I'm not really the type of guy to say I told you so, but I told you so. And, as Rox Girl just posted below, we've seen this all before...
Most of the Purple Row community may not know this, but I haven't exactly been a proponent of Jim Tracy since he took over the managerial duties for the Rockies. The guy has built himself a track record of being a poor game manager, which really stuck out like a sore thumb in the Rockies' latest gut-wrenching, anger-inducing, drive-one-to-drink loss to the Dodgers. That game had all the makings of a 1-0 victory for Colorado and sweet, sweet revenge over Clayton Kershaw and the Bums for doing the same thing to Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies at Chavez Ravine in May.
Instead, Tracy sends Ubaldo to the mound for inning number eight, apparently not caring about the fact that he had already thrown in excess of 110 pitches, and sees the game slip away in torturing fashion. I understand that Matt Belisle ultimately allowed the crushing blow, but I also feel that it would have been a completely different story had he been brought in to start the inning. I also understand Tracy's concerns about the bullpen being short-handed, but they, along with everyone else on the club, had the day off on Thursday. This was just not the game to push the envelope with your already-tired ace. Speaking of which, does anyone else have the sickening feeling that he may not only not get to 20 wins, but possibly won't even get to 18? I'd still put most of what I own on the fact that there will be a new guy at the top of the all-time single seasons wins list for the franchise, but that amount is getting smaller and smaller by the week.
Anyway, I'll just leave it at this: Jim Tracy probably should have taken a cue from Joe Torre, who is known for working his bullpen to death. In fact, that probably isn't the only thing Tracy should imitate from the guy whose team has won 21 out of their last 28 games over his club.
A few links after the jump...
Corpas to seek second opinion | Inside the Colorado Rockies
At this point, as is the case with Nationals' phenom Stephen Strasburg, Tommy John surgery seems imminent for Manny Corpas. Jack Etkin also has some other injury updates in the piece. Jeff Francis tossed a 39-pitch bullpen session and will throw one more before pitching a simulated game. Meanwhile, Matt Daley completed a bullpen session of his own and will do so again soon. Finally, Aaron Cook will pitch tonight for Tulsa and will be limited to about 85 pitches - which is no big deal for Cookie, as he has been known to throw complete games with much less than that. Assuming all goes well, he'll start for the Rox on Thursday in the makeup game vs. the Phillies.
Rays Sign Brad Hawpe: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) was the first to report the deal. Hawpe will begin his tenure with the Rays organization in A-ball. They'll probably wait until September to call him up to the big league roster. Good luck, Brad.
Diamondbacks consider ballpark changes - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
It looks like the D-Backs may install a humidor at Chase Field. That park doesn't have the altitude that Coors Field does, but the low humidity and high heat result in similar effects to the baseball. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out, but one things is for sure: Jon Miller is rolling in his grave right now.