MLB The Show: Smooth Pancakes' Shortstop RTTS Career

[SmoothPancakes]

After avoiding the series sweep by the Pirates thanks to that huge offensive showing in game three, it was back home with no rest of the weary, thanks to a first pitch start against Washington just 24 hours after wrapping up our series in Pittsburgh and then jetting it back to Colorado. While Goose again flashed great moments against the Pirates, he also proved himself ever the rookie with some boneheaded moments at the plate and in the field. Hopefully Goose would be able to start pulling it together, though he would be truly challenged every step of the way with games against top pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister coming up.

Washington 7, Colorado 3
Washington 7, Colorado 0
Washington 6, Colorado 1


First game of the series would see Goose batting seventh in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning with one out and the bases empty, blooping a fastball into center field for an aggressive double, Goose sliding into the bag just ahead of the throw from center. Taking off running on a ground ball to third by Josh Rutledge, Goose would make the third baseman hesitate long enough while deciding to try for the tag or throw to first, allowing Rutledge to successfully reach first base ahead of the throw for a single while Goose would advance to third to put runners on the corners for starting pitcher Rob Scahill. Scahill would swing at the first pitch and send it into center field for a sacrifice fly, Goose tagging up on the play and scoring the tying run from third. The next at-bat for Goose would see him leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, hitting a grounder towards the first baseman, forcing him to dive to stop the ball and failing to field it cleanly. While the first baseman would eventually manage to pick up the ball and wing it toward first base to the pitcher, Goose would just beat out the throw by a half a foot for a lead off single. Goose would then come home next batter as Rutledge would drive a fastball into right center field, the ball rolling all the way to the wall in the deepest part of the stadium for a stand up double, allowing Goose to sprint from first all the way home to score the go-ahead run. Naturally, that lead would die as our shit pitching would give up four runs in the top of the sixth inning, and we went from a one run lead to on the verge of getting blown out. Goose would make his next appearance at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, coming up with one out and the bases empty and promptly popping out to the third baseman for an uneventful at-bat. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases empty. Swinging at a slider low and away, Goose would make weak contact for a fluke grounder up the third base line, beating out the slow retrieval and throw to first from the pitcher for a lucky single. Much like his woes in Double A and Triple A, Goose would again dick things up on the bases, getting picked off at first base during Rutledge's at-bat, not that it would matter much with the score at the time. Final stats for Goose, 3-4 with two singles, a double, two runs scored and getting picked off on the bases.

The second game would see massive shuffling occurring, seemingly as some players got a day of rest. Goose would find himself starting today at shortstop and batting fifth in the order, Troy Tulowitzki would become the starting right fielder today and Nolan Arenado would return to the lineup to start at third base. First at-bat for Goose today would see him leading off the bottom of the second inning, fighting off a 1-2 curveball only to fly out to the center fielder. Next trip to the plate would find Goose leading off the bottom of the fourth inning this time, blooping a slider into shallow left field for a single. For the second straight game, Goose would dick things up on the bases, being picked off at first base for the second time this series. At this rate, the coaches are gonna start pinch running for Goose. Goose would get his next crack in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs and Carlos Gonzalez on first base, only to hit a ball at the shortstop and ground into a double play. Goose's final at-bat of the game would come leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, Strasburg shooting for a complete game shutout. He would move one step closer to it as Goose would strike out on three straight pitches, followed by two pop outs to go the distance on the mound for Washington. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with one single, one strikeout, one GIDP as well as getting picked off at first base for the second straight game.

The third and final game of the series would see pretty much everything remain the same, Goose starting at shortstop and batting fifth, Tulowitzki starting at right field and Arenado starting at third. One change from yesterday, Jordan Pacheco would take over at first base, giving Justin Morneau the day off to rest. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the first inning, stepping up to the plate with one out, Carlos Gonzalez on first and Tulowitzki on second, Goose proceeding to ground into a double play and end the inning. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and Gonzalez standing on first, only to end up striking out on a sinker. Once again, our pitchers would destroy us, giving up five runs between the fifth and seventh innings. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, just legging out what should have been a single that was hit to first, instead it would be ruled a fielding error on the first baseman. Un-freaking-believably, Goose would AGAIN end up picked off at first base, making that three games in a row he would get made to look like a bitch by the Washington pitching staff. Final stats for Goose, 0-3 with a strikeout, a GIDP and third straight game being picked off at first base after reaching base on an error.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would struggle throughout the entire series, making this one truly one to forget, batting .364 for the series, going 4-11 with three singles, one double, two runs scored, two strikeouts, two GIDP and THREE times being picked off at first base, getting picked off once in all three games of the series.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we get a day off, giving Goose a chance try and recollect himself, before opening up a weekend series at home with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Meanwhile, all eyes will be focused towards the front office in these final days of July as we approach the trading deadline. With the Rockies already completing one trade earlier in the month, and with any hopes of competing for the division and likely the wild card already shot, would the Rockies go into sell mode this year?

The biggest question, what would be done about the logjam at shortstop? With franchise player Troy Tulowitzki and future star Goose Anderson already fighting for time at their natural position, plus Trevor Story riding the bench as backup shortstop, then Juan Nugent and Rosell Herrera stuck in limbo in Triple A and Double A, the Rockies could very well start doing some selling to uncluster the shortstop position in the organization. But, who would be shipped out? Would the Rockies dare to trade their franchise player in Tulowitzki? Would they dare to trade their future projected franchise player in Goose Anderson? Or would they trade, by now, career backup Trevor Story and try to continue finding space for both Tulowitzki and Anderson on the field at the same time? If that happens, it could well come at the expense of third baseman Nolan Arenado, who originally found himself riding the bench for the Minnesota and Pittsburgh series while Goose was made the starter at third. That changed against Washington when Arenado returned to his spot at third and Goose was given shortstop, forcing Tulowitzki out of the infield and into right field.

Things would get thrown even more into doubt as early signs pointed to Goose being removed from the field in American League parks. When batting with a DH, Goose would be removed from the field and made the DH, leading off at the top of the order, Tulo would start at shortstop, Arenado would start at third and Jordan Pacheco would start in right field. When batting without a DH, Goose would start at shortstop, still batting first in the order, Tulo would start in right field, Arenado would start at third and Pacheco would head to the bench. Needless to say, all these questions and never ending changes at every turn of the batting order would be enough to give many people a blinding headache just reading all of this and trying to make any sense of it. About the only thing that can be done at this point, just sit back and wait and see what unfolds as the trade deadline approaches and passes.

Pittsburgh Pirates (52-49) vs Colorado Rockies (47-55)
July 25-27, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Francisco Liriano (9-8, 3.20) vs Brett Anderson (6-5, 5.26)

Game Two - Saturday 6:10 PM
Brandon Cumpton (4-7, 5.67) vs Christian Friedrich (8-6, 3.81)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Jeff Locke (4-8, 7.02) vs Rob Scahill (6-11, 4.62)