Rox Recap 6/19/08 (Out of the Cellar, Into Your Hearts)

In a series where, as a fan, I couldn't possibly lose, somehow as the final swing of the bat whooshed through the Brian Fuentes fastball, I felt kinda bad for my Wahoo Warriors. After all, I was born an Indians fan because of my mom and became a Rockies fan once the city of Denver (and for me, the Rocky Mountain region) were blessed with a lovable team of misfits with our own Walter Matthau as coach in the form of Don Baylor. The Indians were completely outmatched in this series by the Rockies though with the injuries to their team just as all of our injured stars are returning to the field of action, it's not as shameful as the final stats would lead you to believe. But hey, the Rockies finally finished off an opponent after taking the first two games of a series for their first sweep of the season. It couldn't have come at a better time as the Rox finally climbed their way out of the cellar in the National League West thanks to a journeyman starter and a utility infielder finally living up to his offensive potential.

1) Jeff Baker went all Highlander on us, proving to us that there can be only one hero of this series. Kobe Bryant ain't got shit on this guy's clutchness. All Baker did was go 5-12 (.416) in the series, scored 6 runs, drove in 4, blasted 3 home runs including an inside-the-park job, and also stole his first base of the season. Pretty much the only thing he didn't do was get on the jumbotron, tell everyone in attendance to look under their seat where they would find envelopes that held keys to a brand new Nissan Sentra. He's got to be thinking, if it's this easy to hit American League pitching, he signed on with the wrong team. Though his playing time will most certainly be cut when Tulo and Barmes come back from the DL, we've got 6 games next week in American League ballparks where he can DH to his heart's content. For now, he's just ridin' the wave i.e. doing his best Keanu impression.

2) Who's this George of the Rose/Pink guy? Since when was he able to start rockin k's like Randy Johnson? Regardless of who he is and where he came from, Jorge de la Rosa is starting to make a believer out of the Rockies faithful. Of course, he's got a long way to go to regain the trust of at least the two of us here at Frost Brewed Baseball. I mean, some of you bandwagoners might have only tuned in for the last few weeks of games, but we remember his, let's just say, forgettable performances earlier in the year. After his much deserved banishment to the bullpen Rosie has not been the same guy since his spot start last Saturday in Chicago where he struck out 8 in 5 innings. Today, he gave up 3 runs in 6 innings and struck out a career-high 10. His breaking pitches, namely his looping curveball and frisbee slider beautifully complemented his low 90s fastball and swooping changeup. I don't know what clicked for him, but I could care less as long as he continues this marvelous streak of strikeouts and quality outings.

As sad as I am for my Tribe, seeing the Rockies accomplish something they hadn't done all year was a wonderful way to send us into the summer solstice. As the natural disaster known as Hurricane Nymets blows into Denver the big story is that Troy Tulowitzki could possibly be activated from the disabled list and could be starting at his familiar shortstop position tomorrow night. Let's hope he puts on his nicest Derek Jeter cologne and reverts to his 2007 form.

Go Nuts.