Welcome to Good Baseball

Watching the game tonight, I was reminded once again of just how good our team could be, and it made me think of a day when Coors Field might again be as ecstatic as Campden was tonight. Before I go any further, let me touch on just that: noise. Atmosphere is a huge part of any sport. In Europe, soccer games draw screaming crowds who shake stadiums, and make the game fun to watch, even on TV. One of the reasons why nobody goes to Rockies games may be because nobody goes to Rockies games. When a ballpark is full, and fans are screaming, it's a totally different feeling. It makes fans appreciate the game, and it drives players to compete even more. It's what makes playoff baseball great even when your team isn't in it, and the atmosphere at Campden Yards tonight made the game so exciting, that I skipped most of dinner to see it. But onto the game.

Despite being a win against the division-leading Orioles (which, coincidentally, I've been in Maryland for the last week, hence my lack of posts), a number of good things fell into place.

First and foremost, Todd Helton finally got a homerun, his first since May 14th. While one hit may not seem like a big deal, consider this: Currently batting .253 in about 200 at-bats, the difference between Helton at .253 and Helton at .300 is only 6 hits. In fact, throughout an entire season, the difference between an average .270 hitter and a great .300 hitter is only 15 hits - but those 15 extra battles are so tough, only the best make it. Tonight, going 1-3 with a walk, Helton showed that he's still a great hitter - and hopefully he'll continue with a little confidence, especially with the homerun coming to the oposite field, against a good pitcher and good team, in a packed ballpark. Everything is in place for him to go on a tear.

Secondly, all pitching was solid, for perhaps the second time this year. What I liked especially was that even though two of our pitchers got in big trouble, they pulled it out in front of screaming fans hoping the worst. Jason Jenning's sixth inning-ender double-play groundball was obviously a terrific performance, but what pleased me more was Brian Fuentes coming back from allowing a run with no one out to put the stomper on and close up the game. After the run scored on a close play at the plate, the crowd went nuts, and Fuentes looked more nervous than I've ever seen a professional athlete. But you've got to give credit to him for ending the inning by striking out Surhoff (keeping him on track to have more strikeouts than innings pitched) and getting the dangerous Mora (batting .310) to fly out to Corey Sullivan, the same man who may have thrown out the ultra-quick Eli Marrero two plays earlier on a close play at the plate that started with Sullivan making a head-first diving catch on a line-drive off the bat of catcher Fasano. It looked like Ardoin had his foot underneath Marrero's slide, and speaking of which, let's talk about a guy who isn't getting nearly enough credit.

Everyone always talks about the pitcher who gets it done, but what about the guy behind the plate? Besides being an excellent catch-and-throw guy (he proved that with three baserunner throughouts in his first two appearances), Danny Adroin seems to be a guy that pitchers like. With all due credit to JD Closser, calling a ballgame and recognising what pitches to throw against batters is something that Danny seems to have. Recognising the hard slider as the pitch that struck out Slammin' Sammy Sosa three times during the game is a testament to the fact that Ardoin may have the gift of calling the game. But don't take my word for it. In the last month, in the six games featuring Ardoin (minus the 15-5 Chicago effort which was largely Matt Anderson's fault), Rockies pitchers have allowed just 19 runs. In contrast, in the just three games with JD closser, pitchers have allowed 21 runs. Even though the team has gone just 3-4 with Ardoin behind the plate, this is more due to offense than pitching. The Rockies lost a 2-1 game to the league-leading White Sox, and a 7-6 game to Cleveland. Plus, Ardoin is batting a respectable .250, whereas Closser is well below the Mendoza line, at a mere .188. What I'm getting at is that there's more to catching than blocking a ball behind the plate, and Ardoin has it. He knows how to call a game, and he has some hitting potential. I'm wondering why management chose Closser to ascend the ranks instead of Ardoin, and I will not be happy if Ardoin is cut when veteran Todd Greene returns for the DL after pulling a hammy in a tough play walking across home plate.

Overall, we could be a really good team, but I don't think all factors have clicked yet. We're winning games with EITHER good pitching OR good offense, but not both. Once Helton pulls out of his slump (and I maintain that he will), and the clutch hits start coming from a few other guys, I think this team is ready to go on a tear. The question is, who will be there when it happens?

-Gabe
Back from Maryland, en route to Lawrence, Kansas.

P.S. - If someone wants to buy me MLB.TV for the next five weeks (I'll be away) and somehow remove blackout restrictions on my Denver registered account, please e-mail me at potterhead4@comcast.net . Thanks.