Brad Hawpe

blame Aaron Rowand for opening the flood gates with that ill-advised throw to third base; allowing Brad Hawpe a free 90-feet to second base.  I guess it was a moot point anyway when the very next hitter, Ian Stewart, launched a three-run homer to tie the game.  It was mostly down hill from there.  As bad as it was to see both Justin Miller and Merkin Valdez give up four earned runs apiece in relief of Joe Martinez; it was great to see Ryan Garko finally flex his muscle, and smash two homers in the same game.  Rowand, Schierholtz, and Pablo also went deep in a wild, old school night at Coors Field, that saw 25 runs on 27 hits!  Humidor, what humidor?

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t runs in the National League last season returns with MVP candidate Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki. While anyone would expect a team in Colorado to score plenty of runs, it is always pitching that becomes the question. The Rockies’ pitching staff posted a very respectable 4.32 ERA last season, but what may be surprising to many, is that their road ERA was better than that of the vaunted San Diego pitching staff (4.29 to 4.42). With young fireballer Ubaldo Jiminez joining the rotation full time, a solid staff led by Jeff Francis becomes even better. Colorado may miss the playoffs this year due to a competitive division, but they will be one of the teams right there at the end battling for a berth.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Preview Part One: National League West"