MLB The Show: Smooth Pancakes' Shortstop RTTS Career

[SmoothPancakes]

After getting a much needed day of rest on Monday August 4th, it was back into the grind as we kicked off another 13 games in 13 days stretch with a three game series at home against the Chicago Cubs. With the chance for a .500 record slowly slipping away with each new loss, we would need to rack up some wins in this series if we were ever going to get a push kick started. Instead we would lose the series and Goose would have the worst series of this baseball career.

Chicago 6, Colorado 2
Colorado 6, Chicago 1
Chicago 8, Colorado 6 F/11


First game of the series would see the changes continue as Goose as he would return to the field as starting shortstop and would end up the lead off batter at the top of the order. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Goose would rope a 1-2 slider into right center field, sliding into second base for a double thanks to the throw in from the outfield being off the mark. Goose would advance to third on a single by Charlie Blackmon, only to get gunned down at home plate after taking off from third thanks to a bobbled ball by the shortstop and late throw to first. Instead of scoring, Goose would get beat by about three steps for the first out. Goose would return in the bottom of the third inning with one out and the bases empty, going down swinging on an outside fastball for a strikeout and the second out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and runners on first and second, only to strikeout on three straight pitches thanks to two slow as hell slider and an absolutely slow as all hell change-up. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on first, but Goose would end up striking out for the third straight at bat, chasing a change-up low for the second out. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, digging in in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and a runner on first, but a splitter in the dirt would get Goose swinging for his fourth straight strikeout to end the ball game. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double and four strikeouts, earning Goose the Golden Sombrero!



The second game would see Goose remain the lead off batter and starter at shortstop. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Goose would smack a fastball to deep right center field, the ball coming down behind the center fielder's glove and bouncing off the wall and away from the fielder. Goose was hauling ass around the bases and was already on his way to third before the center fielder could even pick up the ball and throw it in. Feeling incredibly ballsy, Goose tried for the rarity and went for the inside the park home run, but he would get too greedy and realizing that he was about to bite off more than he could chew, he would stop half way to home plate and try to retreat to third base, only to be thrown out at third by the catcher. Despite all of that, ultimately the play was called a ground out on an error () and was ruled an 8-4-2-5 E8 ground out. Despite that, we would end up batting around the order in the first inning. Thus, Goose would end up leading off the bottom of the second inning at the plate, only to end up striking out on a slider below the knees for the first out. Goose's next chance would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on first, ultimately grounding out to the second baseman to end the inning, as other than that first inning hit that was actually an error that was supposedly a ground out, Goose couldn't find an answer to Jason Hammel's pitching. Thankfully Goose wouldn't have to as Hammel would be pinch hit for in the top of the sixth inning. So, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, coming up against reliever Carlos Villanueva, who would promptly make Goose look like an idiot at the plate with his curveball, Goose striking out for the second time today to end the inning. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with two strikeouts.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose dropped from the lead off spot, now batting fifth in the order for this game. First at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and the bases empty following a two run home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would not follow in Gonzalez's footsteps, instead striking out yet again thanks to Jake Arrieta's ugly 12-6 curveball that Goose has never figured out how to hit on any level. Goose would come up to bat next in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, that goddamned 12-6 curveball rearing its ugly head once again to freeze Goose for a strikeout looking. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first. This time Goose would refuse to strikeout, sending a slider screaming into the gap in left center field for a stand up RBI triple to break his streak of suck and record his first hit since his first at-bat of the first game of the series. An RBI single by Josh Rutledge would drive Goose in to score and cut the Cubs' lead to just one run. At least it would be a one run gap until our set-up man would screw up and let Chicago regain a run. Goose would come up to the plate for his next at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, digging in with two outs and Troy Tulowitzki standing on second. A 1-2 blooper into shallow center field would be enough to score Tulo from second, closing the gap once again to just one run and leaving Goose on first for Josh Rutledge. After a full count walk to Rutledge to advance Goose to second base, Nolan Arenado would unfortunately fly out just feet from the wall in the right field corner to end the inning. Somehow we would survive thanks to a single and a walk to start the inning, before a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Despite a ground out by Jordan Pacheco, Tulowitzki would hit a two out double to score Michael McKenry and tie the game up. Unfortunately Charlie Culberson would try and score the game winning run on the same play, only to be thrown out at home plate to end the inning and send us into extras. Despite letting two batters on base, we would get through the top of the tenth inning without any damage. Following a lead off strikeout by Gonzalez, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the tenth inning with one out and the bases empty, unfortunately Goose would be unable to do anything, grounding out to the second baseman on a slider high and inside for the second out, followed by a strikeout by Rutledge to move on to the eleventh inning. A two out single by Nate Schierholtz and a throwing error by Goose would ultimately fuck us as Chicago would score twice on three hits in the top of the eleventh inning, all of it with two outs, and go on to win by two runs, making Goose pretty much responsible for fucking us out of a potential win. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single, a double, one run scored, two RBI, two strikeouts and a throwing error.

Final series stats for Goose, he would rack up his worst series of his entire career, topping even the horrible Omaha series back in Triple A when he went 4-16 and struck out seven times. This time, Goose would end up hitting rock bottom, batting a miserable .214 for the series, going 3-14 with one single, one double and one triple, scoring one run, driving in two RBIs and striking out a career high EIGHT times, earning the Golden Sombrero in game one, as well as getting tagged with a throwing error in the eleventh inning of game three, which Chicago would end up exploiting to win.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, thank god, we get back on the road (where Goose seems to play his best) with a six game road trip, spending the weekend in Arizona for a three game series against the Diamondbacks, followed by an early week stopover against the San Diego Padres.

Colorado Rockies (53-62) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (67-48)
August 8-10, 2014
Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Rex Brothers (0-2, 4.38) vs Brandon McCarthy (13-7, 2.72)

Game Two - Friday, 5:10 PM
Jhoulys Chacin (4-12, 4.64) vs Bronson Arroyo (11-7, 3.56)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Christian Friedrich (8-7, 3.97) vs Wade Miley (15-4, 2.32)

[SmoothPancakes]

After playing literally the worst three games of his entire baseball career, Goose would need to find a lifeline soon if he didn't want to keep falling down the batting order, as well as potentially lose his starting spot if his woes at the plate kept up, batting just .279 over his last 10 games. Unfortunately it wouldn't be an easy fix for Goose as he would face three very difficult pitchers, going up against Brandon McCarthy (13-7 record and a 2.72 ERA), Bronson Arroyo (11-7 record and a 3.56 ERA) and the worst for last, Wade Miley (a 15-4 record of utter domination with an also dominant 2.32 ERA). Somehow Goose would have to overcome his struggles against pitchers ten times better and stronger than what he faced against Chicago. We would manage to steal two out of three games against the NL West leaders (and nearly had the sweep), but Goose would still struggle mightily at the plate.

Colorado 9, Arizona 4
Colorado 9, Arizona 5
Arizona 4, Colorado 3 F/13


First game of the series would see Goose remain fifth in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, already thrown into a high pressure situation with one out and the bases loaded. Somehow Goose would luck out of the at-bat with a dead ball single in the infield, scoring the runner from third and reach first base safely for an RBI single before either the pitcher or catcher could retrieve the ball. Unfortunately we would only get a single run as Wilin Rosario would ground into a double play to end the top of the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, striking out on a sinker low and away for the third out. The next chance at the plate for Goose would come in the top of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on first base, McCarthy already out of the game after just three innings of work, either because of giving up 9 hits and four runs in those three innings, or because of injury, unsure of which. It would turn out the Diamondbacks would get last laugh as Goose would strikeout on a change-up by the slow as hell Josh Collmenter for the second out. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases empty following a solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would end up being the anti-Gonzalez, hitting a single into right field, only to get thrown out trying to advance to second base during a fielding bobble by the right fielder. Following the second solo home run of the game by Carlos Gonzalez, Goose would come up for his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty. Goose would try to be like Carlos, but instead would fly out to deep right field to end our half of the inning, little though it would matter at that point of the game. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, one RBI and two strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose get a free pass against Bronson Arroyo as Goose would be given the day off for rest and would watch the entire game from the bench.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting fifth in the order once again. Goose would get his first at-bat leading off the top of the second inning, only to end up striking out on an outside slider. Wade Miley was every bit the pain in the ass he was expected to be, not giving up his first hit of the game until Carlos Gonzalez scored a single off him in the top of the fourth inning to ruin Miley's early no-hitter. With that, Goose would come up to the plate in the top of the fourth with two outs and Gonzalez standing on first, promptly grounding out to the second baseman for the third out. It may not be as great as a no-hitter, but Miley would carry a one-hitter into the top of the seventh inning, completely shutting down our entire lineup at the plate. Goose would get his next at-bat in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases empty, ultimately striking out on a fastball low and away for the third out. Finally, in the eighth inning, would we break Wade Miley, as Michael McKenry got a single for just the third hit of the game against Miley, followed by a game-tying pinch hit two run home run by Wilin Rosario. While Arizona would regain the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, courtesy of a solo home run by Paul Goldschmidt, we would tie it right back up as Carlos Gonzalez would crack a two out solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. With that, Goose would come up to the plate in the top of the ninth with two outs and the bases empty and the game all tied up, ultimately chasing a change-up in the dirt to strikeout for the third out. Despite Arizona loading up the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, we would survive and head to extra innings. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the twelfth inning with one out and the bases empty, only for Goose to strikeout on a 77 MPH slider for out number two. A lead off triple by Didi Gregorius would be the nail in the coffin as a sac fly by Miguel Montero would win it for the Diamondbacks in thirteen innings. Final stats for Goose, a miserable 0-5 with four strikeouts, earning him, ANOTHER GOLDEN SOMBRERO!



Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in only the first and third games, batting a lowly .200 for the series, going 2-10 with two singles, one RBI and six strikeouts, earning Goose the Golden Sombrero in game three.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we wrap up our six game road swing with a visit to the San Diego Padres for three games in an early week series.

Colorado Rockies (55-63) vs San Diego Padres (57-59)
August 11-13, 2014
Petco Park - San Diego, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Jordan Lyles (0-0, 0.00) vs Andrew Cashner (11-8, 3.38)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Juan Nicasio (0-0, 7.71) vs Lewis Peoples (8-7, 3.05)

Game Three - Wednesday 3:40 PM
Franklin Morales (12-7, 3.92) vs Eric Stults (5-3, 3.00)

[SmoothPancakes]

As the struggles continue, Goose's next chance at turning things around would come with a visit to the San Diego Padres. At this point, 13 games out of the division and 9 games out of the Wild Card, we would just be playing for positioning at this rate, and with only a three game gap between us and San Diego, a sweep would pull us into a tie for third in the division, which would definitely be something worth playing for, if anything to get away from the baseman of the division. Thankfully for Goose, we would be moving away from the giant Chase Field and into the nice small cozy Petco Park, with the bleachers just a mere 322 feet down the first base line, making for a favorable home run hitting park for Goose (a dead pull hitter) if he could actually make solid contact for a change.

Colorado 4, San Diego 2
San Diego 2, Colorado 1 F/10
Colorado 5, San Diego 1


First game of the series would see Goose remain fifth in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and Carlos Gonzalez on first base, surprisingly facing Lewis Peoples, who seemed to jump up a game and start game one instead of Andrew Cashner. That would be an okay change for Goose as he would send the first pitch from Peoples back up the middle for a ground ball into center field for a double to put runners on second and third. A sac bunt by Wilin Rosario would score Gonzalez, moving Goose over to third base for Nolan Arenado, who would promptly ground out to the pitcher to leave Goose stranded. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and the bases empty, going down swinging on a curveball to strikeout for the third out. Next chance for Goose would come in the top of the sixth inning with one out and the bases empty. Three straight fastballs outside of the zone by Peoples would leave him in a dangerous position, and Goose would take full advantage of it, slapping a 3-1 fastball down the middle and sending it screaming to right center field for a solo home run, Goose's first home run in sixgames (31 at-bats and 15 strikeouts in between if you're counting) and his sixth of the season, to increase our lead to 4-2. Coming up for his final at-bat, Goose would lead off the top of the ninth inning, going down swinging this time on an inside slider to open the ninth with a strikeout. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with one double, a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts. Somehow, those stats would earn Goose player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose remain fifth in the order, this time against Eric Stults. Andrew Cashner for some reason got passed over on his scheduled start (he's not on the DL) and the rest of the San Diego rotation got bumped up a game, making Tyson Ross (6-7, 4.33 ERA) the new game three probable starter. So, with a slight deviation in the San Diego pitching rotation, Goose would come up for his first at-bat leading off the top of the second inning, going down swinging on a sweeping curveball to strikeout for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and the bases empty, flying out to the center fielder right at the wall for the third out. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the seventh inning with one out and Troy Tulowitzki standing on second base, only to again strikeout on that damned sweeping curveball for the second out. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with one out and Troy Tulowitzki on first base in a 1-1 ballgame. Goose would end up hitting a bouncer at the first baseman for a fielder's choice, resulting in the force out at second base while Goose would just beat the throw to first base to leave one on and two outs for Wilin Rosario. Taking off running on a 2-0 count, Goose would successfully steal second base. One pitch later, the Padres would choose to intentionally walk Rosario on a 3-0 count, putting runners on first and second for Charlie Culberson, who entered as a pinch runner in the eighth inning, and would pop out to the catcher on one swing to end our scoring threat. In the bottom of the ninth, we would manage to get the third out with a runner on second base and head into extra innings. Despite loading up the bases with two outs in the top of the tenth inning, Carlos Gonzalez would strikeout for the third out and probably our best chance to win was blown. After getting the first two batters on, a sac bunt by Everth Cabrera would put runners on second and third with just one out for the Padres, with a Cameron Maybin single driving in the game winning run as Goose would try to mow down the runner advancing to home, only to end up beaning said runner in the back of the head with an off-track throw coming out of fielding the ground ball. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with two strikeouts.

The third and final game of the series would again see Goose sitting out of the lineup.

Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in only the first and second games, batting .250 for the series, going 2-8 with one double, a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI, four strikeouts and player of the game honors in game one.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we return home for a four game series against the Cincinnati Reds, kicking off a 9 game home stand against the Reds, the Kansas City Royals and the Miami Marlins.

Cincinnati Reds (52-68) vs Colorado Rockies (57-64)
August 14-17, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 6:40 PM
Mat Latos (7-9, 3.94) vs Christian Friedrich (8-7, 3.97)

Game Two - Friday 6:40 PM
Homer Bailey (9-8, 3.55) vs Rob Scahill (9-11, 4.31)

Game Three - Saturday 6:10 PM
Johnny Cueto (7-6, 3.62) vs Jordan Lyles (1-0, 3.60)

Game Four - Sunday, 2:10 PM
Tony Cingrani (7-14, 4.39) vs Juan Nicasio (0-0, 3.86)

[SmoothPancakes]

After sitting out of the final game of the San Diego series, it would be right back to the grind for Goose going into a four game series against the Cincinnati Reds. The biggest question, with Goose being given a day off twice in so few games, was it because he was just tired out as we hit mid-August, was it because the coaches were trying to give more playing time to some of the bench players, or was it because the coaches were starting to lose faith in his bat as his struggles continued at the plate? Meanwhile, our hopes for a .500 record would pretty much come to an end as we would get our asses swept right off the field by the Reds

Cincinnati 2, Colorado 1
Cincinnati 4, Colorado 1
Cincinnati 4, Colorado 2
Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5 F/10


First game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting fifth in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, coming up with no outs and the bases empty following a lead off solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would make some great contact during his at-bat against Mat Latos, but would end up grounding out to shortstop for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and Troy Tulowitzki standing on first base. After fouling off four straight pitches, Goose would end up popping out to the catcher behind home plate to end the inning. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty. Still pitching for the Reds, Latos would get Goose to fly out to center field for the second out. Final stats for Goose, a lousy 0-3.

The second game would see Goose remain fifth in the order. First at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with one out and the bases empty, striking out on a knuckle-curve for the second out. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and the bases empty, but Goose would bounce a fastball into the dirt right in front of home plate, making for a very easy ground out to the catcher. Goose would lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but a high splitter by Homer Bailey would result in a fly out to shallow center field. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, coming up in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the bases empty, Homer Bailey just two outs away from throwing a complete game shutout. Instead, he could kiss that shutout goodbye as Goose would unload on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone and send it into the bullpens in right center field for a solo home run, Goose's seventh of the season. Homer Bailey would still get the complete game, but thanks to Goose, he wouldn't get the shutout. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and one strikeout.

The third game of the series would again see Goose batting fifth in the lineup. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the second inning with no outs and the bases empty following yet another lead off solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would make that back to back solo home runs as he would jack an 0-2 slider into the Reds bullpen in right center field, pretty much the exact same spot that he hit his home run in the previous game. Next chance for Goose would come leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, but this time Johnny Cueto would win the battle at the plate with a two strike change-up, causing Goose to strikeout swinging. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, hitting a blooper into shallow left field for an easy pop out to the shortstop to end the inning. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty, down by two runs. While Goose would give it his best effort at the plate, Cincinnati's closer would get him swinging at a curveball low and away, striking out to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts.

Just a side note, this was a game of home runs. Every single run was scored via home run. Cincinnati scored on a two run homer by Billy Hamilton in the first inning, a solo home run by Bruce Phillips in the sixth inning and a solo home run by Todd Frazier in the ninth inning, while both of our runs came on back to back solo home runs by Carlos Gonzalez and Goose in the second inning. Seeing as Cincinnati only managed four other hits and Colorado only managed two other hits for the entire game, a home run was pretty much the only chance either team had to score today.

The fourth and final game of the series would Goose taken out of the lineup, instead coming in as a pinch hitter in place of starting shortstop Trevor Story, with two outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing Cincinnati 5-3, going up against fresh reliever Manny Parra. Goose would make the most of his at-bat, sending a fastball through the gap into right field for a single to put runners on first and second for Jordan Pacheco, pinch hitting for pitcher Adam Ottavino. Another change would be made as Josh Rutledge would be brought out to pinch run for starting first baseman Justin Morneau on second base. It would all pay of huge as Pacheco would rope a pitch down the third base line, coming down just inside the foul line just feet away from the left field wall, scoring both Rutledge from second and Goose from first with a stand up two RBI double, tying the game up at 5-all. Despite getting through the top of the ninth without anyone getting past first base, we would be unable to capitalize in the bottom of the inning and we would head into extra baseball. We would end up getting absolutely fucked in the top of the tenth inning. With runners on first and second and only one out, a ground ball to the second baseman would get flipped to Goose for the second out, who would throw to first in attempt for the double play. Not only would the runner be called safe, but for some reason, the first baseman would take a couple steps trot away from first toward the first base dugout, while the runner from third would run home without so much as an attempted throw by the first baseman, letting Cincinnati score what would be the game winning run while we all just stood around on the field with our thumbs up our asses. So we basically got fucked out of a potential win because of some shit glitch or animation that decided to not let us do a damn thing while the runner at third snailed his way home. Final stats for Goose, 1-1 with a meaningless single and a meaningless run scored thanks to be fucked up the ass by the game.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in the first three games but only pinch hit and field for two innings in the final game, batting .250 for the series, going 3-12 with one single and two solo home runs, three runs scored, two RBIs and three strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we finally get a break as we get Monday off before hosting the Kansas City Royals for a brief two game series.

Kansas City Royals (63-61) vs Colorado Rockies (57-68)
August 19-20, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 6:40 PM
James Shields (8-13, 4.36) vs Franklin Morales (13-7, 3.75)

Game Two - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Jason Vargas (13-5, 3.25) vs Christian Friedrich (8-8, 3.92)

[SmoothPancakes]

Here's the video of that play in the top of the 10th, when the game decided to screw us and basically cheat Cincinnati to a win.

[steelerfan]

I've seen that once before, myself. Pretty aggravating but whatever. Nothing you can do.

[SmoothPancakes]

I've seen that once before, myself. Pretty aggravating but whatever. Nothing you can do.

Yeah, I think since it was such a bang-bang play at first, even though the ump called safe, the first baseman went into an animation or something acting like it was the third out, as I've seen him do numerous times after throwing to first for the third out, which then pretty much gave the runner at third a free ticket to waltz home.

The biggest thing that pisses me off there is that it cost us the game. Not that we got screwed out of the out, but that in that situation, Cincinnati was literally gifted a free run that they had no business scoring right there and won because of that "glitch".

#TheScriptIsDead

[steelerfan]

Understood. The only thing I've been able to do to cope (lol) is to make something up in my head that happened to cause the run to score.

[SmoothPancakes]

Coming out of a four game sweep from the Reds and a brief day off, we returned to Coors Field to kick off a short two game series with the Kansas City Royals. Goose found a little bit of his stride, hitting two solo home runs against Reds pitchers, but he still struggled overall for the series, racking up multiple strikeouts and not doing much at the plate outside of a couple decent at-bats. Unfortunately, it would get even worse this series, as we stumbled to a six game losing streak.

Kansas City 6, Colorado 2
Kansas City 6, Colorado 4


First game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, thrown back into the lead off spot in the batting order, for some ungodly reason. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning, only to promptly ground out to the first baseman. Leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, Goose would go down swinging on a knuckle-curve for a strikeout. Kansas City pitcher James Shields carried a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth inning, completely shutting us down at the plate, until he would give up a lead off solo home run to Josh Rutledge. With that, Goose would end up batting in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and the bases empty, but would end up striking out on a change-up to end the inning, Shields going right back to dominating on the mound with three straight outs following that lead off home run. We would finally start to crack Shields in the bottom of the seventh inning with back to back singles by Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitzki, followed by a one out single by Wilin Rosario to load the bases, but a ground ball by Justin Morneau to cause a force out at the plate and a fly out by Josh Rutledge would get Shields out of the inning unscathed. Shields would continue into the bottom of the eighth inning, striking out Nolan Arenado and forcing pinch hitter Jordan Pacheco to pop out. That would bring up Goose for his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Shields nearly had his 11th strikeout victim of the game, but Goose would foul off a couple of pitches and force Shields to make a mistake, leaving a fastball hanging in the middle of the zone. Goose would send that ball into the upper decks in right field for a solo home run. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts. But the player of the game would be James Shields, going eight innings on the mound for KC, taking a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth inning, ultimately racking up ten strikeouts on five hits and giving up two runs on solo homers by Goose and Josh Rutledge.

The second game would see Goose remain first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning, only to end up striking out on a nasty dropping curveball low and away. Goose's next at-bat would come in the bottom of the second inning with one out and runners on first and third, but another curveball with a wicked drop on it would get Goose to strikeout for the second time today. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, that damned curveball of Vargas' resulting in a third straight strikeout. Despite having a 4-0 lead early on, our pitching would blow it for us, as Kansas City would use a three run fifth inning as part of a three inning stretch to take a 5-4 lead. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, and despite building up a 2-0 count, Goose would earn the Golden Sombrero with his fourth straight strikeout thanks to that goddamned curveball. As bad luck would have it, Goose would end up returning for a fifth and final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the bases loaded, striking out on a 2-2 slider inside. With that, Goose would wrap up his worst day of his career, setting a new career high at the plate and earning the PLATINUM SOMBRERO with FIVE strikeouts!



Final series stats for Goose, he would start in both games, batting a horrendous .111 for the series, going 1-9 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and seven strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we get another day of rest with Thursday off, before closing out our nine game home stand with a three game visit from the Miami Marlins.

Miami Marlins (63-64) vs Colorado Rockies (57-70)
August 22-24, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friay 6:40 PM
Tom Koehler (3-10, 3.50) vs Rob Scahill (9-12, 4.37)

Game Two - Saturday 6:10 PM
Nathan Eovaldi (8-6, 3.95) vs Jordan Lyles (1-1, 4.09)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Kevin Slowey (7-12, 4.49) vs Juan Nicasio (0-0, 4.86)

[SmoothPancakes]

Understood. The only thing I've been able to do to cope (lol) is to make something up in my head that happened to cause the run to score.

Lol, yeah, I'll have to remember to do that if it ever rears its ugly head again. This series is damn fun and well worth every penny I spent buying my PS4, MLB 14 and MLB 15 (along with all the other PS4 games I've bought over the past 12 months), but damn it definitely has some issues and bugs that really can screw you over if they arise at the worst time possible.

[steelerfan]

Lol, yeah, I'll have to remember to do that if it ever rears its ugly head again. This series is damn fun and well worth every penny I spent buying my PS4, MLB 14 and MLB 15 (along with all the other PS4 games I've bought over the past 12 months), but damn it definitely has some issues and bugs that really can screw you over if they arise at the worst time possible.

Yeah. I lost a game on a foul ball home run.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah. I lost a game on a foul ball home run.

Ouch. I've heard about that bug. Haven't seen it myself, thank god. I suppose I'm lucky. All of the bugs seen and mentioned over at OS, and I really haven't had any of them pop up on me, so I'm fortunate there.

#TheScriptIsDead

[steelerfan]

Ouch. I've heard about that bug. Haven't seen it myself, thank god. I suppose I'm lucky. All of the bugs seen and mentioned over at OS, and I really haven't had any of them pop up on me, so I'm fortunate there.

#TheScriptIsDead

Me too. I've never seen most of them. Even the ones I've seen are quite rare. I'm more than 130 games into my Franchise so I've played alot (not a small sample size).

[SmoothPancakes]

Me too. I've never seen most of them. Even the ones I've seen are quite rare. I'm more than 130 games into my Franchise so I've played alot (not a small sample size).

Yeah, I'll have to just chalk it up to one of "those moments" and let it go and keep trucking along. It's just about the only time I've had an issue or any sort of bug pop up during my RTTS games, so it could always be worse.

#TheScriptIsDead

[SmoothPancakes]

Mired in the middle of a 6 game losing streak, we would wrap up our nine game home stand, still looking for our first victory of the home stand, with a three game visit from the Miami Marlins. Hopefully we'd be able to put together a couple wins this series. Meanwhile, Goose would have to start figuring out and learning how to hit curveballs, change-ups, cutters and sinkers. In his last 15 games, Goose has racked up 30 strikeouts in 64 at-bats. Meanwhile, he has only managed 15 hits in that same stretch, so he has struck out double the amount of hits that he has managed. 5 of those 15 games, Goose was held hitless for the entire game, twice he has struck out four times in a game and once, his most recent game in game two against the Kansas City Royals, he struck out a career high FIVE times in the game. Needless to say, he has since gone from that hot start he had right after being called up, to just straight plummeting off the side of a cliff, going from a nearly .400 batting average in those first dozen games or so all the way down to a current .300 average. And if he doesn't get out of this hitting funk soon, that average will end up WELL into the .200s. Not only would we destroy our 6 game losing streak by sweeping the Marlins, but Goose would find a heartbeat at the plate at last!

Colorado 7, Miami 1
Colorado 10, Miami 7
Colorado 15, Miami 6


First game of the series would see Goose moved back into the lead off spot in the batting order. Why this brain dead manager repeatedly insists on making Goose the lead off batter, I'll never know. He sure as hell hasn't hit his way into the lead off spot. Goose would lead off the bottom of the first inning, dropping a blooper right in front of the right fielder for a lead off single. After a fly out by Charlie Culberson, Troy Tulowitzki would draw a four pitch walk to move Goose up to the second base and put runners on first and second for Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez would hit a bouncer up the middle, the shortstop diving and stopping the ball, but unable to get a grab on it as the ball would end up behind him at the edge of the outfield. That would allow Goose to round third and break for home while the ball was still loose, crossing home plate long before the throw to home to score the first run of the game. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with two outs and the bases empty, and finally making contact on a curveball in god knows how long, Goose would again rope another weak blooper into right field just in front of the outfielder for another single. Charlie Blackmon would end up hitting a dribbler that would barely make the grass in front of the catcher, but he would beat out the throw to first, moving Goose up toe second base and putting runners on first and second for Troy Tulowitzki. Unfortunately Tulowitzki would fly out to center field at the wall, ending our scoring threat. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, stepping in with one out and Nolan Arenado on second base. Goose would swing at an early pitch slider, hitting a weak roller up the third base line, the ball rolling almost similar to a bunt. The third baseman would charge in and try to bare hand the ball, but he would be unable to make a clean grab, giving Goose his third single of the game and putting runners on first and third for Blackmon. Blackmon would hit a ground ball to the second baseman with the ball deflecting off of his glove during the play. While Blackmon would be thrown out at first base for the second out, the deflected ball would ruin any chance at a double play, allowing Goose to slide safely into second base while Arenado would score from third, leaving Goose the lone runner at second base for Tulowitzki. With a swing of the bat, the bases would be cleared as Tulowitzki would send a ball screaming into the left field stands for a two out, two run homer. Goose would make his next at-bat leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, but Goose's perfect day at the plate would unfortunately come to an end, as a reliever for Miami would get Goose to strikeout swinging on a curveball. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and starting pitcher Rob Scahill on first base following an RBI single, Scahill shooting for a complete game on the mound. But Goose would go down swinging on curveball once again for his second straight strikeout. Final stats for Goose, 3-5 with three singles, two runs scored and two strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose remain first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning. Goose would swing at the first pitch he saw, smacking it into left center field for a double, then advancing to third base thanks to a delay by the outfielder getting the ball in. So while it would only be officially a double, Goose would end up standing at third base with no outs for Charlie Blackmon. Goose would score one pitch later as Blackmon would bloop a single into shallow center field to drive in the run. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with no outs and pitcher Jordan Lyles on second base, following a lead off home run by Nolan Arenado. Unfortunately Goose would ground out to the first baseman, but it would move Lyles up to third base on the play, who would score two batters later on a single by Troy Tulowitzki. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning, coming up to bat three innings in a row to start the game, with one out and runners and second and third following a sac bunt by pitcher Jordan Lyles. Only bottom of the third inning and we had already chased Miami's starting pitcher from the ball game thanks to a pair of three run innings in the first two innings of the game, plus a great start to the third inning. Sadly Goose would fail to contribute for the second inning in a row, striking out in seven pitches for the second out. A pop out by Blackmon would bring our great three inning stretch at the plate to an end. Goose's next chance at the plate would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, our 6-0 lead after two innings now cut in half to 6-3 following a three run fifth inning by the Marlins. However, Goose would fly out to center field to end the inning. Goose would surprisingly get back up to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, thanks to a hit by pitch on Blackmon, a fly out by Tulowitzki, a walk by Gonzalez, a two RBI double by Jordan Pacheco, an RBI double by Justin Morneau, a walk by Josh Rutledge and a single by Arenado, before a bases loaded RBI sac fly by pinch hitter D.J. LeMahieu would drive in Morneau from third base. The final damage, four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. That would leave Goose coming up to bat in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and runners standing on first and second. And the typical would happen, Goose would ground out to the second baseman to once again kill a rally. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double, a run scored and one strikeout.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose stay first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat of the game leading off the bottom of the first inning. Swinging at an 0-1 fastball, Goose would give it a hell of a ride, but it wouldn't have the distance, ending up caught in deep right field for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and the bases empty. This time Goose would just cover the distance, sending an 0-1 fastball into the first row of the right field stands for a solo home run, his tenth homer of the season. Thanks to two walks, a dropped throw error and three singles, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and runners on first and second, four runs already having crossed the plate this inning to give us a one run lead. Goose would be unable to drive the runs in, instead chasing a fastball low and inside to strikeout for the second out. Regardless, an RBI double by Blackmon and an RBI single by Tulowitzki would give us two more runs to make it 7-4. Naturally the Marlins would cut it to 7-6 with a two run rally of their own in the fifth inning, but a two run home run by Josh Rutledge in the bottom of the fifth inning would re-extend our lead to 9-6. With that, Goose would make his next at-bat leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, going up against a fresh new pitcher for Miami, who would welcome Goose to the plate by making Goose his bitch with a three pitch strikeout thanks to a nasty curveball and a wicked slider. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to a pair of RBI doubles to get us through the lineup, coming up with two outs and Josh Rutledge standing on second base, facing another new pitcher this time. And this time, it would be Goose would make this pitcher HIS bitch, sending an 0-1 fastball 384 feet into the right field stands for a two run home run, Goose's second homer of the game, his first two home run game of his career, and with that, the rout was officially on. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two home runs, one solo and one a two-run shot, two runs scored, three RBIs and two strikeouts. Both Goose and Tulowitzki would end with two home runs today (along with one homer by Josh Rutledge), and Goose, Tulowitzki and Rutledge would all end tied for the lead with three RBIs each.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games, batting a solid .400 for the series, going 6-15 with three singles, a double, and two home runs, five runs scored, three RBIs and five strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we jump right into it the very next day as we kick off a seven game road trip with a four game series at San Francisco, followed by a three game trip to Arizona.

Colorado Rockies (60-70) vs San Francisco Giants (53-77)
August 25-28, 2014
AT&T Park - San Francisco, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:15 PM
Franklin Morales (13-8, 3.82) vs Matt Cain (6-11, 4.09)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:15 PM
Christian Friedrich (8-9, 4.10) vs Tim Hudson (11-8, 3.52)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:15 PM
Rob Scahill (10-12, 4.17) vs Tim Lincecum (4-11, 4.83)

Game Four - Thursday 12:45 PM
Jordan Lyles (2-1, 4.50) vs Kyle Crick (2-0, 4.40)