I've followed the Colorado Rockies passionately since their inaugural game in 1993. 

Although the Rox have had some historically miserable losing streaks--often in May, June or July--I can never ever remember them caving at the end of the season like we've seen in 2010. 

I hate to use the quit word but it is tempting.  How can you have a 13-2 winning stretch in September immediately followed by a 1-13 losing stretch?  Something's not right internally, whether it be certain players, coaches, or management, and it's up to Mr. O'Dowd to tear it out at its roots pronto.  

To this die-hard Colorado Rockies fan, the far too many blown-lead losses after Rockies rallies this year ultimately proved to be the team's doom in 2010 (i.e. no playoffs).  The five games that miserably stood out to me, at least in a momentum-killing/negative vibes sense. …

1) April 18 (Road) vs. Atlanta:  Lost 4-3

You could say the bad karma for Colorado on the road in 2010 all got started in the bottom of the 9th of this mid-April game in Atlanta when a double play was completed for the 27th out and a 3-2 Rockies win.  But no, the 1st base umpire inexplicably called runner Troy Glaus safe (an obvious out watching live and on all replays).  The Braves went on to load the bases and rookie Jason Heyward hit a 2-out groundball single to left off Franklin Morales for a 4-3 Atlanta win.  The blown call cost the Rockies a 2-1 series win against the Braves and eventually cost a 4-3 winning record on their first extended road trip.  Who could have known that at least thru August the Rockies would yet to have a winning road trip on their entire 2010 docket?

2) April 28 (Home) vs. Arizona: Lost 12-11.

This was early in the season against a weak team, but sickening and foreboding nonetheless. Rockies fall behind 6-0 after top of the 1st, but rally bigtime in the next few innings to take an 11-6 lead after 4th. Looks like they have the game in the bag with a big offensive show. But Arizona gradually rallies to tie it at 11-11 after 8th, then scores one in top of 10th to win 12-11. Only one disheartening loss early, but it did cost the Rox a winning homestand (went 3-3) and resulted in a 2-1 series loss to the lowly D-Backs.

3) July 11 (Home) vs. San Diego: Lost 9-7.

Colorado was red hot with an 8-1 homestand running and a chance to tie the Padres for 1st place in division in the last game before AS break.  Rockies fall behind 3-0 early, but rally to take a 6-3 lead after 6th inning. Then in the 8th, with Rox leading 6-5, Padres have the bases loaded with 1 out and hit a comebacker to pitcher Matt Belisle. Easy DP to end the inning, but Belisle throws wild to home and 2 runs score for a 7-6 Padres lead. SD goes on to win 9-7.  There's no telling how costly this game and Belisle's error was to the rest of the Rockies season.  Had Colorado held on to the lead and won, they would have swept the series with San Diego and had tremendous momentum going into AS break.  But including this loss, the Rockies went 2-12 in their next 14 games.

4) July 19 (Road) vs. Florida: Lost 9-8

Despite having Ubaldo Jimenez going in his first game since AS break, Rockies found themselves trailing 7-4 after 7 innings.  Then a magnificent rally in top of the 8th--homer by Ian Stewart and a 3-run jack from Jon Herrera of all people--gave the Rox an 8-7 lead that held up going into the bottom of the 9th.  Huston Street retired the first two batters, but carelessly walked Dan Uggla.  Street then gave up a 2-run walkoff homer to unknown bench player Donnie Murphy.  A crushing loss after the great 8th inning rally; it would have evened up the road trip at 2-2 and possibly given momentum for a more palatable 4-7 or 5-6 trip instead of the disastrous 2-9 record that played out.  

5) August 8 (Road) vs. Pittsburgh: Lost 8-7

This gut-wrenching loss was very similar to the blown game at Florida just a few weeks earlier.  Rockies trailed 5-2 going into the top of the 9th, but a spectacular 3-run bomb by Ian Stewart tied the game at 5-5.  Teams went into the 10th tied at 5 when Todd Helton surprisingly scorched a 2-run HR to right for a 7-5 Rockies lead.  This game was surely ours now, all Rockies fans thought.  Not so fast; Huston Street gives up a lead double in bottom of the 10th, but then gets two quick outs.  Another too-careful walk by Street to Garrett Jones followed, then Pedro Alvarez gets a pitch served on a platter and blasts it out for a 3-run homer and 8-7 Pirates walkoff win.  A win for the Rockies would have set them up for a 3-1 series win at Pittsburgh and eventual much-needed 4-3 winning road trip.  Didn't happen, not in 2010 for this team.

How ironic that the Rockies went their first 70 games this year without a single comeback win after the 7th inning--the only team in the majors without a late comeback W--and now they've done the feat in two of their last three games.  Actually it could have been three in a row had Seth Smith's 9th inning drive carried a foot or two farther on Thursday night vs. Red Sox.

As a baseball fan I've always been intrigued by the emotions of late inning comeback wins. On the flip side, there's the downer of blown lead losses (Rockies started 0-5 in this category in 2010).

A late blown lead loss can sting for a day or two, but it doesn't seem to have the negative team impact as much as the positive late-inning comeback victories.  Fresh in memory is the Spilly Slam against the Giants in late August of last year, or better yet the Helton bottom of the 9th, 2-out, 2-strike home run against Saito and the Dodgers in Sept. 2007 that fueled the 21 of 22 run.

On my own I've kept the Rockies record for comeback wins/blown lead losses after 7th inning over the past 15 seasons...

          W-L
2010   2-5
2009   7-6
2008   9-10
2007  15-14
2006   9-11
2005   8-10
2004   9-20
2003   5-8
2002   4-7
2001  12-9
2000  14-6
1999   9-11
1998   7-6
1997   8-12
1996  10-11

In most years this particular W-L stat comes out close to even, unless a team has a horrendous bullpen with lots of blown saves. As I remember that was the case in 2004 when the Rockies had 20 late blown losses. The 2000 season was the Rockies best for late comeback wins vs. blown lead losses, due mostly to the monster clutch hitting season of Todd Helton and the sparkling 11-2 bullpen record of Gabe White.

A friend of mine in the weather business is out with this special update for Saturday...it's looking miserable for Denver:

Winter-like weather could impact Rockies vs Phillies playoff series 

The weather tomorrow in Philly doesn't look that great either...we've unfortunately seen how Ubaldo pitches in windy, cool conditions...

Forecast for Philadelphia

Wednesday

Cloudy with a chance of rain in the morning...then partly sunny in the afternoon. Windy with highs in the upper 60s. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph...becoming west 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

MLB will announce official game times later today, but a St. Louis source has both the Rockies @ Phillies games (Wed. & Thurs.) starting at 1PM MDT.   They also expect the Dodgers @ Cards to have the evening slot (Game 3) in St. Louis on Saturday, following the Phillies @ Rockies at 2PM MDT in the afternoon.   Not sure MLB will go that way on Saturday, will see.

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U. of Utah alumni night at Coors Field 7/24 vs. SF was mostly a bummer of a game...little offense...fans sitting around me in my group, a lot of first-timers this year from what I could tell...weren't that much into it. But the pre-game alumni picnic under the Rockpile stands was real fun...owner Charlie Monfort (Utah '82) great with the fans. I introduced myself to Monfort, talked about college days at the U., then I asked, "Do you ever read some of the Rockies blogs, you know, like Purple Row? At first he wasn't sure what I was talking about, then he said "Oh yeah, Purple Row, that's a real good one. I read it several times a week on my Kindle." Also talked a little baseball...Charlie was real happy for Matt Holliday with news of him going to St. Louis earlier in the day.

via sites.google.com

Hanging out on the concourse late in game.

Outfield seats mostly packed with a 40,000+ crowd.

Nothing like a warm summer evening at Coors Field.

The FSN crew just before pre-game airtime.

Owner Charlie Monfort says, "Let's go on to the World Series!"

Charlie Monfort mixing with Utah alumni Rockie fans.

Originally, I made the YouTube low-blow on Josh Smith video as a quick add-on to game comments in RalphieReport to show what a cheap hit it was on J Fly. 

But over the last couple of days the # of hits on YouTube has increased by thousands.  Seems that a number of sites have picked up the link--most notably the Internet blog Deadspin.  Here's a few samples including some hilarious comments ...

http://deadspin.com/5068445/afternoon-blogdome-excessive-force  

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Colorado-s-Josh-Smith-was-looking-forward-to-chi?urn=ncaaf,117270

http://slushygutter.blogspot.com/2008/10/rocky-mountain-oystered.html  

Matt Holliday has 24 home runs and 25 stolen bases thru Aug. 31. Will he become the 4th Rockie all-time to make the 30/30 Club?  Other Rockies to do it are Larry Walker, 49 home runs,  33 stolen bases in 1997 (MVP year); Ellis Burks, 40 home runs, 32 stolen bases in 1996 and Dante Bichette, 31 home runs, 31 stolen bases in 1996.  Three National League players joined the 30/30 Club in 2007--Brandon Phillips, Jimmy Rollins, and David Wright. 

The sports editor of my local paper, The Daily Times-Call (Longmont, CO) , seems to think the Rockies are forever doomed because of the Todd Helton situation:  Keeping Helton will haunt Rox

Since Ian Stewart took over at third base and Atkins moved to first, the Rockies are 7-1 and they’ve scored 8.0 runs per game. Stewart and Atkins have hit a combined .379 with two homers and 23 RBIs in that time.

Enjoy it now, because when Helton returns — either this year or next spring — he’ll be in the lineup. The question is, who else will be?

First, I don't think the potential trade with Boston 18 months ago was that close to becoming a reality, particularly from the RedSox end.   I definitely don't think Helton will be rushed back into the starting lineup if and when he returns this season.  Management will play it very cautiously, while at the same time relishing the production for the stretch run of the new Stewart at third--Atkins at first combo.   

Regarding the Daily Times-Call,  the Longmont paper is where Rockies beat writer Troy Renck got started.  Patrick Saunders was also a former sports editor there..  I met Troy in the late 1990s in Longmont while he was covering a high school girls cross-country meet of all things.   Man has he come a long way since, and I thnk Troy does an excellent job.  I'm now seeing him in the bigtime reporting in video spots on ESPN and FOX.

Jhoulys Chacin with his combined 15-1 season record goes again for Modesto this evening in a 6:05p.m. PDT start.

Irv Moss of the Denver Post footnotes this morning…

(Rockies’ director of player development ) Gustafson said Chacin has thrown 143 1/3 innings and might be kept on restricted innings for the rest of this season. . . .

Not exactly sure if this has any bearing on Chacin moving up to AA Tulsa anytime soon.

Fascinating cover story on Giants phenom pitcher Tim Lincecum in the latest Sports Illustrated.  The guy is all of 5"10", 172 lbs. For those Rockies fans with 20/10 hindsight, the article points out that six of the first seven teams to pick in the 2006 draft selected pitchers (including Reynolds - Colorado), all ahead of the Giants who took Lincecum at No. 10 pick.   I think it is a no-brainer that Hurdle starts Lincecum for the NL in the upcoming All-Star Game.

Chacin's  dominance earns him a promotion

So 20-yr old Venezuelan pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is moving to high A ball at Modesto.  With continued dominance, AA Tulsa should be next this season--might the Rockies give him a spot start in the bigs in September?

I've yet to see a clip of Chacin pitching...at 6'1" 168 lbs, he sounds like a wirey type with great arm action.  Longtime Rockies roving coordinator Jim Wright props Chacin bigtime..."He's a strike thrower and he doesn't get himself in trouble with walks," Wright added. "You'd like to have a pitcher like him coming through the organization every year. For me, he's one of the top five pitchers I've seen in the organization (over 12 yrs)."

Then there's how to pronounce that name...the one time I heard O'Dowd say it in a radio interview it came out   Jew-LEEZ  sha-SEEN,  but there may be other versions.   Chacin the Machine works for me.

There are many, many examples of eventual playoff teams getting off to slow starts.  Just two years ago, the Rockies went into San Diego during the first week (games 4, 5 and 6) and crushed the Pads 10-4, 12-4, and 10-4.  Padre fans were up in arms and calling for a total house cleaning.  Their defending NL West champs were 1-4 (later 8-15) with seemingly no pitching.  Wouldn't you know, the Padres finished the season 88-74 and won the West again.  Core talent and fundamentals prevail in the long run.     

Not that I expect history to repeat itself, but the last time the KC Royals came into Coors
it triggered a big turnaround in a dismal Rockies season.  It was late June 2005 the Rockies were
22-48 coming off a horrible 1-8 road trip.  The Royals came in and Colorado swept them in 3 games,
scoring 25 runs in the process.  It seemed to give the 2005 rookie-laden club a bolt of confidence.
Including that KC series, the Rox went on to a respectable 45-47 W-L record for the remainder of the season.  

Taking 3 games from the Royals won't be as easy this time, but if this year's team ever needed a sweep, it's now.

From the Sports Illustrated 2007 Baseball Preview issue out today...

8 Who May be Great
The Quick Study: Chris Iannetta
Posted: Thursday March 22, 2007 11:59AM  
By Albert Chen

[editor's note, by Rox Girl]

It's a great article by Chen on the above link, and thanks to Deep Purple for pointing it out, sorry I had to edit the cut and paste, though.

That's right, Most Valuable Blogger.

Add me to the growing list of Rockies fans who have come to marvel at Purple Row
and the terrific content provided by Rox Girl.

This is quality stuff, folks, and I've been following the Denver sports and media scene for a long time. Heck, I'd put Rox Girl right up against Rockies PR Director Jay Alves for professional-level writing and resourcefulness.

The explosion of Internet blogs is an interesting phenomenon, with no exception to the sports world. IMO, the blogs have taken over from the traditional message boards for providing the best combination of content and user participation.

This web-wise Rockies fan has long since had it with the juvenile ESPN boards, the stuffy SABRgeeks at Scout.com (now Fanhome), and the generally lame and ubiquitous Yahoo groups.

Once again, year-end kudos to Purple Row and Rox Girl (whom I don't know), and a Best Supporting role to Russ in NY, too.

Looking at final season stats, not only should Jamey Carroll have the inside track on a NL Gold Glove but the entire Rockies right side of Carroll, Helton, and Hawpe is deserving.

Carroll committed only 3 errors at 2B, while the next closest 2Bman (Biggio) had 6 errors.  Carroll only started 102 games at 2B which could hurt him in the voting, but guys have won Gold Gloves with far fewer games than 100.

Helton (1B) and Hawpe (RF) each had only 4 errors which tied for the league low at their positions. They also each had the highest fielding percentages, plus Hawpe had the monster 16 assists.  

The Rockies led MLB in 2006 with 190 double plays executed.  Our defense doesn't get much attention but it is already a solid building block in place to help this team become a contender.

2006 COLORADO ROCKIES
COMEBACK WINS/BLOWN LEAD LOSSES AFTER 7TH INNING
9 WINS  11 LOSSES

(W)  4-03-06 VS. ARZ (HOME): BEHIND 2-1, SCORED 1 RUN BOT 8TH, 1 RUN BOT 11TH   (1-0)
                             TO WIN 3-2.  

(W)  4-21-06 VS. SF  (HOME): BEHIND 8-5, SCORED 4 RUNS BOT 9TH TO WIN 9-8.      (2-0)

(W)  5-05-06 VS. HOU (HOME): BEHIND 4-3, SCORED 2 RUNS BOT 9TH TO WIN 5-4.      (3-0)

(L)  5-09-06 VS. STL (ROAD): AHEAD 2-1, GAVE UP 3 RUNS BOT 8TH (3-RUN HR)       (3-1)
                             AND LOST 4-2.

(L)  6-11-06 VS. LAD (HOME): AHEAD 5-4, GAVE UP 2 RUNS TOP 9TH AND LOST 6-5.    (3-2)

(L)  6-21-06 VS. OAK (HOME): AHEAD 2-1, GAVE UP 1 RUN TOP 9TH, 1 RUN TOP 11TH   (3-3)
                             AND LOST 3-2.

(L)  6-26-06 VS. LAA (ROAD): AHEAD 3-0, GAVE UP 5 RUNS BOT 8TH AND LOST 5-4.    (3-4)

(W)  7-02-06 VS. SEA (ROAD): BEHIND 2-1, SCORED 1 RUN TOP 8TH, 2 RUNS TOP 11TH  (4-4)
                             AND WON 4-3.

(L)  7-03-06 VS. SF  (HOME): AHEAD 5-4, GAVE UP 3 RUNS TOP 8TH, 2 RUNS TOP 9TH  (4-5)
                             AND LOST 9-6.  

(L)  7-08-06 VS. ARZ (HOME): AHEAD 1-0, GAVE UP 1 RUN TOP 8TH, 7 RUNS TOP 9TH   (4-6)
                             AND LOST 8-7.

(L)  7-15-06 VS. CIN (ROAD): AHEAD 2-1, GAVE UP 2 RUNS BOT 9TH TO LOSE 3-2.     (4-7)

(L)  7-16-06 VS. CIN (ROAD): AHEAD 3-1, GAVE UP 5 RUNS BOT 8TH AND LOST 6-4.    (4-8)

(W)  7-23-06 VS. ARZ (ROAD): BEHIND 7-5, SCORED 4 RUNS TOP 9TH AND WON 9-7.     (5-8)

(W)  7-27-06 VS. SD  (HOME): BEHIND 8-6, SCORED 2 RUNS BOT 9TH (2-RUN HR,2 OUT) (6-8)
                             AND 1 RUN BOT 10TH TO WIN 9-8.

(L)  8-13-06 VS. CHC (HOME): AHEAD 7-5, GAVE UP 3 RUNS TOP 8TH AND LOST 8-7.    (6-9)

(W)  8-14-06 VS. ARZ (HOME): BEHIND 3-2, SCORED 1 RUN BOT 8TH, 1 RUN BOT 9TH    (7-9)
                             TO WIN 4-3.

(L)  9-04-06 VS. SD  (ROAD): AHEAD 5-4, GAVE UP 3 RUNS BOT 9TH (3-RUN HR) TO    (7-10)
                             LOSE 7-5.

(W)  9-08-06 VS. WAS (HOME): BEHIND 8-7, SCORED 4 RUNS BOT 8TH AND WON 11-8.    (8-10)

(L)  9-20-06 VS. SF  (HOME): AHEAD 3-2, GAVE UP 5 RUNS TOP 8TH AND LOST 7-4.    (8-11)

(W)  9-24-06 VS. ATL (HOME): BEHIND 8-7, SCORED 2 RUNS BOT 8TH (2-RUN HR)       (9-11)
                             AND WON 9-8 (TRAILED 7-0 EARLY).

PAST SEASONS
2005   8-10
2004   9-20
2003   5-8
2002   4-7
2001  12-9
2000  14-6
1999   9-11
1998   7-6
1997   8-12
1996  10-11