How do you start back-to-back games with a 3-0 lead and then lose? Be the Rockies is one answer. Which is to say, the Rockies have had a shoddy bullpen and stupid baserunning blunders, especially last night. Just take a look at Matt Herges' last four outings in regards to the former point:

Before that disastrous July 21 game against the Dodgers, Herges' ERA stood at 3.64.

And with two losses to the Pirates, the Rockies are still the worst team on the road (17-38). Atlanta, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Washington are all better (by one). Even Seattle can win three more games on the road than the Rockies.

Speaking of Seattle, on last night's Baseball Tonight Buster Olney made a passing comment that the Rockies have talked to Seattle about acquiring Jarrod Washburn after the Yankees trade proposal was off-putting. That interest is also mentioned in this Denver Post article.

We're just a day away from the trading deadline. Stay tuned for what the Rockies may or may not do.

via media.rockymountainnews.com

Nothing like celebrating a win with some fireworks afterward. What did last night's game mean to the players? Let's look at their own words:

"This is something to build on," Herges said. "This is a big win. We came back twice. I hate talking about last year, but that's what we did last year. We picked each other up. That's the kind of game we won all the time last year, and it's what we can do."

"If there's ever such a thing as a spark, this should be it," Spilborghs said.

Maybe they declared their independence from bad baseball last night.

Clint Hurdle says Jeff Baker will receive more playing time at first base in order to have Helton's lower back heal. Also in the article, Matt Holliday wants to participate in the Home Run Derby if he's asked to, and, as we first learned a few weeks ago, the Rockies have a better chance at signing Andy Burns now that Kentucky's coaching staff is in a period of transition.

Time for more fireworks tonight. Certainly after the game, but let's see some more out of the Rockies' bats.

Enjoy your Fourth of July!

Matt Herges has it partially right, in that he's taking responsibility for last night's loss:

"In my mind, that's what cost us the game. That's something we work on a billion times in spring training. That can't happen. It's a fundamental," Herges said. "I can't believe I didn't make that play."

We could also put the responsibility on the lack of timely hitting: few multi-hit innings and the ever-present failure to hit with runners in scoring position (2 for 17 last night). I'd want to say it's frustrating, but it's actually more than that. Though if you listen to Clint Hurdle, it's frustrating:

"It's frustrating for everyone involved," Hurdle said. "We had plenty of opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. We had an out on the bases again. And we had some plays we could have made in the field. . . . There has been that little rock in the shoe. If we make the plays (defensively). . . . If we had better at-bats early in the game. . . ."

Where do we start? Is that that the manager's playing the "If?" game or that he's calling the Rockies' troubles "that little rock in the shoe?" All these things add up, and they don't add up to "that little rock in the shoe" anymore. It's more like this giant snowball:

via www.mydebtmanagementplan.com

It grows and grows, but eventually that ball's going to come to a halt when it hits something on the way down. Matt Herges seems to think that's going to happen soon (from the first link):

"It's time to say: 'OK, no more accepting this. No more.' It's time. Really, how big a hole can we dig?" said reliever Matt Herges after the Rockies plummeted 14 games under .500. "There's no more 'get 'em tomorrow.' We need to get hot now."

What's better than saying "It's time to say. . . . ?" Actually doing it. With Aaron Cook on the mound, we have to feel confident on the pitching side of things. He'll face Ted Lilly in today's afternoon game.

So it's an unfortunate coincidence that on the same morning that the news comes out that Matt Herges won't be suspended by the MLB for past HGH use that new also comes out that he will be one of three Rockies honoring Jackie Robinson's legacy by donning the no. 42 next Tuesday. The stories should be disconnected, but their proximity for me brings up a weird moral discussion thread in my own head about how honor and disgrace can mingle like that. Then again, the Jackie Robinson story is as much about baseball's past mistakes and how good elements within the sport fought to resolve them as it is about baseball's past glory, so perhaps it is fitting after all that there's another reconciliation that needs to take place now. Part of me still has issues here. Herges is getting off with a slap of the wrist for his own past mistake, and wearing Robinson's jersey on the fifteenth will now only remind me of that, but I know that Herges will know that too, and there's where forgiveness will really have to take place.

Alright, I'll forgive Herges, but I've got this pit in my stomach that still holds a lot of animosity toward Diamondbacks this morning, so I'm going to cut this short.

Alright, after the euphoria of winning two in a row wore off, reality started to set in.

FACT: Jair Jurrgens is a rookie pitcher and we should pummel rookie pitchers.

FACT: The 2007 Rockies scored four runs or more five times in their first eight games. Yesterday was the first time the 2008 Rox cracked that threshold.

FACT: Grizzly bears are more powerful than black bears.

Okay, I don't know why I suddenly decided to channel Dwight K. Schrute for this, but let's go with it:

QUESTION: Do we have any confidence in the Rockies offense yet?

I don't know if I do. Like I said in last night's game thread, I really think now's the time we should consider starting Iannetta a little more frequently, but I don't think the answers are as easy for Jayson Nix. Let's hope things continue to pick up tonight.

At any rate, yesterday was an important confidence boost for Ubaldo Jimenez, so that's something. Besides Luis Vizcaino and Jason Hirsh updates, the Ringolsby article also mentions that Bobby Cox declined an invitation to coach with Clint Hurdle in the All Star Game this season. Hurdle clearly admires Cox, it would be nice if he could give the Rockies a similar managerial career.

Matt Herges still doesn't know if he's going to be suspended for HGH use or not, yesterday the Braves top center field prospect Jordan Schafer was docked 50 games by the MLB for HGH use, which was sort of surprising given that there's no approved test for it yet.