Photo courtesy Matt York - Associated Press

I will admit right up front that I am biased, but I don’t think there has been any question who the best pitcher in Major League Baseball has been this season.  I am aware that C.C. Sabathia has posted more wins, Adam Wainwright has a better ERA, and two other pitchers have duplicated Jimenez’ feat of a no hitter while yet two others exceeded it with a perfect game this season, but Jimenez has done something no one thought would ever be possible.  He has managed to be a true, legitimate staff ace while pitching at altitude and in the bandbox of Coors Field.  Even with the humidor, people still discount the numbers of Rockies’ hitters on account of Coors Field.  While I think this is absurd given that there are numerous ballparks that generate more offense than Coors, I will turn the national pundits’ argument back on themselves and say that pitching numbers in Denver should be rewarded when they are even remotely good.  In the case of Ubaldo Jimenez, his numbers should be labeled as absolutely spectacular.

To say that Ubaldo Jimenez is the best pitcher in Rockies history is like saying Manute Bol would be the tallest person at his high school reunion. No disrespect intended to Jeff Francis or the likes of Pedro Astacio, but Jimenez is so clearly the best pitcher to wear a Rockies uniform that no one else is even worthy of being in the discussion.  Today Jimenez posted a franchise best 18th victory of the season.  He still has roughly five starts remaining this season to try and notch 20 wins.  He would already be there if not for awful run support in several losses this season (Jimenez has been on the wrong end of a 2-0 loss to the Dodgers, a 1-0 loss to the Mets, and a 2-1 loss to the Giants).  Over a two month stretch during April and May, Jimenez was as dominant as pitcher in the history of the game.  At the end of May, Jimenez posted a 0.78 ERA and a 10-1 record.  Jimenez had given up just seven runs over his first 11 starts.  Sure the Rockies were 27-24 after two months, but take out the games Jimenez started, and they were just 16-23 in the other games.  It’s safe to say that he was carrying the club on his back.

In many ways he still is.  It seems as though every time Jimenez takes the mound, he is doing so the day after a Rockies’ loss.  Given the lack of run support he has often been saddled with, he has had to win games by himself much of the time.  It seems ironic today then, that Jimenez picked up a win on a day when he wasn’t his best.  It should say something that I say he wasn’t at his best when he struck out eight hitters on a first place Reds team over six innings.  The bottom line with Jimenez is that even when he is “not at his best” he is still usually better than whoever is starting for the other team that day.  When he is at his best, he is virtually unhittable.

I am always the eternal optimist, and as such when I look at the standings and see that the Rockies find themselves just four and a half games out of the playoffs in spite of a topsy turvy season, I think they can make up that deficit.  Ubaldo Jimenez is a big reason, because I know the Rockies have a legitimate shot to win no matter what lineup he is facing.  If the Rockies can manage to sneak into the playoffs, Jimenez is exactly the type of staff ace that can swing a short playoff series in a hurry.  He could be to opponents what Cliff Lee was to the Rockies in the division series last year.  I know the national media with their east coast bias will probably give the Cy Young to Wainwright or Josh Johnson or someone that’s on national tv every week, but it would be a real crime not to give it to Jimenez.  Something tells me if he pitched for the Mets he would be a lock.