Now, it's road skill or roadkill for Rockies

Crushed at home, team seeks not to be squashed away

By Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Published August 14, 2008 at 3:38 p.m.

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Given that it has been a perpetually frustrating season in which little has made sense, the Rockies can only hope their typical trends continue to shift into reverse. Such is the hollow consolation of a season that is slipping away.

The Rockies begin a six-game trip tonight at Washington on the heels of perhaps the most disappointing homestand in years, which ended with a disheartening 6-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field.

The loss gave the Diamondbacks the series win and dropped the Rockies nine games back of the National League West Division lead.

The Rockies had reason to believe they could build on the momentum collected from their most successful trip of the season before the 10-game homestand, but a 3-7 mark during the home stretch leaves them teetering at the brink of contention while hoping they can conjure some road magic that has been elusive, at best.

"We obviously had a good situation coming into the homestand, and it didn't work out, for whatever reason," infielder Clint Barmes said. "We didn't play good baseball, and that hurts. But now, we're going on the road and starting a road trip. I think that's a good way to start - just pick up and build from there. Hopefully, (tonight) we can come out and put something together and have a good road trip. Hopefully, even better than the last one."

The Rockies own a major league-worst 20-40 road record, but they went 6-4 on their most recent trip after going 2-11 in their previous 13 road games.

That modest turnaround stirred hope that the Rockies could put together another slow ascension in the division, given the 10 home games were against last-place clubs Washington and San Diego, followed by the head- to-head showdown against the West-leading Diamondbacks.

But, like everything else in what is turning out to be a lost season, the Rockies defied expectations. And not in a good way. They lost third baseman Garrett Atkins for the first two games against Arizona after he contracted strep throat - Atkins went 1-for-3 off the bench Thursday - and learned top starter Aaron Cook would be scratched from the series finale because of a back injury.

The loss Thursday made the mountain the Rockies must climb even more daunting. Washington owns the worst winning percentage in the majors but won three of four games at Coors last week, and Colorado follows that three- game series with a showdown at division rival Los Angeles.

"There is always a game tomorrow, until the last day of the season. That's how we take it," catcher Chris Iannetta said. "We've got a game (tonight) against the Nationals, and we have to do everything we can to win. They played us tough at home. There is no such thing as a bad major league team. We have to come out and try to get it done as best as we can."

The Rockies could get little done Thursday against Arizona starter Dan Haren, who allowed two earned runs and recorded nine strikeouts while frustrating the Rockies through eight innings.

Iannetta, a late addition to the lineup after Yorvit Torrealba was scratched because of a knee injury, staked the Rockies to a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second, one of the few bright spots against Haren.

Rockies starter Glendon Rusch matched Haren pitch for pitch through four innings, retiring 11 consecutive Diamondbacks batters after surrendering a one-out single in the first inning.

Rusch quickly unraveled in the fifth, though. Back-to-back home runs by Chris Snyder and Chris Burke gave Arizona a 3-1 lead, yet Rusch still had an opportunity to limit the damage after striking out Haren to leave the bases empty with two out.

Unfortunately for the Rockies, that would be the last out recorded by the veteran left-hander. A single by Stephen Drew and consecutive walks chased Rusch, and Adam Dunn greeted right-hander Matt Herges with a two-run single that extended the Diamondbacks' lead to 5-1.

The Diamondbacks added a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Chris Young, which was more than enough support for Haren.

A Matt Holliday solo home run in the eighth, his 23rd homer this season, was Haren's only blemish the rest of the way.

"Burke clicked (Rusch), and then things seemed to just get out of sync for him, as far as speeding up and getting out of control with his delivery and not having the command he had so sharply for four innings," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "It just got away from him in a hurry."

• August 14, 2008

  6:19 p.m.

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  RDenver writes:

  The sound you hear is the air being let out of the Rocktober balloon!
  Still a fan though and I will be here through thick and thin...mostly thin now!

• August 14, 2008

  6:29 p.m.

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  gylizard1 writes:

  Can you say IT'S ALL OVER....talk about a CHOKE job..jeeeeeeeez..cant beat the lowly Washington and Padres teams..and then lose 2 of 3 to the D Backs..awful..I thought these guys were getting it together..NOT...But the management is to blame..they made NO effort to get some solid pitching to bolster the roster in the offseason..so..THEY are to blame more than anyone. Then..the best they could do is pick up Livan Hernandez? There was a REASON he was let go..did they ever think about that?

• August 14, 2008

  8:23 p.m.

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  wisdomwriter writes:

  Has anyone noticed that the Rockies are 2-10 vs the D-Backs and 5-7 against the Dodgers this year (7-17 combined)? Last year the Rockies were 10-8 and 12-6 respectively (22-14 combined). Since these two teams are at the top of the division, this definitely smells a lot like a monumental choke....

  If the Rockies would have the same winning percentage against these teams that the did last year, they would be 7-5 against Arizona and 8-4 against LA (15-9 combined), a difference of 8 games. The Rockies would at most five games out of place if not closer.

• August 14, 2008

  8:24 p.m.

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  rapelje writes:

  Fear not, O'Dowd with the mighty direction of the Monfort's will find other worn out arms let go by every other team in the league to fill out the bottom end of the rotation next season. Monfort must mean cheap in Polish. The Monfort's appear to be mindless beings that just agree with anything that Hurdle says and are so memorized by his witty one liners and his use of baseball lingo that makes him sound so intelligent that they won't fire him, they will give him an extension. Don't worry the Monfort's talk like they want a championship organization but are willing to accept mediocrity year after year, with one year in ten being good!

• August 14, 2008

  8:32 p.m.

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  platoro79 writes:

  All you whiners want to blame management----yeah some moves could have been made, whatever. I think alot of the blame falls on the players themselves--just look at the numbers. These guys have flat out been underacheivers this year. At some point you really have to realize the responsibility rests on their shoulders.

• August 14, 2008

  9:01 p.m.

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  fjv1026 writes:

  And now, the Monfort's are proud to present....the fat lady singing...

• August 14, 2008

  9:11 p.m.

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  1somelikeithot writes:

  I believe alot of the blame is on the players. They are so gifted and talented and seem to not have had any focus. I don't understand why everyone always wants to blame Hurdle. These guys are grown men, Hurdle is not their babysitter. They know what is expected of them, and they get paid very well to do a job they know how to do. Constant bashing of ownership and management isn't going to help. Maybe some intelligent and rational thinking is needed here. No matter what, I will always be a fan and be supportive of this team. It's been a tough season for everyone that loves this team. The haters need to just go ahead and find something else to occupy their time, for them the season is over anyway.

• August 15, 2008

  2:47 p.m.

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  rapelje writes:

  Questions for "1somelikeithot"....who drafts the players, who coaches the players, who makes substitutions and who calls the plays and who makes out the lineup card? The players? I don't think so. If the players aren't cutting it, who's job is it to bring in new players? The players, I don't think so! The team has been short one or more pitcher and one big hitter for years now....who's responsibility is it to bring in new players? The players, I don't think so. The point is that we have been short a big pitcher and a big hitter for years and all O'Dowd tries to do is to fill the pitching hole with worn out arms due to the cheap ownership. The ownership is too cheap to pay the bucks to bring in a big bat and probably the ownership is going to be too cheap for us to keep the big bats we already have. Ownership in my opinion bears most, not all, but most of the responsibility. One last question, except for last year, what have the records for the Rockies year in and year out for the previous 10? Pretty sad, and the one constant through all that? The Monfort's!

• August 15, 2008

  3:59 p.m.

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  1somelikeithot writes:

  They have a team full of talented and and very competent players who have been drafted. They have a young and gifted deep farm system. Don't think that's the problem. This team had fallen short of what they are capable of doing. Tweaking a lineup is very common. You have to factor in many things, who does best in what slot, who is slumping, there's injuires, etc. Trying to see what works best is a coaches job. If he did nothing at all then I would be worried. As far as bringing in new players, that's not the answer. This team is full of talent. Now, pitching is another story. I agree that something could have and should have been done last winter. But, as far as before the July deadline, there wasn't much out there and what was out there the asking price was just too high. You never want to cripple your team's future for a 2 month rental. That's the smart thing to do. Owning and operating a professional team does take money, lots of it. And managing that money is another thing. I don't think it's as easy as it looks. We can all be back-seat owner's GM's and coaches, that's easy. But, I am hesitant to be too critial until I have walked a mile in their shoes. This season has been a disappointment sure, but let's not forget, this is baseball and that goes with the territory. It's all part of the game. I guess I just don't take it all as serious as some, I just want to enjoy baseball. I love the sweet smell of victory, but I can accept the agony of defeat. I know people vent their frustrations differently, I don't think the owner's and GM are complacent and accepting of mediocrity, I truly believe they want to win just as much as we want them to. That's how I see it, that's just my personal opinion of course.

• August 15, 2008

  4:26 p.m.

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  rapelje writes:

  1somelike it hot....I hate to tell you, but you contradicted yourself. I quote you, "But, I am hesitant to be too critical until I have walked a mile in their shoes." Have you been a major league player? If you haven't you just contradicted yourself, as the only difference between you and I was that I targeted my frustration toward the owners and management and you did it toward the players. I beg to differ with you, the Rockies desperately need another big bat, they have talent in the organization, but they are lacking big time to have another consistent big bat in the line-up. Matt was the ONLY consistent big bat they had this year. Let's face it, as much as we might not like to admit it, Todd Helton is past his prime days and that means he is no longer a big bat. Both Atkins and Hawpe are too inconsistent, so who does that leave? The answer is no one. It is almost embarrassing how O'Dowd goes out each year and tries to find acouple of innings in guys arms that are way over the hill and he tried to tell us "quantity, not quality" will get us through this year. Quality wins out the vast majority of the time and until the owners are willing to spend the money we won't see a lot of quality.

• August 15, 2008

  4:53 p.m.

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  1somelikeithot writes:

  I apologize if I mislead you, what I meant was not the players, but owner's and management. The only reason I am critical of the players is for the simple reason that they are good players and talented players who have been underachieving. They showed what they can do and are capable of. I wish I knew why they have underperformed, it would be nice if we could get into their heads. Maybe it has something to do with pressing and trying too hard. They had a lot to live up to from last season and maybe that was in their heads and they expected too much of themselves instead of just relaxing and enjoying themselves. I don't know. But, they are professional baseball players, and make a lot of money doing what they love. It just seemed as though they couldn't get it together. What I was talking about was I personally cannot be too critial of owner's and management because I know nothing about owning and operating a professional team, it seems very complicated to me. But yes, it does seem like the only big bat is Holliday's. I agree with you there. But, you said it best when you said the others are inconsistent. I would hate to see Holliday go, but if shopping him and Atkins and possibly Fuentes, maybe they could get that quality pitcher. I'm pretty certain that come next year we could see quite a few changes on the roster. And, for the best I hope.

• August 15, 2008

  5:05 p.m.

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  1somelikeithot writes:

  Oh, and no - I'm not a professional baseball player. I just grew up in a house where baseball was the number one sport. My father played in the minors years back, as did both of my uncles. I have two brothers who played all thru school and college and one is now an umpire. I myself really know very little compared to most, but I do love the sport.

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