Rockies end season series against D’Backs with a loss
The Colorado Rockies closed a terrible season series against the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks with a 5-3 loss, ending the season 5-13 in the matchups between the two teams. It was the Rockies’ worst showing against Arizona since 2008 when the Rockies went just 3-15.
Rockies starter Kevin Millwood allowed four of the Diamondbacks’ runs — two in the third inning on a two-run home run by Miguel Montero, the sixth homer and 21st and 22nd RBI by Montero off the Rockies this season. Two more runs scored in the sixth inning on an RBI double by John McDonald and a single by pitcher Joe Saunders. Justin Upton finished the Diamondbacks’ scoring with a solo home run in the seventh — also Upton’s sixth off the Rockies in 2011.
The Rockies scored all three of their runs on solo home runs — the first in the third inning by Millwood, who homered for the first time since 2002. Carlos Gonzalez hit his 25th later in the inning, and Wilin Rosario hit his first major-league home run in the fourth to temporarily give the Rockies a 3-2 lead.
The same deficiencies no matter who’s in the lineup or on the mound. That’s something to ponder. The pieces change, the results stay the same.
Maybe the Indians should have traded Pomeranz and White for Joe Saunders, the clear choice for the Cy Young this year. Since Saunders can hit too, maybe the Indians should have thrown in a bat or two.
Sorry for the sarcasm. I just hate when the Rockies, bless their hearts, lose to these guys.
As I watched the game I found some of the stat comparisons made by Drew and Jeff interesting.
Much has been made of the lack of offense from 3rd. While I have no problem agreeing with this in general, I totally disagree with JT’s assertion that if 3rd base was productive, and it produced another 55 runs, the Rockies would be in a happy place. I just don’t see it that way.
The Rockies are 3rd in runs allowed. Another stat provided by the broadcast crew also shined some interesting light. The Rockies lead the NL in this stat. They have lost 15 games when they have had more than 10 hits in a game. So what does that mean to me?
1) they aren’t scoring runners on base? There are other stats that clearly demonstrate that this is not necessarily their issue although they have left a lot of guys on base this season. That’s why I did not understand all the talk about more bunting. Doesn’t do much good if they don’t score.
2) the starting pitching. Like I posted in Ego’s thread asking if the starters could pull it off. Belisle was the next guy in line to have double digit wins. The brodacast crew talked about Belisle and how he is inline to eclipse the 11-2 or 11-3 mark of a previous reliever. Great! Awesome! Sure would be nice if we had a starter that could do that this season.
Pacheco – I’m a huge Pacheco fan. I really hope he makes it. Right now though I see yet another 2nd baseman that they are trying to find a spot for. Is he a 2nd baseman? Is he a catcher? They have him play 5 games at 3rd so he can come and get some at bats in the majors and play 3rd base. Is he yet another player in the list of guys they are auditioning at 3rd or is he at 3rd just to get at bats at the major league level? Jack Etkin wrote a great piece on Pacheco. No where in that piece did anyone from the Rockies talk about Pacheco as a 3rd baseman or even a “utility player”. They did talk about him being a catcher. For us to speculate that Pacheco is some all purpose great utlility player is just that. Speculation.
How many 2nd baseman do the Rockies have under the guise of “utility player”?
Tracy Ringolsby made a great observation about 3rd base. I can’t remember it verbatim but it was along the lines of being hard to get consistent play when the most games played in a row by anyone at 3rd is 6! And why sign Kouzmanoff for 3 weeks if the plan is to bring up Pacheco and play him at 3rd? The only reason I can guess is because they believed they still had a shot and were going to make a run and Kouzmanoff’s experience might help them? I can’t think of any other reason.
I guess the national talking head really pushed my button and I haven’t recovered. The Giants still have a shot because they have the easiest remaining schedule. I REALLY hope the Rockies sweep the Giants all 7 games. I really do.
In a lost season, it’s good to give Pacheco a chance to show what he can do. But I’m surprised to read that he will be given a chance at 2B when he started there, and was moved from there because, if I remember correctly, he didn’t have the mobility to play that position. Also, he has 2 errors already at 3B, which probably isn’t a surprise given that he has hardly played there at all this year. I was surprised that, given the presence of Rosario, the Rockies didn’t have Pacheco play more 3B and 1B at CS. It seems that if he has a future as a Rockie, it’s as a super utility guy, although, as Mike Raysfan says, that’s just pure speculation.
Hopefully, in the offseason the Rockies can find a starting 3B, a starting 2B (although I think that Ellis is a better stopgap solution at 2B than any of our current guys are at 3B), and a starting pitcher or 2, depending on whether Nicasio will be ready to start at the beginning of the season and what DLR’s timetable is.