Post-Game Thread: Rockies Get AT&T'd

Coors Field is an objectively horrible place. One of the most horrible places on Earth. The best part of the baseball that's played there is the guy in the dinosaur costume. I mean, I think it's a guy. It's not like I've had dreams where the mask comes off, and it's a redhead with a shameless smile and … look, point is, Coors Field is the worst place ever built. All of the creepy paintings and symbols at the Denver Airport are just letting you know that you're close to Coors Field.

But that's how Rockies fans feel about AT&T Park. For the last couple of decades, the Giants and Rockies have had an agreement to play the most frustrating ball possible when they're on the road. It's kind of special, actually. When the Giants go to Coors, there are doinks that fall into the 40-acre outfield, pop-ups that go 430 feet, and Troy Tulowitzki. Always Troy Tulowitzki. Unless it's Carlos Gonzalez. Or anyone else. They're all pretty annoying at Coors Field.

And at AT&T, the Rockies are supposed to use tubes of wrapping paper instead of bats when they hit. In the 19 games since the start of 2010, the Rockies have scored 35 runs. Fewer than two per game. And every game seems to be like this one. Tight. Low-scoring. Up in the air in the late innings. And more often than not, something happens that benefits the Giants and screws the Rockies. It helps me believe in a balanced, orderly universe.

Of course, this just sets up a Coorsing to be named later. In the third inning, with the bases loaded, Michael Cuddyer skied a ball to deep left-center. Harmless out. It would have been 19 rows up at Coors. The baseball gods have an intern keeping track of stuff like that. There will be a time where two walks and a double set up the 15-run inning at Coors.

Like I care about that now. Hee hee. It's funny when it isn't us!

Instinctively, you know that the difference between gritty and disappointing is a Cuddyer grounder through the 5-6 hole. Ryan Vogelsong gets credit for pitching gritty and gutty and gurgly, but he isn't always going to get out of so many self-inflicted jams.

Still, it's so much fun to watch him pitch. That's the difference between a Zito five-walk game (or a Lincecum one, for that matter) and a Vogelsong five-walk game. The Zito five-walk game is part extra-careful and part don't-know-where-it's-going. The Lincecum five-walk game is pure don't-know-where-it's-going. Vogelsong is just being stubborn, and I mean that in the best way possible. He wasn't going to throw a meatball when he could just face the next guy and get a fly ball.

That'll burn him some nights. It didn't happen too often last year, though. And it wasn't a concern tonight. A reminder that he was a Giants prospect when the team played at Candlestick. It's been a full year now, and I'm sure I still don't believe it.

After an especially superlative Romo performance, he should be celebrated in the form of moving pictures.

For a smooth, calm, controlled outing, he'll get Suave Romo.

When he strikes out the side, he'll get Deputy Marshall Romo.

But for a game where he has to reverse the rotation of the Earth and/or slider to clean up someone else's mess, give me Super Romo.

So much love for a middle reliever, it hurts. But it would be remiss to ignore Santiago Casilla, too. When he needed a strikeout after an error, he threw three perfect pitches to Dexter Fowler. I don't mind the idea of keeping a fan-favorite closer around at a premium through his arbitration years out of a sense of loyalty and continuity, but I hope the success of Casilla (and the previous success of the unproven Wilson) will forever bury the organizational philosophy that led to an expensive Armando Benitez.

In 2010, Andres Torres came off the scrap heap and played like a non-dick Shane Victorino. In 2011, Ryan Vogelsong came back from baseball purgatory to get a stray Cy Young vote. That means the Giants are probably due for a fluke performance from an unexpected source. It's only fair. So, yeah, I can dig a four-win year from Gregor Blanco. Don't see a problem with that.

They said that the New Blanco had some pop. His career ISO: .067. His ISO so far in 2012: .077. The early returns suggested he was Reggie Willits with better defense. I'm pretty sure that Willits hasn't hit two balls in his career that added up to that home run from Blanco. More of that, please.

Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Kemp go down on the same day. Pablo Sandoval is already out. Justin Upton should probably lay low for a bit. And the Padres should be careful with … hell, I don't know … Will Venable. Get out of here, Padres. I was making a point.