The good news. The bad news.

The good news…the rox didn’t lose yesterday. The bad news…they didn’t play.

The bad news…the rox have passed the Royals for the worst record in baseball. The good news…the Royals hired Buddy Bell as manager, so it shouldn’t stay that way very long.

The good news…Jeff Francis pitches well at Coors Field. The bad news…he has to pitch on the road too. (Sounds weird doesn’t it.)

The good news…Helton hit a home run during the last road trip. The bad news…he’s still fourth in homers and rbi on the team.

The good news…the rox signed Desi Relaford as a versatile utility infielder. The bad news…he’s playing shortstop almost every day.

The good news…Eddie Garabito became the 55th player in rockies’ history and 4th player this season to hit his first mlb home run. The bad news…he’s playing for the rox instead of the Sky Sox.

The good news…we are only 43% into the baseball season. The bad news…there is only 57% of the baseball season left.

The good news…the rox are no longer last in mlb in ERA. The bad news…the rox have a higher road ERA than home ERA.

The good news…Real Men (Highlands Ranch Metro District D-Rec Softball League) won their first game last week. The bad news…the winning streak ended at one game. (Kind of like the rox.)

The good news…the rox signed Dan Miceli off the Japanese scrap heap. The bad news…he’s probably better than three or four of the pitchers the rox currently have in the pen.

The bad news…former rox pitcher Pedro Astacio was released by Texas. The worse news…the rox are interested in him.

The bad news…rox pitchers hit Craig Biggio three times in the last series. The worse news…Biggio will soon pass former rox manager Don Baylor for the all-time lead in HBP.

The bad news…the rox lead the NL in walks, hit batsmen and wild pitches. The good news…well, there isn’t any really.

The good news…Colorado has three championships this year so far (two professional, one collegiate). The bad news…the rox will not be joining that group in the foreseeable future.

The good news…Shawn Chacon and Aaron Cook are almost healthy. The bad news…they probably won’t make that big of a difference.

The good news…the rox’ bullpen has only had two losses and three blown saves in June. The bad news…they are still on pace for 32 losses and 32 blown saves for the season.

The good news…the rox have a .500 record at Coors Field this season. The bad news…opposing teams used to leave Coors Field whimpering after a three-game series against the rox.

The good news…the NL West gets a little weaker with the loss of Eric Gagne in L.A. The bad news…we were already considered the weakest division in baseball before.

It's About Time!

I'ts been far too long since my last post. A family matter a few weeks ago took up much of my time recently and exhaustion has limited the creative energy lately. Hopefully I can recapture the energy and motivation to begin posting regularly once again. No central thought was on my mind today, so I am resorting to the "miscellaneous ramblings" format.

The rox lost to Cleveland last night 11-2 and as a result something happened for only the third time in their history. Jake Westbrook won the game for the Indians. Westbrook was the first round draft pick of the rox in 1996 and joined Jamey Wright as the only rox' first round draft picks to beat the rox (Wright has done it twice).

Speaking of the draft, the file of rox' draft picks has been updated and is on the website. It will be updated periodically as players sign.

Also speaking of the draft, congratulations to Blake Heym, a catcher from Grayson County CC, drafted by the New York Yankees as the 1,501st, and last, player taken overall.

This morning, the rox remain ahead of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the worst record in baseball, by one lone percentage point. I, personally, believe the rox can overtake SF for 4th place in the NL West and avoid the worst record in the NL for the season. SF, at least right now, may have bigger problems with their pitching staff than the rox. Also, SF's problems in the field are nearly the exact opposite of the rox. The rox are too young to compete regularly while SF may be too old to compete regularly.

One final thought for this abbreviated, yet overdue entry. My hat goes off to Clint Hurdle. As a fellow parent of a child with medical issues, I'm not sure how he is able to focus his attention and energy on managing baseball games with a sick child at home. Hang in there Clint. For all the boneheaded things they have done, kudos to the rox' brass for realizing there are more important things in life than baseball games and allowing Hurdle to be where he needed to be these last few weeks.