Subject: Colorado Rockies

• Colorado Rockies: Let's revisit the good old days (because this season sucks)

  September 16, 2008

• Saying goodbye to Matt Holliday -- and to the Colorado Rockies' own Father Time

  September 23, 2008

• The Post and the Rocky ask the same good question

  September 30, 2008

• No Rockie road for the Rays

  October 21, 2008

• Matt Holliday and the Rockies' case of premature ejaculation

  November 11, 2008

• The top five players the Colorado Rockies got rid of too soon -- not including Matt Holliday

  November 12, 2008

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, November 12 edition

  November 12, 2008

• Sports memories, selling cheap

  Broncos fans distraught over the team's disintegration over the past three weeks are likely taking a break from all things sports today and probably tomorrow. But for those of you who can't get enough pain, Opening Day for the 2009 Colorado Rockies is only 98 days away, and the home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies is only 102 days away. Will the team be able to return to 2007 form without Matt Holliday or will they continue their miserable ways into the near future? Hard to know, but

  December 29, 2008

• How do the Colorado Rockies blow? Let us count the ways...

  Sarcasm drips from the headline on Purple Row, a website devoted to the Colorado Rockies. It reads: "Rockies Find New Ways to Keep the Streak Alive; Now 0-7." Yep, the Rockies are zilch-for-2009. In a different blog, our Purple Row friends advise Rockies fans not to panic yet, and even trot out the lyrics from Monty Python's classic ditty "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as reassurance -- ignoring the fact that in 1979's Life of Brian, the tune is crooned by a bunch of guys being cruc

  March 4, 2009

• Rockies finally get over Clint Hurdle

  See ya. This morning, we published a blog asking the musical question, "Clint Hurdle: How Many Times Has He Not Been Fired?" Don't have to ask that anymore: Believe it or don't, the Rockies pulled the trigger a few hours later. Bench coach Jim Tracy will serve as interim manager -- and it wouldn't be the biggest shock in the world if he sticks around in that position for a while. After all, what big name field general in his right mind would take on a project as thankless as the Rockies right n

  May 29, 2009

• Denver Blogs: It's snowing -- so let's talk baseball

  Photo courtesy of FlickrDid Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis bring some curse with him? Yet another tour of the local blogosphere. Send those links. If Jason Marquis is the Rockies' third starter, it may be a long season. (Purple Row) Chef conference comes to Denver. Be prepared to overhear copious conversations about molecular gastronomy and worthless busboys. (5280) Denver's Archbishop is not a fan of this Obama fellow. (Colorado Independent)

  March 26, 2009

• Wake-Up Call: Snow job!

  The pert young anchor turned to the avuncular weathercaster. "So," she said. "What happened to that eight big inches you promised me last night?" The inches have changed over the years -- to ten, to twelve -- as the story takes on all the trappings of an urban legend, but its origins are definitely in Denver, at a time almost two decades ago (before the start of Westword's online archives), when Channel 4 hired a pretty, inexperienced woman to liven up its newscasts. She succeeded, all right

  April 6, 2009

• Fearless Colorado Rockies opening-day prediction: 72 wins in 2009

  On opening day, hope is supposed to spring eternal for Colorado Rockies fans -- and that's certainly the case in some quarters. Among the predictions made by readers on an April 4 Inside the Rockies post are a couple that suggest the Rocks could actually win the National League West, and several more that have them contending for the division crown only to fall just short. I only wish I could be as optimistic. Just because Todd Helton had a great training camp doesn't mean he'll be able to mai

  April 6, 2009

• We Will Rock You

  April 9, 2009

• Go for the Gold!

  June 4, 2009

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 20 edition

  Photo by Denny DoesKevin Devine. Let us infotain you. Today in Backbeat Online: • Q&A with Kevin Devine. • This Just In: blink-182 reuninon tour hits Fiddler's in September. • Undercover and underage at LIFEspot. • Seems like old times: Jason Heller back in Westword and Off the Wall returns to the hi-dive. • Download free Colorado music, thanks to BolderBOULDER. • Beyond Playlist: A Lull. • Sid Fly takes a Flight 2 Bluntville. • Q&A with Hayley Williams of Paramore. Today in C

  May 20, 2009

• Clint Hurdle: How many times has he not been fired?

  Clint Hurdle during happier times. Yesterday afternoon, I was listening to the Klatt and Kreckman Show on Mile High Sports Radio/AM 1510 when the conversation turned to an item just put online by the Denver Post: To wit, Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle hadn't been fired yet. That the Post considers a non-event to be news should be funny -- but in this case, it most certainly isn't. With the glorious exception of the 2007 season, when the Rockies went to the World Series, Hurdle has overs

  May 29, 2009

• Is it too soon to jump back on the Rockies' bandwagon?

  A Flickr photoHouse of horrors? Or home, sweet home? Just when it looked like the Colorado Rockies were well on their way to redefining the word "pitiful," the team has done the seemingly impossible: won five games in a row, including yesterday's 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. But before you start digging out your 2007 World Series gear, get some perspective from the reliable Purple Row blog. In a piece previewing the start of the Major League Baseball draft, the scribe who writes as

  June 9, 2009

• Is the Colorado Rockies' glass suddenly half full?

  A Flickr photo Casual baseball fans who hear that the Colorado Rockies have suddenly won eight games straight, including ultra-rare road sweeps against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, may start thinking about corner-turning, even though the Rocks are currently mired in fourth place among the five National League West teams, a hefty eleven-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. But anyone who saw (or, in my case, heard) the ending of yesterday's 5-4 win against the B

  June 12, 2009

• Rockies need stability more than streak record

  Photo by Holly Harris With the recent end of the Denver Nuggets' exciting season, plenty of fans in these parts probably figured that they wouldn't have another competitive local pro-sports team to follow until... the Nugs start playing again in the fall. But the Rockies have elbowed their way back into the conversation via eleven consecutive victories, and they've got a chance to set a new franchise mark tonight if they can best the Tampa Bay Rays -- no longer such an easy task. But that reco

  June 16, 2009

• Rockies: Don't turn your win streak upside down

  As pointed out in a blog yesterday, the Colorado Rockies need stability more than a franchise-record win streak -- and it's a good thing, since the Rocks were clubbed to death in a 12-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last night, halting them one victory short of a best-ever twelve triumphs in a row. Now that the run is done, however, the Rockies must not rivert to their old, pre-streak ways and go into the tank for a week or two. That makes their schedule for the rest of June into early July abso

  June 17, 2009

• Colorado Rockies: The season starts over today

  Back on June 12, I wrote that I wouldn't be able to look at the Colorado Rockies' glass as half full until they reached the .500 mark. To the delight of Rockies' fans everywhere, that happened yesterday, thanks to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. This outcome was doubly important, because it was the second straight after the Rays ended the Rocks' consecutive-victory run at eleven -- a sign that the CR crew isn't going to immediately turn its winning streak upside down. Now, of course, w

  June 19, 2009

• Denver Blogs: The Ty that binds... maybe

  A Flickr photo. Our daily blog-o-rama. Missing something? Send tips. Grading the Nuggets draft. (Denver Stiffs) Colorado doctors have been arrested for participating in a truly weird and despicable fraud scheme. (5280) Remember old Matt Holiday, the fella you were mourning before the Rockies ripped off 94 wins in a row. Well, this weekend is your chance for a reunion. (Purple Row)

  June 26, 2009

• The Rockies-Dodgers series: Moral victory or reality check?

  A Flickr photo"What do you think? Should we take these guys seriously or not?" I argued earlier this week that the Colorado Rockies had a chance to establish themselves as true contenders during this week's three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. "If the Rocks get swept, they'll know they still have some work to do before reaching an elite level. Ditto if they win one of three, although to a considerably lesser degree, particularly if they're competitive in each match," I wrote.

  July 2, 2009

• Are the Rockies too pleased by All-Star recognition?

  Brad Hawpe. Sure, it's great that both Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis made the All-Star team as representatives of the Colorado Rockies. Moreover, an argument can be made that both Aaron Cook and Huston Street deserved to receive nods as well -- a testament to the improvement the squad's made since its putrid start to the 2009 campaign. But something's been lost amid the media hoopla and self-congratulations over this achievement: This past weekend, the Rockies managed to drop two of three at hom

  July 6, 2009

• Inside the Rockies: Drawing a crowd, if not yet a paycheck

  With news that the mothership is landing in the local-sports market , and with sports-blog coalitions like SBNation and Bleacher Report continuing to expand, there are lots of questions about what the future of sports journalism will look like. Inside the Rockies wants to be part of the answer. The former daily-paper guys behind the still-relatively-fledgling operation are far from there, but they're making progress, according to a story by the Nieman Journalism Lab: Few sports blogs can b

  July 21, 2009

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, August 5 edition

  The Breathe boys.​Who's gonna clean up this mess? Today in Backbeat Online: • Q&A with Kyle Evans of Breathe Carolina. • Q&A with Krispy Kream of the Knux. • Tip sheet: Meet Shel, our new favorite band. • A first look at Pictureplane's new video. • MP3 Freeloader: Joy Subtraction. Today in Cafe Society: • Thanks to the Rockies' runs, Taco Bell is turning our four tacos for a dollar. • Our Weekly Bread: Duffeyroll Cafe. • Guess what -- and where -- I'm eating? • Chef and

  August 5, 2009

• Colorado Rockies scoring with big balls and small

  Tulo.​Local sports yakkers have been hyping the Colorado Rockies' current homestand as the most important in the history of the franchise, which strikes me as an example of enthusiasm trumping short-term memory. Seems to me there were some pretty key series at Coors Field during the run-up to the Rockies' World Series season, which took place waaaay back in 2007. Still, it was impossible not to get excited about the squad's response to Friday's opening-game 6-3 loss to the San Francisco Gi

  August 24, 2009

• Other lessons in Rockies' astonishing 14-inning victory

  Ryan Spliborghs.​This morning on ESPN Radio, Jason Smith noted that only one walk-off grand slam in Major League Baseball history had taken place in a later inning than Ryan Spilborghs' 14th inning shocker that lifted the Colorado Rockies to an unlikely win over the San Francisco Giants last night: Boston Red Sox player Clyde Vollmer achieved the feat in the 16th inning to frustrate the Cleveland Indians back in 1951. Added data: The last walk-off slam in the 14th was hammered by new Rocks

  August 25, 2009

• Proof that the Colorado Rockies have the biggest balls

  "Hulk can't smash balls! Too big!"​ Yesterday's blog headlined "Colorado Rockies Scoring With Big Balls and Small" prompted a note from Alek Komarnitsky, an amateur photographer whose website, Komar.org, features great family shots and plenty more. (Earlier this year, his photos of dogs chasing off a curious coyote formed the basis of a highly entertaining slideshow.) Seems that Komarnitsky has long known about the size of the Rockies' balls, since he owns giant inflatable ones originally

  August 25, 2009

• Update: Colorado Rockies ratings going yard

  Troy Tulowitzki in a shot from the FSN Insider website.​It's happening again. Just as in 2007, when the Colorado Rockies' World Series run coaxed people who would usually rather shave their body with a rotary lawnmower than watch a baseball game to plant themselves in front of their set, viewers are clicking on FSN Rocky Mountain's coverage of the team in huge numbers. The net boasts that the Rocks' epic 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday is the third-highest-rated Rockies

  August 26, 2009

• The next biggest series of the year for the Colorado Rockies

  Ubaldo Jimenez.​In an August 24 blog, I noted that commentators had been hyping the Colorado Rockies' homestand against the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers as the most important in team history. I questioned that hyperbole at the time, and given that this particular stretch sputtered out with two consecutive defeats to L.A. (a team that always seems to have the Rocks' number, as I also pointed out in the aforementioned post), I fear those same folks may shift into frantic

  August 28, 2009

• Glass still half-full for Colorado Rockies despite getting slammed yesterday

  Wish I hadn't seen it coming, but I did. In a Friday blog, I wrote that there was a very real prospect of the Colorado Rockies getting swept by the San Francisco Giants following their two consecutive Coors Field losses against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And so it came to pass, with the Rockies falling in the first couple of contests because they didn't supplement strong pitching performances with timely hitting -- and then, after finally breaking out of their offensive slump yesterday, the Giant

  August 31, 2009

• Lucky thongs for the Colorado Rockies

  Cock-a-doodle-do!​I confess: I really wasn't sure why the Colorado Rockies went to the trouble of picking Jason Giambi off the discard pile last month. But now I know -- the lucky thong. The lucky gold thong, that is, which Giambi lets teammates wear to help them break out of a slump -- and he insists that it's worked 100 percent of the time. And while we don't know if any member of the Rockies wrapped his package in this shiny undergarment last night, its mere proximity was undoubtedly a

  September 2, 2009

• Colorado Rockies' mission: Sweep Cincy

  Ian Stewart.​The Colorado Rockies' 4-3 victory against the Cincinnati Reds yesterday, thanks to a timely solo shot by Ian Stewart, means the club has won five of the first six games during its ongoing homestand, thereby taking advantage of their extremely favorable September schedule's first phase. But despite this excellent run, the Rocks have only gained two games on the San Francisco Giants in the race for the National League wild card -- and if they don't overcome a minor injury to Tro

  September 8, 2009

• Rockies-Padres series looms large

  The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez.​Watching the Rockies' 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds last night wasn't as suspenseful as anticipated given the circumstances; the Reds had taken the lead late, only to surrender it to Seth Smith, who singled with the bases loaded in the ninth. After all, the Rocks absolutely own the Reds this season, and they've been playing so well that Smith's heroics were almost expected. More unanticipated was the assist provided by the San Francisco Giants, who lo

  September 10, 2009

• Rockies mission: Solve Tim Lincecum

  Tim Lincecum, in a screen capture from his last start against the Rockies.​Last Thursday, we talked about the impending trio of games between your Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres, and the importance of the Rocks winning at least two of the three games going into a key series in San Francisco against the Giants. Unfortunately, that didn't happen: Colorado took game one in dramatic fashion, but dropped the second one in extra innings and fell 7-3 yesterday. The good news: Because t

  September 14, 2009

• The Rockies, and the upside of humiliation, Giants-style

  Tim Lincecum.​Our blog previewing yesterday's Colorado Rockies series against the San Francisco Giants was headlined "Rockies Mission: Solve Tim Lincecum." But that mission proved impossible. Lincecum, who'd squelched the Rocks the last time he'd faced them, repeated the feat, turning Colorado bats into the equivalent of portable fans en route to a 9-1 Giants pummeling. It was a thoroughly dispiriting performance, particularly in so important a matchup. However, the margin of victory could

  September 15, 2009

• Rockies in danger of being broomed out of the Bay Area

  Ubaldo Jiminez wasn't wearing this smile last night.​So much for psychology. The Rockies were crushed 9-1 by the San Francisco Giants on Monday to begin an important three-game series -- and I hoped the size and scope of the humiliation, coupled with the return of ace pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez to the mound, would result in a Colorado bounce-back. Instead, Jimenez looked rusty and uncertain in a 10-2 loss that was even more painful to watch than its predecessor, if only because of sheer redund

  September 16, 2009

• Rockie Roll

  September 17, 2009

• Rockies ace: Jorge De La Rosa?

  Jorge De La Rosa.​Most Rockies fans see Ubaldo Jiminez as the blossoming star of the squad's pitching staff. But Jiminez got absolutely shelled Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants, making last night's series-ender against the SF crew the sort of must-win no one wanted to call a must-win -- but it was a must-win anyhow. And while the Rockies' bats finally woke up to some degree (they went from comatose to woozy but ambulatory), the real reason they recorded a 4-3 victory was Jorg

  September 17, 2009

• Gambling with Homer: Down a Franklin but still feelin' good

  My girlfriend. Ha! I wish!​Hello, sports fans. My name is Homer Duggins and I've been a monster Denver devotee for, like, my whole life! When I was a kid, I totally asked my parents to paint my room blue and green for the Denver Zephyrs, and I wore black and gold to school every day for a year after the Buffs won the national championship in 1990. Man that was great. So this year, I've decided to put my money where my mouth's been -- and believe me, my mouth has been in a lot of places! I

  September 18, 2009

• Wild Rockies and the sounds of Rocktober II

  Delight in the dugout.​Three easy ways to torture a Colorado Rockies fan: 1. Schedule the contest in which the team can clinch a wild-card berth at one in the afternoon. 2. Pile on so much work that he can't even think about following the game. 3. Leave a television with the broadcast on in a room just far enough away so that he can't quite hear what's happening. Somehow, though, this experience turned out to be satisfying anyhow. Chained to my desk, I slowly became aware of cheering,

  October 2, 2009

• After botched Colorado Rockies prediction, Rick Reilly pledges to "tongue bathe" Denver capitol building

  Photo by Mark MangerRick Reilly.​Back in April, no one expected the Colorado Rockies to make the playoffs -- least of all ESPN columnist Rick Reilly, who declared on KOA radio that he would "tongue bathe the Capitol dome if the Rockies make the playoffs." Yes, Reilly promised to lick the Colorado state capitol dome. A golden dome, in fact. And while we have no idea if Reilly has any experience licking golden domes, he's about to become an expert. This morning, several days after the Rocki

  October 5, 2009

• Thank goodness this isn't the booking photo of a current Rockies player

  Shawn Chacon poses for the law.​There was a lot of blab a few years back about the Colorado Rockies looking to sign Christian ballplayers. And while that may not thrill assorted atheists, pagans and druids, not to mention Pedro Cerrano, the voodoo-doll worshipping character played by Dennis Haysbert in Major League, it's been good news for the fans in one way: Rockies players seldom get into trouble with the law. For the most part, they can be found in the sports section, not the crime blo

  October 6, 2009

• Five Colorado Rockies we hope the Phillies underrate

  Ryan Spilborghs.​You're the Philadelphia Phillies -- the defending World Series champs, and winner of three consecutive National League East crowns. You've got a lineup filled with stars like Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee. The entire sporting press, and much of the public, expects you to roll over the Rockies in the first round of the playoffs, set to begin a little over an hour from now, gaining revenge for being swept by the Colorado club in 2007. As such, you can be excused for

  October 7, 2009

• Rocktober derails Union Station gala -- temporarily

  The Denver Public LibraryThe original Mizpah Arch​Everything was in place for one of the biggest social events of the season. Union Station was primed to host "A Night in Old Union Station," a swanky, Victorian-themed gala, on October 15, with tickets set at $40 to $200 to raise money for a replica of the long-gone Mizpah (Welcome) Arch as part of Union Station's ambitious redevelopment. Then, however, came the party crashers -- the Colorado Rockies.

  October 7, 2009

• Don't worry, Rockies fans: It was just a Wacky Wednesday

  ​Most commentators discussing the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-1 dismantling of the Colorado Rockies yesterday came to the conclusion that the P-men simply outclass the Rocks on every level -- an easy conclusion to draw if you suffered through the last five innings. But amid the destruction, there was reason for hope, and not just because Troy Tulowitzki knocked in a last-minute run to prevent Cliff Lee from registering a complete-game shutout. Nearly every member of the Rockies who played wel

  October 8, 2009

• Welcome to Roctover, where hope and promise reign but one big question lingers

  A Flickr photo.​The end of baseball season is always a sad day, no matter when or how it ends. It means, among other things, that Saturday-afternoon errands will no longer be buoyed by the baseball on the car radio; that excuses to drink $9 drafts and yell at grown men are limited to Sundays; that this thing, this force, that's been with you every day since March is now officially in hibernation, stored neatly in the recesses of Coors Field (or wherever they keep these guys) until spring.

  October 13, 2009

• Colorado Rockies' Jim Tracy: Now comes the hard part for the manager of the year

  The Rockies give Jim Tracy a well-deserved hug.​Don't know if the Colorado Rockies had inside information about Jim Tracy being named the National League manager of the year yesterday -- and even if there was no heads-up, execs certainly could have guessed. Who was more deserving of the honor than Tracy, who transformed a Rockies squad headed for the tank into a playoff team? Whatever the case, the Rockies' announcement of a new three-year contract for Tracy shortly after the manager-of-t

  November 19, 2009