Ubaldo Jimenez = Goose Eggs

Ubaldo Jimenez is on fire. He simply can't lose. If you translate his name, does it by chance mean lights out? Or maybe zeroes? Ah, I got it. Goose eggs.

Beginning with his no-hitter, the first in Rockies history, and continuing into Tuesday night's 12-1 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jimenez has now tossed 22 1/3 consecutive shutout innings, while running his record to an overly impressive 5-0 and lowering his ERA to a measly 0.79. He's the real deal, and certainly an early Cy Young candidate in a division where the likes of Tim Lincecum or Dan Haren might usually receive that honor.

The rest of the Rockies' roster, however, is riddled with injuries, especially on the pitching end. Jorge de la Rosa and Jason Hammel are now on the DL, and Jeff Francis along with Huston Street have been there for a while. It seems Jimenez is single-handedly keeping the Rockies in the division race.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are officially in last place after dropping both games of a doubleheader to the Mets today. Johan Santana dominated in the first game; he definitely seems to be returning to form. Hiroki Kuroda pitched well, but was just outdueled. I still maintain that he's the ace of the staff, given the start that he's off to. On the other end of the spectrum, Charlie Haeger just isn't working out. In Milwaukee, Randy Wolf went eight strong innings for the Brewers today before their bullpen blew the game in the 9th...I'm just saying.

But back to Jimenez...as of right now, he might as well be considered baseball's best pitcher. He's got the most wins in the league, the second-lowest ERA in the league, and of course, he's got his streak. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, because Jimenez was great at the end of last year as well. You think he's carried that momentum over to this season? Just go feel his goose eggs. I know Atlanta felt them - nine of them. Washington felt them for sure. Arizona was all over them tonight. Next in line: San Diego, in Petco, a pitcher's park. A near guarantee the streak will continue. Have fun, Adrian Gonzalez, trying to add to your already impressive home run total. I'd fake an injury just so I didn't have to face this guy.