It was bound to happen. Multiple injuries to the pitching staff. After the incredible string of successive starts last year from mid-April when Franklin Morales went down, to late August, when Aaron Cook went down for a month, the Rockies starting staff had been pretty reliable.
In 2010, Jeff Francis, who was out all last year, went down after his last start of Spring Training, and for the first month of the year including tonight, the Rotation has gone, Jimenez, Smith, Cook, De la Rosa, Hammel. The last two are now on the Disabled list and Smith got annihilated on Wednesday, before the Rockies came back, and subsequently the bullpen ultimately blew the game.
Tomorrow, a guest starter will be in the lineup--expected to be Esmil Rogers, and Jhoulys Chacin will take the hill on Sunday against the Giants.
Let's go back to Smith. Smith pitched the first game of the DH on Saturday, and pitched Wednesday on only 3 days rest. Whether that had something to do with it, we will see on Tuesday in San Diego.
I'm not going to sugar coat it, the Pitching has been a problem all year. With the exception of Jimenez who is a strong candidate for Pitcher of the Month at 5-0, none of the starters have really been consistent. Cook showed signs of his former brilliance last Saturday in the nightcap, when his sinkerball was finally working. If he follows that up tonight with a good outing, then that for now, will alleviate one of the problems. The big question will be when does de la Rosa return? If it's only a couple weeks that he's down, then the Rockies can probably weather this storm, but if it's a month or longer, a trade may be necessary for a veteran starter, because the Rockies can't afford to be patient with their young pitchers, like they have the past few years. Chacin, Rogers, or Smith will have to either come through and then Francis and Hammel will have to come back from the DL strong.
You could see the change coming--Miguel Olivo has been tremendous in the early going while Chris Iannetta was mightily struggling in his starts. Iannetta was sent down on Monday to get more AB's while the Rockies continue to ride Olivo's back, both offensively and defensively. I expect Iannetta to be back--the Rockies have invested too much in him to be done with him--but for now, Olivo is an exciting player to watch.
With a win tonight the Rockies will have their first winning April since 2006 when they were 15-10. Even with a loss it will be their best April since then. They have been 10-16, 11-17, and 8-12 over the past 3 years.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Week in Review April 19-25
In Week 3, the Rockies posted their first winning week, winning the last 3 out of 4 games to go 4-3 for the week. Only the Padres at 5-1 had a better week in the West. Arizona finished 3-3, the Giants and Dodgers both went 2-4.
Results:
4/19 Rockies 2 NATIONALS 5
4/20 ROCKIES 10 Nationals 4
4/21 Rockies 4 NATIONALS 6
4/22 ROCKIES 2 Nationals 0
4/23 Marlins @ Rockies Ppd.
4/24 MARLINS 4 ROCKIES 1 (Game 1)
4/24 Marlins 1 Rockies 8 (Game 2)
4/25 Marlins 4 ROCKIES 8
This Week:
4/26 D-Backs at Rockies 6:40 PM
4/27 D-Backs at Rockies 6:40 PM
4/28 D-Backs at Rockies 1:10 PM
4/30 Rockies at Giants 8:15 PM
5/1 Rockies at Giants 2:05 PM
5/2 Rockies at Giants 2:05 PM
The Rockies head into the next two weeks playing all 4 of their NL West Opponents.
***************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Troy Tulowitzki got untracked this week in a big way, getting his first HR of the season. Altogether he batted .392 and drove in 4 runs.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: What's with all the Saturday Night Gems? This week it was Aaron Cook working his sinkerball pretty well, and had his 10th complete game of his career on Saturday Night. He also became the winningest Rockies pitcher at Coors Field recording his 32nd win. Most importantly, it was Cookies first win of the season.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Rockies pitchers are 11 for 40 for a .275 batting average and have knocked in 6 runs. The Rockies starters have had multi hit games 3 times so far (Aaron Cook twice and Jorge De La Rosa once.) For the week the pitchers wer e 6 for 16 .375 with 3 RBI and 3 Runs Scored.
Results:
4/19 Rockies 2 NATIONALS 5
4/20 ROCKIES 10 Nationals 4
4/21 Rockies 4 NATIONALS 6
4/22 ROCKIES 2 Nationals 0
4/23 Marlins @ Rockies Ppd.
4/24 MARLINS 4 ROCKIES 1 (Game 1)
4/24 Marlins 1 Rockies 8 (Game 2)
4/25 Marlins 4 ROCKIES 8
This Week:
4/26 D-Backs at Rockies 6:40 PM
4/27 D-Backs at Rockies 6:40 PM
4/28 D-Backs at Rockies 1:10 PM
4/30 Rockies at Giants 8:15 PM
5/1 Rockies at Giants 2:05 PM
5/2 Rockies at Giants 2:05 PM
The Rockies head into the next two weeks playing all 4 of their NL West Opponents.
***************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Troy Tulowitzki got untracked this week in a big way, getting his first HR of the season. Altogether he batted .392 and drove in 4 runs.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: What's with all the Saturday Night Gems? This week it was Aaron Cook working his sinkerball pretty well, and had his 10th complete game of his career on Saturday Night. He also became the winningest Rockies pitcher at Coors Field recording his 32nd win. Most importantly, it was Cookies first win of the season.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Rockies pitchers are 11 for 40 for a .275 batting average and have knocked in 6 runs. The Rockies starters have had multi hit games 3 times so far (Aaron Cook twice and Jorge De La Rosa once.) For the week the pitchers wer e 6 for 16 .375 with 3 RBI and 3 Runs Scored.
Some Good Signs in the Split
The Rockies dropped the opener today 4-1 but salvaged the nightcap 8-1 behind a complete game by Aaron Cook.
Some Random thoughts:
Aaron Cook finally had his sinkerball working in his 4th start of the season. One game is not a trend, but with a veteran like Cook, who has really been struggling since late last July, it was a good performance to watch.
It seems to me in the early going that Troy Tulowitzki has been trying to do to much at the plate and today, he finally looked like he was in a groove to actually contribute. He had two singles in the first game and scored the only Rockies run. He followed that up with 2 more hits tonight, including a 2 run double, and scored Cook on a Double Play ball in the 8th. It seems like every year, we need to wait for Tulo to stay within himself. Hopefully, this is the point this year that he realizes it.
Dexter Fowler has to be happy with his game tonight. 3 for 3 with two walks and a Steal. It was surprising to see all the speculation on the National level about Dexter being sent down to the minors. He may lose some playing time if Seth or Ryan were to start getting hot, but Dexter now has hits in his last 4 starts, so he may be heating up as well.
Carlos Gonzalez broke an 0-13 string with a base hit late in tonight's game.
I continue to be impressed with Miguel Olivo. He continues to throw out runners, and hit Homers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get more starts than Iannetta, until Iannetta starts breaking loose.
Greg Smith has had some so-so performances, but you have to keep in mind that he's coming back from an injury that kept him out most of last year, and although he's in the #2 starter spot by happenstance when Francis went down, he is in actuality the team's 5th Starter. His last two starts have not been great, but he avoided getting the team into a deep hole in both of them. Whatever experience he can get out of this will be good for his and the Rockies future. He doesn't have overpowering stuff like Jimenez or De La Rosa, but he is reacting well when he gets in trouble.
Some Random thoughts:
Aaron Cook finally had his sinkerball working in his 4th start of the season. One game is not a trend, but with a veteran like Cook, who has really been struggling since late last July, it was a good performance to watch.
It seems to me in the early going that Troy Tulowitzki has been trying to do to much at the plate and today, he finally looked like he was in a groove to actually contribute. He had two singles in the first game and scored the only Rockies run. He followed that up with 2 more hits tonight, including a 2 run double, and scored Cook on a Double Play ball in the 8th. It seems like every year, we need to wait for Tulo to stay within himself. Hopefully, this is the point this year that he realizes it.
Dexter Fowler has to be happy with his game tonight. 3 for 3 with two walks and a Steal. It was surprising to see all the speculation on the National level about Dexter being sent down to the minors. He may lose some playing time if Seth or Ryan were to start getting hot, but Dexter now has hits in his last 4 starts, so he may be heating up as well.
Carlos Gonzalez broke an 0-13 string with a base hit late in tonight's game.
I continue to be impressed with Miguel Olivo. He continues to throw out runners, and hit Homers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get more starts than Iannetta, until Iannetta starts breaking loose.
Greg Smith has had some so-so performances, but you have to keep in mind that he's coming back from an injury that kept him out most of last year, and although he's in the #2 starter spot by happenstance when Francis went down, he is in actuality the team's 5th Starter. His last two starts have not been great, but he avoided getting the team into a deep hole in both of them. Whatever experience he can get out of this will be good for his and the Rockies future. He doesn't have overpowering stuff like Jimenez or De La Rosa, but he is reacting well when he gets in trouble.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
An Argument for Parity?
Going into today's games, 10 of the 16 National League Teams are within 2 games of .500. The Exceptions are Philadelphia, San Diego and St. Louis at 10-6 on the plus side, and Houston at 6-10, Chicago and Cincinnati at 7-10 on the down side. Still everyone at +-4 after nearly 3 weeks looks pretty competitive so far.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Rain/Snow Out
The Rockies and Marlins had to postpone their game tonight at Coors field due to the bad weather. The most interesting fact of this postponement is that it is the first game in the 2010 MLB season--ANYWHERE--that has been postponed, nearly 3 weeks into the season. Most seasons have many weather issues in various places in the first few weeks.
Tomorrow's Doubleheader is a single-gate event starting at 3:10 Saturday Afternoon. Sunday's game has been moved to 3:10 also as a memorial service honoring Keli McGregor will be held at 11 AM.
Tomorrow's Doubleheader is a single-gate event starting at 3:10 Saturday Afternoon. Sunday's game has been moved to 3:10 also as a memorial service honoring Keli McGregor will be held at 11 AM.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Early Road Trip
It certainly could have gone better, but it could also be worse. For instance last year the Rockies first multi-city trip resulted in a 2-8 record and put the Rockies in an early hole, already trailing the first place Dodgers by 4.5 games, and were going to get a lot worse before it got better.
So this trip's 3-4 record and overall 8-8 record only leaves the Rockies 1.5 games behind the first place San Diego Padres--off to a surprising 9-6 start despite 12 of their first 15 games being against division opponents.
The Rockies experienced some very big highs and lows on the trip, an Ubaldo Jimenez No-hitter, the death of Team President Keli McGregor. There was also the heart-wrenching loss on Sunday, the too many errors, as well as frequent walks by the pitching.
But the ups and downs come with the territory of being a contender, and the kinks will pop up from time to time. The importance of this coming home stand finishes a stretch with the East, before one series with each of the four NL West opponents. This is an opportunity to make a mark on the division, before embarking on another 2 week stretch out of the division. Last year by May 7th they had already played 22 of their 72 NL West games. This year they will only play 15 in that span. It's imperative that the Rockies improve on their 9-13 start with the West from last year.
An 8-8 start for the Rockies is not a hole. Check back on May 9th to see if kinks are out yet in the second 10% of the season.
So this trip's 3-4 record and overall 8-8 record only leaves the Rockies 1.5 games behind the first place San Diego Padres--off to a surprising 9-6 start despite 12 of their first 15 games being against division opponents.
The Rockies experienced some very big highs and lows on the trip, an Ubaldo Jimenez No-hitter, the death of Team President Keli McGregor. There was also the heart-wrenching loss on Sunday, the too many errors, as well as frequent walks by the pitching.
But the ups and downs come with the territory of being a contender, and the kinks will pop up from time to time. The importance of this coming home stand finishes a stretch with the East, before one series with each of the four NL West opponents. This is an opportunity to make a mark on the division, before embarking on another 2 week stretch out of the division. Last year by May 7th they had already played 22 of their 72 NL West games. This year they will only play 15 in that span. It's imperative that the Rockies improve on their 9-13 start with the West from last year.
An 8-8 start for the Rockies is not a hole. Check back on May 9th to see if kinks are out yet in the second 10% of the season.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Ubaldo Jimenez No-Hits the Braves
Ubaldo Jimenez became the first Rockies Pitcher in history to throw a no-hitter, as the Rockies broke a 2-game hitting streak and shutting out the Braves 4-0 Saturday Night. Ubaldo also knocked in a run and scored. Dexter Fowler saved the no-hitter with a spectacular catch on a Troy Glaus fly ball. Ubaldo walked 6 in the first 5 innings, but went to the stretch to mow down the final 15 hitters. He pitched a career high 128 pitches in only his 3rd start of the season and is now 3-0.
Stay Steady
Being a Rockies fan, the hardest part about the beginning of the season is that it' easy to get too excited when they win and too negative when they lose. The Rockies have dug themselves into big holes early in the season many times. In fact in the last 3 years they have always been 18-27 after 46 games.
There are problems right now all over the board. De La Rosa followed a superb start last Friday with a clunky one on Thursday. Hammel had one of the worst starts for anyone over the past year. The Rockies have committed 9 errors including 3 in Wednesdays win. The timely hitting for the most part hasn't been there.
The team however is currently 5-5, and the key is not to get too buried. Two duds of games in a row is never good, but the Rockies just don't seem to do well against Lowe. Getting in an 8-0 hole in the 2nd wasn't good, but the Rockies continued to play. Will that carry over into the rest of the road trip?
If we know Jim Tracy at all, we know that the answer is no. He will rally them to focus only on tonight's game and after that, he will get them to look at tomorrow's game.
The fans should do the same.
There are problems right now all over the board. De La Rosa followed a superb start last Friday with a clunky one on Thursday. Hammel had one of the worst starts for anyone over the past year. The Rockies have committed 9 errors including 3 in Wednesdays win. The timely hitting for the most part hasn't been there.
The team however is currently 5-5, and the key is not to get too buried. Two duds of games in a row is never good, but the Rockies just don't seem to do well against Lowe. Getting in an 8-0 hole in the 2nd wasn't good, but the Rockies continued to play. Will that carry over into the rest of the road trip?
If we know Jim Tracy at all, we know that the answer is no. He will rally them to focus only on tonight's game and after that, he will get them to look at tomorrow's game.
The fans should do the same.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Week in Review April 12-18
For the second straight week the Rockies went 3-3, winning at home 2-1 and losing on the road 1-2. The 6-6 record is good enough to tie for 2nd behind the Giants, who also went 3-3 this week. The Padres and Dodgers were 4-2, while Arizona went 1-5 and fell from 2nd to last place.
Results:
April 18 L Rockies 3 BRAVES 4
April 17 W ROCKIES 4 Braves 0 (U. Jimenez No-Hitter)
April 16 L Rockies 5 BRAVES 9
April 15 L METS 5 Rockies 0
April 14 W Mets 5 ROCKIES 6 10 innings
April 13 W Mets 3 ROCKIES 11
Next Games:
April 19 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 20 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 21 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 22 @ Washington 2:35 PM MDT
April 23 Marlins 7:10 PM
April 24 Marlins 6:10 PM
April 25 Marlins 1:10 PM
*******************************************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nobody had a spectacular week but Brad Hawpe went 5 for 9 and drove in 3 for the week, batting .556.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Who else but Ubaldo Jimenez who threw the Rockies first no-hitter ever, even though he walked 6 early, he was dominant over the final 5 innings striking out 7 total.
Results:
April 18 L Rockies 3 BRAVES 4
April 17 W ROCKIES 4 Braves 0 (U. Jimenez No-Hitter)
April 16 L Rockies 5 BRAVES 9
April 15 L METS 5 Rockies 0
April 14 W Mets 5 ROCKIES 6 10 innings
April 13 W Mets 3 ROCKIES 11
Next Games:
April 19 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 20 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 21 @ Washington 5:05 PM MDT
April 22 @ Washington 2:35 PM MDT
April 23 Marlins 7:10 PM
April 24 Marlins 6:10 PM
April 25 Marlins 1:10 PM
*******************************************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nobody had a spectacular week but Brad Hawpe went 5 for 9 and drove in 3 for the week, batting .556.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Who else but Ubaldo Jimenez who threw the Rockies first no-hitter ever, even though he walked 6 early, he was dominant over the final 5 innings striking out 7 total.
Week in Review April 5-11
One week is in the book, and the Rockies came out of the gates with a .500 winning pct at 3-3. That was good enough for 3rd place in the NL West as the Giants went 5-1, and Arizona 4-2 behind the Rockies were the Dodgers and Padres at 2-4.
Results:
4/5 ROCKIES 5 Brewers 3
4/6 Brewers 7 ROCKIES 5
4/7 Brewers 5 ROCKIES 4
4/9 ROCKIES 7 Padres 0
4/10 Padres 5 ROCKIES 4 14 Innings
4/11 ROCKIES 4 Cardinals 2
This Week's Schedule:
4/13 NY Mets at Rockies
4/14 NY Mets at Rockies
4/15 NY Mets at Rockies
4/16 Rockies at Atlanta
4/17 Rockies at Atlanta
4/18 Rockies at Atlanta
**********************************************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
The Rockies' new catcher, Miguel Olivo only played in 3 games, but he showed why the Rockies were high on him in replacing the popular Yorvit Torrealba. Miguel hit 2 Home Runs one of which took Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s glove over the wall with it, drove in 3 and had a .455 average in his Rockies Debut week. Defensively, he had 4 assists including throwing out two runners stealing.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Although Ubaldo Jimenez won two games in the first week, this week's honor goes to Jorge De La Rosa who pitched a Home Opener classic on Friday as he led the Rockies to a 7-0 win. "George" gave up 1 Hit 9 K's Walked 1 and Hit one batter.
Results:
4/5 ROCKIES 5 Brewers 3
4/6 Brewers 7 ROCKIES 5
4/7 Brewers 5 ROCKIES 4
4/9 ROCKIES 7 Padres 0
4/10 Padres 5 ROCKIES 4 14 Innings
4/11 ROCKIES 4 Cardinals 2
This Week's Schedule:
4/13 NY Mets at Rockies
4/14 NY Mets at Rockies
4/15 NY Mets at Rockies
4/16 Rockies at Atlanta
4/17 Rockies at Atlanta
4/18 Rockies at Atlanta
**********************************************************************
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
The Rockies' new catcher, Miguel Olivo only played in 3 games, but he showed why the Rockies were high on him in replacing the popular Yorvit Torrealba. Miguel hit 2 Home Runs one of which took Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s glove over the wall with it, drove in 3 and had a .455 average in his Rockies Debut week. Defensively, he had 4 assists including throwing out two runners stealing.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Although Ubaldo Jimenez won two games in the first week, this week's honor goes to Jorge De La Rosa who pitched a Home Opener classic on Friday as he led the Rockies to a 7-0 win. "George" gave up 1 Hit 9 K's Walked 1 and Hit one batter.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The First Series
The first series of the year always comes with great anticipation, and it's easy to get too caught up in the result of that series. In 2010, the Rockies won opening day, but then dropped the next two. In 2009, the Rockies lost the first game, but won the next two.
In any three game series, you can hope for a sweep, but most of all you hope to avoid a sweep. The first series of the year always matches up the #1 pitchers on both teams in the opener, usually followed by the #2's and #3's. The Rockies got a great start out of Jimenez on Monday, and then got a little stuck putting out there #5 pitcher because of Francis going on the DL. By all rights, De La Rosa would be the #2 pitcher, but Jim Tracy wanted him to be the pitcher at the home opener. Smith held his own, but the Rockies still lost. Wednesday's game had to be a little disheartening as the Rockies got out to a 3-0 lead, and had a chance to put the game out of reach further in the 1st, and eventually blew a 4-1 lead to lose 5-4.
Now truthfully, I was out of town and didn't see or hear any of the games, but when I came home and saw the paper this morning and the comparisos to last year, I cringed. It's only 3 games people!!!! Granted the 2010 Rockies are 1 game behind the 2009 Rockies, but the Rockies like last year were in all 3 games. There were some opportunities to knock in more runs, the bullpen faltered a couple of times, but all in all, I would expect this Rockies team to gel a little bit faster than last. It doesn't hurt that they will play 6 of the first 9 at home instead of playing only 3 of the first 14 at home last year. Last year they also played 20 of the first 25 against the west, while this year, the only west games are this weekend in the first 19. They don't play their 20th game against the west until May 29th.
Let's let them get their feet a little more wet and see what they can do, shall we?
In any three game series, you can hope for a sweep, but most of all you hope to avoid a sweep. The first series of the year always matches up the #1 pitchers on both teams in the opener, usually followed by the #2's and #3's. The Rockies got a great start out of Jimenez on Monday, and then got a little stuck putting out there #5 pitcher because of Francis going on the DL. By all rights, De La Rosa would be the #2 pitcher, but Jim Tracy wanted him to be the pitcher at the home opener. Smith held his own, but the Rockies still lost. Wednesday's game had to be a little disheartening as the Rockies got out to a 3-0 lead, and had a chance to put the game out of reach further in the 1st, and eventually blew a 4-1 lead to lose 5-4.
Now truthfully, I was out of town and didn't see or hear any of the games, but when I came home and saw the paper this morning and the comparisos to last year, I cringed. It's only 3 games people!!!! Granted the 2010 Rockies are 1 game behind the 2009 Rockies, but the Rockies like last year were in all 3 games. There were some opportunities to knock in more runs, the bullpen faltered a couple of times, but all in all, I would expect this Rockies team to gel a little bit faster than last. It doesn't hurt that they will play 6 of the first 9 at home instead of playing only 3 of the first 14 at home last year. Last year they also played 20 of the first 25 against the west, while this year, the only west games are this weekend in the first 19. They don't play their 20th game against the west until May 29th.
Let's let them get their feet a little more wet and see what they can do, shall we?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Rockies Win Opener
The Rockies won their Season Opener 5-3 against the Milwaukee Breweres on Monday. Rockies are now 10-8 in the season opener and evened their road opening day record to 6-6.
Ubaldo Jimenez had a nice outing for the Rockies going 6 innings and giving up only 1 run. Ian Stewart hit the first Rockies 2010 HR in the second. The Rockies first run scored on a Wild Pitch, Brad Hawpe scoring just before Stewart's solo shot. Stewart also drove in another run on Sacrifice Fly, Troy Tulowitzski drove in Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, and pinch hitter Ryan Spillborghs drove in CarGo again in the 9th.
Altogether the Rockies pounded out 10 hits in the game.
The two teams meet again Tuesday Night and Wednesday afternoon.
Ubaldo Jimenez had a nice outing for the Rockies going 6 innings and giving up only 1 run. Ian Stewart hit the first Rockies 2010 HR in the second. The Rockies first run scored on a Wild Pitch, Brad Hawpe scoring just before Stewart's solo shot. Stewart also drove in another run on Sacrifice Fly, Troy Tulowitzski drove in Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, and pinch hitter Ryan Spillborghs drove in CarGo again in the 9th.
Altogether the Rockies pounded out 10 hits in the game.
The two teams meet again Tuesday Night and Wednesday afternoon.
Opening Day 2010
As the TotallyGruntledRockies blog heads into it's first full season, the excitement of Opening Day is upon us. The Thrill of what was an amazing 2009 season is replaced by a somewhat very optimistic outlook for the Rockies 2010 season.
Here at TGR, we welcome that optimism but hope to shed light on how the pace is going. The Rockies defied all odds last year by going 72-40 during the last 4 months an incredible .648 percentage, over 70 percentage points higher than the 2nd best team in the NL over that span.
This year Jim Tracy molds the team as he wants them from the beginning. Can they maintain the focus and attitude that gave them such a good run last year and keep it the entire season. Will the Hitting improve especially with runners on base. Will the pitching be anywhere near as good as last year?
These are all questions that will get answered over the course of the next 6 months and 162 games. Here at TGR we'll analyze the results, the schedule the pace and where they are in relationship to the NL West Title and/or the NL Wild Card.
My feeling always is that it takes 95 wins to be division champs and 90 wins to gain the Wild Card. Sometimes it's a few more, sometimes it's a few less, but if you follow the pace to either one of those plateaus usually you make the playoffs.
The Rockies finished the spring with a 17-13-2 record going 6-4-2 in the final two weeks. A few questions about their pitching, but the hitting seems to be ready for the start of the season.
The first week includes 3 games at Milwaukee followed by three at Coors starting Friday afternoon. Not sure of the significance of starting the season at two beer parks, (Miller and Coors) and also finish the season at the 3rd (Busch).
It's all optimism from here, follow the Rockies and their pace along with other statistical tidbits during the season.
For now, PLAY BALL!
Here at TGR, we welcome that optimism but hope to shed light on how the pace is going. The Rockies defied all odds last year by going 72-40 during the last 4 months an incredible .648 percentage, over 70 percentage points higher than the 2nd best team in the NL over that span.
This year Jim Tracy molds the team as he wants them from the beginning. Can they maintain the focus and attitude that gave them such a good run last year and keep it the entire season. Will the Hitting improve especially with runners on base. Will the pitching be anywhere near as good as last year?
These are all questions that will get answered over the course of the next 6 months and 162 games. Here at TGR we'll analyze the results, the schedule the pace and where they are in relationship to the NL West Title and/or the NL Wild Card.
My feeling always is that it takes 95 wins to be division champs and 90 wins to gain the Wild Card. Sometimes it's a few more, sometimes it's a few less, but if you follow the pace to either one of those plateaus usually you make the playoffs.
The Rockies finished the spring with a 17-13-2 record going 6-4-2 in the final two weeks. A few questions about their pitching, but the hitting seems to be ready for the start of the season.
The first week includes 3 games at Milwaukee followed by three at Coors starting Friday afternoon. Not sure of the significance of starting the season at two beer parks, (Miller and Coors) and also finish the season at the 3rd (Busch).
It's all optimism from here, follow the Rockies and their pace along with other statistical tidbits during the season.
For now, PLAY BALL!
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