Kuzul

The A's came back from a four-run first inning and played long ball en route to an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.The longest and largest of the four home runs the A's hit was by Brandon Moss, who hit a third-deck shot estimated at 461 feet in the third inning to give the A's the lead for good. Moss would hit two home runs, and both Brandon Inge and Cliff Pennington also went deep. Seth Smith hit a pair of doubles and drove in two RBI on the night, as well.While Bartolo Colon was not his best, he did settle down after the first inning to keep the Rockies off the board until Todd Helton's solo homer in the fifth inning. By that time, the A's were up 7-4. Colon's line on the night was five runs allowed on nine hits, three walks and four strikeouts in five innings ...

When the Colorado Rockies' Todd Helton dug into the batter’s box on a bright Sunday afternoon, everybody was thinking it, but nobody dared believe it. All 36,690 fans at Coors Field stood in anticipation as their longtime leader stared in the face of a dream situation: bases loaded, late in the ballgame, trailing by four. Oh, and he’s the pinch hitter. Helton immediately established his discipline at the plate by fouling off tough pitches and avoiding balls outside of the zone. And then with one swift swing, the pride of Tennessee baseball launched a ball 403 feet into the raucous crowd in right field. Grand slam. Tie game. Peyton Manning, the newly-acquired quarterback for the Denver Broncos and friend of Helton's, grinned and high-fived fellow fans as Helton rounded the bases for the 351st time. The Rockies dugout erupted as if it was a playoff game. Todd Helton is 38 ...

If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the Rockies were going to be in third place in the NL West with a record of 40-42, 6.5 games behind the first place Giants, I would have called you crazy.The Rockies have a lineup that can strike fear into any pitcher in the league, and they have a rotation that rivals any (save for the Phillies). But after watching the Rockies fail to score many runs and the starting rotation struggle to find continuity, much less wins, it is painfully clear that Rockies fans should count their blessings that winning the NL West is still within reach. The question, though, is what went wrong? Wasn't this team supposed to be the team Rockies fans were waiting for to follow up the 2007 World Series team? Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez both signed long-term, big-money contracts this offseason ...

Colorado Rockies (2010 record: 83-79) Notable additions: RHP Matt Lindstrom, INF Jose Lopez, C Jose Morales, INF/OF Ty Wiggington Notable subtractions: 2B Clint Barmes, RHP Octavio Dotel, SP Jeff Francis, 3B Melvin Mora, C Miguel Olivo The offense: Catcher: Chris IannettaInfield: Todd Helton (1B), Eric Young Jr (2B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS) and Ian Stewart (3B)Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez (LF), Dexter Fowler (CF) and Seth Smith (RF) The Rox finished in third place in the NL West last year, but they could challenge for the division title this year. The key to the Rockies' fate in 2011 is whether they learn to bring their bats to the ballpark when they are on the road, where they were a dismal 31-50 last year (largely because they hit 72 points less in road games). Gonzalez and Tulowitzki are the heart of the Rockies offensive attack. This will be a big year for both players in terms of solidifying themselves ...

The 2011 Colorado Rockies have a lot of potential firepower in their mostly very young lineup.  Jim Tracy has yet to make a final decision on an opening day roster, but in looking at his spring training games so far, piecing a projected lineup together is getting a little easier.The Rockies have a couple of the game's hottest bats right now and this could be a breakout year for them, which in turn could lead to a very good year for the Rockies.  A few questions remain, but let's take a look at what the Rockies lineup might look like on opening day.Begin Slideshow

Baseball has been around for so many years that players are bound to be forgotten eventually. A new breed of talent always seems to find it's way to the surface and players of yesteryear fall by the wayside.It takes a special type of talent to remain in baseball discussions for generation after generation, and an even more special talent to end up in the Hall of Fame.Carlos Ruiz has been an important part of the Philadelphia Phillies since joining the team in 2006. Yet his name falls by the wayside playing alongside superstars like Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay.Ruiz isn't alone however, as there have been many players throughout the history of this great game that haven't gotten their fair share of credit.Begin Slideshow

The New York Mets will be paying Bobby Bonilla until 2035.With no salary cap and a new crop of talented free agents every season, it's no surprise that the MLB is littered with bad contracts.Teams are struggling with payroll flexibility both short and long-term in a tight economy, and these ten guys are big reasons as to why so many argue that there needs to be a cap in place. Begin Slideshow

Eric Byrnes/Miguel Olivo - August 2006  Don Long/Nate McLouth - April 2008 Todd Helton/Susan Rhodes - April 2008 Miguel Olivo/Brian O' Nora - June 2008 Mike Napoli/Brad Ziegler - August 2010 Welington Castillo/Tyler Colvin - September 2010 The names and dates above link to six separate, highly publicized incidents in which broken or shattered maple bats have hit and or injured persons at an MLB game, both those on the playing field and off it.  In the most recent case, Colvin, a Chicago Cubs rookie playing in his first full season, was struck in the chest by the sharp end of Castillo's bat and ended up with a wound that will prevent him from playing in any further action this year.  The injuries sustained by Long, O'Nora (pictured) and Rhodes were considerably more horrifying than Colvin's, but in spite of maple's ...

As the calendar turns to September, baseball races are really starting to heat up. The NL Wild Card has a few possible candidates: the Phillies lead the Giants by two games and are 5.5 up on the fading Cardinals. The Rockies find themselves 6.5 games out of the Wild Card lead after a seemingly season-killing, eight-game losing streak at the end of July. They are still 7.5 games out of the NL West, despite the Padres' continued slide. Yesterday's gut-wrenching, 12-11 loss to the Phillies really hurts. Like, soap in both eyes hurt. But with 29 games to play, the Rockies will still be a player down the stretch run. The Rockies have been able to tread water with injuries to Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Jorge De La Rosa, Manuel Corpas and Huston Street. They have a Pirate-like road record of 26-42. The offense tends to go into hibernation outside ...

With only a few more months to go before a champion is crowned, the 2010 season is winding down. As always, there are those players who have outplayed their current contract and those players who haven't lived up to the millions of dollars that they are being paid. Problems with age, injuries, and plain-old ineffectiveness are some reasons why these players made the list. It may not be fair to pick on someone who has battled injuries, but the club still has to pay the salary regardless if they are hurt or not.  This list is in no particular order, so I will let you guys debate who belongs where.Begin Slideshow