(sorry. Couldn’t resist.)
From the Denver Post’s Troy Renck :
With rolled eyes and shaking heads, Rockies pitchers found complaints about the humidor humorless.
After two games, the Diamondbacks and Rockies combined for 11 runs and no home runs, prompting grousing from Arizona players, who cited a handful of hits they believed would have gone out had the balls not been stored in the Coors Field humidor.
Jason Jennings, who allowed one run in seven innings on opening day, said those griping are misguided.
“It’s funny because it’s so stupid,” Jennings said. “It’s not cheating. It’s a way of giving us a fighting chance on the mound. There is still 10,000 square feet to cover in the outfield. Just because the ball doesn’t fly 500 feet doesn’t mean teams can’t score runs here.”
Among those speaking out against the humidor, hatched in 2002, Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez was the most vocal. He doesn’t think the Rockies are circumventing the rules, just that the practice is not right.
“Is that real baseball if they put them in there? What if we did it?” said Gonzalez, who watched Chad Tracy end the series’ 160 at-bat homerless drought with a second-inning home run. “There should still be the human element.”
And of course, anyone who has followed Gonzo’s recent career trajectory knows all about the human element. Surely he’s not saying he needs all the help he can get.