Some candid self assessment from Matt Holliday after his disappointing performance with the game on the line last night in this morning's article by Tracy Ringolsby at the Rocky Mountain News. This is the last step in the maturation process for some of our sluggers, and it seems to be a daunting one. My personal feeling is that this step will be taken sometime early this season, as soon as the middle of May. The talent level of hitters like Holliday and Atkins is simply not commiserate with the numbers they've put up against quality MLB relievers the last few seasons. This is a mental part of the game more than a physical one, and will even out at some point, it's just a matter of when it clicks.
Update [2007-4-11 10:8:29 by Rox Girl]:
AOL's Fanhouse has some video of Holliday afterwards. Our slugger was ticked off after his performance.
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Although I still think the D-backs are feasting on inferior opposition and will be exposed somewhat once their NL West slate starts in earnest, as of last night they've done something the Rockies haven't since May 26, 2002. That is, they've won six games in a row. Even Clint Hurdle has noted that this drought for the Rox when it comes to real hot streaks has to end this season if we want to compete.
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Troy Renck, somewhat misguidedly, puts an onus of blame on Byung Hyun Kim for last night's loss. Too much is made of single runs given up by relievers when that's the margin of difference in a ballgame, and this is an instance of that. At any rate, in a notes column, he mentions that Dan O'Dowd is considering the Kim vs Lawrence roster conundrum. Lurking in the background in this article is one Tom Martin, who at this point needs to be quietly disposed of somehow (I mean in a roster sense, not a Tony Soprano sense) as he apparently is no longer suffering from his groin issues.
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Andres Gallaraga was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, in an emotional ceremony according to the RMN's Pat Rooney. Way to go Big Cat!