Nine walks, but only two earned runs for Shawn Chacon. That's amazing. Of course, A.J. Burnett of these very Marlins threw a no-hitter with nine walks a few years ago, so anything's possible. Chacon would have needed a no-hitter, or at the very least a shutout, to keep from taking his second loss in this one. Or who knows even then. Short of Clint Barmes (2 for 3, ho hum), the Rockies had nothing going in this one against Josh Beckett (6 strikeouts, 5 hits, 1 walk). To be fair, Todd Helton had a single and sharply slapped another ball opposite-field but was robbed by a diving Alex Gonzalez.

Another worry for Colorado again rose its head when Luis Castillo stole second easily in the fifth, leading directly to the Marlins' first run. The Rockies are only 4 of 26 on the year catching baserunners. Their 22 allowed steals puts them at fourth-worst in the bigs. Part of this can be laid at the feet of pitchers like Chacon and Joe Kennedy with pokey throwing motions, but neither J.D. Closser nor Todd Greene, today's starter, has much distinguished themselves in this regard. A team that gives up this many walks can't get a reputation for being open for business on the basepaths; imagine if Chacon gave up 10 doubles a game. On second thought, don't.

Barmes (with another hit, a double) and Helton (single) were able to team up for a run against reliever Jim Mecir in the eighth, but then again, I thought Mecir was retired. He struck out the side, Relaford-Miles-Wilson, on either side of the Rockies' two good hitters, too. The Marlins got the run right back on a long Delgado drive that Preston Wilson very nearly made a terrific over-the-shoulder basket catch on; unfortunately, the ball was apparently so surprised to find itself in his glove that it immediately jumped out again. Mesmerized by the subtle curves of Todd Jones' moustache, Colorado went 1-2-3 in the ninth, and that makes ten loses in a row.

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