believe that he can carry them over to Tulsa and certainly not to the MLB level. I've seen him hit, I'm a little bit more sanguine than they are, but there's still  some considerable forward progress that needs to be made.

Speaking of progress that needs to be made, Brian VanderBeek makes note of Modesto's league leading 1000th strikeout of the season.

Asheville: L 3-4

I get the sense from the Tourists recap that Shane Lindsay had the same trouble locating his pitches in the first inning last night that he did in the beginning of the game I saw him at last weekend, but I'm also seeing some definite positives after the first four batters. In fact, take those four batters away and his line looks like this: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 5 K.

Lars Davis had a pair of hits, including a solo homerun. He definitely looked a lot better both offensively and behind the plate from when I had watched him earlier this season last week, but I'm wanting to see some real traction in his game results, so I'm hopeful that this represents a start. Brian Rike had a pair of hits last night, like Davis, I didn't see anything that would make me stop looking for a breakthrough moment from him watching him live. In fact, he had a few near misses while in Lexington that sent outfielders to the wall or making dives to save doubles that encouraged me that his poor overall showing this season could still be turned around next year.

Tri-City: W 5-3

Four consecutive singles to lead off the fifth inning by Chad Lembeck, Charlie Blackmon, Erik Wetzel and Jordan Pacheco got the ball rolling on what would turn out to be a four run inning, but a key two run single by Chris Vasami with two outs (thanks to a GIDP by Scott Robinson) and two on capped the scoring and provided the Dust Devils their margin of victory.

He's still not showing any power, but as with Paulk, Blackmon's looking a lot better this month than he was showing in July just by turning up his contact game to the point where it becomes a legitimate offensive threat. He's gotten aboard at least once in all nine games this month, and gotten aboard multiple times in five of them. I'm feeling a bit better that maybe he'll finally be the one to break the Rockies second round curse, as we've just not had much success -aside from Seth Smith- with that pick in the 2000's after being great with it in the 1990's.

Casper: W 7-6

Four hits by Carlos Martinez, including a pair of doubles, spurred Casper's offense to victory. Martinez still falls into a player of promise category, but as is the case with several players at Casper, he hasn't exactly had the kind of distinctive year that should spur him onto a top prospect list and, in fact, until last night has seemingly gotten worse at the dish as the season has gone along.

This effect of in-season attrition can act as a warning flag, a player that is repeating a level or mature for a league to begin with will frequently have an advantage of experience at the beginning of the season, but the new talent in the league will start catching up quickly and the experienced player's stats will fall back toward a baseline of his true talent level compared to the league as the months progress. How far those stats fall can be instructive. To illustrate, here are the June and August numbers of three Ghosts that were Casper Rockies last season:

Carlos Martinez (19 y.o.):

June OPS: .883

August OPS: .703

Wilin Rosario (19 y.o.):

June OPS: 1.024

August OPS: .864

Orlando Sandoval (22 y.o.):

June OPS: .769

August OPS: 1.103

While Martinez and Rosario are pretty much following the expected trend at two very different tiers of play, Sandoval is reversing it, which shouldn't be too surprising since his age and experience level indicates he should have been hitting like he is right now all along. What he's doing of late does give a glimpse that there might be more to him worth keeping an eye on at Asheville or Tri-City or wherever he winds up next season, but without a complete quality season at this level and his age, he's not below the radar so much as still in the hangar.

The same is not quite true of Martinez. That August OPS includes last night's breakout performance, so it might not give the full effect of the kind of slump he's been in, but experience attrition is just one indicator, and there are others that are showing some positive signs that progression in his development is taking place. Namely, those two doubles are part of an encouraging long trend in his power development that has seen his ISO steadily rise over the course of his two seasons in Casper from a .033 figure in June 2007 to the .154 thus far this month. What's more, both his and Rosario's August BABIP numbers are lower than what would be considered a normal Pioneer League range, so some unluckiness, particularly in the case of Rosario, seems to be skewing their numbers this month down a bit.

Colorado Springs, W 12-9: While he didn't start for the Rockies last night, Jason Hirsh did take the mound for the Sky Sox . . . with unpleasant results. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits and three walks in seven innings. He surrendered three gopher balls. Mark Redman allowed four hits and an unearned run over the last two innings of the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kenny Perez hit a three-run homer to tie the game at nine. Two more batters got on base  and Adam Melhuse delivered the second three-run homer of the game to give the Sky Sox the victory.. Mike McCoy and Christian Colonel both had two doubles and an RBI earlier in the game.

Tulsa, L 5-12: Not a good night to be a Tulsa pitcher. Chaz Roe allowed eight runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings. He struck out five, committed two errors, and threw a wild pitch. Andrew Johnston made his first appearance for Tulsa and allowed a solo homer. Adam Bright and Jarrett Grube also allowed some runs, but it was Edward Valdez who didn't allow a run. The pitchers allowed five homers.

Justin Nelson and Rick Guarno hit back-to-back solo homers in the seventh, with the latter having two RBI and three hits.

Modesto: Off.

Asheville, W 6-4: Sheng-An Kuo saw four runs score in five innings. He allowed seven hits, struck out four, and walked four. Matthew Reynolds went the next three innings and allowed only a hit and a walk.

A Brian Lapin RBI single in the second, a Brian Rike RBI walk in the third, and a Darin Holcomb sac fly and a Kevin Clark two-run single in the fourth gave the Tourists a 5-3 lead. In the eight inning, Mike Mitchell tripled and then scored on a Darin Holcomb single. Everth Cabrera stole his 61st base.

Tri-City, L 6-7 in 11 innings: Brad McAtee went 1+ inning and allowed two runs. He walked three batters in the first, but no damage was done that inning. With a walk and a hit by pitch to start the second, McAtee then gave up a two-run single. He left the game thereafter. Rod Scurry allowed two runs in his three innings of work and David Parker saw two runners cross the plate in one inning. Bobby Paschal and Sean Jarrett allowed two hits over the next four innings before Carlos Luna allowed an RBI single in the top of the 11th.

Charlie Blackmon led the offense with his 4-for-6, two-RBI night. He played a part in the Dust Devils' four-run second inning by driving in the fourth run. Jordan Pacheco scored on a wild pitch, Patrick Rose singled in Leonardo Reyes, and Radames Nazario doubled in Rose to complete the scoring in that inning.

Casper, L 1-8: Omar Duarte allowed four runs in four innings and struck out seven. Brandon Dill struck out five over the next two innings but also surrendered a solo homer. Eric Schaler allowed three runs on four walks and no hits in the eighth. He started the inning with a swinging strike out that turned into a wild pitch, sending the runner  to first. Then there was a walk, a HBP, and an RBI double play. He threw another wild pitch and walked the next three batters. On the third walk a second run scored. The third run of the inning scored on a wild pitch. It was a memorable night in the  wrong way for Schaler.

Eliezer Mesa drove in Casper's only run in the second on a single.

As our most recent FanShot mentions, the Rockies' Official Website lists Jason Hirsh as the probable starter for tonight's game against the Pirates' Ian Snell. But both papers today are speculating that the more likely candidate is Valerio De Los Santos. The RMN's Jack Etkin believes that De Los Santos was held out of Saturday's game (which allowed Josh Towers to suck in that game) so he could be ready for today's game. The Denver Post says the Rockies "are likely to call up" De Los Santos.

De Los Santos, a southpaw, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005 when he was with the Marlins. Did I mention yet that he's only started two games in the majors, both for the Brewers in 2000? Not that they mean much, but they were his first two games of that season. In the first one, he allowed one run on two hits in five runs. In the second one, he was rocked for eight runs on nine hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. If anyone looks at Game Scores, that start was good enough to garner a nine. Just to make some comparisons, Kerry Wood's 20-K game had a Game Score of 105 and Kip Wells had a seven in his third-of-an-inning start on July 21.

Calling up De Los Santos makes sense if Jeff Francis is indeed activated later this week. If Jason Hirsh comes up, I want to see him get more than just a start. No need to jerk him around.

Who or what did U-Ball thank for his recent performances? "'I have to say thank-you to July,' said Jimenez."

The Rockies are about to finish a deal with Tyler Massey today, their 14th round draft pick. The story indicates his signing bonus will be close to what second rounders are getting this year, but this article from the RMN mentions a $400K signing bonus, just under what second rounders have received. Massey can play either first base or the outfield corners and will report to Casper after signing.

The second link above also mentions that the Yankees and Rays have scouts in town for the series against the Dodgers in order to see Brian Fuentes pitch. They'll want to watch him in close- and late-inning situations, but more games such as last night's and that won't happen.

At least we know Kip Wells won't be in the rotation for long:

"We're looking for somebody to help us solidify the starting rotation," manager Clint Hurdle said before the game.

"(Wells) is going to get the first shot at that. This is not going to be eight, 10 starts to figure it out. This needs to be something you come in, you embrace, you make pitches, you keep the ball down, you throw strikes and we'll go from there."

But then it's likely that anyone the Rockies plug into the rotation for Wells wouldn't be able to do what Hurdle wants him to do. Josh Towers? Franklin Morales again? Jason Hirsh? They're just as likely to fail in the rotation, but there's always Valerio De Los Santos.

Todd Helton says the Rockies don't want him hitting yet because they believe one swing could aggravate his injury again.

Futures Game - CF Dexter Fowler and and RHPs Ryan Mattheus and Casey Weathers will appear in the Futures Game today. The game takes place at 12:30 ET on ESPN2.

Colorado Springs, W 6-5 in 10 innings - Down 3-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Sky Sox tied the game and eventually went on to win the game. Doug Bernier's RBI triple and Cory Sullivan's RBI single in the ninth tied the game. Ian Stewart led off the bottom of the 10th with a single, moved over to second on a sac bunt, stole third base, and then scored on an Adam Melhuse sac fly.

Jason Hirsh held Fresno to three runs in six innings, walked three, and struck out three. Outside of the two runs Juan Morillo allowed, the other relievers (Alberto Arias, Matt Daley, and Steven Register) kept the game in hand.

Tulsa, L 3-7 - Eric Young, Jr., Tony Blanco, and Eduardo Cornejo each had an RBI last night and combined for five of Tulsa's 10 hits. Corey Wimberly, playing center field, had two hits. Alan Johnson allowed five runs on nine hits (seven went for singles) in 6 2/3 innings, and Jarrett Grube allowed the other two.

Modesto - Suspended due to wet grounds. It will be completed today. The game only went three outs deep, with the first three Modesto Nuts going down in order.

Asheville - Postponed due to rain. Jason McGill has a piece on catcher Lars Davis.

Tri-City, L 5-8 - Four of the six pitchers Tri-City used wound up allowing at least a run. Starter Jonnathan Aristil allowed the first three runs in 3 2/3 innings, Rod Scurry and Brandon Miller allowed two runs each, and Carlos Luna allowed the last run. Bobby Paschal did not allow a run, as he came in to record the final out of the eighth inning. That came on a successful pickoff. Austin Chambliss pitched the ninth and didn't allow Everett to increase its lead.

Charlie Blackmon had another 3-for-5 night with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Jhaysson Agustin and Leonardo Reyes each had an RBI double. Ryan Peisel collected the first two hits of his pro career, both singles.

Casper, L 4-10 - That six-run fourth inning was a killer for Ethan Hollingsworth. Two doubles, a few singles and walks, and a two-run homer came in that inning. He allowed a total of seven runs. Alan Deratt allowed one hit and walked three batters in his 1 2/3 innings, but no runs scored. Andres Marrero was charged with three runs, but  two scored after Juan Rodriguez relieved him on the mound.

Wilin Rosario had three hits and an RBI and Kane Simmons had a hit and two RBI.

After yesterday's start, it appears Jorge De La Rosa won't be back in the rotation once the second half of the season starts. De La Rosa will give way to Kip Wells, who still has two more rehab starts to make. Farther down on the article, Franklin Morales and Jason Hirsh are mentioned, but the possiblity of either pitching for the Rockies any time soon appears remote.

Aaron Cook and his family will add a baby girl in late July.

In a look at which teams have interest in which Rockies, Tracy Ringolsby's column mentions that Juan Morillo, Ryan Mattheus, and Casey Weathers are possible call-ups should some team trade for Matt Herges.

Mark Kiszla. Matt Holliday. New York. Scale of 1-10. Yankees at 11. Or something.

Colorado Springs, W 5-1 - Jason Hirsh picked up his second win after throwing five innings of one-run, two-hit ball, but also walked seven. Matt Daley, Juan Morillo, Steven Register, and Ryan Speier each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

Ian Stewart hit his 17th homer, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, and with three hits last night Christian Colonel raised his batting average to .356, third best in the PCL.

Tulsa, W 5-4 in 11 innings - Jeff Kindel had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth with a bases-loaded situation, but he struck out (Daniel Carte failed immediately after that with a fly out). Kindel recieved a chance at redemption in the bottom of the 11th and seized it by singling in Dexter Fowler from second base. Tony Blanco went 3-for-3 with a double, a three-run homer (18), and four total RBI. Alan Johnson went six innings, allowed three runs (two earned) and walked four.

Modesto, L 2-4 - Wes Roemer carried a perfect game into the seventh for Visalia before Daniel Mayora doubled. Mike Paulk doubled in Mayora and Cole Garner singled in Paulk. Those were the only three hits the Nuts collected last night.

Keith Weiser went seven innings, allowing three runs in the sixth. He struck out five. Andy Graham allowed the other run on a homer.

Asheville - Postponed due to wet grounds.

Tri-City, W 9-6 - Tri-City hitters combined for 16 hits last night. Johnny Bowden hit his first home run, a two-run shot, as part of his 3-for-5,  three-RBI night. Bo Bowman and Patrick Rose each drove in two runs while Thomas Field and Jordan Pacheco each drove in one. Field alos walked three times. Charlie Blackmon had four singles and scored twice.

Brad McAtee struck out five over five scoreless innings. Rod Scurry allowed four runs, two scoring when Andy Groves came in and allowed three hits.

Casper - No games were scheduled for the Pioneer League last night.