The time has finally come. The "ace" of the Rockies' only World Series staff is finally back.
A lot has happened in the 611 since Jeff Francis' last MLB start. On that day in September 2008, Matt Holliday was still on the team, I had yet to have even heard of Carlos Gonzalez or Purple Row, Willy Taveras and Clint Barmes were the 1-2 hitters and Troy Tulowitzki batted eighth (Taveras had a better season batting average than Tulo did).
It is an altogether completely different atmosphere in the clubhouse this time around, but you can bet Francis is treated with the same respect he was two to three years ago.
As Rox Girl mentioned this morning, Francis' start carries a bit of significance for the team today. Not only does he officially beat Huston Street back into a Rockies uniform (by quite a bit, unfortunately), but the Rockies will be gunning for a series victory and season series victory against a mediocre team at best.
It is undeniably exciting to see The Physicist back, though it's hard to imagine him tossing out a fantastic start right out of the chute. A textbook "quality start" would be what I'm hoping for at the ceiling. For what it's worth, I dreamt on four different occasions last night that the Rockies jumped on Scott Olsen for two in the first inning, while Francis tossed five straight zeroes before being chased by a three run sixth. The game ended 6-2 each time. Hopefully it will end better!
vs.
Since being pounded for six runs on seven hits in 2.0 IP against Colorado April 20, Scott Olsen put up 20.0 consecutive scoreless innings, including taking a no-hitter to the eighth against the Braves. He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his four starts since seeing Colorado last.