The fan pays the ticket to see Jon Gray pitch. Plain and simple.
At this point in the season for the Colorado Rockies, there is nothing else to root for, nothing to be hopeful for. It is sickening, disgusting baseball that isn’t even fun to watch. The fact that a Major League franchise puts out the kind of performance that the Rockies continue to run out on a nightly basis is completely disgraceful to the game.
When fans pay to see Jon Gray, they are getting the clue that the young right-hander isn’t going to be allowed to stick around the mound long enough to actually give the Rockies the chance to win the game. He is going to be limited to a ridiculous pitch count that has absolutely nothing to do with avoiding injury, and certainly has nothing to do with allowing him to experience big league situations.
On Saturday night, with the weather in the 90’s and conditions that generally result in long fly balls into the Coors Field seats, Gray methodically worked his way through the San Diego Padres order. He gave up a quick 1st inning run, but settled down and still got out of the frame with only 12 pitches. After that inning, he was brilliant. He gave up only four hits total, allowed only the 1st inning run, struck out five and didn’t allow a walk.
Much like he looked in New York, all of Gray’s pitches were effective. His changeup fluttered, his slider darted and his fastball came out his hand with ease. He looked every bit of the ace the Rockies were hopeful that they were getting when they were lucky enough to select him with the third overall pick in 2013.
To the surprise of next to no one, after throwing just 69 pitches through five innings, Gray’s night was done and it was time for the bullpen to deposit their nightly garbage out on the field and watch it light on fire.
On Saturday is was Gonzalez Germen’s turn. The reliever was bombarded early and often. When Gray was on the mound, there was a pace to the game. He kept the game moving along with the fielders on their toes and by commanding the strike zone, the game had a flow to it. Germen immediately slowed that to a halt. The top of the 6th inning took nearly 30 minutes and the Padres scored three runs on three hits in the inning.
While Gray walked off the mound with a chance to win his first big league ball game, anyone in attendance who has watched even a handful of Rockies games in 2015 knew that there was absolutely zero chance that the bullpen would hold on to the team’s slim 3-1 lead. The Rockies bullpen, forced to pick up four innings, had no chance to get out of the game unscathed.
Sure enough, before recording two outs, Germen had blown the chance that Gray had to win his first game. Three runs later, the Rockies were back in the dugout in a hole.
Witch credit to the Rockies offense, they got the team back into the game. They went out and had a big inning of their own, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. However, the problem once again became that the bullpen was going to need to seal the deal, with three more innings of baseball to pitch their way through.
They got it to the 9th inning before the flood gates opened. Tommy Kahnle, the newly appointed closer, blew his first save, giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits and essentially handing the game to the Padres. It was disgusting for Rockies fans.
While the great news of the night is the Gray looks to be every bit of the ace that he has been touted as. He pounds the strike zone and is pitching with confidence. He brings hope to the future of the Rockies.
The problem is, it is hard for fans to enjoy the glimmer of hope when the team is dead set on reminding them of how bad the present is.
Gray, based on the Rockies plan for him, should have between 20 and 25 innings left in his season. That means, based on five or six innings every time he takes the mound, he should have four or five more starts before the club shuts him down. Those few starts are really the only reason anyone needs to continue watching this team play in 2015.
