Archive for June, 2008

Rockies Fall to Mets in Series Opener

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DENVER — It was a sunny 78 degrees when Rockies ace Aaron Cook threw the first pitch of his clean 10-pitch first inning Friday night. But swirling winds dropped the temperature quickly, and Cook turned just as cold.

Carlos Delgado’s two-run homer paced a five-run second inning, and Trot Nixon added a solo shot in the third as the Mets gave the Rockies their second loss in seven games, 7-2, at Coors Field in front of 30,411.

Jeff Baker gave the Rockies the lead with his fourth home run in four games, a two-run shot off John Maine (7-5) in the bottom of the first. But Maine lasted 6 2/3 innings and gave up no other runs, scattering six hits and striking out six, including Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins with two on to end the third inning.

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Reds Snap Skid - YAY!

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It’s about time, dontcha think? Now, let’s get back on track and stay there

NEW YORK — Edinson Volquez won his 10th game and the Reds snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Yankees today (Friday) before 53,421 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Volquez (10-2) worked seven innings and gave up two earned runs with seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts. The Yankees’ seven-game winning streak is over.

In the top of the second inning, against Mike Mussina, Joey Votto gave the Reds a 1-0 lead with a home run into the right-field bleachers. Votto reached base in all four plate appearances in a 3-for-4 night.

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So, You Think You Know Baseball, hmmm?

Posted in Trivia Time Out | 1 Comment »

In April of 1961 Roger Maris hit only one home run, but had 50 before September 1st. The only player to reach that mark before September until Sosa and McGwire did it in ‘98. Maris had no stolen bases that year.
Ted Williams won the AL batting titles when he was 39 and again at 40. The last At Bat of Ted’s career was a homerun on the last day of the 1960 season.

Did you know that the average baseball only lasts about 8 days?… and that it can only be used once in a Major League Baseball game?

The first “Babe” in baseball was Babe Adams who pitched from 1906 to 1926.

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De La Rosa Leads Rockies to Sweep

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DENVER — When Jorge De La Rosa is on, hitters beware: He’s got some of the nastiest stuff in the Majors.

De La Rosa (2-3) was razor sharp Thursday night, using his fastball and slider to strike out a career-high 10 batters, and Jeff Baker hit his third home run in as many days to lead the Rockies to a 6-3 win over the Indians at Coors Field. The Rockies have won 11 of 15 and swept a team for the first time since April 7-9.

At 31-42, the Rockies are the closest to .500 since May 25, when they were 20-30.

De La Rosa got off to a shaky start, giving up a two-run home run to Ben Francisco in the first inning just as rain began to fall. However, the weather quickly cleared up, and so did De La Rosa. He struck out two batters in each of the first five innings and didn’t give up another run until Casey Blake hit a solo home run to center field in the sixth.

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You May Be a Baseball FANatic, IF…

Posted in Long Ball | 2 Comments »

• You subscribe to Baseball Weekly during the off-season.
• You go to amateur ballgames (Little League, softball, etc.) even though you don’t know anyone on the teams.
• Many of your summertime meals seem to consist of $6 hotdogs, $5 nachos and $4 cokes.
• You’re still looking for that Todd van Poppel rookie card.
• The last time you flew across country you planned a stop in Chicago so you could go to Wrigley Field.
• You own a copy of the Official Baseball Rulebook. And you understand the Infield Fly and Balk rules.
• You’ve ever scored a game.
• You’re still carrying on a feud with your neighbor over whether Ichiro should have been eligible for Rookie of the Year.
• You know who pitched the seventh game of the ‘68 World Series.
• You have Spring Training season tickets.

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Reds Drop 5th in a Row, Finish Homestand 2-7

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~ heavy sigh ~

CINCINNATI — The Reds haven’t been very good on the road. Now they’re struggling at home, too.

The last thing the Reds needed before hitting the road for another long trip was the homestand performance they just completed. A 7-4 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday afternoon wasn’t as close as score indicated. Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang didn’t have it, and Los Angeles had a 6-0 lead through six innings.

Finishing the nine-game homestand at 2-7, Cincinnati lost a season-high five home games in a row.

“It was a rough homestand,” said rookie right fielder Jay Bruce, who was given the first ejection of his Major League career in the ninth inning. “Hopefully, we start a streak on the road.”

That could be a very tall order. The Reds, who are 12-24 on the road this season compared to 21-17 at home, are headed on a 10-day, nine-game journey that begins with three games at Yankee Stadium.

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Rockies Over Indians - Again

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YAY!!! This was a good game. I’m really impressed with how Jeff Baker is progressing and Frances is FINALLY starting to get it together (thank you baseball gods!). And Helton, DAYAM, some fantastic plays - he never lets us down!

If you look at their record over the past two weeks, we ROCK - however, a ways to go to get to where we need to be. C’mon Rockies!

DENVER — The Rockies and their No. 1 pitcher, left-hander Jeff Francis, are becoming sharper. Francis held the Indians to two runs, one earned, in six innings and the Rockies took their 10th victory in 14 games and locked up their fifth straight series, 4-2, at Coors Field on Wednesday night in front of 28,339.

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Reds skid hits 4

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Dangit!!! They have the talent, but apparently aren’t putting it together so far this year, but I have faith, dangit! I love my Reds!

CINCINNATI — In this era of conservation, the Reds have been doing their part during the current homestand, repeatedly reusing and recycling the same headlines and storylines.

Once again, low offensive emissions were at issue during Wednesday’s 6-1 defeat to the Dodgers. That made it four straight losses for Cincinnati, all at Great American Ball Park, where the homestand has spun out into a 2-6 record.

“We’re making everybody look like Cy Young. Everybody is not,” manager Dusty Baker said.

In their last eight games, the Reds are batting .179 (45-for-251) and have scored 17 runs, for an average of just 2.1 runs per game.

Through two games with Los Angeles in this three-game series, Cincinnati has scored two runs.

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Reds Can’t Produce Against Dodgers

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CINCINNATI — Reds manager Dusty Baker used his Monday off-day to stroll scenic Sawyer Point along the Ohio River with his nine-year-old son, Darren.

At one point, Baker said he marveled at the large statue of the Roman, Cincinnatus. One might wonder if he quietly asked the big guy if he could hit.

Runs were scarce again as another anemic offensive display doomed the Reds during a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday. The team tied a season-high three-game losing streak at home while Johnny Cueto pitched seven solid innings, only to come up empty.

“The last few days we haven’t been scoring runs,” Baker said. “It seemed like when we get a good-pitched game, we don’t score runs. When we need to score runs, we haven’t been scoring them. It’s been kind of hit and miss.”

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Rockies Punish the Indians 10-2

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DENVER — Rockies second baseman Jeff Baker hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the third inning Tuesday night, and Colorado never stopped running around the basepaths to take the opener of a three-game Interleague series against the Indians, 10-2.

The Rockies’ 17 hits are the most they’ve had in a game this season, and they’ve won nine of 13.

After Willy Taveras reached first base on a fielder’s choice, Baker drove the first pitch he saw from Indians starter Paul Byrd off the right-center-field wall. The ball rolled all the way to shallow center, and Baker dashed to the plate for the first in-the-park home run of his career and his second homer of the season. Brad Hawpe hit another two-run home run — over the fence — in the fifth, to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead.

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