Somebody Turned Off The Humidor Again

The Rockies mashed from beginning to end in their 9-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and rookie phenom Mike Fiers last night. Clearly there is only one explanation.

The Coors Field carnival is at it again. Humidor? What humidor? If they actually have one it must be broken or they must have turned it off. Considering the crazy conditions there, it might not even be considered real baseball. Just look at how well the ball carries. Look at those cheap home runs!

What’s that? They did not hit a single home run last night? Seriously?

Oh…

The best news for the Rockies might be the continued production from Eric Young Jr. and Dexter Fowler. For so long, dating back to their days in the minor leagues, those two haunted opponents as a speedy 1-2 combination. These days, with Carlos Gonzalez desperate for some help in the middle of the lineup as he awaits the return of Troy Tulowitzki, Fowler is filling in at the #3 spot and starting to do so effectively. Meanwhile, Young Jr. #refuses2beignored (see what I did there?). Kidding aside, he is forcing the Rockies to consider him as they look to the future. Their question for him, presumably, continues to be: what position do you play? 

There has to be a certain measure of excitement about Young Jr.’s production from the leadoff spot. The Rockies could not ask for a better fit at that spot, and the more he gets on base the more it helps the rest of the lineup. This truth has played out in the last stretch of games, including some surprising offense on a west coast swing, when the team has scored a bunch of runs by stringing together singles and doubles. That is a winning formula if they receive decent pitching…

…which brings us to Jeff Francis. His return to the Rockies has turned into a nice story as he continues to log innings and mostly avoid the disastrous outings that have plagued his colleagues. As the Rockies face some questions with the list of names that is supposed to occupy the top spots in the starting rotation moving forward, Francis is quietly making a case that he can stabilize one of the spots in the back end of the rotation. Perhaps Francis, the staff ace of the famed Rocktober team, needed to leave and come back in order to shift to more realistic expectations. The Rockies did not want him as an ace, but I bet they love the idea of having him as a solid #4 or #5 guy.

The Rockies continue their home series with the Brewers tonight as Tyler Chatwood takes the mound against Randy Wolf.