Hail, yes.
The Rockies have the Diamondbacks right where they want them.
Overconfident, smug, full of, and pleased with, themselves.
Arizona is the D-backs.
Colorado is the Way-backs.
Arizona, our friendly four-corners state neighbor and rival to the southwest, won its ninth game in 10 against the Rox on Tuesday night and now has a nine-game lead over our goodfellows.
But it’s early. There’s plenty of time left. A lot of good stuff can happen for the Rockies in 41 games. Or 42, if you count the tiebreaker.
Rockaugustember.
(Copyright pending.)
Detractor trailers may have given up. Hecklers and jecklers may have capitulated. The Monforts and The O’Dowd may have surrendered. Those prairie dogs on other small newspapers who picked the Rockies to win the World Series this year may be underconfident.
But you and I, who are still buying tickets and attending games and doing the wave and eating Cracker Jack, will persevere.
Never, ever forget 2007.
The D’s, the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers can be choking Dogs.
Last season the Rockies won four of their final six regular-season games against Arizona, then snapped the garden-variety Snakes in four straight games in the postseason. The Rockies won their last seven games against the Bums from L.A.
All they have to do is win 30 games.
So, what was one more loss Tuesday night?
When hail fell briefly in the fourth inning, it was a positive sign. Locusts would have been a negative sign.
Sure, the Dodgers got Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake, and the Diamondbacks got Adam Dunn, but the Rockies got Livan “10 Runz” Hernandez. Gotcha.
Summertime, and Livan is easy.
The Rockies will win the next two in the series, and here we go. Fasten your seat belts.
In the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 victory, Randy Johnson was the winning pitcher, and the Big Batting Unit knocked in the fourth run. This is the same Hall of Fame pitcher who used to discover a hangnail so he wouldn’t have to start against the Rockies in Denver.
“This game set the tone,” Johnson said. “The Rockies are the same team as they were last year, and we have to keep them at arm’s length.”
Don’t quit on me, or the Rockies, here.
After the victories today and Thursday, the Rockies will take three in D.C., three more in L.A. They return for three more in a row against Cincinnati. That’s 11 straight, and the Rockies will own a 64-68 record — and be only five games out of first in the National League West.
It will happen because Willy Taveras, who hit into another double play Tuesday night, will be removed from the starting lineup — and, unfortunately, won’t set the club’s stolen base record — and Dexter Fowler will take over in center field the day after coming back from China. Jeff Francis will return to form, and Franklin Morales will return to the rotation. Ryan Spilborghs will return to the roster, and Troy Tulowitizki will return to being an all-world shortstop.
The Rockies will quit pitching guys named De La Rosa and De Los Santos and begin pitching Greg de la Reynolds.
Matt Holliday — Matt being Matt — will hit .500 in the next month without growing his hair like Manny.
On the West Coast San Trip, the Rockies will grab two in Francisco and two more in Diego. August will end, but the Rockies won’t.
How about a 6-0 beginning to September at home against San Francisco and Houston? Clint Hurdle will be managing his hat off to keep his job, and the Monfort Bros. will show up again, for the first time in months, in their seats behind the dugout and say: “The plan is working. We’re the best team in baseball.”
The Rockies will win two of three in Atlanta and five of six at The Keg against the California Dreamers — the Dodgers and the Padres.
The Rockies will announce on Sept. 17 that postseason tickets are on sale, and there will not be, trust them, a terrorist attack on their website again.
On Sept. 17 the Diamondbacks come back; the ballpark will be full, and Francis, Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez will pitch three consecutive complete-game shutouts to beat Arizona. Phoenix columnists will moan: “Diamondbacks are snake-bitten; Eric Byrnes proclaims from disabled list that, nevertheless, Arizona is better than Colorado.”
The Rockies will go to Arizona for the final three games of the season only one game out of first place in the division. Brandon Webb will be the winning pitcher, his 23rd victory, in the opener of the three- game series, but Cook, in his 23rd victory, will beat Dan Haren, who could have been with the Rockies. In the regular season’s final game, Jimenez will best Johnson.
Two teams tied.
In the playoff game, Morales will pitch the game of his life, and Holliday will score the second winning run of his life, and the Rockies win, the Rockies win, the Rockies win, and the players and the manager and we who didn’t think it was over on Aug. 12 will celebrate.
When hail freezes over LoDo.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
