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Standing: Game Synopsis Salaries in Parens, M=Millions, K=Thousands Game#, Date, W/L Score, Record
Game 162 at SD, 10/7, W 10-3 (73-89)
Game 161 at SD, 10/6, L 4-10 (72-89)
Game 160 at SD, 10/5, W 4-0 (72-88)
Game 159 at AZ, 10/4, L 4-5 (71-88)
Game 158 at AZ, 10/3, L 3-4 (71-87)
Game 157 at AZ, 10/2, L 1-10 (71-86)
Game 156 vs. MIL, 9/30, W 10-0 (71-85)
Game 155 vs. MIL, 9/29, W 14-12 (70-85)
Game 154 vs. MIL, 9/28, W 6-5 (69-85)
Game 153 vs. SD, 9/27, W 13-9 (68-85)
Game 152 vs. SD, 9/26, L 1-3 (67-85)
Game 151 vs. SD, 9/25, L 7-8 (67-84)
Game 150 vs. SD, 9/24, W 5-3 (67-83)
Game 149 at MTL, 9/23, W 5-3 (66-83)
Game 148 at MTL, 9/22, L 1-3 (65-83)
Game 147 at MTL,9/21, W 11-9 (65-82)
Game 146 at MTL, 9/20, L 3-8 (64-82)
Game 145 vs. AZ, 9/19, W 8-2 (64-81)
Game 144 vs. AZ, 9/18, W 10-9 (63-81)
Game 143 vs. AZ, 9/17, L 3-7 (62-81)
Game 142 vs. SF, 9/9, L 5-9 (62-80)
Game 141 vs. SF, 9/8, L 3-7 (62-79)
Game 140 vs. SF, 9/7, W 3-2 (62-78)
Game 139 vs. LA, 9/6, L 5-9 (61-78)
Game 138 vs. LA, 9/5, L 2-7 (61-77)
Game 137 vs. LA, 9/4, W 5-2 (61-76)
Game 136 at SF, 9/3, W 4-1 (60-76)
Game 135 at SF, 9/2, L 1-3 (59-76)
Game 134 at SF, 9/1, L 1-2 (59-75)
Game 133 at SF, 8/31, W 5-2 (59-74)
Game 132 at LA, 8/30, L 4-5 (58-74)
Game 131 at LA, 8/29, W 5-3 (58-73)
Game 130 at LA, 8/28, W 4-3 (57-73)
Game 129 at MIL, 8/26, W 3-2 (56-73)
Game 128 at MIL, 8/25, W 5-4 (55-73) "That's the way it goes sometimes."
Game 127 at MIL, 8/24, W 12-6 (55-72)
Game 126 at NYM, 8/23, W 10-0 (54-72)
Game 125 at NYM, 8/22, L 1-2 (53-72)
Game 124 at NYM, 8/21, L 2-5 (53-71)
Game 123 vs. FLA, 8/19, W 6-5 (53-70)
Game 122 vs. FLA, 8/18, W 8-3 (52-70)
Game 121 vs. FLA, 8/17, W 12-5 (51-70)
Game 120 vs. ATL, 8/16, L 1-4 (50-70)
Game 119 vs. ATL, 8/15, L 2-7 (50-69)
Game 118 vs. ATL, 8/14, W 5-4 (50-68)
Game 117 at CIN, 8/12, W 7-6 (49-68)
Game 116 at CIN, 8/11, L 3-7 (48-68)
Game 115 at CIN, 8/10, W 16-7 (48-67)
Game 114 at CHI, 8/9, W 14-5 (47-67)
Game 113 at CHI, 8/8,
L 1-2 (46-67)
Game 112 at CHI, 8/7,
L 4-5 (46-66)
Game 111 vs. PIT, 8/5,
L 4-5 (46-65)
Game 110 vs. PIT, 8/4,
L 3-6 (46-64)
Game 109 vs. PIT, 8/3, W 12-7
(46-63)
Game 108 vs. PHI, 8/2,
L 2-4 (45-63)
Game 107 vs. PHI, 8/1,
L
1-8 (45-62)
Game 106 vs. PHI, 7/31,
W 7-6
(45-61)
Game 105 at LA, 7/29, W 3-2 (44-61)
Game 104 at LA, 7/28, L 6-10 (43-61)
Game 103 at LA, 7/27, L 2-4 (43-60)
Game 102 at LA, 7/26, L 1-3 (43-59)
Game 101 vs. SF, 7/25, L 3-9 (43-58)
Game 100 vs. SF, 7/24, W 6-4 (43-57)
Game 99 vs. SF, 7/23, W 8-2 (42-57)
Game 98 vs. LA, 7/22, L 8-9 (41-57)
Game 97 vs. LA, 7/21, L 22-7 (41-56)
Game 96 vs. LA, 7/20, W 11-3 (41-55)
Game 95 at SF, 7/19, L 1-2 (40-55)
Game 94 at SF, 7/18, L 0-10 (40-54)
Game 93 at OAK, 7/17, L 2-3 (40-53)
Game 92 at OAK, 7/16, L 1-5 (40-52)
Game 91 at OAK, 7/15, L 3-6 (40-51)
Game 90 at TEX, 7/14, W 11-2 (40-50)
Game 89 at TEX, 7/13, L 2-10 (39-50)
Game 88 at TEX, 7/12, L 3-6 (39-49)
Game 87 vs. ANA, 7/8, L 3-11 (39-48)
Game 86 vs. ANA, 7/7, L 3-10 (39-47)
Game 85 vs. ANA, 7/6, L 5-6 (39-46)
Game 84 at SD, 7/5, W 4-0 (39-45)
Game 83 at SD, 7/4, L 3-8 (38-45)
Game 82 at SD, 7/3, L 5-6 (38-44)
Game 81 at AZ, 7/1, L 4-5 (38-43)
Game 80 at AZ, 6/30, L 5-6 (38-42)
Game 79 at AZ, 6/29, L 3-5 (38-41)
Game 78 vs. SD, 6/27, W 10-9 (38-40)
Game 77 vs. SD, 6/26, L 3-11 (37-40)
Game 76 vs. SD, 6/25, L 4-6 (37-39)
Game 75 vs. AZ, 6/24, W 4-3 (37-38)
Game 74 vs. AZ, 6/23, L 5-9 (36-38)
Game 73 vs. AZ, 6/22, L 4-5 (36-37)
Game 72 vs. AZ, 6/21, L 5-14 (36-36)
Game 71 at HOU, 6/20, L 4-3 (36-35)
Game 70 at HOU, 6/19, L 4-3 (36-34)
Game 69 at HOU, 6/18, L 5-13 (36-33)
Game 68 at CIN, 6/17, W 4-3 (36-32)
Game 67 at CIN, 6/16, W 8-7 (35-32)
Game 66 at CIN, 6/15, W 8-4 (34-32)
Game 65 vs. SEA, 6/14, L 1-5 (33-32)
Game 64 vs. SEA, 6/14, W 8-2 (33-31)
Game 63 vs. SEA, 6/12, L 9-10 (32-31)
Game 62 vs. STL, 6/10, W 12-3 (32-30)
Game 61 vs. STL, 6/9, L 2-8 (31-30)
Game 60 vs. STL, 6/8, W 9-1 (31-29)
Game 59 vs. HOU, 6/7, L 1-2 (30-29)
Game 58 vs. HOU, 6/6, W 9-8 (30-28)
Game 57 vs. HOU, 6/5, W 7-5 (29-28)
Game 56 vs. SF, 6/3, W 11-2 (28-28)
Game 55 vs. SF, 6/2, W 7-5 (27-28)
Game 54 vs. SF, 6/1, L 7-11 (26-28)
Game 53 at LA, 5/30, L 1-4 (26-27)
Game 52 at LA, 5/29, W 7-2 (26-26)
Game 51 at LA, 5/28, L 10-11 (25-26)
Game 50 at SF, 5/27, L 4-5 (25-25)
Game 49 at SF, 5/26, W 10-4 (25-24)
Game 48 at SF, 5/25, W 6-1 (24-24)
Game 47 at SF, 5/24, L 1-5 (23-24)
Game 46 vs. LA, 5/23, L 4-6 (23-23)
Game 45 vs. LA, 5/22, W 11-8 (23-22)
Game 44 vs. LA, 5/21, W 6-3 (22-22)
Game 43 at FLA, 5/20, L 7-2 (21-22)
Game 42 at FLA, 5/19, L 0-1 (20-22)
Game 41 at FLA, 5/18, L 1-2 (20-21)
Game 40 at ATL, 5/17, W 8-3 (20-20)
Game 39 at ATL, 5/16, L 4-6 (19-20)
Game 38 at ATL, 5/15, L 3-5 (19-19)
Game 37 vs. MON, 5/13, L 14-10 (19-18)
Game 36 vs. MON, 5/12, L 13-4 (19-17)
Game 35 vs. MON, 5/11, W 13-4 (19-16)
Game 34 vs. NYM, 5/10, W 8-2 (18-16)
Game 33 vs. NYM, 5/9, W 6-0
(17-16)
Game 32 vs. NYM, 5/8, W 12-4
(16-16)
Game 31 vs. NYM, 5/7, L 9-10
(15-16)
Game 30 at Pit, 5/6, L 3-4
(15-15)
Game 29 at Pit, 5/5, L 3-11
(15-14)
Game 28 at Pit, 5/4, W 9-3 (15-13)
Game 27 at Phi, 5/3, L 5-7
(14-13)
Game 26 at Phi, 5/2, W 6-2
(14-12) Game 25 at Phi, 5/1, L 1-7 (13-12) Game MVP: Ron Villone (2.8M) 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 2 SO. LVP: Denny Neagle (7M), 6-2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 BB.
Game 24 vs. Cin, 4/29, W 14-7 (13-11)
Game 23 vs. Cin, 4/28, L 4-9 (12-11)
Game 22 vs. Cin, 4/27, L 9-12 (12-10)
Game 21 vs. CHN, 4/26, L 2-7 (12-9)
Game 20 vs. CHN, 4/25, W 6-5 (12-8)
Game 19 vs. CHN, 4/24, W 14-1 (11-8)
Game 18 at AZ, 4/22, W 2-1 (10-8)
Game 17 at AZ, 4/21, L 5-10 (9-8)
Game 16 at AZ, 4/20, L 2-3 (9-7)
Game 15 at SD, 4/19, W 4-0 (9-6)
Game 14 at SD, 4/18, W 8-0 (8-6)
Game 13 at SD, 4/17, W 9-5 (7-6)
Game 12 vs. AZ, 4/15, W 10-7 (6-6)
Game 11 vs. AZ, 4/14, W 9-8 (5-6)
Game 10 vs. AZ, 4/13, L 3-7 (4-6)
Game 9 at SL, 4/12, W 6-4 (4-5)
Game 8 at SL, 4/11, L 1-3 (3-5)
Game 7 at SL, 4/9, L 2-3 (3-4)
Game 6 vs. SD, 4/7, L 3-11 (3-3)
Game 5 vs. SD, 4/7, L 10-14 (3-2)
Game 4 vs. SD, 4/6, L 6-11 (3-1)
Game 3 vs. SL, 4/5, W 11-2 (3-0)
Game 2 vs. SL, 4/4, W 13-9 (2-0)
Game 1 vs. SL, 4/2, W 8-0 (1-0) Glossary Game MVP: The Rockie's Player of the Game, the team member who made the most effective effort toward winning the game regardless of the final outcome.
LVP:
Least Valuable Player - The participating team member that made the
smallest contribution toward a victory. |
Make management look foolish... Rockies' Defy Logic, Tradition March 16, 2002. You know how Baseball Management justifies paying those huge salaries to big-name players by insisting that they "put fannies in the seats"? In other words, hiring pitchers like Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle will insure that more fans will pay their way into the ballpark on the days that they pitch. Indirectly, more revenue will also be earned because there will be more consumption at the park vendors and more TV and radio advertising revenue due to higher ratings. So, according to the people who hire and represent these players, it is a win-win proposition because they more than pay for them selves. Well it's not happening in Colorado. According to official attendance figures as published by ESPN on their web site, attendance figures at Coors field are as follows for all Rockies starting pitchers in 2001:
Rancor bubbles to the surface.... Trouble in Rockieville March 14, 2002. The fans, news media, and even the players, it seems, are fed up with the Rockie's management. In today's Denver Post, Mark Kiszla, one of the Rockies' biggest homers in the past, says: "For too long, we have all been duped into believing the team was trying to win a championship. The Rockies, however, have become the biggest sports joke in town." (We know Kiszla will say or do anything to get people to read his column, so you have be skeptical about anything he writes. But, in this case, he seems to be in the majority.) Larry Walker has expressed his dissatisfaction with management, has suggested they should trade him to a contender, and even says he was lied to (see the related article at the Denver Post link above). In addition, ticket sales are apparently not up to normal levels as the Rockies are now giving away free tickets to grocery shoppers, something they have never done before (to our knowledge). Stay tuned, its starting to get interesting. However, our greatest fear is that Denver will be "contracted" instead of Montreal or Minnesota, and it looks like the Rockies management is trying to make it so.
Zeile should retire...so should O'Dowd Rockies Will Suck in 2002 February 11, 2002. Truckboy and the Meatmen have outdone themselves this year. For 9 years they have stumbled and bumbled with crude attempts to provide winning teams to reward the best baseball fans the world has ever known. All the while they put up a good pretense of actually trying. Well that's over, now. This year they announced that they are only in it for the money and they are joining with the the City of Denver to officially give the finger to the fans. Instead of a baseball expert, they put a former football player in as president. Instead of keeping up the tradition of great third basemen, they're re-treading a senior citizen who hasn't played there since 1999, and was lousy then. Two rookies will play short and second who will undoubtedly wilt under the pressure of a 162 game season in last place. The stars of the team, Walker and Helton certainly will not be able to keep up the spectacular numbers they have been posting, particularly when the frustration of another losing season sets in. And the pitching, while looking slightly better on paper, has the look of disaster about it, particularly since they lost the best pitching coach in history and effectively didn't replace him. But hey, this is the year of saving money. Stick with the coach who's track record is mediocre at best, and a general manager who is a loose cannon who could trade anyone at any time with no regard for value, logic, fan wishes, or team chemistry. Meanwhile, the city is erecting a forest of parking meters, raising the prices and extending the hours to 11:00 PM. There will probably not be a free parking space within 25 miles of downtown. And, they have imposed a quota of 100 tickets per day on the meter maids to maximize harassment of downtown customers. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the Rockies are dramatically increasing the price of tickets and everything else? Well they are! Surprised? If this trend keeps up, we may be envious of those luck Minnesotans. Contraction would be preferable to this kind of torture. Who's playing third? More Ex-Rockies Added To The Fold December 19, 2001. "Crazy" Dan O'Dowd is jettisoning Rockies' players at a record pace. aFirst, it was Jacob Cruz, who was given his unconditional release (that means they got absolutely nothing for him, folks). Earlier, "Crazy" traded promising catcher Josh Bard and outfielder Jody Gerut, for Cruz, who only showed two problems during his stint with Colorado: he couldn't hit and he couldn't catch. aNext, Jay Powell became a free agent and signed with the Texas Rangers (you guessed it, got nothing for him either). aThen, catcher Sal Fasano and outfielder Clifford Brumbaugh were "designated for assignment (baseballese for "dumped"). aNext, Jeff Cirillo was traded to Seattle for three unknown minor league pitchers: LHP Brian Fuentes and RHPs Jose Paniagua and Denny Stark (read "salary dump"). aNext, "Dealin' Dan" traded pitchers Luke Hudson (who?) and Gabe White to Cincinnatti for relief pitcher Dennis Reyes and second baseman Pokey Reese (who O'Dowd says he doesn't want). aJust to prove he wasn't kidding, Mr. O'Dowd traded Pokey to Boston for catcher Scott Hatteberg, whom they were unable to sign and lost to Oakland. So they got nothing for Reese at all. Nice deal. We heard his next move was to trade Larry Walker and Todd Helton for the Minnesota Twins (don't tell them they're being disbanded, he was too busy trading at the meetings and didn't get the news). Maybe ESPN's Not That Good After All October 28, 2001. In an article entitled "Angels looking to clear air with Vaughn" an anonymous ESPN writer penned "Anaheim reportedly wants to move Vaughn to the designated hitter slot -- Darin Erstad played first base during the last week of the regular season as an experiment". If they would have checked their own statistics they would have seen that Erstad has played nearly 300 games in the past 5 years at first base for the Angels. Its no wonder the Angels haven't won if it takes them 5 years to decide if a player can play. Now, That's Writing! October 21, 2001. ESPN may have corralled all of the best sportswriters in the world. Read the latest NLCS coverage by Jason Starks. We especially enjoyed the line "This was a game that didn't just mushroom on this team. It downright Portabellaed." It may not be Steinbeck, but at least it's fun to read. Rockie's Owners Go Nuts Again October 19, 2001. They couldn't build a winning team with guys full of Trucking and Meat Manufacturing knowledge at the helm, so they've taken the next step. The new president is an ex-football player. Well, at least they've moved back into the sports arena. If only it had been sports management... It's no coincidence that the team rose to it's zenith in the 1993 to 1995 period, when there was an actual BASEBALL man in charge - John McHale, Jr. Let's compare: McHale built the "Big Red Machine" and won World Championships in baseball before coming to the Rockies - the new president led CSU with 69 pass receptions. Yea, that'll work. Marcel Lachemann Quits October 7, 2001. The best pitching coach in baseball will no longer be in the Rockies dugout. Marcel Lachemann has decided to find a way to spend more time at home in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. He will certainly be missed. The Rockies are expected to choose his successor from within the organization, with Jim Wright of Colorado Springs on the inside track. The Rockies may do well to consider Oscar Acosta, the former Cubs pitching coach who was forced to resign recently by former Rockie manager Don Baylor. Acosta worked miracles with the Cub's pitching this year and most of the Cub's pitchers are voicing bitterness at his forced departure... Fans Continue to Desert Sinking Ship October 2, 2001. The good news is, the Colorado Rockies topped the 3 million paid ticket mark for the 9th consequtive season. Also, they have never played before a crowd of less than 30,000 observers, though they came dangerously close this year, with a low-water mark of 30,301 in a game against Arizona on Wednesday night, September the 19th. Also, they are still playing hard (inexplicably), as evidenced by last Friday's game in which the Rockies' Greg Norton broke Brewer's catcher and former Rockie Henry Blanco's hand during a collision at home. In the same game Rockies' shortstop Juan Uribe injured second baseman Mark Loretta's knee while trying to break up a double play. The bad news, other than the losing record, is that they have continued to lose patrons every year since 1996. According to the Denver Post, attendance in 1996 was 3,891,014 (first in baseball) and in 2001 it was 3,140,416 (fifth) or a 19.3% decline. This represents a 4.4% decline from last year. Even worse, first half attendance averaged over 41,000 per game while the second half average declined to just under 36,000, or an average of over 13%. At this rate, they will not make 3 million next year unless they are in the pennant race in the second half. A Winning Season At Home! September 30, 2001. The Rockies closed out their home season with a roar, sweeping a three-game series from the Milwaukee Brewers, and ending up with a home record of 41-40. No Chance For a Winning Season September 18, 2001. With their 81st loss yesterday, the Rockies made sure they wouldn't have a winning season, since they only play 162 games. But they can still break even if they win all of the rest! Go Rockies! (For those of you who might take this seriously and call me a "Homer", like "Satisfied Reader" below, IT'S A JOKE!) And, to add a little insult to injury, (speaking of which, Walker was hit by one of Randy Johnson's fast balls and may not play for a while) last night the Rockies were mathematically eliminated from making the playoffs. Bell Falling Apart September 10, 2001. Up to yesterday, we were firmly in Buddy Bell's corner. While we don't think he is a great manager, we always thought he was competent and dedicated to building a winning team in Colorado. After yesterday's game against the San Francisco Giants and Barry Bonds, we are no longer sure. In fact, we think he should be fired, either right now, or at least after the season is over. Why? Click to read the complete story... Another Satisfied Reader September 7, 2001. A while ago, someone labeled us "Nazis" and "Racists" because we advocated the firing of Don Baylor from his post as Manager of the Rockies. Now we are being accused (unfairly, we would add) of even worse things from a journalistic standpoint. But we will let you judge for yourself...See the email with our response Rockies Win, Hit New Low September 5, 2001. ESPN said it best: "The game drew 30,455, the lowest-paid attendance in the seven-year history of Coors Field." They beat the hated Dodgers, but nobody cares anymore. If Arizona wins 9 more games, or the giants win 10 (and they both probably will), Colorado will be mathematically eliminated even if they win all of their remaining games (fat chance). Guess the only question left is how low the attendance will drop before it's over. Denver Post Declares "Groove" Week August 30, 2001. It must be a really slow sports week when Mike Klis of the Post starts dredging up muck like this from the bottom of the barrel. Here is his reasoning: "A good week by the Rockies benefits the Cubs, who are managed by Don "Groove" Baylor. Many of the current Rockies may not know this, but Baylor held the same job with the Rockies from 1993 until he was fired after the '98 season." For some reason the Post writers think the fans care about Mr. Baylor. For the Post's edification, here is how the fans really feel (and we have talked to every single one of them): Baylor was a bad manager. He took champion-caliber teams and made them mediocre. He took the greatest Rockies team in history in 1995 and made them a wild card, 4-and-out laughingstock in the playoffs. All with bad management, because they would have won the World Series if he had just slept on the bench and done nothing or let Don Zimmer run the team. He showed nothing but contempt for the fans, the players, and the press. He made us sick, we are glad he is gone, and we sure don't want to hear about him anymore. Good luck Cubbies, with Baylor at the helm you are going to need a lot more help than the Rockies can give you. How to Build A Championship Team -or- What the Rockies' Owners Won't Do Click here to read the true story... Things Are Finally Looking Up! July 25, 2001. Hampton pitched well, they took two out of three from the Giants, and Perez is gone! What could be better? Well maybe a World Series, but hey, this is a start. Kiszla Finally Says Something Intelligent July 25, 2001. "Perez was a superstar in his mind only. The Rockies were wiser to trade a shortstop with a career .243 batting average on the road and a stubborn refusal to take a walk or advance base runners than to meet his self-aggrandizing salary demands in excess of $5 million per year." Mark Kiszla Writes "Don't put the blame on Bell" July 10, 2001. We were going to start this critique with something clever like "Apparently the Post has no rules about drinking and writing". But after re-reading Mr. Kiszla's latest article, we're afraid that it's much more serious than that. Click. "The Momentum has changed! Oh, Yea!" July 7, 2001. At least that is what the TV announcers were screaming last night after Larry Walker pulled the Rockies to within one run of Anaheim with a mighty homerun in the 7th inning. Apparently they should have sent some one down to the home dugout to give them the news, because they didn't seem to notice as they bumbled and stumbled to another loss. The momentum continues.. welcome back to last place! Neifi the Whiner All Hope is Gone July 1, 2001. The season is over for Rockies fans. The Rockies will not win the pennant; there will be no Mile High World Series this year, continuing the streak of none in Colorado History. As "Country Joe" MacDonald so succinctly put it: "There ain't no use to wonder why", because it doesn't do any good to look back and try to figure out why the team is so mediocre. On the surface, they seem to have everything they need, and they appear to clearly be superior to any team in the division, if not the whole of Major League Baseball. So apparently what they don't have are the "intangibles", the heart, or the guts, or sheer luck that it takes to get the big play when it is needed. Unfortunately, even if they got it today, it would probably be too late, being 11 games out on July 1st. Stick a fork in them, they're done. More of the Same June 27, 2001. San Diego comes into town with one of the worst hitting, fielding, and pitching teams in Baseball and beats the Rockies for the fifth straight time. They now have the swagger and attitude as if the games here are fixed and there is no way they can lose. They don't even bother to use their best players or give their best effort. Last night they won 11-3 with a 43 year old left fielder, a 3-10 pitcher, and a supporting cast that couldn't seem to catch or throw the ball at a major league level. oh, well, today is a new day - the Phillies will beat the Braves to remain atop the NL East and the Rockies will start a 20-game winning streak... And Elephants will fly. Too Painful to Watch June 26, 2001. Nobody could enjoy watching the last 10 Rockies' games. They remind us of the 1964 Phillies (or maybe this year's Phillies). They look stunned - can't pitch, can't catch, can't hit. They just can't play the game anymore. We at the Observer are beginning to wonder about Mr. Bell - history seems to be repeating itself with him. If they don't turn it around soon, we may be rolling out the Fire Buddy Bandwagon. Ringolsby Slams Larry Walker June 25, 2001. Baseball "genius" Tracy Ringolsby wrote an article in the Post the other day about which of today's players will be in the Hall of Fame. He didn't even mention Walker. Makes us wonder if he has ever been to a game. Rockies Sweep Reds on Road! June 25, 2001. Yeah, but then they got swept by Houston, and then lost 3 out of 4 to Arizona in Denver. Woe. Rockies Have the Worst Announcers June 2, 2001. We hope they're not paying these guys much (click for details). Neifi Owes His Gold Glove to Official Scorer June 2, 2001. The Squirrel gets a birthday present. MHM (Mile High Magic) Returns; Walker Waves Wand, Colorado Wins June 2, 2001. After playing badly for the first eight innings, Colorado and Walker came alive in the ninth. In the top of the ninth, Larry made a great catch up against the wall and followed it with a great throw to save at least one run. Then in the bottom of the ninth, he hit the game winning homerun to bring Colorado all the way back from a 3-5 deficit. See ESPN. CO Beats LA, Brown Behind Bo, Homers May 29, 2001. Brian "Babe" Bohannon returned form the injured list with a vengeance, beating the first place Dodgers and erstwhile ERA champ Kevin Brown. He had considerable assistance in the form of 2-run 4-baggers from the bats of "Serious" Jeff Cirillo and "Babbling" Brooks Kieschnick off of Brown. Kieschnick had two round-trippers in two plate appearances. Rockies, Hampton Finally Win in SF May 25, 2001. Hampton, who has never lost to the Giants, shut down Barry Bonds and his teammates and broke the Rockies streak of losses at the City by the Bay. Rocks Lose 13th in a Row at SF May 24, 2001. Rockies' fans will remember well the beginning of the streak. It was July 4th last year when Colorado played for the first time at the new San Francisco Pacific Bell Park. They were in first place. Life was good, hopes were high. Then they lost four in a row to the Giants and entered the worst tailspin in club history, effectively ending the season. The first game there this season was not much better, with the Giants hitting three homeruns and beating the Mountain Boys 5 to 1. Maybe Hampton can end the streak today. Let's hope so. No Umpire Mishaps, Rockies Lose 2-1 May 18, 2001. The Rockies were apparently waiting for some umpire, somewhere to split his pants, but judicious bending along with the strength of polyester foiled their hopes. They got good pitching, but no hitting at all, which may be understandable, since they were facing a pitcher that threw a no-hitter his last time out. Well, at least the Dodgers lost, too. Umpire Splits Pants; Rockies Beat Braves May 17, 2001. Umpire Eric Cooper split his pants in the first inning at Philadelphia in a game between the Phillies and the Brewers. We have no way of knowing if the Rockies knew about that cataclysmic event, but something motivated them to get up off the deck and avoid being swept by the Braves. Just as Eric Cooper recovered from his embarrassing encounter, the Rockies straightened up, covered the exposed flaws (losing the last two games that they should have won), and went on as if nothing had happened. They donned a new pair of pants, so to speak, just as Mr. Cooper did, only theirs had a big "W" on the back. The DBO just hopes we don't have to wait for the next umpire bend-over accident before the Blake Streeters win again. Rocks Slide Further Into the Abyss, Lose to Braves Again May 16, 2001. Larry Walker said it all after the game (according to ESPN): "I firmly believe we should be 2-0, not 0-2, on this road trip. We've (given) them both away." He was correct, as usual. The team blew a four run lead they had earned against Tom Glavine, and threw the game away with poor relief pitching and bad base running. The only hope they have left for this series is the ex-Brave factor with Denny Neagle starting tomorrow against John Smoltz, who hasn't pitched in the Majors for years. The way things are going, the Rockies will find a way to lose anyway. Season Careens Toward Early Disastrous Conclusion May 15, 2001. I hoped I would never see it, much less say it - but it happened: Buddy Bell pulled a Don Baylor tonight. Perhaps he can be forgiven - after all, he has only done it once - I just hope it doesn't get to be a habit with him. The act in question is leaving in a pitcher that has obviously lost his stuff, usually due to exhaustion. That is precisely what happened with Hampton in the eighth inning Tuesday night. First he got Brian Jordan to ground out, but then the light hitting Javy Lopez singled, followed by a base hit by the equally light hitting Helms. That should have been enough right there, but Bell left Hampton in to face Bernard Gilkey, whom he walked to load the bases. That should have been it right there - there should have been no way that Hampton would be left in to face the next hitter - it was obvious that he had nothing left at all. But leave him in Bell did, and the hitter, extremely light hitting Marcus Giles, batting for only his 12th time in the Major Leagues, crushed the first homerun of his career on a 3-2 pitch. The road trip is off to a terrible start and if the Rockies don't turn it around quickly it is going to be last year's July descent into oblivion, only a month and a half earlier. All they need to do is beat Glavine and Smoltz. Colorado Facing Toughest Stretch - Season Could Be Over In 2 Weeks May 15, 2001. Next up, 3 games with the Braves, then 3 with the Marlins, followed by 6 with the Dodgers sandwiched around 4 with the Giants. If it goes according to history, the Rockies could be 10 games out on June 1st, and thinking about writing off 2001 and getting ready for 2002. So, if the Boys of Blake Street are going to buck the trend and turn the past on its head, it had better be now, before they dig themselves a hole out of which they can't climb. They need to go at least 4-2 on the road trip to Atlanta and Florida, and they must win at home over LA and SF. If they do that, they'll stay in it. What would be really nice though, would be for them to go in a tear in there somewhere and win 6 or 7 in a row. Why not? They haven't had a streak yet - maybe it's time. Anyway, if they drop to 10 games out, the DBO staff will be warming up Don Meredith's version of "Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over", and starting an office pool on who will be the first veteran traded for prospects. Rockies Finally Come Back, Beat Reds 14-7 April 29, 2001. Rockies Fall Apart II- Reds Win 9-4 April 28, 2001. It was like deja vu all over again as Yogi Berra would have said. The Rockies appeared to have solved the Reds mystery and were leading or hanging tough, poised for the usual bottom of the ninth heroics, when once again the apple cart rolled off the path, exploded and burned. The Reds exploded for 4 runs in the top of the ninth and even the most loyal fans headed for the exits. To make things worse, Hampton was supposed to start today but, due to injury will be replaced by some guy from the minors - aaaaaaah. Rockies Fall Apart - Reds Win 12-9 April 27, 2001. The Rockies fell completely apart in the first and eighth innings Friday night, or they would have easily beaten the red-hot Reds, who instead won their eighth road game in a row. Bad pitching combined with horrible fielding doomed the Rockies. Astacio, the starter had a rocky first inning where every pitch looked like a batting practice fastball down the middle, but Neifi "The Squirrel" Perez compounded matters by being out of position for the cutoff and making a bad throw to the plate. The result was that the batter, Aaron Boone ended up on third base instead of first and two runs scored instead of one. The Red's lumbering first baseman had apparently missed the third base coach's signal to stop and was cruising slowly toward the plate - even a bad throw would have gotten him by ten feet, but Neifi uncorked a terrible throw, at least ten feet from the plate up the first base line, allowing the runner to score and Boone to scamper all the way to third, from where he would score four pitches later. The charitable official scorer once again failed to assign an error. The Rockies actually recovered from that disaster and took a 9-6 lead on timely hitting by Perez, Pierre, the Walkers, and the Todds, coupled with some horrible defense by the Reds. But it all fell apart in the 8th when Perez misplayed Boone's grounder and opened the floodgates again. The Reds scored 6 off Acevedo, Meyers, and Jimenez and cruised to an easy victory. Cubs Get Lucky - One Bad Inning Costs Rockies April 26, 2001. Just Like Old Times - Baylor Makes A Bonehead Move and Costs His Team the Game 6-5 April 25, 2001.Only now the Rockies are not the victims... Rocks Overwhelm Baylor Cubs 14-1 April 24, 2001. Mike Hampton controlled the Chicago bats while the Colorado bats smacked everything in sight. Rockies Finally Beat Diamondbacks April 22, 2001. Pedro Astacio was the stopper once again, pitching the Rockies to a rare victory in Arizona. Diamondbacks Win Again April 21, 2001. Reggie Sanders hit a grand slam homerun as the Diamondbacks romped 10-5. Diamondbacks Win 3-2 April 20, 2001. Reggie Sanders hit a solo homerun with two out in he bottom of the 9th off Gabe White ($1,166,667) to win the game for Arizona. Todd Hollandsworth ($2,750,000) had tied it off Curt Schilling in the top of the inning with a solo homerun of his own. Neagle Sweeps Rockies Into First April 19, 2001. Denny Neagle ($7,000,000) and three relievers held San Diego to 6 hits and no runs to sweep the three game series on the road, with a 4-0 victory last night. It completed 18 consecutive scoreless innings by Rockies' pitchers, a club record. It was also the first time in Rockies history that they had shut out an opposing team for two games in a row. Hampton Fools Padres For 8-0 Victory Team Effort Overwhelms Gwynn and SD Hollandsworth Bashes Arizona April 15, 2001. Todd Hollandsworth had a career day, slamming 3 homeruns including the walk-off winner in the bottom of the tenth to lead the otherwise feeble Rockies to a win over Curt Shilling and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rockies Squeeze By 'Backs, 9-8 April 14, 2001. The Rockies blew a 5-0 lead and ended up tied 7-7 in the eighth when Cirillo finally clubbed in the winning runs with a homer. I was still a nail-biter to the end, though, with Jimenez one pitch away from loading the bases when he struck out Tony Womack on a 3-2 pitch that was high and outside. Rockies Lose At Home to Arizona April 13, 2001. It was Friday the 13th. It was really cold. Luis Gonzalez ($4,833,333) hit two homeruns. Brian Bohannon ($3,333,333) had another bad night. The "Big Unit", Randy Johnson ($13,350,000), was pitching for Arizona. End of story. Rockies Finally Win Again April 12, 2001. They had to hit rock bottom before the Rockies finally bounced back. Things looked there bleakest in the seventh inning of today's game, with the team being no-hit and losing 2-0. Then Larry Walker ($12,166,667) came through as usual with a 2 run homerun. Then, two pitches later, Todd Helton hit one to break out of an 0 for 9 slump. The Cardinals came back momentarily, but the Rockies where not to be stopped and they won in the 9th when Mark Little ($210,000) pinch hit a two-run single. Final score 6-4. Impotent Rockies Lose Again, 3-1 April 11, 2001. Astacio (6.85M) started and pitched well, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings. But the Rockie's hitters squandered nearly every opportunity, leaving 6 runners on base, 3 in scoring position. They ended up out hitting the Redbirds 7 to 5, but they still managed to lose. That makes 5 in a row, when will it end? Cardinals Finally Beat Rockies 3-2 April 9, 2001. More accurately, the Rockies beat themselves in Saint Louis. With the game tied in the top of the ninth, third base coach Rich Donnelly made his second error of the year, and it looked just like the first - he sent a runner home when he had no chance. In this case it was Jeff Cirillo, and he was tagged out before he even had a chance to slide. Had he not gone, the Rockies would have had runners on second and third with one out and the meat of the order coming up - not a bad situation. Instead, they went into the ninth tied, and Jose Jimenez settled it by loading the bases and uncorking a wild pitch to hand the game to the home team on a silver platter. Sickening. Padres Bedevil Rockies Thrice April 8, 2001. This had to be the most depressing weekend any Rockies fan has ever experienced since the very beginning in 1993. Here we were, riding high on the three game sweep of the Central Division Champion Cardinals and expecting even easier victories over the last place San Diego Padres, then the proverbial balloon burst The Padres swept the Rockies at home and left serious doubts that the Colorado could win the Western Division this year. It was as if a dark cloud hovered over the stadium even though the weather was perfect for baseball all three days. The pitchers couldn't pitch, the hitters couldn't hit, and in the only game in which they had a chance to win, Saturday, the managers couldn't manage. Another Day Game, Another Pitching Feat April 5, 2001. This time the perpetrator was Mr. Pedro Astacio ($6,850,000), but the result was almost the same as Mr. Hampton's ($10,500,000). The starting pitcher threw for 8 innings and only allowed the normally rowdy Redbirds a measly single tally. The end result was the largest margin of the young season with an 11 to 2 triumph Game 2 - Win 2 April 4, 2001. The second game of the 2001 Colorado Rockies season was the traditional slugfest that has become so familiar in these parts. Once again, the home starting pitching was effective, with Neagle ($7,000,000) only giving up 3 runs in five innings while the Rockies' Thumpers amassed a dozen of their own. Full Story.... Opening Day at Last: Rockies Win 8-0! April 2, 2001. Mike Hampton ($10,500,000), with a little help from the Walkers, Todd ($1,050,000). and Larry ($12,166,667)., totally subdued the fat bats of the slugging Cardinals of the River City,....Click for full story. The Definitive Preview and Predictions for the 2001 Rockies March 28, 2001. The Denver Papers are ready to hand the World Series rings out to the Rockies' players today. But let's not be hasty, this team has some problems that will not be easy to overcome. By the same token, it is without a doubt the best Rockies team ever - on paper. Full story.... Baseball Sticks It To Web Users March28, 2001. It's a bad day for Internet Users who are also baseball fans....Click for full story.
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Since 11/12/2001
Last updated 08/30/09 06:56:58 AM
