Ubaldo Jimenez just received a very nice raise from the Colorado Rockies as they two agreed on a four-year contract that will keep Jimenez in a Rockies uniform for quite a while. The contract is $10 million in guranteed money as well as club options in 2013 and 2014.

He will receive $750,000 in 2009, $1.25 million in 2010, $2.8 million in 2011 and $4.2 million in 2012. The club options are for $5.75 million in 2013 and $8 million in 2014. There is a $1 million buyout on the options

Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd had this to say:

“We like the type of kid he is,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd siad. “He’s got tremendous character and integrity. I think he’s bought into everything we’re all about.

I think he has a chance to be an ace with his ability, but he has some areas he needs to improve on before he’s able to do that.”

Congrats to the Rockies and Jimenez on getting a deal worked out!

The Rockies need a big win and they got it last night. The bats came alive with an 8-3 win against the Dodgers in LA. 

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a good game, and got some support from the rest of the team. He pitched five innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. He looked good and only had one little breakdown in the fourth when he gave up two runs to give the Rox only a one run lead. Jimenez has improved greatly from the beginning of the year and will hopefully keep on winning. 

After the Rockies scored two runs in the first, Brad Hawpe came up in the third and hit a bomb out to dead center to score two runs in the top of the third. Hawpe has pulled out of his slump and really come through when the team needs him. Matt Holliday had a great game going four for five and hitting a solo homerun in the eighth to put the Rockies up by two. The big man of the night was Ian Stewart who went two for three and hit a three run homerun in the eighth to put the game away for the Rox. Stewart definitely improved from his last stint with the Rockies and it showed last night with his long homerun off of Kuroda, a lefty on lefty match up. With the team putting up some runs the pitching has less stress and performs just as well.

Luis Vizciano, Manuel Corpas, Taylor Buchholz and Brian Fuentes all came in and pitched an inning and gave up no runs. Vizciano gave up one hit and Corpas gave up a pair but other than that the bullpen looked solid. The Rockies bullpen is usually pretty solid, but it is nice to see a hand full get into a game and do well.

The Rockies take on the Dodgers again tonight and will hopefully have the same outcome. Jeff Francis is on the mound for the Rox tonight and can hopefully keep the Dodgers at bay. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: IAN STEWART

After losing a close game, 2-1, to the Mets the night before you would think the Rockies would bring some more offense the next night to prove themselves, but they actually brought less. It was an easy win for the Mets last night, who shut out the Rockies 3-0. 

Ubaldo Jimenez had another great outing. He pitched six innings with three runs on seven hits. For any starting pitcher three runs is respectable and usually can bring in a win. But the rest of the team needs to get some runs and  the bullpen needs to finish it off. But the Rockies had two out of three things needed to win, a good start and the bullpen domination, but they didn’t have the bats to score. 

Brad Hawpe was the only Rockie to get a hit. In nine innings only one man got on base from making contact. It was a pretty sad sight to see as a Rockies fan. They were so close the entire game and just couldn’t make it happen. 

The Rockies are losing ground in the NL West and every loss is huge. This year the the division isn’t at its best and the Rockies need to capitalize. The close games are key and it makes me nervous when they don’t win them. Just as the team was getting its strength back offensively they get shutout.

Tonight’s game is a big one. They need to prove themselves in front of America on ESPN. The lesser known teams in the West don’t get the Sunday night game that often and the Rox need to regain the respect they had at the end of last year; they need to capture a win. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: 

All the sports shows tend to forget about the Rockies, and early in the season they should have, but now they are coming back strong, and people should start to take notice. Last night’s win against the Brewers was key for getting the team back to the .500 mark. The Rockies don’t always perform their best on the road, but last night showed a team that can win anywhere; beating the Brewers 4-3 at Miller Park. 

Ubaldo Jimenez got control of the game and pitched seven shut out innings even though he struggled in the count. A lot of the batters he faced saw themselves ahead in the count, but Jimenez battled back. He gave up no runs on three hits and struck out seven guys. I think that I can take some credit for his performance, because on the 4th of July I saw him and told him what a great pitcher he was. He had fan support, which helped him with his confidence. And last night he was 100% confident in tough situations. 

The Rockies are getting more and more confidence in their bats too. Last night was not a high scoring game, unlike the fourth’s 18 run win, but they got enough to finish it off. Both Matt Holliday and Jeff Baker went two for four. One of Holliday’s hits was a line drive homerun out to centerfield which put the Rockies ahead by three. Garrett Atkins got a sacrifice fly RBI putting him at 51 tied with Holliday. The one thing the Rockies have had trouble with this year is leaving runners on base. Last night they left nine guys on, and in a close game like this one turned out to be those nine potential runs could have made a difference. 

The Rockies don’t lack defense, and they showed it off last night-at least until the eighth inning. Jimenez picked Braun and Hart off of first. And the Rox also turned the only two double plays in the game. They fell apart defensively in the eighth though. First Joe Koshansky received an error when a short hit ground ball came his way and he missed the tag. Then a miscommunication between Atkins and Chris Iannetta became a single after a high pop-up dropped right in front of the mound. The Brewers were able to score three runs in the eighth. But Brian Fuentes was on his A game and struck out two batters and then got the third out off a lazy fly to left. Since he has been able to shut down the other teams in his last two outings, I don’t know how much longer he will be a Rockie. 

It was an eventful second to last inning but the Rockies were able to hold on. The Rox face CC Sebathia, his first outing as a Brewer, in Miller Park tonight and hopefully can turn one win into two.

ROCKSTAR of the game: UBALDO JIMENEZ

I don’t even know what to say. It was one of the most amazing games I have ever seen live. The Rockies battled back to beat the Marlins 18-17. The Rox were down 9 at one point and the only time the teams were tied was before the game had started and the bottom of the ninth. It was the greatest comeback in Rockies history. 

I seriously don’t think I can do this justice. If you are reading this then try and find a highlight reel, start with Sportscenter (I would have said Baseball Tonight but we are in the West and they won’t have it on because the game went too late). I will give you a little tidbit though: the Rockies had six homeruns and the Marlins had 22 hits. Combined, the teams had 35 runs on 43 hits. It was truly amazing.

 I was at the game tonight and I didn’t just see an amazing game. I was lucky enough to be able to sit with George Brett for an inning, which for my family is like meeting God. My brother is named Brett for a reason, and he was sitting right in front of me. He came down to our seats just to say hi to my mom who has had a fantasy her whole life of watching a baseball game with Brett. Then if that wasn’t good enough, my dad and I were on our annual walk around the stadium- while the fans move from left field and the rockpile to the field for the fireworks- and I saw Ubaldo Jimenez walking around. We stopped and said hi. Then finally the fireworks, which couldn’t even compare to the fireworks in the bats tonight. 

The Rockies will go for a third win against the Marlins tomorrow, and hopefully the third one is the charm and it won’t have to be won in a walk off situation. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: GARRETT ATKINS (he is always forgotten and tonight he went five for six)

After losing the first game horribly, the Rockies came back to take the series. Tonight’s game was a showcase of the Rockies bats with an 8-1 win. With a team who has shown little offense this season it is nice to see them battling back.

Ubaldo Jimenez got the start today and and pitched one for the books. He pitched six and 1/3 and only gave up one run on five hits. Jimenez is known for his blistering fast ball and he showed it off tonight; at one point, the speed gun at Coors Field showed 96 MPH. Fastball pitchers usually get strikeouts, but Jimenez worked the ground balls tonight, which, for the best defensive team in baseball history last year, is easy. The team worked together to get the outs, and, like I have said before, the team wins when they play like a team. 

The Rockies runs were a team effort too. Garrett Atkins got things started when he singled in a run with the bases  loaded in the first.  In the second, Atkins was at it again with a three run homerun. He really proved himself as a cleanup hitter. He went three for four on the night with four RBI’s. Troy Tulowitzki is slowly but surely battling back from his .150 batting average, he golfed a two run homerun in the third and ended the night at .164. In my opinion, one thing that is holding him back is his walk up song.  Brittany Spears just doesn’t seem like a .300 hitter’s walk up song; he should at least go back to R. Kelly and his .291 average. The final run in the game came in the eighth off of a Yorvit Torrealba homer out to left center. One guy who has really struggled this home stand is Brad Hawpe he struck out three times in tonight’s game and has not been seeing the ball. Hopefully it is a temporary slump, and he will come out of it by tomorrow’s game against the Marlins. 

The major league bullpen showed up tonight. Jason Grilli, Cedrick Bowers and Luis Vizciano all played their part in the win, only giving up one hit in three innings. The pitcher of the night was Bowers who made his major league debut. His journey to the majors has been a long one, but he finally made it. After being drafted in the fourth round in 1996 by Tampa Bay, he played eight years in the Tampa Bay minors- three of which were at the AAA level- then made the long trek to Japan where he pitched for four years, and then finally making his way to Colorado. At the age of thirty Bowers has made it to the show and he proved himself tonight by relieving Jimenez and getting the final two outs in the seventh. He only faced two batters and struck out one and got the other on a ground ball to third. He will hopefully add some relief in the bullpen.

Tomorrow the Rockies start a four game series with the Florida Marlins, who are a game and a half behind the Phillies in the NL East. I hope the Rockies can keep the bats going for the 4th of July weekend.

ROCKSTAR of the game: GARRETT ATKINS

The Rockies 1-0 win today over the Giants was a big one.  Not just because they are in dire need of wins but because the entire team played a part.  The Rockies win when they play as a team. The playoff run in September of last year was spectacular because the team became a family.  Tonight’s win was a glimpse of what could turn out to be another close knit team with playoff potential.

It started off with Ubaldo Jimenez not giving up in the first.  He threw a total of 29 pitches but kept his confidence and got out of the inning unscathed.  Jimenez proved today that he belonged in the show.  In 7 innings he only walked one man and gave up 4 hits.  For a young guy struggling with control one walk is a big deal.  Although he personally didn’t get the W he was a key aspect for the club win.

The defense was some of the best I have seen from the Rockies all year. Willy Taveras, who has been off and onn defensively this year, was definitely on tonight with a spectacular catch in the 6th to give the Rockies the first out of a 1,2,3 inning.  He caught it over the back, reaching out, on the run in dead center field.  Taveras wasn’t the only one playing some defense, for a guy who was drafted as a third baseman,  Ian Stewart has proved that he can also play a pretty good second base, with 8 assists in 7 innings on the night.  His most impressive assist was in the first, with Lewis on second, Winn on first and  2 outs in the inning; with  a ball hit up the middle Stewart ran over and made an off balance perfect throw to get Rowand out at first for the third out. If he doesn’t make that play the score would have been 1-0 Giants in the first.

The defense was perfect tonight while the offense was dormant with the Giants ace Lincecum on the mound. It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth inning that the first and last run was scored. Brian Fuentes earned his money tonight by getting three outs in the top of the ninth without a run, and earning himself a win which was his first of the season.

In the bottom of the ninth with Garrett Atkins occupying third, off of a walk and single by Brad Hawpe, and then Hawpe on second due to a passed ball, Chris Iannetta stepped up to the plate. He looked at a couple balls go by and then decided to swing, when he made contact the ball went off of his knee and he went down in pain.  It was a scary moment for the catcher who has had one of the best starts to the season on the team, but he finally got up and walked off the pain and made it to first with 4 balls.

The bases were loaded for Jeff Baker who flied out to Rowand in center; Atkins faked going in but made the right decision in going back as a good throw would have definitely caused an out.  Up off the bench then came Yorvit Torrealba who hit a  short fly ball right to Giants left fielder Lewis, who made a perfect catch and quickly threw the ball to Molina who was in perfect position on the plate.  The Ump called Atkins out but forgot to look for the ball that was rolling in the dirt in front of Molina.  Atkins was safe at home. Torrealba didn’t get the RBI but the only thing that matters is the club got the win.

It was an unselfish night for the Rockies that really paid off. They have won 6 of their last 7 games. The Rockies will go for a sweep tomorrow afternoon at Coors Field.

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The Colorado Rockies were ahead 2-0 heading into the ninth inning but Rockies closer Brian Fuentes gave up two runs to the San Francisco Giants as they tied the game and sent it to extra innings.  In the tenth inning, it was Matt Herges turn to give up a run and the Rockies lost to the Giants 3-2.

Rockies starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez earned a much better decision then a no decision as he tossed seven innings of shut out baseball.  Jiminez only gave up three hits and two walks through seven innings.  Taylor Buchholz pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Fuentes and Herges messed the game up.

The Rockies scored a run in the first and second innings of the game and after that they did nothing at all.  Matt Holliday had a ground out to the pitcher in the first inning that scored Willy Tavarez and then in the second inning, Jeff Baker had a sac fly to center field to score the Rockies second and last run of the game.

Talk about a disappointing way to lose the game.  Blow the save, and then lose in extra innings. Hopefully it won’t hurt the Rockies too much and they get some much needed rest on Thursday before they start a series with the New York Mets.

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The Colorado Rockies battled back to tie the game 5-5 in the eighth inning but then went onto give up another run in the to of the ninth inning on a weird play as the Cardinals defeated the Rockies 6-5.  In the top of the ninth inning Albert Pujols scored from second base on a groundout to second base.  Jonathan Herrera lofted the ball to Todd Helton and Pujols ended up just running all the way home instead of stopped at third base like most runners would have.  Helton was unable to get the ball home in time and Pujol slide in under the tag to give the Cardinals the go ahead run.

Brian Fuentes took the loss and is now 0-2 on the season.  Pujols said he took the gamble because Fuentes is so hard to get hits off of usually.  Ubaldo Jimenez started the game for the Rockies and tossed seven innings while giving up seven hits and four runs.  Matt Herges pitched two scoreless innings before Taylor Buchholz pitched an inning and gave up a run.

Brad Hawpe led the Rockies at the plate with a home run and two RBI.  Ryan Spilborghs and Helton both had RBI’s in the game as well.

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The Colorado Rockies lost 6-4 on Sunday against the Houston Astros.  Even though the Astros are struggling this season, they were able to hold the Rockies to four runs putting the Rockies at a split 9-9 for the year.

Ubaldo Jimenez opened the night up for the Rockies pitching for five and two thirds innings giving up five hits and three runs.  Kip Wells, Brian Fuentes, and Ryan Speier were all brought in to pitch against the Astros but were unable to prevent the loss.   Fuentes took the loss for the Rockies as he gave up three runs in the eigth inning.

Garrett Atkins hit his 3rd home run of the year against Shawn Chacon in the 6th inning.  Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins, and Troy Tulowitzki all drove in a RBI as well.

The Colorado Rockies will now welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to the Rocky Mountain state for a two game series starting Monday night.  Will they be able to come back from this loss and pick up the win?

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