Mile Post 1/6

One of my favorite ways to measure a baseball season is in 6ths. One reason is that it's a significant number of games (27) and divides evenly into the 162 game schedule. Unlike 1/4 which is 40.5 games, 1/3 which is 54 games or halves at 81 games, it essentially breaks the season into full months.

The Rockies passed the 1/6th mark of the 2010 season on Tuesday night, compiling a 13-14 record in the first month of the season. It's their best start at the 1/6th mark since 2006 when they were 15-12. The past 3 seasons, they were 11-16 at 27 games into the season.

The Rockies are currently 3-3 on their California swing and longest Road trip of the first half. After the weekend series in LA, the Rockies will have 7 home 7 away, 6 home, 6 away and 13 of 16 at home. Altogether that's 26 of 42 at home. They are also 4-5 on this 12 game stretch against the West (and 6-6 for the season). They will take another two week break from the West before playing an additional 12 games against their division foes.

You have to like the approach the Rockies took to get runs in San Francisco and San Diego. It started Friday Night with Eric Young and Carlos Gonzalez stealing bases in the 1st inning. It paid off on Sunday, when Jason Giambi stole a base, and Melvin Mora tried to score on a Paul Phillips single to Left, but Spilborghs got cut down on a cutoff. Then on Monday, Helton attempting a bunt, and Tulowitzki following it up with a successful bunt, that put two runners in position to score on a single by Gonzalez.

It doesn't always pay off right now, but that is the kind of adaptive strategy that can win some ballgames over the course of the season that could make the diffence in the standings. It shows that these players are willing to do what it takes to win ball games, and not just try to jack balls out of the park.

Speaking of Home Runs, Ian Stewart's dinger in the 12th inning Wednesday night, was the first of the road trip. Sometimes THAT's good to see also.