With the Avs and Nuggets ousted, it’s finally baseball season in Colorado
May 13, 2019, 12:13 PM
Hey, remember the Rockies? You know, those guys in the purple pinstripes who play baseball down on 20th and Blake; the ones you haven’t paid attention to since April 5, when you were stumbling around Lodo on Opening Day.
Well, now that the Avalanche and Nuggets have both seen their seasons come to an end, both via the gut punch that is a loss in Game 7, it’s time to once again turn our attention to the Rockies. For the time being, there’s no other choice; they’re the only game in town.
As you make the transition, getting up to speed on what’s happened through the first quarter of the season will be the crucial first step. After all, you’ve been distracted by playoff games every single night for the better part of a month; there’s been no time to intently watch the Rockies. So to help you dive back in, here’s a quick recap of what you missed:
>> After starting the season 2-0, Colorado lost 12 of their next 13 games to fall to a dismal 3-12 record early in the season.
>> Since that low point, the Rockies have rebounded, going 16-9 in their last 25 games to improve to 19-21.
>> Currently, Bud Black’s team sits in fourth place in the NL West, 6.5 games behind the division-leading Dodgers; only the Giants are behind them in the standings.
>> Colorado starts on eight-game road trip tomorrow in Boston. After two games against the Red Sox, they’ll play three-game sets in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, before returning home for Memorial Day weekend.
>> After a slow start, Nolan Arenado has found his stride. Thus far, the face of the franchise is hitting .319, with 10 home runs and 29 RBI.
>> Charlie Blackmon is also on fire, coming off of a weekend in which he blast three home runs against the Padres. On the season, Chuck Nasty is hitting .305 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI.
>> David Dahl (.319), Ramiel Tapia (.313) and Trevor Story (.275) have also heated up of late. Dahl and Tapia have made a case to become the everyday starters in the outfield alongside Blackmon, especially considering…
>> Ryan McMahon (.232) Ian Desmond (.214) and Daniel Murphy (.203) are all struggling mightily at the plate. While there’s an option for replacing Desmond, see Tapia’s numbers, the other options at second base (Garrett Hampson is hitting .194) and first base (Mark Reynolds is at .181) aren’t attractive, leaving a couple of big holes in Colorado lineup.
>> Behind the plate, Tony Wolters has seemingly seized the start job. He’s better at the plate, as well as behind it, than Chris Iannetta. It’s time for the 26-year-old catcher to consistently get the nod over the one 10 years his elder.
>> Right now, the Rockies rotation is a bit of a mess. Kyle Freeland (2-5, 5.84 ERA) hasn’t looked like the ace he was developing into last season, while German Marquez (4-2, 3.43) has been hit and miss. Antonio Senzatela (3-2, 5.35) and Jon Gray (3-3, 4.25) have sputtered and stalled on occasion, while the final spot has been a revolving door of Tyler Anderson (0-3, 11.76), Chad Bettis (1-2, 6.17) and Jeff Hoffman (0-1, 7.20), with no one showing any signs of being a reliable option.
>> Wade Davis is still an adventure at the end of games, but he’s gotten the job done most of the time. In addition, Scott Oberg, Bryan Shaw and Carlos Estevez have been steady. But Mike Dunn, D.J. Johnson and Seunghwan Oh have remained gas cans.
That’s it. You’re up to speed. There are still 124 games to play, so it’s definitely still early. So get on board and see where the season takes us.
It’s finally baseball season in Colorado!
