Rox Recap 6/16/08 (The Return of Four-balldo)

It was only a makeup game of an April snowout against the Atlanta Braves, but the only thing the Rockies made up was an excuse for their play on this forgettable evening. Though technically the Rockies have now won 5 consecutive series since they took the first three from these Braves in April, this game was nothing to sneeze at...maybe just spit on.

1) Ubaldo Jimenez took a huge step back in his evolution from inexperienced thrower to effective Major League pitcher. His last few starts have given glimpses of the Ubaldo we all believe he can be. He has three wicked pitches, can touch 100 mph on the radar gun with his fastball, and can make even the best hitters in baseball look like Little Leaguers (just ask Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones), but until he can consistently string together quality starts and keep his pitch count under triple digits through the first 5 innings, he's just going to be another Coors Field casualty who fails to live up to his limitless potential. His last start he matched phenomenal rookie Tim Lincecum pitch for pitch in throwing 7 shutout innings in what would eventually turn out to be a Rockies 1-0 win. Tonight was more like Ubaldo's Phantom Menace to his last start's Empire Strikes Back. Through 5 uneven innings and 110 pitches, Ubaldo racked up 7 strikeouts, but also walked 5. He tightroped out of danger through the first four innings but couldn't navigate the mine field in the fifth. Though Ubaldo has the 3rd worst run support in the National League his stats don't lie. His won-loss record still stands at 1-7, his ERA is still 4.85, and he still cannot command the strike zone consistently.

2) Ian K Stewart sure is living up to his middle name. Not Kenneth of course but K for striKeout. In 54 at bats this season Ian has struck out a mind-boggling 28 times. That's 1.6 times a game for all you math wizards out there. Though he has prodigious power as evidenced by his triple deck shot a couple weeks ago against the Brew Crew and his second base defense is all the more impressive considering he's never played the position before, he may be proving that he lacks the ability to adjust to Major League pitching as he continues to chase high fastballs and breaking balls in the dirt with the regularity of the changing tides. I love the kid and want him to do well but right now it just isn't happening, much like M. Night Shamalamadingdong's movie of the same name.

3) If I had a nickel for every time the Rockies' hitters swung at a pitch way out of the strike zone then watched a belt high fastball cross right over the middle of the plate for strike three, I'd have a shitload of nickels.

My second favorite team, the Cleveland Indians (my mom was born in Cleveland and got me hooked at a very early age...and in the Indians' defense, they were there first before the Rockies) are coming to town for a three game set. Though this should have been the World Series matchup last season thus confirming my existence on this here earth, now it's just a showdown of two banged-up underachieving teams who are both playing better baseball as of late. With Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Jake Westbrook, and Fausto Carmona on the DL, the Tribe looks like the Rockies circa June 1. We're fortunate to miss CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee for this series so we might be able to steal a couple games. Just don't pitch to Grady Sizemore right now (9 home runs in his last 15 games.)