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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 Sep 28, 2009 4:03 PM ET
     
 
The Colorado Rockies became St. Louis Cardinals fans on Sunday night. Fresh from taking two of three from the Cardinals, the Rockies know they cannot afford to slip in the final week of the regular season because Atlanta continues to pressure them in the battle for the NL wild card. But the Rockies also know that if they hang onto the wild-card, St. Louis is a more favorable first-round matchup than Philadelphia.
If the Rockies earn the wild-card spot, they would draw whichever team has the better record between the Phillies and Cardinals. Both teams entered the final week with 90 victories, but the Phillies have played one less game so they had 65 losses, compared to 66 for the Cardinals. This goes deeper than the fact the Rockies won the season series against St. Louis, taking six of seven, including a four-game sweep in St. Louis in the first week of June, and lost four of six to the Phillies. More concerning to the Rockies is that with the addition of Cliff Lee at the trading deadline, the Phillies could open the best-of-five NL Division Series with three quality lefthanders in the rotation — Lee, who won the AL Cy Young award last year, 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and rookie J.A. Happ. The Cardinals have legitimate Cy Young candidates with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, but doesn't even have a long left-hander in the bullpen. While the Rockies are 64-43 in games that right-handed pitchers have started against them, they are only 24-25 in games started by lefthanders. They are 4-7 in the last 11 games a lefty has started, and the opposing starting pitchers have a composite 2.22 ERA in those 11 games. The problem is apparent. The Rockies lineup is more left-handed than any other. In addition to first baseman Todd Helton, third baseman Ian Stewart and right fielder Brad Hawpe, the Rockies like to insert the left-handed bats of Carlos Gonzalez, and Seth Smith in their lineup as often as possible. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is the only right-handed hitter regularly among the top six in the Rockies batting order. Overall, the Rockies rank second in the NL in runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and first in OPS. Against left-handed pitchers, however, they are third in runs and RBI among National League teams, fourth in slugging percentage and OPS, and seventh in on-base percentage. The Rockies are eighth in the NL in average overall (.261), but are fifth against right-handed pitchers (.263) and 10th against left-handed pitchers (.254). If they Rockies don't want to get "left out" of the postseason they would be wise to make some left-handed adjustments. They head into the final week with a magic number of five for elimination of Atlanta, which doesn't seem all that comfortable in light of the Braves' recent efforts and the remaining schedule. The Rockies have six remaining games and are scheduled to face lefties in four of those games — Milwaukee's Chris Narveson on Tuesday and Manny Parra in the home finale on Thursday, and then the Dodgers combo of Randy Wolf on Saturday and Clayton Kershaw on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Atlanta, meanwhile, ran its recent success to 14 wins in 16 games when it rallied for a 6-3, 10-inning win at Washington Sunday. The Braves return home for their final seven games — three against Florida beginning on Monday and then four more against the struggling Nationals to conclude the regular season. Florida has won eight of 15 from the Braves so far, but the Braves are 10-4 against Washington, including the weekend three-game sweep.

Hot seat

Right-hander Jason Marquis was an All-Star for the Rockies. He went 14-8 with a 3.58 ERA in his first 24 starts. Now, he's questionable for being a part of the postseason rotation if the Rockies claim the NL wild-card. It's a problem Marquis has faced throughout his career. In each of his first nine big-league seasons his team has advanced to the playoffs. In only four years, however, has Marquis made a postseason appearance — 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Marquis is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night against Milwaukee and on Sunday in the regular-season finale at Los Angeles. He needs strong efforts to secure a postseason spot. Marquis is 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA in his last seven starts. The return of Aaron Cook, who had been sidelined since Aug. 21 with right shoulder soreness, to the rotation with five shutout innings against St. Louis on Friday only adds to the uncertainty of Marquis.

Series stuff

Hot as the Braves have been, Washington has been just as cold. That's why the idea of the Braves sweeping the season-ending four-game series at Turner Field wouldn't be a shock. The Braves are 51-30 since June 30, the best record in baseball, and have cut their wild-card deficit from 8.5 games to 2.5 games. The just-completed 6-0 road trip is their first unbeaten trip of six or more games since June of 2001. The Nationals, meanwhile, have lost 28 of their last 37 games. They also have lost 13 of their last 16 games on the road. They are 0-5 in Atlanta so far this season.

Postseason insider

If the Rockies go 4-2 in the final week, the Braves would have to win their final seven games for a tie, which would force a wild-card play-in game at Atlanta. The Rockies and Braves split eight games during the regular-season which meant the record within the NL became the tiebreaker. The Braves were 7-8 in inter-league play and the Rockies were 11-4, which means the Braves would have a four-game edge in NL games on the Rockies if the teams wound up tied for the wild-card.

Overheard

"I don't want to shoot (Brad) Lidge. I think he'll get back to where he's at. He needs a little break,'' Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel on the decision to skip Lidge, who has 11 blown saves, in ninth-inning situations for now.

Keep an eye on

Atlanta 3B Martin Prado has emerged as a key offensive force. He has hit .325 with 45 runs scored, 23 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBI since assuming a regular lineup spot on June 30. Mainly the No. 2 hitter for the Braves, he extended his current hitting streak to 10 games on Sunday. During the streak he is 19-for-39 with 16 runs scored, four walks and 12 extra-base hits.

FYI

The Dodgers have gone longer without a World Series appearance than any other team in postseason consideration. Their last World Series appearance was in 1988.

Quickly

  • Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has been mentioned as a candidate if the Reds make a managerial change.
  • Jim Fregosi has strong support from Houston GM Ed Wade in a bid to become the Astros' next manager. Fregosi would become the only manager other than Connie Mack, who owned the A's, to manage in four decades. Word out of Houston is ownership wants someone with managerial experience.
  • Ted Simmons would be an interesting managerial candidate for a GM who isn't worried about a strong personality. A former All-Star catcher, Simmons has been a scout, farm director and general manager, where he dealt with financial constraints in Pittsburgh, all of which gives him a unique insight for a manager. He has been in uniform the last two years as a bench coach in Milwaukee and San Diego. A former exec with Cleveland, Simmons might surface as a candidate to replace Eric Wedge there.

    Final word

    Much ado about nothing at Coors Field during the weekend when Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter claimed the slope of the bullpen mound was different than the game mound. Not that it showed in Carpenter's performance. He did allow a first inning run — the only run he allowed in seven innings — and it was a run the Rockies scratched out. Carlos Gonzalez led off with a double, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly. So why would La Russa file a complaint with the NL office, and then, along with pitching coach Dave Duncan, get into a visible confrontation with groundskeeper Mark Razum, a friend of La Russa's and the groundskeeper in Oakland when La Russa managed the A's? Could it be because with the possibility the Cardinals and Rockies could meet in the postseason, La Russa wanted to eliminate any concerns Carpenter could have about the mound situation so that it doesn't become a subconscious factor to deal with in October? Surely it wouldn't be because La Russa knows firsthand that Razum might make adjustments if he is asked to do so by the team he works for, would it?
    • Tagged: Clayton Kershaw, Chris Carpenter, Aaron Cook, Rockies, Jason Marquis, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Cliff Lee, Braves, Reds, Martin Prado, Ian Stewart, Astros, Brewers, Manny Parra, Seth Smith, Dodgers, Nationals, Chris Narveson, Adam Wainwright, Randy Wolf, Cole Hamels, Todd Helton, Phillies, Brad Hawpe, Cardinals

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