The good news: Ubaldo Jimenez, who was theoretically pitching to keep his spot in the rotation (though given the Rockies' current plague of injuries, I can't imagine who would have taken his place had he thrown badly), struck out nine in six innings and Ian Stewart had the big hit as the Rockies responded to a Padres shutout with a shutout of their own, 3-0.

The bad news: Out of nowhere, Aaron Cook is going on the disabled list, and now the Rockies have a rotation that features Josh Fogg, Elmer Dessens, and Franklin Morales. Ramon Ortiz, acquired yesterday for superfluous minor league infielder Matt Macri, will pitch at least initially in relief. Jimenez went in the course of one start from being a game away getting sent back to the minors to becoming the Rockies' second-best starter. That's good for Ubaldo but very, very bad for Colorado.

Will the Rockies' offense be enough, especially given the paucity of the lineups of their competition in the NL West, to overcome a pitching staff that's mostly baling wire and hobby glue at this point? Having Ryan Spilborghs as the everyday centerfielder will help, as will having Stewart on the bench. After giving Jamey Carroll way more than his fair share of chances to be the principal infield sub Clint Barmes has been recalled to try and add a little more pop to the bench and let's hope he plays soon, if only to spare us from his banal Fox Sports Rocky Mountain "Miked Up" segments.

Rad catch against the fence by Spilborghs in the early innings in center last night. Sometimes when you actually run in the right direction after the ball is hit it doesn't matter if you don't have ludicrous speed. Uh... Willy Taveras missed a cut-off man in his last game, too.

Wow, I hadn't thought of that -- with Taveras on the disabled list, whom will I relentlessly scapegoat for the next few weeks? I guess Clint Hurdle.