Clint Hurdle was really taking it on the chin on the radio this morning. Apparently the 20,000 people who only go to Rockies games on the 4th of July were real put out with his quick hook of Byung-Hyun Kim. Although I'm hardly a Hurdle apologist, it's hard to fault his logic here. Kim has hardly been a sure thing this year, his pitch count was at 97, and David Cortes was having a decent year until last night.

Cortes, who faced three hitters and retired none of them to begin the seventh, got credited with a hold for his trouble. What a great stat that is. Hurdle, who probably wanted to give his top relievers a breather, ended up having to lean on Brian Fuentes for two innings, Marcos Carvajal for 1 2/3, and Jay Witasick for an inning. Witasick took his second consecutive loss as Oscar Robles (who's Oscar Robles?) knocked in Jason Grabowski in the 11th for his fifth hit of the game. When it rains, it pours.

Don't blame Hurdle for this one, blame the Rockies' offense, which managed only five hits off Jeff Weaver and walked only three times the whole game. Aaron Miles was 3 for 5. Maybe he'll get terribly hot and Colorado can trade him! Minnesota is desperate for middle infielders...but probably smarter than that.