Rockies Woman Weekly Report – 7/30-8/5

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this was the worst week in Rockies’ history. The team, so clearly out of the postseason hunt at this point, played halfheartedly, the same way they did as they fell out of the race late last September. That part of the season is a good six weeks away, so it’s even more pitiful now than it was then. And far worse than their playing were the two events that bookended this week: Ubaldo Jimenez being forced to pitch an inning in San Diego on Saturday despite knowing he was mere minutes from being traded to Cleveland, and Juan Nicasio getting drilled by a line drive last night that broke his neck. If things could have been any worse in the past seven days, I’d like to know how.

This Week’s Record: 2-5

Hitting: B-

The Rockies hit .269 this week, which put them in the middle of the pack in baseball. It wasn’t their most productive week offensively; they scored 34 runs, which is fewer than all three opponents they faced. Their power numbers did pick up a little bit. After a tough July in which they hit only 16 home runs total, they collected 6 this week. What we mostly saw, I think, was a struggling team doing the best they could with what they had. Carlos Gonzalez is still out with his wrist injury, though he hopes to return this weekend. And Charlie Blackmon is out for the season. Their production has certainly been missed, especially Cargo’s; the entire lineup feels a little less potent without him. The good news is that Troy Tulowitzki is having his usual late-season surge. He hit .440 this week with a pair of home runs and just in general is taking better at-bats than he had been. He even hit a couple of sacrifices. Chris Iannetta also had a terrific week, and not just with walks as per usual. He hit .500 with 3 RBIs. Eliezer Alfonzo, backing up Iannetta, is too much of a defensive liability for me to want him catching regularly, but he was excellent at the plate this week: .417 with a home run that just happened to be his first career grand slam. Ty Wigginton, Chris Nelson, and Dexter Fowler also had some good offensive games. Ian Stewart had a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs, making this possibly his best week yet this season. And Eric Young Jr., while he didn’t hit very well for average this week, collected a team-leading 6 walks and showed a lot of patience and intelligence in the batter’s box. Todd Helton had an uncharacteristic tough week, hitting just .200. He still drove in 3 runs, though, since even the Toddfather’s outs are productive. Seth Smith, Mark Ellis, and Ryan Spilborghs had the most disappointing weeks offensively, going a combined 5-for-43.

Running: B+

It wouldn’t be the Rockies without a nightly baserunning error or seven, and they did not disappoint this week. However, they also showed some aggression, and as a team they stole 10 bases, second only to San Diego in baseball. This is a vast improvement over previous weeks. Most of the thanks go to Young and Fowler, who have brought some life to the running game since their call-ups. Young stole 5 bases this week, a feat that only Blackmon has accomplished so far this season. I’d much rather have Charlie in left field than EY, but their skills on the basepaths are pretty much equal. The team was caught stealing 5 times, a few too many, and Chris Nelson was picked off 1st last night in a close game when ever runner mattered. I like the increased effort to move up to the next base, but I won’t be completely satisfied until the Rockies play a cleaner running game than they are now.

Defense: A-

The Rockies played nearly error-free baseball this week, a refreshing change from the weeks prior. In fact, if not for Alfonzo, they would have committed exactly one error, which came courtesy of EY. Alfonzo, though, wreaked a bit of havoc, bearing the responsibility for 3 errors despite only starting 3 games. Catching has been a real defensive black hole for the Rockies this season, with the exception of Iannetta. I’m happy to have Netta catch every single game, but it doesn’t work that way, and every back-up catcher we’ve tried has had trouble with the position. Long-term, this could be a big problem, since the catcher must have a sure glove in order to make quality plays at the plate, throw out runners, and keep wild pitches under control. So this back-up catcher situation has me a little nervous. Still, well done Rockies on the field side this week. Especially in light of the drama that went on this week, it’s impressive that they played so efficiently.

Starting Pitching: B

I will only be considering six performances for this category. Ubaldo Jimenez’s final start as a Rockie last Saturday was the result of exceedingly poor judgment on the part of Dan O’Dowd and the rest of the Rockies management, and as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t count. Without that, the starters went 1-3, despite turning in a number of excellent performances. Esmil Rogers, Ubaldo’s default replacement who also had a stellar relief appearance, won his start on Thursday, allowing only 1 run in 5 2/3 innings pitched. He also allowed 7 hits and threw a lot of pitches, which is why he didn’t last longer, but it was promising. His total ERA for the week was 1.69. Jhoulys Chacin was terrific against the Phillies on Monday, holding them to 1 run over 7 1/3 innings, and he would have gotten the win if not for the bullpen. Juan Nicasio also lost a win to the pen on Sunday, when he pitched 7 innings and allowed just one run. He also struck out 10, a season high for the team. Nicasio’s other start this week, which was cut short last night by that evil line drive, was a little rougher: 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 1 inning. The starting pitchers’ generally excellent job this week was overshadowed by a poor start each from Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. Cook lasted just 4 innings on Tuesday before leaving with a neck spasm; in those 4 innings he allowed 4 runs. And Hammel was all over the place on Wednesday, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. In general, this was a good week for the rotation, but the weak links continue to bring it down.

Relief Pitching: C+

I’m giving the pen a lower grade than I ordinarily would because they blew 2 saves, which is pretty bad, and not just because that wastes the terrific efforts of two starting pitchers. It doesn’t feel good as a baseball fan to watch your relievers come to the mound and know that there’s a good chance that the lead could go away, or that the deficit could get wider. I want to have more confidence in them because I believe that a lot of them have really great stuff, but the lack of consistency is really disturbing. Rex Brothers, so perfect in the rest of July, took two losses this week, one of which was accompanied by a blown save. He pitched 4 innings and allowed 6 runs, including 2 home runs. Matt Belisle was just okay, posting a 7.36 ERA in 2 appearances. Huston Street only blew one save, but it felt like several more than that, as he gave up 5 runs in 3 innings. The good news is that other guys had a great week. Edgmer Escalona, called up on Saturday to replace the departed Ubaldo, pitched a total 0f 7 2/3 innings over 3 different games and only allowed 2 runs, both last night. It was great to have him when Cook and Nicasio had to leave their starts early, and he really came through. Matt Lindstrom allowed 1 run in 4 innings of work, and Matt Reynolds pitched a perfect 2 1/3 (a huge sigh of relief considering his struggles lately). Rafael Betancourt is the real hero though. He’s had some tough times this season, but he’s been a complete stopgap recently. He didn’t allow an earned run in 3 1/3 innings this week, and he struck out 6.

Intangibles: B

This was just a really really hard week. We fans tend to focus on how upheavals within our team affect us, but imagine what it must be like for the guys who are left behind. Especially for a Todd Helton, who has had such a terrific career but doesn’t have many years left. What must he have thought as he watched the front office trade away their ace, effectively conceding this season and possibly the next as well? And I know it was traumatic to see Nicasio fall to the mound yesterday, but those guys were on the field with him, and they saw it up close. I’m honestly surprised the team did as well as it did this week, facing the Phillies and being emotionally battered as they were. It remains to be seen how these events will affect things going forward, but I hope what we’ll see is the team pulling together and playing the best baseball they can in honor of their lost teammates. I hope we’ll see some character, some heart, and maybe even a little magic. The lack of a complete meltdown this week is a good start.

Overall Grade: B

Pitcher of the Week: Esmil Rogers (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 10 K’s)

Hitter of the Week: Troy Tulowitzki (.440, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 6 RBIs, 1 SB)