The Colorado Rockies continue to wallow in mediocrity as they fall to the San Diego Padres Tuesday night, 2-0. Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer held the Rockies to 4 hits in 8 innings of work, shutting out the punchless purple pinstripers. The 8 innings and 8 strikeouts were both career highs for the 29-year-old right hander. He kept Rockies hitters off-balance all night with stuff that looked a lot tougher against a team that is making every opposing pitcher seem like a Cy Young candidate. In the meantime, Rockies erstwhile ace, Ubaldo Jimenez, has gone from Cy Young to Cy-Yo-Nara.
The Rockies have still not won two consecutive games since May 17th. Since beating the St. Louis Cardinals 15-4 on May 28th, the Blake Street Bumblers have scored a grand total of 16 runs in 9 games, going 3-6 in the process. Superstars Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki continue to bog down the Rockies momentum with empty at-bats and maddeningly futile plate appearances. Another decent pitching performance by Jimenez goes for naught. Ubaldo gave up 6 hits, walked none and struck out 8 Padres. The two runs he surrendered were deemed earned, but that doesn't tell the whole story.
The fateful 5th inning for the Padres began harmlessly enough. RF Brad Hawpe struck out, as did 1B Jorge Cantu. Jimenez looked sharp, as his fast ball was clocking at 96-99 mph and his breaking balls had sharp downward tilt. C Kyle Phillips golfed a pitch two inches off the ground and it dribbled through the infield between 1B Todd Helton and 2b Chris Nelson. The next pitch from Jimenez was a sharp breaking ball in the dirt that C Jose Morales let get through his legs, and Phillips easily scampered to second. Morales should have blocked it, sloppy work by the Rockies catcher. The next batter, 8-hole hitter 2B Alberto Gonzalez looked overmatched and clueless as he worked the count to 3 balls and 2 strikes. Jimenez fired a 90 mph slider over the outside corner that Gonzalez batted just past Jimenez' glove toward second base. Nelson got to the ball and smothered it, but couldn't corral it as it bounced right to Troy Tulowitzki. Third base coach, Glenn Hoffman, sent Phillips home as Tulowitzki had him dead to rights for the third out. The throw to Morales hit the dirt right in front of the glove of the Rockies backup catcher, and he couldn't corral it. Phillips slid home with the Padres' first run. In short order, typical of the Rockies' fortunes the last three weeks, the grounder should have been caught, the throw home should have been more accurate and the catcher missed two balls that any other Major League catcher should have caught. Instead, to add insult to injury, the fucking pitcher, Tim Stauffer laced a single to left to score Alberto Gonzalez with the Padres' second run. Game over, pretty much.
Oh, the Rockies did manage two hits and a walk in the final 4 innings, but never seriously threatened, as San Diego closer Heath Bell shut the door on the Rockies for his 17th save. I think that, in the last two games, we have seen the Rockies' future closer. Left-hand flamethrower Rex Brothers pitched an inning each in Monday's victory over the Pods and in Tuesday's loss to the NL West cellar dwellers. Brothers, who attended tiny Bible school Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, was drafted by the Rockies in 2009. He has ascended through the farm system rapidly, impressive with his skills and attitude. The Rockies now have two arms in the bullpen that should serve as Huston Street's successor. The closer position does require a tough mental and intestinal fortitude, which I admit, Street does possess.
In closing, if Chris Nelson can't hit consistently, Jonathan Herrera is a much more efficient second baseman. Jose Morales will cost the Rockies more games than he can possibly make up for with his .217 batting average. He not only allowed the wild pitch in the 5th, and the mishandled throw from Tulo for, what should have been, the third out, but also a passed ball in the 6th that allowed a Padres runner to advance to third. Luckily, Ubaldo blew a 99 mph fastball past a swinging Brad Hawpe to end the threat. Jason Giambi maybe should replace Carney Lansford as the hitting coach, and vacate his spot on the roster. That way, we don't lose the potential power of the Golden Thong.
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