Rox Recap 4/21/08 (The Won That Got Away)

Baseball is a game of inches. Cliché? Yes, but it’s a fact of life. A ball one inch from the sweet spot on the bat can be the difference between a lazy fly out or a 3 run homer. A line drive one inch either way from the foul line can be the difference between a foul ball and a game changing triple. And an odd carom off the wall can be the difference between a double and an inside the park home run. Unfortunately for the Rockies last night, this game of inches left them a foot short as the bullpen blew another 8^th inning lead against the Phillies.

1) The game started out promisingly enough with Yorvit Torrealba, obviously an avid reader of Frost Brewed Baseball, trying to coax us into supporting him for the starting catching job by knocking his second three run homer of the season. Garrett Atkins also added a 2 run shot in the 5^th, his 4^th of the year which leads the team. There will be no such slow start again for Jerry this year. Mark Redman was pitching as effectively as possible by only allowing a 2 run shot to “It’s Pat” Burrell in the 4^th. Then the breaks stopped going the way of los Rockies. Before Burrell’s home run, Ryan Howard hit a sharp ground ball that Todd dove for even though second baseman Clint Barmes would have probably made the easy play. It bounced off Todd’s glove and everyone was safe. Burrell followed with a home run on a fat 3-1 pitch from Redman. In the 6^th, Phils centerfielder Jayson Werth bopped a ball to deep right center. Willy gave it chase but couldn’t come up with it as the ball took an odd hop off the corner of the padding of the deepest part of the park. It bounced about 50 feet away from Willy and it was a miracle the play at the plate was even close as Werth made it all the way around. Then the best hitter in baseball history who only swings halfway, Chase Utley, hit his 6^th home run in the last 5 games the conventional way, lashing a shot into the right field bleachers. Word to Jeff Francis, tonight’s starting pitcher, be careful with Utley tonight. He’s on fire like Los Angeles during the filming of Volcano.

2) With Matt Herges and Taylor Buchholz holding the 1 run lead until the 8^th inning, Clinton Hurdle rightly decided that Brian Fuentes, who had worked 4 of the last 5 days including blowing the lead and taking the loss in Sunday’s game at Houston, should get a day off, even with dangerous lefties Utley and Howard due up in the inning. He let Buchholz try his hand at the 8^th and it started out well enough with a ground ball and a big strikeout of Utley. Then, a single by Howard, a flare off the end of Burrell’s bat on a ball that was a foot outside, and a walk loaded the bases. Hurdle, who if something works for him for a little while has to be tortured with whips and chains in order to change it, went to the resident T-Rex Fuentes to try and save the Rockies again instead of bringing in sinker baller Manny Corpas to try for a four out save. Well, you guessed it, Fuentes’ second pitch dusted the chalk down the right field line for a double, giving the Phloppy Phils a 6-5 lead. That’s two days in a row Fuentes has given up the game changing hit as Rockies fans everywhere are having Vietnam flashbacks to his hideous stretch at the end of June last year where he blew four consecutive save opportunities, forcing the Rockies to play catch up the rest of the season. Nothing is more disheartening for a team than losing a lead in the late innings and the Rockies need a win today to give them a little confidence going into their two game set with the Cubbies. The bullpen has been magnificent thus far with the only two hiccups being the last couple of days. They won’t admit it, but maybe they’re still a bit gassed from the 15 innings they were forced to pitch in the 22 inning game last Thursday.

The Dr. Phils needed psychiatric care after their 3 game choke against the Rox in last year’s playoffs, and they know they didn’t deserve to win that game last night. The Franchise looks to build on his 7 shutout innings against the Padres in that marathon game last Thursday as he faces starter turned closer turned starter Brett Myers. The Rox need today to go their way, mkay.