The Rockies continue their season-long trends of not getting on base and leaving runners in place on the rare occasions they do. Yesterday Chris Capuano was the story with eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. Tuesday Jeff Francis had a mediocre start and Colorado had another double-digit number of runners left on base. I mean, what's there to say, really? The offense is awful and the pitching is sporadic to say the least. At least Matt Holliday and Todd Helton are hitting like we expect them to.

Clint Barmes is set to begin a minor-legue rehab assignment. There's really no reason to rush him but as the article mentions no one else in the NL has really distinguished themselves as a Rookie of the Year candidate in his absence. Todd Greene is back in the fold and the Rockies will apparently carry three catchers, at least momentarily. The September roster expansions aren't that far away anyhow and if Colorado's only catching options were J.D. Closser and Wiki Gonzalez, you know Clint Hurdle would find a way to bungle Closser's development. Whatever.

OK, I may be a tad cranky because Cheaty McMustache and his Gang of Orange swept the A's at home. With the abominable Royals coming into town next, this series will be a severe test of the reverse lock theory. Could Oakland possibly lose two of three to the Royals? Boy, I hope not. Elsewhere the White Sox are experiencing their crisis of confidence, right on schedule, and the Phillies moved into a tie for the NL wild card lead. Am I a Phillies believer? Well, at this point, having faith in Philadelphia (and conversely, doubt in Atlanta) has proven to be a sucker's bet. I still think the Astros have the goods, although if anyone gives a scare to the Cardinals in the NL playoffs Tony La Russa is doing something wrong.

The Angels moved two ahead in the AL West as the A's got swept, but they're not feeling terribly confident. The Red Sox, who are starting to regain a bit of their swagger, go into Anaheim tonight. The numbers are looking better for Boston and worse for New York every day. The Cubs looked better than they have in a month in winning a series in Houston. Great, just in time for their trip to Denver. I should have mentioned this earlier, but our old buddy Shawn Chacon got his first win for the Yankees earlier this week. Chacon, who's been throwing well for New York, will start again against the White Sox on Saturday.

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