Rox Recap 8/14/08 (Is anybody still watching?)

That's it. I'm done. Kaput. As they say in Italy: Io sono finito. I can barely muster enough energy to write this blog much less root root root for my beloved Rockies anymore. Yes, yes, the season is theoretically over and yes, yes, we just went 3-7 on an incredibly crucial 10 game homestand (including 7 games against the 2 worst teams in the National League in which we managed to go 2-5), but every day I wake up still looking forward to the day's game even if I already feel the outcome down in the depths of my currently supercooling soul. I love these guys (well, most of them anyway. Taveras and Torrealba, I'm looking in your direction) and I want them to do well every day and that's why it hurts so much when they put the type of product on the field that they have been the last week and a half. Maybe if we could just show the Rockies what they're doing to their die-hard fans like me, then maybe they'd be guilted into starting to turn around their season and finish with a flourish (a flourish meaning maybe winning 75 games.) For the sake of Elway and all his grace, let's just do a little dance, make a little love, and briefly recap this abomination of a homestand.

1) Our top starters Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Jeff Francis managed to go a combined 0-5 on the homestand while giving up 31 runs in 33.2 innings pitched for a sterling 8.40 ERA. When the most quality starts from your pitching staff on a homestand come from career castoffs Jorge de la Rosa and Glendon Rusch, you know something's wrong.

2) Glendon Rusch gave up a home run to Chris Burke today. That's significant because coming into today's game, Burke had as many home runs this season as everybody here at Frost Brewed Baseball combined.

3) Ian Stewart is doing all he can to impress me personally. He's hitting huge home runs, hitting for average, getting his rbis, and all the while playing a pretty damn good defense. He's slowly taking over Tulo's place as my New Favorite Rockie (capitalized because of its epic magnitude.) Though the Rookie of the Year in the National League will probably go to a Cub because everybody feels sorry for their neverending plight to win a World Series (present company excluded) King Stew should get some serious consideration at the end of year. If he keeps up this pace he might eclipse the 20 home run mark with around 70-80 rbis. If he keeps the ol' average around .300 he just might get some surprise votes. Now that I've said that, I know how ridiculous it would be for Stewart to get any recognition regardless of how good his numbers end up at the end of the year. Baseball writers know four teams: The Yankees, the Red Sox, the Cubs, and the Dodgers. They might not even be certain that there are teams in other cities and are constantly confused by those other blokes in the baseball jerseys who seem to be playing the same sport against their beloved Sawx, or Yanx, or Cubbies. (Though in Geovany Soto's defense, he has had a pretty good season and if he wins, whatever, live and let live.)

4) Willy Taveras tied the Rockies single season stolen base record in today's game with 53, putting his name in the record books alongside everybody's favorite EY, Eric Young. What surprised me more is that Willy Taveras has actually been on base 53 times this season. Could have fooled me.

5) A job well done: Luis Vizcaino wore pants.

(I cannot be credited with this joke because it's not mine. It's the quality work of a blogger for the Cleveland Indians on http://www.sportstimeohio.com/ named Steve Buffum. He writes a daily blog called the B-List and may be the most consistently funny column on baseball I've ever read. Do yourself a favor and enjoy it.)

6) Torrealba may be going on the DL!

That's all I have. I'm at Fox Sports right now and am trying to kill time until FSN Live. When the Rockies are playing like this, the mood is pretty down around the office. At least the Olympics are on.

Go Casper Ghosts

P.S. Will Smith.

P.P.S. The cartoon above is from Win, Lose, and Drew by Drew Litton in the Rocky Mountain News. His cartoons are always hilarious and almost always about Denver sports, 2 things I'm incredibly fond of (humor and Denver, that is.)