I've always been somewhat in awe of just how much one win can change a team's (and a fanbase's) perspective. With their 6-3 win last night, the Rockies seem to have injected some confidence into their club, as well as their manager, who said that their offensive performance was one of the best the Rox have had on the road all year. Some things still need to be cleaned up, however, as Jason Hammel (who gave in to Pedro Alvarez in a fairly critical situation) and the offense (who, despite pounding out 16 hits, only plated six runs) would attest.
Maybe Jim Tracy's pre-game speech to the position players helped ignite things but either way, they'll need to continue to produce for the remainder of the trip, as their next five games will be some of the biggest they've played all year. Manage a winning record in those games, and your playoff hopes will stay alive. Otherwise, we'll all be looking forward to 2011. It's officially that time of year where we start living and dying with not only every play, but every pitch - as in, I found myself literally being disgusted (at a ball) or overjoyed (at a foul/strike) when following the game via Gameday Mobile with each Hammel offering, while the opposite rang true when the Rox were at the plate. As such, I'm legitimately afraid about what my doctor may find in regards to my blood pressure when I pay her a visit next week. Then again, if the Rox don't take care of business over the next six days, I may not have much to worry about. Oh, baseball, how I love thee...
Anyway, complete dismantling of the Pirates isn't necessary, but it would definitely be welcome. However, conquering the nightmare that has been New York City by any means necessary is absolutely vital.
Click past the jump for some links...
Coming off DL isn't as tough for Tulowitzki - The Denver Post
(SSS Alert) In ten games since returning from the DL, Troy Tulowitzki is hitting .400/.432/.575.
Twitter / Troy Renck, Rockies: Rogers is on way to Pittsburgh so he will start Sunday I have confirmed through a trusted source
The suspense appears to be over...here's to a dominant (or, at least gutty) performance by Esmil Rogers.
Rosario expected to make full recovery from injury | Inside the Colorado Rockies
Jack Etkin has some quotes from Marc Gustafson regarding Wilin Rosario's season-ending knee injury. Rosario will likely be back in action in mid-2011.
Jordan Pacheco promoted to Tulsa | Inside the Colorado Rockies
WolfMarauder mentioned something about minor league reshuffling in yesterday's Rockpile, and he was right - the Rockies have moved catcher Jordan Pacheco and reliever Adam Jorgenson from High-A Modesto to AA Tulsa. In addition, Hector Gomez is done rehabbing in Tri-City and has also joined Tulsa.
Munchies of the week: Two Colorado Rockies cycles, but only one victim - ESPN
Sorry if I missed this being mentioned somewhere on the Row within the past week. In his ESPN blog, Jayson Stark noted that each of the Rockies' last two cycles came in games started by Tom Gorzelanny. Some 75 years ago, a couple of legendary Yankees (Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri) hit for the cycle against the same pitcher as well.