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Rockies -- and especially Jimenez -- are for real

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Tracy Ringolsby

Tracy Ringolsby is a Hall of Fame baseball writer. He is in his 36th year covering Major League Baseball, is a co-founder of Baseball America, and is in his third year as pregame and postgame analyst for Colorado Rockies games on Root Sports.

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Updated Aug 26, 2009 5:56 PM ET
     
 
The secret is out. Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has elevated himself among the game's pitching elite. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, who became the latest NL team to lavish the smiling Dominican with praise for his overpowering ability after he matched up with the highly publicized Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum during the weekend, and helped the Rockies send a message to their closest challenger in the NL wild-card race.
As if rallying from a 6-1 deficit in the sixth inning on Saturday to beat the Giants 14-11 on Saturday night wasn't enough, Jimenez spotted the Giants a 2-0 lead on an Edgar Renteria home run in the second inning on Sunday, and then rallied at the expense of Lincecum for a 4-2 win. The exclamation point came Monday night as the Rockies pulled out a 6-4, 14-inning victory. After Adam Eaton, who gave up three runs in the top of the 14th, drew a bases-loaded walk, Ryan Spilborghs delivered the first walk-off grand slam in Rockies history. Not only did that give the Rockies a four-game wild-card lead on the Giants, but it set the stage for the Rockies' return to San Francisco this upcoming weekend, which begins with a rematch of Jimenez and Lincecum on Friday night. "We're going to be in their house, so it's going to be really exciting," admitted Jimenez. What's more, the Rockies are hosting the NL West-leading Dodgers for three games in advance of that visit to San Francisco. The same Dodgers who have beaten them 10 out of 12 games this season. The same Dodgers who last visited Coors Field in late May, when they swept a three-game series that resulted in Jim Tracy replacing Clint Hurdle as the manager. But these aren't the same Rockies. They have won 53 of their first 79 games under Tracy, including 27 of 38 at Coors Field, and have gone from 12 games below .500 and 15½ games out of first place to the fourth-best record in the NL (71-54), the NL wild-card lead and sit just three games behind the division-leading Dodgers. Now comes the season-ending push for the pennant race, where Jimenez always was considered a key factor, but whose importance was magnified during the weekend when the Rockies' Opening Day starter, Aaron Cook, was knocked onto the disabled list by a right shoulder strain. The Rockies are confident Jimenez can carry the load. A native of the Dominican Republic who admittedly likes the warmer weather, Jimenez has worked at least six innings in each of the 22 starts he has made since May 1. He has rebounded from a 3-6 start to the season to compile a 9-3 record since June 1. He is 5-0 with a 1.63 ERA in August, which has lowered his season ERA to 3.36, the lowest it has been in his career. He has made 75 starts since he joined the Rockies' rotation on July 19, 2007. Only CC Sabathia, with 76 starts, has made more. "He is very special," said Tracy. "He deserves more attention that he is getting outside of Denver. He has given the Rockies something even money couldn't buy — a legitimate stretch-drive ace. The kid from the Dominican has succeeded where the likes of Bret Saberhagen, Bill Swift, Darryl Kile and Mike Hampton have failed. "Every time he takes the mound our team expects to win," said closer Huston Street, who has created that type of confidence himself by converting 33 of 34 saves, including the last 24 in a row. "That to me is the sign of a true ace. When they are on the mound you expect to win."
"Every time he takes the mound our team expects to win. That to me is the sign of a true ace. When they are on the mound you expect to win."
— Huston Street on Jimenez
And if there was any test remaining for Jimenez to pass in his rise to the top of a rotation that leads the majors with 57 wins, Jimenez aced it in the eighth inning on Sunday. Given a chance to go back to the mound with a 4-2 lead in the eighth, he gave up a leadoff double to Eugenio Velez, who was sacrificed to third. Then, on a 3-2 pitch, Pablo Sandoval grounded a pitch inches off the ground directly to first baseman Todd Helton for the second out, Velez holding, and cleanup hitter Bengie Molina flied to left. "He is one of the best pitchers in the league," said Seth Smith, whose 451-foot, two-run home run off Lincecum in the seventh erased the Giants' 2-1 lead. "If you ask players around the league, he's no secret. I can't speak for fans, but from a player's standpoint, if you don't know him, it's your fault." What's more, Jimenez likes the challenges. When he first came to the big leagues and Yorvit Torrealba offered to interpret interview questions for him, Jimenez declined. "If I don't do it myself and experience it, I don't learn English," he said. He has the same attitude toward showdowns with the game's elite pitchers. "I was so excited I couldn't sleep (Saturday)," Jimenez said of facing Lincecum. "He is one of the greatest guys, so you're always trying to learn from him. "

Hot seat

Lincecum is the defending NL Cy Young Award winner and the ace in the San Francisco rotation. He, however, is in a slump. He is winless in his last four starts. And while he didn't get knocked around by any stretch of the imagination, he had his second questionable effort in a row in the loss to the Rockies on Sunday. Lincecum topped out at 95 miles per hour, but for the second start in a row, he was pitching most of the game between 88 and 91 miles per hour. More concerning are control issues. In seven innings against the Rockies he walked five, equaling a career high. That came on the heels of a six-inning, five-run effort at Cincinnati where velocity again was a concern. The Giants did question the velocity readings in Coors Field, claiming they felt Lincecum was throwing harder than the radar registered, but they also are quick to point out that being from Washington and pitching for the Giants, Lincecum is more comfortable in cool weather, and while Colorado doesn't have Cincinnati-type humidity, the temperatures were significant for both games. And if Lincecum's four-start winless streak isn't concern enough, Matt Cain goes into Tuesday without a win in his last five starts.

Series stuff

Fresh off taking two of three at Boston, the Yankees have a pair of postseason hopefuls visiting Yankee Stadium this week. Texas, a game back of the Red Sox in the AL wild-card, show up for three games starting on Monday, and the White Sox, looking to overtake Detroit in the AL Central, have a weekend visit on the schedule. The White Sox tune up for the visit to Yankee Stadium with a four-game series at Boston that begins Monday, and Detroit travels to Anaheim for three games against the Angels in a matchup of divisional leaders beginning Monday. The Tigers are home with Tampa Bay during the weekend.

Overheard

"My problem is I've been lazy. There are things in life you don't like to do, but you have to do them. I don't like abs but I have to do them. I have to start doing them every day and be serious about it. I've got to be honest with me and with you (media) guys and the fans. I'm 28 years old, I'm not 16 anymore, I'm a big guy and I work hard every day (but) one of the things I don't like to do is my abs, my core work. If I do abs every day and keep doing my job and be serious about my abs, I'll be OK."
— Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, admitting the back problem that put him on the disabled list could have been avoided.

Keep an eye on

RHP Jonathan Broxton, the Dodgers' closer, was used to set up lefty George Sherrill on Saturday against the Cubs. Was it just a move because of the way the Cubs' lineup was set or is the concern that outsiders have expressed about Broxton being run down starting to show up in the Dodger clubhouse? Since July 4, Broxton has converted seven of 10 saves and is 1-1. He has allowed 10 earned runs in 19-1/3 innings, walking 11 batters and giving up 16 hits. That comes after compiling a 2.10 ERA in his first 36 appearances of the season, during which he was 7-3 and converted 20 of 22 save opportunities. He allowed only 10 hits and 13 walks in 38-2/3 innings to start the season.

FYI

Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke has Cy Young credentials, including an AL-best 2.44 earned-run average. Here is the catch: an 11-8 record. He has 10 "quality starts" without a victory, including four in which he suffered a loss. In fact, in four of those starts he has allowed one or no runs and he has lost two of them.

Quickly

  • Florida's streak of 10-or-more-hits ended at 15 games when the Marlins were four-hit at Houston. The Marlins equaled the fourth-longest streak of multi-hit games in major league history. Their 15 in a row was the longest streak since the St. Louis Browns hit in 15 in a row in 1937. The all-time record of 18 games was set by the St. Louis Browns in 1922 and equaled by Cleveland in 1925.
  • Things haven't gone well for the Cubs this year, and it's not going to be easy to get a quick fix in 2010. The Cubs already have $120 million in salary committed for next year.
  • Major League Baseball reports the most common surname is Gonzalez. There are nine players with that name. There are seven Johnsons, and there are six each with the name Cabrera, Hernandez, Ramirez or Young.

    Final word

    Yankees manager Joe Girardi appears to finally have realized that someone else might have a clue. He was told to take a deep breath, relax a little and enjoy the challenge. It's working. His team is now playing relaxed, too. After opening the season 15-17 and falling 6½ games back of Boston on May 14, the Yankees are 61-29, have won 16 of their last 20 and now hold a 7½ game lead. They also sent Boston a message the past two weeks. The Red Sox swept three early-season series from the Yankees, running up an 8-0 record against their rivals. The past two weeks, however, the Yankees not only took six of seven from Boston, but pounded the over-hyped Red Sox pitching staff for 54 runs.
    • Tagged: Tim Lincecum, Aaron Cook, Edgar Renteria, Pablo Sandoval, Giants, George Sherrill, Rockies, Jonathan Broxton, Marlins, Eugenio Velez, Red Sox, CC Sabathia, Angels, White Sox, Ubaldo Jimenez, Carlos Zambrano, Cubs, Tigers, Astros, Huston Street, Yorvit Torrealba, Seth Smith, Dodgers, Yankees, Matt Cain, Todd Helton

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