Thursday, April 22, 2010

Rock Solid Kissing Of Ubaldo's Backside Recap

Rockies 2, Nationals 0

I know Rockies fans in and around the Denver area were shut out of watching Ubaldo pitch today. You folks didn't miss a no-hitter or anything, you just missed a really strong 7 1/3 innings of awesomeness with a handful of cheap hits mixed in.

Mhm... that's all.

Winning Player: Ubaldo Jimenez

This kid is just rolling. He was never really threatened at any point. The pitch count climbed pretty high again thanks to some quality Washington ABs. That makes me nervous for the later months, especially if Jim Tracy can't show better restraint with him, but there's no reason to worry about that just yet.

Would also like to point out that the Rockies are 8-8... Jimenez is 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA. Let's all collectively cringe at the thought of what this team would be without him.

Alright... moving on. I'm sure you can believe Ubaldo's success without any trouble. What you may have a hard time believing is the solid ninth inning Franklin Morales pitched.

It really was excellent.

Of course it's a little too much to ever ask for a 1-2-3 inning from Franklin, but he did the next best thing today. Give up the soft two out single, and then strikeout the next guy to end in style. He looked good.

That said...

Save: Miguel Olivo

I'm awarding my save to Olivo for three reasons.

1. His home run was all the offense the Rockies would need.

2. He gunned out his 7th base stealer in 9 attempts. It wasn't just any baserunner either, it was Nyjer Morgan after he drew a leadoff walk. That was huge!

3. He really clicks with Jimenez.

I love the Chris Iannetta, but I'm seeing why Dan O'Dowd felt like Olivo was the perfect fit. It's because he really is a perfect fit. Early indications suggest this will be another one of those O'Dowd signings we look back at with the utmost fondness when all is said and done.

Fish Fry

The Rockies head home now after a mostly disappointing 3-4 road trip. Really felt like it should have been 5-2. Oh well, work to do at home with the Fish. Let's start it big tomorrow night.