SB Nation - Jason Marquis

Dan O'Dowd named The Sporting News' Executive of the Year

theoldgrizzlybear — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:01:29 -0000

According to The Sporting News' Jeff D'Alessio, Colorado General Manager Dan O'Dowd has won the publication's Executive of the Year award.

The man well known in the past around these parts as "Dealin' Dan," "Dan O'Dud," and "Dan O'Clown" was largely viewed as a genius this season, simply for firing Clint Hurdle and replacing him with Jim Tracy. However, O'Dowd should definitely be more recognized for the string of terrific deals he's made over the past year. Lassoing Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday unexpectedly paid immediate dividends, and will continue to do so for years to come. Plus, when the team started to gain momentum toward a possible postseason berth, DOD went out and picked up relievers Joe Beimel and Rafael Betancourt to shore up the team's biggest weakness. On top of all of that, O'Dowd turned Luis Vizcaino and Aneury Rodriguez into Jason Marquis and Jason Hammel, respectively. Both pitchers largely contributed to what ended up being arguably the best starting rotation the Rox have ever had.

In addition to the aforementioned acquisitions, the Rockies recently completed what was arguably their most successful draft in team history, and certainly the best of any MLB team this season (based on what we know now). With all of those things combined, the future looks very bright for the Rockies and their fans, and as we all know, O'Dowd will soon be (and rightfully so) rewarded with a contract extension and a likely pay raise.

Check out this article for more from D'Alessio, including some great insight by the winner himself (including his admittance of the absurdity of the Chone Figgins/Kimera Bartee deal, and a quote that may make you sad).

Congratulations Dan, and GO ROCKIES!

Utley Applesauce - Holliday prefers Yankees and Mets, Marquis wants Mets, 1969 photos, Cards trading Pujols?

Joe Budd — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:23:32 -0000

So, while all the cool people are enjoying October baseball, I feel like I'm sitting at home in my parents' basement waiting for news on Matt Holliday. Fortunately, there is something along those lines to pass along.

Meet the Mets

Ken Davidoff reports that Matt Holliday's top two choices are the Yankees and the Mets (in that order). I always enjoy being the second choice.

Jason Marquis, however, seems to have the Mets as his first choice.

LIFE magazine puts together an awesome photo gallery of shots from the 1969 Met season.

FanGraphs explains why Johan Santana can be such a good pitcher while relying on the fly ball.

Around the NL East

Tim Hudson has announced that he'll give Atlanta a hometown discount. That's quite the change from saying he'll test free agency.

Chase Utley is human after all.

Brett Myers is angry at being left off the Phillies' NLCS roster. So is Crashburn Alley.

Stephen Strasburg pitched three and a third innings of shutout baseball in his Fall League debut reaching 99 mph with his fastball.

Around MLB

There are rumblings that St. Louis may look to trade Albert Pujols after the first baseman expressed a reluctance to sign a contract extension. Ted Berg took notice.

Mike Lupica writes an incredibly annoying column explaining why the Yankees have the best fans in the world, seemingly because they are willing to go to cold games and pay a lot of money for tickets.

Meanwhile, the Yankees' favorite singer, Ronan Tynan, has been banned from singing for the time being after making an anti-semitic remark.

The Astros really are considering everyone who can possibly manage their team; they are interviewing former manager Phil Garner.

The Cubs are most likely going to offer Rudy Jaramillo their hitting coach job.

Wednesday Rockpile: With Rocktober Over, Rockies Refocusing on 2010

Jabberwocky — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:06:40 -0000

Even as Woody Paige writes the epitaph to a great 2009 season, Rockies fans looking for some solace after the toughest loss in franchise history can be consoled by looking forward to next year.

That's not to say that we shouldn't look back and honor the efforts of our team and what was a magical, pretty unique season. We Colorado Rockies fans are pretty spoiled in that regard, having two likable, heroic teams of destiny in three years.

Those who have read my posts know that I generally don't give a bunch of weight to the "intangibles" like chemistry, but this team really did seem to function very well as a unit (not a collection of individuals), creating a sum that was far more than its parts. Jim Tracy, if nothing else (and some would argue that this is the case), allowed the considerable young talent on this team to gel and create the best team in Rockies history (more on that tomorrow). With this patient, powerful offense, improving defense, and excellent young pitching it's clear that there's much to look forward to next year.

Rockies Fans hope to see more Rocktober baseball next year

For those who are still grieving (and there's certainly nothing wrong with that) think back on the indelible moments of 2009 (the Spilly Slam, the Barmes "catch", Seth Smith and Jason Giambi's late game heroics, and many more). One of my favorites happened Monday night when Dexter Fowler briefly turned into a superhero. In case you're ready to look at next year a little bit (and Purple Row will be doing a LOT of that over the next few weeks) here are a few articles to whet your appetite:

Analysis: With some exceptions, the Colorado Rockies appear to be in great shape for the future - The Denver Post
Troy Renck and Patrick Saunders write about the flaws and strengths of this team moving forward into 2010 and look at the offseason decisions the team faces.

In the article the DP writers reinforce the notion that both Dan O'Dowd and Jim Tracy will be back for a couple of years. Meanwhile, they expect Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe to be gone (something I've been calling for since perhaps the lowest point of May) while they think that Huston Street and Clint Barmes will be back on multi-year deals.

The Barmes debate is a pretty tired subject on the Row, but I will admit that the taste the second baseman left in my mouth was a sour one and that I believe he'd be best suited to a super-utilityman role and not a starting one. For better or worse, as long as Tracy is managing this team, Barmes will likely be starting at second base.

Renck and Saunders also opine about the bullpen and starting rotation next year as well as the catching situation. For the most part I agree with them (especially on the last point).

Rockies looking to build upon solid base - USATODAY.com
Vicki Michaelis writes a similar article outlining the major decisions the Rockies have this offseason.

Hawpe, Marquis face uncertain futures | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Thomas Harding writes in more detail about the situations the Rockies face with Hawpe and Jason Marquis, their 2009 All-Star Game representatives. My guess is that neither will be back.

Tuesday Rockpile: Thanks for a great season, Rockies

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:30:14 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

No, this picture had nothing to do with last night. But wouldn't you rather look at this than another picture of a dejected Huston Street. This is what I'll remember the 2009 Rockies for anyway.

Browse more photos »

I don't even know where to start. One thing is for sure though: despite the both premature and surprisingly late end to the Rocktober season last night, this 2009 Rockies team deserves to be celebrated. After the toughest game I have ever witnessed, muzia02, I, and a handful of others fought back tears to stand and applaud the Rockies as they walked off the field. They deserved it. What an incredible ride 2009 was. And my, how bright the future is. We finally got a glimpse of it last night.

As is often the case, Drew Litton depicts it better than anyone.

www.drewlitton.com

We'll be reflecting back upon this season a lot throughout the offseason, but I found myself unwilling to let go of this team last night, like I was a woman at her lover's premature funeral. I poured through the Purple Row archives, and I urge you all to remember everywhere this team has been.

The High Times:

April 27: Dexter Fowler steals 5 bases in 12-7 victory over Padres
That's two in a row after the Rockies defeated the Padres 12-7 tonight.

May 29: Torrealba and Marquis lead patient Rockies to win in Tracy's first game as Rockies manager
The Rockies used a patient approach that Clint Hurdle couldn't draw out to defeat the Padres on Friday night, winning Jim Tracy's managerial debut for the club.

June 14: Rockies Make it 11 Straight Victories: Rockies 7, Mariners 1
This one does indeed go to eleven.

June 19: Rockies Go Over .500, Win 14th of 15: Rockies 7, Pirates 3
Some said they would be happy to see the team reach .500 by the end of the season. It was just one of many milestones the team pushed past expectations.

June 20: Rockies 9, Pirates 7: DID I JUST SEE THAT?! Rockies clinch another series
The Rockies win again, this time in the most dramatic fashion of the season.

More high times, low times, and all the news that's fit to click after the jump.

June 22: Rockies 11, Angels, 1: On Brad Hawpe's birthday, Aaron Cook picks up 59th victory to become winningest Rockies pitcher
The Rockies have now won 17 of 18. Woo!

June 28: Rockies 3, A's 1: Rockies Sweep A's, Win 20th out of 23 - Purple Row
The epic streak knows no bounds.

June 30: Rockies 3, Dodgers 0: Jason Marquis (well, and Brad Hawpe). Seriously.
Rockies 3, Dodgers 0: Jason Marquis delivered arguably the best performance in franchise history for a starting pitcher.

July 12: Rockies End 1st Half in Dramatic Fashion, Defeat Braves 8-7
Rockies End 1st Half in Dramatic Fashion, Defeat Braves 8-7.

July 20: Rockies 10, Diamondbacks 6: Rockies take Wild Card lead on Whacking Day!
Rockies take the Wild Card lead!

July 22: Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 3: Todd Helton hits game-winning homer and 500th double to take two of three
Todd Helton was the man of the day for hitting his 500th double and the game-winning home run.

August 10: Troy Tulowitzki hits for the cycle in victory over Cubs
Troy Tulowitzki hit for the cycle. He is only the third player to hit for the cycle and turn an unassisted triple play.

August 17: Ringolsby: Tyler Matzek signs for $3.9 million

August 25: Rockies 6, Giants 4: Ryan Spilborghs hits walkoff grand slam in the 14th
The Rockies just won on a walkoff grand slam in the 14th. Celebrate!

September 2: Rockies 5, Mets 2: Giambino's first hit wins game for Rockies
Jason Giambi delivered with the go-ahead RBIs.

September 11: Amazing Eight! Mujica tries to bust Rockies mojo, but Yorvit Torrealba rallies Colorado to win with ninth inning double
The Colorado Rockies seven game win streak was snapped by the San Diego Padres Friday night, but the Rockies didn't lose any ground in the wild card chase.

October 1: Cook stellar as Rockies clinch playoff spot, team's patience shines through in season and game
The telling stat from the Rockies playoff clinching win on Thursday might have been the sheer volume of pitches they saw.

The Low Times:

April 25: Dodgers 6, Rockies 5: Time to Pull Your Hair Out
The Rockies lose 6-5 - again - after another poor outing by Ubaldo Jimenez.

May 16: Critique of Pure Reason: sometimes Rockies just Kant win
The Rockies were meant to lose to Pittsburgh on Saturday night, or maybe they weren't, but how could we possibly know that from our experience?

May 17: A Treatise on the Sufferings Wrought by the Rockies on Rox Girl and a Manifesto of what has to be changed.
Rox Girl has had enough.

May 25: Memorial Day Massacre: Dodgers 16, Rockies 6
The Rockies let the Dodgers win in a bloodbath, giving up seven runs in the fourth inning, eight in the seventh in a loss on Monday afternoon.

May 29: Rockies fire Clint Hurdle

June 3: Colorado Rockies lose fourth straight game: Astros 6, Rockies 4
Luckily, we know now this was literally rock bottom.

July 4: Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 7: Bullpen explodes before fireworks show
Joel Peralta blows Aaron Cook's chance at NL's 2nd best 9 wins

July 27: Fernando Tatis and Mets imply that Rockies bullpen might still need help
The Rockies lost to the Mets 7-3 on a Fernando Tatis grand slam.

July 28: Mets 4, Rockies 0: Offensive struggles doom Rox again
Mets 4, Rockies 0: Offensive struggles doom Rox again

August 30: Giants 9, Rockies 5: Bullpen hands San Francisco share of wild card lead - Purple Row
Colorado is tied for the wild card lead, but it's not so exciting how it happened this time

The Denver Post has an impressive assortment of articles by a slew of writers about last night and the entire season. My numbness and lack of time don't allow me to read everything yet, but here it is.

The Final Game of 2009

Phillies fight off Rockies 5-4 in Game 4 at Coors Field - The Denver Post
Phillies fight off Rockies 5-4 in Game 4 at Coors Field

Rockies, fans stunned in Phillies comeback - The Denver Post
John Ingold knows how to to bring on the tears. He just pulled the kid card:

"Eleven-year-old Mark Auger gazed dejectedly down at the suddenly empty baseball diamond, then took the inside-out rally cap off his head and flipped it back outside-out.

Rocktober was over."

Wild Mood Swings: Phillies 5, Rockies 4 - The Good Phight
Stomachs churned, fists pumped and voices went as the Phillies took a thrilling 5-4 win over the Rockies to close out the National League Division Series in four games.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies - Recap - October 12, 2009 - ESPN
MLB Baseball Recap: Final statistics from the Philadelphia vs. Colorado game played on October 12, 2009

Inside the Colorado Rockies " Street Suffers A Bitter Loss | Major League Baseball in Denver I love Huston Street. He absolutely must come back as the Rockies' closer next year.

Kiszla: Weight of world tough to bear for Rockies' Street - The Denver Post

NLDS Game 4: Bests and worsts - The Denver Post
NLDS Game 4: Bests and worsts

More Reflection

Armstrong: Phillies no match for Gonzalez' big bat - The Denver Post

Phillies expect to see Rockies in postseason again - The Denver Post
Phillies expect to see Rockies in postseason again

Instinct takes over as Fowler leaps into second - The Denver Post
Instinct takes over as Fowler leaps into second

Krieger: Rockies bring love to LoDo before questions for next year - The Denver Post
Krieger: Rockies bring love to LoDo before questions for next year

BtB Power Rankings: End of 2009 Season Data - Beyond the Box Score
For those sabermetrically inclined, the Rockies finished 4th in MLB in JinAZ's final season power rankings, behind the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox. Yes, there's no NL team in there.

We'll have plenty of time to banter about the future. Let's give this team the applause it deserved. It was a heck of a ride.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:12:28 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Prince Fielder, seen here checking under his jersey for another jersey, will likely be offered a long term contract by the Brewers this offseason, according to Jon Heyman.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while learning your costume's limitations.

Two more names have surfaced in the search for a new pitching coach: Former Arizona pitching coach Bryan Price and former Rays pitching coach Chuck Hernandez have both reportedly interviewed for the position this week (FanShot). Rick Peterson still appears to be the favorite, but Hernandez has worked with Macha before, and that fact seems to carry some weight for some reason.

It's widely accepted that Albert Pujols will win the NL MVP, but where will Prince Fielder finish? David Gassko of The Hardball Times has developed a system to predict the BBWAA's voting, and it predicts a third place finish for Fielder, behind Pujols and Ryan Howard. Meanwhile, Jon Heyman thinks the Brewers will attempt to sign Fielder to a long term deal this offseason.

USA Today has ranked the "shock wave" celebration following Fielder's walk-off home run on September 6 as one of their top ten highlights of the 2009 season. Certainly, it's a moment we'll remember for quite some time.

This is earlier than I normally do birthdays, but happy birthday to Trevor Hoffman, who turns 42 today. As Adam McCalvy notes, Hoffman will become the second oldest player in franchise history with his first appearance in 2010, and could pass Hank Aaron for first place by appearing in a game anytime after June.

Speaking of pitchers who should return next season, there's a new reason to join the Bring Back Seth McClung Facebook group. McClung has agreed to give an autographed ball to one randomly selected member of the group, to be chosen on Monday. Membership of the group more than doubled yesterday, but clearly we can do better. If you haven't joined yet, now is the time.

R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs has a look at Felipe Lopez, who is riding a career year into free agency for the second time. Anderson notes the differences between Lopez's 2005 and 2009 seasons.

We're just a few hours away from the start of the Arizona Fall League, as the Peoria Javelinas take on Ian Kennedy and the Surprise Rafters at 1:35 Central time today. Adam McCalvy has a preview of the AFL, complete with a link to this PDF of everything you ever wanted to know about the league, and this definition of a Javelina:

Here's something you won't find in that PDF: A javelina, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, is also known as a peccary, a medium-sized mammal that looks a bit like a pig. A terrifying, crazed pig.

Here are some other notes on the AFL:

As far as I know, none of the Brewer beat reporters will be in Arizona covering the AFL, but the Javelinas also feature prospects from the Seattle Mariners, and Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times will be in Arizona following them.
If Baker's coverage and ours aren't enough for you, you can also follow the AFL on Twitter.

Of course, the AFL isn't the only place where baseball is being played right now. The Nashville Sounds' website has a note on the 2009 Sounds playing winter ball in Venezuela. Hernan Iribarren's Cardenales de Lara defeated Adam Heether's Leones del Caracas last night, 7-1. Iribarren went 1-for-4 with a double and scored a run, while Heether went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Need a mental tune-up this morning? NoahJ wants to know how fast you can name the 39 players who appeared in a game for the Brewers this season. I did it with about four and a half minutes to spare, if you need a record to shoot for.

Oh, and if you haven't yet, you're running out of time to cast your ballot in Tangotiger's Fan Scouting Report. Even if you've already cast a ballot, you can stop by to rate some of the players that have recently been added, including Alcides Escobar.

If you've done both of those things and you're still looking for something to do, perhaps you should find a job? The Brewers are hiring an HR Coordinator.

Baseball America's Minor League Transactions include the first wave of players to become minor league free agents this offseason, and there's a bunch of former Brewers among them: Greg Aquino, R.J. Swindle, Glendon Rusch, R.A. Dickey and Joe Dillon. Also noted: The Brewers re-signed minor league free agents Jim Henderson (RP) and Patrick Arlis (C), but allowed Chris Duffy to become a free agent.

Elsewhere in the marketplace:

Intro to Sabermetrics 101 has a look at Carl Pavano, and why advanced metrics would imply he was better than his conventional numbers showed in 2009.
Jorge Says No! wonders if Jason Marquis' offseason asking price will go down now that he struggled down the stretch and had his start skipped in the NLDS last night.

Continuing their open search process, the Astros have released the names of the ten candidates for their vacant managerial position, and the list includes two former Brewer managers: Ned Yost, as expected, and Phil Garner, who would be entering his second tour of duty managing the team. Garner reportedly called to advocate for Bob Melvin, who coached under him in Milwaukee, but ended up as a candidate himself. The Astros, by the way, are not considering Willie Randolph.

It was a bittersweet moment at TBS headquarters last night, as the end of the final NLDS series meant they'll only get 13 of a possible 20 Division Series broadcasts, but that didn't keep them from celebrating the elimination of the last small market team. Of course, Hass Avocado is the true winner.

I wasn't exactly cheering on the Dodgers over the weekend, but when they won I was happy to see Mark Loretta playing a part in it. Loretta languished for years on some pretty terrible Brewer teams, so it's nice to see karma catching up with him.

I mentioned Trevor Hoffman's birthday above, but today birthday wishes also go out to Damian Miller, who turns 40.

Drink up.

Rockies Set Rotation, Roster for NLDS and Lineup for Game 1

Jabberwocky — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:22:35 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

Ubaldo Jimenez will lead the Rockies' playoff rotation.

Browse more photos »

According to Sports Illustrated, Jorge De La Rosa will not be available for the NLDS. As such, here's the Rockies' NLDS rotation:

Ubaldo Jimenez,
Aaron Cook
Jason Hammel

It appears that Jason Marquis will be used out of the bullpen during the first three games, meaning that the Rockies seem to be planning to have Jimenez go in game 4 on short rest and Cook in game 5 on regular rest. The possibility still remains that Marquis could start game 4, though no decision has been made on that. Likely if the Rockies are up 2-1 Marquis would start and if they are down 2-1 Jimenez would go.

Jim Tracy on Marquis:

"I think the first two-thirds of the season were exceptional," Tracy said. "Right now he's not throwing the ball quite in the same manner. And to ignore a guy that has thrown the ball as well as Jason Hammel has thrown it since the All-Star break, I really feel is doing ourselves a disservice."

According to the Denver Post, here's the playoff bullpen:

Jason Marquis
Jose Contreras
Matt Belisle
Joe Beimel
Franklin Morales
Matt Daley
Rafael Betancourt
Huston Street

Belisle basically replaced De La Rosa on the roster. The Rockies have two lefties in the pen to help with the Phillies' Ryan Howard in particular.

From the same link, here's the Game 1 Lineup and bench:

Game 1 Lineup:
CF Dexter Fowler
LF Carlos Gonzalez
1B Todd Helton
SS Troy Tulowitzki
3B Garrett Atkins
C Yorvit Torrealba
RF Brad Hawpe
2B Clint Barmes
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez

This is pretty much what I figured the lineup would be for Game 1, with Atkins and Torrealba starting. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that CarGo will make the start in lieu of Ryan Spilborghs, though I believe that the Rockies are better suited with Gonzalez in the leadoff position rather than in the two hole.

Bench:

1B/DH Jason Giambi
C Chris Iannetta
LF Seth Smith
OF Ryan Spilborghs
3B Ian Stewart
2B/OF Eric Young Jr.

EY2 has taken Quintanilla's bench spot while Giambi slides in as the extra position player.

Hat tip to Rock Oax for his FanShot.

UPDATE: Tracy Ringolsby adds his thoughts on the roster and mentions that Jose Contreras is also a viable option for the starter of Game 4.

Tuesday Rockpile: Bored Colorado Rockies force AL Central teams to battle for their amusement

RockiesMagicNumber — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:01:22 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

Browse more photos »

As various Game 1's of the 2009 postseason draw near, Rockies fans find themselves in an interesting position: Watching 2 other teams have a play-in game for their playoff spot while already inside the gates of the postseason.

This is the second consecutive season where the Minnesota Twins have found themselves in a 1-game play in for the AL Central Division Title. Last season, Sox DH Jim Thome launched a solo shot off of Twins starter Nick Blackburn in the 7th inning which proved to be all the Sox needed, as starter John Danks pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball, and closer Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless 9th.

2 years ago, I hardly need remind anybody on THIS website, but just in case, Colorado rallied off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to win the NL Wild Card for just the second playoff berth in franchise history.

Other famous tiebreaker play-in games include the 3-game series in 1962 where the 103-win Los Angeles Dodgers were defeated by Don Larsen and the 102-win San Francisco Giants en route to an eventual 7-game loss to the New York Yankees, and a 1978 game not easily forgotten in the annals of baseball history thanks to one Yankee shortstop with a censored nickname.

via www.insidesocal.com

Feel free to discuss nostalgic baseball games while we're waiting to continue making our own history.

Meanwhile, back at the Mountain Ranch Club:

Rockies closer Huston Street revels in playoff atmosphere - The Denver Post
Boy, howdy are we glad we're in our situation and not in Philadelphia's. We have a solid setup man, closer, and while Franklin Morales may not be earning our love and favor recently, but he could still be the closer, you know. I know a lot of Santa-Claus-Booing, Battery-Throwing, Cheesesteak eaters who would love to be in our shoes in terms of back-end bullpen headcases. (For any Philly fans reading, I'm totally kidding about all that back there. I know you only throw change.)

Rockies Mailbag: Bring on the Phillies - The Denver Post
Troy Renck answers a few of the Rockies' faithful's questions regarding postseason eligibility, Dan O'Dowd's contract status, Ian Stewart's tough season, Eric Young Jr. 's baserunning troubles, and Troy Tulowitzki for Comeback Player of the Year. Why anyone asked for it for Tulo, I'll never know, but Todd Helton was far more deserving of it if it were to to a Rockies' player.

Krieger: Tough calls pressing in on Tracy - The Denver Post
Dave Krieger takes some time to talk about the Jason Marquis' role in the rotation, how to set the lineups, and pretty much everything we've been discussing ad nauseam since late last week.

Rockies' young hitters get into swing - The Denver Post

Jim Armstrong discusses Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez, the bright future ahead of them, and how versatile their play has been in getting the Rockies where they are now.

This Rocktober squad better than 2007 version - The Denver Post
Patrick Saunders examines the 2009 Rockies as compared to their 2007 counterparts and points out what's good, better, and ugly. Ok not ugly.

Click past the jump for some other MLB capsules.

J.P. Ricciardi, Kevin Towers, Fredi

Baseball's employment rate took a hit this week with the unsurprising firing of embattled Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, the unexpected firing of Padres longtime GM Kevin Towers and the shocking development that Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez's job may not be completely safe.

Who Actually Had the Biggest Comeback in 2009? - Beyond the Box Score

BtBS busts out a little WAR loving to see whose 2 season swing merited them the Comeback Player of the Year award.

2009 Awards | FanGraphs Baseball

Not a lot of surprises as to who wins most of the awards here, but Fangraphs jumps the gun a bit and goes ahead and hands out their hardware before the postseason even begins.

The Giants had a few headlines today:

Giants exceeded expectations in '09 | SFGiants.com: News
The Giants' elimination from the postseason race, which became official Wednesday with Colorado's 10-5 victory over Milwaukee, did nothing to diminish the promise San Francisco showed while climbing into contention.

Free-agent-to-be Brad Penny enjoyed short stint with Giants - San Jose Mercury News
Penny enjoyed pitching on the West Coast again, and the Giants certainly enjoyed having him, despite not making the postseason.

Will Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean be retained next season? - San Jose Mercury News
I certainly hope so. I mean, I'd hate to see Tim Lincecum lose his arm to bad managing, but whatever, I want to keep winning, too.

Curtain call for best ever S.F. catcher?

Tricky article. John Shea cleverly dodges around Bengie Molina's godawful OBP while he makes a case for Bengie to be listed among all-time Giants great backstops.

Molina and the Giants need each other

Ray Rotto has some fond memories of the past 3 years of Bengie the Backstop, and ponders where the Giants could ever possibly find a studly offensive catcher to replace Bengie.....HMMMMM...

Full Count " The Market For Jason Bay

I always find it a bit tacky to discuss FAs before the postseason is over.

Rockies Review: Our Town, Our Time

Silverblood — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:34:53 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

I expect to see, oh, three more of these before the end of the season.

Browse more photos »

First things first: Wow, what an incredible season. From the word go way the hell back on April 6 (losing to the Dbacks in their home opener by a score of 9-8) to coming to the technical end today (losing to the Dodgers in their home closer by a score of 5-3) it's been a rollercoaster of epic proportions. Bookended between those two losses to NL West division opponents was down down down, up up up, down down, and up down up again. (One thing that didn't change was more losses to the Dodgers, but we'll magnanimously overlook that fact). If 2007 was our filing of intentions to be taken seriously as a contender forthwith, then 2008 was the embarrassing Polaroids that we should hide under the bed (ask Rox Girl about that) and 2009 represents the ship finally sailing. Or so we hope. The team matured, after the much-publicized and shockingly effective in-season managerial resetting, from a gawky collection of talented but underachieving individuals into a purple-and-black dynamo that's rumbling into the playoffs as the possessor of its second wild card berth in three seasons, with a chance to lay to rest the lingering sour taste from Rocktober Part Une.

Join me after the jump as we glory in the good moments, rejoice that the bad moments are over with, hide the evidence, fuel the RV, and prepare to wreak doom upon the unsuspecting peons of Philadelphia (who, no doubt, are planning the same for us. Look out beloooooowww!)

On April 11, coincidentally the first time the Rox played Philadelphia (second if you count that the first game of the series was the 10th) I was holed up in a B&B in western Scotland, paying far far too much for wireless internet in the boonies, and cheerily ignoring a five-hour time difference and staying up until 2 AM just to glimpse the first pitch on Gameday. My psychosis needs no further attesting (as you never know when it might crop up in blackmail) and what happened in the game was more important, as it contained some themes we might recognize. The Rockies hit three homers, including one by Tulo, but were unable to bail out Jorge de la Rosa, who coincidentally couldn't bail himself out either by allowing five two-out runs. (This, combined with his seven-run outing at Citizens Bandbox later in the season, explains why I am slightly leery of having him face the Phils, but hey, a mulligan's a mulligan. Injury gods, we require George back for our scheduled world domination. Thxbai). This sort of game was emblematic of April, as the Rockies lurched from looking competent to looking downright offensive. They struggled to establish any kind of consistency, as the dearly departed Clint Hurdle used a different lineup every game and was prone to pulling a starter too early or a reliever too late. Gloom and doom was endemic around here at the Row, as we'd all been led to expect a showing more akin to the second half of 2007 rather than the general cowflop that constituted 2008. After spending spring training talking up fundamentals, it looked instead as if the Rockies had put "mental" in, sure, but forgotten the "fun." (Not to mention "skill." Don't ask me where that fits, I know it's somewhere).

May wasn't much better. The Rockies lost consecutive series to the Giants, Marlins, Astros, and Pirates (ouch) before briefly putting on their big-boy panties to split a four-game set with the Braves (crucial, pending later-season developments) and winning two of three against the Tigers in Detroit. But as they had heretofore excelled in doing, they followed a spark of light with a resounding thud. They were swept at home by the thorn-in-the-foot Dodgers, getting outscored 31-13 in the three games. Hurdle, who by that point was starting to see the shadow of the axe, benched Tulo for grounding into a first-pitch double play in the first game. It was an embarrassing showing all around; the team went 6-31 with RISP, blew the third game by allowing a five-run seventh inning, and dropped, with a very loud clunk, to 18-28. Their low-water mark before the 2007 about-face was nine games south of .500. This was just a little bit worse. Gloom? That's an understatement. The general sentiment around here made Hamlet look like an optimist.

That sweep by the Dodgers, however, was the seed of something good. Something very good. Something that they never, ever, would consider as good: their ex-manager, Jim Tracy. Hurdle was relieved of his post on May 29, and that night, Jason Marquis threw eight shutout innings against the Padres, Yorvit Torrealba recorded an RBI, and the Rockies capitalized on Padres errors for two unearned, winning 3-0. The era of the "Interim Manager" was officially underway. It was expected to be a tourniquet on the wound, hope he could coax the outfit back to a slightly more shipshape look, and entice some enterprising baseball guru to take a flyer on a fixer-upper in the offseason. Talented but underachieving players, just two years removed from a World Series run that was looking flukier all the time, and Tracy had managed himself out of gigs in LA and Pittsburgh. It might well be his last shot at proving himself a legit big-league skipper. He needed just a little redemption. We needed just a few wins. That was all we were hoping for.

Boy, were we in for a surprise.

The Rockies won the series against San Diego. However, they then went to Houston and showed the ugly plastic-surgery scars, losing the first three. By the fourth game, they were just hoping to escape Texas with a modicum of respectability, which was more or less achieved when they walloped the Astros 10-3. Not what they were looking for. Not really up to par.

Someone, after months of fumbling around in the dark and cobwebbed storage closet, must have located and turned on the "on" switch.

The Rockies went to St. Louis. Innocent enough, right? Lots of people go to St. Louis and get out of there with nothing but a tacky snapshot at the top of the arch, but the Rockies were just on their way up. Out of nowhere, they came together with the force of a Category 5 hurricane. Ian Stewart turned into Godzilla. The team as a whole punished St. Louis in the way that they were used to happening to them. They swept the four-game set by a convincing margin: 11-4, 10-1, 7-2, and 5-2. That was startling and pleasant enough, but it didn't stop there. They went to Milwaukee and did the same thing to the Brewers, winning the kind of close games that had been biting them in the posterior: 3-2, 4-2, and 5-4. And they were really warming up to this hot streak thing: They came home and bulldozed the unsuspecting Mariners for three, stringing together a winning streak -- 11 games -- that put in its application to be seriously considered alongside the 2007 insanity. A day off might have dulled their momentum, as they dropped the opener to the Tampa Bay Rays 12-4, but rather than vanishing back into their rut of incompetence, they dusted themselves off and took the next two. They swept the Pirates. They lost a series to the Dodgers. (Naturally). They went out West and broomed the A's and old friend Matt Holliday.

This "being a good team" thing was well and truly off to the races.

From there, we all know the drill. How the Rockies won big, won small. Won heartstoppingly, won ugly, won beautiful. Just won, baby. How they fended off the determined charge of the Giants all year long (until at last the Giants remembered they didn't have an offense, said, "Shit!" and withdrew). How that fending-off of the Giants included one of the most photogenic finishes of all time, Ryan Spilborghs' 14th-inning grand slam to seal a come-from-behind, 6-4 win. (This was on my 21st birthday, August 24 continuing a three-year-long tradition of astounding walkoff wins on that date. Preen preen preen). How the Rockies swept season series from the Reds, Nationals, and Brewers. How they throttled the Cubs, 11-5, on back-to-back days in August, and shut up the stupidity patrol in blue attempting to hijack Coors Field. How they lost yet more series to the Dodgers, even when they were hot. (Okay, we don't need to dwell on that). How they led the wild card for 31 straight days, defusing a furious last-minute effort by the Braves, before finally putting it away for good on a Franklin Morales curveball just a few days ago, to complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds in baseball history. They came inches from snatching out the NL West title, in a race they trailed by 15.5 games on June 3. While they didn't quite manage it, they delayed the Dodgers' clinch until Game 161.

Wow.

There have been heroes aplenty this year: Troy Tulowitzki, Huston Street, First Half Brad Hawpe, First Half Jason Marquis, Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge de la Rosa, Jason Hammel (the only rotation in MLB with five starters possessing 10 or more wins apiece. HOLLA). Rafael Betancourt, for being total ice. Matt Daley and Joe Beimel, even Franklin Morales at times (although not now) for making Taylor Buchholz's absence bearable. Yorvit Torrealba, recovering from every parent's worst nightmare to turn into Cyborgerrealba down the stretch. Seth Smith. Carlos Gonzalez, who went from totally overmatched to totally dominant. Chris Iannetta, whose 11th inning homer against the Brewers was a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Jason Giambi, for coming in and making us all look like fools. And every guy on this team, each and every of the 25, and 40, who make this a total team effort, who come in every day and give it their gutsy god damnt all.

This chronicle isn't over. 92-70 is the team's best record ever, but there's more to go. There are ghosts to be avenged. There are perceptions to correct. There are worlds to shock, and as the fall leaves turn crisp and the bunting is unfurled on the stadium walls, the era is now. It's October, when heroes are made and spines thrill, when Seth Smith dumps a pinch-hit double down the line, when Eric Byrnes goes face first and a franchise's icon throws both fists in the air in pure, unabashed delight. When Tulo cracks one, when he makes the spinning play in the hole, when Stewart throws from the seat of his pants, when U-ball throws 100 and makes it look easy, when Street rips off a slider and they're nowhere near it. When Todd Helton works the count to 10 pitches and hits a double, when he scoops another throw out of the dirt, when the lights come up and you're one of the four still standing, THEN:

THIS IS ROCKIES BASEBALL.

THIS IS ROCKTOBER.

THIS IS THE TIME.

GO ROCKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poll

My Nostradamus mad skillz are saying that in the postseason, we will:

Go all the way. I'm feeling it. It's time to finish some business from 2007. Colorado Rockies, 2009 World Champions. How ya like them apples?!

140 votes

Get as far as we did last time. Another NL Champions flag flying over Coors, but we don't match up with the Yankees, Angels, or Sawx in the Series.

43 votes

Give it a gutsy effort, but be foiled by the Dodgers or Cards in the NLCS

49 votes

Give it the ol' college try, but won't get past the Phillies this time. Still a great season though.

81 votes

313 votes | Poll has closed

Padilla, Dodgers End Season On High Note

Eric Stephen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:08:41 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Might Vicente Padilla start on successive Sundays?

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The Dodgers continued their weekend celebration, ending their season with a 5-3 win over the Rockies to close out their 2009 regular season. Vicente Padilla pitched five strong innings, racking up 10 strikeouts along the way, perhaps emerging as the favorite to take one of the two yet unnamed playoff starts for next weekend in St. Louis.

The Dodgers end the regular season with a 95-67 record, their best seasonal mark since 1985. Let's hope this playoff match-up with St. Louis ends better than that one. The Dodgers' 50 wins at home were their most since the 1991 squad went 54-27 at Dodger Stadium.

The fans at Dodger Stadium were a loud bunch from the first pitch, still buzzing from a thrilling division clincher Saturday night. The Dodgers obliged with four runs in the first inning, a good start to the managerial career of Brad Ausmus.

One cool thing at the stadium today was that Matt Kemp, Casey Blake, Orlando Hudson, and Andre Ethier -- the four regulars in the starting lineup -- were removed in different innings after taking the field, allowing the home crowd to shower them with well-deserved ovations.

Brad Ausmus also inserted himself in the game in the eighth inning, pinch running for Jim Thome, perhaps making him the first manager/runner in Dodger history. Ausmus explained his managerial move:

I am the second least fast guy in the stadium besides Thome; maybe Loretta, but somebody had to pinch run, so I figured I'd get myself out of the way.

Hudson ended the season with 631 plate appearances, falling just one plate appearance short of collecting all of his myriad of incentive bonuses. In addition to his $3.38 million base salary, Hudson collected $4.61 million in incentives, pushing his salary to $7.99 million on the season. Hudson got his career high 35th double.

Juan Pierre stole two bases, giving him exactly 30 steals on the season, the ninth straight season he has hit that mark.

Catcher A.J. Ellis got his first major league hit and run batted in with a first-inning single.

Padilla pitched very well, earning his fourth win as a Dodger. Nine of his first 11 outs were recorded via strikeout, and he ended with 10 in five innings. Since joining the Dodgers, Padilla has a 3.20 ERA, a 3.12 FIP, and has struck out 38 batters in 39.1 innings.

The Dodgers struck out 17 Rockies on the day, their most in a nine-inning game this season. The Dodgers also struck out 17 Rockies in a 13-inning game on June 29, and struck out 20 Reds in 12 innings on August 30.

The Dodgers won the season series with Colorado, winning 14 of 18 games against the Rockies. The Dodgers won all six series played between the two clubs this season, including a pair of sweeps. The Dodgers finished the year 46-26 against the NL West, their best mark within the division since the 1974 club that went 63-27 against the west.

The Dodgers open up their divisional series with the Cardinals on Wednesday at 6:37pm Pacific time. Rosters for the divisional series must be decided by Wednesday at 10am.

WP - Vicente Padilla (12-6): 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 10 strikeouts

LP - Jason Marquis (15-13): 4 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts

Sv - Ramon Troncoso (6): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Box Score

Rockies End 2009 Regular Season with 5-3 Loss to Dodgers

Jabberwocky — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:46:01 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Brad Hawpe finished the season on a high note.

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It was a game that had the atmosphere of March, not October. An assortment of regulars and scrubs played out the string on the 2009 regular season in a meaningless game 162. The Rockies fell to 92-70 (two games behind LA in the NL West), which is still their greatest record ever, and will play the Philadelphia Phillies on the road in the NLDS starting Wednesday at 12:37 MDT. Game 2 will be Thursday at 12:37 and Game 3 at Coors Field will be at 7:37.

Jason Marquis (15-13) had a rough go of it, giving up four runs in the first inning to LA's scrubs. In all, he went four innings, giving up eight hits and three walks. Six relievers (including two innings from Jason Hammel) combined to allow only one run the rest of the way.

On the other side of the coin, Vicente Padilla (12-6, 4-0 in NL) pitched very well for the Dodgers, striking out 10 Rockies in five innings. In all, Colorado struck out a staggering 17 times in the game (12 by the first five hitters in the lineup). They did manage eight hits (including Brad Hawpe's 23rd home run and Dexter Fowler's 10th triple) and even made it interesting in the ninth before falling short.

Box Score

92 - 70

Games Back: 3

Streak: Lost 2

Games Left: 0

via www.fangraphs.com

Good Cop: Hawpe (.070 WPA), Hammel (.041), Ryan Spilborghs (.039)

Bad Cop: Marquis (-.203), Eric Young Jr. (-.172), Ian Stewart (-.109)

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