Today's Matchup - April 19, 2011

Today's the day you've been waiting for, Rockies fans.

Ubaldo Jimenez returns to the mound against the San Francisco Giants.

After the Rockies nearly avoided a no-hitter by Tim Lincecum last night, the team returns to Coors to face the lineup once again as they try to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time all season.

Only three teams haven't lost two in a row - the Rockies, the Phillies, and the Yankees.

On a more somber note, today is the one-year anniversary of the death of team president Keli S. McGregor. His initials, KSM, have been forever retired and he is honored by a patch on the right field wall.

Lots of Rockies news today, fans.

Seth Smith will once again be held out of the lineup due to a groin strain suffered Sunday against the Cubs. He'll be available to pinch hit, and should start again tomorrow. Second baseman Jonathan Herrera has been given a much-deserved day off, and he'll come off the bench as needed.

Third baseman Ian Stewart has been optioned to AAA Colorado Springs to make room for Jimenez. He needs to work on his timing and his mechanics if he hopes to return to the Majors in 2011. Manager Jim Tracy said he was moved so he could get a large number of at-bats down in Colorado Springs.

Also, no official word on how long Clayton Mortenson will remain with the big club, but his chances of staying are good based on his five-inning, two-hit performance last night. Watch the blog for updates as another move could come as early as Thursday, most likely for a position player. As soon as I know, you'll know.

That said, here are tonight's lineups.

Game #16: Jonathan Sanchez (1-1, 3.24 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 7.50 ERA)

Tonight's Lineups

San Francisco Giants

Aaron Rowand, CF

Freddy Sanchez, 2B

Aubrey Huff, 1B

Buster Posey, C

Pablo Sandoval, 3B

Pat Burrell, LF

Nate Schierholtz, RF

Mike Fontenot, SS

Jonathan Sanchez, P

Colorado Rockies

Dexter Fowler, CF

Ryan Spilborghs, RF

Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Jose Lopez, 2B

Ty Wigginton, 3B

Chris Iannetta, C

Ubaldo Jimenez, P

First pitch is slated for 6:40pm Mountain time. The game can be seen on ROOT Sports in the Rocky Mountain region, and CSN-Bay Area in San Francisco. The game can be heard on 850 KOA in Denver and KNBR 680 in the Bay Area.

A Letter to Fans After a Tough Loss

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Dear Rockies Fan,

April 18th was very difficult. There's no two-ways about it. An 8-1 loss is tough to take, no matter who you are.

In the midst of this hard loss, there are a some things that bear repeating.

1. You're still 12-4, the best record in the Major Leagues.
2. You were facing the San Francisco Giants, who are still among the best in baseball, and are the defending World Champions. They won the title for a reason—there it was.
3. Not only were you playing the Giants, you were facing Tim Lincecum. Any way you look at it, he's good.
4. You're still three games up on the rest of the teams in the NL West.
5. Tomorrow's another day. You can't face Lincecum every day.
6. You didn't get no-hit. That always makes for a good day.
7. It's April. There's still plenty of time.

Fans, it's just one game. It's not the end of the world. Promise. There will be games when you fail to score a run until the eighth but there will also be games that you score eight runs in a single inning. Just take it in stride.

A word of warning, however. Expect the national media to jump on this. They'll call the Rockies frauds or nobodies or call the 12-3 start a fluke. Don't get frustrated by it. Yes, it's annoying because you, as fans, know the truth.

Was The Loss Against the Giants a Fluke or a Red Flag?

Just a Fluke - This Team will be Back

85.7%

Red Flag - Sign of Bad Things to Come

14.3%

Total votes: 7

As a Rockies fan, however, you have to understand that this comes with the territory. Unless you're theYankees, Phillies, or Red Sox, it's going to happen. Get used to it and just shrug it off.

The Giants are tough, it's true. Realistically, it was improbable to expect the Rockies to sweep them, even at Coors. To be the World Champions, you have to win on the road. They did.

No matter how diehard of a fan you are, you have to be able to look at things objectively. Sometimes it's hard, and that's why we in the media are here—to serve as a nice barometer for your devout fanhood.

And there's nothing wrong with your fanhood.

There are still many facts that remain, even after a tough loss.

You're still 12-4, which is the single best April start ever for this club and still good enough for best record in baseball. For those counting, that's eight games over .500 in a month where two games under that mark is impressive (see 2010).

Not to mention you're also still three games up on the division. You've held onto that lead for almost two weeks now. That's never happened in club history.

The Giants are still one of the best teams in baseball. They're still a favorite to make it back to the postseason. While you may be favored to win your division, you can't afford to take the Giants lightly. There's a reason they won it all last year. They're still very, very good.

Lincecum was good. Like always.
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

As if it wasn't enough that you were facing the Giants, you were also going up against Tim Lincecum. He's won two Cy Young awards for a reason. Granted he historically hasn't thrown well at Coors but it wasn't like another impressive outing wasn't unexpected and it wasn't all your fault—everyone has a bad day.

Suck it up, learn your lessons, and move on. Tomorrow's another day. You can't face him every day. Just go out there and take care of business.

Two more things that should make you feel slightly better about the loss. One, you didn't get no-hit. It wasn't looking good there for a while but your team—the team you've had faith in for so long—came through and, while they didn't win, they avoided a black mark on their record.

Two, it's still April. There is plenty of time for the team to get back into the swing of things.

Cheer up, Rockies fans. Don't abandon ship. Your team needs you to believe in them now more than ever. This isn't the end of 2011. In fact, if the team rebounds like you know they can, this could be the wake-up call they need to not let this happen again.

Sincerely,

Your friendly barometer

New Feature of The Purple Reign

Every Monday, starting a week from today, I'm introducing a new feature to the Purple Reign blog.

Minor League Mondays will be a weekly fixture on here from now on. Every week, expect an in-depth report from all the minor league affiliates of the Colorado Rockies. From time to time, I'll even get features on up-and-coming talent playing for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Personally, I'm excited about this new feature. It was just last summer that I got into minor league ball, and my goal is to get you all interested in it as well. The minor leagues are so important to the longevity of a baseball team, and hopefully Minor League Mondays will spark your interest of the future of the Rockies.

National Media Recognizes Rockies

Apart from the ESPN MLB Power Rankings, which have the Rockies listed atop the teams in Major League Baseball, the team is also garnering other national media attention.

Sports Illustrated is at Coors Field today doing a cover photo shoot for an upcoming issue. Not sure when it'll run - logically it'd be the next issue, but watch the blog for details. Here's a pic of CarGo, Tulo, and Ubaldo posing for the shot.

Today's Matchup - April 18th, 2011

Seth Smith will be held out of the lineup as he deals with a groin strain suffered in yesterday's 9-5 win over the Cubs.

The Rockies will face their first serious test of the year as the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants to Coors for a three-game series. If the Rockies want to prove they're for real, this is the stage to do it on.

The Rockies also optioned pitcher Alan Johnson to AAA Colorado Springs and recalled pitcher Clayton Mortenson from AAA Colorado Springs. Watch for a Minor League Minute later tonight as part of Minor League Mondays - a new feature on the blog dedicated solely to the Rockies' minor league teams.

Game #15 - Esmil Rogers (2-0, 2.77 ERA) vs. Tim Lincecum (1-7, 1.86 ERA)

Today's Lineups

San Francisco Giants

Aaron Rowand, CF

Freddi Sanchez, 2B

Aubrey Huff, 1B

Buster Posey, C

Pablo Sandoval, 3B

Pat Burrell, LF

Nate Schierholtz, RF

Miguel Tejada, SS

Tim Lincecum, P

Colorado Rockies

Dexter Fowler, CF

Jonathan Herrera, 2B

Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Ryan Spilborghs, RF

Jose Lopez, 3B

Chris Iannetta, C

Esmil Rogers, P

First pitch is set for 6:40pm Mountain time. The game can be seen on ROOT Sports in the Rocky Mountain region, and CSN-Bay Area in the San Francisco market. On the radio, 850 KOA will carry the game in Denver, and KNBR 680 in the Bay Area.

Colorado Rockies: With the Giants in Town, These Rockies Can Make a Statement

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies will arrive at Coors Field today in a historically unusual position.

Before their game on April 18th against the San Francisco Giants, the Rockies find themselves with a four-game lead on the Giants, who sit at second place in the NL West.

Last year on April 18th, the Rockies were fresh off Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter against theAtlanta Braves, the first in their young history, but they sat two games back of San Francisco, eventual division champions and World Series title holders.

This year, however, the Rockies can make a statement this week. They are arguably the best team in baseball with a major-league leading 12-3 record. The Giants sit at 8-7, just one game north of .500.

The Rockies have been playing some of their best baseball ever recently, and if they can take at least two of three from the defending world champions, the Rockies can send a message to the rest of the baseball world:

"We're for real and we're here to stay."

The Rockies will send Esmil Rogers to the hill today against Tim Lincecum, who some still argue is the best pitcher in the NL West. Tomorrow, fans can look forward to the much-anticipated return of Ubaldo Jimenez against Jonathan Sanchez, who is second in that power rotation for a reason. Wednesday, Jorge De La Rosa will face Matt Cain in what could be the best pitching matchup of the series.

Series Outcome - San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies

Rockies in 3

38.5%

Rockies in 2

30.8%

Giants in 3

7.7%

Giants in 2

23.1%

Total votes: 26

This won't be a walk in the park, though.

The Giants will be the first team the Rockies face in 2011 with a winning record. While it may not be a great record, it's better than the combined 26-32 record of the previous four teams they've faced thus far. The Rockies haven't lost a series all year, and they don't want that to change.

Division matchups have been another weak point for the Rockies for years now. They're already 4-1 in the NL West, and have a chance to put themselves in even better position with this three-game series.

Currently, the Rockies hold the largest division lead in baseball at four games. If they can win this series and extend that lead, the Rockies have a chance to send a very powerful message throughout the Major Leagues.

That message?

It's very hard to move mountains.

Back After a Day Off

Give a student reporter a break - it's hard to go to the game as a fan and blog about it afterwards while you're in school.

Anyway, the Purple Reign is back after a day's layoff. Watch for multiple posts in the next hour or so. The Rockies took 2 of the 3 from the Cubs this past weekend, and will now begin undoubtedly their toughest series so far in 2011. The defending champs come to town for the first of three tonight, tomorrow night, and Wednesday afternoon.

Here's a link to the latest ESPN MLB Power Rankings. Take a look at Number 1... Think you'll enjoy it.