Fun Facts About Colorado:

1) Great Beer: Coors Original was my favorite beer back in college when I didn’t mind treating my body like a dumpster. Now that I treat my body like a temple, I’m exclusively a light beer man. Yup. Light beer and hard alcohol for me. But to this day, nothing matches the smooth, natural Rocky mountain flavor that the scientists at Coors are able to infuse into each and every sip. And no beer on the market guarantees you’ll spend more time in the bathroom the next day.

2) Great Schools: Remember when Mike Hampton spurned the 2000 Mets to take that 122 million dollar contract with the Colorado Rockies? I guess it worked out for the Mets because his career unraveled with injuries. But his “I’m going there for the public schools” excuse is still one of the best all time things a player said instead of “I’m taking the money”. I kind of don’t understand why players feel the need to make excuses for taking the paycheck. Does it really say something about a person’s character? I feel like everyone takes the money always. We spend all day playing the mega millions lottery in the hopes of winning the money. Who in their right mind would feel ashamed for earning the lottery ticket and cashing it in?

3) Great Secret Knee Surgeons: My favorite Colorado story was in 2010 when Carlos Beltran secretly fled the Hospital For Special Surgery/head trainer Ray Ramirez and went to some surgeon in Colorado to get his knee surgery performed. He spent so much time on Ray Ramirez’s DL between 2009 and 2010 that he finally said “screw this” and took matters into his own hands. I have no idea what that Colorado doctor did to his knee (robot knee? stem cell injections? blood magic?) but he came back and put together fantastic seasons from 2011-2013. Of course two of those fantastic years were with the Cardinals. But at least we got Zack Wheeler for him!

Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Matt Harvey vs. Jon Gray

Jon Gray is a top young pitching talent (3rd pick in the 2013 draft) and he’s been sentenced to Coors Field. His first two starts of the season he got rocked at home and then his last two starts he’s been stellar on the road. He faced the Mets twice last season. He pitched once at Citi and once at Coors. Guess how he fared. He pitched great in New York and he got crushed at Coors. He gave up 7 runs in 1.2 innings at Coors including the Yoenis Cespedes grand slam. That was the Cespedes three home run game.

Coors Field is such a pitchers graveyard. In his one 2015 start against Colorado he pitched 8 scoreless innings at Citi Field. After Matt Harvey took a big step forward last time out on the mound, tonight’s game in Colorado is the worst possible follow up. I’m sure he won’t get blown out and spiral right back into a pit of pitching despair.

Game 2: Logan Verrett vs. Eddie Butler

Eddie Butler is another first round pick pitching talent. He’s made two starts this year and his last one against the Giants he went six scoreless innings. The Mets crushed him in New York last season where he went four innings and gave up 6 runs. Curtis Granderson hit a home run off of him last season.

Logan Verrett has filled in nicely for deGrom this season in spot starts and out of the pen. The Mets are asking a lot from him in this Colorado spot start. I just hope this one skipped turn in the rotation heals Steven Matz‘s elbow.

Game 3: Jacob deGrom vs. Tyler Chatwood

Tyler Chatwood is off to a nice start with a 4-3 record and a 3.09 ERA. He got hit around last time out against the D-Backs in Colorado going 6 innings and giving up 6 runs. Chatwood missed all of last season with TJ surgery (his second time) and has looked good so far in his return. The Mets have limited experience against him but Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson both have a home run against him.

Despite the early velocity talk, deGrom is off to a great start this season. He’s 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA. In his one 2015 start against Colorado deGrom pitched 7 scoreless innings at Citi Field with 10 Ks.

Things To Look For:

Rockies So Far: The Rockies are actually competing in the West so far, but it’s really early. Plenty of time for them to tumble out of the race. They are 5-10 at home and have lost 6 of their last 10. They lost 2 out of 3 to the Padres, split a 4 game set with the Giants, and then dropped 2 of 3 to the D-Backs. Let’s hope the Mets can keep them tumbling.

Runs For Your Life: The Rockies are doing their annual Coors Field dance. They are fourth in the league in runs scored and fifth in OPS (number two in OPS at home). But…we’ve hit more dingers! We’ve hit more dingers than everyone. Hooray. I have to believe the balls will be flying out of Coors this weekend like they always do.

Hot Rockies: Nolan Arenado is hitting .321 with 13 home runs, free agent acquisition Gerardo Parra is hitting .309. Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .304, but he only has 4 home runs so he’s not quite on that 2015 season 40 home run pace.

Story Not Over: Rookie shortstop Trevor Story got off to a scorching start and has 11 home runs. The ridiculous power numbers from the first few weeks have diminished but he’s still hitting .303 in his last 7 games.

No Reyes: We won’t see Jose Reyes. His domestic violence suspension is coming soon. He’s supposedly going to get 60 games and the time he’s missed so far this season will count towards the 60 game sentence. He’s a garbage person. Jenrry Mejia should save a black cloak for him at the Wall with the rest of baseball’s grimiest people. Here’s a picture of him with Ruben Tejada from a time before we knew he was garbage.

Imagine Murph: I wish Daniel Murphy somehow signed in Colorado instead of Washington. Can you imagine Murph in that thin air? Would he hit .500?