Put up or Shut up for the Nuggets

Coming into this series, the Nuggets were supposed to take this one from the Jazz in a hard fought series. After a strong 4th quarter in game one, then the news that center Mehmet Okur would be out for the series for the Jazz, the Nuggets were supposed to take this in five. Now the Nuggets are facing a 3-1 deficit to a team they handled in the regular season without their two star players in Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. Last I checked, the Nuggets have had those guys in the line-up, yet they are still getting owned in this series. What the hell!?!?

One reason the Nuggets are in the hole that they are is cuz the selfish Nuggets are back. Chauncey dominates the ball, J.R. Smith pops the most ridiculous treys, Nene stands arounds the rim and watches let's players drive right past him. These guys seem to not want to win at the expense of their own ego. Melo is showing up and getting his, the rest of the team has to follow suit and do what they did to get them here. Ty Lawson has stepped into the playoff picture nicely, but he is a rookie and we shouldn't expect too much from him, but he's playing likes he been there before while the rest of his teammates look like a bunch of guys wanting to play some one-on-one. I will tell you right now, if the Nuggets play like that tonight, the season is over.

Is defense so hard to play? It must be, because the Nuggets don't play much of it at all. Time after time Deron Williams has driven right to the rim and finished. Carlos Boozer is getting open jumpers eight to ten feet away from the basket and knocking them down. The perimeter guys need to get up on Williams and make him work if he wants to drive to the hole. Get a hand in Boozers face, because I promise you he will miss most of his contested shots. Nene, GET IN THERE AND PROTECT THE HOOP!!!! Dude's 6' 11", 250 and a little guy like Deron Williams is able to breeze past him with ease? No, that can't fly. Nene has probably been the single most disappointing player in these playoffs so far, and the Nuggets can't move on without him stepping up.

The Nuggets really miss George Karl, because this selfish play wouldn't fly with him. Adrian Dantley needs to demand the same respect and make a statement to his players. He never seems to get mad at his players on the sideline. Hey Adrian, you're the coach, you're in charge, act like it! Show these players who's boss and maybe then they will follow you.

It comes down to tonight. The Nuggets can forget about these last three games, because they don't matter anymore. Tonight is all that matters, and that's all they need to focus on. Play the game the right way and win, you live to play another night. Keep up the selfish attitude, then they're in for a long off-season. This is it, time to put up or shut up Nuggets.

Mile High Review 4/27: Rockies win in a blow out

Hey there! The Mile High Review is a segment I am going to try and post everyday that will recap the events in Mile High sports from the previous day. So for the next few months, this is likely to be a Rockies-only thing, but if there's a big story or something I wasn't able to write about then I will post it here. Now let's talk about those Boys on Blake St, shall we?

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona (9-11)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0
Colorado (11-10) «	3	4	4	0	1	0	0	0	x	12	16	1

W: U. Jimenez (5-0) L: E. Jackson (1-2) HR: ARI - None COL - None

This game was over in the first inning. Anytime you give Ubaldo Jimenez a three run lead, the game is basically in the bag. ACEbaldo moved to 5-0 with a 0.97 ERA. Any questions about weather Ubaldo is legit or not should be put to rest. He has surrendered 3 runs in 34 1/3 innings, has a no hitter, is tied for 6th in the NL in strikeouts, what more do the critics need to be convinced this guy is for real? The Rockies finally have their first legitimate Cy Young contender, and I would be shocked if Ubaldo doesn't win at least 18 games this year. Ubaldo has exceeded even my wildest expectations, and we as Rockies fans should feel lucky to have such a special player on our squad.

Edwin Jackson looked liked he was throwing BP out there. The Bullpen wasn't much better. It was good to see the Rockies bats come to life, but it needs to stay that way. The other pitchers in the rotation haven't shown enough to where a few run lead can make you comfortable, so the bats have to clicking, and hopefully last night carries over into solid hitting for the rest of the year.

The Rockies take on Arizona again today at 1:10 for the rubber-match of the series. Greg Smith goes for the Rockies and Arizona counters with Kris Benson. Also in Denver sports, tonight the Nuggets face elimination against the Utah Jazz at the Pepsi Center. It's time for the Nuggets to put their egos aside and play as a team, and it's time for Adrian Dantley to get this team fired up. Go Nuggets and Rockies, and have a great day!

Iannetta demoted to the Sky Sox

Today Chris Iannetta was sent down to AAA Colorado Springs to work out the kinks in his swing. With Miguel Olivo swinging the bat the way he is, Iannetta would likely not see many plate appearances. To replace Iannetta and serve as back-up catcher in Paul Phillips.

Iannetta really needs to do something. A .133 average will not get it done, even if he were to hit 20 homers. Iannetta is an all or nothing guy right now; he either goes deep or strikes out. He has been looked to time and time again to be the catcher of the future, and aside from his decent '08 year, he has never answered that call. With all due respect to Yorvit, when you lose your job as catcher to Yorvit Torrealba, who is a serviceable catcher at best, something is wrong. Something is really wrong when you have a lower average than Miguel Olivo, who has walked a many times as he's homered (100 times each)! Iannetta needs to find some late discipline in the springs, or else he will never find his way back to Denver. I sure hope he is able to do it, cuz I really do like the guy, but with the way he is playing now, he's of no value to the team.

Jorge and Hammel to the DL, but don't panic yet!

So in case you missed it, Jorge De La Rosa is headed to the DL with a torn flexor band in his left middle finger, and Jason Hammel heads to the DL with a strained groin. Up from Colorado springs for Jorge is Jhoulys Chacin and Juan Rincon for some long relief work is up for Hammel, but expect Esmil Rogers up on Sunday to fill Hammels spot in the rotation. They join Brad Hawpe on the DL, and now while the season looks bleak, let's not forget that this is somewhat familiar territory for the Rockies.

Let's go back to 2007, shall we. There were two rotation spots opened in August, with the Rockies on the outside looking in of the wild card race. Colorado would turn to two of their top prospects to fill those shoes; two kids named Ubaldo Jimenez and and Franklin Morales. The two went on to fill in quite admirably and helped propel the club not only to a wild card berth, but a World Series berth. Those two kids have morphed into a top tier starter and a (somewhat) reliable reliever, in case you were wondering. So what am I saying? Am I saying that Jhoulys Chacin and Esmil Rogers are going to have such a great impact that our beloved Rockies are going straight back to the World Series? Or that we are looking at the next Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum? Not quiet. What I am getting at is that this could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Maybe these guys are the missing link to help this team make that jump from good to great. These kids have been raved about in the minors, and we've seen em in brief stints with the big club, but now is their chance to shine, like Jimenez and Morales were able to in the past. Who knows, maybe there time up here will solidify the first three spots in the rotation for years to come. All I know is that nobody should panic. This is there time. They have the talent, let's sit back and see if they can put that talent to use in the big show.

Tim Tebow? Really?

Thanks for reading my first blog post! I know this is a bit belated, but since I just started the blog this is what I wanna talk about. The title sums up my opinion. What was the thinking in this? Most mocks didn't even have Tebow going until the late 2nd round at best. And Josh McDaniels decided to draft him with the 25th pick overall. Keep in mind, this is the same man who traded away the Broncos two best offensive players in Cutler and Marshall. This is the same man who traded away a first round pick for a nickelback in Alphonso Smith, who had little to no impact on the team. Sure he turned Matt Cassel into a superstar, and has worked with Tom Brady, and made Kyle Orton quiet a serviceable QB. But those guys didn't change their mechanics within months of the start of the season. I'm not sure how Tim Tebow will translate because of that fact alone. When you do something one way for your entire life, that's what you are accustomed to, that how you do it. Tebow now has to play his position in an entirely different way at the highest level of play. How is that gunna go over? To me, I think he will struggle mightily and probably never pan out, but I sure hope he is able to prove me wrong.

So what does drafting Tebow mean. Well, it means Kyle Orton is gone after the season. It means that Brady Quinn trade was pointless. You don't take a guy in the first round and not play him, that is just stupid. Tim Tebow will have to play quaterback eventually. That's the trouble with this pick, there is no leeway, Tebow has to play. Even if Orton plays out of his mind this season, the Broncos will not resign him. They can't afford to, not with a first round pick on the bench behind him. Josh McDaniels has no choice but to play Tim Tebow. He will live or die by this decision.

On an interview on 104.3 the Fan with McDaniels, he talked about how the Broncos gave up no picks to draft Tebow but rather used the picks they got trading down to acquire the 25th pick. That's fine and dandy, but I know that I would much rather have all those picks and turn them into impact players at a position of need rather than waste them on a project at a position that doesn't really need attention.

Well that's my take on Tim Tebow now being a Denver Bronco. I sure hope that I am wrong with Tebow and he makes me eat crow. I guess we will just have to wait and see what becomes of Timmy T.