Pitching staff soaks up limelight
Jealous much, Jeff Cirillo?
The Milwaukee infielder never did cut it in a Rockies uniform – he was one of the few hitters to not inflate his average at Coors Field. And now as a visitor, Cirillo, who on Tuesday accused the Rockies of using illegal, waterlogged baseballs to decrease runs, is the victim of what is becoming one of the stories of the year in Major League Baseball.
The Rockies have one of the best staffs in baseball. They have eight shutout victories this season, tied for second-best in the National League. And three of the four 1-0 games in Coors Field’s 12-year history took place this season.
Whether or not Cirillo’s claim has weight, he did bring to light a few key points re: the Denver nine.
1. The Rockies, like an annoying muffler radio jingle, are in teams’ heads. They went 3-10 after the all-star break to nearly eliminate themselves from contention in the muy contendable NL West. But they rebounded, going 5-2 against division-leading San Diego and Milwaukee with two consecutive series wins. And every time a hitter thinks “humidor,” the Rockies take another advantage.
2. The Rox pitching works well on the road, too. The Rockies are tied for second-best in the NL with a 4.17 ERA. And on the road, they’re fourth (4.32) in the NL.
3. At this point in the season, the “also-ran” list is beginning to grow. Count out Milwaukee, Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Sorry, Cirillo, you’ve got nothing to look forward to. But the Rockies, at 52-55 (just 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee) are in the playoff picture.
With division games on the docket through September, the Rockies can make or break their own postseason hopes.
The stretch begins tonight with the first game of a seven-game West Coast swing. Jeff Francis (8-9, 3.63 ERA) goes against the Giants’ Matt Morris (8-8, 4.61). The game airs at 8 p.m. on FSN.
WEAK IN REVIEW
If recent events are a sign of things to come, then the upcoming college football season could be worse than a schedule full of Miami-Florida matchups with rosters full of Lawrence Phillipses. The inauspicious start: Oklahoma’s starting QB Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team after reportedly taking payment from a booster; Air Force kicker Ryan Harrison was suspended for violating school standards; and Southern Cal defensive back Brandon Ting, whose father, Dr. Arthur Ting, is Barry Bond’s orthopedic physician, tested positive for steroids.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE …
Someone should let Ashley Lelie know he has zero leverage in his holdout from Broncos camp. Ash, buddy, there are 11 wide receivers in camp. It would be a lot easier for the Broncos to just forget about you entirely than to waste the effort in working a trade.
THE COUCH
ON: It’s mostly a worthless game, a glorified scrimmage with pads and, well, television cameras and play-by-play commentary. But the NFL’s Hall of Fame game, pitting the Oakland Raiders against the Philadelphia Eagles in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday at 6 p.m., will surely draw plenty of hungry football fans. Check out the action on KUSA-9 or you’ll be one step behind on preseason evaluations of players for your fantasy league.
OFF: It’s called the Copper Triangle Alpine Cycling Classic, but there’s much more than the name implies. The 78-mile ride, starting and ending at Copper Mountain on Saturday, will also take cyclists through Leadville, Vail, Minturn and Battle Mountain, over Fremont Pass, Tennessee Pass and Vail Pass. The elevation gain is 5,981 feet to more than 11,000 feet high. The views, obviously, should be worthy of the effort. Check coppertriangle.com for more info.
AROUND TOWN
As far as Tinseltown representation goes, arm-wrestlers need a lot of help. Sylvester Stallone in “Over the Top,” a movie too bad to even be ironically funny, just won’t cut it. Good thing there’s more to the sport than Sly’s truck-driving Cinderella story. The 2006 U.S. Armsports Unified National Armwrestling Championships, one of the biggest tournaments of the year, hits Denver this weekend. More than 600 wrestlers will vie not only for bragging rights, but a spot on Team USA, which will compete at the World Armsport Federation World Armwrestling Championships in November in Great Britain. The Denver tournament is at the Doubletree Hotel at 3203 Quebec St. Check www.extarmwrestling.com for more info.
