It was the sixth bleepity-bleeping game of the season. The sixth!
Just this past Sunday, the Colorado Rockies carried an impressive 4-1 mark into the series finale with the Chicago Cubs. It was one of those glorious Colorado days – clear blue skies, warm but not too hot – perfect for daytime baseball. But unlike most Sundays over the past two seasons, this one actually felt like it mattered. There was a chance to increase the lead atop the NL West, to claim a second series of the young season, and to head out onto the road with a renewed confidence in tow.
But instead, the Colorado Rockies opted to trot out the dreaded “Sunday Lineup.”
The Rockies lost the game, and the series, to the Cubs. And while it’s easy (and fair) to blame aging closer LaTroy Hawkins (as James Merilatt did in yesterday’s column), who blew his second save opportunity of the season and officially took the loss, I’d pin the 6-5 “one that got away” on the Sunday Lineup.
The Sunday Lineup, as the Rockies might define it, is something like this: A lineup that allows certain everyday players to rest, while allowing reserves to stay sharp, get some innings and take some meaningful at-bats; it’s most typically employed on day games that follow night games.
I’d define the Sunday Lineup as follows: 1) the varsity with a little JV sprinkled in, 2) a robotic, systematic decision that doesn’t account for timing, momentum or a player’s actual need for rest, 3) generally ineffective, 4) a great way to irritate the paying customer.
I understand the theory – I really do – but an examination of this organizational practice is long overdue.
When former Rockies centerfielder Dexter Fowler crushed the game-winning, two-run home run over the right field wall, all fingers pointed at Hawkins, who served up the meatball and allowed the two previous batters on base (one walk and one hit). That’s never good, but in reality, he shouldn’t have been in such a tight spot in the first place. Had the Sunday Lineup not been in place, the game could have (should have) easily been 5-2 or 6-2.
In the fifth inning, there were two key blunders that simply wouldn’t have happened if the “regulars” were playing. To begin, the inning’s leadoff hitter and seventh batter in the lineup, Arismendy Alcantara, reached first on an error by the Rockies shortstop, Daniel Delscalso, a serviceable utility infielder filling in for a resting Troy Tulowitzki. While Delscalso would normally make this routine play – a fielding chance that Tulowitzki simply wouldn’t botch – he booted it. Man on first.
Alcantara then stole second. Behind the plate for the Rockies was reserve catcher Michael McHenry, who was unable to throw out the base stealer. After Kyle Hendricks singled to centerfield, Alcantara scored.
The next batter, former Rockies infielder Jonathan Herrera, bunted. Fielding the bunt was McHenry, who was unable to throw Hendricks or Herrera out. Runners on first and second. The next batter, Fowler, singled, loading the bases. Up next was power hitting first baseman Anthony Rizzo. With the count 1-1, Rizzo popped up with what looked to be a routine foul ball flyout. But McHenry dropped it – E2. Once again, a reserve had blown a critical play that a regular, in this instance starting catcher Nick Hundley, would have successfully converted into an out. Instead, Rizzo hit a sacrifice fly to leftfield. Rockies 4. Cubs 3.
In the bottom of the eighth, with the Rockies ahead 5-3, Corey Dickerson got things started with a one-out double to left field. Up next: McKenry, followed by Descalso.
McKenry proceeded to strike out looking. Descaslo then struck out swinging. Dickerson, who had swiped third on a passed ball, was left stranded on base and the Rockies had blown a golden opportunity to increase the lead.
In the top of the ninth, Hawkins walked the first batter he faced, Alcantra, who then advanced to second on what the official scorer called a wild pitch. Perhaps it was, but it could also be argued that Hundley, who was brought in to be a “defensive catcher,” might have blocked the ball; McHenry did not. Alcantra scored on a single; Fowler goes yard. Cubs 6, Rockies 5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tulowitzki was called upon to pinch hit for Hawkins – so much for that relaxing day off. The presumably cold Tulowitzki stuck out, and the Rockies stranded Charlie Blackmon on third. Game over, Cubs win.
If it feels like you just read the names Descalso and McKenry often, that’s because you did. If it feels like I’m blaming them for the loss, that’s because I am. This is not to say that Descalso and McKenry are incompetent or that they should shoulder “all” of the blame; it’s only to say that Tulowitzki and Hundley are better – and with them in the lineup, the Rockies win that game going away.
The Sunday Lineup is a joke. It cheats fans the chance to see the team’s best players, and in many cases – like this one – it prevents the Rockies from winning. Last season, the Rockies were a pathetic 10-17 on Sundays. Back in 2011, when this absurd policy debuted, Colorado lost an MLB record 17 straight games on Sundays.
There is wisdom in not running aging players like Tulowitzki into the ground, but there’s also value in seizing the moment, riding momentum and playing and managing the game by feel. Sunday was a time when “gut feel” might have made more sense than the robotic application of scheduled rest days. I’d suspect that even Tulowitzki, whose career has been marred by injuries, would have liked to have Sunday back.
The Rockies are currently 5-2. They’re playing excellent baseball, but everyone knows that the Major League Baseball season is a long and daunting grind. And everyone also knows that the Rockies aren’t good enough to be giving games away. Sundays should be treated like every other day, and resting star shortstops and defensive catchers should be done on feel instead of rule.
A win on Sunday counts the same as a win on any other day. Come September, a pile of Sunday losses might make the difference between making the playoffs and sitting at home.
