via soundbiteblog.com

Yeah, that's the funeral procession Troy Renck starts his game recap with. Though it may be a bit more extravagant than the Rockies deserve. And since Aaron Cook's not taking the mound on Thursday, that procession gets just a little bit longer: Glendon Rusch, Jorge De La Rosa, and Livan Hernandez.

Let's look on some of the better things going on right now. Dexter Fowler's words to live by are those for his father's company: "Exceeding Expectations." Here's one of the many good parts of that piece:

Asked whether Fowler's performance this season was unanticipated by the Rockies organization, [Bill] Geivett said, "I think so. . . . He doesn't have as good a bat control as he probably will when he really has his true strength that he's going to have. I think he's very close to that. He's much stronger and quicker with the bat now, and I think that's what's really helped him take off."

Fowler desires to earn a degree in computer science in the future. Reminds me of a few years ago when Mark Prior completed his degree at USC. Greg Maddux told him he was overqualified for the job.

Bill Geivett also chimed in on what Casey Weathers needs to do to get to the majors:

To get there, Geivett said Weathers needs to acquire "true command of his fastball. Right now, he's got OK control of it. But really true command where he can follow the (catcher's) glove with his fastball and put it there when he needs to - I'd say that's the biggest issue that he faces."

The future can't get here soon enough.

Gotta have better results tonight, right?

Well, the Rockies got that first win on the road out of the way rather early. Now they run into the Brewers' recent acquistion, pitcher Carsten Charles Sabathia. All right, let's just call him C.C. Anyway, this will be Sabathia's first start against the Rockies since 2005 when he was knocked around  for six runs in 3 1/3 innings. But those were the 2005 Rockies, who blew a 6-2 lead and lost 6-7 in 11 innings.  Eddy Garabito, Preston Wilson, Dustan Mohr, Ryan Shealy, Luis Gonzalez, Desi Relaford, Danny Ardoin, David Cortes, Blaine Neal (I don't remember that guy at all)--the Rockies sure have come a long way. Sabathia was also beat up in a 2003 start against the Rockies.

Still, Mark Redman's going up against Sabathia. That doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. Nor does, as we discussed in the game thread yesterday, the other pitching match-ups. Glendon Rusch says he's the starter for Wednesday's game. He'll face Ben Sheets (10-2, 2.77 ERA). Thursday's game features Jorge De La Rosa against Dave Bush. That's not too daunting of a task as compared to the previous two starters for the Brewers.

A day doesn't go by when we don't have a Hurdle quote that includes "No excuses." Actually, I'm convinced that that is just an excuse.

Mark Kiszla, that's not exactly the image I need in my mind.

Colorado Springs, L 2-4 - Not much was done offensively last night, but Seth Smith had two hits (his double being the only extra-base hit for the Sky Sox). Glendon Rusch allowed four runs and walked four in 4 2/3 innings. Half of those runs came on a third inning home run. Cedrick Bowers, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman held Tacoma to one hit (Bowers) and two walks (Morillo) over the final 3 1/3 innings. Newman struck out three.

Tulsa, W 4-3 in 11 innings - David Parrish's first homer was an important one since he hit it in the top of the 11th to give Tulsa the lead. Earlier in the game, Dexter Fowler had three singles and an RBI, Eric Young Jr. had two singles and an RBI, and Tony Blanco hit his 14th homer.

Chaz Roe went six innings, allowed two runs, and walked three. Ryan Mattheus, Adam Bright, and Darren Clarke held San Antonio to two hits over the next two innings. Casey Weathers blew the game in the ninth, allowing a run on a HBP, a walk (his second one, an IBB, came after the run scored), and a single. Jarrett Grube held San Antonio to a hit over the final two innings.

Modesto, L 4-5 in 10 innings - Mike McKenry went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Jay Cox had a solo homer (3) in th eighth inning to tie the game at four. Brandon Durden started the game, went four innings, and allowed foru runs on a solo homer and a three-run sho. Chris Malone struck out four over his three innigs of relief.

David Patton took the loss after pitching 2 2/3 innings. Michael Massaro, the leadoff batter for the inning, reached base on a single and then advanced to second on a throwing error by Patton on the pickoff attempt. After a strikeout, the next batter appeared to single in Massaro, but Anthony Jackson gunned him down with his throw to McKenry at the plate. The batter advanced to second and scored on a single by the next batter.

Asheville, W 9-3 - Robinson Fabian went six string innings, allowing only two runs. Joey Williamson pitched the final three innings to pick up his first save. He allowed one run on a homer and struck out three.

Everth Cabrera fell a homer short of the cycle, drove in two, and stole his 51st base; Kevin Clark drove in three on a ground out, a sac fly, a and a single; Darin Holcomb drove in two on a sac fly and a double; and Jeff Cunningham (13) and Helder Velazquez (6) each had a solo shot.

Tri-City, W 5-3 - Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Chris Vasami and Thomas Field each had a triple (and an error) Field and Patrick Rose accounted for the other two RBI.

Jonnathan Aristil yielded three runs over six innings to Boise. He walked two and struck out four. Bobby Paschal allowed three hits in two innings, but Boise was unable to do anything else. Austin Chambliss picked up his fifth save.

Casper - Off.

via images.ucomics.com

Exchange a word in the above caption and that would have helped last night.

Jeff Francis admitted he "made bad pitches" and that he has no idea how to solve his first inning problems.

"I write things down in pencil," Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. - From Jim Armstrong's column on how bizarre a season the Rockies have had so far. Apodaca also said the team was fortunate for having a Plan B. . . .

Ramon Ramirez received his championship ring before yesterday's game, and Glendon Rusch and Mark Redman appear to be receiving more attention than others for another stint with the Rockies.

Ubaldo Jimenez beat his childhood hero, Pedro Martinez, last night:

"He's been my hero ever since I was little," Jimenez said. "I loved the way he pitched; I tried to never miss his games. He was aggressive and you could just see it in his face. It didn't matter who he faced, he was going to get them out."

And in beating his hero, Jimenez not only won his first game since April 8, but he also pushed the Rockies back out of last place and into a tie for third place with the Giants. The Giants lost to our next opponent, the Royals, last night. The Giants send TIm Lincecum to the mound to oppose the Royals' Kyle Davies. Winner takes the series.

Troy Renck mentions that Cedrick Bowers will be considered for a call-up this week when the Rockies look to add a left-hander. At this point, we've already seen what the others have done for the Rockies (Rusch, Redman, and Bowie), so taking a look at Bowers may not be a bad thing. There's also a quote there from Dan O'Dowd about Franklin Morales: 

"Franklin's not even on the radar right now," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "He can't help us right now. And he might not be able to help us this season."

Todd Helton believes he's over "a little issue" he had, and Kip Wells pitched in a simulated game yesterday in preparation for a rehab start later this week.

Clint Hurdle still wants Willie Randolph coaching in the All-Star Game after the Mets fired him.

Colorado Springs, W 5-4 in 12 innings - Tied at three at the end of regulation play, this game went a few more innings. After Salt Lake took a 4-3 lead in the 11th, Joe Koshansky his his 16th homer to tie the game. Jonathan Herrera singled to start the bottom of the 12th and moved to second on a sac bunt by Chris Frey. Dustan Mohr stepped in the box and saw a wild pitch by the pitcher and a throwing error by the catcher score Herrera for the win.

Glendon Rusch allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and allowed 11 hits. Alberto Arias, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman combined for a hitless 4 1/3 innings. Morillo, however, did walk a batter. Arias did not let a runner score after Rusch left the game with the bases loaded. Josh Towers picked up the win after pitching the final two innings.

Tulsa, W 3-2 in 10 innings - In the top of the 10th inning, David Parrish reached base on the pitcher's fielding error on a sac bunt attempt, which moved Justin Nelson over to second (who reached on a walk). Eric Young Jr. then reached on the pitcher's throwing error on a force attempt. With the bases loaded, Dexter Fowler entered the box and was hit by a pitch. Nelson scored the winning run. Fowler also had an RBI in the third inning. Eric Young Jr.'s two hits were a double and a homer (5).

Brandon Hynick turned in an outstanding eight innings. He allowed the runs on solo homers. He walked one and struck out four. Ryan Mattheus picked up his 12th save.

Modesto, L 8-9 - Down by two in the seventh, Victor Ferrante's sac fly, Matt Repec's three-run homer, and Jay Cox's solo homer put the Nuts ahead 8-5. Repec had a two-run homer earlier in the game, giving him five RBI on the night.

But the pitching wasn't there late in the game last night. Simon Ferrer allowed three runs (two off a two-run homer) in five innings. Brandon Durden saw two more  runs score in the sixth inning. Andy Graham struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh, but the eighth was his undoing. He began that inning with an out before allowing a double and back-to-back homers. Will Harris came in, recorded the last two outs of the inning, and came back out for the ninth. Jose Vallejo singled after a leadoff out by Marcus Lemon and eventually moved over to third. A Chad Tracy sac fly scored Vallejo.

Asheville, L 2-5 - Sheng-An Kuo allowed only two runs before the start of the bottom of the seventh inning, those coming in the bottom of the first. He only allowed three hits up to that point. So, what happens? A walk, a double, and an RBI single. Matthew Reynolds relieved Kuo, threw a wild pitch to score a run, and then allowed a sac fly. Those three runs broke the 2-2 game.

Kevin Clark hit a two-run homer in the fourth, his eighth of the season. Everth Cabrera had two hits and two stolen bases (47).

Tri-City, W 8-1 - Last night, Parker Frazier certainly showed how much he improved since his time with Casper in 2007. He threw seven innings of shutout ball, allowed only four hits, and struck out three. After a leadoff single in the first, he retired the next 11 batters before allowing consecutive hits in the fourth. The final hit came in teh seventh. Rod Scurry allowed one run in 2/3 IP. Andy Groves struck out three over the last 1 1/3 innings of the game.

Josh Banda drove in two on a double and a sac fly. Charlie Blackmon had a double in the third and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, half of the Dust Devils runs scored. Leonardo Reyes and Bo Bowman had RBI singles, Banda had his already mentioned sac fly, and Jordan Pacheco scored on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt. Two more runs scored in the ninth when a fielding error allowed Patrick Rose to reach base and Jordan Pacheco and Bo Bowman to score.

Casper, W 3-2 - James Sims led off the game with a triple, but was out at home on the next play when Carlos Martinez hit into a double play. Things got better the next inning when Orlando Sandoval doubled at the start of it. Nick Valdez then tripled him in. Later in the inning, Valdez scored on an Alex Feinberg single. In the sixth inning, Valdez hit a sac fly to score Mike Zuanich.

It was good night for the pitchers. Yull Silano did walk three batters, but he allowed only one run in four innings. Brandon Walker pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowed a run on two hits, and struck out three. Adam Jorgensen picked up the win, striking out five over 2 1/3 innings. Kurt Yacko picked up his first save by striking out two in 1 1/3 innings.

Our opponents over the weekend, the Mets, will have a different look in the dugout as Jerry Manuel became the interim manager over the night for the fired Willie Randolph. Pitching coach Rick Peterson was also fired. As the article indicates, Peterson claimed he would fix Victor Zambrano after he arrived in New York in a trade for Scott Kazmir. Zambrano, as we all know, is with the Sky Sox this season.

His Sunday performance earned Jorge De La Rosa at least one more start. Jorge De La Rosa or Glendon Rusch? Not that hard of a decision after De La Rosa's last start. But then when you reach the end of the article, "In six career starts against the Indians, De La Rosa is 1-3 with a 7.67 ERA." He also walked 22 Indians in those games.

Clint Hurdle explains what went wrong:

"One of the things I learned from personal experience is that the enemy of good is great. You start doing good and you think if you turn it up a notch you will be great, and it turns into a struggle."

So . . . does he know how to skip the struggle and actually become great?

Colorado Springs, W 11-9 - Seth Smith went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Two of the RBI came on two sac flies. Cory Sullivan collected four hits in six at-bats, scored three times, and had two doubles. Kenny Perez hit a two-run triple, and Sean Barker drove in two.

Things went mostly well for Glendon Rusch through the end of the fourth. He allowed a run and some hits, but it was the fifth that hurt him. He allowed two singles to start the inning and then saw both men score on a double. After putting another runner on base, Rusch allowed a two-out three-run home run. He would pitch another 1 2/3 innings, leaving after 6 2/3 IP. Matt Daley finished the seventh before giving way to Micah Bowie in the eighth. He struck out one and allowed one hit. Josh Newman allowed back-to-back doubles in the ninth and then saw a pop up to short turn into a two-run single. Another double scored the third run of the inning. Steven Register recorded the final out for his ninth save.

Tulsa, L 5-9 - Brandon Hynick allowed eight runs on 12 hits in seven innings. Three of those 12 hits went for home runs. Dexter Fowler had a big night, going 4-for-5 with two doubles (18), but drove in no runs. Tony Blanco hit his 10th homer, a solo shot in the eighth.

Last week the Tulsa World's Barry Lewis sat down with Rockies assistant general manager Bill Geivett for a Q&A.

Modesto, L 4-6 - Aaron Cook won this game. No, not our Aaron Cook. The Angels have an Aaron Cook, a reliever. Anyway, Simon Ferrer had another solid start, allowing three runs over six innings on five hits and two walks. Andy Graham came in for the seventh and blew the lead by allowing an RBI single and a two-run double. He also pitched the eighth and saw a double play end the inning.

Travis Becktel and Anthony Jackson had RBI singles in the fifth to put the Nuts within one of Rancho Cucamonga. In the seventh, Mike Paulk's double scored Troy Tulowitzki, and Aaron Cook hit Mike McKenry with the bases loaded, putting the Nuts ahead 4-3. Tulo had three hits, two were doubles.

Brian VanderBeek interviewed Andrew Johnston this week.

Asheville, L 3-5 -  Kevin Clark went 3-for-5 with his seventh homer and two RBI. Darin Holcomb drove in the other run. Mike Mitchell had three hits. Connor Graham allowed three runs over five innings, walked four, and struck out five. Craig Baker allowed two runs while pitching the final two innings of the game, leading to the loss.

The Tourists will at least tie for the first-half division championship if they lose today and Charleston wins, but if the Tourists win today that would be better. As Darin Holbcomb said, “Our mindset (Sunday)? We come out and we kill these guys[.]”

Colorado Springs. L 2-3 - Jayson Nix had his eighth homer and Dustan Mohr hit an RBI double to score the runs.

Glendon Rusch made the start for the Sky Sox and picked up the loss. He allowed three runs over seven innings. Micah Bowie pitched the other inning and allowed two hits.

Tulsa, W 12-3 - In the bottom of the first, the Drillers countered NW Arkansas' sac fly with five runs. Matt Miller and Jeff Kindel had RBI singles before Daniel Carte hot a three-run homer (7). In the bottom of the fourth Miller had another RBI, and Kindel had a sac fly. No, Daniel Carte did not have another home run. Jeff Dragicevich hit a grand slam (9) instead. Kindel (4) homered in the sixth to score the twelfth run. Dexter Fowler had three hits, Eric Young Jr. stole his 14th base, and Corey Wimberly swiped his 28th base.

Brandon Hynick allowed all three runs (two earned) in seven innings. The last two came in his final inning. He walked two and struck out three.

Modesto. L 3-4 in 11 innings - In regulation innings, this game was tied at one. Travis Becktel had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the 10th, Nick Haley's RBI single put the game into another inning of baseball, but Stockton scored two in the top half of the inning. With two outs, Anthony Jackson scored in the bottom of the 11th on a fielding error by the center fielder, followed by a Victor Ferrante strikeout to end the game.

Simon Ferrer made the start and did well. In five innings, he held the Ports to only a run on five hits and a walk. Chris Malone and Will Harris each had two innings of no-run ball before giving way to other pitchers in extra innings. Andrew Johnston allowed one run on three hits in the 10th, and Andy Graham allowed two runs in the 11th on a three hits (the runs scoring on a double and a single).

News and notes from Brian VanderBeek's latest blog entry: Aneury Rodriguez received a five-game suspension, and the others three games; Troy Tulowitzki is rehabbing with the Nuts; Geoff Strickland was released; Todd Ritchie starts for the Nuts tonight.

Asheville - No game scheduled. The Tourists can clinch a spot in the playoffs this week.

As anybody can tell, it's been just about a complete and total group effort for the team's abysmal failures thus far. The blame is too diffuse to do any good. You saw me on Saturday, I was too scrambled with the misery to keep a coherent train of thought. Everything looks bad, so we're just spinning our wheels here and any complaint will seem valid but ultimately futile. There are too many elephants to eat, regardless of how many bites we start off with. So what I propose instead is that we just narrow our focus and blame to one individual. We need a scapegoat.

via upload.wikimedia.org

Okay, I know a lot of you want Clint Hurdle's blood, a few wouldn't mind Dan O'Dowd or the Monforts, or players like Jorge de la Rosa or Yorvit Torrealba, but that's not how scapegoats work. It's got to be somebody who we can blame for all the team's failures so the guys who really are failing (everybody else) can feel better about themselves and then get back on track. In other words, it's got to be somebody relatively blameless for this season. Aaron Cook? What are you kidding? We can't give up our best guy. Jason Hirsh is relatively blameless, I mean he hasn't even played this season, but then the Rockies -who let's face it- have had some religious issues in the past, might not want to deal with the ramifications of blaming the Jewish guy. So Hirsh is definitely out.

Spilly? I probably ruined that possibility myself last year when I thought he was Jewish too, but it turns out he's just Belgian. Let's just not go there, because it's sort of embarrassing for me and besides, he's our second best player right now. Really, we need all the help we can get.

Okay, so by my count, that leaves us four candidates for a worthy scapegoat. All are young, pretty decent but not spectacularly enough where they're too valuable to exclude themselves from consideration for bearing the burden of the team's miserable play in 2008:

• Chris Iannetta
• Ian Stewart
• Seth Smith
• Taylor Buchholz
  

I'm going to put their names in a hat, and draw one out for the Official Purple Row Scapegoat of the Week. If anything goes wrong with the team, it's that guy's fault. Yorvit Torrealba GIDP's, you blame the scapegoat. Glendon Rusch gives up two three run bombs in the first inning, you blame the scapegoat.

Everybody clear on this? Good, I feel much better about the team already. I'll have the name of the OPRSW by tonight's game thread, so if there are any objections to the candidates, come up with them quick.