A Day in the Life of a 13 Year-Old GM

[rockiesfan4ever]

Only my team could do something like what just happened to me.

Sanchez goes 8 IP and gives up 1 ER
Cook goes 9 IP and gives up 1 ER
I had to bring in the closer in both games
Cook's game went to Extra Innings

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OFFENSE!? In 18 Innings 2 ER, thankfully my P went 18 IP and gave up 2 ER.

[rockiesfan4ever]

As soon as I say that Holliday and Tulowitzki are on a tear they go a combined 3-21 (Holliday went 0-11). What a season!

June 14th-June 16th
Detroit Tigers (34-31) at Colorado Rockies (31-29)

Probable Matchups:

June 14th: Anibal Sanchez (4-3, 5.37) AT Kyle Sleeth (2-4, 7.94)
June 15th: Aaron Cook (4-6, 8.69) AT Jeremy Bonderman (6-2, 4.12)
June 16th: Rodrigo Lopez (5-2, 4.62) AT Nate Robertson (2-5, 3.98)

June 14th:
Colorado: 2:5:0
Detroit: 1:4:0

Garrett Atkins put the Rockies on the board first in the 2nd inning with a solo blast (13, 412 ft.) to make it 1-0 Rockies. Chris Iannetta caught his first base-stealer of his MLB career when he threw out Ivan Rodriguez trying to steal second. The Rockeis scored their second run of the game when Brad Hawpe single dhome Todd Helton from second in the top of the 4th inning. That lead was cut to 1 when Carlos Guillen led off the home half of the 5th with a solo HR (11, 397 ft.). After trading zeroes for 3 1/2 innings we go into the bottom of the 9th up by 1 and Betancourt coming in. He set the Tigers down 1-2-3 to give the Rockies another win.

Colorado MVP: Anibal Sanchez: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, HR, 1 R (1 ER), 7 K, 130 Pitches Thrown.
Detroit MVP: Carlos Guillen: 1-3, R, HR (11), RBI (41)

WP: A. Sanchez (5-3)
LP: K. Sleeth (2-5)
SV: R. Betancourt (12)

June 15th:
Colorado: 4:7:0
Detroit: 1:8:0

Willy Taveras led off the game with a double into the RF, but the Rockies could not capitalize and left him at second base. Placido Polanco grounded to second and gave the Tigers the lead on what should've been an easy inning ending double play. Finally the Rockies' offense sparks, however it happened in the top of the 8th inning. Garrett Atkins lead off the top of the 8th inning with a solo HR (14, 409 ft.) to tie it at 1. That does it. Placido Polanco just stole third when I was trying to intentionally walk Magglio Ordoñez! However, Cook was able to get out of the inning. Todd Helton broke the tie in the 10th with a lead-off HR (11, 365 ft.) and made it 2-1 Rockies. Brad Hawpe increased the lead to 4-1 with a 2-run HR (16, 415 ft.). Betancourt came in and shut Detroit down and gave the Rockies a huge win.

Colorado MVP: Aaron Cook: 9 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 1 HR, 1 R (1 ER), 1 K, 107 Pitches thrown.
Detroit MVP: Placido Polanco: 0-4, RBI (40).

WP: A. Cook (5-6)
LP: F. Rodney (1-1)
SV: R. Betancourt (13)

June 16th:
Colorado: 3:5:0
Detroit: 3:13:0

The Rockies started off the 3rd with a walk and a single, but couldn't cash in. A double by Curtis Granderson off of Rodrigo Lopez in the 4th followed by a Mgllio Ordoñez single made it 1-0 Tigers. Follwing that was 2 more singles to make it 2-0 Tigers. However, Lopez was able to get out of the inning with a pop up to Atkins and a 6-4-3 DP. The Tigers loaded the bases in the 5th against Lopez with 1 out, and Magglio Ordoñez up. Mags singled back up the middle and made it 3-0 Tigers. Marcus Thames scored Carlos Guillen with a sacrifice Fly to Taveras to make it 4-0 in the 5th with 2 outs. Brad Hawpe cut the lead in half in the 7th inning with a 2-run HR (17, 410 ft.) and made it 4-2 Tigers. However, Carlos Guillen responded with a solo HR (12, 414 ft.) to make it 5-2 Tigers. Kazuo Matsui doubled in the 8th, but the rest of the offense couldn't capitalize. Brad Hawpe came through in the 9th with a sac fly to CF to make it 5-3 Tigers with 1 out. However, the dream of a comeback was smashed when Chris Iannetta grounded into a 5-4-3 game ending DP.

Colorado MVP: Brad Hawpe: 1-3, R, HR (17), 3 RBI (53)
Detroit MVP: Magglio Ordoñez: 2-4, R, 2 RBI (42)

WP: Nate Robertson (3-5)
LP: Rodrigo Lopez (5-3)
SV: Todd Jones (15)

NL West Standings:
1. San Diego Padres 37-30
t2. Colorado Rockies 35-31
t2. Los Angeles Dodgers 36-32
4. Arizona Diamondbacks 34-35
5. San Francisco Giants 34-35

What's Coming Up:
I get to play 3 @ the Kansas City Royals, and hopefully I can catch the Padres and take over first in the division.

Major Transactions:
6/15/07: Texas trades 3B Travis Metcalf and CF John Mayberry to Atlanta for SS Edgar Renteria.- Good trade for both teams and Texas gets a piece for their playoff run, and Atlanta gets 2 good spects to rebuild with.

Important Injuries:
The Twins' playoff run took a hit when CF Torii Hunter fractured his skull when he dove into the baggie to catch a fly ball and will miss 2 months.

League Milestones:
NONE

[rockiesfan4ever]

Yorvit Torrealba will take over the regular catching duties from Chris Iannetta

[rockiesfan4ever]

Rockies are leaning towards leaving Cook in the rotation and trading Dustin pedroia for a new catcher.

June 17th-June 19th
Colorado Rockies (35-31) at Kansas City Royals (33-35)

Probable Matchups:

June 17th: Ramon Ortiz (4-1, 3.74) AT Zack Grienke (3-8, 5.20)
June 18th: Jeff Francis (7-4, 3.86) AT Gil Meche (5-6, 3.30)
June 19th: Anibal Sanchez (5-3, 4.90) AT Odalis Perez (7-4, 3.38)

June 17th:
Colorado: 2:7:0
Kansas City: 6:15:1

The first run of the game was scored by Kansas City in the bottom of the 1st inning when 39 year old Reggie Sanders singled home Joey Gathright from third. The Royals scored again in the 2nd with the same setup as in the first inning. A lead-off double, a sacrifice ground out, a non-run scoring out, then a single. This time it was by Tony Peña Jr., and he drove in John Buck. One time around the batting order for the Rockies and no one has reached base. Back-to-back singles with none out in the 3rd made it a scary situation facing the 4-5-6 hitters of KC's lineup. However, Ortiz got Reggie to line out to RF and Ross Gload to ground into a 4-6-3 inning-ending DP. The Rockies got their first hit of the game in the 4th inning when Willy Taveras lead off with a single into RF then promptly stole second base. After a Kazuo Matsui fly out, and a Willy Taveras tag up, we had 2 opportunities to bring Willy home and cut the deficit in half. However, Helton lined out to Ross Gload and Holliday flied out to right bringing him hitless in his last 13 AB. Mark Grudielanek singled following 2 singles by Joey Gathright and Emil Brown and gave KC a 3-0 lead. A Reggie Sanders single loaded the bases, with 1 out, for Ross Gload. Gload hit a sac fly to Centerfielder Willy Taveras, which scored Emil Brown, and gave Kansas City a 4-0 lead. The run-scoring continued when John Buck singled home Grudielanek to make it 5-0 Royals, and through all of this Ortiz has only thrown 15 pitches. He struck out Craig Brazell to end the inning on 3 straight pitches, now let's just hope my offense can get going. A one out Cory Sullivan single and a 2-out Matsui bloop single but runners on the corners and 2 outs for Helton. Helton came through with a single into RF and scored Sully to make it only a 5-1 Royals lead . Holliday's slump continued as he struck out to end the inning. Emil Brown got the run back in the 6th when he hit a ball off of his kneecaps into LF to make it 6-1 KC. After that, while trying to look at a recap of the game so far, my game froze so...., but it's working now again. Zack Grienke is now over the 100 pitch mark and doesn't look to be trying which is not a good sign for my ballclub. He ramped up a fastball to 92 MPH (his fastest so far) to end the top of the 7th when he struck out Chris Iannetta. A fielding error by Emil Brown on a hit by Todd Helton extended the 8th inning and gave Holliday a big chance to break out of his slump. He did, he broke out of his 14 AB game slump streak with a single up the middle to make it a 6-2 Royals lead. However, Tulo grounded out to Alex Gordon to end the inning. The 9th inning with down without a whimper and the Royals beat the Rockies 6-2

Colorado MVP: Todd Helton: 1-4, RBI (45)
Kansas City MVP: Mark Gurdzielanek: 3-4, R, RBI (13)

WP: Zack Greinke (4-8)
LP: Ramon Ortiz (4-2)
SV: David Riske (1)

June 18th:
Colorado: 6:11:0
Kansas City: 1:5:1

We started the game off with a bang when Taveras singled and stole second, then Matsui tripled to deep center to make it 1-0 Rockies. Helton followed with a sacrifice ground out and made it 2-0 Rockies. The Royals got their first hit on a Reggie Sanders single in the 5th inning. A Ross Gload double followed and scored Sanders to make it 2-1 Rox. Kazuo Matsui got that run back immediately with a lead-off HR (5, 413 ft.) and make it 3-1 Rockies. Matsui made it a 2-HR game with a 2-run HR (6, 406 ft.) to CF to make it a nice 5-1 lead. Atkins increased that lead with a HR (15, 403 ft.) to RCF and made it a comfortable 6-1 lead. Francis came back out in the 9th to try and get the complete game and he got the 1st 2 outs smoothly. However, Ross Gload singled, but John Buck grounded out to Tulo to end the game.

Colorado Co-MVPs: Kazuo Matsui: 3-5, 3B (3), 3 R, 2 HR (5, 6), 4 RBI (21) & Jeff Francis: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 4 K, 117 Pitches.
Kansas City MVP: Ross Gload: 3-4, 2B (16), RBI (36).

WP: J. Francis (8-4)
LP: G. Meche (5-7)

June 19th:
Colorado: 3:7:1
Kansas City: 9:11:0

A John Buck double followed up by a Craig Brazell double made it an early 1-0 Royals lead in the 2nd. A lead-off error by Brad Hawpe in the 3rd followed by a Grudzielanek double to make it a 2-0 Royals lead. Ross Gload singled later that inning to put the Royals up by 3. John Buck expanded that lead to 6-0 with a 3-run HR (11, 358 ft.) and I have a feeling Sanchez will go to the bullpen for the rest of the year. For right now Elmer Dessens comes in to pitch. After a Brazell fly out to left Alex Gordon struck for a solo HR (6, 335 ft.) to make it 7-0. A Willy Taveras single to start the 4th gave the Rockies their first hit of the game (All this after KC has 7 hits and 7 runs.). However, my offense couldn't come through and Taveras was stranded at second, after he stole it. The Royals got 2 more runs on a Teahen 2-run HR (7, 375 ft.) to make it 9-0 KC. We looked like they actually may score a run in the 6th with back-to-back singles by Pedroia and Taveras, but Matsui grounded into a 5-4-3 DP. However, Helton singled home Pedroia and made it 9-1 Royals. If my players can't get hits I'll play small ball. Taveras walked, stole second, stole third, then scored when Matsui executed a perfect suicide squeeze and got a hit. Matsui then stole second and third, and then scored on a Helton ground out to short to make it 9-3 Royals. Now we have 1 inning to try and score 6 runs to tie the game. The whole inning depends on what Hawpe does after an Atkins walk and he grounded out to the pitcher, forcing Atkins at second. Then Torrealba grounded into a 6-4-3 game-ending DP.

Colorado MVP: Willy Taveras: 2-3, BB, R, 3 SB.
Kansas City MVP: John Buck: 3-4, 2B (9), 2 R, HR (11) 3 RBI (29).

WP: O. Perez (8-4)
LP: A. Sanchez (5-4)

NL West Standings:
1. San Diego Padres 38-32
2. Los Angeles Dodgers 38-33
3. Colorado Rockies 36-33
4. San Francisco Giants 36-36
5. Arizona Diamondbacks 35-37

What's Coming Up:
I get to play 4 @ home against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I am hoping I can get a series win and move back into 2nd place in the division.

Major Transactions:
6/17/07: John Maine signs a 3-year 2.6M extension to stay in NY.
6/18/07: Tampa Bay extended ace Scott Kazmir's contract for 3-years at 3.55M per year.
6/19/07: Washington trades 1B Dimitri Young to Seattle for P Anthony Butler.- Again Washington gets a piece to rebuild with and Seattle hopes to hold onto their lead with solid DH play from Young.

Important Injuries:
Chirs Young (ARI) will miss 2 weeks when he suffered a hairline fracture in his arm when he hit himself with a bat during BP.
Doug Davis (ARI) will miss 3 weeks with a Spiked Achillies Tendon after Chris Young stepped on his ankle while hopping up and down because of his arm.
Woody Williams (HOU) will miss 3 months after he broke his hip when he slipped on some black ice while walking to practice.
Adrian Gonzalez (SDP) will miss 5 weeks because of a stretched knee ligament which occured during an arguement with an umpire during the 7th inning of last night's ballgame.

League Milestones:
Miguel Tejada drove in his 1000th RBI during a June 17th game at the Diamondbacks.

[rockiesfan4ever]

Let's look at some of the Record/Milestone races going on (In case I missed some that the game didn't tell me about):

Homerun Title: Hank Aaron has 755, 2nd place Barry Bonds with 751
HBP Title: Hughie Jennings has 287, 2nd place Craig Biggio with 283
500 Saves: Trevor Hoffman has 501 career saves
3000 Hits: Craig Biggioo is 12 Hits away from 3000 (2988)

[rockiesfan4ever]

June 20th-June 23rd
Los Angeles Dodgers (38-33) at Colorado Rockies (36-33)

Probable Matchups:

June 20th: Brad Penny (4-1, 2.52) AT Aaron Cook (5-6, 7.46)
June 21st: Derek Lowe (6-3, 2.66) AT Rodrigo Lopez (5-3, 4.80)
June 22nd: David Wells (10-4, 5.43) AT Ramon Ortiz (4-2, 4.02)
June 23rd: Jason Schmidt (10-4, 4.42) AT) Jeff Francis (8-4, 3.62)

June 20th:
Los Angeles: 22:22:2
Colorado: 5:12:2

Singles by Matt Kemp and James Loney put runners on the corners with 2 outs in the 1st inning. Cook then loaded the bases with a walk to Kent and Luis Gonzalez up at the bat. He performed the same task on Gonzalez to make it an early 1-0 Dodegrs lead. Garciaparra then singled into LF, scoring 2, and putting the Rockies in an early 3-0 hole. Furcal followed that up with a double to make it 5-0! with 2 outs in the 1st. Only a Brad Penny ground ball to Tulo could end the inning. We countered in the 1st with 2 single of our own and a walk to Tulo to load the bases for Garrett Atkins (Holliday and Helton needed a rest so I sat them). Atkins singled giving us 2 runs and make it 5-2. Hawpe, however, grounded into a 6-4-3 DP and Sullivan lined out to end such a prosperous inning. James Loney increased the Dodgers lead by 1 with a single into LCF in the 2nd inning, scoring Juan Pierre. After a Jeff Kent single Luis Gonzalez made it 9-2 with a 3-run HR (11, 394 ft.). Our pitching has just fallen apart as Josh Fogg gave up a 3-run HR to Matt Kemp (2, 387 ft.) to make it 12-2 Dodgers. Tulo erased part of the deficit with a solo HR (11, 373 ft.) to make it 12-3 Dodgers. However, 3 singles by the Dodgers in the 4th got the Dodgers that run back to make it 13-3. A walk to Russell Martin and a single up the middle by Matt Kemp made it 14-3 Dodgers! I'm running out of patience, Fogg walked Kent with the bases loaded to force in another run and make it 15-3 Dodgers. Gonzalez then drove Martin in with a sac fly to make it 16-3 through 4 INNINGS. The nightmare inning ended with a Garciaparra ground out. The apocalypse must be happening as Fogg set the Dodgers down without allowing a run in the 5th and the Jamey Carroll lead-off with a solo HR (2, 373 ft.) to make it 16-4. Then Taveras hit his 1st HR of the season (1, 442 ft!) to make it 16-5. Matt Kemp made it 18-5 in the 8th with a 2-run single. Loney then connected with a 3-run HR (6, 417ft.) to make it 21-5. James Loney made it 22-5 with a single in the 9th.

Los Angeles MVP: Matt Kemp: 4-7, 3 R, HR (2), 6 RBI (12).
Colorado MVP: Garrett Atkins: 1-3, BB, 2 RBI (43).

WP: B. Penny (5-1)
LP: A. Cook (5-7)

June 21st:
Los Angeles: 5:14:0
Colorado: 3:8:0

We put runners on the corners with 0 out in the 5th inning, Sully popped out, but Torrealba singled into LF making it 1-0 Rockies. Lopez gave that run back up in the 6th when Russell Martin homered (8, 409 ft.) over the RF mini-monster. Dangit, Jeff Kent singled later that inning to make it 2-1 Dodgers. Lopez just cant get 1 out right now. Of crouse he gets Garciaparra to ground out to end the inning right after I typed that. Kaz Matsui made it 3-2 good guys with a 2-run HR (7, 421 ft.) in the 6th. A potential Dodgers rally was stopped when Matt Kemp singled into RF then was thrown out by Brad Hawpe trying to stretch it into a double (Hawpe's second assist today). After a JEFF KENT infield single Luis Gonzalez made it 4-3 with a 2-run HR (12, 374 ft.). Garciaparra followed that with a solo HR (7, 380 ft.) to make it 5-3 Dodgers. The inning on ended when, you guessed it, Hawpe threw out someone (Rafeal Furcal) trying to stretch a single into a double. My offense couldn't score in the 9th and we lost.

Los Angeles MVP: Luis Gonzalez: 2-4, R, HR (7), 2 RBI (41).
Colorado MVP: Kazuo Matsui: 1-4, R, HR (7), 2 RBI (24).

WP: Joe Beimel (3-3)
LP: Brian Fuentes (2-2)
SV: Takashi Saito (20)

June 22nd:
Los Angeles: 2:8:0
Colorado: 6:10:0

That's the way to start off a ballgame. Tulo hit a solo HR (12, 394 ft.) to start the bottom of the 1st off. Brad Hawpe made it 2-0 with a single into LF off Davis Wells. Atkins followed that up with a 3-run HR (16, 387 ft.) to make it 5-0. David Wells got pulled for a PH with 2 outs in the top of the 2nd. Russell Martin made it 5-1 with a lead-off HR (9, 407 ft.) in the 3rd inning. Again our pitchers' inability to get an out with 2 outs cost us. 2 straight 2 out singles give the Dodgers another run and makes it 5-3 Rox. A Helton walk, Holliday single, and a Hawpe walk, loaded the bases in the 3rd for Garrett Atkins with 0 gone in the inning. However, a line out and 2 strike outs looking later, we see that we didn't put any runs on the board and wasted a perfect opportunity. 3 straight singles in the 7th brought home another Rockies' run to make it 6-2 Rox. Corpas came in and shut the Dodgers down ending our 3-game skid.

Los Angeles MVP: Nomar Garciaparra: 3-4, RBI (24)
Colorado MVP: Garrett Atkins: 2-4, R, HR (16), 4 RBI (47)

WP: Ramon Ortiz (5-2)
LP: David Wells (1-6)

June 23rd:
Los Angeles: 7:10:0
Colorado: 8:10:2

The Dodgers almost scored their first run after a botched DP (They couldn't turn a 6-4-3 DP with Kent and Gonzalez running), but Francis got Furcal to fly out. Heleton gave us our first runs of the game with a 2-run HR (12, 434 ft.) to make it 2-0 good guys. Holliday followed that with a solo HR (25, 433 ft.) and made it 3-0. Hapwe promptly lined out to 3rd to end the inning though. Follwing a 2-out single by P Jeff Francis, Taveras made it 4-0 with a single into CF. A Matsui walk followed, loading the bases for Helton with 2 gone. However, Helton flied out to RF to end the inning. Jaun Pierre doubled in the 5th, scoring a run, and making it 4-1. That after Francis hit PH Andy LaRoche. The good news is that Francis was able to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs. The Dodgers threatened in the 6th when they loaded the bases with 0 out for Nomar Garciaparra. Francis promptly hit Garciaparra, to score a run making it 4-2, and bring up Shea Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand hit a ball back to Francis for an easy 1-2-3 DP, but Francis allowed the run to score making it 4-3 and got the 1-6-3 DP. Then he hit Olmeado Seanz to put runners on the corners with 2 outs. Luckily, he was able to strike out Mike Lieberthal to end the inning. A Jeff Kent single an inning later tied the game up at 4, and shows what impact the DP had on the game. A Torrealba single in the home half of the 8th gave us a 5-4 lead. That was followed up by a PH 3-run HR by Dustin Pedroia (2, 444 FT!) to make it 8-4 us. The 9th was a little shaky and it looked like the game was over but an erorr by Willy Taveras allowed a run to score (8-5) and put runners on 2nd and 3rd for Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez singled, making it 8-6, and runners on the corners for Garciaparra. It looked like the game was over when Garciaparra grounded to Atkins, but ANOTHER 2-out fielding error allowed the rally to continue. Here's the situation: Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, bottom of the 9th, and Ramon Martinez up. That's the way you make sure no error happens, Betancourt ended the game by striking out Martinez.

Los Angeles MVP: Jeff Kent: 3-5, 2 R, RBI (51).
Colorado MVP: Dustin Pedroia: 1-1, R, HR (2), 3 RBI (10).

WP: Manuel Corpas (3-3)
LP: Hong-Chih Kuo (0-1)

NL West Standings:
1. San Diego Padres 40-34
2. Los Angeles Dodgers 40-35
3. Colorado Rockies 38-35
4. San Francisco Giants 38-38
5. Arizona Diamondbacks 35-40

What's Coming Up:
I get to play 3 games at home against Oakland and their #3 SP, so our bats need to be on and so does our Bullpen/fielding.

Major Transactions:
6/20/07: Washington trades P Chris Michalak to Los Angeles for P Steven Johnson- Washington continues their rebuilding process and Los Angeles aims for the playoffs this year.

Important Injuries:
Dice-K (BOS) will miss 2 weeks due to a pulled groin that he suffered during a BP session.

League Milestones:
NONE

[rockiesfan4ever]

Here's that almost disastrous 9th inning:

Rafael Betancourt came in to pitch for the Rockies. <--->
Choo Freeman struck out. <--->
Russell Martin singled up the middle. <--1>
Matt Kemp singled to left. <-21>
James Loney struck out. <-21>
Jeff Kent reached second on a fielding error by the center fielder - a run scored. <32->
Luis Gonzalez singled up the middle, scoring a run. <3-1>
Nomar Garciaparra reached first on a fielding error by the third baseman - a run scored. <-21>
Ramon Martinez struck out. <-21>

[rockiesfan4ever]

After last night's disappointing 8-2 loss to the A's, I am meeting with manager Clint Hurdle in his office when I hear a knock on the door. "Come in" I say. The door opens and Dustin Pedroia appears in Hurdle's office.

"What's going on Dusty?" Hurdle says. "I DEMAND A TRADE!" Pedroia yells. "Now, I think we can discuss this civily" I try to reason with him. "NO, I HEARD THE RUMORS. I WANT A TRADE!" Pedroia demands. "Why?" Hurdle responds. This seems to throw Pedroia off as he pauses for a moment and says "I don't have enough playing time, I want more. Also, I heard the rumors that you were looking to trade me.

Hurdle and I look at each other for a second and then I say "Dustin, the reason you aren't playing full time is because your average against right handed pitchers is that appealing, and most pitchers in the Majors are right-handed.". With that Dustin looks appalled. "Have you seen Kaz's stats against lefties? He's batting .260. How come we just can't share playing time?" I calmly respond by saying "We feel that Kazuo's defense and speed more than makes up for his batting average. He gets on base and creates havoc and he plays great defense. We feel that it was best for both parties.

"What was best for both parties?". Dustin asks. Oops, I didn't mean to let that slip out. Well I guess I'll have to tell him now. "You have been traded. To the Oakland A's" "For who?" Pedroia responds. "Kurt Suzuki." I say "That's it?" "Yeap" I calmly respond. With that he thnks us walks out and leaves the clubhouse without saying goodbye.

That went better than I thought it would go. I was hoping that he would respond like that, but I didn't think he'd be that mellow about it. True, I didn't expect him to come barging in screaming that he wanted a trade.

(More on the trade(s) in the next couple of posts.)

[CatKnight]

Very good writeup! I can see why Pedroia was mad

[rockiesfan4ever]

Yea, what's funny is that he was put in AAA in Oakland

[rockiesfan4ever]

June 24th-June 26th
Oakland Athletics (35-39) at Colorado Rockies (38-35)

Probable Matchups:

June 24th: Danny Haren (6-5, 4.44) AT Anibal Sanchez (5-4, 5.35)
June 25th: Joe Blanton (4-7, 3.53) AT Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 0.00)- I ran out of SP that were rested .
June 26th: Chad Gaudin (3-9, 6.81) AT Rodrigo Lopez (5-3, 4.65)

June 24th:
Oakland: 8:10:1
Colorado: 2:9:0

Not a good start as Travis Buck hits a 3-run HR (6, 390 ft.) with 0 out in the 1st innning, our bats will have to be alive tonight. Jack Cust followed that with a HR (11, 368 ft.) of his own to make it 4-0. Another HR, this time in the 2nd inning, by Mark Ellis (9, 401 ft.) gave the A's a 6-0 lead. After that everyone's bats went quiet until the 7th inning when Torrealba singled home our first run of the game. Jack Cust made sure he got that run back with a solo HR (12, 415 ft.) to make it 7-1 A's, the only blunder of Jason Hirsh's relief apperance. However, a Nick Scutaro single laster that inning gave the A's another un, and made it 8-1. We decreased the lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the 8th when Taveras scored from third on a Matt Holliday sac fly to RF.As we headed into the home half of the 9th I felt a little satisfaction of knowing we only used 3 Pitchers when my SP didn't make it 2 innings, now i was hoping we could come back. We were able to get a hit in the 9th, by Tulo, but no one else was able to get on base.

Oakland MVP: Danny Haren: 8 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 2 R (1 ER), 3 K.
Colorado MVP: Jason Hirsh: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, HR, 2 ER, 10 K, He helped us stay in it.

WP: D. Haren (7-5)
LP: A. Sanchez (5-5)

June 25th:
Oakland: 10:15:1
Colorado: 4:9:0

Its gonna be a long game. In a similarily erie start to yesterday Travis Buck hit a 3-run HR (7, 395 ft.), in the 1st inning, to make it 3-0. A bases loaded walk to the Pitcher Joe Blanton gave the A's a 4-0 lead, and it's definately not looking good. Travis Buck freaking owns at Coors Field. He hit another HR (8, 431 ft.) in the 2nd inning to make it 5-0. That's 4 HR in the last 2 games at Coors Field for him. Jack Cust followed that up with a solo HR (13, 369 ft.) to make it 6-0. It looks just like last game 6-0 in the 2nd and Jason Hirsh comes in. We got our first run in the 2nd when Atkins doubled home Hawpe from first base. We got our second run when Atkins tagged up and scored on a Tulowitzki fly ball to Travis Buck in RF. This time up Travis Buck hit into a 6-4-3 DP to kill a potential rally for the A's. A prime example of Kazuo's speed. He singles to center, steals second, steals third, and then scores on a hit by Holliday into RF to make it 6-3 A's. Hapwe followed that up with a triple into LCF, to score Holliday, and made it 6-4 A's. It looks like Holliday-Hawpe-Helton-Atkins lineup could turn out real nice. Hirsh has me a little scared in the 4th when he loaded the bases with only 1 out. HIrsh comepletely let them blow the game wide open when J.J. Furmaniak doubled down the LF line and cleared the bases making it 9-4 Athletics. Rob Bowen made it a 10-4 lead when he hit a solo HR (2, 435 ft.) into deep CF in the 6th inning. Another walk lead to the A's having the bases loaded in the 7th. However, McClellan got Eric Chavez to whiff on strike 3. It's called offense you may wanna try it. Matt Holliday leads off the 8th with a double and it looks like it could be a good inning, but 2 strikeouts and a ground out later ad Holliday is still standing at second, shocked, that he didn't score. Where did my high powered offense go?

Oakland MVP: Travis Buck :3-5, 2 R, 2 HR (7, 8), 4 RBI (44)
Colorado MVP: Matt Holliday: 3-4, R, RBI (58)

WP: Joe Blanton (5-7)
LP: Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1)

June 26th:
Oakland: 3:9:0
Colorado: 1:9:0

We loaded the bases in the 4th on back-to-back singles by Taveras and Matsui, followed by a Holliday walk. However, we couldn't capitalize at all. A Cory Sullivan single in the 6th scored Matsui, and the first run of the game, 1-0 Rockies. The A's offense suddenly burst into life in th 7th with an infield single followed up by a Jack Cust HR (14, 393 ft.) to make it 2-1 A's. Chris Snelling made it 3-1 in the 8th when he doubled down the LF to score a run.

Oakland MVP: Jack Cust: 1-3, R, HR (14), 2 RBI (36)
Colorado MVP: Cory Sullivan: 1-3, BB, RBI (11)

WP: Chad Gaudin (4-9)
LP: Rodrigo Lopez (5-4)
SV: Huston Street (15)

NL West Standings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 43-35
2. San Diego Padres 40-37
3. Colorado Rockies 38-38
4. San Francisco Giants 39-40
5. Arizona Diamondbacks 38-40

What's Coming Up:
A great chance to gain some ground in the division with 3 @ at Dodgers. Hopefully I can recoop after going 3-8 in my last 11 games.

Major Transactions:
6/24/07: Jack Cust signs at 4-year $2.65M extension.

Important Injuries:
NONE

League Milestones:
Reggie Sanders drove in his 1000th RBI on June 25th, 2007 against the Reds.

[rockiesfan4ever]

June 27th-June 30th
Colorado Rockies (38-38) at Los Angeles Dodgers (43-35)

Probable Matchups:

June 27th: Jeff Francis (8-4, 3.71) AT Derek Lowe (6-3, 2.78)
June 28th: Joe Kennedy (3-5, 4.76) AT Jason Schmidt (10-4, 4.64)
June 29th: Josh Fogg (3-4, 4.81) AT Chad Billingsley (3-4, 3.81)
June 30th: OFF DAY!

June 27th:
Colorado: 3:5:2
Los Angeles: 6:10:3

A ground ball back to Francis in the 1st, with runners on the corners, allowed a run to score and make it 1-0. An error by Nomar Garciaparra in the top of the 2nd allowed Helton to drive in a run and tie it at 1. Tulowitzki then loaded the bases with a walk. However, Kurt Suzuki grounded into a 5-2-3 DP and Francis struk out to leave it at 1 all. The Dodgers made it 2-1 when Lowe drove in a run on a sac bunt that went 5 feet. Jeff Kent made it 3-1 in the 6th with a solo HR (11, 394 ft.), it's in the 6th inning. Then, after an error by Carroll at 3B, Nomar Garciaparra made it 5-1 with a 2-run shot (9, 373 ft.). Juan Pierre made it 6-1 later that inning with a triple into the LF corner to score Rafael Furcal easily from second. After thinking it out I went with Luis A. Gonzalez to PH for Jeff Francis in the 7th and he hit a 2-run PH HR (1, 384 ft.) to make it 6-3. Take away the 4-run inning and we win.

Colorado MVP: Luis A. Gonzalez: 1-1, R, HR (1), 2 RBI (2)
Los Angeles MVP: Nomar Garciaparra: 1-3, BB, R, HR (9), 2 RBI (30)

WP: Derek Lowe (7-3)
LP: Jeff Francis (8-5)
SV: Takashi Saito (23)

June 28th:
Colorado: 7:11:1
Los Angeles: 3:6:0

Garrett Atkins got us off to a good start in the 1st inning with a 3-run HR (17, 419 ft.) to make it an early 3-0 lead. A Helton double later than inning brought home 2 more runs to make it 5-0 us. Those 5 runs were scored on 3 hits and 3 walks. Nomar brought the Dodgers closer in the 2nd with a single into Cf that scored 1. Rafeal Furcal got into the act and hit a double into the LF fence to make it 5-2 Dodgers. A Shea Hillenbrand PH ground out, followed that, and made it 5-3. The trade for Kurt Suzuki keeps looking better as he doubled in the 3rd to get 2 of our runs back and make it 7-3. We are only 1 out away from ending our 4-game losing skid and all that is standing between us and that is Olmeado Saenz. Corpas struck him out to end the game and the skid.

Colorado MVP: Garrett Atkins: 1-5, R, HR (17), 3 RBI (51)
Los Angeles MVP: Rafael Furcal: 2-4, RBI (28)

WP: Joe Kennedy (4-5)
LP: Jason Schmidt (10-5)

June 29th:
Colorado: 0:6:0
Los Angeles: 5:11:0

Nothing major happened until the 4th when Helton lead off with a double only to be stranded at second. Juan Pierre drove home the first run of the game in the 5th with a single up the middle. Matt Kemp followed up with a RBI through the Left-side hole to make it 2-0. 3 walks to open the 6th lead to a bases loaded, 0 out, situation for Troy Tulowitzki. However, both Tulo and Hawpe struck out, so it's up to Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki flied out to left to strand 3 guys on base. Right after that Kuis Gonzalez doubled into RF and Brad Hawpe wasn't able to throw out Jeff Kent going for home, so Kent made it 3-0 Dodgers. Garciaparra then doubled to make it 4-0. A Martin double later that inning made it 5-0 Dodgers. We loaded the bases again in the 9th, and couldn't score at all.

Colorado MVP: Todd Helton: 1-3, BB, 2B (22)
Los Angeles MVP: Nomar Garciaparra: 2-4, 2B (15), 2 R, RBI (32)

WP: Chad Billingsley (4-4)
LP: Josh Fogg (3-5)
SV: Takashi Saito (24)

NL West Standings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 45-36
2. San Diego Padres 42-38
3. Arizona Diamondbacks 41-41
4. Colorado Rockies 39-40
5. San Francisco Giants 40-42

What's Coming Up:
We head into July with 3 against the Padres and, hopefully, can break out of the funk we have been in recently

Major Transactions:
NONE

Important Injuries:
Jason Hirsh (COL) will miss 3 weeks when he suffered an ankle stree fracture.

League Milestones:
NONE

[rockiesfan4ever]

JUNE SWOON

After a great month of May and begining of June the Rockies skided during the latter part of the month as our pitching really went downhill. Our pitching wasn't the only thing that suffered at the end of the month, as our hitters seemed to tire and not perform up to par. Let's just say that our team hopefully can rebound and go strong into the All-Star break.

Overall Record: 29-40
Month Record: 14-13
Streak: Lost 1 game

The Good:
Matt Holliday: .351 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBI, 58 R, .427 OBP.
Jeff Francis: 8-5, 3.75 ERA, 122.1 IP, 92 K, 31 BB, .233 BAA.
Rafeal Betancourt: 3-1, 2.52 ERA, 13 save, 35.2 IP, 40 K, 3 BB, .206 BAA.

The Bad and The Ugly:
Kazuo Matsui: .275 AVG, 7 HR, 23 SB, 29 RBI, 47 R, .322 OBP (Worst on team)
Josh Fogg: 3-5. 5.01 ERA, 93.1 IP, 59 K, 35 BB, 16 HRA, .282 BAA

[rockiesfan4ever]

Around the League

AL League Leaders
Avg: Vladimir Guerrero [LAA] (.358)
HR: Jim Thome & Marcus Thames [CHW & DET] (23)
RBIs: Manny Ranirez [BOS] (70)
Hits: Ichiro Suzuki & Carl Crawford [SEA & TBD] (108)
ERA: Josh Beckett [BOS] (2.30)
Wins: Andy Pettitte [NYY] (11)
OPS: Victor Martinez [CLE] (1.055)
Steals: Carl Crawford [TBD] (24)
Saves: Joe Nathan [MIN] (24)


NL League Leaders
Avg: Matt Holliday [COL] (.351)
HR: Adam Dunn & Matt Holliday [CIN & COL] (25)
RBIs: Aramis Ramirez [CHC] (71)
Hits: Willy Taveras & Hunter Pence [COL & HOU] (106)
ERA: Josh Johnson [FLA] (2.48)
Wins: Jason Schmidt & Cole Hamels [LAD & PHI] (10)
OPS: Matt Holliday [COL] (1.119)
Steals: Juan Pierre [LAD] (35)
Saves: Kevin Gregg [FLA] (27)

Rockies Leaders:
Avg: Matt Holliday (.351)
HR: Matt Holliday (25)
RBIs: Matt Holliday (58)
Hits: Willy Taveras (106)
ERA: Jeff Francis (3.75)
Wins: Jeff Francis (8)
OPS: Matt Holliday (1.119)
Steals: Kazuo Matsui (23)
Saves: Rafeal Betancourt (13)

Injuries:

Player Name        Days
Jason Hirsh       20

AL East: New York Yankees (43-38)
Leading by .5 over Tampa Bay Rays

AL Central: Detroit Tigers (43-37)
Leading by 2.5 over Cleveland Indians

AL West: Seattle Mariners (46-35)
Leading by 4.0 over Texas Rangers

AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays (30-24)
Leading by 0.5 over Texas Rangers

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies (44-37)
Leading by 6.5 over Florida Marlins

NL Central: Houston Astros (46-34)
Leading by .5 over Chicago Cubs

NL West: [B]Los Angeles Dodgers[B] (45-36)
Leading by 2.5 over San Diego Padres

NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs (46-35)
Leading by 2.0 over New York Mets

[rockiesfan4ever]

It's July and I am reflecting on my first 2 months as a GM when I hear rumor about Hurdle's feelings about our bullpen and he said "I feel that our GM needs to step it up". Shoul dmake for an interesting rest of the season.


(More on this to follow tomorrow or Tuesday)