By their meager standards, the Colorado Rockies are having a decent year in the toughest division in baseball, but to this point in the season, theyre best known for their aversion to groundskeeping. In Denver during the last game before the All-Star break, with the Rockies down 5-4 to the Phillies, a storm blew in with such force that it folded several members of the Colorado grounds crew into a tarp they were trying to spread over the infield. Suddenly the Phillies dugout emptied, and perhaps 20 players rushed out to help the crew secure the tarp as it thrashed on the field and the Colorado crowd cheered. Only one Rockies player joined the effort. The rest hunkered in the clubhouse, where, after the game, they declined to answer questions about their missed chance at valiance.
Tonight at 7:05, the Marlins will host a team capable of winning 13 of 17, as it did in June, and then of losing eight straight, as it also did in June. In South Florida, the Rockies visit a destination with a great chance of suffering some summer rain. We say the Fish will gain a psychological edge if the tarps need to be rolled out at Dolphin Stadium.
Wed., Aug. 1