Matt! My man!! Where you been? Welcome back. I could have sworn I saw you at the games and the women in the pavilion commenting on your..... well.... rear muscle definition. I just never saw you on base.Two HUGE home runs in two days for Holliday has taken him off my failure to produce list (for now). Must have been the silver slugger he got today. The pitching also improved today with Cook on the mound. Overall, todays game was an improvement, though the key issue of not just getting runner son base but on home plate (That is the point of the game right?) is still lacking. I just hope today's win can give some energy to the Rox. The fanfare and glamor from 07 are gone and its time to get down to some baseball.

Garrett Atkins: I need to appologize for not mentioning him previously. He actually HAS been batting unlike 7 other players on the field. Atkins is hitting .296 so far which is acceptable for his spot in the lineup.

Willie Taveras / Scott Podsednik: Can we cut off Taveras' legs and put them on Podsednik? Is that in the rule book? It'd look wierd but it'd give us a pretty good lead off guy. Just a suggestion.....

April 8th's game; $1.00 hot dogs..... enough said.

I don't think the Rockies have ever been know for starting well, but their performance (Helton excluded) has been pathetic. I'm a sore loser, but this..... this is horrible. Sure, it's early in the season and it can (and I'm sure will) turn around. But as I said in a previous post, losing these games has turned many Colorado fans away. Colorado now has the worst ERA in baseball. No big deal if they were hitting, but they can't seem to do that either (Last in batting average too). If I wanted to see a losing team I'd buy season tickets to the Royals..... oh wait, they're tied for the AL central lead. I saw the saddest thing in baseball Sunday when a young boy behind me started to cry at the end of the game because he had tickets to the entire series and did even get to see a win. I don't know what to say. Sitting in left field, it became really pathetic heckling Byrnes as the Rockies got swept. You know what Byrnes? The Rockies definately didn't out play you this weekend.

Troy Tulowitzki: I'm not sure if Troy mistook a rosen bag for a can of Crisco, but if I see his drop one more ball in a transition I think im going to hurl. The play's still been there but what's up dude?

Eric Byrnes: I still don't like him. I'll even admit I lost my voice after game one from yelling at him. I have to say though that Eric showed professionalism and class to it's highest this series. The only reactions he made to all the talk (Some of which was pretty pathetic.... Note to Rockies fans: Learn how to talk smack) was a grin and a head shake. The Rox will out play you next time. I promise.

Todd Helton: Sorry the rest of the team can't get it together. Reaching base safely in seven straight games is doing your job. Too bad the Rockies are 5 for 50 with runner in scoring position.... Guess I called that after game one.

The person that stole my hat on Sunday: Why the hell would you steal a hat that everyone got for free? Honestly!

 Manny Corpas: Maybe Fuentes should get his job back.

Baseball Tonight crew: Still picking the Tigers to go the the WS?

Kip Wells made an impressive starting performance for the opener that counts. If he wanted to show that he can be a starter, that's definately the way to accomplish it. Giving up one HR in 5.1 innings for a 1.69 ERA, I can't complain at.  It does bring up the question of whether he should take Fogg's spot in the rotation. My toughts? Not yet.... The Rockies bullpen is by far their forte and Wells can compliment that nicely. Leaving Fogg in the line-up will let him know that there's someone who can take his place, giving him some pressure to perform. Additionally, Wells had a lot to prove today: He had to prove to the Cards that they should have kept him. He had to prove why he should start. He had to prove that he can win on opening day..... my question is what happens when he doesn't have so much to prove. Hurdle has established himself as making good decisions in tough places and I would stand by any decision he would make about the rotation. The Rox lack of offense, or rather lack of follow through, is worrysome though. The Rockies left 11 on base (5 in scoring position) and of the two run scored, none were earned. It's nice to see them capitalize on mistakes but I would rather see them capitalize on thier own feats. Regardless, I never hate a W.

My player of the game: Troy Tulowitzki .

I don't think anyone can argue with that. Troy went 3 for 4 with one base on balls. His 6-4-3 double play in the first was a remarkable play and shows what a great future he has ahead of him. Jeter's got some competition coming from the NL. Tulo!!!

Thoughts on Nix:

Jayson Nix was put in a nerve racking situation. He stared down a two out, bases loaded, tied in the 8th plate appearance.... He passed the test by staying disciplined and took the BB, allowing a run to score. I was always told in little league sports, "don't be the hero." He did just that and helped get the win. Emotions are tough to calm (Francis can tell you that) and he did just that. Welcome to the MLB Jayson.

1-0, Great start.

As it certainly seemed last year, some one again is looking out for the Rockies. Francis started horribly in the season opener as he couldn't seem to find the plate. Lucky for him, the team and the fans his start was washed away by the rain. Offensively, the Rockies had very good signs of a strong offensive team. Defensively...... we'll see tomorrow. Hopefully this game will go down as short exhibition game and wake up call for Francis. On a positive note, Francis did seem to be pulling through the slump a bit. His stuff can still rise to what is expected of him; though like any major league pitcher he needs to learn to play in that pitch. He needs to learn to block out what has just happened and continue to play ball. He is an NL champ and the ace of the club. It's just time to show it a little better. Hey, at least the tag on his shirt didn't get discussed by the broadcasters......

On a side note, congratulations to the Nationals on starting thier new home with some excitement. They have a great looking park. It'll look even better with the Rockies leading them on the scoreboard.

     I sit and surf the neverending channels of cable with one thing on my mind.... baseball.... baseball..... baseball..... Anything will do, of course. But it would be so nice to relive the run from last year. Yet with the exception of a few segments on this channel or that. There's hardley anything there. I sit on my couch and sigh... "Rocktober" has come and gone.

     Everyone in Denver could feel the buzz last year. "The Rockies can go to the playoffs," they'd say; and inevitably with that remark would come, "Ya, but they'll just lose." Win after win, the buzz would grow and grow. The buzz was all too familiar though. The Avalanche, the Nuggets, the Crush (Who?). The roaring Denver sports scene has seen it's runs and excitement before. After each run, after each win, after each championship, the buzz would die. The same to has happened to the Colorado Rockies.

      Where did the buzz go? Did we leave it in Boston? As being a Yankees fan too (shhhh), I have to adamantly protest leaving anything in Boston. Besides, this was ours! We all bought over-priced tickets from scalpers for what? To send our thunder and excitement to the same place we sent the Avs' and Nugget's buzzes? I look at MLBlogs listings for Rockies blogs and find.... nothing! Where did it go Denver? Where did it go America for that matter? Sure, I'll conceed to the sportswriters. We did get swept. We did have it and lose it. But "Rocktober" made something we've never had in Denver before. A Baseball team we can all be proud of. I challenge all the new fans of the Rockies and Baseball to continue the support. 162 games is a lot. A bad week doesn't mean the same as a bad week in other sports. Keep "Rocktober" alive and well into "Rockapril". And for the love of god Colorado, don't lose opening day! If you do, you'll once again lose the hearts of the newcomers to this sport.