Showing signs of life
Two wins in Cincinnati this weekend had the offense showing signs of life, and the pitching… well, it was there. The offense showed up on Friday and Saturday night, while only scoring three runs on Sunday… but we can’t expect to win every game, can we?
Now it’s three games in St. Louis against the Cardinals. And I have to be broke right now why? At least my parents pick up Fox Sports Midwest at their house, which is where I am right now. Tonight’s matchup is between two struggling pitchers: Jeff Francis (1-4, 6.19) for the Rockies, Anthony Reyes (0-5, 5.46) for the Cardinals. I wish I could tell you what’s wrong with Francis. According to Hardball Times, opponents are hitting .362 against him on balls in play. Is that luck? Maybe, maybe not. He’s giving up fewer ground balls compared to last season, while giving up more line drives and fly balls. He’s also getting fewer pop-ups. We’ll see if he can turn it around, but right now we’re getting worse production from him than we are from Josh Fogg.
Anthony Reyes is not as simple. The component ratios indicate that he’s pitching pretty well, and opponents are hitting .238 against him. .238? So how does he have a 5.46 ERA? Something tells me he’s not pitching as bad as that ERA or the 0-5 record might have you thinking, and that he’s due to shut down the Rockies tonight. I hope not. Still, though, it’s not as though Reyes is getting tattooed out there.
Tuesday night, it’s Taylor Buchholz against Brad Thompson; or, our injury fill-in starter versus their injury fill-in starter. For Thompson it’s his first start of the year, after fourteen uninspiring relief appearances. Not that, you know, Buchholz has been much better (8.04? Seriously, Taylor?) Like Francis and Reyes, luck may have something to do with this. Let’s look at Hardball Times again… Taylor’s "Fielding-Independent Pitching" is just 3.78, a far cry from his 8.04 ERA. And there’s that .390 BABIP.
And on Wednesday, it’s Hirsh against Adam Wainwright, also known as the "Professional Tall Guys" matchup. Jason (6’8") slightly beats out Adam (6’7") in that one, and despite not being the closing pitcher in the World Series last season, Jason has been a better pitcher than Adam this year. Prognosis on Wainwright is that the Cardinals probably should have kept him in the bullpen. As for Hirsh, well, he’s only been pretty much the Rockies’ best starting pitcher this season, though his last two starts have left something to be desired.
On the other hand, Albert Pujols is only hitting .264. That can’t last forever. Rockies pitchers, look out.
The Coors Effect 